Time Management
I have not seen or heard of anything that brings repose, honor, and dignity as much as seclusion does. It helps one to stay away from evil, it protects one’s honor, and it saves time. It keeps one away from the jealous minded and those who take pleasure in your affliction. It promotes the remembrance of the Hereafter, and it allows one to reflect on the meeting with Allah. In times of seclusion, one’s thoughts may roam in that which is beneficial, in that which contains wisdom…
—Ibn al-Jawzī [d. 597H/1201CE] in Sayd al-Khaatir
(Read on pg 131, ‘Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni, Don’t Be Sad. International Islamic Publishing House. Riyadh:2005.)
You are submerged in careless hope, the time of death you do not know of.
Do not be fooled by good health, for it is from the most painful of illnesses.
Every soul is by its day. In the morning all hope will be removed.
So act with good deeds and work hard, Before you are prevented from acting.
(Iqtidaa’ ul-’Ilm il-’Amal [The Need Knowledge has of Action] by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee)
(Read on pg 65-72, Shaykh Husayn al-’Awaayishah, Adorning Knowledge with Actions. Al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution Ltd. Birmingham: 1999.)
Sh. Husayn omitted names of the people to whom the sayings were attributed, fearing inauthenticity in the original attribution, except where the authenticity was established.
Some people invited a man to eat with them who in turn said, “I am fasting.”
They said to him, “Break your fast today and instead fast tomorrow.”
So he said, “And who will guarantee my living tomorrow?”
(Iqtidaa’ ul-’Ilm il-’Amal [The Need Knowledge has of Action] by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadee)
(Read on pg 65-72, Shaykh Husayn al-’Awaayishah, Adorning Knowledge with Actions. Al-Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution Ltd. Birmingham: 1999.)
Sh. Husayn omitted names of the people to whom the sayings were attributed, fearing inauthenticity in the original attribution, except where the authenticity was established.
نَعِيبُ زَمَانَنَا وَ العَيبُ فِينَا
وَ مَا لِزَمَانِنَا عَيبٌ سِوَانَا
We blame time and the fault is in us,
There is no fault in time except us.
— Imām al-Shāfi‘ī [d. 204H/820CE]
(Read on pg 39, Dr. Gohar Mushtaq, The Intelligent Heart, The Pure Heart. Ta-Ha Publishers. London: 2006.)