In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad Ibn Abdulaziz Al-Musa Mosque
in Al-Badi'
presents:
"Misk al-Khitam"
by Sheikh Usamah Bahr,
may Allah preserve him.
A crime of murder—
yes, it is indeed a murder
committed by a person without even realizing it.
It is premeditated murder,
where the perpetrator is the human being,
and the victim is time.
Some kill time by squandering it,
others kill time by neglecting it,
and others kill time through procrastination,
killing time through endless postponement.
All of these are murders committed against time,
which is nothing less than man's very lifespan.
Al-Hasan al-Basri said:
"O son of Adam!
You are but a collection of days;
whenever a day passes, a part of you departs."
And he said:
"O son of Adam!
Your day is your guest,
so treat it well.
For if you treat it well, it departs praising you,
but if you treat it poorly, it departs bearing witness against your sins.
And the same applies to your night."
And he said:
"This worldly life consists of three days:
as for yesterday, it has departed along with everything done in it;
as for tomorrow, you may never live to see it;
but as for today, it belongs to you, so act therein."
Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"I have never regretted anything as much as I regret a day whose sun has set,
in which my lifespan has diminished,
yet my good deeds have not increased."
And Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"Wasting time is graver than death itself,
because wasting time
severs your connection with Allah and the Hereafter,
whereas death merely severs your connection with this world and its people."
Killing time occurs through various banes and obstacles,
and they are many;
they can virtually consume one's entire lifespan
if a person does not recognize them
and strive to be rid of them.
Among these obstacles and banes is
heedlessness (ghaflah),
which is a grave affliction
that has plagued most Muslims,
to the point of stripping away their conscious awareness of time.
The Qur'an has issued the sternest warnings against heedlessness;
Allah the Exalted said:
“Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7:179)
“Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7:179)
“Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7:179)
“Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7:179)
“Already have We urged unto hell many of the jinn and humankind, having hearts wherewith they understand not, and having eyes wherewith they see not, and having ears wherewith they hear not. These are as the cattle - nay, but they are worse! These are the neglectful.” (7:179)
﴾It is they who are the truly heedless.﴿
Another bane is procrastination,
a blight that devastates time and murders one's lifespan.
Unfortunately,
the word "I will do it later" has become a motto and defining trait for many Muslims.
Al-Hasan said:
"Beware of procrastination,
for you belong to today, not to tomorrow."
The danger of procrastination lies in the fact
that you have no guarantee of living until tomorrow;
and even if your life is extended until tomorrow,
you cannot be safe from unforeseen impediments—
such as a sudden illness, an unexpected preoccupation,
or an impending affliction.
Know that every day brings its own duty,
and every moment has its obligations;
thus, there is no idle time in the life of a Muslim.
Furthermore, procrastinating in performing acts of obedience
causes the soul to become accustomed to abandoning them.
Among the profound traditions urging the investment of time and seizing its opportunities
is the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to a man while admonishing him:
"Take advantage of five things before five others:
your youth before your old age,
your health before your sickness,
your wealth before your poverty,
your free time before your preoccupation,
and your life before your death."
So beware, O Muslim, of this crime of murder,
and take the initiative to seize the moments of your life in obedience to Allah.
Beware of procrastination and lethargy,
and do not be a killer of time;
rather, cultivate it and bring it to life through diligence and righteous deeds.
The divine dawn dissolves into the sweetest of feelings,
bringing darkness, then light, and a revived life thereafter:
when Allah wills a thing, He merely says to it "Be," and it is.