If you'd like to understand how those who lived before us treated the gift of time, read the book ‘The Value of Time' by Sheikh Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah. We live in an era where time has little value and the accumulation of wealth overshadows our desire to attain beneficial knowledge. As you go through this treasure trove you soon come to realize how we are regretfully not of those people who know the true value of time. Instead we fritter it away, giving other irrelevant tasks weight compared to attaining and spreading beneficial knowledge, and we have lost a zeal for investing in good deeds – the one thing which will outlast us when we leave this world. What passes through the pages in this book will leave you awe-struck, that the scholars of the past sacrificed everything from eating even when their body was calling in hunger to minimal social relations in order to preserve time for the most important matters. If you were to take any lesson from this review, it is that we are given a microscopic view into the lives of wise giants in Islam. Wise because their profit was in the wealth of knowledge they produced for the masses. A profound use of their time shows that ensuring every moment was used for something beneficial and pleasing to Allah. What particularly would strike you is the beautiful way in which the book is compiled. Are time-worthy actions being achieved in our life? Sadly, the accomplishment of goals in our lifetime is rare in our world of ‘uber-busyness'. I want to highlight some of the points mentioned in the book, though it will not suffice as an introduction. So I hope that by the end of the review you will feel compelled to buy your own copy of the book and take practical lessons from it that can be applied in your own life. Time is defined in the book as “the loftiest and most precious of all primary blessings” and “is the substance of life, the sphere in which man exists, the citadel of his spirit, and his subsistence – him benefiting himself and others”. As many of us know, Allah swears by time in the Qur'an in Surah Al-Asr, so we should ask ourselves that if we are at a loss with time then wouldn't the intelligent and wise people invest their time in the actions that will outlast their existence in this world? One highlight of this short, yet comprehensive, treatise is that it can change your perspective of time, so you come to realize the invaluable deed of attaining knowledge as being your goal in life. One of my favorite scholarly works to read from are by Sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, about whom the author says died “at the age of 57 leaving around 500 written volumes of books. He could not have written hundreds of books, such that neither his companions nor even his sheikh could count, without complete use of his time in learning, writing and worship.” So you may be asking yourself: What were the secret ingredients in the lives of these prominent scholars? I'd say they truly understood the statement that “time passes naturally, ends automatically, so whoever is not aware of his soul, his time will be lost, his loss will be great, and his regrets will be severe.” And it is indeed true to say that “the pious predecessors and those successors who followed their way were the keenest of people to gain time and to fill it with good deeds, whether they were scholars or worshippers, for they raced against the hours, and used every instant, being very careful with their time, so that they may not lose any part of it.” Ibn Jarir, Ibn Aqil, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Al-Jawzi (and others as well) reflect that protecting what time is spent on and striving for only the important knowledge leads to success, because “the wise man must devote (his) keen mind and precious time to better actions and the higher aspirations, in order to attain what is most excellent and useful.” In summary, we, living in an age when time is used and abused, can take these inspiring snippets of the great legacies that have come to pass and learn to utilize every moment Allah has blessed us with in the following manner: n Reflection: For Allah has warned us of those who are wasteful with time and says: “Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition, - could receive it?” (Qur'an, 35:37) n Eating less: They were careful to lose even a second of their time in pursuit of knowledge because of eating. Such that in some of the stories written they ate only bread as their souls were satisfied with the food of knowledge. n Walking faster: In order to travel in pursuit of the knowledge they were seeking in abundance, the people of the past would not be lazy in going from one end of the earth to the other to obtain it. n Less socializing: Scholars of the past would reduce their social time which is so much prevalent in our daily activities today. They would not come out of homes much unless for prayer or for necessary matters. n Constant reading and writing: This is paramount to the first point. Their reflection on the knowledge they gained led to the numerous works presented before us. This is a testimony to their vigilance in worshiping Allah and being cautious not to waste a single moment by reading, writing or remembering; and spreading this beneficial knowledge. The following passage from the book would be a good way to end the article as it would leave you to think about your own life and time: “Is your life in this universe anything other than the time which passes between your birth and death? Gold can vanish, but you may acquire many times what you lose. But you cannot return lost time that has passed! Therefore time is more precious than gold and dearer than diamonds or any precious stone or any profit, for it is life itself.”
