Time Management: Islamic And Modern Perspective

What is time management?

“Time management is the act of taking conscious control over the amount
of time spent on specific activities.”

Since time is limited in our life, we must utilize it in the best possible
manner so that we can attain eternal success. Being successful doesn’t mean how
much good manager of time we are but being a perfect time manager makes us
successful.

One of the critical issues in management today is how to manage our

time. Time is a very unique commodity. It cannot be borrowed, rented, or bought.
It is irreplaceable and execution of anything requires it. Time has an intrinsic value
that is recognised even in motivational rhymes for adults and nursery rhymes for
children. To realise the value of one year, ask a student who has failed that
year. To realise the value of one month, ask the mother of a premature baby, and
to realise the value of one second ask the survivor of an accident. Both the Quran
and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be
upon him, make it clear that Islam considers time to a very valuable
resource. Believers are encouraged to be conscious of time, to recognize its
importance and to organise it wisely. If human beings do not waste or abuse
time, but rather think of it as a blessing from God then they have every reason to
hope for success both in this life and in the hereafter.

According to Al-Jeraisy (2008),

Every Muslim has certain duties and responsibilities towards the Almighty
Allah (swt), and for the society. These responsibilities involve knowledge,
work and their proper discharge necessitates that each of them be allocated
its due amount of time.

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Muslims are required to have to use their time wisely by knowing more on the
Qur’an and the Sunnah. They must have right knowledge of what Allah and His
Messenger have commanded them to do and at the same time to refrain from
forbidden things. This is imperative so that Muslims can earn Allah’s pleasure and
consequently great rewards. Allah, the Exalted makes it very clear, when He says:

O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger (Muhammad) and
render not vain your deeds {Muhammad, 33}.

Muslims must ask themselves:

Are they obeying Almighty Allah and His Messenger as they are supposed to? Are
they following the guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah which is commanded by
the Allah and His Messenger? To what extent they are using their time to learn the
Qur’an and the Sunnah in order to have strong Imân (Faith).

Importance of time management

The reason many of us feel stressed in our daily lives is that we have too much to
do in a shorter period of time. Being overwhelmed with activities, assignments
and work can lead a person to be “stressed out.” Time management is helpful and
necessary in our busy lives. In order to balance our schedule we need to be able
to organize and utilize our time wisely. Without good time management skills, we
can easily fall behind in responsibilities and feel like we do not have enough time.

Time is a valuable resource and our attitude to it and the way we use it makes
the difference between success and failure, fitness and poor health, peace of
mind and anxiety or depression (Jone, 1997). Since time always passes at a fixed
and constant speed, one has to care for the time allocated to him. The amount of
time daily, monthly or yearly, is the same for all. It is said:

“Those who care for their time are the ones who make great achievements in
their personal and professional lives, and they do realize that time is not enough
for doing all what they want to do. In contrast, those who do not care for
achievements are the ones who consider time to be of little value” (al-jeraisy,
2008).

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TIME MANAGEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH QURAN AND SUNNAH:

When look through the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw), it is visibly
clear that time management keeping is one of the most important issues that has
been prescribed in Islam. It is reminded that life in this world is nothing but
temporary. Nobody knows when death has been appointed for him/her. Everyone
must value time for the obedience of Allah (saw).

Time has been mentioned in different forms in the Qur’an, Allah (S.W.T) says:

The number of months with Allah is twelve months in accordance with His law
since the day He created the heavens and the earth, of them four are sacred
(holy) {Al-Touba, 35}.

One Hadith explains this as narrated by Abu Bakr (R.A):

The Prophet (S.A.W) said, "Time has come back to its original state which it had
when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth; the year is of twelve months,
four of which are sacred. Three of them are in succession; Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul-Hijja
and Al-Muharram, and (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar (named after the tribe of
Mudar as they used to respect this month) which stands between Jumad (ath-
thani) and Sha'ban"

From Al-Qur’an we also find that many acts of worships are related with time, for
example; Allah (S.W.T) says in the Qur’an about starting the month of fasting
(Ramadan):

“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for
mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and
wrong). And whosoever of you is present and witness the month (moon), let him
fast in the month {Al-Baqrah, 185}.”

The Prophet (S.A.W) said:

”Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth before
you become old; your health, before you fall sick; your wealth, before you
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become poor; your free time before you become preoccupied, and your life,
before your death.”

The whole language of this hadith points to the limited nature of our life and how
time is running out. In Surah al-Rahman, verse 26, Allah (Subhanahu Wa’Tala)
beautifully states ”Kullu man alaiyha faan” (All that is on earth will perish);
describing the essential reality that every moment that passes is a moment that
brings our death closer; our lifespan is like an upturned sand-timer and the last

grain could drop soon. So the Prophet reminds us to act quickly before old
age, before sickness, before our money decreases, before we get too busy and
before our death. In other words, we must act now before it’s too late.

“By Al-’Asr (the time),Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do
righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth and
recommend one another to patience.” (Quran 103).

A believer should not waste precious time on things that will not bring him closer
to his Creator. Actions that do not contain a benefit for himself, his society or
humankind in general are usually wasted actions, wasted time. Islam categorised
things according to their level of importance. The first Muslims used to capture
and use every single second of their time.

How To Stay On Track And Not Let Time Waste Away…..

● Be an Early Riser:
The Prophet said: “O Allah, bless my nation in their early mornings (i.e., what
they do early in the morning).” [Ibn Majah]

We Schedule our important tasks earlier in the day, especially those which require
mental exercise, and watch the barakah (blessings) from Allah.

● Start Everything with “Bismillah”

Every step we take should be an act of worship to Allah. There is no better way to
spend our time. Whether we are taking out the garbage, studying for a test,
playing with our kids, reading an article, tying our shoe, going into a business

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meeting, EVERYTHING should be in the name of Allah. This will turn every task we
do into a prayer.Staying in constant worship to Allah is the purpose of life and
should be squeezed out of every minute to benefit your destiny. If we feel our
task is not for the sake of Allah, either adjust our intentions so it is, or the task is
not worth doing at all and move on.

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me”. [Qur’an, The
Winnowing Winds, 51:56]

● Paint A Vision And Aim High:

We must have a goal to know if we are going in the right direction. We should
visualize our goal! It builds our internal motivation to take the necessary actions
to achieve it. Remember, this goal must be tied to our final destination, so aim
high!.. Such as becoming a scholar, reestablishing the Khilafah, moving to
Madinah, performing hajj, opening an orphanage, etc. When a task comes up,
refer it back to our goal and ask ourself is this contributing to it or am I being
distracted?

● Schedule Around Your Prayers:

Allah has created a framework for our daily schedule. We should plan around our
5 daily prayers and things will start to fall in place. Whether we are booking a
flight or creating a seminar, there is embedded wisdom in pivoting our tasks
around our prayers. It was narrated that ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud said: “I asked the
Messenger of Allah which action is most beloved to Allah? He said: ‘Establishing
prayer on time, honoring one’s parents and jihad in the cause of Allah.'”

Narrated Al-Aswad bin Yazid: I asked ‘Aisha “What did the

Prophet(PBUH) do at home?” She said, “He used to work for his family, and
when he heard the adhan(call for the prayer), he would go out.” [Bukhari].

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) used to call on Muslims not to waste their time

● Before obstacles arise

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 ● Before you are caught up with calamities

● Before starvation which may impair your wisdom

● Before sickness which may damage your health

● Sleep

Take a short power nap or lay down between Dhur and Asr, no more than 30
minutes. This is also known as qailulah and is sunnah. It revitalizes the heart and
gives energy for the second half of the day. It is also very conducive to sleep at
night and helps one to pray qiyaam al-layl. Call it a day shortly after Isha prayer. If
we stay up late, we are sabotaging the next day.

● Take Breaks:

We should make deals with ourselves as to when we will take our next break .
Now when have the urge to get distracted or side-track, remember we have a
break coming up and we can do anything we want at that time, so stay focused at
the task at hand.

● Never Multi-task!

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was a

Prophet, a Messenger, a teacher, a governor, a father, a husband, a friend, and

human. He (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) had multiple roles in
his life, and excelled at each one of them without exception. Did Prophet

Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) uni-task or multi-

task? Going through the Seerah and researching examples, we cannot find a

single evidence of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be

upon him) multi-tasking. He always seemed to fully concentrate on the ‘project’
or person at hand and gave them his full attention. When he prayed he fully
concentrated in his Salah, when he was with his family he was always present

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with them (both physically and mentally), when he was in the battle-field he was

fully engaged. We never seen him distracted, or out of focus (peace and
blessings of Allāh be upon him). Most of the time, multi-tasking is a source of
stress and allows you to start on many projects without completing any. It’s like
skipping a rock across a pond; you will hit on many things but never go deep with
any. Instead, single-tasking is doing your work, one task at a time, each task done
with full focus and dedication. If you do this, your tasks get the attention they
deserve and get completed to its full potential.

● Hasten in Doing Good

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) had a sense of urgency in doing good and warned
others against procrastination.

Narrated ‘Uqba bin Al-Harith: Once the Prophet offered the Asr prayer and then
hurriedly went to his house and returned immediately. I (or somebody else)
asked him (as to what was the matter) and he said, “I left at home a piece of
gold which was from the charity and I disliked to let it remain a night in my
house, so I got it distributed.” [Bukhari].

Procrastinators do not appreciate time nor the means and the opportunities that
Allah gives them to be productive. Each day has its own share of work and each
time has its own share of obligations. Therefore, in the Prophet’s life, there was
no such thing as idle time. Use every single opportunity to do good.

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 The New Era of Time Management
One thing we have always been incredibly fascinated with is how the most
successful people in the world manage their time. One of the world's leading
thinkers on productivity and New York Times bestselling author, Rory Vaden
discussed that there are really three generations of time-management thinking.

Era 1 Time-Management Thinking Was All About Efficiency.

It was predicated on the idea of doing things faster. All things being equal,
efficiency is good, but there is a limitation to efficiency that gives it a point of
diminishing returns as a time-management strategy.
No matter how efficient we are, in today's day and age, there is always going to
be more to do than we can ever get to. At one point in history the idea was to
create tips and tricks and tools and technology to help us get our to-do list done
faster so we'd have margin or space left over.
But that’s an incomplete strategy today. Because we all carry computers in our
pocket, we are all working as efficiently as ever before and we are still never
caught up. That’s because at the end of today’s modern to-do list isn’t more
margin -- it’s another to-do list!

Era 2 Time-Management Thinking Was About Prioritizing.

Prioritizing time was about developing calendars and checklists to help us focus
first on what matters most.
Prioritizing has been the pervasive paradigm of thinking in the world of
productivity since 1989. We still refer to “prioritizing” as the cure-all for most of
our time-management problems. While prioritizing is still a highly valuable skill
and as relevant as ever before, it too has a very substantial limitation that nobody
ever talks about.
According to Vaden, there is nothing about prioritizing that creates more time. All
prioritizing does is put one thing in front of the other. It takes item seven on your
to-do list and bumps it up to one. But it does nothing to help you get the other

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items on your to-do list completed and it does not create more time. Prioritizing is
simply borrowing time from one activity to spend on another.

The Modern Era Is All About Multiplying Time.

In the world today, a new type of thinker has emerged. They don’t manage their
time and they don’t prioritize their time -- they multiply their time.
Multipliers have figured out ways to actually create more time while everyone
else is still living with the fallacy that time is finite. According to Vaden:
You multiply your time by giving yourself the emotional permission to spend time
on things today that create more time tomorrow.
You don’t just think, “what are the most important things I have to get done
today or this week?”
Instead, you ask the question, “what are the things that I could do today that
would free up more time tomorrow?”
Vaden says, "When you ask yourself that question, you will find that you
immediately feel less pressure to only focus on the urgent things that are pressing
today or this week and you instead gain a perspective to start thinking about what
you can be doing now to make a positive impact on the future. You give yourself
permission to do the significant things that matter for the long term."
That is what multipliers do.
He goes on to say, "They get outside of their to-do list of short-term priorities and
they realize that the real key to creating more margin in their life isn’t about
working faster, or somehow 'prioritizing' better, it’s about learning to think
differently."
To be a multiplier you must stop living urgently, and start living significantly.

We exercise time management to:

● Increase productivity
● Reduce stress.
● Improve self-esteem.
● Help achieve balance in life.
● Increase self-confidence.
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 Steps to Managing Your Time:

1. Set goals

2. Set reasonable expectations (and remember that no one’s perfect)

3. Make a schedule

4. Revisit and revise your plan.

Revisit Our Values:

Knowing what is most valuable to us gives direction to our life. Our energy should
be oriented first toward things that reflect the values that are most important.
We should examine our values to help us make time management decisions.

Never do today what you can put off ‘till tomorrow!”

▶ Procrastination is my sin.
▶ It brings me naught but sorrow.
▶ I know that I should stop it.
▶ In fact, I will – tomorrow!
How to Overcome Procrastination

▶ Win the mental battle by committing to being on time.

▶ Set and keep deadlines.

▶ Organize, schedule & plan.

▶ Divide a big job into smaller ones.

▶ Find a way to make a game of your work or make it fun.

▶ Reward yourself when you’re done.

▶ Tell your friends and roommates to remind you of priorities and deadlines.

Learn to say “no” to time wasters

Tackle Time Wasters

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 ▶ Learn to recognize when you’re wasting time.

▶ Decide what you need to do and can realistically do.

▶ Learn how to say “NO” when you don’t have time.

▶ Return calls at your convenience. The phone is a major time killer.

▶ Learn to say “I can’t talk right now. I’ll get back to you.”

▶ Wasting time is often linked to a lack of self-discipline.

▶ Ask yourself, “Do I really need to do this or not?”

Learn to say “No!”

▶ Avoid the temptation to socialize when you’ve scheduled work.

▶ If friends ask you to join them last minute, decline outright, but ask if you
could get together later in the week.

▶ Socializing is important when you don’t have other things to worry about!

▶ Study somewhere you won’t be tempted to chat, watch movies or

YouTube, or use social utilities like Facebook.

▶ Texts are a major distraction.

Conclusion
Life is short; this means we must utilize it to prepare for our eternal destination.
It’s true that food for the body usually conflicts with food for the soul, so we must
try to align them to meet the goals. Master the resources around us before they
master you. The provisions given to us by Allah is a means for us to reach our
destination. Next time we think we “don’t have time,” remember to ask ourself
why.

“The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of
Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things:
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his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it, his wealth and how he
earned it and how he disposed of it, and how he acted upon what he acquired of

knowledge. [Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah

be upon him).

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