 The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam In an authentic narration found in Sahih Bukhari, he leaves for us a narration Which resonates with every single one of us The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, he says la taqoom as-sa'a hatta yataqara bas-zaman That the day of judgment will not arrive Until a time comes in my ummah until a phase comes and what is this phase? He continues fa taqoom as-sa'a hatta yataqara bas-zaman He says that the year will feel like a month bas-zaman as-sa'a hatta yataqara bas-zaman And the month will feel like a week bas-zaman as-sa'a hatta yataqara bas-zaman And the week will feel like a day wa yakoonu liyomu ka-sa'a And the day will feel like an hour wa taqoonu sa'atu ka-dharamati bin-naar And the hour will feel like a flicker of a flame Brothers and sisters All of us know that we have 24 hours in a day to operate with This is something that we all know and this has always been the case and will be the case However every single one of us during some point in our life Has that feeling that there are not enough hours in the day To complete the tasks that we have to do and we can take solace in the fact that Nabi Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us that this would happen But within the religion of Islam Managing our time Prioritizing our time in a way that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is an integral part of our religion Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he dedicates an entire surah a surah that all of us are familiar with Just about time Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he says wa al-asal Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he swears by the passing hour And these scholars they write extensively What does it mean that when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala swears by a certain thing? And they say that one of the many wisdoms is that when a when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does that That the importance the ahmiyah of that thing specifically it rises He continues inna insana la fee khusur that verily mankind is in loss illa alladina aamanu wa aaminu s-salihat except those who believe and do rightful actions and Those who enjoin one another towards the Huck towards truth and towards patience Imam Shafi Rahimahullah. He says that if an individual albeit. This is a small surah if an individual was to memorize reflect ponder understand this surah alone That would be a sufficient blueprint for the entirety of his life For the entirety of his life subhan Allah many times People they fall under this trap That I have more time later on that whatever it is at hand. I can push it for I have more time much time later on Ali radi Allahu an The cousin of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam One of the first people to ever accept Islam. He writes a beautiful poem a short poem In which he tells us about one of the greatest traps that shaytan leaves for you and I This idea that I have more time to work with I can put away what I have to do Ali radi Allahu an he says It a ashel fatta 60 Amen, but nispel umri tam hakuhe lalayali When nispel nispy yad habu leisa yadri Leeghaflati hi yaminin min shimali Wa thuzth nispy amalun wa hirsun Wa shaglun bil makasab wal ajayali Wa bakyu il umri isqamun wa shaybun Wa hamun ber tihalin wa ntikali He was a genius. He was not only known for his courage in the battlefield, but he was an intellectual himself. He says from the top, he starts with sarcasm. He starts with satire. He says, When a young boy, a juvenile, a youth reaches the age of 60 years old, and you and I, we know that this is not, a 60 year old is not a young boy, but the scholars, they write that for this person who is 60 years old, he is still in the deception that he is young. He has more time. And what's important to note as we're going to see in the rest of this poem, that those 60 years that he had were not 60 years of productivity. That he had responsibilities and things that he had to do. He continues. When this is gone, they don't count, they weren't productive. Why? They were absorbed by the night. This was a time where people, they sleep, they rest, they spend time with their family, a time which you can't be productive. Ali, he continues. That half of that half, half of those 30 years, I mean 15 years, those also we cannot account for. Why? Literally translating as due to him not knowing his left from his right. He was a young boy. He was learning. It was a time where this person was experienced growing. They didn't know what they should have been doing and what they should have been doing. He continues. And a third of that 30 years, I mean 10 years, that's also we can't account for. Why? Because it's because those were times that we were after dreams and aspirations. We busy ourselves in earning a living and providing for our family. And whatever little time remains, is a 60 year old young boy, is sickness and old age. And worries and stress and anxiety about different things, this that and the other. And these last two lines, these last two couplets is what the scholars, they hone in on. Then therefore, for a person to desire a long life is foolish. And the point the scholars they make here is that there's nothing wrong with asking for a long healthy life if a person uses it in a way that is productive and pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But this is specifically talking about someone who lives the remainder of his life like the person has for the previous 60 years. And his fisma, his fate, his end state is upon this method. Like this example. Brothers and sisters, I pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us the ability to utilize our time and understand where our priorities should be. But oftentimes we see that people, they put in the hard work, they prioritize their time, but it's still for no reward. It's still for a way that would not benefit us in both this world and in the next. As the verse that I began with, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he says, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he tells us, and Imam Ghazali, he writes extensively on this verse alone. And he says that this world is nothing more than five things. And Imam Ghazali, he says these five things represent the five different stages of a person in their life. That this worldly life, know that this worldly life is nothing but it is play and amusement. And then this person goes to the third stage was Zina. And this is when the child now starts to grow and is now a teenager. And all they care about is adornment, Zina. What is it that I am wearing? What is it? The shoes that I'm wearing? What is the clothes that I'm wearing? And then it goes to the fourth stage, the unhealthy stage, the dangerous stage, the idea of what what what the faqh or on beinakum, the idea of unhealthy competition. And this is the never ending stage because we see in the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, in which he tells us, that if a person, he was given a valley of gold, a valley of gold, he would not be content. Rather he would want two valleys of gold. That this greed that once it takes over the nefs, once it takes over the person that it will be the end to him. And what is it? What is it that this person will eventually be content? The hadith, it continues and it says, and his mouth will never be filled. His desire will never be content. There will always be that hole in his heart until one, until the point he reaches the tarab, the dirt of the grave. Meaning that this eats at him to the point that it takes him to the grave and he dies with it when he enters the grave. And then it goes to the fifth stage, as Imam Ghazali he mentions, the enumeration, the hoarding, the accumulation of money and of children or in our context of fame. Many a times we see that it's unfortunate that people they're on their deathbed. They're in their final moments and all they care for is how many dollars I left for in my bank account. How many people follow me on my social media feed? When we know that as Muslims that the things that we should be prioritizing, investing our time in is not for that of this world but for the ones after brothers and sisters. All of these stages that were mentioned they were not, they did not come to this person by ease. This person they worked hard. They invested their time. They put, they had priorities. But the unfortunate situation was that their priorities were in a way, in a place that would not benefit them in the next world. This leads to the next question that what can I do in my, I have a limited amount of time. How is it that I can increase in barakah? How is it that I can increase in the blessings of my time that I have? To this when we look in the Quran and Sunnah we see a few things that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he tells us. The first thing brothers and sisters that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he tells us in order to get barakah in our time is to utilize the morning. And I remind myself first and foremost, this is something that is difficult for many of us, myself included, that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he says in an authentic hadith that Allah gave my ummah, my nation, barakah, blessing every, in the morning, in the Suhba, every morning there's blessing. It was a practice of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam that he would pray the Isha prayer and then he would spend some time, a little bit of time with Aisha radiallahu anhu and he would immediately go to sleep. And then he would awake for the Tahajjud prayer and he would pray the Tahajjud prayer at home and then he would rest a little bit and then he would go to the Masjid and he would go to the Masjid for Fajr prayer and then he would start the rest of his day if there was any delegations that needed to meet with him. If there was any issues it was in the beginning of that day because that is when the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam told us that is where the barakah is. That is where the blessings are. Additionally, when we also look at what is another way that we can get barakah, it is by minimizing the sins. The famous story of the interaction between Imam Shafiq and Imam Malik, rahimuhumullah, two giants in our tradition. Imam Malik was one of the many teachers of Imam Shafiq and a young Imam Shafiq, he comes to Imam Malik and Imam Malik immediately sees the potential in this young Imam Shafiq and was he ever right? And he gives Imam Shafiq the advice that absolve from sins, stay away from sins where they remove the barakah in your life. Prioritize in having a haalist, a pure heart, a pure way in order to maximize in the blessings that you have throughout the day. And finally, the last thing brothers and sisters, how is it that we can get barakah in our time? And the simplest and the most obvious one is by increasing in our recitation of the Quran and the dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Just like the story of Imam Ahmad and the baker, Imam Ahmad, rahimuhullah, was a giant in his time, a giant in his time and this was before the time of social media where people could connect the name to the face. Everyone in the Muslim lands knew of Imam Ahmad. One day Imam Ahmad, he decides that I'm gonna travel and he dressed in a way that was very modest. He didn't want any unnecessary attention coming his way. He arrives at the city and it's time to prepare for the night. And as he's preparing for the night, he goes to the masjid where it was a custom at that time that the travelers would spend the night in the masjid. The carekeeper of that masjid, he says, no, no. In our masjid, we can't do that. Imam Ahmad, he says, okay, he steps outside and he starts making preparations to sleep outside. When a baker, a local baker, saw him, not knowing it was Imam Ahmad, he says, no, no, I find it inappropriate that a traveler comes to our city and he sleeps outside. Tonight you will sleep in my bakery. Imam Ahmad, he agrees. He goes to the bakery and Imam Ahmad, he tries to rest and Imam Ahmad, he notes that the entirety of the night, this baker, he was kneading his dough and he was doing dhikr of Allah SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah wa Alhamdulillah wa La ilaha illallah wa Allahu Akbar. All these different forms of dhikr. And in the morning Imam Ahmad, he asks this baker, he says, by Allah, this thing that you do is a commendable thing. Have you seen any benefits in your life? And the baker, he says, by Allah, I have never asked for a dua to Allah SubhanAllah, accept that it has been accepted. SubhanAllah. And then he says, there's just one thing, however, there's just one dua that Allah SubhanAllah, he hasn't answered. And Imam Ahmad, he says, what is this? What is this dua? And the baker, he says, I wish I've always had the dream and I've made dua that I get to meet Imam Ahmad. And SubhanAllah, Imam Ahmad is right in front of him, right? He spent the night in his bakery, right? Never underestimate the power of the dhikr, of the connection and the remembrance of Allah SubhanAllah. It is a powerful thing that we are able to do consistently. And it's something that will pay dividends, large-fold in this world and in the after. I pray that Allah SubhanAllah allow us to do Amman on what we have learned today. And he makes us among the people who value their time and use it in a way that is pleasing to Allah SubhanAllah for this world and in the hereafter.