GOOD HEALTH AND SPARE TIME
As reported by Ibn Abbas, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) ordered:
"Good health and spare time are two of the blessings of Allah about which many people are deceived."
(Bukhari, Riqaq 1)
The above hadith invites us to a peak of conscious from which we can effectively use time. It draws our attention to the two important blessings that we have but use selfishly without realizing how valuable they are to us: good health and spare time. Is it not meaningful that these two blessings have been emphasized among the many blessings that we are granted? These two values can be stepping-stones for us: one for our material development and the other for spiritual development. Without health, we cannot perform many forms of worship and we encounter some hardships in daily life. Without spare time in which to be on our own, we cannot set off an inner voyage.
The age we live in does not give us an opportunity to comprehend the "moments" that we are experiencing. We do not have enough time to think or contemplate. It might be that we seek refuge in useless activities to escape these. The fear of facing problems in relation to our existence puts a distance between everyone and everything that reminds us of where we came from and of where we are headed for, who we are and what we are. Accordingly, the rich are alienated from the poor, the healthy are alienated from the unhealthy, and the young are alienated from the old. By removing time from its divine status (Al-Asr), something that Allah swears on, we perceive any time that will bring us face to face with unequalled depths of contemplation of the divine nature of being human as something that must be "killed" if it is "spare".
The attitude of Islam, which established a time-centered civilization, to this issue is best reflected in the perception of worship. Islam invites people to be conscious of time by requiring that the religious practices must be performed in daily (five daily prayers), weekly (Juma prayer), yearly (fasting) periods, and once in a lifetime (hajj) (Ali Murat Daryal, Psycho-Social Basics of Religious Life). Islam may even direct a person out of routine planning, as in the funeral prayer that is to be performed at the funeral of a fellow believer. This consciousness gains its ultimate meaning in the following verse: "So when you are relieved, still toil and strive to please your Lord." (Al-Inshirah/7-8). When worldly activities like working, producing, learning, teaching, helping and cooperation are added to the scope of this verse, in addition to religious activities such as worship, prayer, conveyance of religious messages, and religious guidance, we can clearly see that Islam balances both worlds (this world and the afterlife).
For a person who is aware that they will be held accountable for every moment of the life they lead, there is no time to lose. Life can leave a "fine sound", and spare time can be seen as an opportunity for purification and spiritual regeneration only after it has been utilized as the most precious capital.
The following expression, attributed to Ataullah Iskenderi, will shed a light on the road that we are following in terms of time: "The ones who want to learn their value must consider the activities they are engaged in."
