Value of Time in Islam

It is imperative for a Muslim to know the value of his/her time, for ‘time is life’. In Islam there is no room for motto like "killing time", for in Islam time is really valuable. In fact, wasting time is much more dangerous than squandering property, because unlike property, time cannot be compensated. In the Hadith, the Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him), said: “There are two of Allah’s favors that are forgotten by many people: health and free time.” Free time is a blessing that is overlooked, and not wholly appreciated by many Muslims now-a-days. A Muslim should not waste his/her time in activities that does not bring her/him closer to Allah, in pursuits that will not serve as a contribution for the betterment of his/her people, his/her society and mankind in general.

Almighty Allah says: “By the time! Verily man is in loss.” (Al-`Asr:1-2) The Sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is also a rich record of many Hadiths that acknowledge the value of time and confirm the responsibility of man on how he maintains it; he will be brought to account by Allah on the Day of Judgment. Mu`adh ibn Jabal quotes the Prophet, (peace and blessings be upon him): “A servant of Allah will remain standing on the Day of Resurrection until he is asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his youth and how he used it up, his property and how he acquired and managed it and his knowledge and how he utilized it.”

In Islam things should be regarded according to their level of significance. Hence we have several categories to view on this merit– Personal religious practice, Daw’ah, Islamic education, career, education, family, friends, health, leisure pursuits, etcetera,. I like to combine these categories to simplify slightly. Below is a sample daily rota:

1. Personal Worship: associates the relationship with Allah, no one share this time

* 5 Daily Prayers

* Read Quran

* Islamic Education

o School

o Internet

2. Finances: speaks about the activities that either bring money in the household, or vice versa

* Paying Bills

* Managing Zakat

* Job tasks

3. Health

* Working out

* Personal Hygiene

* Medical and Dental Work

* Personal upkeep

* Family and Friends (Networking and family get together)

4. Preaching

* Net

* Friends and Family circle

5. Systems Maintenance: This is the essence of life that keeps all the machinery in order moving towards a targeted aim

* Daily Planning

* Weekly Planning

* Laundry / Chores

* Groceries

Some sub-items fall under multiple categories. The point to concentrate on here is to Simplify. And to bear in mind that time has certain characteristics such as:

1-Time passes quickly.

2-Time that passes can never return, nor can it be compensated for, for time is irretrievable.

3-Time is the most precious thing that man possesses.

Imam Al-Hasan Al-Basri says: “At the beginning of every day a herald calls: ‘O son of Adam! I am a new creation and a witness of your deeds. So take a provision from me because when I pass, for I never come back till the Day of Resurrection.’”

Summer time indulgence

Sunset at the Hawks' Bay
Last summer my family and me hit Hawks' bay. The excitement of the trip and the relaxation of the beach allured us to this particular vacation spot. If you are looking for an entertaining and relaxing way to spend the hot days of summer, Hawks' Bay has plenty to offer.
The sun glows vibrantly with pleasure. The fervent colors filled the sky with its warmth. The sea so delicate, sparkled preciously as it ambled up against the shore. The crystal water that stretched out far into the horizon where it got darker and deeper but stayed very calm. Walked on a gold land, the soft and smooth sand shone as it reflected the suns rays with glee. A cool, light and refreshing, breeze gently eased up against my being and glided through my hair, sent a gentle shudder up my spine. The whole beach itself looks like a painted picture with a spectrum of colors all fused with one another. The sea was also displaying a wide range of hues that reflected from the surface, like a dancing damsel dressed in a vibrant attire.
After witnessing Allah’s great creation, Mum, Papa and aunt took out the refreshments and taken them inside the hired lodge. But we were so selfish and had only thought about our comfort and to materialize our plan. We took out our beach slippers and hit the sea bay. We strolled for quite long time, watched children played with sea waves, waded in and swum by their elders. After sometime we decided to return. On our way back to the lodge we have collected many different sorts of shells and have taken pictures of the waves in the sea. Aunt and mum have laid the table for us before our arrival. We felt hungry and ate the delicious fried rice before eating the sweet chocolate cake and Bread-kebab rolls. We all praised mum and aunt for giving us such palatable food. Then we had a rest of about an hour or so. Our mum then woke us up. So that we freshen up and had tea with the rest of the family. After having tea we started playing indoor games such as Quiz game, Snake and Ladder, and also Parcel passing. Have told jokes and narrated half remembered funny stories.
It was half past six when papa sighted sunset and called upon us to have a sight of the dying sun. In the sky, the sun had begun to set in a sluggish, dawdling fashion. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen which is etched in my mind forever. The colors twirled together in a heap mass across the sky. The sky turned wild and there was a war of colors. Lightning tossed itself across what was once the peaceful sky. After watching such a nature's beauty that had hold our breaths, world seemed to me an endless entity full of hidden beauties yet to be witnessed.

English UK/USA

See the difference in spelling and remember them:

1.	aluminium
2.	aluminum
3.	analyse
4.	analyze
5.	apologised
6.	apologized
7.	authorise
8.	authorize
9.	calibre
10.	caliber
11.	candour
12.	candor
13.	categorise
14.	categorize
15.	centre
16.	center
17.	characterisation
18.	characterization
19.	characterise
20.	characterize

---------------------------------------------------

1.	cheque
2.	check
3.	colour
4.	color
5.	computerised
6.	computerized
7.	cosy
8.	cozy
9.	crystallise
10.	crystallize
11.	defence
12.	defense
13.	diarrhoea
14.	diarrhea
15.	dramatise
16.	dramatize
17.	encyclopaedia
18.	encyclopedia
19.	epitomise
20.	epitomize

-------------------------------------------------

1.	equalise
2.	equalize
3.	favour
4.	favor
5.	favourite
6.	favorite
7.	fertilise
8.	fertilize
9.	fervour
10.	fervor
11.	fibre
12.	fiber
13.	flavour
14.	flavor
15.	furore
16.	furor
17.	glamourize
18.	glamorize
19.	globalisation
20.	globalization

----------------------------------------------------

1.	grey
2.	gray
3.	harbour
4.	harbor
5.	harmonise
6.	harmonize
7.	honour
8.	honor
9.	humour
10.	humor
11.	jeopardise
12.	jeopardize
13.	jewellery
14.	jewelry
15.	judgement
16.	judgment
17.	licence
18.	license
19.	litres
20.	liters

-----------------------------------------------------

1.	magnetise
2.	magnetize
3.	manoeuvre
4.	maneuver
5.	marvellous
6.	marvelous
7.	materialise
8.	materialize
9.	maths
10.	math
11.	metre
12.	meter
13.	mould
14.	mold
15.	moult
16.	molt
17.	organise
18.	organize
19.	oxidise
20.	oxidize

-----------------------------------------------------

2.	parlor
3.	plough
4.	plow
5.	practise
6.	practice
7.	practised
8.	practiced
9.	practising
10.	practicing
11.	programme
12.	program
13.	realise
14.	realize
15.	realised
16.	realized
17.	realising
18.	realizing
19.	recognise
20.	recognize

---------------------------------------------------

1.	reorganise
2.	reorganize
3.	rumour
4.	rumor
5.	socialise
6.	socialize
7.	socialised
8.	socialized
9.	socialising
10.	socializing
11.	standardise
12.	standardize
13.	theatre
14.	theater
15.	theorise
16.	theorize
17.	unfavourable
18.	unfavorable
19.	urbanisation
20.	urbanization
21.	valour
22.	valor
23.	vapour
24.	vapor
25.	waggon
26.	wagon

It's a Kilo byte of shocking to many in my circle. Most of my students follow Oxford board but unknowingly almost all of them were using American version of spellings.

Rules for Passive voice

This passage is specially for my EFL students but other can also benefit from this!


The most important parts to remember are as follows:

1. If an active tense is in Simple Present Form it become simple Past


2. Present continuous become Past Continuous i.e., to be in the continuous but verb in the past or Passive forms are made up of an appropriate form of the verb ‘to be’ followed by the past participle (pp) form of the verb eg.,

How to pronounce this word? will become How is this word pronounced?

We are redecorating the house will become The House is being redecorated

3. Therefore follow the following chart:

Tense/Verb Form -------------Active Voice ---------Passive voice

Simple Present ----------------Keeps --------------------is Kept

Present Continuous -----------is keeping --------------is being kept

Present Perfect ---------------has Kept ---------------has been kept

Simple Past ------------------Kept --------------------was kept

Past Continuous -------------was Keeping ------------was being kept

Past Perfect ----------------had Kept -----------------had been Kept

Future --------------------will Keep ------------------would be kept