[0:01]Dear brothers and sisters, there's a very famous narration where the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
[0:11]The Hour will not come until time shrinks. Time, literally, shrinks. So the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, that a year will feel like a month,
[0:27]and a month would feel like a week, and a week would feel like a day, and a day would feel like just an hour, and the the hour would feel like a burning bush or like the flare of a fire quickly. Everything goes by so quickly. You don't feel barakah in time. You don't feel blessing in your time, and there's a collective manifestation of that. And then there's, on the individual level, when you start to look at yourself and you say, where is it going? And I read about people that are so productive in the past and in the present. Where is the blessing in my time? And the Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, in another narration, also in Bukhari, he directly tied the shrinking of time to the decrease of good deeds, and the increase of certain types of corruption. So he said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, that time would shrink and so the deeds, the output of good deeds would be less. And greed, miserliness, stinginess, would be placed in the hearts of people. And the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, and murder would become prevalent. Murder would become prevalent. And so there's a direct connection between the shrinking of time, and the shrinking of the output of deeds. And of course, the battle with time, to make the best use of your time is one that even the Sahaba felt. And most people, do not realize the value of their time until things start to become different, until you start to get older, and until you start to get busier, until your health starts to wither as well, until you see some of the consequences of your wasted time, later on in life, and then you go back and you say, Subhanallah, I should have done things differently. And that's why the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, of course mentioned, he said that there are two blessings that people just do not take advantage of, and they are health and free time. So what does it mean to have barkah? To have blessing in your time? The technical definition, to be able to do more with less time, to be able to do more with less time. That doesn't always mean more in terms of quantity. But to do more, because Allah Azza wa jalla says, that he tests you to see who will do the best, with their deeds, not necessarily the most. So it's not always something that's quantifiable, but to do more with less. Imam bin Ata'Allah says in one of his Hikam, one of his, wisdoms, he says, beautiful saying. He said that some people live a very long life, but bear very little fruits. And some people live a very short life, but bear much fruits. So there are long fruitless lives, and short fruitful lives. And so if a person is sincere with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and takes the amanah of time, the blessing of time seriously, then what they can accomplish in a week, is what someone else can accomplish in a day. Even in a time where overall time has shrunk, even now, right? So this isn't just something that we lament the past and we say, yeah, they used to be able to read that much Quran and do all of these good deeds. But they were different than us, because even now, even now, with sincerity and steadfastness, and taking your time seriously, you can accomplish more with the same amount of time as someone else. A person might, even in today's world, accomplish more at the age of 18, than someone else at at the age of 80, right? It is still a thing if you take the amana of time seriously. The trust of time. Seriously. And so I wanted to just go over seven things that I extracted from the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, about how to have barakah in your time, how to have blessing in your time. What do we learn from the Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, about having barakah in our time? And the first thing that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was a morning person, and that wasn't just by accident. He was a mourning person, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. And there's an authentic Hadith from Sakhr Al-Ghamdi, Sakhr was a companion he said, Rasul Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, saying, "O Allah bless my nation in its early hours." Bless my ummah in its early hours. Put barakah there. I didn't just hear the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, say this, when he sent out a battalion or an army, he always sent them at the beginning of the day. Anything he did, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, on an individual basis, and anything he commanded within the Ummah, he started early in the day, alayhi salatu wa sallam. It was always the morning hours with him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, starting with his Fajr prayer, and the dhikr that came after, the remembrance of Allah that came after the Fajr prayer. And the conversations and the commands and the work that started at the early morning hours. And some of the Ulema also mentioned that Allah swears by Al-Fajr wa Al-Asr. Allah swears by the two timings, the beginning of the day and the ending of the day, because most people are either waking up or winding down. And the believer can take advantage of those times to get ahead. And Allah has put special blessing in those times of the day. So that's, the first thing, starting early. Number two, avoiding sins and drama, and they are interconnected. So I'll start with the obvious here with sins. Imam Malik, rahimahullah ta'ala, when he met Imam Al-Shafi'i, rahimahullah, this amazing child, who, at the age of eight years old, just clearly was way ahead of everybody else. One of those kids that would make multiple world records happen, there would be coverage of the brain of a Shafi'i, rahimahullah ta'ala, and what he was doing. He was clearly a genius. He clearly had something special going for him, at a young age. And his teacher, Imam Malik, rahimahullah, says to him, listen to me, oh young man. I see that Allah has put a light in your heart. He didn't attribute it to his upbringing. He didn't attri- No, he said, Allah has clearly put a light inside of your heart. Don't extinguish that light with the darkness of sin. Allah gave you something special. Don't mess it up with sin. So whether it's your memory, or it is as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, had the people of the town, believed and avoided sin. They feared Allah, they avoided sin.
[7:36]The the the implication of taqwa is tarq al maasi, is avoiding sin. Then barakah, then the blessings of what was coming down upon them would have been present. But it was the sins that took away the blessing of what was given to them. And so, sins decreased the barakah of wealth. They decreased the barakah of time. They decreased the barakah of intellect. They pollute everything that they are present within, because all of those things, those faculties and those, those blessings that Allah gives to you are gifts from Him, and He will not allow you to keep those gifts, if you tarnish them with disobeying Him. So the light will be extinguished in your time, the light will be extinguished in your mind, the light will be extinguished in your wealth also, and so many other things. Some of the scholars also say, and this is why I said avoiding sins and drama, there is ham al mashakil. There is the ham, the anxiety that sin causes. When you're a messy person, you get yourself into a lot of messy situations, don't you? When you're a messy person, you get yourself into a lot of messy situations. And so, you only have a certain amount of head space, and a certain amount of heart space, and a certain amount of time space. And if you occupy that with sins and the consequences of sins, the messiness of sins, then naturally that's going to paralyze you from being able to be productive with your time. Because you're always trying to get yourself out of a sin that you committed. They're mostly self-inflicted. Grudges take up heart space. Drama takes up time space. All of it takes up head space, right? It just takes away from what time you have. And so, if you're a person who's not messy, who generally avoids, drama and causing drama and inflicting wounds and gossiping and things of that sort, you likely have a lot more time to focus on what's important rather than always trying to climb out of something that you've inflicted upon yourself. So that's the second thing. The third thing, and there's something very interesting about this Hadith, spending time with your family. You say, wait a minute. That's why I feel like my time is going, right? I can't find time to spend with my family. I can find time to do all this other stuff, but I can't find time to spend with my family.
[10:29]I don't have time for my family because I've got to do this important stuff. Okay?
[10:38]And the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is saying that in the design of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, spending time with your family, being good to your family, actually increases the barakah of your earning, and the barakah of your time. And we trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with that. And that's why you read about the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, you say, how was he able to balance? Allah put barakah, blessing in what the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, did, in his time in every way possible. And Silat ur Rahm starts with your parents. Starts with your parents, if your parents are alive. It starts with your spouses, then your children, then, you know, the closer, your uncles, your aunts, and so on and so forth. There's blessing that comes from that. Blessing that comes from the du'a of those people. Blessing that comes from the rida, from the pleasure of those people. And so, all of us should take that as a sign. You know what? No, I'm not going to relinquish those family ties. In the name of what? In the name of making more money, or making better use of my time. Because the sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, the opposite is in fact true. Subhanallah. You look at the way the scholars pointed to this, or explain this idea of the prolonging of life. The prolonging of life. Some of them said, that Allah blesses your health, and blesses your ability, expands you in that sense. Some of the scholars say,
[11:57]Allah blesses them by just putting more in their time. Barakah in their time, and guides them to do actions of good, deeds of obedience. Some of them said, and this is beautiful,
[12:12]Allah extends his life with the good memory that he leaves behind, with those people that you loved. So they have dikhrun jamil. They have a beautiful way of remembering you. And that extends you because when they remember you beautifully, then, they do things in your name that encourages them to make du'a for you, and to give sadaqah in your name. And that allows for your extension on life to exist. And some of the scholars said, of course, that this is the actual extension of years, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala puts in his books on a person, when a person has barakah in that sense. The fourth thing, acts of gratitude. Allah says, if you are grateful, I will increase you.
[12:54]Now, is in regards to faith as a whole, your perspective. But also in regards to the specific thing that you are showing shukr with. What does it mean to be grateful with your health? Allah will increase you when you're grateful with your health. When you use your health to work acts of gratitude. Sadaqah is a means of gratitude with wealth. It increases your wealth. And so gratitude with your time, sparing your time for service to do acts of shukr, volunteerism. Some people think, well, I can't find time for the volunteerism and doing the acts of gratitude. Allah extended the years of Dawud alayhi salaam, who worked acts of gratitude.
[13:38]And it extends his life alayhi as-salaam. And so a person should always have some notion of sadaqa with their time. And so, you know, I want to be very clear here. This is not just swiping a credit card or now whatever, you know, doing it online and just donating something. Sadaqa with your time, acts of gratitude with your time, will put barakah in your time. Volunteering your time for something good in an act of gratitude will actually bless your time as well. Number five, a daily recitation of the Quran, specifically Surah Al-Baqarah, is where we find the Prophet slice talked about Al-Baqarah when it comes to barakah in time. The Prophet said, authentic Hadith. He said, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, possess, recite Surah Al-Baqarah, recite Surah Al-Baqarah. When you do so, you are unlocking all sorts of barakah, and to abandon it is a form of regret. And it cannot be penetrated or overcome by albatala. Batala, can be as neutral, as laziness and as nefarious, as Sahar, as sorcery and magicians. Okay? It's somewhere there as well. So some of the scholars say that a person who is lazy, will not be able to read Surah Al-Baqarah. If they have that characteristic of just not being motivated. Batala is a condition, I just don't feel like doing anything. And the other, and then you have a narration from Mu'awiya Mu'awiya said, "What I was taught is that Batara here refers to as Saharah, the sorceress." So it's a protection of the house. We know that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, told us to read Surah Al-Baqarah in the home as a means of protecting it from anyone that tries to cause you harm. And so the scholars say in regards to waqt here, in regards to time here, right? The longest Surah of the Qur'an is Al-Baqarah. If you read it, the blessing that it unlocks in your life is significant. And so there's a general rule here that if a person has a daily recitation of the Qur'an, it will increase the blessing of their time, and specifically, of course here, Surat Al Baqarah that has been given to us. And it is as long as it is, subhanallah, as long as it is, you will find many people able to memorize Surat Al Baqarah. Can't memorize the whole Qur'an, but you will find many people that were able to memorize Surat Al Baqarah. And that's something that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has placed within it, as a bushra, as a glad tiding that it's not as hard as you think to approach the Qur'an with memorization. It's not as hard as you think. And when a person memorizes it, bi'idhnana'i ta'ala, it will unlock much barakah, much blessing, for them. Number six, incorporating remembrance into your routine, dhikr, into your actual routine. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was once walking with a companion. Abu Huraira, radhiyallahu ta'ala Anhu, he said that we reached a mountain on the outskirts of Mecca called Jumdan. So the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, "Go on for Jumdan." Jumdan is a mountain that's all by itself. It means frozen, right? So it's, it's all by itself. There's nothing around it, and it's, a staple there. So the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is saying, go! Those who have lived a life of being alone, have proceeded. have gone ahead. So he said, Ya Rasulullah, what do you mean the loners? What do you mean they've, they've proceeded? They've gone ahead of everybody else. And he said, The men who remember Allah frequently and the women who remember Allah frequently. Now there's so much to take from this. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, mentioned this dhikr in the context of what? Sabqah. They've, they've gone ahead. They have succeeded. They've beat the bunch in the race. They're ahead of the lines. And what the Ulema say here is the emphasis of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, right? If you look at his life, is that dhikr was not something that was isolated to a place or a time of worship. Dhikr was in the Prophet's gatherings, alayhi salatu wa sallam. His tongue was moist with it. Dhikr is when you're cooking. Dhikr is when you're walking. Dhikr is when you're working out. Dhikr is when you're doing anything that is not haram. You don't want to be doing dhikr while you're haram unless you're doing it to get you out of the haram. Dhikr is something that you incorporate into your daily life, and you set those goals. You don't have to separate like I can only do dhikr in the masjid after Salah. Dhikr is something that you bring into your routine. And that's when you find the story of the baker in the time of Imam Ahmed, whose du'as were all answered. Why? Because as he was baking his dough, subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, Allahu Akbar. The output in the dunya that you saw was some loaves of bread. The output in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was a bunch of palaces and trees in Jannah at the end of every day and answered du'as for him. So for the brothers and the sisters, incorporate dhikr into your actual routine. Don't just relegate it to a place, and that will increase what you earn in the hereafter as well as what you bless in this life. The last thing, dear brothers and sisters, keep the company of productive people. Righteous people are of categories, but specifically productive righteous people. Keep their company. Where Allah Azza wajal says, Keep the company of those who are calling upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala night and day. Seek patience through them. Keep yourself resilient by their company. And there is a story I'll end with here. It's the story of Ibn Abbas, radhiyallahu anhuma. One of my favorite stories of a young man who had a vision. Ibn Abbas, radhiyallahu anhuma, the cousin of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, loved by the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, used to sleep in the home of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, used to be behind the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, on his camel and on his horse. He was always with him, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, from the age of 10 to 13, shadowed him, brought his wudu. It was very traumatic for him when the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, passed away, but he also had an eye, and he had a heart that was looking for the pleasure of Allah. So when everyone came back to Madina, after the death of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, all these Sahaba that had gone on journeys were all there in Madina, tells his friends, 13 year old friend, 13 year old Ibn Abbas, he says, hey, the Ashab, the companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, are everywhere today. Let's go seek knowledge from them. They're all here in Madina. Let's go ask them to narrate to us their Hadith, their time with the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Let's get something for them. And his friend is narrating the incident. He says that I told him, you know, you go ahead and do that. I'm going to keep playing and, you know, and relaxing. Let's go play with the pigeons instead. Ibn Abbas, radhiyallahu anhuma says, he said, I let him go. I left him. I went and I started to sleep on the doorsteps of the companions of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, collect a Hadith. Collect Fiqh, their knowledge, their jurisprudence. Years later, they've grown up, and that man is walking by, and he's still playing with the pigeons, as an adult. And Ibn Abbas's, radhiyallahu anhuma's house, has become the first university in the history of Islam. And saying, you know that young man knew better than I did. He got it. It clicked. Keep the company of productive people. Keep the company of people that are goal oriented. Keep the company of people that are trying to get ahead. Work with them together. We are all in loss except for those of us who enjoying one another, push one another, towards the truth, push one another towards enjoining good and forbidding evil and patience and prosperity. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put barakah in our lives, barakah in our time, barakah in our rizq, in our sustenance, barakah in our deeds. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow that barakah to be embedded with his rida, to be embedded with his pleasure with us until we meet him and we enter into Paradise in the company of his beloved Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Allahumma ameen.
