Preciousness of Time (Surat Al- Asr) - Sh. Muhammed Faqih

Preciousness of Time (Surat Al-'Asr)

Speaker: Sheikh Muhammed Faqih

Opening

Khutbat al-Hajah (Opening Sermon)

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment."

Introduction: The End of a Year

My dear brothers and sisters, we're about to end a year and begin another one by the grace and the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon us. Year 1440 of the hijr of the Prophet is about to end and a new year is about to begin and if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows us we'll have another chance bi-idhnillahi 'azza wa jal, once again to witness a new year that we hope would be a better year for the Muslim Ummah and for our community.

With the passage of time we're reminded of the value of this very precious gift that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us.

Reflecting on Time

The element of time—Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran makes an oath—and at the beginning of the year we should be really reflecting and pondering upon what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said about it and see where we're at. Hold ourselves accountable. Do an inventory if you will.

See whether we are closer to where we want to be or have we drifted away from where we aim to be. Because time is not waiting for us. Time is bringing us closer to our destination or it is bringing our end closer to us.

We can't save it. We can't do anything to it. We can't even kill it.

We can't control it. We can't even manage it. We can only manage ourselves and our actions and our deeds and our choices within this medium that is given to us.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran swears by Al-'Asr, and one of the sound opinions as to what it means is time. Al-'Asr. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala makes this oath to remind us of the precious and great value of this element.

Surah Al-'Asr: Allah's Oath by Time

So what happens, O Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? What happens with the passing of time? What does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make an oath to?

Surah Al-'Asr 103:1

"By time."

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says. And the scholars say that every time there is a qasam (oath), there is jawab (response). There is a response to that qasam. There is usually a statement of fact. There is always a statement of fact that follows this qasam.

So what is this statement of fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in one of the shortest surahs of the Quran? Imam Shafi'i says if the only thing that was revealed was Surah Al-'Asr in terms of a source of guidance and enlightenment and inspiration, it would have been sufficient.

"By time, indeed, mankind is in loss."

The statement of fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions and emphasizes is the fact that man by nature and by default and with the passage of time, man is in loss. Every day, every moment that passes by we are losing something. And the only way we can offset that loss is by following the instructions and the directive that is given in the following verse.

The Two Greatest Gifts: Health and Time

But before I get to that, brothers and sisters, let us be reminded that the Prophet said that time is one of the two greatest gifts that most people are deluded about. It was mentioned in the hadith about the Prophet:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6412)

"Two greatest gifts of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that most people are deluded about. Most people are deluded about them."

Most people don't realize the value and even if they realize the value they don't really appreciate it or take advantage of it until it's gone. Health and time or free time. People think they're going to have plenty of it and they're going to have it forever until it's taken away from them or until something happens to them that reminds them of the value of that.

And even then, right, they go back to their normal self and they tend to lose track and forget about them.

The Four Questions on the Day of Judgment

And the Prophet said:

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2417)

"No servant of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, none of us, none of the slaves of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will be able to proceed or move forward. Take a step towards in any direction whether it's to Jannah or Hellfire. No one will be able to take a step or go any further on the day of judgment before they're asked about four things."

And two of these four things, we're talking about 50% of the questions that the person will be asked about. Two of these things have to do with time.

One of them is life:

"His life, your entire life. The time that you were given, the opportunity that you were given from the day you were born until the day we pass away."

"The entire life, what was it spent on? What consumed your life?"

And then the Prophet says there is another period of that time that the person will be questioned about because that period comes with a lot of energy and strength, strong mental capacity and physical capacity. So that specific period of time of the individual's life they will be also asked about it:

"Their youth, their young age."

Time Is Life

So out of the four questions, two of them have to do with life and life is time or time is life. People say time is money. I say no, time is much more precious than money.

Time is life. And that's why when you give someone some of your time you're giving them the most precious possession that you have. When you give someone attention and you give them some of your time you're giving them a gift that is priceless because you're giving them part of your life.

So the Prophet says that we will be asked about it and most people are deluded. So it's of great importance, as a matter of fact it's the most important element or gift that we have because nothing is possible without time. If time is taken away from us we won't be able to accomplish anything.

And we are running out of time, brothers and sisters. Yes, we do celebrate and we should every time a year passes by, every time our children's birthday comes around and some people may even celebrate their own birthday. People are so happy that they spent another year or one year of their lives is gone.

And we're hoping for something better in the future. People celebrate. Yes, we do celebrate and I don't have any issues with people celebrating but I think it's more important for us to reflect and ponder because there isn't really much to celebrate unless we're really doing what we're supposed to do and unless we're progressing and unless we're advancing in the right direction, we're running out of time.

The Exception to Loss: Four Elements

And we should reflect and ponder and see what Allah says:

"Indeed, mankind is in loss."

You are at loss, right? You lose your energy, you lose your time, you lose your life, you lose your focus, you lose your mental capacity and your physical capacity is diminishing with the passage of time. Allah says, however there is an exception to all of this:

"Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience."

The exception is a group of people who are capable of offsetting the loss by using that time for what?

First Element: Belief Through Knowledge

That group of people Allah refers to them as the believers, except those who believe. The believers who attain iman by seeking knowledge, getting to know Allah. And in this verse, though it's not explicitly mentioned, it's implied.

When Allah says, except those who believe, and we know that belief is the result of what? 'Ilm, knowledge. So in other words, Allah tells us, except those who seek knowledge and learn and get closer to Allah by getting to know Him. People who gain knowledge with the passage of time, who are more knowledgeable and who are more aware of their purpose in life and get to know Allah better through seeking knowledge.

They're the exception. (إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا - illa allatheena aamanu). Someone might say, it's just said aamanu. Well, iman, brothers and sisters in Islam, is the result or the product of 'ilm.

Allah says in the Quran:

"Know that there is no one worthy to be worshipped except Allah."

He didn't say believe or accept or feel. No, it says fa'alam. You have to investigate. You have to learn. You have to research. You have to come to a conclusion, a reasonable conclusion. You have to have conviction. That's what iman is.

And that is the result of 'ilm. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ, every morning, we repeat this du'a every morning after fajr. The Prophet ﷺ recommends and he used to make this du'a every day:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 925)

"O Allah, I ask you for knowledge that benefits. Beneficial knowledge, useful knowledge."

And every day the believer is supposed to gain something. Right? You're supposed to know more today than you knew yesterday.

The Story of Umar and His Neighbor

Umar radiallahu anhu, the companion of the Prophet, was not able—he used to reside away from the masjid of the Prophet. He got married and then he had a house away from the masjid of the Prophet and he had some family obligations and some business that he needed to take care of.

So there was a period of time where he wasn't able to be in the masjid of the Prophet every day. So during that period of time, he made an agreement with his neighbor. They made a pact. They decided. He said, why don't I go one day, one full day I spend with the Prophet in the masjid and then the next day you go there and you spend the entire day there. Whatever new revelation comes, whatever knowledge the Prophet ﷺ is disseminating and sharing with the sahaba, when it's my turn, I bring that back to you and I brief you and I teach you whatever I learned.

And when it's your turn to go, you come back and you do the same thing so that they're not missing out on anything. You take notes for me and I'll take notes for you because they did not want to miss anything.

The companions of the Prophet a well-known fact was that they were very keen when it comes to seeking knowledge and getting to know what Allah jalla jalaluhu wants from them.

Second Element: Righteous Deeds

Allah jalla jalaluhu says:

The second element that is mentioned here is that they follow their iman and their knowledge with practice and action. They're believers in action. They act upon their belief.

They do righteous deeds and Allah jalla jalaluhu says they don't just do random deeds that make no sense or that... but they actually do righteous deeds. They're very, very meticulous, very particular about the quality of their deeds. Allah jalla jalaluhu calls it righteous.

And al-'amal as-salih (the righteous deed) as the scholars stated has two conditions, two primary conditions:

One, it has to be sincere. It has to be for the sake of Allah.

Two, it has to be sanctioned. It has to conform to the prophetic tradition. It has to be in accordance to what Allah and His Prophet ﷺ want from us.

They don't worship Allah jalla jalaluhu and perform whatever they perform based on their own whims and their own desires. They don't improvise. You can improvise in many areas in life, but not when it comes to worship and not when it comes to your relationship with Allah jalla jalaluhu. We worship Allah jalla jalaluhu not at our own terms, but based on what He wants from us.

So they make sure that their deeds conform and that they are for the sake of Allah jalla jalaluhu and they maintain consistency and excellence, ihsan, in their deeds.

These four elements, the two primary ones and the other two, ihsan and consistency, excellence and consistency, doing your best and being consistent even if it's a small amount, they are the four elements that form:

Believing and seeking knowledge and knowing Allah is not always easy. It's hard. It's tough.

Third Element: Encouraging Each Other to Truth

So Allah jalla jalaluhu reminds them that they also engage in two very important activities. They have two commitments to each other as a community:

Allah jalla jalaluhu says, they enjoin the truth. They remind each other of the truth. They back up each other when it comes to the truth. They stand up for the truth. They talk truth to power. They side with the truth.

They refrain from falsehood. So they, as the Prophet mentioned:

(Reference: Sahih Muslim, Hadith 55)

"The religion is sincere advice."

They give advice to one another. They support each other in doing the right thing because it's not always easy to do the right thing.

You can easily lose focus. You can easily go astray. So the believers help one another to do that.

They come together. And this is a reminder that this is a collective work. This is not something that we can accomplish individually.

In order for us to worship Allah jalla jalaluhu, in order for us to minimize our loss in this life, we have to come together and help one another as a community. So:

Fourth Element: Encouraging Each Other to Patience

Allah jalla jalaluhu says:

The truth isn't always easy. That's why Allah jalla jalaluhu reminds them at the end of this ayah of one of the most essential commitments that the believers have and one of the most important obligations towards one another:

They encourage each other to endure and to be steadfast and to stand their ground. Sabr is not something that you either have or you don't have. Sabr is something that you can acquire.

(Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1469)

"And whoever shows patience, Allah will make him patient."

And brothers and sisters, when you see other people enduring, it will encourage you to endure as well. It was never meant to be easy to be a believer and to be focused and to take advantage of your time in this life and to worship Allah jalla jalaluhu and to do the right thing and to speak the truth no matter what. It was never easy.

And this ayah, Allah jalla jalaluhu, and many other verses in the Quran where Allah jalla jalaluhu mentions sabr, brothers and sisters, it's telling us. There is right there a hint in the Quran for us. But the Prophet explicitly told us that the life of the believer is never easy.

But it's always good. It's always good. So long that the believer endures. And only the believer can endure.

So brothers and sisters, we have to remember that. Allah jalla jalaluhu did not promise us a life that is free of pain or suffering or challenges.

But Allah jalla jalaluhu says that if you endure, and if you're patient, and if you believe in Me, and if you maintain 'amlus salih, then I will walk you through it. And I'll be there for you. And you will be victorious.

Victory Comes with Patience

I conclude by saying that the Prophet taught his companions a very valuable lesson. Because every one of us, with the passage of time, we want to gain. We want to profit. We want a victory. We want to make sure that we're progressing, that we're growing.

So the Prophet says to those who are seeking victories in their lives, in your individual life, in your career, in your work, in your relationship with Allah jalla jalaluhu, in your family.

If you're looking for victories, the Prophet said:

(Reference: Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2803; Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

"Know that victory comes with patience, with sabr."

I ask Allah jalla jalaluhu to make you and I, of those who are patient, who are steadfast, who stay upon the truth, and who remind one another of the importance of the truth and support each other. We ask Allah jalla jalaluhu to make this a blessed year for all.

First Khutbah Closing

Second Khutbah: Salawat upon the Prophet

My dear brothers and sisters, let us remember, inshallah, something that He jalla jalaluhu offers and His angels practice as Allah jalla jalaluhu stated when He said:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who have believed, ask blessings upon him and ask peace upon him with [due] peace."

Then Allah jalla jalaluhu invited us to join Him and the angels practice this. This is one of the rights of our Prophet upon us. So we send our salutations and our greetings to our beloved Prophet Muhammad, members of his household and to his companions.

Second Khutbah Closing

"Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded."

"And be grateful to Him for His blessings, He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows what you do."

End of Khutbah