By Shaykh Anisul Haque
24 July 2026

﷽ 

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, one of the greatest blessings Allah has given us is something we often take for granted. It has no price tag, yet it is more valuable than all the wealth in this world. It is a blessing given to every one of us, whatever our wealth, status or background.

That blessing is time.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

There are two blessings which many people squander: health and free time.

Sahih Bukhari 

Notice that the Prophet ﷺ said many people. This is something a lot of us struggle with. We waste our health and our free time without realising how valuable they are. Often, we only understand their worth when they are gone.

So each of us needs to ask: am I one of those people?

Many of us live as though we have plenty of time. We delay repentance. We put off good deeds. We tell ourselves that we will become more regular in worship tomorrow, next week or next year. 

Think about how carefully we watch our money. If a few pounds go missing, we notice straight away. But every day, twenty-four hours leave our lives, and we often do not give it a second thought.

Money can be earned again. Time cannot. 

Every hour that passes brings us closer to our meeting with Allah.

Al-hasan al-Basri (d. 110 AH/728 CE), may Allah have mercy upon him, beautifully said: “O son of Ādam, you are nothing but a collection of days. Whenever a day passes, a part of you has gone.”

What a powerful way to think about life.

When a day ends, it is not simply another date crossed off the calendar. A part of our life has gone. That day will never return, and everything we did during it has been recorded.

Al-Hasan al-Basri also said that every new day calls out: “O son of Ādam, I am a new day, and I am a witness over your deeds. So make the most of me, for I will never return until the Day of Resurrection.”

Every morning is a new opportunity. But it is also a responsibility.

Time is not only a blessing. It is an amānah, a trust from Allah, and we will be asked how we used it.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us in a famous hadith that on the Day of Judgement, a person will be questioned about their life and how they spent it, their youth and how they used it, their wealth, how they earned it and spent it, and their knowledge and what they did with it.

Allah will not only ask us how many years we lived. We will be asked what we did with those years.

How much of our time was spent obeying Allah? How much was spent remembering Him? How much was spent looking after the people He placed in our care? And how much simply disappeared while we were distracted?

One of the beautiful things about Islam is that even ordinary parts of our life can become acts of worship when we have the right intention. 

We often think of worship as prayer, fasting, attending the masjid or reading the Qur’an. These are among the greatest acts of worship. But worship is not limited to certain places or certain times. 

Imagine taking your family out for the day. It may seem like an ordinary outing. But if your intention is to bring happiness to your spouse and children, strengthen your relationship and fulfil your responsibility towards them, you can be rewarded for it.

When you teach your child a duʿā or something about Islam, you are planting something that may benefit them for the rest of their life. 

When you go to work, earn a lawful income and provide for your family, you are fulfilling a responsibility for the sake of Allah.

Even rest can become rewarding when we rest so that we have the strength to worship Allah and fulfil our duties.

Often, the difference between an ordinary action and an act of worship is simply the intention in the heart.

We have now entered the summer holidays. For many families, this is one of the few times in the year when some of the usual pressures begin to ease and life slows down. 

During the school year, our days are full of work, school runs, appointments, deadlines and children’s activities. Weeks pass quickly, and we wonder where the time went.

Many of us will still be working during the holidays, but some of the pressure is reduced. There is no morning school rush, no afternoon collection of children from school and less time spent sitting in the school run.

This gives us a chance to sit with our families, share meals, talk properly, laugh together and enjoy one another’s company.

The Prophet ﷺ reminded Uthman ibn Maz'un: “Your family has rights over you, your guest has rights over you, and your own self has rights over you.”

So the question is: how will we use these weeks?

Will they pass like every other holiday, or will we use them to become closer to Allah and closer to our families?

During the year, we often say that we are too busy for extra worship. We cannot attend the masjid because of the school run. We cannot attend a class because the children need to be fed and put to bed. These may be genuine reasons.

But now that some of those routine tasks have paused , have we used the extra time well?

Have we become more regular in praying at the masjid? Have we attended the classes we said we were too busy to attend? Have we spent more time making duʿā and learning about our religion?

Or have we simply found new things to keep us busy?

If we are not careful, there will always be another excuse. Shayṭān does not always need to stop us from doing good completely. Sometimes, he only needs to make us delay it. 

Use these weeks to strengthen your relationship with Allah. Protect your prayers. Attend the masjid when you are able. Learn something beneficial and make time for sincere duʿā.

Use these weeks to strengthen your family. Sit with your children. Listen to them without checking your phone. Eat together. Speak about Islam naturally in the home. Make good memories with them.

And take time to rest. Our bodies also have rights over us. But let that rest refresh us, not make us careless.

These summer holidays will pass quicker than we think. The children in our homes today won’t stay children forever. One day they’ll have their own lives, their own responsibilities and their own families.

Let’s make sure that when they look back, they don’t only remember the games they played or the videos they watched; they remember a mother and a father who made time for them, who loved them, who guided them, and who gave them memories worth holding on to?

O Allah, place blessing in our time. Help us value our health and free time before they are taken away. Protect us from carelessness, delay and distraction. Help us use our days in ways that please You. Strengthen our relationship with You and bring love, faith and peace into our homes. 

Ameen.

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