THE PASSING TIME
LEARNING POINTS
This life is very short and many people waste their lives.
No one will be successful except those who have faith in Allah, do good, and encourage each other to be truthful and patient.
When two or more companions of the Prophet ﷺ met, they made sure they reminded each other of this surah before they left. {Recorded by Imam Abu Dawood}
Because this short surah is so powerful with so many lessons, Imam Ash-Shafi’i said, “If Allah did not reveal any Quran except this surah, it would have been enough to guide humanity.”
Is this why they call it a cell phone?
Life is very short, no matter how long you live. Prophet Nuh ﷺ died when he was over 1,700 years old (after he called people to Islam for 950 years). He ﷺ was asked before he died, “You lived for so long. How do you see your life?” He said, “My life was so short, it is as if I entered my house from the front door and left through the back door!” {Recorded by Imam Al-Qurtubi}
If you want to know your value with Allah, then see how you spend your life. If you waste your time, then this is your value with Him. And if you live a life of goodness and achievement, then this is your value with Him.
Now, if we die at the age of 60, then this is how we would have spent our life:
20 years sleeping (8 out of 24 hours).
6 years as a child.
6 years studying.
12 years working.
2 years eating.
2 years in the washroom.
3 years watching movies.
3 years playing videogames.
5 years on social media.
1 year praying. This one year is what will give us Jannah in-sha-Allah.
In Islam, first things come first. The things we do every day can be listed in 4 groups. This will help you decide what to do during the day, in-sha-Allah:
such as taking your medicine on time.
such as registering for a class to learn how to make marsh-mallows right before the deadline.
such as studying for a test 5 months away.
such as singing in the washroom.
Based on these 4 groups, connect each example with the right description:
This is a true story of a man who lost one shoe while jumping inside a train. He realized that it would be impossible to get off the moving train to pick up that shoe, so he took the other shoe and threw it next to the first one. When someone asked him why he did that, he said, “If a poor person finds one shoe, he can’t do anything with it, but now he has a pair that he can use.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
This surah highlights the importance of doing good to others. The Prophet ﷺ said that the people that Allah loves the most are those who benefit others. {Recorded by Imam Aṭ-Ṭabarani} He ﷺ also told us to help others with our money. If we can’t, we should help them with our power. If we can’t, we should give them advice. But if we can’t help someone at all, at least we should not harm them. {Recorded by Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim} He ﷺ also said that Muslims have some rights on you, including:
If you see them, give them salams (greetings of peace).
If they invite you somewhere, accept their invitation if you can.
If they ask for your advice, give it to them.
If they sneeze and say, ‘Al-ḥamdu-lillah,’ you should say, “Yar-ḥamuka-Allah.’ (May Allah shower you with mercy).
If they fall sick, visit them if you can.
If they die, attend their funeral. {Recorded by Imam Muslim}
A REMINDER TO HUMANITY
In the Name of Allah—
the Most Kind, Most Merciful
By the ‘passing’ time!
Surely human-kind is in ‘total’ loss,
except those who have faith, do good, and encourage each other to the truth, and encourage each other to patience.
Arabic text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
وَالْعَصْرِ ١
إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ ٢
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ ٣