Importance Of Blessings Of Health And Time

Allah SWT has awarded human being with countless blessings ranging from its own existence on the surface of earth to having wealth and children, five senses to ability of decision taking, making each individual distinct and prominent from the other to granting intelligence of distinguishing between right and wrong. One cannot simply measure the amount of lucky things one is given in this world, but there are two prominent ones about which our Holy Prophet ﷺ has talked about in the following words as narrated by Ibn Abbas (R.A):

“There are two blessings which many people lose: health and free time for doing well.” (Bukhari)

The above mentioned Hadith indicates that the two blessings, i.e. wellbeing and spare time are of great significance and that majority of individuals do not actually know their true worth. Being neglectful of their actual value, most of us are also not able to live up to our expectations in terms of using them properly as we are not grateful to the Gracious God for these favors. Being busy in daily dealings, one does not realize that timing of actions and the ability to accomplish tasks are only possible through the Help of the Almighty Lord.

Now let us talk about the importance of blessings of health and time in detail:

Spending Time As A Muslim

The sole purpose of human life on earth is attributed to the worship of Allah SWT for He is the One, Who created all individuals and brought them in this world. If there was no one governing the system of the entire universe, it would not be able to run in precise order. Likewise, existence of a person on earth calls for realization of the fact that one has to live in this world as a servant of the Almighty Lord and know and adhere to His commandments. The Most Merciful says in His Book:

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength.” [Quran, 51: 56-58]

These Quranic lines enlighten one about its actual purpose of existence on planet earth. The Most High says that He has created everyone especially jinn and mankind so that His Name will be venerated every time. It includes each and every moment of life no matter how much one is busy or is having a spare instance to relieve from daily stress, it needs to keep on adore and pay esteem to the Originator of All.

So exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord and be of those who prostrate [to Him]. And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (death). [Quran, 15: 98-99]

It shows that one has to keep the arrival of death in mind all the time which will be helpful in getting most out the available time, i.e. in spending it in the constant memory of Allah SWT. Being a Muslim, one has to live it entire life according to the teachings in Quran and Sunnah.

There is equal importance of obeying what has been told in Furqan e Hameed and also how Rasulullah ﷺ has actually acted upon them. Most of us do not even know about the true meaning of teachings of Quran and the life of Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ, which is the reason why the Almighty Lord directs us to accomplish our consistent with both of them so that our actions could be worthwhile. The more we waste our time in ignorance and do not realize the significance of available time, the worse it gets. The Most Beneficent says in His Sanctified Scripture:

“By time! Indeed, mankind is in loss, Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [Quran, 103: 1-3]

Such is the great value of time that Allah SWT vows in the name of it to make the believers aware that time is slipping out of their hands and that they should utilize it in the most fair way. Abdullah ibn Masud (R.A) narrated the Holy Prophet ﷺ having said:

“A man shall be asked concerning five things on the day of resurrection: concerning his life, how he spent it; concerning his youth, how he grew old; concerning his wealth, whence he acquired it, and in what way he spent it; and what was it that he did with the knowledge that he had.” (Tirmidhi)

Keeping in mind that one would be asked about time spend on earth, one should be cautious about every moment that it is going to spend. The entire life of Rasulullah ﷺ is synonymous with doing and preaching about good deeds.

“Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal (Antichrist); or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter.” (Tirmidhi)

It means that a true disciple of Islam always needs to make the most out of available time and spend it in doing noble actions before it gets too late. In brief, the teachings of Quran and Ahadiths on importance of spending time wisely are self-explanatory and that is to expend it positively and avoid abusing it as life on earth is temporary and one has to return to its God.

Using Health As A Muslim

Apart from time, good health is another great blessing of Allah SWT that He has given to His servants. When one gets sick, it no longer likes anything rather it prays to the Almighty Lord to remove illness from its body as soon as possible. But when a person is hale and hearty, it forgets about the Gracious God. The Hadith under consideration also indicates towards this subject matter and that one should be grateful to the Most Beneficent for strength.

“Ask Allah SWT for forgiveness and health, for after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health.” (Tirmidhi)

This Saying of Rasulullah ﷺ advises one to constantly beg Allah SWT for granting health and regarded it as the most precious thing to have after clear conscious and faith. This concept implies that when one is in the condition of good physical condition, it should expend this favor of the Almighty Lord in His way for one should always be thankful to God for all of His favors. It also tells us that one is not entitled to live in state of wellbeing forever rather it should not wait for the day when it will be struck with temporary or even permanent.

“No one will be allowed to move from his position on the Day of Judgment until he has been asked how he spent his life, how he used his knowledge, how he earned and spent his money and in what pursuits he used his health.” (Tirmidhi)

Just like one would be asked about spending time on earth, it will also be answerable for its healthiness and how an individual used it. Keeping in mind this grave matter, one has to make of use of its wellbeing in search for true guidance by reading and learning Quran.

Therefore, one should always remember that only physical fitness is not enough. One should also strive for attaining the purity of its heart and soul. That is why Allah SWT has directed us to take help from Quranic instructions in order to heal all our invisible diseases of spirit.

In short, success in this life and hereafter depends very much on the idea how one makes use of its time and health. Nobody should take them both for granted rather be grateful to the Gracious God for these blessings using them in the most rightful manner.