Though we all complain about it, there is more time in our day than we realize.

• Three minutes to wait for the bathroom to be free = Lay in bed
• Five minutes for the tea to become cool enough to drink = Daydream
• Two whole minutes for the computer to finally start up = Complain
• Fifteen minutes for the bus to arrive = Check email and Facebook
• Twenty-one minutes on the bus = Listen to music on my iPod
• Six minutes to wait for the professor to start class = Text
• Fifteen minute break between classes = Gossip time

Time. We all complain about it.

I don’t have time. I don’t have time to do this or that.  I can’t believe it’s already midnight when I have so much more to get done for tomorrow!

We feel time is always slipping away from us and yet, if only we were to go through our daily routine, it is shocking how much time we actually possess. Our daily tasks – eating, going to class, doing homework – are sandwiched in between many breaks.  These breaks are the short time periods which we feel are of little use and which we end up misusing by daydreaming, texting, listening to music, watching television, browsing Facebook, etc.  But adding up all these short breaks would perhaps give us a whole hour or more.

Go through your daily routine and ask yourself – is time really slipping by or is it hovering in between the more important tasks you have divided up for yourself?  We have 24 hours in one day, and yet we are struggling to get enough sleep.  The likely cause for this is not that time was devoted to worship, but because we spent our time without good reason.

By no means am I suggesting that for 24 hours straight we should be in constant dhikr and that we don’t have the right to enjoy ourselves.  It is important to spend time with family, to check email, to text your friends among many other things.  But more often than not, we use a large chunk of time wading in sin, removing ourselves further away from our goal of Jannah.  Technology, with all its benefits, consumes us with distractions such that minutes pass by without realization.

Time is a gift entrusted to us by our Creator and we will be held accountable for it on the Day of Judgment.  How can we justify to Allah the countless minutes we have spent aimlessly? The Prophet (peace be upon him) has narrated in a Hadith:

“There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) Health and free time.”

Don’t negate beautiful deeds by wasting away precious minutes. Manage your time well such that you are able to complete necessary duties, have time for yourself, and most importantly, devote enough time to worship.

Let’s try and change this scenario to the following.

• Three minutes to wait for the bathroom to be free = Help prepare breakfast
• Five minutes for the tea to become cool enough to drink = Do dhikr
• Two whole minutes for the computer to finally start up = Be patient. Say Bismillah
• Fifteen minutes for the bus to arrive = Say Tasbeeh
• Twenty-one minutes on the bus = Listen to Islamic lecture on iPod
• Six minutes to wait for the professor to start class = Plan the rest of your day
• Fifteen minute break between classes = Have good conversation without backbiting

If someone gave you a valuable, much-needed, beautiful gift, would you cast it away or make the most of it?  Next time you find yourself waiting, whether it is at the bus stop, for the computer browser to load, or simply for the plate of food to cool, remember the gift you have been entrusted with—remember Allah and He will remember you.