our parents, spouses or children, we have misprioritized our time. (6) The Prophet taught, narrated by Aisha (radi Allahu anha), “The most beloved deeds to God are the ones that are continuous, even if they are few” (Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 471; and Muslim). It is thus better to continue doing something beneficial, if God has previously made it one’s habit, rather than leaving it in pursuit of a new and different recommended action. (7) Paying off debts incurred to other human beings and to God in the form of missed prayers, fasts, and zakat should always take priority for our time and resources. It is inappropriate to give voluntary charity when we owe someone money and haven’t agreed upon a plan to repay it. Similarly, we should focus on making up missed worship rather than making extra voluntary worship. In thinking about our priorities, an important caveat is that we should always be wary of false choices. Sometimes it can feel like we don’t have time for everything; that we only have time to work or to pray, to spend time with our families or to exercise,
WHAT SPIRITUAL TOPICS MATTER MOST TO YOU?
Please help “Food for the Spirit” better meet your needs by completing a 2-minute survey at: www.isna.net/foodforthespiritsurvey etc. In reality, our lives are frequently full of misused time and inefficient work due to interruptions and distractions. In such situations, what we need is not a “to-do list”, but a “not-do list” — a list of unimportant tasks and habits to remove from our daily lives and to minimize distractions so that we can work more efficiently. Through economizing our day we can create room to accomplish everything for which God will hold us accountable. Another strategy for ensuring that we accomplish all that we need to do is to schedule our most important priorities as if they were appointments in our calendar. A frequently used metaphor in business is that of filling a cup with rocks and sand. If the sand is added first, the rocks will inevitably pile up on top and not fit in the cup. But if the rocks are put in first, the sand will fill in the gaps around the rocks so that both can fit. So too in our lives we should strive to give
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
first priority to the “rocks” — the rights of others and the obligations that God has placed upon us. We can then accomplish lower priority items in the gaps we find over the course of the day. Another useful strategy is to schedule time for items that are important but not urgent. Many goals that relate to our spiritual lives are important but not urgent: reading the Quran, getting exercise, spending a special evening with our spouses and children, taking an Islamic class, etc. Such things are rarely urgent; they can always be postponed. But if we keep on delaying them to make room for lower priority items, we will find that another day has gone by without us reading the Quran, another week without having exercised or spent quality time with our spouses, another year without having progressed in our knowledge of Islam. Wisdom, so the sages say, is knowing what action is best in each situation. May God grant us the wisdom to spend our time always occupied with that which is most beloved to Him, for “He to whom wisdom is granted has surely been given a tremendous good” (Quran 2:269). Ameen.
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