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The Importance of Time during Ramadan
Author : Dr. Mufti AbdulHakim Tawfeeq
Date Added : 18-03-2024

The Importance of Time during Ramadan

 

 

Time is one of the rarest and most precious resources. While some say "time is gold," this phrase actually undervalues the true worth of time. Time is much more precious than gold because once it is lost, it cannot be recovered. Every moment of time is invaluable and cannot be replaced with all the gold in the world.

Human life is but a few days, and with each passing day, a part of it is gone. It is said that every day that breaks its dawn calls out to humanity, saying implicitly: "O son of Adam, I am a new creation, and your deeds bear witness; so take advantage of me, for I do not return until the Day of Judgment."

Time is life itself; it is the material from which life is made. Human beings are connected to time from their birth - even from the time they were fetuses in their mother's womb - until their passing.

Our noble religion has emphasized the importance of time, as highlighted in several verses of the Holy Quran, such as Allah's Statement (What means): "And He subjected for you the night and day" [Ibrahim/33]. Furthermore, Allah swears by time in the Quran, as in the verse: " By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), Verily Man is in loss," [Al-Asr/1-2], which clearly indicates the immense importance of time.

Likewise, the noble Sunna of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) also emphasized the value of time. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time." [Al-Bukhari].

The righteous predecessors [the Salaf] also valued time greatly. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I do not regret anything as much as I regret a day whose sun sets while my lifespan decreases, yet my deeds do not increase." Al-Hasan Al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "I have seen people who were more diligent in preserving their time than you are in preserving your wealth and dinars." Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Wasting time is worse than death because wasting time separates you from Allah and the Hereafter, while death separates you from this world and its inhabitants."

Indeed, if time holds such a precious value, its worth increases during specific seasons compared to the rest of the year. One of the greatest of these seasons is the month of Ramadan. During this month, the market of good deeds is open, profits are abundant, and rewards are multiplied. It is the best of months, and within it lies Laylat Al-Qadr (the Night of Decree), which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of its goodness is truly deprived. Additionally, Allah Almighty grants emancipation from Hellfire to a believer every night during Ramadan. Therefore, it is incumbent upon every Muslim, male or female, to invest each minute, indeed every moment, of this blessed month wisely.

Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, described in "Zaad Al-Ma'ad" how the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was during the month of Ramadan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would increase in various forms of worship, and Gabriel (peace be upon him) would review the Quran with him during Ramadan. Whenever Gabriel met him, he would be more generous in goodness than the sent wind, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) would devote to Ramadan acts of worship that were not specific to other months.

 

In the month of Ramadan, a person finds a great opportunity to discipline their time, where they allocate the day for fasting, await the time for breaking the fast at sunset, engage in night prayers and supplications, and have the pre-dawn meal and seek forgiveness before dawn.

 

And to you, dear reader, here are some acts of worship that we hope will help you manage your time effectively in Ramadan, so that you can make the best use of it:

 

1. Maintaining congregational prayers at all times in the house of Allah.             

2. Completing the recitation and reflection on the Quran at least once.

3. Performing the Taraweeh prayers.                                                                        

4. Observing Iʿtikaf during the last ten nights in mosques                                       

5. Reviewing the jurisprudence and etiquette of fasting.                                       

6. Maintaining family ties.                                                                                         

7. Providing Iftar for fasting individuals.                                                                       

8. Giving charity                                                                                                         

9. Adhering to the etiquette of fasting.                                                                      

10. Increasing remembrance of Allah, supplication, and seeking forgiveness.

 

Here are some things that can help a person make good use of their time, especially during Ramadan:

 

1- Fear of Allah, reverence for Him, and being mindful of Him; these qualities prompt a person to spend their time in acts of obedience and refrain from prohibited actions. This is because among the names and attributes of Allah are Al-Alim (the All-Knowing), Al-Khabir (the All-Aware), and Ar-Raqib (the Watchful). This fills the heart with a sense of being constantly observed by Allah in all actions and stillness. When a believer senses that they are being watched by Allah, it is incumbent upon them not to disobey His commands and to avoid what He has prohibited.

2- Remembering death; when a person remembers death, unaware of the time and place it will surprise them, it urges them to be more diligent in seeking a good end. This motivates them to occupy their time with righteous deeds.

3- Keeping the company of righteous individuals with sound minds, high aspirations, and wisely utilized time. They remind you of Allah when you see them, increase your knowledge with their logic, and remind you of the Hereafter with their actions. Their remembrance enlivens hearts even if they are deceased, unlike those whose company deadens hearts even though they are alive.

4- Recognizing the value and importance of time, knowing that one will be held accountable for it. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) said: "The feet of a servant will not move on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and how he utilized it, his wealth and how he acquired it and how he spent it, and his body and how he wore it out." This hadith is reported by Imam At-Tirmidhi and he classified it as Hasan Sahih.

 

There are precautions that should be taken into consideration to avoid hindering us from effectively managing our time and making the most of it for our benefit. Some of these precautions include:

 

1- Procrastination, because procrastination is one of the devil's tactics. It is important to strive and take initiative to accomplish tasks that draw us closer to Allah before they become barriers between us and Him.

 

2- Satellite channels that have invaded our homes, broadcasting many programs specifically tailored for Ramadan under the pretext of entertaining fasting individuals. However, most of these programs actually steal away good deeds and time. Therefore, let us make sure to benefit from the informative content provided by purposeful satellite channels and follow beneficial religious programs.

 

3- Spending long hours in front of a computer screen, especially on the internet, in activities that are neither beneficial nor productive.

 

4- Devoting and consuming many hours, especially by women, in preparing multiple-course meals, knowing that Ramadan is a month of patience and deeds with multiplied rewards. It is advisable to limit meals to one or two dishes, saving time, effort, and money.

 

5- Wasting time in shopping, while it is more beneficial to utilize this time in worship and seclusion. Preparing for Eid and purchasing necessities can be done before Ramadan begins.

 

In conclusion, this world is fleeting, so let us make it a time of obedience, seeking knowledge, performing righteous deeds, enjoining good, forbidding evil, reading books, or taking steps towards goodness for people. Let us hasten to do good deeds and strive to make the best use of our time.

 

I ask Almighty Allah, The Lord of The Mighty Throne, to bless our time and make our actions dedicated to please Him.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on giving the expiation of an oath (Kaffarat al-Yamin) to a charity that feeds the poor?

 

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.

It is allowed for a Muslim to appoint a proxy (agent) to distribute the expiation (Kaffarah) on their behalf. Our jurists have explicitly stated the permissibility of delegation (Tawkil) in the distribution of Zakat, Kaffarah, and vows (Nadr).

It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (Vol.3/P.237): 'One has the right to pay the Zakat of their wealth personally... and they also have the right to delegate it.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What is incumbent upon the one offering the sacrifice if, after slaughtering the animal, they discover that one of its internal organs is damaged or diseased?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The presence of disease or defect in the internal organs of a sheep does not affect the validity of the sacrificial animal, unless the disease leads to the animal becoming emaciated and its meat becoming corrupted.
 
It is stated in al-Iqnā' (2/590) by Imam al-Shirbīnī: "The third disqualifying condition: an animal with a manifest illness — meaning one whose illness visibly results in emaciation and corruption of its meat. However, if the illness is minor and does not produce such effects, it doesn`t affect the validity of the sacrificed animal." And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the Islamic ruling on the Udhiyah (sacrificial offfering)?

 
 
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) is a Confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah Mu’akkadah) for every adult Muslim of sound mind who possesses the financial means, whether they are a resident, a traveler, or a pilgrim (Haj). This is based on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: 'When the ten days [of Dhu al-Hijjah] begin and one of you desires to offer a sacrifice, let him not touch [cut] anything of his hair or skin' [Narrated by Muslim].
 
The point of evidence (Wajh al-Dalalah) here is that the Prophet ﷺ linked the sacrifice to the individual's will and desire by saying, 'and one of you desires.' This indicates that it is not obligatory (Wajib); had it been mandatory, he would have simply said, 'let him not touch his hair until he sacrifices' [without making it conditional upon desire].
 
Furthermore, it is narrated that Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) would sometimes refrain from offering the sacrifice out of fear that people might mistakenly view it as an obligatory duty [Narrated by al-Bayhaqi and others with a good (Hasan) chain of transmission]. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

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