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Cup Match is over! ... and with that the ending of summer. Not the end of the heat, mind you, but the end of the lazy, hazy days of summer. I quite enjoy summer, all is put off until the fall, so I get to chill out and just relax ... for a while. When the much-awaited Cup Match holiday finally arrives with all its anticipation of fun and family, like after the high of euphoria, it's all over! It's back to the routine, the settling down and seriousness of life - that comes undoubtedly with the fast approaching fall.

To me, I don't know about you, but time seems to be speeding by, like the traffic on our narrow, winding, Bermuda streets, dashing ever so fast! Where is it going and why?

Time and speed seem these days to be unanimous. Is it because I'm getting older and more reflective of time, or is it just the times we are living in?

The Holy Quran in surah al Asr says about time: "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), Verily Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy."

Surah al Asr was one of the earliest revelations which the angel Gabriel delivered to the Prophet Muhammad. In the first surah of the Quran, Al-Fatiha, Allah has taught us to seek the straight path, as-sirat al-mustaqim, and in surah al-Asr the essence of that straight path is revealed to mankind, in surahs al-Fatiha and al-Asr - they sum up the guide to a goodly life.

In surah al Asr we learn that we should always be filled with belief in the power and wonder of Allah, perform righteous works, encourage one another toward the Truth, and encourage one another to patience. Those who successfully follow the divine guidance of surah al Fatiha and surah al Asr will find themselves on the straight path, and their lives will be filled with the glory of Allah, while those who fail to follow this guidance will be at a great loss.

Through the passage of time, mankind has seemed to stray further and further away from the teachings of righteousness that has been commanded to us by the Creator. As we near the end of time, we clearly see this. The unheard of and inconceivable things that occur on a constant basis around the world and even right here on our island is proof of mankind's straying and resultant loss of basic common decency. Shootings in Bermuda were unheard of, now they seem and God forbid, to becoming regular.

Irretrievable

Time and the use of time are of utmost importance in our daily lives. Time cannot be retrieved. When it is gone, it is gone, never to be returned. Both the Qur'an and the Sunnah advise Muslims to be conscious of time. We are reminded that life in this world is nothing but temporary. We never know when death has been appointed for us; this has been brought home to be especially during 2009; so many renowned people of all ages and walks of life from Bermuda and around the world have passed on from this time last year to present. Ibn Abbas narrated that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said: "There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good." (Bukhari 8/421).

The above clearly supports the fact that we must value good health and engage our time in performing beneficial needs. We must be mindful that on the Day of Judgment we shall be asked how we spent our lives, wealth and knowledge. To sum it up, we will be questioned on how we spent everything that Allah has given us. We are given an example in the following Hadith: "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."

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said, "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; old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death." (at-Tirmidhi, al-Baihaqi). This Hadith urges us to take the initiative, and not to delay good deeds. Wise are those who grab available opportunities before being handicapped by obstacles. We all know the old saying "Do not put off for tomorrow, what could be done today." Time is promised to no one. Let us respect time and get back to doing what is right and forbidding what is wrong.

Talk to our young people and our old for that matter - impart to them the wisdom of respecting time and the wisdom of engaging in good deeds with the time Allah has given us, while we have the time - remembering always "Opportunity is something which is quick to vanish and late to return." (Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba)[[In-content Ad]]

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