Sunday, September 11, 2011

Time Management for Muslims and Muslimas

Use Your Time Wisely

Whether you currently work full-time, part-time or not at all, you have a certain amount of time each day to maximize. Approach your time like you would a financial budget by allocating time to different aspects of your life. Categorize these into groupings such as work, studying, blogging, networking, reading, exercising or volunteering and then prioritize (number-one through whatever). From there, you can decide how much time each week should be dedicated to each based on how you have them prioritized. Sunday is always a good day to schedule your week out to make sure you give the proper amount of time to everything



Rafik Beekun, theIslamicworkplace.com

I am always amazed by how time challenged Muslims are–whether as a student, a businessman or businesswoman, or a homemaker. Time management can be daunting as you seek to balance your responsibilities for this dunya and your responsibilities for akheera. Staying on target can get easily swept aside if you do not manage your time carefully.

In Islam, wasting time is discouraged. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “God said, ‘The offspring of Adam abuse time, (even though) I am Time.’” In Surah 103, “The flight of time”, Allah in the Qur’an states, “By the decline of Time, indeed humankind is in a condition of utter loss–except for those who believe and do righteous deeds–and exhort one another to uphold the truth, and exhort one another to persevere in faith with patience.

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 Prophet (s) used to make the following du’a,
“O Allah! Make life a means for every dimension of goodness.”

One very moving hadith is related by Ibn-Abbas; the Prophet (s) said, “Grab five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death.” [al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]

Stephen Covey’s time management matrix is a useful tool to manage your time. It centers on two factors: importance and urgency. Please view the video for more explanation on how prioritize your time.

I have read many time management books and watched numerous videos on this topic. May I suggest that you watch my video on time management (part of my Islamic Management course). A short and concise list of tips of managing your time can also be found here.

Here is a very informative khutbah on Time Managment by Muhammad Al Shareef.

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 1/6

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 2/6

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 3/6

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 4/6

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 5/6

Time Management – Muhammad Al Shareef Part 6/6