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How to Utilize Our Free Time
Compilation
Committee
In
the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
How to Utilize Our Free Time
From the time man is born on this earth, his age
begins to decrease gradually. This means that each day that falls away from his
age, is detached from the calendar of his life like the pages that fall down
one by one until the time which the tree of his growth will be stripped out of
its last leaves.
Indeed, our age decreases, not increases, as, in our
estimation, it apparently seems to do. The burning hours of age are like a
candle dropping its melted tears. What burns of it, warns of the approach of
its end till it reaches the moment at which it emits its last breath.
What is Age?
Age looks like a temporal vessel, containing the days
of our life. Its quality and the way it is filled is in our hands, not in the
hands of others. People differ; some fill it up with honey, others fill it with
poison, still others mix these together while yet others, leave it empty.
Is it
Possible to Leave the Vessel of Life Empty?
We doubt in this. Even our free days spent in
amusement and vanity fill the age vessel with sighs, sorrows, and regrets in a
Day called by Allah, the Almighty, "The
Day of Sorrow and Regret." It is a day in which all people are gathered in the
presence of the Lord of the Worlds from Adam up to the last creature in
order to be judged on how they spent "their lives" which is entrusted as a
deposit with them.
Did they spend it with seriousness, striving, and
performing righteous and good deeds? Or did they spend it by doing vicious and
bad actions that caused long and permanent sorrows and regrets? Or did they mix
a good deed with an evil deed and in their actions, were they among the losers,
like a businessman who spends all his life in trading and at the end, finds
himself bankrupt?!
The
Importance of Time:
If we look for the best one who evaluates time for us,
do we see other than the maker of time, Himself, and is it not Allah, Exalted
and Glory be He?!
Indeed, this delicate division of moments, minutes,
hours, days, weeks, months, and years, is just like a cultivated field and the
farmer is me or you. According to the endeavor of each farmer, the harvest will
be yielded. And it is during the time of harvest that an active and diligent
farmer will be pleased, and a lazy and inactive farmer will be driven away. How
beautifully Imam Ali (a.s.) describes it: "This world is the plantation for the Hereafter." Whoever
grows an apple, he will surely harvest an apple. And whoever grows an onion, he
will surely harvest an onion. And whoever grows a flower, he will surely
harvest a flower. And whoever grows a thorn, he will surely harvest a thorn.
And whoever grows laziness, he will surely harvest regret.
Verily, Allah, the Almighty is the One Who divides the
dawn, afternoon, day and night in order to draw our attention to the thing divided,
is of great importance. These numerous expressions regarding the measurement of
time are nothing but small vessels within the great vessel of age. Perhaps, the
moment you are presently in, will say farewell to you, and enter in the list of
your account a reserved action and maybe it leaves you a loan from that
account. And who knows that one day will come, for any of us, in which the
chief of the bank will reject us and we will leave, disappointed, because there
is nothing in our account book!
On that day, it is impossible to start again from the
beginning because it is too late and we missed the opportunity. Shall we be
pleased to return bankrupt and blame ourselves? Or shall we see working in
order to add another fund and act according to the slogan which says: "Save
your white piaster for your black (difficult) day", which means: Keep your
righteous deeds for a Day in which wealth will not avail, nor sons, save him
who comes to Allah with a sound heart.
Surely we will not find in the Qur'an an expression
more eloquent than the following saying of Allah:
"So, he who does an atom-weight of good shall see it.
And he who does an atom-weight of evil shall see it." Holy Qur'an (99: 7-8)
Men will be shown their deeds in the Resurrection by
being made to taste of their fruits, but they can also see the good or evil of
their actions in this life. Good and evil, when practiced on a large scale,
bring their reward or requital in this life, as well. Note that the words here
are "he who does", and thus, include both the Muslim and the
non-Muslim. Even a non-Muslim who does an atom's weight of good will have his
reward, and a Muslim who does an atom's weight of evil will be requited for it.
Then, some one may ask us: How much is an atom's
weight on the scale of time? Is it a moment or less than that? However it is
considered, it is a unit of measure in its utmost smallness, and this means
that even the littlest deed of good to which one does not pay attention to,
will be fruitful during the time in which a flood will overcome the people, and
the smallest deed of evil, will be destructive but the good doers are saved
from it.
Surely, time is Allah's grace blessed on all people.
It is the white papers on which they record our deeds, be it good or evil, and
people are responsible for it on the Resurrection Day. In this regard, Allah's
Apostle, Muhammad (s.a.w.) says: "Not
a foot of a servant (of Allah) on the Resurrection Day, will move before he is
asked about five things: His age and how he spent it, his youth and how he
wore it out, his wealth and how he earned it and on what he spent it and about
his love towards us, Ahlul-Bait (the Prophet's household).'"
He (s.a.w.), also, says: "Seize the opportunity of five things before you lose
these five: Your youth before your old age; your health before your illness;
your leisure before your occupation; your life before your death and your
riches before your poverty." It is worthy of observation that the question
of age is repeated twice regarding age, in general, and about youth, in
particular, due to the importance of the stage of youth, as well as it being
the stage of striving, sacrificing and offering.
For instance, when a student surely knows that a
question will come on the next examination, he will prepare himself for
answering it, otherwise, he will lose a precious opportunity which cannot be
substituted, with anything else.
The question is about Resurrection Day clear and
obvious - and the examination will certainly come: What is your age and how
did you spend it, and what was your youth and how did you wear it out? The
question remains to be answered by each of us.
Wasted
Time and Useful Time:
If we look at the amount of time we spend uselessly
and try to make a simple calculation as to how many long hours go in vain
either in nonsense chatter or in loitering along the streets, or wandering in
front of commercial shops or participating in parties which have no limit and
without knowing that we are committing "the crimes of futility" against
ourselves with the most precious of what Allah has blessed us with, what will
be the total?.
Just think of these images, in which we live, and,
which occur perhaps daily:
- A young man may take his car or his father's car,
sometimes, accompanied by his friends, to drive around the streets, squares,
and roads without any aim and destination.
- A girl or girls may wander for long hours perhaps
other than shopping in front of shop windows in hopes of desire.
- Young men may play football for hours on end and
even though eventually they quit, they repeat playing once, twice and perhaps
three times.
- Young men sit in coffee houses smoking, chattering,
backbiting and laughing loud.
- Others may stand in long lines waiting to buy their
needs or waiting for buses while casting their naive looks here and there.
- Others who stay up at night may play cards, or
chess, or sit before computers for unlimited periods or use the Internet to the
extent of addiction without caring for the time which they waste in this
regard.
Is Play Forbidden? Who says this?
The subject,
here, does not concern the forbidding of a thing or its lawfulness. It may be a
thing lawful, but because it exceeds its proper bounds it is disliked and
dispraised. As Allah, Glory and Exalted be He, created all things of great
significance, it is essential that every thing in our life have a specific
time, otherwise, excessiveness, instead, can be invested in the affairs which
are important and useful. Therefore, it is said: "What a difference there is between two kinds of
actions. An act whose pleasure passes
away, but its distressful consequence
remains, and the act whose hardship passes away, but its reward stays."
Then, try for one day only to count your wasted time
and, surely, you will be surprised at the results.
While we read the bewildering results, let us
consider, for example, that there are prisoners who wish to return to their
free life to fill up every moment of their life with science and action, and it
is nothing but the feeling that their free time passed away in vain.
And let us, also, consider that there are some people
who wish that their days were more than 24 hours and, if they could, would
borrow time from those who do not care for time.
Such people - the owners of useful time -have times in
which they rest, and, at the same time, they renew their activity in order to
continue their work, again, with a high spirit and prosperity.
We can make use of this opinion and consider that time
takes its longevity or brevity from what we fill it up with of deeds. A quick glance at the life of great men and
their success, reveals an important secret of their prosperity. That is the
investment of their time in the best way. Rarely will we find among them those
who waste their time in vain. The well-known inventor of electricity, Edison',
is said to have never endured time, but, he used to swallow it up. He used to
work, constantly, as if he wanted to achieve in an hour what others achieved in
10 hours. He disliked being absent in solving one such practical question but,
it caused him to waste one week in the problem and was eventually futile.
It is known about various great scholars that they
used not to sleep at night, except a few hours, for the purpose of making use
of additional hours of their days. These people are they who always remember
the saying of the poet:
"The beating of man's heart tells him that life is but
minutes and moments, therefore, keep these memories for yourself after your death.
Surely, memories, for man, are but the lifetime of a moment."
Organizing Time:
Zaid used to complain about the shortness of his time,
and became surprised at his friends who did many things like studying,
practicing their hobbies and meeting their friends even though their time was
the same.
One day, he presented this question to some of his
friends. They told him: "The matter is
clear. Organize your time, so that it will seem to be more."
For this reason, some hadiths (Islamic
traditions) have divided time into hours and an hour, here, means time units
and not sixty minutes. This means that there should be time for every action.
Imam Ali (a.s.) is quoted to have said:
"The believer's time has three units: The period when
he is in communion with Allah; the period when he manages his livelihood; and
the period when he is free to enjoy what is lawful and pleasant" Other hadiths add another unit and, that is,
for visiting trustworthy friends who know our shortcomings. Commenting on the
period of enjoying what is lawful and pleasant it can be said: In this period
(of enjoyment), you will be able to perform other deeds.
Though this division gives man specific periods for
his essential needs, it is not an inactive prescription. It may happen that man's
needs become more numerous and varied, but the aim at the division of time is
to organize it in such a way that an action does not extend over another
action, or to use up all time while other actions remain un performed or left
half performed.
Therefore, striving towards gaining one's livelihood
is required to meet his material needs; approaching to Allah, through
worshipping and glorification is required as a spiritual need; visiting one's
friends is required as a social need; enjoying what is lawful is required as
psychological need; and besides these hours, there should be another important
period for seeking science and knowledge in order to meet one's theological and
ideological needs.
What is important to mention here is that there should
be a balance between these units of time in a way in which worldly actions
should not cause us to forget the deeds relating to the Hereafter. And the wise among us are the ones who make
all our deeds an obedience to Allah, the Almighty; even worldly actions. However,
who sits before a computer without previously deciding how much time he should
spend in that sitting, will surely find himself still sitting before its magic,
small screen, after many hours passed.
And he who lets the doors of the meeting with his friend
be wide open, will surely see that some conversations lead yet to others, and
the meeting which was supposed to be finished in half an hour, lasts for two
hours or more.
Indeed, organizing time, as we learn from the
schedules of prayer, the appointed times of fasting, iftar (breaking of
the fast) and the appointed days of pilgrimage (hajj), introduce us to
the following benefits:
1. The abundance of time and blessings which were
unknown before the organization of time.
2. It drives away from us both disorganization and the
confusion in which we live as a result of the penetration of time and its
negligence.
3. It gives us a respected personality by our friends,
companions and those surrounding us.
4. It makes us live in the state of psychological
contentment and spontaneous happiness in what we have achieved.
5. It makes us control time and not be controlled by
time, itself.
A Work Schedule:
Each of us is able to prepare a sheet of paper for
himself and in which he records the timetable for his daily work. It is
necessary to acknowledge the seriousness of observing the articles of the
schedule; otherwise, it will become mere ink on paper. This method teaches us
the following:
1. Time should be organized in a such way as not to be
scattered in digressions and forsaken conclusions, and where one can be wholly
engaged in a particular work which, as a result, has an affect on the rest of
the work.
2. The above mentioned paper acts as a calendar which
reminds us of the deeds which a wait us to be performed without delay, because
tomorrow will impose on us a list of other new deeds, and a moment of our daily
schedule will surely be affected on the timetable of tomorrow.
3. It is possible to schedule even preparatory time
for each action. This may seem difficult because it is impossible to estimate
the time of some actions properly and exactly, but, with the passing of days,
it will become a beautiful habit with which one gets used to.
4. There is no harm in putting aside time we call
"free" just for unexpected emergencies.
As Muslims, our responsibility is not limited only to
worldly deeds, and, therefore, our Islamic schedule cannot be separated from
our ordinary schedule except in some obligations. Our time can be organized in
the following way mentioned by one of the supplications (du'as):
"(Oh Allah) make us prosperous today, tonight, and in
all days to use good and reject evil, give thanks for Your blessings, follow
the Prophetic traditions, avoid innovations, enjoin good and forbid evil,
protect Islam, debase and humiliate falsehood, assist and strengthen truth,
guide those who go astray, help the oppressed, and comprehend the regretful."
Indeed, this schedule, though it is full of righteous
deeds and the rejecting of evil, is not necessary to be a schedule for one day,
rather, it is a typical Islamic day which needs determination, practice, and
prosperity and guidance from Allah, the Exalted and the Almighty.
This schedule can be divided into its positive and
negative subjects:
First: Positive Subjects:
1. (Using of good):
It should not be only a sentimental trend inclining towards labour, rather, it
should be changed into an action which benefits others.
2. (Giving
Thanks For Blessings): This means to
reciprocate benevolence with benevolence, kindness with kindness and good with
good. He who does not thank the creation (i.e. man), never thanks the Creator
(Allah), and the best practical thanks is "Give thanks, O people of David!' Holy Qur'an (34: 13)
3. (Following
Prophetic Traditions): Because this
is the right path brought by the Holy Apostle, Muhammad (s.a.w.), who says: "Say: If you love Allah, follow me: Allah will love
you." Holy
Qur'an (3: 31)
4. (Enjoining Good):
This because it is the way to increase the arena of doing good and the spreading
of reform and benevolence in a society, which may positively reflect on the
happiness of the society and its strength and welfare.
5. (Protecting
Islam): We should defend Islam and
protect its principles due to its being the symbol of our dignity and the
righteousness of our religion which represents our existence and identity.
6. (Assisting
and Strengthening Truth): To
strengthen truth if it prevails so as to spread it throughout the world even
more, and to support it if it is threatened by falsehood and oppression.
7. (Guiding
the Strayers): To guide through
different methods of guidance the one who goes astray from the right path and
to inform him his secure place if he deviated his destination.
8. (Helping
the Oppressed): This should be done
by what Allah, the Most High, has granted us of capabilities such as: Wealth or
responsibility or sciences because among the necessities of having belief in
religion is to give assistance to the needy. "So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of
their prayer! Who do (good) to be seen, and refrain from acts of
kindness!" Holy Qur'an (107: 4-7)
9. (Comprehending
the Regretful): A poor man looks like
a blind man who sees nothing but that of meeting his own needs, and his regret
will come by the fulfillment of those needs.
Secondly: Negative Subjects:
1. (Rejecting Evil): To give up evil means opening the
way for goodness to be spread and evil to be straitened and decreased.
2. (Avoiding
Innovations): Because innovation (bid'ah)
means to insert something which is not related to religion in the name of
religion. It is a misrepresentation of Divine instructions and Prophetic
Traditions (sunnah) and invents that which has not been said by Allah
and His Apostle relating to religion, whereas, religion, itself, is innocent of
it.
3. (Forbidding
What is Evil): This is done by any means be it by hand or by
tongue or by heart, so that the followers of evil should not feel compelled to
continue, where they might spread their abominations among the people.
One who observes this schedule, both positive and
negative, will find that there is a balance in the movement of Muslim youth,
demolishing evils and performing good deeds. In this regard, a Hadith,
describing a true believer, says:
"Goodness is expected from him (a believer) and he
is safe from evil."
Free Time:
First we ask this question: Is there anything called
free time?
We can surely say: No, because man when he finishes a
work, will be engaged in another. It may be less or more important than before.
Even sports, itself, is an unproductive work though it is productive in its
psychological output for a player.
Islam - as we mentioned previously gives man the
time for which he refreshes and amuses himself and his family and enjoys its
pleasures and delights. It even gives this time more value and importance,
because it is a supporter of the periods of work and worship.
But, our discussion about free time is not that which
gives man renewed energy, rather it is that a wasted time in which the youth
not only scorn their vital and great responsibilities, but also, live in the
state of useless, negative, and wanton time.
Mostly, free time falls into disorder when we waste
our time and neglect its value, whereas, it can be an opportunity for seeking
science, or for learning some new skills, or for correcting wrong conceptions,
or for helping Allah's creatures, or for meeting the needs of a believer, or to
be acquainted with the issues of the Muslim world, or for developing what we
have obtained of previous knowledge, or to become acquainted with a new friend
seeking Allah's pleasure, or to strengthen an old relationship with a friend, and so on. Even if an
unexploited time is considered out of the scope of age, because the real age is
the age of that farm which was previously mentioned in a Hadith, is it
wise for a man who owns a wide land arable for agriculture, to leave it
unplanted?!
In this regard, one scientist says: I read more and if
I become tired of reading, I take a rest by reading. He explains this by
saying: I incline to reading scientific books, but when I feel exhausted of
reading, I turn to read literary or history books in order to ease the
tiredness of scientific reading.
Look at those who are around you. Do not you respect
the one who stands before a shop waiting for his turn, or at a station waiting
for a bus, or in a clinic holding a book in his hand and reading it?!
Do not you respect a man going on his way remembering
a poem which he memorized before, or a verse of the Qur'an he does not want to
forget, or repeats some glorifications which increase and strengthen his
relation with Allah, the Most High?!
Do not you show respect for a person who holds in his
pocket a small notebook in which he records a proverb or a saying he read in a
newspaper, or an information he got by chance, or an important number he found
here and there which helps him in quoting what he says, or he records an idea
which comes suddenly to his mind and is afraid to miss or forget it?
Surely, telephones now exist which can record
messages, and wall secretaries are placed in front of houses to be used by
visitors to record their notes in case of not seeing the owner of the house.
These are clear evidences for the attention of the owner of the house as to
what has happened during his absence.
A person who daily reads newspapers; follows newscasts
and visits sites on the Internet or is acquainted with what happens around
himself in this ever-changing world, is a man who is careful not to cast his
time aside like a disregarded paper into a wastebasket. He feels that he is cut
off from the world if he does not keep up on the movement of the world, and if
his steady vigile is stopped, surely he feels loneliness as if he has lost
something precious.
The people of an American town discovered that an
illiterate woman learned how to read and write late and without a teacher. When
she was asked about this, she answered: Indeed, I felt the loss of precious
time that I had missed, therefore, I tried to compensate for it and, thus, I
used to eavesdrop and steal a look at my small daughter while she was studying
and, with her, I used to savour all her lessons.
Thus, we should eliminate the following expressions
from the dictionary of our life:
- I missed the train!
- What is the use of working now. Indeed, I have lost
various opportunities, and chance always opposes me.
- Many people preceded me in that endeavor and I have
no place, now.
- I tried and I failed. There is no reason to repeat
the same experimentetc.
We should replace the above mentioned expressions with
the following: There is always time to work before death.
But, regarding "compensation of wasted time"; this
term is not correct. Because wasted time cannot be compensated, nor can it be
delayed. Wishing the period of youth to come back after passing away is a false
desire which is captured only by poets and there is no possibility to achieve
it in reality. Nevertheless, it is possible for youth to avoid additional
negligence, and excessive loss by regretting and utilizing what remains of
their lives, and not to cause their lives to be a plunder of play, levity and
idle relaxation.
Through experiments, it is proved that laziness,
unemployment and leisure factors cause deviations and corruption. In this respect, a poet says:
"Surely, youth, spare time and luxury are causes of
corruption for man and what corruption they are."
We should, also, differentiate between spare time, in
which there is no use, and a dedication to review, self-criticize, and be alone
with one's self, or to take permission in order to renew one's activity. This
is a part of work, not free time. It is something desirable due to its being
the time which distributes more abundance to other times.
Utilizing Free Time:
Leisure is defined by those concerned as free time and
in which one is not connected by the necessity of achieving a specified goal.
It is the time in which man frees himself from any commitments and necessities
of life, and spends it in any way he wishes. Regarding students and youth, it
includes the period of their summer and winter holidays, week ends, time and
permission out of their working hours, in addition to free time secured by the
era of modern technology.
The following are some suggestions which include some
means of utilizing free time, and we hope that our young men and women will
find in them an assistance to their empty hours:
1- Reading: It has been said that the importance of books has
deteriorated during the past two decades competition with other media such as:
Radio, TV, newspapers, computer, and the net work of information, but books
still keep their value because of the following reasons:
1. All other competitions depend on them, and the most
successful programs and investigational articles take their knowledge from
books them-selves.
2. The ability of controlling the book, such as:
Selecting it, or borrowing and copying it. It is up to the reader's taste, his
desire and needs to control the kind of requested book in any time and any
place.
3. Using a book as a source for writing, and as long
as there are researches and studies, sources and references will not someday be
null and void. Even, we observe that various CD's disks, in reality, are
archived books.
As long as a book has all these values and its
importance has decreased among students and youth to the extent that they turn
away from it, it was still the right of a poet to say:
"I am the one who exchanged books with friends,
but, I found no friend but books."
And we should not forget that the profit we gain from
the pleasure of reading and its advantage cannot be truly appreciated except by
those readers who are fond of books and have established, them, a long
companionship. If we miss this, it is because of being overwhelmed by thesis
and competitions, which we have mentioned before. Among the best ways to fill
leisure time is by diverse and useful reading. In addition, there are some
observations which help in deepening the understanding of the usefulness of
reading. They are:
1- To read what fulfills our ideological, spiritual
and psychological needs. We should not force ourselves on to be against reading
like a man who forces himself away from food and we should not desert books on
the plea that we lack the dedication to reading, because once separation
occurs, it is difficult to unite it again.
2- Always keep your pen with you while reading in
order to take some notes on some concepts or opinions which may help you later.
You can, also, underline some important concepts or mark them with a
phosphorous pen so that you can review them easily without the need to read the
whole book.
3- Reading
may open for you, unexpected ideas in a book, so, do not miss them and write
them down immediately, because they may benefit you one day in your
ideological, cultural, and literary projects in the future.
4- It is better to depend on cards of research in
writing down your information including the name of the source from which you
cited it, the author's name, the date of its edition and the number of the
page.
Nevertheless, reading does not only to apply books,
but also, includes newspapers, magazines and journals and what is daily offered
by newsstands. They present news and information items about the different
affairs and the fields of life of which no young man or woman who wants to live
fully their age can avoid. In this regard, a Prophetic hadith says: "The one who is well acquainted with the affairs of
his time, is secure against afflictions, conspiracies, and confusions."
One of the
fruits of reading is that of writing. During leisure time, young men and women
can practice their hobbies, such as writing, be it an article or story, or
poetry and so on, and present them to people of experience. By this way, they
can improve their writing ability.
2-Attending Lectures and Seminars:
One of the useful ways to fill our free time is to
become acquainted with cultural and scientific weekly programs and literary
gatherings. What is presented of lectures and seminars can help us enrich our
knowledge and develop our ability in dialogue, criticism and diverse opinions.
And, if we participate in putting forward a question
to a lecturer or the participants in a seminar, surely we will make use of it
and benefit others as well. In this respect, a hadith says: "Three are rewarded: The questioner, the questioned and
the listener of them," and thus, our
social and cultural personality develops and thrives.
Our observation of the way of asking a question, the
way of dialogue, interposing and directing a question, teach us the manner of
dialogue and how to pay attention to points which stir further discussions of
subjects or problems.
It is better to take our diary with us to write down
the most prominent opinions introduced in a lecture or a seminar so that we may
keep it as a cultural subject which may benefit us one day in time of need.
In these meetings and sessions, we may, also, become
acquainted with a great number of educated people, writers, authors, and
personalities who participate in such cultural, ideological and literary
activities.
3- Listening and Watching:
The four mass media
(radio, T.V., cinema and theater) are not only means of play and
amusement, but also, they are instruments of education. An education through
them may be performed intentionally or unintentionally, i.e., it comes directly
or indirectly which obligates us to distinguish and diagnose it from audible
and visible items.
What is shown and broadcasted through these media,
such as, local subjects and other imported programs, are not all useful for
listening and watching; some are useful and some are harmful; while yet others
are poisonous.
Before these double edged weapons, we should have a
strong and intelligent sense in order to separate the correct from wrong, and
the well from the unwell, otherwise, we will be victims of such informational
schemes which are directed by specialized authorities, biased and purposeful
agencies and net works. And do not be surprised if we know that there are
educational, informational and social scientists, and psychologists who
present, for us, their audible and visible goods covered by beautiful papers,
but, in reality, they are harmful in Muslim markets. They often aim at invading our houses because
the barriers - by the development of
these means and their advancement are indeed dissolved and cause the
information media to enter every house without asking permission.
These
equipments, developed very quickly and greatly in the form of astronautics, video
tapes, cassettes, and disks which are cheap and simply transported, but they
are heavy in presentation and burdens, and cannot be dominated by remote
control. But, we, as Muslims, must control them with our desires, education,
cultural, social and religious backgrounds which do not permit the watching of
dissolute, profligate and trite films because they do not address anything
except sexual and material desires and, sometimes, they intentionally aim at
corrupting morals, distorting concepts, and turning values upside down.
And because these equipments are double-edged weapons
i.e. they carry both evil and good inside their propagations, it is necessary
to use their good things and avoid their evils.
An example of the process of filling temporary leisure
time would like the process of filling up intestinal emptiness; is it wise to
enter everything into our stomach for allaying our hunger even if it is dirty,
poisonous, dangerous and threatens our health, and safety?!
As a result of this, it is incumbent on us - onlookers
and listeners - to safeguard, as much as possible, our characteristics,
identity and our cultural and religious obligations. Therefore, we should judge
and evaluate what we hear and what we see according to our ideology, culture,
education and experience, otherwise, we will be turned into prisoners of these
media which will lead us to dangerous crossroads.
Submissive sitting, for long hours before a T.V.
motivates numbness and wasting of time and which causes disorder in the routine
of other daily programs and perhaps causes ideological paralysis. Thus, it is
recommended for each of us to distribute the hours of his/her watching in a
purposed and selective manner.
The psychologists confirm that television in itself-
does not create the problems of aggression and deviation, but, it is created by
miseducation by one's own family, relatives and friends. So, aggressive
children and youth choose aggressive programs to support their former
directions and television becomes a supporter towards deviation, and violence.
And though these media have numerous advantages which
mostly meet each other, some researchers have studied both advantages and
disadvantages of television. The following are some disadvantages that they
diagnosed:
1.Killing time, wasting age, and engaging both
individuals and a nation (ummah)
against performing their significant responsibilities.
2.Transfering irregular and deviated environments to
our society, and imposing evil and degraded moral patterns on people.
3. Building a corrupted culture in the minds of the
youth and showing the dissolute at the forefront of a society as if it is the
norm.
4. Misrepresenting the contemporary affairs of the
Muslims and demolishing of the obstacles that exist between us (Muslims) and the
enemies of our ummah, represented by the Jewish Zionists.
But, still, we
do not deprive ourselves of useful radio and T.V. programs which include
scientific, cultural, political, literary, social, economical and health
programs, particularly those programs which present the problems and
afflictions from which our society suffers and which are discussed by experts,
specialists, and professionals.
4- The Computer and Information Network:
When computers came into existence, they not only
filled up the free time of the youth, but also, occupied their time completely
to the extent that they have no associate nor rival. Indeed, they exceeded all
the means of entertainment and play before it. A computer, in this respect, is
like other media. It can be used for the benefit of people or can be changed
into a tool of corruption and destruction.
It is unjust for this active and brilliant invention,
which has numerous capabilities, to be used only as a tool of entertainment and
play. In it, there are programs prepared for teaching accounting, business
administration, and the principles of driving a car, or learning grammar of a
certain language. In addition to this, there are various other services which
are too numerous to mention them, like the fields of typing, handwriting,
designing, layout, drawing, painting and others. And the programs on the
internet are wider in their content regarding science, information, politics,
and culture, as well as, in different fields of life.
From the blue screen of the computer man become
educated by its high degree of flexibility, speed of processing data and the
capability of diverse coverage: Geographical, theological, social, development
of positive thinking, deepening of the concept of participation, non-acceptance
of intuitions (self-evident truth), negative convincing and not surrendering to
simplicity, all are blessings but at the same time foster indignation. It is
upon us to make use of such blessings in the best way, otherwise, we will be
afflicted with its indignation, particularly regarding the imported games which
bear, in their undisclosed contents information and morals which differ from
our Islamic morals and customs.
Therefore, it
is obligatory for us to have spontaneous and supervisory over setting certain
conditions which should be observed in such games. Among them are: They should
bear human characteristics and have scientific value. They should be
diversified and not be only for entertainment. They should not create enmity
among the players, nor contradict the instructions of our religion, morals and
customs.
However, setting long hours in front of this
equipment, which has severe temptation exceeds television in its open and
extended hours of sitting and which has made some countries, like Sweden, to
specify the age of permission for using such games. They become concerned with
the necessity of not introducing the young to the temptations of these games
for fear of their education and the specified time in which they are allowed to
use the computer for the sake of entertainment.
Indeed, the harm of being addicted to the computer as
a tool of entertainment is not less than wasting time watching a well-known
game of football or being engaged in watching videos and television. Among the
dangers of this invention, which has become a member of our family, is the
decreasing of our circle of friends or social relations. The youth think that
this invention has already achieved their wish and they are in no need of
friends, but, this becomes far from the reality of a society and people.
Even the dialogue sites of the network of the Internet
cannot achieve the same advantages and medical benefits which we gain from
direct friendly meetings in face to face visits.
We should, also, know that even those feelings, and emotions
and excitements which we get through the computer screen cannot be a complete
substitute for direct meetings which contain warm feelings and continuity,
activity and close acquaintance with others.
Magnetized disks with the exception of their importance
will not replace books which are considered our companion in everywhere; at
home, in school, in the car, in the airplane, on a ship, etc. The same thing
concerning personal exchanges on the network sites will not be a perfect
substitute for direct friendly visits whatever the attractive service or
qualifications they add to it by its producers and propagandists.
5- Learning Skills:
Among the affairs which become available and within
the reach of most young men and women are instructional, technical and
handicraft institutions which offer practical lessons in different skills, such
as: Driving, programming, trade, smithery, electricity, and handicrafts such
as: Tailoring, domestic works, first aid, learning foreign languages and others.
These skills enable the youth to have a better life and form a safe employment
at their free time, particularly during summer holidays. Learning one or more
of these skills, not only fills one's time, but also, pours its practical
advantage on the personality of young men or women who will obtain fundamental
knowledge in professions or handicrafts which concern them at the present and
in the future. These skills are regarded among the distinctions and bases of
superiority and are for the benefit of the one who requests a work or a certain
professions specially when there is a competition. In this respect, a Prophetic
saying (hadith) says: "Every
man's worth is in his attainments (what he does proficiently)"
And having experience in these fields benefits a young
man or woman even outside the area of specialization. For example, learning a
foreign language is useful in having dialogue with foreigners, reading books
written in that language or having correspondence in it, and, also, reading
intern reports of drugs or doctor's prescriptions or brochures which are used
to learn how to run equipments.
On the other hand, among the best and the noblest
skills to be learned by a Muslim young man and woman is reading the Holy
Qur'an, its recitation and memorizing a part or parts of it or the whole Holy
Qur'an if possible. And if there is no a special course for learning and
memorizing the Qur'an, it is better to use cassettes or laser disks which
enable one to learn the initial principles of reading the Holy Qur'an and its
recitation. Indeed, there are eminent reciters of the Qur'an among the Muslim
generations who depend on this way of memorizing it perfectly.
Finally, it is better to know that any obtained skill
needs practice and continuity in order to be developed and perfected. In this
regard, a proverb says: "Practice
leads towards perfection."
6- The Means of Relaxations and Enter-tainment:
Since a long time ago, Imam Ali (a.s.) said: "The
hearts get disgusted as bodies get disgusted; so look for beautiful, wise
sayings for them." Tarif' in Arabic means newly acquired' because
every new thing has its special pleasure, flavor and is a motive for the
continuity of an action with great activity, unlike a tedious manner which
brings for man tiredness, weariness and alienation.
Have not you tried that personally? When you change
the direction in which you walk every day towards your institution or your work
center or when you change the decoration of your room in which you live, even
through simple technical touches like changing the position of some furniture,
or when you change your clothes though they are cheap, do not you feel
psychologically different for it. Simplicity in itself may be an art which is
taste.
Imam Ali (a.s.) is, also, quoted to have said: "Hearts are imbued with passion and the power of
advancing and retreating. Therefore, approach them for action at a time when
they are passionate and when they are in a mood for advancing, because if
hearts are forced (to do a thing) they will be blinded." In this presentation, he (a.s.) offers us a new way
of amusement which began to be depended on not only in schools and
institutions, but also, in factories, industries and offices. Experiments
proved that a worker who amuses himself during work in one way or another will
surely attend to his work with an open and high spirit (mentally;
psychologically; spiritually) and as a result, it will be reflected, not only
on the quantity and quality of his production, but also, on his relationship
with his colleagues in his work environment.
Islam equalizes between man's needs and does not
eliminate this human need. So, it is better to give a part of our time to
amusement whose procedures become diverse and numerous. The following are some
of them:
a- Sports Amusement: Its branches and colors are various and continuously
increasing. The most famous one is football which is useful to health;
psychologically, socially and bodily, and swimming and other kinds of
amusement.
b- Artistic
Amusement: Like practicing the
hobbies of painting, drawing, handwriting, sculpture, punching, and
handicrafts, such as: Sewing, embroidery, making flowers, decorating houses,
and the collecting of stamps.
c- Social Amusement: This includes exchanging visits which is among its
well-known procedures and of which Islam greatly encourages, correspondence,
calling each other by telephone, celebrating beautiful occasions, participating
in cooperative activities for the purpose of strengthening bounds of
relationship among the faithful, in addition to taking long and short trips
which remove most of the states of bodily, psychological and intellectual
tiredness, and exhaustion.
d- Tourist Amusement: This includes paying visits to sacred places, and
beautiful archeological, historical and tourist areas which give both
psychological and cultural advantages.
It is worthy of
our observation that amusement in all its forms does not mean to escape
from the pressures of life, as some may think, but, it is a readiness and
preparedness to face it once more and not as described by others as the
discharging of additional energy which has no aim, rather, it is a useful and
safe investment of those powers at both levels; individuals and groups.
The following are some conditions of amusement
encouraged by Islam:
1. It should be free from any corruption, harm,
falsehood, wrong and forbiddance
2. It should be
free from any extravagance and pre-occupation which may waste time, all of it.
It is recommended that out of any amusement and investment of free time should
arise a particular or general advantage, because it is dislikable for a young
man or woman to be empty and unoccupied in either the action of this world or
the action of the next world.
On a very hot summer day and in the city of Madinah,
one of those who used to plot against Islam and its leaders wanted to degrade
Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.), the grandson of Imam Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib
(a.s.), whom he saw working on his farm at the height of midday and said: You
are an old man from the elders of the tribe of Quraish and at this hour and
under such circumstances, you are seeking worldly gains. What if death comes
upon you while you are in this condition?" The Imam (a.s.) answered him: "O Allah! Should death come to me in this state, it
will come to me while I am doing something pleasing to Allah, to spare myself
begging from you and other people. I would only fear death if it came to me
while I was sinning against Allah?"!!
Indeed, the Imam's answer is a precious lesson which has to be taken into
consideration by the Muslim youth.
Sleeping and Staying up at Night:
No doubt, sleep is a natural need of man. Allah, the
Glorified, granted us this glorious blessing in having relaxation, and sleep
during night hours in order to renew and revive our activity and energy after
being exhausted by the difficulties and the deeds of the day. Without sleep,
surely, we would have been destroyed by the continuity of work in the day and
night. Therefore, it is considered as means of amusement for one's self, and
body, especially for those who work hard and are greatly exhausted in their
day.
But, it is noted that some young people, male or
female, may misuse sometimes uninten-tionally these blessings. They stay up
late at night and sleep late into the day on the plea of having nothing to do
or they say, to pass the night awake is beautiful, so they kill their time with
empty and talkative discourses. In this regard, a Prophetic hadith says:
"Allah dislikes a young man / woman
who sleeps much," i.e., the one who
increases sleeping for long hours exceeds the natural need of man.
On one side, some covetous people make use of their
time and reduce their time of sleep, depending on the proverb which says "Whoever seeks superiority, should spend his nights
(in doing some activities)", and are
satisfied with the least amount of hours of sleep. On the other side, some
young men or women yield themselves to long hours of sleep without paying
attention to their age and how it passes in this slumber to the extent that
their amount of sleep exceeds their working hours and production.
And passing the night awake, if it does not benefit
man and those around him; nor there is worship in it, nor seeking knowledge,
nor having a productive action in it, will surely have, not only, bad
consequences on the youth, but also, its disadvantages will become more than
its advantages.
The principles of balance which was mentioned
earlier is useful for application and implementation of any affair in life,
because Islam is the religion of both non-extravagance and non-negligence,
i.e., it does not confirm either prodigality or negligence in any thing. In
this regard, the Almighty, Allah says: "And
thus We made you a nation justly balanced." (Holy Qur'an (2: 143)
A Final Word:
This is the glass of our age before us Allah's
deposit upon our neck so, how will we get it back?
Is it full of good or is it full of evil? Is it empty
and unoccupied? Or is it smashed, broken into pieces and spent on the pavements
of play, entertainment, fun, relaxation, chatter and the meetings of
unemployment?
Shall we use what has been said by some scholars who
make use of their time more than others when they say: "We want to leave our
impressions on time, and never let it leave its impressions on us."
One scholar expressed this in his saying: "The regret
of great men reminds us to elevate our life and when we leave this world, we
will leave behind the results of our mistakes on the sands of time."
The following are a collection of proverbs that help
us to achieve the above statements:
- "If you sleep on flowers in your youth, surely you
will sleep on thorns in your old age."
- "If one is
lazy in his youthfulness, surely, he will be a beggar in his oldness."
- "All the flowers of the future are a result of the
seeds which you plant today."
- "Day and night have an effect upon you, therefore,
do have an effect on them."
- "Do not fear a slow advancement, but, beware of
standing immobile."
- "The present world is the plantation for the
Hereafter."
- "Time is like a sword, if you do not cut it, it will
cut you."
- "Unemployment is the mother of all vices."
- "The opportunity of a lazy man, languishes with
him."
- "To miss an opportunity brings about grief."
- "This world is a passage, while the next world is
the place of dwelling; so, take your passage (as a way by performing good
deeds) to your abode."
In the Name of Allah
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