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7 Ways To Increase Baraka In Your Time | Khutbah
Do you increasingly feel like time is passing by rapidly and you are being less productive? In this Khutbah, we discuss what the Prophet ﷺ taught us to increase the blessings in our time.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Dear brothers and sisters, there's a very famous narration where the Prophet ﷺ said, لا تقوم الساعة حتى يتقارب الزمان. That time, the hour will not come until time shrinks. Time, literally, shrinks. So the Prophet ﷺ said, فتكون السنة كالشهر. That a year will feel like a month. والشهر كالجمعة. And a month would feel like a week. And a week would feel like a day. ويكون اليوم كالساعة. And a day would feel like just an hour. وتكون الساعة. And the hour would feel like a burning bush, or like the flare of a fire. Quickly. Everything goes by so quickly. You don't feel barakah in time. You don't feel blessing in your time. And there's a collective manifestation of that. And then there's on the individual level, when you start to look at yourself and you say, where is it going? And I read about people that are so productive in the past and in the present. Where is the blessing in my time? And the Messenger ﷺ in another narration, also in Bukhari, he directly tied the shrinking of time to the decrease of good deeds and the increase of certain types of corruption. So he said, ﷺ يتقارب الزمان وينقص العمل. That time would shrink and so the deeds, the output of good deeds would be less. وينقص الشحر. And greed, miserliness, stinginess would be placed in the hearts of people. ويكثر الحرج. And the Prophet ﷺ said, and murder would become prevalent. Murder would become prevalent. And so there's a direct connection between the shrinking of time and the shrinking of the output of deeds. And of course the battle with time to make the best use of your time is one that even the Sahaba felt.
And most people do not realize the value of their time until things start to become different, until you start to get older, until you start to get busier, until your health starts to wither as well, until you see some of the consequences of your wasted time later on in life. And then you go back and you say, SubhanAllah, I should have done things differently. And that's why the Prophet ﷺ of course mentioned نعمتان مغبون فيه ما كثير من الناس الصحة والفراغ ﷺ. He said that there are two blessings that people just do not take advantage of. And they are health and free time. So what does it mean to have barakah, to have blessing in your time? The technical definition, العمل الكثير في الوقت القليل. To be able to do more with less time. To be able to do more with less time. That doesn't always mean more in terms of quantity. But to do more, because Allah Azzawajal says, ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عمل، not أكثر عمل. That He tests you to see who will do the best with their deeds, not necessarily the most. So it's not always something that's quantifiable. But to do more with less. وقال لإمام بن عطاء الله رحمه الله تعالى, Imam bin Ata'illah says in one of his hikm, one of his wisdoms, he says رب عمره انتسعت أماده وقلت أمداده ورب عمره قليلة أماده كثيرة أمداده. Beautiful saying. He said that some people live a very long life but bear very little fruit. And some people live a very short life but bear much fruit. So there are long fruitless lives and short fruitful lives. And so if a person is sincere with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and takes the amanah of time, the blessing of time seriously, then what they can accomplish in a week is what someone else can accomplish in a day,
even in a time where overall time has shrunk. Even now. Right? So this isn't just something that we lament the past and we say, yeah, they used to be able to read that much Quran and do all of these good deeds, but they were different than us. Because even now, even now, with sincerity and steadfastness and taking your time seriously, you can accomplish more with the same amount of time as someone else. A person might, even in today's world, accomplish more at the age of 18 than someone else at the age of 80. Right? It is still a thing if you take the amanah of time seriously, the trust of time seriously. And so I wanted to just go over seven things that I extracted from the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ about how to have barakah in your time, how to have blessing in your time. What do we learn from the Messenger ﷺ about having barakah in our time? And the first thing is that the Prophet ﷺ was a morning person. And that wasn't just by accident. He was a morning person ﷺ. And there's an authentic hadith from Sakhr al-Ghamidi, r.a. and Sakhr was a companion. He said, I heard Rasulullah ﷺ saying, اللهم بارك لأمتي في بكورها Oh Allah, bless my nation in its early hours. Bless my ummah in its early hours. Put barakah there. And he said, I didn't just hear the Prophet ﷺ say this, when he used to send out a battalion or an army, he always sent them at the beginning of the day. Anything he did ﷺ on an individual basis, and anything he commanded within the ummah, he started early in the day ﷺ. It was always the morning hours with him ﷺ, starting with his fajr prayer, and the dhikr that came after, the remembrance of Allah that came after the fajr prayer, and the conversations and the commands and the work that started at the early morning hours.
And some of the ulema also mentioned that Allah swears by al-fajr wa al-asr. Allah swears by the two timings, the beginning of the day and the ending of the day. Because most people are either waking up or winding down. And the believer can take advantage of those times to get ahead. And Allah has put special blessing in those times of the day. So that's the first thing, starting early. Number two, avoiding sins and drama. And they are interconnected. So I'll start with the obvious here with sins. Imam Malik ﷺ, when he met Imam al-Shafi'i ﷺ, this amazing child, who at the age of eight years old, just clearly was way ahead of everybody else. One of those kids that would make multiple world records happen, that there would be coverage of the brain of al-Shafi'i ﷺ and what he was doing. He was clearly a genius. He clearly had something special going for him at a young age. And his teacher, Imam Malik ﷺ says to him, listen to me, oh young man. I see that Allah has put a light in your heart. He didn't attribute it to his upbringing. He said, Allah has clearly put a light inside of your heart. Don't extinguish that light with the darkness of sin. Allah gave you something special. Don't mess it up with sin. So whether it's your memory, or it is as Allah ﷻ says, وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْقُرَىٰ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَرَكَاتٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ Had the people of the town believed, وَاتَّقَوْا, avoided sin, they feared Allah, they avoided sin. The implication of taqwa is tarq al-ma'asi, is avoiding sin. Then baraka, then the blessings of what was coming down upon them, would have been present.
But it was the sins that took away the blessing of what was given to them. And so sins decrease the baraka of wealth, they decrease the baraka of time, they decrease the baraka of intellect, they pollute everything that they are present within. Because all of those things, those faculties, and those blessings that Allah gives to you, are gifts from Him. And He will not allow you to keep those gifts if you tarnish them with disobeying Him. So the light will be extinguished in your time, the light will be extinguished in your mind, the light will be extinguished in your wealth also, and so many other things. Some of the scholars also say, and this is why I said avoiding sins and drama, there is ham al-mashakil, there is the ham, the anxiety that sin causes. When you're a messy person, you get yourself into a lot of messy situations, don't you? When you're a messy person, you get yourself into a lot of messy situations. And so you only have a certain amount of head space, and a certain amount of heart space, and a certain amount of time space. And if you occupy that with sins and the consequences of sins, the messiness of sins, then naturally that's going to paralyze you from being able to be productive with your time. Because you're always trying to get yourself out of a sin that you committed. They're mostly self-inflicted, right? Grudges take up heart space, drama takes up time space, all of it takes up head space, right? It just takes away from what time you have. And so if you're a person who's not messy, who generally avoids drama and causing drama and inflicting wounds and gossiping and things of that sort, you likely have a lot more time to focus on what's important rather than always trying to climb out of something that you've inflicted upon yourself. So that's the second thing. The third thing, and there's something very interesting about this hadith. Spending time with your family. You say, wait a minute. That's why I feel like my time is going, right?
I can't find time to spend with my family. I can find time to do all this other stuff, but I can't find time to spend with my family. Anas ibn Malik, radiallahu anhu, narrates that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَن يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيُنسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَلْيَصِرْ رَحِمَةً The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said, مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَن يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيُنسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فِي أَثَرِهِ فِي أَثَرِهِ Whoever wants to be granted more wealth and have their life extended, then let them keep a good relationship with their family ties. Let them establish their family ties. You think to yourself, wait a minute. Family pulls me away from being able to make money properly. I've got to do more in my career, and that's why I don't have time for my family. I don't have time for my family because I got to do this. You still find time for the leisure. You still find time for all the, but I don't have time for my family because I got to do this important stuff. Okay. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is saying that in the design of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, spending time with your family, being good to your family actually increases the barakah of your earning and the barakah of your time. And we trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with that. And that's why you read about the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. You say, how was he able to balance? Allah put barakah, blessing in what the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did in his time in every way possible. And silat ur-rahm starts with your parents. Starts with your parents if your parents are alive. Right. It starts with your spouses, then your children, then, you know, the closer, your uncles, your aunts, and so on and so forth. There's blessing that comes from that. Blessing that comes from the dua of those people. Blessing that comes from the rida, from the pleasure of those people. And so all of us should take that as a sign. You know what? No, I'm not going to relinquish those family ties in the name of what? In the name of making more money or making better use of my time. Because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, the opposite is in fact true. And subhanAllah, you look at the way the scholars pointed to this or explain this idea of the prolonging of life.
The prolonging of life. Some of them said, حصول القوة في الجسد That Allah blesses your health and blesses your ability, expands you in that sense. Some of the scholars say, بالبركة في عمره والتوفيق لطاعات Allah blesses them by just putting more in their time. بركة in their time. And guides them to do actions of good, deeds of obedience. Some of them said, and this is beautiful, بقاء ذكره الجميل بعد الموت Allah extends his life with the good memory that he leaves behind. With those people that you loved. So they have ذكر جميل. They have a beautiful way of remembering you. And that extends you because when they remember you beautifully, then they do things in your name. That encourages them to make dua for you and to give sadaqa in your name. And that allows for your extension on life to exist. And some of the scholars said, of course, that this is the actual extension of years that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala puts in his books on a person when a person has barakah in that sense. The fourth thing, acts of gratitude. Allah Azawajal says, ولئن شكرتم لأزيدنكم If you are grateful, I will increase you. Now لأزيدنكم is in regards to faith as a whole, your perspective, but also in regards to the specific thing that you are showing شكر with. What does it mean to be grateful with your health? Allah will increase you when you're grateful with your health. When you use your health to work acts of gratitude. Sadaqa is a means of gratitude with wealth. It increases your wealth. And so gratitude with your time. Sparing your time for service. To do acts of شكر, volunteerism. Some people think, well, I can't find time for the volunteerism and doing the acts of gratitude. Allah extended the years of Dawood Alayhi Salaam. اعملوا آل داوود شكره Who worked acts of gratitude. And it extends his life Alayhi Salaam.
And so a person should always have some notion of sadaqa with their time. And so, you know, I want to be very clear here. This is not just swiping a credit card or now whatever, you know, doing it online and just donating something. Sadaqa with your time, acts of gratitude with your time will put بركة in your time. Volunteering your time for something good in an act of gratitude will actually bless your time as well. Number five, a daily recitation of the Qur'an, specifically Surah Al-Baqarah. Is where we find the Prophet Alayhi Salaam talked about البقرة when it comes to بركة in time. The Prophet Alayhi Salaam said in an authentic hadith, اقرأوا سورة البقرة فإن أخذها بركة متركها حسرة ولا تستطيعها البطلة He said, Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam, possess, recite Surah Al-Baqarah. Recite Surah Al-Baqarah. When you do so, you are unlocking all sorts of بركة. And to abandon it is a form of regret. ولا تستطيعها البطلة And it cannot be penetrated or overcome by البطلة. البطلة can be as neutral as laziness and as nefarious as صحب, as sorcery and magicians. Okay, it's somewhere there as well. So some of the scholars say that a person who is lazy will not be able to read Surah Al-Baqarah. If they have that characteristic of just not being motivated. البطلة is a condition. I just don't feel like doing anything. And then you have a narration from Mu'awiyah, radiyaAllahu ta'ala Anhu, where Mu'awiyah said, بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الْبَطْرَأَيَ السَّحْرَةَ What I was taught is that بطرة here refers to السحرة, the sorcerer. So it's a protection of the house. And we know the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam told us to read Surah Al-Baqarah in the home as a means of protecting it from anyone that tries to cause you harm. And so the scholars say in regards to وقت here, in regards to time here, right? The longest Surah of the Qur'an is Al-Baqarah.
If you read it, the blessing that it unlocks in your life is significant. It's significant. And so there's a general rule here that if a person has a daily recitation of the Qur'an, it will increase the blessing of their time. And specifically, of course, here, Surah Al-Baqarah that has been given to us. And it is as long as it is, subhanAllah, as long as it is, you will find many people able to memorize Surah Al-Baqarah. You can't memorize the whole Qur'an, but you will find many people that were able to memorize Surah Al-Baqarah. And that's something that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has placed within it as a bushra, as a glad tiding, that it's not as hard as you think to approach the Qur'an with memorization. It's not as hard as you think. And when a person memorizes it, bidden Allah will unlock much barakah, much blessing for them. Number six, incorporating remembrance into your routine. Dhikr into your actual routine. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was once walking with the companions. Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, he said that we reached a mountain on the outskirts of Mecca called Jumdan. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, سيروا هذا جمدان سبق المفردون سبق المفردون سبق المفردون The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, go on for Jumdan. Jumdan is a mountain that's all by itself. It means frozen, right? So it's all by itself. There's nothing around it. And it's a staple there. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is saying, go. سبق المفردون Those who have lived a life of being alone have proceeded. المفردون have gone ahead. So he said, Ya Rasulullah, what do you mean the loners? What do you mean they've proceeded? They've gone ahead of everybody else. And he said, الذاكرون الله كثيرا و الذاكرات The men who remember Allah frequently and the women who remember Allah frequently. Now there's so much to take from this.
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned this dhikr in the context of what? سبق They've gone ahead. They have succeeded. They've beat the bunch in the race. They're ahead of the lines. And what the ulema say here is the emphasis of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, right? If you look at his life, is that dhikr was not something that was isolated to a place or a time of worship. Dhikr was in the Prophet's gatherings, alayhis salatu wasalam. His tongue was moist with it. Dhikr is when you're cooking. Dhikr is when you're walking. Dhikr is when you're working out. Dhikr is when you're doing anything that is not haram. You don't want to be doing dhikr while you're haram unless you're doing it to get you out of the haram. Dhikr is something that you incorporate into your daily life. And you set those goals. You don't have to separate like I can only do dhikr in the masjid after salah. Dhikr is something that you bring into your routine. And that's when you find the story of the baker in the time of Imam Ahmed, rahimahullah, whose du'as were all answered. Why? Because as he was baking his dough, subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah, allahu akbar. The output in the dunya that you saw was some loaves of bread. The output in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was a bunch of palaces and trees in jannah at the end of every day and answered du'as for him. So for the brothers and the sisters, incorporate dhikr into your actual routine. Don't just relegate it to a place and that will increase what you earn in the hereafter as well as what you bless in this life. The last thing, dear brothers and sisters, keep the company of productive people. Righteous people are of categories, but specifically productive righteous people. Keep their company. Where Allah azawajal says, وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَادَاتِ وَالْعَشِيدِ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَةً Keep the company of those who are calling upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala night and day. Seek patience through them. Keep yourself resilient by their company.
And there is a story I'll end with here. It's the story of Ibn Abbas, one of my favorite stories of a young man who had a vision. Ibn Abbas, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ, loved by the Prophet ﷺ. He used to sleep in the home of the Prophet ﷺ. He used to be behind the Prophet ﷺ on his camel and on his horse. He was always with him ﷺ. From the age of 10 to the age of 20, he was always with him ﷺ. At the age of 13, shadowed him ﷺ, brought his wudu. It was very traumatic for him when the Prophet ﷺ passed away. But he also had an eye and he had a heart that was looking for the pleasure of Allah. So when everyone came back to Medina, after the death of the Prophet ﷺ, all these sahaba that had gone on journeys were all there in Medina. He tells his friends, 13-year-old friend, 13-year-old Ibn Abbas, hey, the ashab, the companions of the Prophet ﷺ are everywhere today. Let's go seek knowledge from them. They're all here in Medina. Let's go ask them to narrate to us their hadith, their time with the Prophet ﷺ. Let's get something for them. And his friend is narrating the incident. He says that, I told him, you go ahead and do that. I'm going to keep playing and relaxing. Let's go play with the pigeons instead. Ibn Abbas ﷺ says, I let him go, I left him, I went and I started to sleep on the doorsteps of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ. Collect a hadith, collect fiqh, their knowledge, their jurisprudence. Years later, they've grown up and that man is walking by and he's still playing with the pigeons as an adult. And Ibn Abbas ﷺ's house has become the first university in the history of Islam. He's saying, you know, that young man knew better than I did. He got it. It clicked. Keep the company of productive people. Keep the company of people that are goal-oriented. Keep the company of people that are trying to get ahead. Work with them together.
وَالْعَصْرِ إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ إِلَّا لَذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا صَالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَلُوا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَلُوا بِالصَّبْرِ We are all in loss, except for those of us who enjoy one another, push one another towards the truth, push one another towards enjoying good and forbidding evil and patience and prosperity. May Allah put barakah in our lives, barakah in our time, barakah in our rizq, in our sustenance, barakah in our deeds. May Allah allow that barakah to be embedded with his rida, to be embedded with his pleasure with us until we meet him and we enter into paradise in the company of his beloved Prophet ﷺ. I say this and ask forgiveness of Allah for you and the Muslims, so ask forgiveness of Him. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Alhamdulillah. May Allah forgive us and not punish us. May Allah forgive us and not punish us. May Allah forgive us and not punish us.
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