Rafed English
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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.

Adapted from: "How to Utilize Our Free Time?" by: "Al-Balagh Foundation"