Youth and Responsibility of Time

Our ages are a gift from Allah…a wide or narrow distance of a fertile land that allows us to cultivate in them, but where we will be asked on the day of the great harvesting time (the Hereafter) about what we have done with the land and what we have received from it. The Almighty Allah had given each and everyone of us a container, and said: Take it and fill it with what you want, but you are responsible for what you fill it with. Here we differed: among us there are those who filled their container with sand and there are those who filled their container with a valuable resource, while there are those who filled their container with poison and there are those who filled it with floating dust. Here it is in our hand…it is left to us to think about what we will fill our own container (in our age) with.

As youth we are responsible for benefiting in the time of our youthfulness, because it is the most formost of our life, and it is a field of good, a circle of given, development and services to the religion through giving a helping hand to fellow men.

We are also responsible for not wasting our time joking and playing; too much talking that will neither nourish nor satisfy hunger. And not wander about in the streets, markets and other public places; instead, we should try to follow it with good and beneficial things, which will benefit our society and us.

We are responsible for building our personality in its period of growth and development in order to be different from others in terms of giving; as one of us use to do when he wanted to be different from other students by working hard and concentrating on his lessons. We are also responsible for competing with time, not only imitating. This means making use of every minute and second of ours in developing everything that comes into our hands; be it a part of our personality or our society.

Competing with time means to look into things that are far away from you, not just at things that your eyes set on in the present time…because you are responsible for your today, tomorrow, and future. Time is running out…set your sight on far away tomorrow, then you will see that time - due to its short days and night and its past moving - can offer more than its hours, days, months and years.

Remember…your day is the same with the day of every inventor, initiator or scholar…there is not a day that has 24 hours and the other 30 hours; the only difference is understanding the importance of time and spending it correctly. The responsibility of time is not only when we are alive, rather it continues even after death. Because good remembrance, nice history and what man leaves of scientific experiences will be an everlasting treasure to the people who come.

Adapted from the book: "Youth Aspiration Towards Responsibility" by: "Al Balagh Foundation"