So these are some notes that I've made while attending an online workshop on "sleep and time management" by Zaynab Academy. They are very informal and I'm only putting them up here so that In shaa Allah it may be of benefit.
Introduction; Significance of time:
· We won’t be able to make this excuse to Allah that we didn’t have enough time. Because that is one blessing that has been given to everyone.
· Everything (youth packages, media, etc) is centered on the youth because young people have the most time!!
· Most of us take time for granted. And we let time take control of us rather than us controlling it.
· Prophet S.A.W. said: “Value five things before five things; value youth before old age, health before sickness, affluence before poverty, free time before occupation and life before death.”
· There is one regret that even the people of jannah will have and that will be of any time that passed them in which they did not remember Allah.
· How to manage time and sleep? Through effort and barakah.
Asbab of barakah:
There are four asbab of barakah; taqwa, dhikr, dua and being attached to elders.
(1) Having taqwa is the key element in attaining barakah of Allah. Example: Prophet S.A.W. was able to bring about the strongest revolution in just 23 years and Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, this was all due to Allah’s barakah.
(2) The more dhikr we do, the more barakah we’ll have in our lives. And if we plan to do a lot and are not able to do as much as we planned then we shouldn’t be disappointed as that is from shaitan. We should instead thank Allah for any progress that we’ve been able to make.
(3) And then we should also pray to Allah to shower our lives with barakah.
(4) We should be attached to our elders as that also brings barakah in our lives.
Why does barakah leave our lives?
Barakah leaves our lives due to the following:
· Committing sins,
· Misdirecting the gaze,
· Not having the right/sincere intention for doing the right things.
How to make barakah enter our lives?
· We should always have our gaze on Allah Ta’ala and realize that we are naaqis and that only Allah can make our efforts worth anything and everything. And that on our own we cannot do anything.
· Understanding efforts. Meaning that nothing is possible without putting effort and hard work into it. “Man can have nothing but what he strives for”- (53:39),
“As for those who strive on Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with those who excel.”- (29:69)
· One thing that can change our lives is changing our sleep schedules. “If we master our nights, then we’ll master our days.”- Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed.
· Everything is in an order; measured and perfect in proportion and balance.
· Average optimum level of sleep is 6 hours. And eight hours or more are just too much!
· And if we cut down on 2 hours every day of sleep then we will have 90 days being added to every year of our lives!!!
· Decrease sleep by fifteen minutes every day and check if we still feel fresh. And when we stop feeling fresh then we should stop.
· Also the way we sleep also has an impact on how many sleeping hours are optimal for us. And if we sleep at the right time, the right way then 5.5 or 6.5 hours are optimal for us.
· So when should we sleep? Prophet (S.A.W.) hated sleeping before Isha, as in after isha azaan and before namaz. We shouldn’t start something fresh after isha.
Importance of not sleeping after fajr!
· DO NOT SLEEP AFTER FAJR.
· SLEEPING AFTER FAJR IS OUT OF THE QUESTION.
· The Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “Barakah has been kept for my ummah in the early hours of the day.” And this is something that even the non-Muslims have recognized.
· And the Prophet (S.A.W.) prayed to Allah to keep barakah in the early hours of the day for his ummah. And sleeping after fajr is khilaf-e-sunnat. Aur subah majlis hua karti thi after fajr in the morning in the time of the Prophet (S.A.W.).
· Sleeping in the early hours of the day puts a barrier on our rizk. And rizk does not just refer to monetary rizk.
· Samuel Walton used to plan from 4:00 to 6:00 a.m. And he used to play tennis at 12:00 pm and then he would take a sunnat qaylula nap after lunch.
· Allah has not prescribed fajr salah JUST to disrupt our sleep!! But one of the maqasid of fajr salah is to wake us up early in the morning and to make us START our day with the dhikr of Allah Subhanu-wa-Ta’ala.
· Our body clock recognizes the difference between natural light and artificial night, and our body relies on the natural light.
· When we're not organized, we have fights/arguments at home.
· Vicious Cycle: when we don't have time to work, we don't have time for ibadah, we don't do zikr, we don't follow the sunnahs, we barely even do the farz... causes a complete breakdown.
· Disturbs our relationships with people and causes frustration.
Importance of Qaylula:
- Qaylula is a mustaqil sunnah of nabi kareem (s.a.w) and also of the sahaba.
- Circadian rhythms fall out at afternoon time. It's natural. We get angry at feeling sleepy and we drink CHAI. :P
- We suppress our natural urge to sleep.
- If you want to wake up for tahajjud, you should sleep in afternoon.
- Qaylula is for 30-45 minutes, anytime between zawal (12-12.30) and asar.
- Power naps are extremely refreshing!!
- Most mammals sleep in two periods. So are humans programmed, but we try to be so over efficient. :P
· Napping is very important and can also be done without properly lying down. Like napping in the car or napping while putting head on the desk etc. Yaani we should try and make a habit of napping, no matter what. We should bring this sunnah back alive in our lives and pray to Allah to make it possible for us to do so.
· Many businesses have also started encouraging naps.
How to develop good sleep?
· Un-clutter bedroom!!
· Reduce in-take of caffeine and soda before we go to sleep. Like not drink them from around 3-5 hours before sleep.
· As for soda imagine someone else is making money off our health.
· Do regular exercise as it helps in the production of serotonin- serotonin is also known as the happy hormone.
· After qiyam-ul-layl, we CAN sleep after ishraq time!! But right after fajr ko sona is like really bad!
· Sitting is killing us!! L L
· Start with 30 minutes exercise 3-4 times a week!! Then build it up slowly!!
How to manage time?
· Allocate time slots for different activities like, for example this time to this time we should answer emails, from this to this time we should study, from this to this time we should recite Quran etc.
· Be conscious of time and this can be seen by the break-down of duas with relevance to time, as well.
· Everything we need to and that we do should be guided by a mission!
· Things shouldn’t be random in our lives and EVERYTHING should be scheduled!!
· Prioritizing is very important!
· Schedule activities around our salahs.
· Friday is supposed to be an eid for momins.
· Regularity is very important. Each thing that Prophet S.A.W. did had a specific time limit.
· We should find sukun and peace in our salahs and through other breaks as well
Conclusion:
VALUE TIME. Especially for the ones who are young and youth is from 18 years to 40 years.
· And we should always plan and write down everything we have to do in a day before it starts and we should NOT let random events run our days. We should have a daily list of things to do, a monthly list and even a yearly list!! To value time and to see progress.
· We should write down even the smallest of things that we have to do!!
· Set deadlines for things! There should be a limit for everything. “facebook pe bethe hain toh bethe hain!!” L
· Have activities for stress relief- ibadah, dhikr, exercise, leisure.
· Keep trying and keep making dua to Allah and keep saying “Lahawla wala quwatta illahbillah hil ‘aliyyil azeem” and don’t get sad but rather work on your nafs and get angry when you don’t make any progress but thank Allah even if we make a little progress.
· How to become determined?? By thanking Allah Ta’ala very often and making dua for it.
