Author: Husain Moradi

Date: 2020-06-13

We see many people, and perhaps among believers, who do not use their time properly and have a lot of wasted and little useful time. It appears that one of the biggest problems is the lack of planning or having weakness in it. Please explain the necessity of time management and the manner of planning, and that what parts must a believer divide his life into, and how should he spend his time on each part?

I am grateful in advance to you God-fearing and humble scholars.

Answer to question: 2

Date: 2020-06-17

The suitable plan for each believer is different depending on his situation in life; because, for example, what a married believer must do is different from what a single believer must do, or what an employed single believer can do is different from what an unemployed single believer can do, but the truth is that this difference is more quantitative, and therefore, the type and nature of the works of believers can be considered to be the same to a large extent and divided into seven parts:

1. Worship and self-improvement

Every believer must spend sufficient and appropriate time communicating with God; because sufficient and appropriate communication with God is the basis of all works, and without it, nothing will be blessed or lead to a desired result. Sufficient and appropriate communication with God is one that keeps the heart alive and the intellect clear, prevents the permanence of heedlessness and the repetition of sin, improves morals, and strengthens the self, and in this way, it paves the way for doing other works better and more. Communication with God is achieved through preserving obligatory and recommended prayers, remembering God frequently throughout the day and night, making du‘a and supplication in solitude, asking for forgiveness of sins, especially at dawn, and doing good deeds for God’s satisfaction; as Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, has recommended these things before anything else in his invaluable letter that contains thirty moral instructions.

2. Preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God

Every believer must spend sufficient and appropriate time providing help with the advent of the Caliph of God; because this work is the most important duty of every believer after worship and self-improvement, and therefore, nothing but worship and self-improvement must stop him from doing it. Although without preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, worship and self-improvement will not be accepted from him, and therefore, worship and self-improvement must not stop him from preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God either. Preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God is done through membership in the website for the office of Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, and then direct and continuous communication with the mentors and officials of the movement, and then practical participation in the implementation of the arranged plans and programs and the correct and complete performance of the assigned duties under their supervision.

3. Acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion

Every believer must spend sufficient and appropriate time increasing his knowledge about religion; because the more his knowledge about religion increases, the deeper and more cognitive his worship and self-improvement, and the better and more effective his preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God will be. The safest way and the easiest method to increase knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion are to refer daily to the website for the office of Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, and study its various contents; because this website believes in and is committed to explaining the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion based on Islamic certainties and definite facts, and its various contents answer the most important issues for Muslims around the world, unlike other existing websites that do not have such belief and commitment and only explain some issues from the point of view of a particular sect by relying on uncertain and indefinite reasons, and therefore, referring to them takes a lot of time and has little benefit.

4. Attaining lawful sustenance as much as necessary

Every believer whose expenditure is not provided by his father or another person needs to find a proper way to provide his expenditure, and the proper way to provide his expenditure is to engage in a job that is legitimate on the one hand and does not prevent him from doing the previous three works on the other hand; because without a doubt, living in poverty is better than engaging in an illegitimate job or a job that prevents worship and self-improvement, preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, or acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion; considering that the purpose of life is not to earn money, but to be saved from the fire and reach Heaven, which is achieved by worship and self-improvement, preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, and acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion, and therefore, earning money is justified and allowed to the extent that it does not violate the purpose of life. It is hereby understood that those who fail in worship and self-improvement, preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, or acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion under the pretext of providing expenditure for themselves and their families are losers and will regret it on the Day of Judgment; as spending time and energy earning money more than necessary is wronging oneself and will lead to regret and sorrow; except for one who spends his more-than-necessary money on worship and self-improvement, preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, and acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion. Therefore, Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, has said to his companions:

Be content with a little thing from the world that relieves the stomach from pain and the body from cold, and use your strength for the Hereafter! Never shall I see you being busy with the world and not finding time for the Hereafter! ... What do you do with this money that has the picture of idols on it, and one has to perform wudu due to touching it?! It is as if a curse is written on it, or misfortune is hidden in it! … Be satisfied with something of the world that is sufficient and do not consider necessary anything of it that is not necessary. What do you do with this money if you have enough bread to eat, enough clothes to wear, and enough place to sleep?! Can you eat more than the capacity of one stomach or put clothes on more than one body or sleep in more than one place?! More-than-needed money is a burden on the neck, so give it away and ease your mind! A rock in a shirt is lighter than money in it that you do not need, but you do not feel its weight! So drive stinginess out of your hearts and cast miserliness out of your heads! Reduce attachments and lower expectations! Make contentment your garment and simplicity your jewelry! Fill the holes with economy and cover the valleys with patience! In any case, now that there is no escape from death, die while striving for the Hereafter, not for the world; because striving for the Hereafter will bear fruit with death, and striving for the world will be gone with the wind with death! When the call is heard, whoever of you is free immediately rushes to it, and whoever of you is busy says: “What should I do about the house? What should I do about the job? What should I do about the debt? What should I do about that? What should I do about this?” So in this way, he is left behind while he is one of the losers.

5. Exercise and physical education

Every believer must spend sufficient and appropriate time maintaining and improving his health and physical strength; because his body is his vehicle to reach Heaven, and therefore, it is clear that the healthier and stronger vehicle he has, the sooner and easier he will reach Heaven. For this reason, Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani, may God protect him, has said: “You need to do exercise, for a strong believer is better than a weak believer.”[1] Of course, to achieve this goal, there is no need to attend sports clubs or work in specialized fields, but rather correct and continuous exercise and activities such as walking, running, climbing, and swimming can be sufficient.

6. Proper communication with family, relatives, and neighbors

Every believer must spend sufficient time communicating properly with his family, relatives, and neighbors; because his family, relatives, and neighbors have rights that are obligatory to fulfill, and therefore, one must not forget them or cut ties with them unless they are among the misguided, there is no hope that they will be guided, and communication with them will harm worship and self-improvement, preparing the ground for the advent of the Caliph of God, or acquiring knowledge about the beliefs, morals, and rulings of religion; because in this case, communicating with them is not obligatory, but rather it is forbidden; as God Almighty has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّ مِنْ أَزْوَاجِكُمْ وَأَوْلَادِكُمْ عَدُوًّا لَكُمْ فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ﴾[2]; “O you who believed! Indeed, some of your wives and children are your enemies, so beware of them,” and said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ﴾[3]; “O you who believed! Do not let your wealth or your children divert you from the remembrance of God, and whoever does so is one of the losers,” and said: ﴿قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ﴾[4]; “Say: ‘If your fathers, sons, brothers, spouses, relatives, wealth that you have gathered, trade that you are afraid of its decline, and houses that you like them are dearer to you than God, His Prophet, and struggling in His way, then wait until God brings His command, and God does not guide the group of sinners.’”

7. Sufficient and proper rest and recreation

Doing the previous works takes a lot of strength from a believer, while the human being is weak and therefore needs rest; as God Almighty has said: ﴿يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَنْ يُخَفِّفَ عَنْكُمْ ۚ وَخُلِقَ الْإِنْسَانُ ضَعِيفًا﴾[5]; “God wants to lighten your burdens, and the human being has been created weak.” Therefore, every believer must spend sufficient time resting in order to regain the necessary strength to do the previous works; as when he is done doing the previous works, he can think about recreation; because recreation is also a kind of rest and helps to improve mental health and vitality, provided that it is not tainted with forbidden things or does not prevent from an obligatory work.

These are the main works that every believer must do throughout the day and night to have a “pure life” and achieve happiness in the world and the Hereafter, and therefore, it is clear that failure in any of them means loss and leads to regret and sorrow on the Day of Judgment.

Appendix Number: 1

Appendix Author: Husain

Appendix Date: 2020-06-19

Answer to appendix: 1

Date: 2020-06-28