by Dr Manejeh Yaqub
Unlike time, money as an entity and a concept is essentially a man-made controllable one. One could earn it, lose it, bring it back, steal it, make it, borrow it, donate it, and inherit it, all as an outcome of their action or the actions of other human beings.
For us as humans, understanding the value, essence and meaning of time is a fundamental learning, which if missing, is perhaps our biggest miss, risk and fault.
We often chance upon the phrase Time is Money – trying to assign time a higher value than what we think it is. I have been reflecting a lot on this, this past Ramadhan on why this concept in itself is so problematic and how even saying it in passing, puts our mindsets at great risk.
More than Money
Time is not just money, and by saying time is money we de-value time in a big way and take away its true essence in trying to assign it to a value (a number, a figure or a measure) way smaller than what it truly is.
Here’s one main reason why time is not money.
Money as an entity and a concept is essentially a man-made controllable one. One could earn it, lose it, bring it back, steal it, make it, borrow it, donate it, and inherit it, all as an outcome of their action or the actions of other human beings. Money is governed by man, created by man, its value assigned by man, changed by man, and its definition and metrics developed, iterated, improved and constantly changed by man.
Not Man Made
Time, however, is very different. You cannot ever bring it back. You cannot borrow it or earn it – you only lose it, with its passing. That is one constant which is a key fact of life that is created divinely, and governed by divine ordinance. The time of one’s birth, of death, of any key milestones or even generally how it passes are not essentially controllable by humans.
Time is a true privilege; it is everything that is of value and extends into eternal value. We all (as humans) are bound and defined first by time. We are not bound by money. Someone residing in a modest setting with limited resources may be wealthier in terms of how they invest their time than someone who possesses vast wealth but now grapples with a larger deficit due to the complexities of managing that wealth. In such a situation, the monetary wealth becomes an additional trial, much like the time which is a continuous trial for all of us (as humans) anyway.
Precious Resource
The way human life works, and the bounds of time we all have, I feel it is possibly the most precious resource and concept to understand, far surpassing any other. Using time wisely (the concept of time management) is a greater asset, fundamental skill and profound talent to have, much over the skills of earning money or knowing “money management” or trying to portray success through how much money one can make, save or spend.
In a world that has increasingly paid attention to capitalist mindsets, where bigger and better are framed as those with more monetary wealth, it is essential to think about what the outcome of this mindset has led humanity to. The battles based on divisions of wealth start at micro levels (between family members) and extend up to nations and groups of nations trying to exert their muscle power through concepts that are only related to money as wealth.
While the study of economics is very important for the good functioning of society, the way economics gets over-emphasised and over-imposed on society is not only unhealthy it is in many ways unnatural.
Money is manmade, man survived without money (for thousands of years) and could in theory survive without the concept of money for much longer, but could there be a man without time? Now that is a good question we need to ask ourselves.
Use Time, Not Currency
This could help us start a journey, where we learn how to truly dissect money from time and learn the values and essence of both. This concept is also one, which one can argue, is essential to teach our kids before anything else. Instead of teaching 7-year-olds how 20 Rs + 70 Rs = 90 Rs which buys you one candy and one ice cream, would it not be a better route to teach them 10 minutes (for taking a shower) + 5 minutes (for brushing teeth) = 15 minutes spend on starting the day clean. How many of us teach or witness our kids being taught the latter way?
The concept of time as the most precious resource is profoundly explained in The Noble Quran by Allah SWT in Surah Al-Asr, where Allah swearing by time, tells his creation, very clearly how they are in deficit with every second that goes by from the moment they come into this world.
In the miracle of this Surah, Allah also provides very clear guidance on “how” time can be best utilised by those whom Allah has guided to the ultimate truth and those who engage in righteous deeds. The recommendation by Allah is to utilise time wisely, and guide or enjoin one another (tawasaw), perform all kinds of good deeds per his ordinance (Al-Maruf), abstain from all kinds of sins and evils per his word (Al-Munkar) and practice patience (for any sufferings, harms, injuries) in the pursuits leading to Allah.
Realise Importance
We often do not realise how precious time truly is, until it’s all gone, or the deficit becomes obvious, or worse still, we spend a life, oblivious (in ghaflat – ignorance) to this fact, which in itself is a big shame considering we have very clear guidance on it.
One deep learning I obtained from these Ramadhan time reflections is to cherish the time, we spend doing “right”, and avoiding “evil” or even learning what is “right” and what is “evil” (which in itself is an ocean) per the guidance bestowed on us from The Noble Quran is one of the most natural and wise decisions to make.
So, it is nice to cherish those people, resources, moments and reflections that enjoin you to the good, prevent you from the evil, and help you manage your time in the prescribed way.
I am truly grateful to all my teachers, mentors, friends and family members who have in any way taught me the essence of time and how best to spend it and humbly hope all the readers of this note are too.
(The author is a physician-scientist who was born and raised in Srinagar and is currently based in the United States. Ideas are personal.)
