The best actions are continuous ones even if little

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said, "The best
actions are continuous ones even if little..." [Muslim] After I looked at my
own state and the state of those who waste their time, I wanted to encourage
our souls to obey and worship Allah `azza wa jall by compiling a list of
some well-known actions that Allah `azza wa jall has honored us with and
prepared a great reward for those who do them. This list is also a reminder
of better utilizing our time and seizing the opportunity of every hour and
making use of it. My goal in compiling the list is not to point out the
actions as much as to show the necessity of organizing and planning and
preserving one's time by investing it in something good.

First of all, let us talk about time, with which many are heedless and
wasteful, and which importance only few recognize.

Time is like wealth, it requires our attention and care in both spending and
managing. While it is possible to gather and store wealth, and even add to
it, time, however, is in no way like that. For every minute that passes can
never come back even if you were to spend all the wealth of this world.

So since time is preordained to be a specific period that can not be brought
forward or delayed and since the value of it depends on what it is spent on,
it is obligatory upon every human being to preserve time, be it little or
long. One should use it in the best possible way and not be heedless about
it.

In order to preserve one's time, one must reflect on how and where to spend
it. The best way to spend time is in obeying Allah ta`ala. One will never
regret time spent in such acts of obedience. The only regret would be that
if one were not to take yet more provisions in terms of good actions. So set
your goal, O brother or sister, make your intention sincere, beginning with
a desire to preserve your time and beware of wasting any minute of it.

My noble brother and sister,

I selected the time span of ten minutes (for performing particular righteous
actions listed in this book) due to ease of application, so that one starts
with them until he or she engages in good all the time, by Allah's grace. In
these actions there is conformity with the saying of the Messenger,
sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, "The most beloved action to Allah is the most
continuous, even if little." [Muslim]

Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in relation to this
hadeeth, "In it (the above hadeeth) is an exhortation to perform deeds
regularly and continuously, and [an explanation] that a small deed done
regularly is better than a great one that is interrupted. It is because by
continuously doing a little of such actions as, [one’s] obedience,
remembrance, awareness of Allah, sincerity and dedication to the Creator,
subhanahu wa ta`ala, the outcome accumulates and it is multiplied exceeding
what is greater but interrupted."

The Messenger, sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam, spoke the truth. My dear brother
or sister, I will give you an example of the blessing of utilizing ten
minutes in righteousness. Glorifying Allah subanahu wa ta`ala by saying
"Subhan Allah" a hundred times daily means that one will do so 36,500 times
in a year. So take account of your soul, my brother or sister. You can only
glorify Allah this much in a year if you are regular in performing tasbeeh
and if you make good use of your time.

Similarly, if one reads the Qur'an for ten minutes regularly, one can finish
reading it in full every two months. Is this how you do it? Ask yourself, do
you complete recitation of the full Qur'an outside of Ramadan? And do not
limit, my dear brother or sister, these special ten minutes, devoted to
obedience, to be performed only once a day. Perhaps you will find the time
after the morning prayer, or after the sunrise, or after the noon prayer, or
before sleep.

Likewise, if one manages to memorize only a single verse from the Book of
Allah, `azza wa jall, every day, he or she will complete memorization the
complete Qur'an in only eight years.

Most of the actions mentioned are performed with the tongue, so one is able
to gain rewards at all times and in all situations. So whoever wants to
strive in obedience to Allah, doors of good are open and one can make one's
days and indeed all of one's life like the ten minutes. Abu Bakra,
radhiallahu anhu, related that a person said: "O Messenger of Allah, which
people are the best?" He said, "Whose life is long and his actions good." He
said, "And what people are the worst?" He said, "Whose life is long and his
actions bad." [Muslim]

This is an opportunity for you, dear brother or sister. Ten minutes in which
one can taste the sweetness of regularity of performing righteous actions
and which can be a step towards managing one's time, until all of one's life
becomes beneficial. Ten minutes that are in agreement with the saying of
Allah `azza wa jall, "And I have not created the Jinn or humans except to
worship Me." [adh-Dhaariyaat (51):56]

Ibn ul-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "In conclusion, the
servant, when he turns away from Allah and becomes preoccupied with sins (in
this world), he loses days of his true life (in the hereafter). He will see
the consequence of losing them the Day he says, "He will say, 'Oh, I wish I
had sent ahead [some good] for my life [i.e. true, everlasting life in the
Hereafter].'" [al-Fajr (89):24]”

Some actions that can be done in ten minutes:

a.. The forenoon prayer
b.. Recitation of the Quran
c.. Salawat on the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
d.. Praying Salat al-Janazah
e.. Remembrance of Allah, `azza wa jall
f.. Saying Subhan Allah, alhamdulillah and Laa ilaha ill Allah
g.. Teaching children
h.. Supplication
i.. Taking account of oneself
j.. Reading
k.. Removal of others’ difficulties and fulfillment of their needs
l.. Preserving ties of kinship
m.. Listening to da`wah tapes
n.. Visiting believers for Allah’s sake
o.. Remembering Allah after the obligatory prayers
p.. Making peace between people
q.. Advising
r.. Phoning relatives
s.. Writing one’s will
t.. Giving charity
u.. Reading traditions of the Prophet, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
v.. Contemplating
w.. Mailing da`wah information
x.. Feeding the poor
y.. Praying Salat al-Istikharah
z.. Taking care of orphans
aa.. Serving one’s family
ab.. Seeking knowledge
ac.. Ordering good
ad.. Making sajdah
ae.. Spreading Islamic knowledge
af.. Calling to Allah
ag.. Giving Sadaqa jariyyah (charity that carries perpetual award)
ah.. Guiding and nurturing one’s children
ai.. Repeating after the mu’adhdhin
aj.. Performing the night prayer
source: http://islaam.com/

http://adiemad.nurhidayah.com/