INSPIRED BY THE ARTICLE ‘The Tyranny Of The Mechanical Clock’ by Mohammed Faris.

Time with my Lord...
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُزَّمِّلُ (Sura 73. Holy Quran)
1.' O you Enwrapped.' perfected faith
40 years did you(ﷺ) elucubrate
Time gave itself to you(ﷺ) 
and therein in lied the clue.

﴿١﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ
1. O you covered up. (Sura 74. Holy Quran)
You(ﷺ) rose in vigil 
Divine blessings rain down from the supreme cup
 (Suran 73. ayah 2)قُمِ اللَّيْلَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
2. Stand vigil at night, except a little.
Time witnessed and gave itself to you.

Time looked unto itself
Alas! it exclaimed ' I feel like an elf.'
Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) I witnessed the Meraj and watched you fly.
I was kept aside and did not sigh.
Allah (ﷻ) asked me to 'pause' as 'doors' opened up with immense applause 
He said there is greater cause.
Muhammad (ﷺ) is more precious 
I, must be gracious.

Along came the five salah
Every call to salah gave each believer Falaah.
I became significant  
believers became vigilant 
I became the throne
when gold and silver became greed's stone.

Lands ravaged and prayers wained
I became the measure 
denied believers their prayer leisure
every soul pained

Lives ravaged by industrial feed
I wrapped the human wrist
Ah! the greed
Life became a horrible twist.

The believer look at me
This time I had a fee.
I, too, colonised
And despised
because mankind forgot I gave it to them
I pass on what is mine, all they give is phlegm.
I, a creation too, precious is what I give
Crazy is how mankind choose to live.
I long for him (ﷺ) who came with revelation 
guided creation.
Veneration did he (ﷺ) have for me
all I gave him(ﷺ) is my unsheathed fee only for those who can pull the scabbard and receive free my fee:
Barakah and more
that is my core.
' O you Enwrapped.'
'O you covered up.'
Rise and worship Allah
He has made me for you:
I am TIME uncolonised!

Left in Wonder…

The five Islamic ritual prayers endow the day with a specific pulse that remains a vital sign of time perception in Muslim societies. In a world of global time zones, atomic clocks, and affordable wrist watches, where day and night are measured in 24 hours of equal 60-minute length, the times of these five ritual prayers are pegged to the much older system of seasonal time and unequal hours. 

-‘Time Sticks: How Islam and Other Cultures Have Measured Time,” by Dr.Barbara Freyer Stowasser.

I read this over and over again and realised that punctuality is vitally important and flights do not wait for anyone but, the value you bring to time adds blessings to punctuality. My reflection on the moment that the first words were revealed to Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) it took time and it could not have been for long drawn hours but, the many hours prior to that gave the world the first revelation, the last revelation – the Holy Quran. Hence every moment thereafter was the wait for the next ‘ayah’ over twenty-three years giving mankind eternal guidance. The day was measured by the setting of the sun and eventually each hour was measured as sixty minutes. It was before the sixty minute stipulation of each hour that mankind savoured the moment, looked at the length of the shadow, the rising of the sun and the dawn as markers to begin anew, continue or retire for the night. The point made here is that we have restructured our life within the dictatorship of a colonial time-warp. Absolute power became the new gnomon so man enslaved themselves to using time to measure their reign of supremacy but that to came under the yoke of time’s sickle and the legendary life and times of Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) lives on with the Holy Quran as the gnomon teaching humanity that don’t use time for the pursuit of dominance of the earth because it too, is governed by time. It passes every second begging that you seek and take lesson from history to live the moment fully, not to neglect punctuality of duty and responsibility. It gently ticks on seamlessly warning you that life is measured in this world and eternity awaits us beyond this existence.

The point made here is that we have forgotten the fourth dimension of time. That quantum moment where a moment in deep connection with Allah feels like hours, that deep moment of work with an inventive mindset feels like years, that moment of your book launch flashed and you wondered where you got the time to write and like these there are many more moments we can attest to it feeling like hours and more. This is the blessing of time. When we govern time in seconds, minutes and hours we establish in our minds that in certain time frames only excellence can or should be achieved. I reflected on Malcom Gladwell’s TEN THOUSAND HOUR ‘rule’ to achieve mastery and compared it to the moments of Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) life and came to this opinion:

Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ)lived each moment in its depth and that is why for example, he could condense an ocean in a teaspoon extracting exponential benefit because of mindfulness and thoughtful practice as routine. Value was added to time and today we adding hours to make a moment valuable thus for example, the amazing five-day cricket test and exhilarating fifty over one day matches has been roughshod by the T-20 matches reducing value to wealth accumulation and greed for excitement. The self has been negated to imbibe happiness and everything external is the new gnomon to bring internal harmony. Hence, time passes and we have enslaved ourselves to throwing opportunities away only to give our time to sixty minutes of blue screen addiction – in this way we sold our soul to structured time slots on almost every channel. The YouTube video is really helpful to improve your understanding of time provided you make notes after watching it. That will not be a waste of time. It would be a waste if you don’t have a moment of reflective observation.

On a higher level, predator capitalism has eroded our spiritual selves, reducing life to an endless cycle of working ourselves to the bone. At best, and if possible, we are granted a fleeting ten-day reprieve every ten months. Meanwhile, time is weaponized—used to manufacture tools of mass destruction that, in mere seconds, claim thousands of lives. Genocides flash across our screens, consumed like the contents of an action-packed fictional movie. Over time, our souls have hardened to this horror. In this stream of consciousness we are restless. We want the next feed of ‘genovide action’ to fulfill our lust of viewing gruesome oppression for whatever intention and purpose. This fateful addiction is a detriment to our faith. We are so numb of turning to Allah often enough so that when the adhan is called we struggle with and low fervour, weakened hope, low intensity and lack of concentration and ingenuine surety that our prayers will be answered. We slip into the abyss of darkness of wasted time yielding nothing but spent energies. Alas! Time ticks on and the adhan calls again.

Today, we have structured our lives within a colonial time-warp, enslaving ourselves to economic gain, entertainment, and distraction

We have lost our understanding of time’s true purpose. Instead, we are indoctrinated to believe that time must be spent in constant motion, chasing fleeting pleasures that feed the seven deadly sins. Time is now understood as a linear progression therefore, the Meraj of the Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) to many is unbelievable. The fact that Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) commented on a caravan that was travelling to Mecca on the night of the Meraj is indicative that he was experiencing time differently and that time is not linear but multi-dimensional. We need to understand that time is the creation of Allah and Allah is independent of time and space.

This image, titled “The Names of Each Hour of the Day”, provides a fascinating breakdown of how traditional Arabic terminology classifies different hours. Researched by Mohammed Faris & Dina Basiony and designed by Aneesah Satriya, it was produced by The Productive Muslim Company.

Key Elements of the Image:

• The diagram is circular, reflecting the 24-hour cycle.
• It divides the day into four main sections:
  1. Sunrise to Noon
  2. Noon to Sunset
  3. Sunset to Midnight
  4. Midnight to Sunrise
• Each hour has a unique Arabic name, grounded in natural transitions rather than mechanical clock divisions.

Cultural and Linguistic Significance:

Unlike the modern system of numbered hours, this approach connects timekeeping to daily rhythms—such as sunrise (As-Subh), midday (Adh-Dhaheerah), and twilight (Ash-Shafaq). It serves as a reminder of a more organic relationship with time, aligning daily activities with natural transitions rather than rigid schedules.

Relevance in Today’s World:

This traditional naming can inspire a more mindful approach to time—contrasting with the “tyranny of the mechanical clock,” where time is often dictated by productivity rather than purpose. In an era dominated by deadlines and constant movement, such perspectives invite reflection on how time is used and valued.

Conclusion

In a world where time has been mechanized, segmented, and commodified, we must remember that it was never meant to be merely counted—it was meant to be lived. The life and example of Nabi Muhammad (ﷺ) demonstrate that time gains value not by accumulation, but by depth and intention. His moments—brief yet infinite in meaning—teach us that true mastery is not measured in hours, but in mindfulness and purpose.

Today, we have structured our lives within a colonial time-warp, enslaving ourselves to economic gain, entertainment, and distraction. Time has become a tool for supremacy rather than enlightenment, forcing us into endless cycles of exhaustion and consumption. But time is not a linear march toward productivity; it is multidimensional, shaped by the sacred, by our connection with Allah, and by the depth of our actions.

Thus, we must reclaim time—not as a mere schedule to follow, but as a divine gift to cherish. To hasten toward prayer, reflection, and meaningful labor is to align our existence with eternity. The passing of each second is a reminder that life is measured in purpose, not in hours worked or wealth accumulated. If we fail to heed this lesson, we will remain trapped in the illusion of time’s dictatorship, forgetting that beyond the ticking clock, eternity awaits.

• Abdullah Sujee