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| Procrastination file photo |
The English writer Edward Young, is famous for having coined the saying, "Procrastination is the thief of time".
Before we commence the discussion, it would be nice to properly understand what this word means to avoid any confusion.
Definition: Procrastination
is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished by a certain
deadline. It could be further stated as a habitual or intentional delay of
starting or finishing a task despite knowing it might have negative
consequences.
Many at times we put
important things off because we feel they are not so pertinent, this is a
tell-tale sign of laziness. It is a chain reaction, the more we procrastinate,
the lazier we become.
An example if when some
people cling to the Ayat and Ahadith about Allah's Forgiveness and Mercy, and
regard it as an excuse for abandoning the obligatory acts and doing the
prohibited ones. They use this to procrastinate on doing the right thing. They
might mischievously claim that they do that out of their thinking positively
about Allah or that Allah considers only the hearts of people.
These are thoughts
manufactured by shaitan. Hoping and thinking positively of Allah should be
accompanied by exerting efforts and working hard to please Him.
Allah says: Say,
"I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one
God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous
work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." Suratul
Kahf (18:110)
Yahya ibn Mu`adh said: “As for me, the greatest form of delusion is
persisting in committing sins hoping for forgiveness without repentance,
expecting being closer to Allah without performing acts of obedience, waiting
for the rewards of Paradise while planting the seeds of sins in Hellfire,
seeking Paradise by committing sins, waiting for rewards without working,
hoping for Allah's reward without abiding by Allah's Commands.”
The Evil of Procrastination
The Qur'an mentions
repeatedly the danger of procrastination:
“Until, when death
comes to one of them, he says: “My Lord! Send me back so that I may do good in
that which I have left behind” Suratul Muminun (23:99-100).
Ibn Abbas reported: The
Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “Take
advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health
before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before
your work, and your life before your death.” Source: Shu’ab al-Imān 9575
The scholars and pious
predecessors warned Muslims vehemently against procrastination.
Ibn Rajab said: "The believer should embark on doing
good deeds before being unable to do them due to illness or death. Also, they
may be afflicted with anything with which no good deed is accepted."
(Jami` Al-`Ulum wal Hikam)
Ibn Mubarak narrated: "We were informed that the majority of
the inhabitants of Hellfire say: How much procrastination is awful!"
What Causes Procrastination?
A number of things could cause this mental disease;
some of them will be discussed.
1. Being engrossed with
worldly pleasures
Allah in His infinite
Wisdom warned Muslims concerning distractions in worldly life. When we get so
comfortable with the worldly life, it often leads to complacency which then
ends in procrastination.
“O you who have
believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of
Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers.”
Suratul Munafiqun (69:9)
2. Forgetfulness
Some people often have
bright ideas on ways to please Allah, but the human weakness of forgetfulness
frequently defeats them. Forgetfulness is not a desirable quality.
Abu Huraira reported: I
said, “O Messenger of Allah, I hear many traditions from you and I forget
them.” The Prophet said, “Spread open
your garment.” I spread it and then he placed something from his hand into
it, saying, “Wrap it.” I wrapped it
around me and I never forgot a tradition ever again. Source: Ṣaḥīḥ
al-Bukhārī 3448
If there was nothing
wrong with being forgetful, Muhammad (SAW) would not have made a way out for
Abu Huraira.
3. Being out of touch
with reality
This is similar to the
first cause but a bit different. Some people have little knowledge of things
happening across the world especially to Muslims. They don’t know about the
Uighur Muslims in China, the Rohingya Muslims in Burma, the Palestinians, the
Muslims of Central African Republic, the several famines affecting Muslims
across the globe, the number of Muslims getting killed on a daily basis and so
many other calamities that don’t bear repeating.
People like this feel so
comfortable with their condition that they see no urgency in striving to make
the world a better place. A Muslim should always want to know the condition of
his brothers and sisters wherever they might be.
Al-Nu’man ibn Bashir
reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion
for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts
with sleeplessness and fever.”
Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
5665, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2586
What are the Effects of Procrastination?
1. Laziness
Laziness is a mental
disease that prevents the mind from reflecting and contemplating on the
greatness of everything created by Allah and His graces. It also stops an
individual from considering the matters that improve the stance of mankind in
the life and the Hereafter.
Laziness leads to slackening in performing the acts
of obedience and the acts of worship in the way prescribed by Shari`ah. Laziness
leads to bad consequences as it hiders the person from carrying out their
ambitions, prevents them from performing their missions, and inhibits the
beneficial deeds, fruitful thinking, and good endeavor.
Allah has described it
is one of the attributes of the hypocrites.
Allah says: “Indeed,
the hypocrites [think to] deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. And when
they stand for prayer, they stand lazily, showing [themselves to] the people
and not remembering Allah except a little” Suratul Nisa (4:142)
Even the Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) would often pray, “O Allah! I seek
Your protection from anxiety and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from
stinginess and cowardice, and from the burden of debt and domination of
people.” [Bukhari]
2. Depression
Nothing can come from
missing out on opportunities than depression. A student who procrastinates on
his studies will likely fail their exams. When they see their colleagues
celebrating their bright results, they are drowned in sorrow.
3. Weakness of faith
Procrastination makes a
believer postpone acts of worship. The fewer acts of worship you engage in and
the more awkwardly you carry them out, the weaker your faith will become. In
extreme cases, weakness of faith could leads to apostasy.
4. Betraying the trust
of Allah
The health, wealth,
abilities, status and other advantages Allah has given you are a trust from Him.
We have been given these gifts not to earn us some boasting rights, but to
advance the cause of Allah. If we refuse to use our God-given talents for the
betterment of mankind because we keep procrastinating then, we would have
betrayed the trust of Allah. It is a law of existence, evil wins when the good
people do nothing.
“O you who have
believed, do not betray Allah and the Messenger or betray your trusts while you
know [the consequence]. And know that your properties and your children are but
a trial and that Allah has with Him a great reward.” Suratul
Anfal (8:27-28)
5. Losing out on the
bounties of Allah
A believer postpones
reciting the Qur’an, observing nawafils (either salawat or fasting), going for
Jihad, visiting a sick friend; he loses the reward for these acts and this will
limit his status in the sight of Allah. Al-Harith Al-Muhasiby said: "Procrastination prevents a person from
doing good deeds.”
6. Delays repentance
This can be said to be
the deadliest effect of procrastination. Some people are perpetual sinners,
whenever they are asked, ‘when will you repent?’ they give a reason to delay. Why
don’t you observe salah? They reply, I will start on Friday. It’s
disheartening.
Ibn Al-Jawzy said: "Postponement in hope is a form of
delusion; and there is no attribute worse than it. Except for it, you would not
find any negligence. A person may indulge in sins and desires and delay
repentance due to postponement in hope."
How to shun Procrastination
Spiritual
Steps
1. Meditation:
Occasionally seclude and isolate yourself from people.
2. Always remind
yourself
- Do you not know
that in the morning of every day your lifetime becomes shorter than the
previous day.
- I may get up and
die at night.
3. Get closer to Allah:
The closer you are to Allah the farther away the devil.
4. Make abundant dhikr:
Supplication makes things easier. Muhammad (SAW) taught us the du’a for when
things seem to be getting difficult.
Allahumma laa sahala
illaa maa ja’alta sahlan wa anta taj’alul-huzna itha shitta sahlan
“O
Allah there is nothing that is easy except that You made it easy, and You can
make this difficulty easy if You so wish to”
Physical
Steps
1. Get to know why
It could be that you
have genuine doubts about the necessity of the action. Meditating on the issue
will help you understand why you are procrastinating on an issue thereby
helping you make up your mind.
2. Start easy
Some people want
achieve a great height within a rather unrealistic time frame. When you take
too many things at a time, your mind will develop some apathy for that
activity; procrastination will be the end result.
3. Break it down
This is related to the
step above. Break down projects into segments and bits that can be mastered
within a reasonable time frame. This gives you the chance to ruminate on one
segment at a time.
4. Have to-do list
There are chances that
other activities will try to eat into the time you have set aside for your
project, having a to-do list help you stick to schedule.
5. Confide in a close friend
It sometimes helps to
let a pal or buddy of yours know your battles against procrastination. That
way, they will always keep you on your toes by constantly asking for feed backs
on your project.
6. Set a few daily compulsory tasks
It is sometimes
inevitable to have periods when focusing on your project proves difficult due
to other pressing demands. However, if this continues for a long time, you will
lose steam on your pursuits. You can beat this by having a few compulsory daily
tasks on your project.
