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Time Management from Islamic and Administrative Perspective

TIME MANAGEMENT FROM ISLAMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Book’s Preface

This is to introduce the present scholarly piece of work on the important topic of time management. So valuable and irreplaceable is time that countries and organizations are all concerned with its proper investment.

Even though it was the advanced countries that apparently started academic investigation into time management, Islamic Shari’ ah sources have long given due attention to that topic.

 The Glorious Qur’an and the Sound Hadiths encourage Muslims to utilize time for their benefit in this world and the Hereafter. Not only does this study present time from an Islamic perspective, but also from the perspective of modem administrative theories; herein lies the value of the study.

Furthermore, the study involves fieldwork on the effectiveness of the Saudi manager in the industrial sector with regard to investing time for his own benefit and the benefit of his organization.

Such a worthy attempt, dealing with the important topic of time with specific application to the Saudi industrial sector, should be very much appreciated. We hope it will instigate further applications to other sectors of the economy.

In conclusion, we pray that this book will – by Allah’s Grace – be beneficial to academics, practitioners and students, and that it will trigger further research.

Book’s Introduction

To Allah all praise is due. It is He that we ask for help and guidance. In Him we seek refuge from our own evil and bad deeds. None can mislead whomever He guides, nor can anyone guide whomever He misleads.

I do testify that there is no god but Allah, alone without partners, and I do testify that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, who is the best model for organization and time management.

May Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, his kin, his Companions and his followers till the Day of Reckoning.

Two major administrative requirements are efficiency and effectiveness. Both are advocated by Islamic teachings.

The Muslim is required to conduct his entire affairs properly. In fact, the Muslim is called upon and encouraged to apply Islamic teachings thoroughly in both the theoretical and the practical arenas.

In other words, activities in both arenas must not be done without being guided by those teachings. In this regard, Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “162

 Say: Lo! My worship and, my sacrifice and my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Worlds. The Muslim is also required to be a strong believer, equipped with faith and knowledge.

There is hardly any Qur’anic Sura, Sunnah or Companion’s biography that does not reflect administrative applications, that does not provide guidance to effective utilization of resources, aptitudes and human potentials, that does not demand valuable qualities, such as patience, industriousness, non-capriciousness and self-discipline, or that does not call for good work, planning, organizing, guidance or control.

The Muslim has certain duties towards Allah, himself and society. They involve knowledge, work and acts of worship. Their proper discharge necessitates that each of them be allocated its due amount of time.

No duty should encroach on the time allocated to other duties; otherwise, there may not be sufficient time to discharge any of them. Islamic teachings call for the proper investment and management of time, and so does modem administrative thought.

Time represents an extremely important resource in this life. If it is not effectively utilized, so much will be lost. Time lost will be difficult to make up for; once it passes, it never comes back.

Time is popularly described as gold. In fact, it is more valuable than gold, for it is priceless. In the field of business, time is counted among the basic five resources: materials, information, people, equipment and time.

Of these resources, time occupies a special place; if properly managed, it can maximize the output of the other four. Also, at the personal level, one is said to be managing one’s time effectively if he is running his own life and activities effectively.

Thus, time is considered a common factor at the personal as well as the professional levels. Its value has been so widely recognized that it has become one of the subjects of study (time management) in