Self-Management broadly consists of three fields – personal, social and environmental. Personal management consists of soul, mind and body. Social management covers family and friends. Environmental management talks of home and work. Self-management is all about planning, organising and channelling our time and effort in the right direction in order to be productive and effective throughout our lives. It often means different things to different people – and sometimes different things at different times even to the same people. Some people seem to be born with strong self-management skills; others have to work to develop those skills. Some people have had more opportunities to use these skills while others have had to rely on help from teachers, family and friends. An individual with good self-management skills will be able to manage his personal, social and work life effectively.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Take benefit of five before five, your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your preoccupation, and your life before your death.” (Hakim) The hadīth instructs people to make use of the five bounties, their youth, health, wealth, free time and life, which Allah has given them.
This hadīth can be understood as the theory of self-management where one has to manage five important resources of his life, which are given to him by Allah. If they are managed effectively, the success of the person would be guaranteed in this world and the hereafter. The following are the five important aspects of the theory:
YOUTH BEFORE OLD AGE
One of the things that most people take for granted is their youth. When people are young, they are full of energy and are capable of doing so many things for the sake of Allah, but often their energies are wasted in one way or the other as they are not rightly channelized. When we are young we are full of energy, and we should use that energy to help others when we can. In order to help those in need, we don’t have to have deep pockets or donate thousands of rupees in charity every month; there are so many ways in which we can benefit others.
When people lose their youth, they inevitably find it harder to do those deeds and acts of worship that they found somewhat easier to do at a younger age. With old age, people find it harder to do any physical activity with full activeness.
The Prophet said, “Every Muslim has to give charity.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Prophet, if someone has nothing to give, what should he do?” He replied, “He should work with his hands and benefit himself and also give in charity (from what he earns).” The people further asked, “If he cannot do even that?” He replied, “He should help the one needing help.” Then the people asked, “If he cannot do that?” He replied, “Then he should perform all that is good (i.e. enjoin what is just and keep from all that is evil and these will be regarded as charitable deeds.” (Bukhari) Thus, one should use his youth in doing good and making effective utilisation of the same, as he will not have that level of energy when he gets old.
HEALTH BEFORE SICKNESS
We should take advantage of our good health before we are overcome with illness or disability. What we often don’t realise is that our health is a blessing from Allah. When we are in good health, we take it for granted and don’t always appreciate what we have. It is only when we fall ill that we realise what a great thing we had and how we let it go to waste by not performing good acts as we could and should have done.
Example of where people are restricted from carrying out acts of worship due to poor health is Fasting and Hajj. When most people are young and have the health to fast, they don’t make the time or effort to keep the non-obligatory fast. People also do not think of performing Hajj when they have good health and postpone it; and when they perform it while they are sick, they are not able to do justice to all the aspects of Hajj.
We need to be aware of the fact that there is no guarantee of our good health. There are so many things that can happen that can leave us full of regret for not having taken advantage of what we had when we had it. We may meet with an accident, we may develop a health problem, we may lose our eye sight, etc. Thus, one should thank Allah (swt) for giving good health and making effective utilization of the same.
WEALTH BEFORE POVERTY
Wealth is another blessing granted to us by Allah. Wealth in this context does not necessarily mean that we have large amounts of savings, or the fact that we can afford a huge house, a branded car and a state-of-the-art home theatre system. The simpler things such as a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food in our fridges make us among the world’s wealthiest people. There are millions of people in the world today who don’t even have a drop of clean water to drink, and they don’t know where their next meal will be coming from. These are the people that we need to be helping with our wealth. Even a small donation can go a long way.
We should give as much as we can in the way of Allah and we are assured of the rewards for doing so from Allah, as Allah says in the Qur’ān, “The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like a seed (of grain) which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And Allah multiplies (His reward) for whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.” (Qur’ān 2:261) Thus, one should try his best to give as much as he can as one does not know when Allah will take away the bounty of wealth from him through any calamity, accident or severe loss.
FREE TIME BEFORE PREOCCUPATION
Islam always encourages us to make the most of our time and to spend as much of it as possible striving in the way of Allah. We should utilise the time we have to do as much good as we can, because before we know it, this time will have passed. As mentioned above, we should use the time we have in our youth to do as much in the way of Allah as possible, because as time passes, we get weaker and older.
As and when a person becomes older, he tends to become busier as he needs to worry about his work, money, health, home, family and many more things. The aspect of time is so very important in the eyes of Allah that He swears by time in Surah Al Asar. The lesson from this is that, we have to discipline ourselves by giving value to the importance of time. Thus, one should consider time to be the most precious resource by Allah and also remember that Allah is going to question about this on the Day of Judgement.
LIFE BEFORE DEATH
The last thing that we have been advised to take advantage of is our life before our death. Every night when we go to sleep, we enter a state where our soul leaves us. When we wake up, it is only because Allah has blessed us by returning our souls and granting us the opportunity to worship Him for at least one more day. Upon waking up in the morning, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) used to say, “Praise be to Allah who gave me life after death, and to Him is the final return.” (Bukhari)
Often we do not fully appreciate how great a blessing it is to be given another chance. We become relaxed about death, and we don’t fully comprehend or appreciate that at some point and only Allah knows when our life will be taken away from us for good, leaving no second chance, no opportunity to make up for the wrongs we have done, and no turning back time. We must not forget what a mercy life is. We should savour every moment and use it to our best advantage. This means pleasing Allah in order to achieve our ultimate goal which is Paradise. Thus, one should strive and struggle through his life in doing good deeds in order to attain the pleasure of Allah.
Good things don’t just come to us; we have to strive for them, day in and day out. Whether we are studying or at work, or if we are raising a family, to excel at what we do, we know that we have to work hard, and the harder we work, the better the reward. Paradise is no exception to this. If we strive hard enough, then surely Allah will reward us with the ultimate prize.
Prophet Muhammad said, “A man shall be asked concerning five things on the Day of Resurrection, concerning his life, how he spent it; concerning his youth, how he grew old; concerning his wealth, how he acquired it and how he spent it; and what he did with the knowledge he had.” (Tirmidhi) So, if one has done justice to the above mentioned five important resources then answering these questions would just become a cake walk.
Youth, health, wealth, free time and life are five important bounties which are given by Allah to man. If man understands their importance and uses them effectively then he has taken a wise move and his life would be in the right direction. Using them effectively would not only lead him to peace and tranquillity in this world but would also smoothly lead him to Paradise in the hereafter.