Take advantage of five things before it overtakes you – Part1
Do you ever wonder -
What life really is about?
Have you ever been occupied with the thought of being more charitable with your money and time?
What would life be like if you were diagnosed with a life changing illness, preventing you from being mobile or active?
If you suddenly became a rich person, would you consider helping the poor and the needy?
Imagine you’re last moments on earth, the very last gulp of air you take as the Angel of death comes near, would you be contented with your deeds or would you be fearful of your misdeeds?
We spend much of our very brief transitory journey in this life hoping for, planning to, wishing we had, and all the excuses that one can think off to not achieve anything. Those that have money claim they need to save more and therefore do not help or donate to the poor in society. There are others who have good health and yet prefer to be lazy and inactive, therefore not contributing much to this world. You then have a group of people, the young and healthy who have plenty of time and energy yet they prefer to waste time rather than be productive members of society by giving some of their valuable time to charitable causes.
We have all become very materialistic and selfish – those that are working are so busy with work and meeting their job targets that very little of any remaining productive time is taken up by endless traffic jams and countless hours wasted on the couch recovering from weak long drudgery.
It is time that we revisit our priorities and realign our lives in a way that it provides us with the time to work, play, rest and be a part of the society we live in. This brings me nicely on to a hadith that 
O Aba Dharr, take advantage of five things before five other things [take advantage of you]:
(1) Your youth before your old age
(2) Your health before your sickness
(3) Your wealth before your poverty
(4) Your free time before your being busy
(5) And your life before your death
What is this hadith telling us - take advantage of five things before five other?
Let us explore briefly the first one - Take Advantage of Your Youth Before Your Old Age.
Youth in the Islamic context does not mean the concept of youth with which many of us are aware of that youthfulness finishes when someone is in their twenties or early thirties (just being kind to the thirty something year olds :-)).
In Islamic Sharia, a man's life is divided into a number of stages. Shabbab or shab, according to the strongest opinion, means before reaching the age of forty. This is because forty is the prime of life, it is when mental and physical capabilities in a person have reached a peak, and after that they start to decline as the person ages.
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Youthfulness is a time when a person is the most energetic; it is a time if used productively lays out the foundations for successful future. Which is Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) advised his companions to take advantage of this time before the time comes when one does not have that enthusiasm or energy.
Unfortunately the time that goes does not come back and thus the enthusiasm and energy that you have been blessed with will never again be given to you after this age.
Therefore, the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam advised to seize the moment and take advantage of it before it is too late. A person should exercise this youthful energy for the sake of Allah by acquiring knowledge of Allah and His Deen, obtaining halal sustenance, and worshipping Allah through acts that he might not be able to do later on in life. A simple deed like helping your elderly neighbour is an act of worship, for which Allah will reward you.
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In the second part of this hub I shall cover the four other very important things in our lives, Health, Wealth, Time and Life which you should take full advantage of before it is too late.
Quite often we procrastinate over many things which if done at the right time is a good achievement, however; often we tend to put things off till another day, who can say if we will live to see another day.
