al-Waqt Anfas La Taud
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Dar al-Qasim
al-Waqt Anfas La Taud (Time: Breaths That Do Not Return) is an Islamic treatise on the value of time and spiritual vigilance by the Saudi author Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Qasim .
Purpose and Themes
The author composed the book as an exhortation (tadhkīr) and a revival of hearts in an era characterized by lethargy, comfort-seeking, and widespread squandering of hours in unprofitable pursuits . The central premise is that a human being's lifespan constitutes their true capital in this worldly life, consisting of a finite number of breaths and numbered days; once a moment elapses, it can never be retrieved or compensated .
Drawing upon Quranic verses and prophetic traditions, the work highlights that God swears by units of time—such as the eras, the dawn, the night, and the day—to emphasize its significance . It underscores the hadiths warning that health and free time are two major blessings regarding which many people are deceived or shortchanged, and it stresses the urgency of seizing one's life before death arrives . The book also details two inevitable situations where humans regret wasting time when remorse is no longer beneficial: the moment of dying (al-iḥtiḍār), when a person wishes for a brief reprieve to make amends, and the Day of Judgment in the Hereafter, when those facing punishment yearn to return to the realm of obligation to perform righteous deeds .
Content and Structure
The book explores how early Muslim generations (al-Salaf) approached time management, contrasting their dedication with modern attitudes towards leisure and boredom . It outlines the division of human time into three distinct states:
- A past hour that has already gone and whose toil or ease is finished .
- A future hour that has not yet arrived, which a person cannot be certain they will ever reach .
- The present hour, in which an individual must actively struggle against worldly distractions and maintain conscious awareness (murāqabah) of God .
Throughout the work, the author weaves together classical aphorisms, poetic verses, and biographical anecdotes of early figures. Among these, it cites Abdullah ibn Mas'ud's reflection that he never regretted anything as much as a day whose sun set, diminishing his lifespan without increasing his good deeds ; al-Sari al-Saqati's remark on the impossibility of making up missed spiritual routines; and Ibn al-Jawzi's description of negligent people as passengers aboard a swiftly sailing vessel who chat and pass time unaware of where it is taking them . It also cites the principle that wasting time is graver than physical death because wasting time severs a person from God and the Hereafter, whereas death merely severs them from the material world and its inhabitants .
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