Seize the day

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"Eat and drink with good cheer in return for all [the good deeds] that you have sent ahead in days gone by!" (Al-Haqqah (The Reality) - 69:24 )


Seize the day. Or take advantage of the time that you have.

'Abdullah Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was once on a journey out of Medīna with some of his companions.  They stopped to eat, as the weather was rather hot. When they had spread out their tablecloth, a shepherd passed by, so they invited him to eat with them. He politely declined, stating that “I am fasting.” Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما said, “You are fasting on a hot day like this, while you are between these valleys walking behind these sheep?”

The shepherd replied, “I am taking advantage of these free days of mine.”

For if you read the ayat above, only those will eat and drink in the Hereafter, who have used their time wisely, to send good deeds up ahead.

Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was impressed by this reply and said, “Can you sell one of your sheep to us? We will share some of it with you, with which you can break your fast and we will pay you for it.” The shepherd said, “They do not belong to me; they belong to my master.” Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما (wanting to test him) said, “What will your master say to you if you tell him it was eaten by a wolf?” The shepherd said that his master would believe if he said so, but said in a loud voice, “What about Allāh?” Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما was so struck by this that he kept repeating this phrase of his till they reached home. When he arrived in Medīna, he went to the shepherd’s master, bought the sheep and secured the shepherd's freedom. He then gifted all the sheep to the shepherd, who was now a free man.