The Essence of Time  and Knowledge in Islam
Dear  Respected Brothers,
Barakah means blessing, increase, comfort, happiness. In the Qur’an this word is used in different forms in many places: baraka, tabaraka, barakat, mubarak, etc. It is used for Allah, for His Blessings upon certain people, places and times. 
Barakah in time comes when we use our time, our life in a right way. All of us have the same twenty-four hours every day, but some people are more blessed and they accomplish a lot within the same time. There are people who benefit from their time and give benefit to others, while there are those who waste their time or misuse it by harming others. Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an in surat Al-`Asr: “By the declining day. O’ man is in a state of loss. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.” (Surat Al-`Asr: 103) 
Surat Al-`Asr is one of the shortest surahs of the Qur’an, but it contains so much wisdom that Imam Shafi`e is reported to have said that if people would reflect on this surah alone, it would be sufficient for them. 
`Asr means “time”. In this surah, Allah Almighty holds time as a witness to the fact that most human beings are losers. They do not use their time in the right way. But the successful are those who have faith, do righteous deeds, and remind each other about what is right and about patience. Such people are not losers. They are successful both in this life as well as in the Hereafter." 
Islam encourages Muslims to care for time, to utilize it and not to waste it. Besides, it holds them responsible for their time. The Righteous Moslems are aware of that responsibility, so they act accordingly. 
An important requirement for a Muslim’s life is to be careful about time, to invest it wisely and to benefit from it. The highest, most worthy and most useful of reflection is what is intended for Allah and the Hereafter. There are various forms of reflection intended for Allah. One of them is reflecting on time, duty and function and focusing entirely on it, for the knowledgeable one is the breed of his time. If he wastes it, all his interests are wasted, for all interests arise from time. If he wastes his time, he can never regain it.” Also, Imam Shafi’i said, “Out of my company with Sufis, I benefited from their saying: Time is like a sword, if you do not cut it, it will cut you. ...” In other words, if you do not spend time doing something useful, you are the loser by wasting it. 
There are countless ways to spent your time for the sake of Allah.  One of the most praised ways of spending time is to spend it for knowledge.Mu’adh ibn Jabal (Redi Allahu Unho) said that, the messenger of Allah said: “Learn Al-ilm (Knowledge) for learning it is a type of fear of Allah 
seeking Knowledge is an act of worship, 
studying it is a type of glorification of Allah,
 searching for Knowledge is jihad. 
Teaching it to those who do not know is a charity 
and delivering it to those who worthy of it is an act of drawing closer to Allah.
 Knowledge is the reference guide to the allowed and disallowed a light on the path for the people of paradise, 
Knowledge is companion during loneliness,
 Knowledge is a friend during separation,
 Knowledge is a converser during seclusion,
 Knowledge is the guide in times of ease and times of difficulty,
 a weapon to use against enemies
 and Knowledge is the quality that is valued by friends.
 Allah elevates some people by knowledge to the rank of leaders in righteousness who are followed,
 their actions imitated and their opinions referred to.
 Thinking about knowledge is equivalent to Fasting,
 and studying it, is equivalent to Teheccud prayers.   
 With knowledge, ties of kinship are kept and the allowed and prohibited become distinguished. Knowledge is the Imam (Leader) of all actions and all actions follow its lead. Only the happy ones are endowed with knowledge while the miserable ones are deprived of it.”
Let’s think about the life of the Prophet (SAAW) and the Companions (RA) and think how they could spend long hours of the night in prayer, be at the Masjid five times a day, be engaged in the activities to earn their livelihood, perform chores for old widows, disabled, orphans, maintaining their environment, friendship, family etc. One thing that we figured out is that they were much more conscious of how they spent their time and how it would benefit the Ummah in this life, and be a source of protection for them in the Hereafter. 
Praise Allah and seek his help every moment you have! Time is a gift from Allah. You are responsible for the time given to you as a believer. And remember time waits for no one. If you use your time fruitfully, helping yourself and mankind, your reward increases, otherwise, you are a loser now and in the hereafter.