Ramadhan educates us on time management

In many traditions around the world, time has always been valued. Wise men and scholars, from both the East and the West, have spoken about the importance of time in our lives. Seneca (c. 4 BCE–65 CE), a Stoic philosopher, said that people guard their money carefully but waste their time without realizing that time is more valuable than money. Another wise man and a good ruler among the Stoics, Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE), said that we should not think we can live for a thousand years. While we are alive and able to act, we should use our time to do good. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) valued time greatly. His daily routine was meticulously planned to the extent that people reportedly did not even need a clock to tell the time when they saw him going for his usual afternoon walk. In medieval Western thought, the English scholar Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400) is commonly credited with the saying, “Time and tide wait for no man.” Apart from Western philosophers, iconic Muslim figures and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also shared their views on how humankind should use time for higher goals in life.