How we waste our Health and Time

In Mumbai local train, early morning in chilling cold, an elderly gentlemen boards in and sells small choclates. This is his daily routine and I see him for past ten years. He is around 65, an age where many government officers sit home and gain pensions. What are his earnings? His box contain just few hundred choclates. It might take his entire morning to sell those and fetch him just two dollar if I convert it into US currency. Another old man, I see on the beaches of Juhu carrying hot kettle of tea and struggling in the soft sands , walks few miles till midnight. He sells around two litres of tea and that too fetches him around two dollars.

Now let us take a round at Corniche and juice centers of Mumbai and karachi at midnight. You will see Young muslims men in caps, as religios identity, speeding cars and bikes and merrying at eateries ,playing loud music. If you cannot visit Bhendi bazar, then visit Delhi Juma Masjid or Kolkota’s Juma Masjid. Crows are black everywhere. Media says that after 11 pm it is peak hours at eateries in these localities . Most of these guys gulp down Pepsis and lick icecreams worth two dollars each. The amount of pocket money that is blown off by young people is too huge as compared to those poor people monthly earnings. This is the time when youth is supposed to be studying at home or peacefully sleeping. Or if he is a man of Taqwa he may even study the Qur’an. But our youth’s special years are zip, zap and zoomed on streets, eateries and malls.

When I pass by railway station I see teenagers polishing shoes to earn on their parents’ behalf. On each Mumbai local railway station platforms ( that runs upto 100) there are hundreds of these teenagers earning right from the morning. At that time many Muslim youth who roam around in the streets at midnight, are sleeping minus fajr prayers. A popular Hadith says : The Rizq of my Ummah is distributed during fajr. Most of us have understood the concept of Rizq properly, yet we do not value the words of the Prophet (pbuh).

The youth is the backbone of a community. When this back bone suffers from ‘SLEEP DISC’ the whole body suffers handicapcy. The reason for these ‘sleep disc’ are late nights, whether you are roaming in the streets or cyber lanes. Many watch late night TV shows and sports. In my school days, my disciplinarion grandfather used to take a round around our rooms at 10 pm and check who is not sleeping. Many a times we used to find it hard to give explainations as to why we were still awake at 11!. Todays parents join their children in late night entertainment and fun. The students then sleep in the class to compensate their lost sleep.

Extravagance is not only in lavish spending of wealth but it reflects in spending time lavishly too. After all you can earn your lost money but not your time…

Author Nisaar Nadiadwala