How Do I Balance Time Between Work, Home, and Study?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
How do I balance time between work, home, and study? How do I prioritize my study of the religion?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
With regards to prioritizing what subjects to study, this link will help clarify that and give some general principles for you to live by.
In summary, the knowledge that will allow you to obey Allah Most High with sound practice and understanding must be prioritized – beyond that, one gets to delve deeper into whatever science their heart inclines to, in your case, tafsir.
Finding Balance Between Work, Family, and Home
This link will assist you in finding this desired balance, which allows you to give every aspect of your life its right without sacrificing your personal aspirations. If I may add, always remember the statement of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace):
“Be upright, strive to come as close to excellence as possible, and know that none of you will enter Paradise on the merit of their deeds alone and that the most beloved of actions to Allah are the most consistent of them, even if they be little.” [Bukhari]
With proper scheduling, a deep sense of appreciation for the blessing of time, and an aim for quality over quantity, one can achieve great things.
One of the blessed scholars of Tarim, Yemen, Habib Salim al-Shatiri (Allah have mercy on him), would teach a very short class to some of his students in the car on his way home from the mosque. In this short 5 minute period, these students finished close to a hundred books with this great Imam over the years. This was a result of their patience, steadfastness, and the blessing of quality over quantity.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
6464 – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ العَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ عُقْبَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «§سَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا، وَاعْلَمُوا أَنْ لَنْ يُدْخِلَ أَحَدَكُمْ عَمَلُهُ الجَنَّةَ، وَأَنَّ أَحَبَّ الأَعْمَالِ إِلَى اللَّهِ أَدْوَمُهَا وَإِنْ قَلَّ»
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ص98 – صحيح البخاري – باب القصد والمداومة على العمل
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
