What is time? How much of it do we have? How often do you respond to someone's request: «I don't have time!»
Three things that cannot be returned or taken back: time, word and opportunity. Time is a phenomenon in our life that is very difficult to give a specific definition. If you look into dictionaries, you will be surprised to find that time is interpreted and understood differently in philosophy and physics. Time is a paradoxical resource in human life. We seem to have learned to use it, but we still waste it and forget about its significance and the value of every minute. In the Quran, Surah 103 is called Al-Asr, which in translation means not just time, but ending time. This word is also the name of the third prayer of a Muslim (Asr), which falls on the rest of the daytime. In other words, time quickly and irrevocably leaves us and ultimately a person is left at a loss from the unreasonable waste of time. In Islamic theology, there is a term «Israf» - (wasting of resources in vain).

Time is the most valuable resource in a person's life, but people squander it in vain, therefore, a person remains at a loss. The Holy Scripture speaks of time as the greatest mercy of Allah given to all people. If you are reading this article now, then your time has not yet ended, which means that the Mercy of Allah has been renewed for you this morning. This is written in the Holy Scripture of the prophet: «by the mercy of the Lord we have not perished, for His compassion has not failed. It is renewed every morning; great is Your faithfulness!» (Jeremiah 3:22-33). Prophet Musa (a.s) at the end of his life prayed like this: «The days of our years are seventy years, and if we are stronger, eighty years; and their best time is work and illness, for they pass quickly, and we fly.» Realizing the fleeting nature of time, he made this request to Allah: «Teach us to number our days so that we may acquire a wise heart.» (Zabur 89:10-12). A wise heart is in great shortage today, because the wise are not the ones who know much, but the wise are the ones who know what is needed. From the prayer of Musa (a.s) we can learn three important lessons to use time wisely and acquire a wise heart by the end of our lives and not end up in loss.

1. The words «teach me» — is the word spoken by the one who is ready to learn. We are much more pleased when we are called a scholar than a student. And we think that we have achieved a lot, know a lot, and are able to do it. A student is one who is always ready to admit his ignorance or inability to do something and always addresses the Almighty in his dua: O Allah, teach me!
2. It is very important to be able to correctly count your days, so as not to miscalculate like people who are going to live a long time, but at night their soul is taken away from them. We must live, constantly realizing the brevity and fragility of life, feeling the approach of death and eternity.
3. We must count our days, comparing our deeds, and reflecting on them with double diligence, realizing that when time runs out, we will have to give an account on the Day of Judgement about what deeds we did and how we spent the time allotted to us.

Thus, the Holy Scripture calls upon believers to delve into and reflect on the Words of Allah, which can make us wise and capable of recognizing the time in which we live. «Whoever keeps the commandment will not suffer any harm; and the heart of the wise knows both the time and the decree; for to every thing there is a time and a decree.» (Reflections of Sulayman 8:5,6).

The Holy Scripture calls today’s time a favorable time, a time for salvation and finding the mercy of Allah! And this time will end with a great event and a sign that will occur in the sky in a visible way for all peoples and tribes. All the Holy Scriptures speak of this event and sign. The Quran says about the sign of the hour: «Verily, he (Isa) is the sign of the Hour. "Do not quarrel over it (the Hour) and follow Me. This is the straight path.» (Az-Zukhruf 43:61)
The second coming of Isa Masih (a.s) will be a sign of the Hour - the approach of the end of the world and the end of time, and after it the general resurrection and the Day of Judgement. It is Isa Masih (a.s), the Highest Messenger from Allah, who will have to complete the time allotted for the repentance of all peoples and tribes. More details about this event are written in the Injil: «Immediately after the disasters that will occur in those days, «the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will shake.». Then the sign of the Sent Down as a Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will be seized with grief. They will see the Sent Down as a Man, coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send His angels, and they will gather His chosen ones with a loud trumpet call from the four corners of the world, from one end of the heavens to the other.» (Matthew 24:29-31)
So, according to the Holy Scripture, the coming of Isa Masih (a.s.) will be visible to all people. Isa Masih (a.s.) will put an end to the time for repentance and finding the Mercy of Allah with his coming. After Isa descends to earth, there will be a judgment on the nations that remain at that time, as it is written in the Injil: «When the Sent Down as a Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate some people from others, as a shepherd separates his sheep from his goats. He will gather the «sheep» on His right side, and the «goats» on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right side: «Come to Me, you who are blessed by My Father, receive your inheritance – the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.» (Matthew 25:35-38)

Who are the sheep of Isa Masih (a.s.)? Often in his stories and parables, Isa Masih (a.s.) called his faithful followers and disciples precisely sheep, who obediently follow and obey His commandments, as it is written in the Injil: «My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, no one will take them away from Me. My Father who gave them to Me is above all, «What My Father has given Me is greater than everything else», and no one can take them out of My Father’s hands. I and My Father are one.» (John 10:27-30).Therefore, let us not be careless about the rapidly passing time, but we must prepare our hearts for this great Hour, the Hour of the coming of Isa Masih (a.s.), as it is written in the Quran: «I have brought you a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey Me.» (Al-Imran 3:50). For this, it is necessary to have fear of Allah, obedience to the commandments and teachings of Isa Masih (a.s.). As the Lord Isa Masih (a.s.) Himself said: «If you love Me, keep My commandments.» (John 14:15). We can express our love for the Messenger Isa Masih (a.s.) not in words, but in deeds, by fulfilling His commandments! Only in this way can we be ready for the hour of His coming.

Let us remember where we began our reflection on time. What is time? How much of it do we have? Unfortunately or fortunately, we do not know how much time we have, but we know what the Holy Scripture Injil calls us to:«Do not forget one thing, beloved: with the Eternal Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Eternal Lord does not delay what He has promised, although some call it delay. He is patient and waits, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to repent.» (2 Peter 3:8-9)