Free time is the ultimate luxury everyone desires, but only a few achieve and even fewer truly enjoy. The teacher of all teachers, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, said that there are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time (narrated by al-Bukhari).

The Prophet ﷺ also advised that people should take advantage of five things before another five come about and undo the former. One of those five is free time, which ought to be optimized before a person becomes occupied (narrated by al-Bayhaqi).

Similarly, the Qur’an instructs the Prophet to labor hard, worshiping Allah, after he becomes free from his tasks, or after he finishes his everyday pure religious and otherwise duties (al-Sharh 7). This indicates that free time should be used productively.

The Arabic word used in the above two hadiths (traditions) of the Prophet is “faraagh,” which as a noun implies "space left empty or to be filled, emptiness, vacuity, nothingness, and space.” The word used in the mentioned verse of the Qur’an is a verb “faragha,” which means "to be empty, be unoccupied, be vacant and be void."

Related to these two are the words “afragha” as a verb and “faarigh” as an active participle, which mean "to pour, to unload, to vacate and to empty" and "something that is free, empty, vacant and idle," respectively. The words derived from the trilateral root f-r-gh appear six times in the Qur’an.

Misunderstanding Free Time

Free time is often misunderstood and, as a consequence, misused. People do not want to lose but are made to miss and underutilize free time. Hence, the Prophet warned against such an unfortunate scenario.

People think that free time constitutes events and conditions around them, which is only partially true. As a matter of fact, free time is more about happenings, experiences, and conditions inside people. There is no such thing as free time in the absolute sense of the term.

What is even more astonishing is the fact that there is no time either. Everything is just a relative notion that plays second fiddle to a different absolute reality. The world of matter and its time is almost like a mirage; real is the world of spirit with its equally – and matchlessly – real and truthful idea of time.

Both time and freedom exist only because people can conceive, relate and apply themselves to them. Free time, it follows, is a relative (subjective) construct. It lacks independent external existence. It is merely a state of mind and soul.

This is why vacations (as a symbol of free time and everything that goes with it) are sometimes turned into the busiest times and most dismal experiences, and why work and daily routines (as a symbol of the lack of free time) are sometimes turned into sources, as well as means, of joy and happiness associable with free time. Indeed, escapes can easily become confinements, and free time circumstances can become a platform for anxieties.

The Paradox of Free Time

What is the point of having free time but spending it trying to cope with myriads of mental and emotional grinds? What furthermore is the point of going on a holiday if one cannot shake off the burden of inner perplexity and confusion?

And finally, what is the point of seeking physical peace and joy, only to be weighed down by the millstone of stress and depression?

Work is not an obstacle to “free time” and the prospect of pursuing freedom-related happiness, just as holidays and their imaginary “free time godsends” are not a guarantee of the same. Neither work nor holidays are to be taken to heart. The heart should remain free of them and of all their corollaries.

They are not worthy of the heart’s exceptional status and role. The idea of free time is worthwhile; hence the heart is its repository, facilitating its proper conception and ultimate fulfillment.

Free Time Equals Freedom of Mind and Soul

In this way, a person is expected to be in control of external accidents, such as work and vacations, and of intrinsic substance, at the core of which stands the idea and perceptible reality of free time.

This way, in addition, a person is expected to be in control of himself, not to be controlled, and to preside over his feelings and decision-making, rather than being presided over. Without a doubt, how a person manages his free time plays a crucial role in making sure that freedom remains the driving force behind his overall lifestyle and mindset.

All things are only what people make of them. Their internal worlds dictate the external world around them. People can run from everything except themselves. Once veered off or lost, the thorniest path for people is the one leading back to their true selves.

Free time – and freedom in general – signify the freedom of the mind and soul. They signify that the essence of a human being is not attached to, nor restrained by, that which is bent on getting in the way of its intended actualization.

Enjoying inner free time signals that the illusory boundaries of external time have been surmounted and that the higher planes of existence with different time dimensions (zones) have been engaged in. This spiritual time, whose pale imitation is its external counterpart, is a true asset; the latter is a liability.

Moreover, the possession and agreeable experience of the latter is predicated on the possession and agreeable experience of the former. Indeed, the free time of the heart and soul, away from undesirable worldly disturbances, is the root cause of the existence of one’s external free time.

People Are Born Free and with Free Time

All human beings are born free and with free time, after which they either sustain their freedom and make the most of their free time or lose the freedom to various forms of subjugation and, consequently, fail to take advantage of their free time, eventually losing it as well.

The Qur’an is unequivocal that time is relative and that there are different dimensions and measurements of time. The external time, with man and his physical world as its focal point, is not faring impressively in the hierarchy.

The more a person is detached from the deficiencies of this world, the freer he becomes and the more free time he has, both internally and externally. This will allow him to concentrate on the dynamics of the endless spiritual growth journey, which in fact is the raison d’etre of human existence to whose ends the rest of life’s aspects are to be subjected.

The success, or otherwise, of one’s life mission and purpose is the backdrop against which the extent of one’s free time and its optimization is to be measured. Positive outcomes will indicate that a person was in charge of his free time, using it properly, while negative ones will point towards the idea of free time being in charge of its client, gradually destroying him.

For the successful accommodation and utilization of inner free time, a pure heart and a peaceful soul are needed. That is why, as part of the Islamic spiritual terminology, the concepts of soul purification, healing the heart from heart diseases, the blindness of the heart, and the tranquility of the heart and soul have been coined and widely used.

Once liberated and afforded ample free time, a person is destined to grow from strength to strength and, unimpeded, can keep elevating his spiritual standing from one station to another. The sky (heaven) is the limit, literally.

Free Time Between Belief and Non-belief

One of the hallmarks of faith (iman) is to always have a sufficient amount of internal and external free time. This is so because the faith of Islam is synonymous with freedom. A believer is what he is for the reason that he is free, thinks, and behaves freely. He is firmly grounded in the realm of the truth, dedicating all his resources to its cause. Thus free, he levitates above the vagaries of the stifling matter and the traps of its evanescent time.

On the other hand, caged in matter and its inhibiting time, a non-believer turns disoriented and lost. Feeling that everything wholesome keeps fading away from him and that everything harmful keeps closing in on him, a non-believer is locked in a never-ending cycle of negativity and pessimism. Under such conditions, time in general and free time in particular present themselves as the most precious resources, yet they are the quickest to dwindle.

The above is indicated in the Qur’anic chapter al-‘Asr (Time) wherein Allah relates the success of the believers and the loss of the rest of mankind to the notion of time. That means that the believers in the end succeed because they succeed in managing and making best use of their time, whereas non-believers in the end lose because they fail to follow suit.

One of the reasons why non-believers become enslaved by the transience and unrelenting demands of time is that, on account of their non-belief, Allah gives them “ma’ishatan dhankan” (Ta Ha 124), meaning "a depressed and woeful life, and a life of hardship and narrowness.” Such is the reality of a life where time easily transforms from an ally to an enemy.

Due to this, the Prophet ﷺ implored Allah not to let this world become the main concern for him and the Muslims, nor the limit of their knowledge (narrated by al-Tirmidhi).

This implies that this world and everything it can offer is so small that it is not worth the exertion. This world’s much is the Hereafter’s little, and its complete knowledge is the latter’s rudiments. Lastly, this world’s all time is nothing compared to the Hereafter’s eternity. That said, there is certainly no better deal than recognizing and maximizing the limited free time

a person is afforded in this world to secure infinity in the next life.

The Qur’anic Concepts of “Sharh” and “Dhaaqa/Dhayyiq”

The terms used in the Qur’an to describe these realities are “sharh” (expanding the breast) and “dhaaqa/dhayyiq” (to straiten/be straitened). A believer’s breast is expanded in order to absorb free time which in turn will lead to more piety and more quality deeds. On the contrary, a non-believer’s breast is rendered closed off so that neither free time nor faith can find its way into it, i.e., into the heart contained inside the breast.

A non-believer thus becomes preoccupied with his own self and his own problems, leaving no time for others or more important matters. Indeed, a misguided one cannot guide others, a burdened one cannot elevate the burdens of others, and an unilluminated one cannot illuminate the path for others.

The Qur’an says, for example: “So whoever Allah wants to guide - He expands his breast to (contain) Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide - He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allah place defilement upon those who do not believe” (al-An’am 125).

Towards the same end were the acts of opening the chest of the Prophet ﷺ and washing his heart with Zamzam water, after which the heart was filled with wisdom, faith, and knowledge. These acts happened twice in the life of the Prophet ﷺ, first when he was a small boy and second when he was about to be taken on the miraculous isra’ and mi’raj journeys (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

The Prophet's ﷺ heart and chest were purified so that he could easily resist Satan's deceptions, the imperfections of this world, and any distractions that could disturb his focus, dedication, and (free) time.

Finally, there is a chapter in the Qur’an called “al-Sharh” (the Opening Forth). In it, Allah highlights that He expanded for the Prophet ﷺ his breast, He removed from him his burden which had weighed upon his back, and that He exalted his fame.

Then, after being taught that a life lived in the shadow of faith is designed in such a way that with every hardship there will be relief (yet two reliefs), the Prophet ﷺ was instructed to strive hard whenever he becomes free (after he gets free time following his everyday tasks and obligations), directing all his attention and longing to his Lord (al-Sharh 1-8).

In this chapter, the believers too are reminded that the Islamic faith has relieved them of all psychological burdens, liberating them and expanding their breasts (their attitudes and perspectives). They are also motivated by the fact that a spiritual-cum-righteous life is full of enthusiasm and positivity.

There is absolutely nothing that should be fretted over. Their spiritual freedom within the framework of servitude to the Creator should be appreciated by harnessing as much free time as possible in order to exert utmost diligence in the pursuit of worshiping none other than Almighty Allah.

In the same way that all freedom should be at the service of the lone Master, all time, likewise, should be dedicated exclusively to its Creator. It is only then that both freedom and time will start to make sense and command worth. It is only then, furthermore, that free time will start to function as a portal to higher dimensions with higher orders of things and experiences.