So as for those whose scale is heavy ˹with good deeds˺,
they will be in a life of bliss.
And as for those whose scale is light,
their home will be the abyss.

(Quran 101:6-9)

Our view of time has been hijacked by the modern world.

In my article “The Tyranny of the Mechanical Clock” I argue that measuring our time by the clock has turned time into a currency; something to be spent, saved, and maximized for economic output. 

When we believed time is money, we started measuring our days by productivity and output instead of what’s meaningful.

• If you pause to pray, that’s 10 minutes you could be working. 
• If you sit with your mother over tea, that’s an hour with no ROI. 
• If you decide to block time to recite the Quran, you’ll question if it was ‘productive’.

Everything sacred starts to feel like a waste of time. And everything that feeds the machine (more meetings, more output, more hustle) feels like time well spent. Even at the expense of your health, your relationships, and your soul.

This explains why we’re addicted to hustle culture and never seem to be able to shift to Barakah culture.