Like any other task or life responsibility of whatever level of seriousness, leisure time, as well, should be planned in accordance with the foremost human mission in life, each according to God-given talent and capabilities.   As personal as it is, planning for your leisure time, or mapping it as the title reads, should be precisely representative of your personality and should feed your presumed role in life, and it sure tells you a lot about your personal make-up and areas of enhancement required for a better You. It’s an already established fact that we, as humans, are bound to our responsibilities as God’s vicegerents on earth by two main missions that have no third, first to worship Allah, and the second is to develop life on earth in a way that safeguards the well-being of Allah’s creation and creatures. “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.“—Quran 51:56 Any deviation from these two primary roles leaves us depressed and confused, sometimes even without realizing such fact of life- for it forces us live for some other purpose than the one befitting our reason for being. Like any other task or life responsibility of whatever level of seriousness, leisure time, as well, should be planned in accordance with the foremost human mission on earth, each according to his/her God-given talent and capabilities, thereby used as a tool enabling each individual to efficiently uphold his/her due responsibility and task, let that be in the field of science, Islamic studies, arts, linguistics, or even raising children. This article is not in any way intended to dictate you how you should spend your leisure time, but it surely seeks to draw your attention to the critical role leisure time and the way you spend it can have, either helping you or hampering your efforts to be a better Muslim who’s more committed to his mission and responsibility as a God servant and thus more satisfied and more fulfilled. Leisure time is part and parcel of your presence in life and all activities you might be engaged in, and should be taken seriously, pretty much as you take your work, family commitment and commitment to your personal objectives in life. Accordingly, your leisure time has got to feed your capability and stretch your capacity in a way that makes you best commit to both missions, towards God and towards humanity and life on earth. And if it is not taking you closer to both ends, then it is surely taking you farther. Leisure time never has a neutral impact, even if you at times mistakenly believe so. Embrace your role and get to know your capacity and true potential, and take such illumination a step further by nurturing your knowledge and personal skills in a positive way, and not in a manner that’s detrimental to your mission, as prescribed by your Lord. Get to know yourself. Get to know more about life. Get to know your lord. Get to learn about your potential. And last but not least, get to know more about the fields you’re venturing into or already operating within, whether your career or hobbies. What you feed your mental, spiritual, and physical being gets out in all tasks and activities you tend to pursue. So you better watch out, and deviate not, rom the noble mission entitled to you by Almighty Allah. Wassalaam, Maha Youssuf maha@muslimtribune.org Posted on: September 21, 2011