Praying for Time

"Praying for Time"
Written and performed by George Michael


These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we'll take our chances
Because God's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned his back and all God's children
Crept out the back door

And it's hard to love, there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
Well maybe we should all be praying for time

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year

This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say "what's mine is mine and not yours"
I may have too much but I'll take my chances
Because God's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can't come back
Because he has no children to come back for

It's hard to love there's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above say it's much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time

Very rarely I come across a song that perfectly describes how I feel but trust a gay man to express the emotions of a female jaded optimist in the twenty first century. I know the song is not very *Islamic* because there's no way God would ever "stop keeping score" but I think he meant it metaphorically anyway.

I can't get over how beautifully he wrote this song that is incredibly relevant today. I especially love the parts when he sings, "This is the year of the hungry man whose place is in the past", "The rich declare themselves poor and most of us are not sure if we have too much" and "This is the year of the guilty man, your television takes a stand and you find what was over there is over here". 

It's so true. Many of us don't consider the plight of the "unfortunate" as important. Their stories are barely heard and even if they're reported we don't feel the urge to do anything about it. The "guilty man" is winning every war he starts and we may think we don't have the problems other countries have, the truth is there is "war" and poverty in our own backyard. We just choose not to see them.  Furthermore, how many times do we say we don't have enough of this and that? I know I have days when I wish I had more of everything.

Instead of praying for more things... I should be praying for more time... 

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: 

The Prophet said, "There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) Health and free time for doing good." (Sahih Bukhari)