What is the ruling on describing hours as long and boring, and what are the phrases related to reviling time that lead one out of the fold of Islam, and is saying, "Why is it like this, O Allah?" considered apostasy, and is repentance from it accepted?
Abusing time is forbidden. It amounts to major disbelief (kufr akbar) and polytheism (shirk akbar) if the abuser believes that time is the effective agent, because by doing so, he affirms a partner with Allah Almighty in His Lordship. However, if he believes that Allah is the agent, but attributes harm or blame to time as a linguistic convenience, this is forbidden and considered minor polytheism (shirk asghar). Describing hours as boring or long is not abusing time; rather, it is a description of it and a report about it, which is permissible. However, it is preferable to restrain one's tongue from superfluous speech. As for the phrase "Why is it like this, O Allah," it is an expression of discontent and objection to divine decree, which is forbidden, and one must repent from it. This discontent is not considered disbelief unless it intends blame or objection against Allah. The fundamental principle is that a Muslim remains a Muslim unless their disbelief is certain, and there is no evidence for declaring disbelief based on any of the aforementioned phrases, especially if the questioner is afflicted with obsessive thoughts concerning apostasy matters.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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