The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

By Mohamed Miah

There’s something deeply unsettling about the way time governs our lives. From the moment we wake up to the chime of an alarm, to the endless cycles of work and productivity, we are tethered to a system that feels inescapable. But what if I told you that time, as we know it, is nothing more than a man-made construct? What if I told you that this construct exists solely to maintain a grip on humanity, crafted not by the hands of nature but by powerful forces that lurk in the shadows—forces we can only loosely call “the elite”?

This isn’t just about conspiracy theories or idle speculation. This is about a fundamental truth that we, as a society, choose to ignore. We’ve been conditioned to believe that time is linear, that ageing is inevitable, and that productivity is the highest measure of success. The problem? This is precisely how they want us to think. The very fabric of time has been manipulated to serve their interests, and most of us are complicit in it without even realising.

The Illusion of Time

Take a moment to consider life on holiday—somewhere far removed from the ticking clocks and relentless schedules of modern life. In a place like Bangladesh, time seems to fade into the background. There, the sun rises and falls, but without the same sense of urgency. You wake when your body tells you to, eat when you’re hungry, sleep when you’re tired. The idea of “time” as a rigid, controlling force evaporates. In these moments, you realise that time is an illusion—something we’ve created to organise the chaos of life.

Even in Islam, this fluidity is evident. Allah did not instruct us to pray at exact, fixed times but gave us periods throughout the day in which to fulfil our prayers. Whether it’s Fajr at dawn or Maghrib at sunset, there is flexibility within the day’s natural rhythms. This reflects a divine understanding that life cannot be rigidly segmented, further supporting the idea that time as we perceive it is a human construct, one designed for convenience and control.

But this organisation comes at a cost. Time, in its current form, has become a commodity, sold to us in units of productivity. We measure success by how efficiently we use our time, how much we can achieve in a day, a week, or a year. But who decided that this is how we should live? The answer lies in the very structures that control society—the powerful corporations, governments, and unseen forces that profit from our blind adherence to this schedule.

The Obsession With Control

At the heart of this manipulation are the elite. They are the ones who operate from the shadows, pulling the strings of society. They have no name, no public identity. Some call them “the matrix,” others simply refer to them as the one percent, the big corporations, the conglomerates. But one thing is clear: their ultimate goal is control. While they may have wealth and power, their most prized possession is their ability to maintain control over the rest of us, ensuring we remain in line, dutifully following the clock, buying into the myth that time is something we can manage, control, or even conquer.

This control extends far beyond just our day-to-day lives. The elite are actively working on extending their own lives, using the illusion of time to convince themselves that death is avoidable. They invest in technology, in artificial intelligence, in biohacking—believing they might cheat death altogether. But here’s the truth: no matter how much time they try to buy, no one can escape the inevitable meeting with the Creator. Death belongs to God, and no amount of money or power can change that.

AI and the Future of Control

This brings us to the critical question of AI. The elite are walking a dangerous tightrope when it comes to artificial intelligence. On the one hand, they see it as a tool to extend their control—automating systems, increasing productivity, and further exploiting time as a commodity. On the other hand, AI has the potential to unravel the very fabric of the control they so desperately cling to.

If AI becomes the productivity, people could begin to wake up to the truth. AI will give people back so called time, which might expose the cracks in the system, revealing time for the construct that it is. People could become free—free from the constraints of productivity, free from the need to measure their lives in hours and minutes, free to realise that time is not a force to be controlled, but a tool that was always meant to serve us, not the other way around.

The elite know this. They are aware that AI, if not regulated, could lead to a societal awakening—a moment when humanity finally realises that time is a man-made creation, and that our ultimate purpose lies not in productivity but in connection to God. If people truly understood that time is a man-made creation, that our ultimate purpose lies not in productivity but in connection to God, the entire system could collapse.

The Final Awakening

This is why the elite work so tirelessly to maintain the status quo. They sell us the illusion that time is money, that productivity is freedom, that the more we work, the more we succeed. But all of this is a lie. True freedom comes from understanding that time is a tool of control, and that life itself belongs to God, not the elite.

People die at different ages, not because time has dictated it, but because each person’s biological makeup is unique. Life and death are not tied to the passing of hours and years but to the will of the Creator. Every organism—whether a tree, a cat, or a human—experiences time differently, based on its organic makeup. A tree may perceive our lives as fleeting, while we struggle to grasp the fullness of its existence.

In the end, it’s not time that rules us, but the forces that use it to control us. And until the day we meet our Creator, we remain bound by this illusion. The question is: will we continue to live by the clock, or will we recognise time for what it is—a man-made creation designed to keep us in line?

Divine Time is Beyond Human Comprehension

When we reflect on the nature of time in relation to divinity, it becomes clear that God’s relationship with time is far beyond human comprehension. While we fantasise about time machines and the ability to move through time, God is already capable of doing so. He exists outside the constraints of linear time, able to move in and out of it, which is why we say He is everywhere and anywhere all at once. The time we experience—bound by clocks, schedules, and calendars—is a simple construct, a tool for our limited understanding. True, divine time is infinite and fluid, existing on a level that most humans cannot even begin to grasp. Our version of time is a shadow of the divine reality, a small glimpse into a much grander and more mysterious design.

This is why, in Islam, we say “Allahu Alam”—God knows best. It’s an acknowledgment of our limited understanding and a reminder that God’s knowledge and wisdom far surpass our own. While we struggle with the concept of time, destiny, and life’s mysteries, we trust that God already knows what is best for us and why. He sees the entire picture, moving beyond the bounds of time and space, guiding us according to a divine plan we may not fully comprehend. In recognising this, we find peace in the knowledge that His wisdom is always perfect.

One day, we will see the truth for what it is. Either way, the clock, productivity and money are all man made constructs or constraints. It is up to you how you want to perceive it.