The Ruling on Wasting Time in Amusement

Question:
Some of the young men, whether they are on a break, in gatherings, or in the wilderness, one of them says to his companion, "Come, let us kill time. Come, let us play with the ball," and so on, in wasting their time.

Answer:
This is a loss for them. Time is not killed; time is precious. It is to be spent in what benefits in religion and worldly affairs. It is not killed. Allah the Exalted said: and by the time. Allah swore by time and the era because it is noble and great, for Allah does not swear except by something great and precious. Indeed, the person who is in loss is the one who wastes his time; he is a loser. Indeed, whoever the person is, whether a king, a scholar, a vagrant, or a merchant, he is in loss except for those whom Allah has excluded, and they are those who are characterized by four attributes: except those who believed, this is the first; and did righteous deeds, this is the second; and advised one another to truth, this is the third; and advised one another to patience, this is the fourth. Whoever possesses these four...
...he will be saved from loss on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever lacks them, or lacks any one of them, he will be a loser. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "If Allah had not sent down any proof for His creation except this surah, it would have sufficed them." Yes.