Al-Asr

Surah No. 103 Al-Asr (The Declining Day)

This Surah has 3 Ayaat and was revealed in Makkah

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

103.001
YUSUFALI: By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),
PICKTHAL: By the declining day,
SHAKIR: I swear by the time,

103.002
YUSUFALI: Verily Man is in loss,
PICKTHAL: Lo! man is a state of loss,
SHAKIR: Most surely man is in loss,

103.003
YUSUFALI: Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
PICKTHAL: Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

SHAKIR: Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

Surah Al-Asr is considered to be one of the most important Surah of the Quran, yet remains the least understood. Imam Shafe has said that if the people only considered this Surah well, it alone would suffice them for their guidance.

I have gone through several commentaries by notable scholars but almost all of them ponder upon why Allah has drawn the testimony of Time (Asr) in this Surah. The commentary by Zohurul Hoque & Husain Nuri do shed some light on the point which I would like to highlight and which in my humble opinion forms the crux of this Surah and which makes this surah so beautiful yet so easy to understand.

In the first two Ayaat Allah says “By Time, the man is in loss”. In my opinion, the testimony of time is sought because time is a reality and nobody can refute the reality of passing time. Here I am also in complete agreement with all the scholars who point to different versions of the word “Asr”.

In the last Ayat, Allah says “except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and enjoin one another to perseverance”. The verse affirms three and not four key activities that determine who would not be at a loss (in my opinion, the fourth one is rather a consequence of doing the earlier three). The very first activity is to believe in Allah or Eman. The second requirement is to do good (Amal-e-Swalihat). Amal-e-Swalihat can simply be put as to do good to one’s own soul by constant self-improvement, followed by doing good to humanity. The third requirement is to speak the truth (haq). Lastly, the verse points out to steadfastness (Sabr) one has to endure in the course of action for following the three previously stated activities. The literal meaning of perseverance is a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. So in order to escape the loss, one not only has to remain steadfast himself but also need to engage other people of similar beliefs to motivate and keep the spirits high due to discouragement.

Now coming back to my point, after Eman, Allah has emphasized on doing good (Amal-e-Swalihat). In my opinion, “Amal-e-Swalihat” are primarily and solely directed towards humanity. By specifically used the term “Amal-e-Swalihat” right after “Eman”, Allah has pointed out that salvation lies in doing good to the humanity also.

Now, why do we forget is important aspect is my question is to my Muslim brothers? why can’t we realize that by doing good to the humanity we are very rightly following the teachings of Islam? Why do we forget that by serving humanity we are in turn serving Allah?

Lastly, I would like to declare that what I wrote above is in true earnest and would accept all the responsibility for my words in front of Allah. So help me God !