Nahda Online

Tafseer of Surah Al-’Asr

Nahda Crew Gathering Summary

Week 6 – Sat 19 – December 2008.

1. By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),

2. Verily Man is in loss,

3. Except those who Believe (have Faith), and do righteous deeds, and recommend one another to the truth, and recommend one another to patience.

This surah was one of the earliest revelations which the angel Gabriel delivered to the Prophet Muhammad while in Makkah. In surah al-Fatiha, Allah has taught us to seek the straight path, as-sirât al-mustaqîm, and in surah al-’Asr the essence of that straight path is revealed to mankind.

In this surah we learn that we should always be filled with belief in the power and wonder of Allah, perform righteous works, encourage one another toward the Truth, and encourage one another to patience.

Anyone who successfully follows this divine guidance will find themselves on the straight path, and their life will be filled with the glory of Allah, while those who fail to follow this guidance will be at a great loss.

These seemingly simple lines of divine guidance tell us how to live our entire life. Many books, with thousands of words, cannot say as much as is contained in these three short verses. This surah shows us “the big picture”, and undoubtedly anyone who truly understands and lives by these ideals will be on the straight path.

According to the tafsir of Ibn Kathir:

At-Tabarani recorded from ‘Abdullah bin Hisn Abi Madinah that he said, “Whenever two men from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah used to meet, they would not part until one of them had recited surah al-’Asr in its entirety to the other, and one of them had given the greetings of peace to the other.”

Imam Ash-Shafi’i said, “If the people were to ponder on this surah, this [alone] would be sufficient for them.”

Time: The period of Al-`Asr is the time in which most of the movements action actions of the people occur, whether good or bad.

Thus, Allah swears by this, that man is in Khusr, which means they are in loss or destruction and doom.

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: “Do not swear by your fathers, or by your mothers, or by rivals to Allah; and swear by Allah only, and swear by Allah only when you are speaking the truth.” [Abu Dawud]

Importance of Time: Allah says: “It is He who made the night and the day to follow each other. For such to have the will to remember Him or to give thanks.” [Sûrah al-Furqân: 62]. We need to make the most of our time, and use it in Allah’s cause, to get nearer to Him and His Mercy.

In the next verse, Allah mentions that “Everyone will be doomed, Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds”. So Allah makes an exception here, among the species of man being in loss, for those who believe in their hearts and work righteous deeds with their actions, they will be saved.

Their other attributes are that they recommend one another to the truth (Al-Haqq) which is all of Islam. This is to perform all the acts of obedience and avoid the forbidden things. To enjoin on the people good, and to forbid all which is haram/evil.

Furthermore, the attributes of those saved from destruction and doom are the ones who “recommend one another to patience & constancy.” meaning, with the plots, the evils, and the harms of those who harm other people due to their commanding them to do good and forbidding them from evil.

However, Patience is strongly recommended upon the one who is tried and tested by Allah (swt). It does not mean to let people harm you or other Muslims, rather have patience in Allah’s decree.  It was Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Umar: Allah’s Apostle said, “A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever shielded a Muslim, Allah will shield him on the Day of Resurrection . “

Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates (forgives) some of his sins for that.”  [Bukhari]

In Surah Al-Baqara Allah says: “And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings (good news) to As-Sabirun (the patient ones)“.  [2:155]

Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinan reported that: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity is granted to him, he thanks Allah and that is good for him; and if hardship befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him (he is rewarded also)”. [Muslim].

The Criterion of Success and Failure: The most important truth flowing from this surah is Allah’s presentation of the real criterion of man’s success and failure.  Every person keeps in his mind a criterion of success and failure, of gain and loss. All his endeavours and the whole struggle of his life in this world is directed according to this criterion.

If we were to look around in our society as well as to search our hearts and minds, we would find that in this age, the real criterion of success or failure is wealth and property, or status, honor, fame or position. All but a few are running after these things. They expend their energies for these purposes. The minds of many  are directed towards obtaining degrees in science or technology, so that they may earn a lot of money or achieve status, position or power. The achievement of these things is their criterion of success or failure.

The real truth which comes to our minds by studying Surah Al-Asr is very different from this. In other words, the criterion of man’s success is neither money or wealth, nor status, position, power, or prestige. Rather its first condition is ‘Faith’, the second is ‘righteous deeds’, the third is ‘enjoin to truth’, and the fourth is ‘practice mutual patience’.

By this criterion, a person who does not possess the above four qualities is unsuccessful and will never achieve his real goal, and in the end he will be a loser whose doom awaits.