NAME: العصر, Al-‘Asr.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word ”Asr”.
١ وَالْعَصْرِ
1 By time,
ENGLISH NAME: Time.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 103
SURAH ASR TOTAL VERSES: 3
SURAH ASR TOTAL WORDS: 14
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 13
TOTAL LETTERS: 73
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 610 – 615 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Mankind, Time.
SURAH ASR MAIN TOPICS:
Man Is In Loss. Because Of Regret Of Past And Fear Of Future. Only Those Are Successful Who Are Patient And Truthful.
SURAH ASR KEY VERSES:
٢ إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ
2 Indeed, mankind is in loss,
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-2(God Swears By The Time That Man Is In Loss), 3(Because Of Regret Of Past And Fear Of Future. Only Those Are Successful Who Are Believers, Virtuous, Patient And Truthful).
SURAH ASR BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACKGROUND
This Surah has 3 verses. It takes its name from verse 1: “وَالْعَصْرِ” (By time) where the word “العصر” meaning “Time” appears. This Surah was revealed in Mecca most probably during the early days of Muhammad’s proclamation of his Prophethood. There is a difference of opinion as some commentators of the Quran say that this Surah was revealed in Madina.
The theme of the Surah is that Man/Human being is in Loss. This statement comes after swearing an Oath “By Time.” Which means Man is in Loss because of regret of the past and fear of the future. Only those are successful who are Patient And Truthful.
Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Idris al Shafi said that if God had only revealed this Surah, it would have been sufficient for the guidance of all Mankind. It summarized the very essence of the Quranic philosophy and Message. Shafi states that if one followed its advice, it was enough for him to achieve success in life.
Al Tabarani writes that to understand how important this Surah was in the sight of the Companions can be seen from the tradition quoted from Abdullah bin Hisn ad Darimi, according to which whenever any two of the companions of prophet met they would not part company until they had recited Surah Asr to each other.
