View source for Al-Asr

{{Short description|103rd chapter of the Quran}}
{{excessive quotation|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{infobox surah
| number         = 103
| number-3       = 103
| name           = Al-ʻAṣr
| name-ar        = العصر
| name-en        = The Declining Day
| prev_sura      = Quran 102
| next_sura      = Quran 104
| classification = Meccan
| othernames     = Eventide, The Epoch, Time, Afternoon, The Flight of Time, Time through the Ages, Time and Age
| juz            = 30
| verses         = 3
| words          = <!-- optional, uncommon -->
| letters        = <!-- optional, uncommon -->
| muqattaat      = <!-- only if applicable -->
| sajdahs        = <!-- only if applicable -->
| audio          = Chapter 103, Al-Asr (Murattal) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3
}}
{{Quran}}
'''Al-Asr''' ({{langx|ar|العصر|al-ʻaṣr}}, ''The Declining Day, Eventide, The Epoch, Time'') is the 103rd chapter ([[sūrah]]) of the [[Qur'an|Qur’ān]], the [[Muslim]] holy book. It contains three ''[[ayat|āyāt]]'' or verses. Surat al-‘Asr is the third shortest chapter after [[Al-Kawthar]] and [[An-Nasr|Al-Nasr]], being shorter than Al-Nasr by only two words in the 3rd verse.''
:[[۝]]<ref>[[Arabic script in Unicode]] symbol for a Quran verse, U+06DD, page 3, [http://www.evertype.com/standards/iso10646/pdf/09419-encode-koranic.pdf Proposal for additional Unicode characters]</ref> By the afternoon;
:۝ verily man employeth himself in that which will prove of loss:
:۝ except those who believe, and do that which is right; and who mutually recommend the truth, and mutually recommend perseverance unto each other.<ref name=GS>[[George Sale]]'s translation</ref>

==Summary==
*'''1-2''' Men generally seek for gain and find loss
*'''3''' The righteous, however, are the exception to this rule <ref>{{cite book |last1=Wherry |first1=Elwood Morris |author1-link=Elwood Morris Wherry |title=A Complete Index to [[Sale's Text]], Preliminary Discourse, and Notes |date=1896 |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co |location=London}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>

== Text and meaning ==
[[File:Chapter 103, Al-Asr (Mujawwad) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3|thumb|right|Al-Asr in [[mujawwad]]]]
===Text and transliteration===
;[[Hafs]] from [[Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud]]
{{script/Arabic|'''بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ''' ۝}}
<br />
{{lang|ar-Latn|Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''وَٱلْعَصْرِ''' ۝١}}
<br />
¹ {{Lang|ar-Latn|Wal‘aṣr(i)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ''' ۝٢}}
<br />
² {{Lang|ar-Latn|’innal ’insāna lafī khusr(in)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ''' ۝٣}}
<br />
³ {{Lang|ar-Latn|’il-la l-lzīna ’āmanū wa‘amilu ṣ-ṣāliḥāti watawāṣaw bilḥaq-qi watawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabr(i)}}
<br />
----
;[[Warsh]] from [[Nafiʽ al-Madani]]
{{script/Arabic|'''بِسۡمِ اِ۬للَّهِ اِ۬لرَّحۡمَٰنِ اِ۬لرَّحِيمِ''' ۝}}
<br />
{{lang|ar-Latn|Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm(i)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''وَالۡعَصۡرِ''' ۝١}}
<br />
¹ {{Lang|ar-Latn|Wal‘aṣr(i)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''إِنَّ اَ۬{{color|magenta|لِ}}انسَٰنَ لَفِے خُسۡرٍ''' ۝٢}}
<br />
² {{Lang|ar-Latn|’in-na {{color|magenta|li}}nsāna lafī khusr(in)}}
<br />
{{Script/Arabic|'''إِلَّا اَ۬لَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ اَ۬لصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا۟ بِالۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡا۟ بِالصَّبْرِ''' ۝٣}}
<br />
³ {{Lang|ar-Latn|’il-la l-lazīna ’āmanū wa‘amilu ṣ-ṣāliḥāti watawāṣaw bilḥaq-qi watawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabr(i)}}

=== Meaning ===
{{Verse||1|tomato}}
By Al-'Asr (the time).
<br />
{{Verse||2|tomato}}
Verily! Man is in loss,
<br />
{{Verse||3|tomato}}
Except those who believe (in [[Tawhid|Islamic Monotheism]]) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf) which [[Allah]] has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar) which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah's Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or [[Jihad]], etc.).
<br />
{{right|Translation:''[[Noble Quran (Muhsin Khan)|Noble Quran]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://quran.com/103?translations=18|title=quran.com}}, al-Asr (103), Muhsin Khan</ref> 1999}}
----
<br />
{{Verse||1|green}}
By time,{{efn|An oath in which Allah swears by time throughout the ages.}}
<br />
{{Verse||2|green}}
Indeed, mankind is in loss,
<br />
{{Verse||3|green}}
Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.
<br />
{{right|Translation:''[[Saheeh International]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://quran.com/103?translations=20|title=quran.com}}, al-Asr(103), Saheeh International</ref> 1997}}
----
<br />
{{Verse||1|blue}}
By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),
<br />
{{Verse||2|blue}}
Verily Man is in loss,
<br />
{{Verse||3|blue}}
Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
<br />
{{right|Translation:''[[Abdullah Yusuf Ali|Yusuf Ali]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://quran.com/103?translations=22|title=quran.com}}, al-Asr (103), Yusuf Ali</ref> 1934}}
----
<br />
{{Verse||1|magenta}}
By the declining day,
<br />
{{Verse||2|magenta}}
Lo! man is a state of loss,
<br />
{{Verse||3|magenta}}
Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.
<br />
{{right|Translation:''[[Marmaduke Pickthall|Pickthall]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://quran.com./?translations=19|title=quran.com}}, al-Asr (103), Pikhtall</ref> 1930}}
----
{{Clear}}

==Timing and contextual background of revelation==
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (''[[asbāb al-nuzūl]]''), it is an earlier "[[Meccan surah]]", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, instead of later in Medina.

According to some, it follows [[sūrah 94]] in the chronological order of the Quran.<ref>Joseph E. B. Lumbard, "Introduction to ''Sūrat al-'Aṣr''" in ''The Study Quran'', ed. S. H. Nasr, Maria M. Dakake, Caner K. Dagli, Joseph E. B. Lumbard, and Mohammed Rustom (HarperOne, 2015), 1555.</ref>

==Theme and subject matter==
This sura teaches that all human beings are in loss, except those who have [[Iman (concept)|''iman'']] (faith in Islam), do righteous deeds and remind others of the [[Haqq]] ([[truth]], [[rights]], [[reality]]) and remind others of [[Sabr (Islamic term)|Sabr]] ([[patience]]).<ref name="is">{{cite web |title=Towards Understanding the Quran |url=https://www.islamicstudies.info/tafheem.php?sura=103 |website=Islamic Studies |publisher=Islamic Foundation UK |access-date=25 July 2020}}</ref>

The text of the Sura can be translated as the following:

1.|وَالْعَصْرِ‌

By time (it explain that God swears By time).

2. {{Big|{{lang|ar|إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ}}‌}}

Indeed man is in loss,

3.  {{Big|{{lang|ar|إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ‌}}}}‌

except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and enjoin one another to [follow] the truth, and enjoin one another to patience.

==Importance==
This sura is considered the summary of whole Quran by almost all notable classical and modern Islamic scholars including [[Imam Shafi]], [[Ibn Kathir]], [[Israr Ahmed]] and [[Farhat Hashmi]].
*'''[[Ibn Kathir]]''', a traditional exegete, holds that this [[sura]] is a warning to believers not to waste time or they could be humiliated or even ruined.<ref>(IbnKathir, 2010).</ref>
*'''[[Imam Shafi]]''', a jurist and traditional scholar of Islam, held that if God had only revealed this surah it would have been sufficient for the guidance of all humankind.<ref>(IbnKathir, 2010)</ref> It summarized the very essence of the Qur'anic message. Thus, Imam Shafi’i asserts that if one followed its counsel, it was enough for humankind to achieve success in life.<ref>(Imam Shafi’i d. 820)</ref>
*'''[[Sayyid Qutb]]''', a modern exegete of the Qur'an, asserts that this surah outlines a complete system for human life based on an Islamic viewpoint. He says that it defines, in the clearest and most concise form, the basic concept of faith in the context of its comprehensive reality.<ref>(1979, p.&nbsp;274)</ref> He further says that he is gravely shocked to see the loss and ruin in which humanity finds itself. He is critical of Muslims and non-Muslims and particularly witnessing that humankind is turning away from the goodness that God has bestowed upon it. He is confident that the guidance of this surah is what made the early Muslim great as it can do for those that follow it in the long history of humanity. He says that once the early Arabs were aroused by such surahs, they quickly burst the bounds of Arabia and zealously worked toward the salvation of humanity.<ref>(Qutb (d. 1966), 1979, p.&nbsp;280)</ref>
* '''[[Al-Tabarani]]:''' when humankind finds itself at a loss; it can revive itself by returning to the formula provided by the third verse and the four principles/conditions, which are adhered to as a foundation. We saw how these four principles operated on both physical and spiritual levels. This is probably the reason why the companions of the Prophet did not want to become heedless of the foundational message of [[Islam]]. Consequently, they used to meet one another and only depart until one of them recited surat-Al-Asr to the other and they bid peace upon one another.<ref>(Tabrani 2010)</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://quran.com/103 Quran 103] [[Clear Quran translation]]

{{Sura|103|[[at-Takathur]]|[[al-Humaza]]}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chapters in the Quran|Asr]]