103. Surah Al-'Asr (The Time)
Reciter: Hani Ar-Rifai Next (104): • 104. Surah Al-Humazah (The Slanderer) Previous (102): • 102. Surah At-Takathur (The Competition) Translation: (1) By (the Token of) Time (through the ages), (2) The human being is doomed to suffer loss (for he is losing his valuable lifetime), (3) Save those who believe and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping to truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity. Commentary: In this Surah, Allah takes an oath of the Flight of Time (i.e. "Time" that is moving fast) in which man spends his life on earth. This limited Time is very valuable and crucial to man and it all depends on how he spends it. After taking an oath of this Flight of Time, Allah, the Exalted says that man is indeed in a loss by spending this Time without being obedient to Allah. But, on the other hand, Allah also makes an exception under the same oath that those who have firm faith in Him and do good deeds are not in a loss. They are the people who have perfected their souls. They not only do good deeds to uplift themselves but also continuously exhort one another with truth and patience. These people are not in a loss but instead they are in great success and have profited a lot by spending their Time in this manner. At this point, let us ponder and see what is the connection of Time with the topic of discussion in this chapter. Why is Allah, the Exalted, taking an oath of the Flight of Time. All the great scholars and commentators of the Qur'an are unanimous in saying that the growth and development of man, his activities, deeds and the framing of his character are all done within the framework of Time. The actions and deeds which we are commanded with in this chapter are carried out and executed during the days and nights of this Flight of Time. It is precisely for this reason alone that an oath of Time is taken. To explain it more manifestly, the "Capital" of man which he uses to uplift himself is the "Time of his life he spends in this world." If one ponders very carefully, the years, months, days, hours and minutes put together constitutes man's Capital. It is with this Capital that he can either attain great success in this world and the hereafter or he can destroy himself by spending this Capital in committing evil. It all depends on how he uses his Capital. Many scholars have said very rightfully that man's life on earth is made of a limited number of breaths. If one breath expires then one vital part of his life is lost which he can never get back. Allah has created man and has given him his life on earth as his Capital and placed him in a special kind of business. Man is supposed to use his intelligence and skill to use this Capital to produce the maximum benefit with it. If he uses this Capital wrongly, he will incur loss and harm to himself and is bound to lose this Capital as well. The great commentators have also said that this Capital is not something 'solid' which one can keep for a few days and then use it afterwards for one's benefit. This Capital is so 'liquid' that it is flowing away from a person every minute and second. That part of the Capital which has flowed away cannot be regained. Therefore man has to be very intelligent to use this 'liquid' and 'continuously flowing' Capital for his maximum benefit. It has been reported that one pious scholar visited a marketplace and saw a man selling ice-cubes. After a while, he went to his people and said that he has now fully understood the real interpretation of Surah Al-'Asr by just looking at the man selling ice-cubes. If that man had become a little negligent about his Capital (i.e. the ice-cubes), then he would have lost a huge part of his trade including the Capital because it would have melted and flowed away as water. Similarly, the Flight of Time in man's earthly life bears the same significance.
