KHUTAB XI: 22. COMMENTARY OF SŪRAT AL-‘AṢR (Q. 103)

22. COMMENTARY OF SŪRAT AL-‘AṢR (Q. 103)

           This sūrat al-‘Aṣr (chapter 103) was a Makkan one, revealed at Makkah, namely, before the Prophet’s migration to Madīnah. It consists of three verses, and has been explained briefly here in my khuṭbah on 11th of March, 2016. A comprehensive interpretation of it is given here, as follows:

وَالْعَصْرِ. إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ. إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا

الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ (العصر3-1(

By al-‘asr (the time) Verily, man is in loss. Except

those who believe  and do righteous good deeds,

and recommend one another to the truth and

recommend one another to patience  (Q. 103:1-3)

M. Pickthall’s translation:

         By the declining day, Lo! man is in a state of loss, Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

A.Y. Ali’s translation:

         By (the token of) Time (through the Ages), Verily Man is in loss, Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.

          His introduction to this early Makkah sūrah is that it “refers to the testimony of Time through the Ages. All history shows that Evil came to an evil end. But Time is always in favour of those who have Faith, live clean and pure lives, and knows how to wait in patience and constancy.”

Muhammad Asad’s translation:

         Consider the flight of time! Verily, man is bound to lose himself unless he be of those who attain to faith and do good works, and enjoin upon one another the keeping of the truth, and enjoin upon one another patience in adversity.

  The commentary:      

وَالْعَصْرِ

“By the (token of) time”; “by the declining day”

          Asad’s commentary of the term ‘aṣr is as follows: “The term ‘aṣr denotes ‘time’ that is measurable, consisting of a succession of periods (in distinction from dahr, which signifies ‘unlimited time’, without beginning or end: i.e., ‘time absolute’). Hence, ‘aṣr bears the connotation of the passing or the flight of time—time which can never be recaptured.”  The right view according to al-Țabarī is that Allah swore with al-‘aṣr, namely, the passage of time, whether the evening, the night or he day, and it included any of these times.

          Al-Qurṭubī and others mention various and different opinions of early Qur’ān commentators on the meanings of the term ‘aṣr and the above verses, as follows:

1. Ibn ‘Abbās and others: it is like الدَّهْر (al-dahr), namely, unlimited time, eternity, such as in the following poetry of al-Wa’wā’ al-Diqshī (الوأواء الدقشي):

سَبِيلُ الْهَوَى وَعْرٌوَبَحْرُالْهَوَى غَمْرُ * وَيَوْمُ الْهَوَى شَهْرٌ وَشَهْرُالْهَوَى دَهْرُ

The path of love is rough, the sea of love is overflowing, the

day of love is a month, and the month of love is eternity.

          Ibn ‘Abbās says further that Allah swore by time because there were many warning examples and wonders in it. The Prophet (ﷺ) said on the authority of Abū Hurayrah:

قَالَ اللَّهُ يَسُبُّ بَنُو آدَمَ الدَّهْرَ وَأَنَا الدَّهْرُ بِيَدِي اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ (رواه البخاري)

Allah said: “The sons of Adam curse Time, for

I am [the Creator of] Time, night and   day are

in My Hands.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī)

          In another ḥadīth the Prophet (ﷺ) also said:

لاَ تَسُبُّوا الدَّهْرَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الدَّهْرُ (رواه مسلم)

Do not curse Time, for verily, Allah is [the

Creator of] Time (Reported by Muslim)

          This is because people in pre-Islamic Arabia were used to associate calamity and accidents with Time, as if it was the cause of these calamities, whereas in fact they are all Allah’s divine decrees. It is like saying, “His suffering will be cured by the passing of time.” It is Allah Who cured, not time.

          However, it is also reported that, according to Ibn ‘Abbās, it also means “a part of the times of the day” (ساعة من ساعات النهار). Therefore, the oath of Allah with time, means a warning with the vicissitude of time indicating the existence of the creator, Allah. 

2.  Al-Ḥasan, Mālik, and Qatādah: It is الْعَشِيُّ, namely, between noon and sunset. It is also reported that according to Qatādah it is the last part of the day-time. Here Allah swore by the evening, as He swore by the forenoon, when He said: وَالضّحى (الضّحى:1)) “By the forenoon” (Q. 93:1).

3.   The term ‘aṣr is applied to the day time as well as the night time, the morning as well as the evening.

4.   Muqātil: it means the ‘aṣr (evening) prayer. Allah swears by it, because of its merit. Allah says in the Qur’ān:

حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى ... (البقرة:238)

Guard strictly (five obligatory) prayers especially the

middle prayer (i.e., the best prayer – ‘asr)…(Q. 2:238)

In a ḥadīth narrated by Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

الصَّلاَةُ الوُسْطَى صَلاَةُ الْعَصْرِ

The middle prayer is the ‘asr prayer.[1]

          ‘Ali said that the Prophet (ﷺ) missed the ‘asr prayer on the day of the Khandaq campaign until after sunset; then the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

مَا لَهُم! مَلأَ اللهُ قُلُوبَهُم وَقُبُورَهُم نَاراً! شَغَلُونَا

عَنِ الصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى حَتَّى غَابَتِ الشَّمْسُ

Why! May Allah fill their hearts and their graves with

 fire! They [i.e., the enemies] have distracted us from performing the middle prayer until the sun sets.

5. The term ‘aṣr is applied to the time of the Prophet (ﷺ). Allah swore by the Prophet’s time for its merit wherein prophethood was revived, and swore by his place in the Qur’ān, as follows:

لا أُقْسِمُ بِهذَا الْبَلَدِ وَأَنْتَ حِلٌّ بِهذَا الْبَلَدِ (البلد:1-2(

I swear by this city (Makkah), and you are free (from

sin, and to punish the enemies of Islam on the day of

the Conquest) in this city (Makkah). (Q. 90:1-2)[2]

6.  The term وَالْعَصْر ("By the time") means   وَرَبِّ الْعَصْر  (“By the Lord of time”)

7.  Mālik ibn Sa‘d: The term ‘aṣr means one year. He said that if someone swore not to talk to a man for an ‘aṣr he would not talk to him for a year.

إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ

“Verily, man is in loss; Lo! man is in a state of loss”

1.  Ibn ‘Abbās: it means that non-believers are in loss. It was specially directed to a group of idolaters: al-Walīd in Mughīrah, al-‘Āṣ ibn Wā’il, al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd Al-Muṭṭalib ibn Asad ibn ‘Abd al-‘Uzzá, and al-Asad ibn ‘Abd Yaghūth. Then the meaning becomes man in general, especially non- believers

These non-believers will be in a state of loss with punishment for losing their family and place in Paradise, or the decrease of man’s good deeds after becoming old and dead.

2.   It means that man in general, namely, mankind is لَفِي غَبْن (in a state of being fraudulent, deceived, in error).

3.  Al-Akhfash: man is in a state of being in هَلَكَة (total loss, ruin, disaster, danger)

4.  Al-Farrā’: man is in a state of being punished (لَفِيْ عُقُوْبَة). There is a verse in the Qur’ān where the term خُسْر (loss) means عُقُوْبَة (punishment), namely,

... وَكانَ عاقِبَةُ أَمْرِها خُسْراً )الطلاق:9(

…, and the consequence of its affair (disbelief)

was loss [destruction in this life and an eternal

punishment in the Hereafter] (Q. 65:9)

5. Ibn Yazīd: man is لَفِي شَرٍّ (in a state of being in mischief, calamity, disaster; harm, damage; wickedness; vice, sin).

6.  (Unknown): man is لَفِي نَقْصٍ (in a state of loss, diminution, deficit, shortage, blemish, deficiency, imperfection).

Al-Qurṭubī says that all these interpretations are close to each other.

 إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ

“Except those who believe and do

righteous deeds (good works)”

1.   Ibn ‘Abbās: except those who believe in Muhammad s.a.w. and the Qur’ān, and obey their Lord.

2.   Mujāhid: except those who believe in Allah and declare Him to be one, and obey Him, do good deeds, carry out what He enjoins, and avoid what He prohibits.

وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ

“and recommend one another to the truth”

1. Qatādah and al-Ḥasan: they recommend one another to the necessity of applying what Allah revealed in His Book, obeying His command and avoiding what He prohibited. So, “the truth” here is “the Book of Allah”.

2.  Ibn ‘Abbās: the term “the truth” here means التَّوْحِيْد (belief in the oneness of Allah).

3.  Al-Suddī: the term “the truth” is Allah the Almighty.

وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

and recommend one another to patience

1.  Qatādah and al-Ḥasan: the term “patience” means “obeying Allah.”

2.  Ibn ‘Abbās: it means recommend one another to patience in carrying out Allah’s  ordinance and avoiding disobedience against Him, and be patient in facing calamities and disasters.

In conclusion, here is al-Khāzin’s commentary in his tafsīr: Human beings are always in loss, and waste their times, as every time passed would be either in obeying or disobeying Allah. In disobeying Allah the loss is clear and self-evident, while in obeying Allah they are also in loss compared to those who obeyed Allah more and better. Moreover, it is said that men’s love for worldly matters instead of seeking salvation in the Hereafter would render them in loss by wasting their lives. If men here are the non-believers, the believers would not be in loss, as their lives spent in obeying Allah, they would get reward for it. If men in general become old, their condition would deteriorate, except believers and do good deeds, as they would get the rewards of their deeds in the Hereafter.  

(CIVIC, 10 February, 2017)  

المراجع:

 المكتبة الشاملة

تفسير الطبري (ت. 310 هـ(

تفسير القرطبى (ت. 671 هـ (

تفسير ابن كثير (ت. 774 هـ(

تفسير ابن عباس (3 ق هـ - 68 هـ / 619 - 687 م(

تفسير الخازن (678-741 هـ / 1280-1341م(

Muhammad Asad. The Message of Islam.

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall. The Glorious Qur’ān.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali. The Meaning of the Holy Qur’ān.    

---

[1] There are seven views about what is meant by الصَّلاَةِ الْوُسْطَى (the middle  prayer): ‘aṣr  (late afternoon) prayer; ẓuhr (afternoon) prayer; maghrib (after sunset) prayer; fajr (dawn) prayer; one of the five-daily prayers; Jum‘ah (Friday) prayer; and congregational prayer of any obligatory prayer.

[2] After the conquest of Makkah it became a sanctuary. Ibn ‘Abbās narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said on the day of the conquest of Makkah: “Allah has made this town a sanctuary. Its thorny bushes should not be cut, its game should not be chased, and its fallen things should not be picked up except by one who would announce it publicly.” (Reported by al-Bukhārī)