سورة العصر

Al-'Asr means "Time". It is surah 103. It has 3 verses.

1. وَالْعَصْرِ Wal-'aṣr By Time!

2. إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ Inna l-insaana lafii khusr People are truly losing,

3. إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ Illa lladhiina aamanuu wa 'amilu ṣ-ṣaaliḥaati wa tawaaṣaw bil-ḥaqqi wa tawaaṣaw biṣ-ṣabr except those who believe, do good deeds, remind each other of the truth and remind each other to be patient.

The little lesson: time goes by fast, like sand in an hourglass. So that we do not "lose" our time, Allah gives us 4 things to do: 1. Believe in Allah. 2. Do good deeds. 3. Remind our friends to tell the truth. 4. Encourage each other to be patient.

Memorisation tip: verse 3 is long. Cut it into 4 pieces, one for each thing to do, and count them on your fingers: aamanuu (1), 'amilu ṣ-ṣaaliḥaat (2), bil-ḥaqq (3), biṣ-ṣabr (4).

Understanding Surah Al-'Asr

1. Explanation • Verse 1: Allah swears an oath by al-'aṣr. This word means time, and also the afternoon (the time of the 'Asr prayer). Allah only swears by important things: our time is precious. • Verse 2: every human being is losing: each day that passes will never come back. • Verse 3: except those who have four qualities. The first two make me better myself: believing, and doing good deeds. The other two make others better: reminding each other of the truth, and reminding each other to be patient. These are the winners, in this life and in the hereafter. Imam Ash-Shafi'i said, according to the books of tafsir: if people reflected on this surah alone, it would be enough for them. [À VÉRIFIER : formulation exacte]

2. Lessons to learn • My time is a treasure: I do not waste it (too much screen time, doing nothing); I fill it with useful things. • Believing is not enough without acting, and acting only has value with faith: the two go together. • No one succeeds alone: I help my friends and family do good, kindly. • Patience has several faces: keeping on doing good, holding back from doing wrong, and bearing what is hard.

3. To remember • Time passes and does not come back. • Four things so as not to lose: faith, good deeds, truth, patience. • Two for me, two for others.

4. The message of the surah The time of our life is our capital: we win it by believing, doing good, and helping one another stay with the truth and with patience.

Source: Al-Mukhtasar fi tafsir al-Qur'an (English translation), with well-known points from the tafsirs of Ibn Kathir and As-Sa'di.