Surah Asr English Tafseer

Welcome to the short summarized Tafseer of Surah As. Let’s first consider the meaning of the word Asr عَصۡرِ Asr means time, it is also the waqt when we remain the most busy as compared to all other Prayer times. This is the time when sunlight fades away and reaches the end of the working hours (that is.. Margrib and Isha waqt). So, this is the time when most of us remain damn busy and this time runs out really fast. The word Asr also originates from another word اَعۡصِرُ Aseer. This word is used in Surah Yousuf Ayat 36. In this surah, this word actually means squeezing out juice – which indicates bbthat this time runs out of our hand in a manner that we can not stop it from flowing out. وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ Wal Asr means- Allah swears by this time. This means Allah swt has put strong emphasis on Time and mentions that, Human being is in خُسۡ Khusr. Khusr actually means immersed in loss and destruction. So, it indicates that – we are constantly losing Time and along with it, we are also getting immersed in continual loss getting away from the true success in life. Another implication may be that, people come and go in this world and Time watches these Human beings as a constant witness. Time watches how these Human beings are acting in similar manner, doing the same mistakes over generations, wasting their valuable time. The word illallazina إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ which means “except those who” – Allah swt has mentioned that, 4 things – and with the combination of all of them, we can make an exception to the situation of continual loss. If anyone considers anything else like property, power, entertainment etc to be assets of success in life and runs towards it. Even if he or she gets successful in achieving all of these things, he or she is actually – still in a state of continuous loss. The first condition to get into this exception is إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُو Illallazina Aamanu – means except those who have Imaan عَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ Aamilus swalihaat – means except those who do righteous deeds. These people will have Imaan in their Hearts and will do Righteous deeds in their actions. Righteous deeds are not limited to actions, it also covers abstaining from doing bad deeds. What can constitute good deeds? Only Allah decides, because our sense of morality changes from person to person, time to time and place to place. There is a mandatory requirement of collective approach in Islam, we cannot practice Islam alone, not caring for others. تَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ Tawasaubil Haq – means – those who recommend others to do righteous deeds. It is not sufficient to do good deeds alone – we must also invite others towards the truth by encouraging them to be righteous. This means we should help them grow their Imaan and advise them to do good deeds and forbid them from doing bad things. We must try to attain collective taqwa or consciousness of Allah and obey Him and avoid doing forbidden things. Failing to go for a collective approach will never inspire others and we will become more selfish. If we try to follow the Religion alone it will also pose the risk that the misguided people can influence and convince us again to become bad over time. تَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ Tawasaubis Sabr – means those who enjoin others to sabr. The word sabr is generally translated as Patience but the meaning of this word is much more wider than mere patience. It includes forbearance, endurance, steadfastness, perseverance and restraint. Therefore, if someone is tested with any calamity, we should encourage that person to have patience and expect reward from Allah(swt) by acting righteously, being resistant over forbidden things and actions, and most importantly be able to accept the decree of Allah(swt). There is a very interesting noticeable point in this Surah. If a person is spending his/her time just doing nothing. He might argue that, what’s the big deal? I am just chilling, I am not even doing a sin or harming another. But according to this surah he/she is still considered to be in a state of continual loss as well. So let’s fulfill all of these conditions and reach to our ultimate goal and success in life. Role of Shayateen against the message of this Surah are also mentioned in this video