العصر
Surah Al-’Asr
The Declining Day · Surah 103 · Meccan · 3 verses
1وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ ١By the declining day.InsightElmalılı lists the many meanings of the word ‘’asr’: time, night and day, the afternoon, and a century. He adopts al-Tabari’s view: Allah did not single out any one of them, so the oath covers them all.2إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَفِي خُسۡرٍ ٢Lo! man is a state of loss.InsightAccording to Elmalılı, a person’s capital is their lifetime, and this capital is spent and used up with every breath. Life is not one’s own property; it belongs to the Creator and is given in a limited, measured amount to be used well in His name.3إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ ٣Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.InsightElmalılı lists the four conditions and draws particular attention to the second: faith must not stay only in the heart and on the tongue, but must permeate one’s whole being and govern the will. The last two conditions show that salvation is not achieved alone, but together.