103
اَلْعَصْرِ
Eventide
(or The Epoch)

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ۔

وَ الْعَصْرِ۔ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَفِيْ خُسْرٍ۔ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَ تَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ۔

In the name of God—the most compassionate, the most merciful.

By eventide, everyman [feels] at a loss except for those who believe, perform honorable deeds, encourage Truth, and recommend patience.

These verses offer us a consoling prayer which is recited frequently, since it brings home to us how all things change, and we must learn patiently to face the inevitable. A final consonant in –r carries the rhyme.

At every moment man is advancing towards his death. This means that if a man does not make the best of the time which is still available to him, he will finally face total destruction. In order to be successful, a man has to exert himself, while for failure he has to do nothing. It is itself rushing towards him.

A venerable gentleman tells us that he understood the meaning of this chapter of the Koran from an ice vendor who was shouting in market, ‘O, people! Have mercy on one whose assets are melting away.’ On hearing this shout, the gentleman said to himself that just as the ice melts and reduces, similarly the lifespan given to man is fast passing away. If the existing opportunity is lost in inaction or in evil action, this is man’s loss. (Imam Razi, Tafsir Kabir).

One who utilizes his time properly is one who adopts three courses in the present world. One is that of Faith (al-ladina a’manu), i.e. consciousness of Truth or reality and its acceptance. Secondly that of virtuous deeds (wa a‘milu as-salihat), i.e. doing that which is required to be done as a matter of religious duty and abstaining from what is sinful. Thirdly that of advising people about Truth and forbearance. This follows upon such a deep realization of Truth that the concerned person becomes its preacher.