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BythelateAfternoon
itisTimeitisTime
Qur’ān
[103:1-3]
Although all of Allāh’s Luminous
Book is enlightening, is embedded with inner meanings and full of clandestine
pearls, sūrah al-ʿaṣr holds an
acclaimed uniqueness. Within just three verses, He the Almighty and All-Knowing
has opened up a plethora of wisdom that if one tried to expound upon in detail,
it most definitely cannot be done in a mere few paragraphs. Relying on His
safeguarding from error, I put before you some humble thoughts, that which I
have brought together through the study of the exegeses of some truly
enlightened scholars. I pray that you derive as much enjoyment and satisfaction
in reading, as I did in writing.
Where,
When and Why?
The likes of Qatādah, Mujāhid and
Muqātil report that this sūrah is madanī (Medinian), however, majority of
the ṣaḥābah (companions) and ʿulamā’ (scholars) are in agreement that
it is actually makkī (Makkan). This
includes the opinion of Ibn ʿAbbās who reports that this sūrah is in fact makkī.[1] In
relation to the background of this sūrah,
know that an acquaintance of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (Allāh is pleased with him),
from his ayyām al-jāhiliyyah (days of
ignorance), once mocked him and said, “You used to be an intelligent
businessman, you never experienced any losses. What stupidity is it that you
have spent all your wealth, started following one man and have left the old
religion? Indeed you are in loss.” Thus Allāh revealed this sūrah in Abu Bakr’s favour which
addressed any such mocking and further objections.[2]
Wa
‘l-ʿaṣr
In the Arabic language, the
letter waw is generally used for the
meaning ‘and’, however, here it is used for the purpose of qasam (oath).[3]
This is a literary tool that is used to add emphasis to the proceeding subject
matter that awaits the reader. With regards to the word ʿaṣr itself, know that its literal meaning is ‘tense’, in other
words, it could be any tense: past, present or future. Naturally, here there is
a difference of opinion amongst the ʿulamā’
as to what ‘tense’ or ‘time’ Allāh is exactly referring to, and so, mentioned
below are various opinions of the ʿulamā’
which they have derived from their own means of literary scrutiny:
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A group of ʿulamā’ write that, here, ʿaṣr means ‘tense’ muṭlaqan (in general), therefore the word ‘tense’ can be
interpreted as dahr (time) and we
know this because of Qur’ān [76:1]. As there are no apparent limitations on
this word in context, it would further mean time muṭlaqan. By qasam here,
Allāh is elucidating to the complexities of His Ability and Wisdom as all that
resides within time is under the control of time, there is no one and nothing
that can reside outside of this predestined boundary. Time controls the
weather; it controls night with darkness and day with light; it controls our
life by granting us youth then snatches it away with old age; time controls the
ages, an era comes an era goes. This is what the qasam is indicating to, one must go with the times and not contest
it as time is not dependent upon you, rather you, it; for if anyone were to
contend with time they would surely lose.
In a muttafaq ʿalayh (agreed upon)
ḥadīth al-Qudsī (Divine Tradition),
the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace) is narrated
Allāh to have said, “Whoever from the
children of Adam curses time, they have caused
Me distress. I am time. In My hand is all that occurs. It is I who changes
night and day.”
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Another group of ʿulamā’ write that ʿaṣr is from zawāl (afternoon)
until ghurūbu ‘l-shams (sunset);
Qatādah and Ḥasan Baṣrī are of the same opinion. In light of this, know that
the reason for swearing an oath, by ʿaṣr, is that it is this time the result of
day to day business is determined; another reason may be understood by the urdū saying, ‘bāzār garam hai’ (the bazaar is hot) as business thrives during
these hours and it is during this lucrative period that businessmen, usually
have an influx of increased adrenaline; they busy themselves more than usual
and once this period passes they feel a sense of accomplishment and consider
themselves successful. On another note, one of the most outstanding reasons,
perhaps, is that of the inqilāb al-ʿaḍhīm
(the greatest change), which is, of course, day changing into night. This
is also why ʿaṣr is also known as ṣalātu ‘l-wusṭā (the middle prayer) and
its emphasis cannot be exhausted. It is thus considered an indication to
mankind that although you have spent your day in earning what was written for
you in this world, do not forget to earn what it is you need in the next, as
otherwise you will be in nothing but loss.
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Some ʿulamā’ write that, here, ʿaṣr means ṣalatu ‘l-ʿaṣr itself; Muqātil is in favour of this as well. These ʿulamā’ are of the opinion that waqtu ‘l-ʿaṣr is particularly important
as it is essential to the success of the hereafter; it is a time of worldly
benefit and a time where people are buried in their businesses; that it is the
time where the office of aʿmāl (deeds)
of the day comes to a closing and the office of aʿmāl of the night opens. In light of this, there is a muttafaq ʿalayh tradition whereby the
blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace) is narrated to
have said, “Whoever loses their ʿaṣr, has
had their wealth and family looted.” In addition to this, know that the
Qur’ān [2:238] testifies to the importance of the preservation of ṣalātu ‘l-wusṭā, itself thus adding
further emphasis to its importance.
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Other ʿulamā’ write that ʿaṣr refers to the time of the blessed Prophet (upon him and his
family salutations and peace), which was a very blessed time indeed. Despite
longer lives during Ādam’s (peace be upon him) time on earth, Nūḥ and others,
many members of their nations were deprived, due to their own ignorance of
course, of entry into paradise. However, even though the life span of the
nation of the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace)
is relatively shorter, we are able to amass much more than what the previous
nations were able to. This is why the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family
salutations and peace) said, “The best of
times is mine [...]” Thus whoever
asserted even a little attention to their hereafter, they found success, those
who did not, have laid their nest in the hellfire. As such, another reason why
some ʿulamā’ are of the
aforementioned opinion is that the blessed Prophet’s (upon him and his family
salutations and peace) time is unique in its everlasting nature. Although some
claim that the blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace) is
now useless, astaghfirullahu ‘l-ʿaḍhīm, one
thing they cannot deny is that his prophethood will last until the Day of
Reckoning. You must remember then, prophethood is a characteristic of a being,
there can be no characteristic unless there is a character that may represent
it. Thus wa ‘l-ʿaṣr is indicating to
us that now there is no other prophet or messenger that shall come, so take
heed and prepare for the imminent hereafter.[4]
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Inna ‘l-insāna lafī khusr
The second verse of sūrah al-ʿaṣr is jawābu ‘l-qasam,[5] in other words, the reply to the oath. Essentially, what we now understand is that,
Allāh does qasam by ʿaṣr, and He qualifies this oath by
saying, “Truly man is in loss.” This
is because time is the only thing which may allow you to make reserves for
yourself in the hereafter. One must take heed then, that even a second is too
long a moment to let slip; and slip would be the appropriate word as once it
leaves your hands you have only that very same second to recover it but alas
human, all too human, bound by our physicality, once the moment has gone, it
has gone. Yet there is still salvation
for those who believe.
The word insān requires some attention. This word is considered to be ism jins; it represents all that are of
its type, whether individuals, groups, nations or all of humanity, except, for those who are excluded (see
below discourse). Thus any insān empty
of the four characteristics, which are mentioned in the next verse, are truly
at a loss. This is perhaps better understood by internalising that poison is muhlik (fatal) to all of humanity, except for those who do not take it. The
sentence qualifies itself by expressing something then clarifying another by
its explicit exclusion. In essence, Allāh’s principle stands unaltered. And so,
whether one member of humanity or all, it is up to us to enter salvation and
avoid khasārah (loss), in this world
and the next.
Allāh mentions the word khusr in this verse and its literal
meaning is ‘loss’. This loss is usually used in the context of business
transactions and so the term khusr may
be used in three situations. Firstly: when one may experience a loss in any one transaction; secondly; when a whole
business is experiencing a loss; and thirdly: when one has lost all his or her
business entirely. If we were to relate these three states to the tafsīr (interpretation) of this sūrah, then one can make clear sense of
what Allāh is raising our awareness about. It is that we must give heed to our
business that will allow us to profit in the hereafter. A specific loss may
result in the general decline of a business and, subsequently, a complete and
total loss of it. May Allāh, in the sake of His ḥabīb (upon him and his family salutations and peace) protect us
from such a catastrophe in the very imminent hereafter.
Illa ‘l-ladḥīna āmanū
The third verse begins with the
word illā, which means ‘but’; and
just like in the English language, illā is
used for the purpose of istithnā’ (exclusion
or to exclude). The term istithnā’ is best understood by means of
analogy to the Latin legal term: expressio
unius est exclusio alterius, which means ‘the express mention of one thing excludes all others’. In Arabic illā delivers the same purpose. Thus
Allāh swears by al-ʿaṣr that all
mankind is in loss except for those
who believe; those who perform good actions; urge each other to the truth and
to patience.
The word āmanū (plural of āmana,
from the root īmān, meaning believer
or one who believes) is, like all other key terms in this sūrah, jāmiʿ (all
encompassing) and a great deal can be written on this. Though one has neither
the knowledge nor insight, to render such a discourse any justice, a meagre
effort is put before you.
Although the word āmanā, its root and further derivatives
are, at times, used in the Qur’ān to refer to the simple uttering of something,
its true usage is the utterance of something from the tongue as well as sincere
acceptance in the heart. According to Arabic lexicology, the use of the
aforementioned term is either accepting
and trusting in something or believing
in something and this is the true
belief that the Qur’ān speaks of clearly in various verses. Allāh says in
the Qur’ān [49:15], “The believers are
only those who believe in Allāh and His Messenger and then have no doubt [...]” He, the Almighty also says [41:30], “[...] those who said Allāh is our Lord and then remained steadfast.”
Allāh says in another instance [4:136], “You
who believe! Believe in Allāh and His Messenger and the Book [...]” What is clear then that belief cannot
just be the uttering of something, it must be the affirmation of it and this
affirmation must be evident orally and visible physically, either singularly or
congregationally.
Know that the ʿulamā’ discuss three categories of
things one must believe in. The first category is belief in Allāh, but this is
not belief in just the ‘name’ Allāh, rather in the entity along with all His
Divine Qualities and Attributes. The second category is of belief in the
blessed Prophet (upon him and his family salutations and peace) and in his
finality. It is within this category that the belief in the other messengers
and prophets, the angels and all other books comes under, however, they are
subsidiary of the former part, as without belief in the blessed Prophet (upon
him and family salutations and peace) we would be oblivious to those things
that follow. Third category is that of the belief in the hereafter; that there
is a life after death, not a renewal of life on earth but one that is described
by the term intiqāl (transfer).
Wa ʿamilū ‘l-ṣāliḥāti
Anything we may do is an ʿamal (act), what qualifies an ʿamal to become a ṣāliḥ (good, pious) one is dependent upon the intention behind it.
This is why it is important to attain the correct niyyah (intention) before one does something for if the niyyah is insincere it will render the ʿamal or aʿmāl (plural of ʿamal)
null and void. It is uncontested that niyyah
is an essential part our aʿmāl,
however, there is something that ʿulamā’ discuss
that precedes the niyyah itself. It has
received little attention but if understood correctly, one would note that it
is an essential part of forming a sincere niyyah.
The term is yaqīn (certainty). To put
it quite simply, unless you do not obtain yaqīn,
your niyyah will be lifeless and
you will not be able to practice istiqāmah
(steadfastness) in what it is you intended to do. In fact, you will not
even be able to do what it is you want to, let alone istiqāmah in it.
The term ṣāliḥāt (plural of ṣāliḥ)
is unique in itself as it encompasses all manner of ‘good’ deeds; from the
smallest to the greatest. Know then, that an ʿamal cannot be ṣāliḥ unless
one is a believer and the taṣdīq (attestation,
confirmation) of one’s belief cannot be completed unless one is a practitioner
of aʿmālu ‘l-ṣāliḥāt, as otherwise,
everything is an empty claim. The relationship between īmān and ʿamal al-ṣāliḥāt is
like one between a seed and tree. Until the seed is not in the ground it will
never split and grow, as such, if the seed is in the ground and does not grow,
it renders the seed bad either by its inherent nature or because of the natural
circumstances around it. Thus until īmān cannot
be seen, like the fruit of a tree may be, that īmān will be rendered useless as no one can benefit from it.
Wa tawāṣau bi ‘l-ḥaqqi wa tawāsau
bi ‘l-ṣabr
The Qur’ān here touches upon the
social phenomenon of the human condition, whereby it states that Allāh has
commanded us to ‘call one another’ to
the Truth/truth and ‘call one another’ to
patience. Before I carry on, I would like to point out the repetitive use of the
terms wa tawāṣau. Although in both
instances they suggest the same meaning, Allāh still uses them twice. He could
have used a waw ʿāṭifah (a letter
that denotes the same ruling in meaning and grammatical rules for the
word/term/sentence that proceeds it of that which precedes it), yet He deemed
it suitable to do so otherwise. In defining the aforementioned term, Ibn Manḍhūr
writes in his Lisānu ‘l-ʿArab, “The reiterating (urging and reminding) of
one person to the other.” Rāghib in his al-Mufridāt
writes, “To advise someone towards
goodness or to advise something good.” Another definition is, “That land that
continuously reaps growth.” From these definitions we can understand that
those who call one another to the Truth/truth and experience adversity along the way, must also show perseverance
in their patience themselves and invite others to do so as well. This is
what our elders have done, generation to generation and we must
continue to do this with those of our generations yet to come.
Now, coming back to the social phenomenon of the human condition
that I spoke of earlier; know that, as the Qur’ān states, all are in a state of
loss if they do not have īmān and
carry out ʿamalu ‘l-ṣāliḥāt. However,
these are characteristics that individuals possess for themselves, and so, now Allāh
refers to two characteristics that urge us to create a society in which we
compel one another to the Truth/truth and perseverance in patience. It creates
a unique marriage of ideas between people whereby, “I must urge others to do and I must urge them to urge me to do.”
You will note I use the term ‘truth’
twice. By the first usage, I am referring to the particular universal truth that
all monotheistic religions refer to, which is the oneness of God. Indeed I am
wary of using the term ‘universal truth’ as it is a term much debated these
days, however, as I pointed out, I am referring to this term in the context of
Islam and other monotheistic religions. By the second usage I am referring to
all other manner of truths that are considered truths in each and any religious
tradition. For example, in Islam, terrorism is, in fact, a crime. This is a
truth that one must invite another to and open their understanding to this
issue, although I shall deter from it now as it does not fit within the premise
of this discourse. Another interpretation of the word ḥaqq (Truth/truth) is achieved by changing the perspective from ‘Divine and being’ to ‘Creator and creation’. In other words,
let us look at this issue from the perspective of ʿibādāt (acts of worship, between human and its God) and muʿāmalāt (acts of daily practices,
transactions that take place between one human and another). Thus, first is the
invitation that one gives to another, in all that is pertaining to God, His
Will and His religion. The second invitation requires, firstly, not only to
recognise a truth, but to also, act upon it in relation to the other. In
essence then, a Truth that is related to God and a truth in relation to the
rights of the other human, i.e. ʿibādāt and
muʿāmalāt, is what may be considered as
the Truth and truth paradigm.
The second social quality that we
must possess in order to avoid the state of being in loss is to invite others
to patience. In other words, in
obedience to Allāh and His beloved’s dīn, it is important to show perseverance.
Let me add here that ‘patience’ on its own is not an accurate translation of
the word ṣabr. In fact, ṣabr is to be patient in a state of adversity. Thus if we face adversity whilst
following a Divine command, we must still urge one another to be steadfast and
patient.
In closing, this discourse has
sought to explore various religious commands and ethical ideals that sūrah al-ʿaṣr presents as the Word of
Allāh. It renders all of humanity in loss unless they possess four key characteristics:
(1) īmān, belief; (2) ʿamalu ‘l-ṣāliḥāt, good actions; (3) tawāṣau bi ‘l-ḥaqq, invitation to the Truth/truth; and (4) tawāṣau bi ‘l-ṣabr, invitation to
patience in adversity. The sūrah touches
upon the individual and social, ethical, responsibility we owe one another in the latter two characteristics and this, of course, can be achieved if the former two
characteristics are present within us to begin with. May Allāh in the sake of
His beloved (upon him and his family salutations and peace) render us worthy of
such beauty that we may beautify others with our outward and inward actions, āmīn.
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“law tudabbiru ‘l-nāsu hādhihī
‘l-sūrati la wasiʿathum”
If
people were to ponder over (just)
this chapter, it would be immense (enough)
for them.
~
Imām al-Shāfiʿī
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Twitter:
@hqmaasim
Facebook:
@hqmaasim
[1] al-Suyūṭī, Jalāl
al-Dīn. Durr al-Manthūr. Lahore:
2006, Vol. 6, p.1113.
[2] al-Ḥaqqānī, ʿAbd
al-Ḥaqq. Fatḥ al-Mannān. Lahore:
2003, Vol. 8, p. 237.
[3] Tarkīb: jār wa majrūr mutʿallaq ba feʿl mahḍhūf
taqdīruhū: aqsamu. Ṭanṭāwī, Muḥammad
Sayyid, Nuru ‘l-Yaqīn Muʿjamahu Wasīṭ fī
Iʿrāb al-Qur’ān al-ʿAḍhīm. Al-Shirkatu ‘l-Miṣriyyah al-ʿĀlimiyyah li
‘l-Nashr, Longman: 2003, p. 1188.
[4] Fatḥ al-Mannān. Lahore: 2003, Vol 8, pp.
237-239.
[5] Nuru ‘l-Yaqīn Muʿjamahu Wasīṭ fī Iʿrāb
al-Qur’ān al-ʿAḍhīm. Longman: 2003, p. 1188.
