By Time

Dear Reader,

Seeing as I spoke quite a bit about time near the end of my last post, and as a reminder first to myself before anyone else, I thought I'd continue with that theme and share with you one of my favourite chapters from the Noble Qur'an, Surah 103 - Al-Asr [click on the link to hear what it sounds like]:

"By time (throughout the ages),

Indeed, mankind is lost.

Except those who believe and do righteous good deeds and advise each other of the truth and advise each other of patience."   

It's title, "Al-Asr", translates to "The Time" and it is the most smallest chapter in The Book. But through these simple but deep words God, in His infinite wisdom, sums up quite well the basis of Islamic life and reminds us of all the things that we, as humans, are most prone to forgetting. The first and foremost of this is time itself. Allah (swt) swears by time; that which has past, the time that is now and the time to come, encompassing all of this in two words. Time is one of our greatest blessings but it is also one that is least appreciated. We as humans are always complaining that we either have to little of it or that it is too slow, but we never thank God for having any at all.  

The next ayah (sentence) talks about loss. In Arabic, there are quite a few different words for loss/lost, all with different connotations. The word used in this Surah, khusr, stands for the loss of an essential asset by all of humanity, i.e. it's a big loss. This is not to be confused with the ultimate loss, which is the loss of Heaven, or a loss upon a loss, like criminal activities on top of disbelief. However, this loss is a consequence of mankind's misbehaviours.  

But do not despair, gentle Reader, the last ayah talks about the 4 requisites of life, with which we can escape this loss:

1. Belief: in God, in His prophets and His Noble Words
2. Good deeds: this not only includes prayer and Hajj (pilgrimage), but also charity and being a good and productive member of society. 
3. The truth: there is no god but the One God. Though we must also tell and remind others of this truth. 
4. Patience: in this modern, hectic, high-speed time, when the world is no further than one click away, patience is a virtue most of us, myself included, unfortunately and grievously lack. Yet it has been specifically mentioned here by Allah (swt), because He not only knows how important it is, but also knows the we constantly need to be reminded to be patient.    

Furthermore, the word "and" is repeatedly used in last ayah, meaning that we should to be doing all four of these things. They are the basic requirements; the bare minimum needed to be a Muslim, to be able to escape the Hellfire.

Dear Reader, if you find this post interesting and wish to learn more about this Surah, I suggest you watch this video by Nouman Ali Khan. MashAllah, he has a great amount of knowledge about Qur'anic Arabic and applies what the Surah's say to modern life, in a witty and understandable way. Nouman Ali Khan as also given many khutbas (speeches/lessons/lectures) that I have found really enlightening, thought-provoking and helpful. 

Al-Asr wallpaper by Productive Muslim Team

Nida