Al-Asr - Importance

Importance

This sura is considered the Summary of whole Quran by almost all notable classical and modern Islamic scholars including Imam Shafi, Ibn Kathir, Israr Ahmed and Farhat Hashmi.

• Ibn Kathir, a traditional exegete holds that this sura, as a warning to believers not to waste time or they we could be humiliated or even ruined. (IbnKathir, 2010).

• T. B. Irving, a contemporary exegete, says that the surah offers a consoling prayer, since it brings home to believers how all things change, and to strengthen one to learn patiently to face the inevitable. (Irving, 1985, p. 389).

• Imam Shafi, a jurist and traditional scholar of Islam, held-that if God had only revealed this surah it would have been sufficient for the guidance of all humankind. (IbnKathir, 2010). It summarized the very essence of the Qur'anic message. Thus, Imam Shafi’i asserts that if one followed its counsel, it was enough for humankind to achieve success in life.(Imam Shafi’i d. 820)

• Sayyid Qutb, a modern exegete of the Qur'an, asserts that this surah outlines a complete system for human life based on an Islamic viewpoint. He says that it defines, in the clearest and most concise form, the basic concept of faith in the context of its comprehensive reality (1979, p. 274). He further says that he is gravely shocked to see the loss and ruin in which humanity finds itself. He is critical of Muslims and non-Muslims and particularly witnessing that humankind is turning away from the goodness that God has bestowed upon it. He is confident that the guidance of this surah is what made the early Muslim great as it can do for those that follow it in the long history of humanity. He says that once the early Arabs were aroused by such surahs, they quickly burst the bounds of Arabia and zealously worked toward the salvation of humanity (Qutb (d. 1966), 1979, p. 280).

• Toshihiko Izutsu: The surah is significant in that an entire practical code of conduct was binding upon the believer the moment he/she truly believed in the oneness of God and the truth of the Prophetic conduct (Isutzu, 2007, p. 106).

• Al-Tabarani: Interestingly, when humankind finds itself at a loss; it can revive itself by returning to the formula provided by the third verse and the four principles/conditions, which are adhered to as a foundation. We saw how these four principles operated on both physical and spiritual levels. This is probably the reason why the companions of the Prophet did not want to become heedless of the foundational message of Islam. Consequently, they used to meet one another and only depart until one of them recited surat-Al-Asr to the other and they bid peace upon one another. (Tabrani 2010).

• People may say that all is “loss”, but the Qur'an says, “No, not all”. (Ali, 1961, p. 41). Muslims believe those that practice the four principles/conditions as mentioned in this surah will not be in vain.

• Kenneth Cragg: It can be emphasized that the Qur'anic injunctions that were urgent in the original pagan setting of the first Muslims, led them to reach a true monotheism. Thus change happens pragmatically and revolutionized each epoch of the qur’anic reception is a bold claim of the Qur'an (Kenneth Cragg 1973, p. 189).

• From these renowned exegetes of the Qur'an and their handling of this vital surah, we may take such honest stock as space allows and take their analysis even further. Can the modern reader within Islam or outside it hope to know the Qur'an in its essential reality in a truly religious reading? We are ready to judge by literary criteria and with evident reverence and discipline, but yet with a liberty of mind that reads for itself (Cragg, 1973, p. 74).

All These exegetes offer a terse reminder of the importance of time and care in its utilization.

It is said to have sparked the conversion of ‘Amr ibn al-‘Āṣ after he recited it to the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah and he responded with a "surah" about the hyrax, which ‘Amr ibn al-‘As rejected as absurd.