103. Chapter The Time / Surah al-Asr

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Beneficent

وَالْعَصْرِ {1}

1. (I swear) by the time^[2] that flows!

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ {2}

2. The human (who disregards it) is definitely in loss,

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ {3}

3. except for those who believe and trust in God, do good deeds, constantly remind each other of the truth and being steadfast.

^[1] Sent down in Makka, consists of 3 verses. Named after the word “asr” which means “time”, “epoch”, “day”, and “late afternoon”.

^[2] Here, God swears by time. Swearing by something is to emphasize the importance of that thing and to draw attention to what comes next.