 الحمد لله الحمد لله إن أحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونقمن به ونتبكل عليه ونعوذ بالله من شرور نفسنا وبنسيئات عمالنا من يهده الله فلا مضلله ومن يدره فلا هاري له وأشهد ولا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن سيدنا ومولانا محمدا عبده ورسوله أرسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليثهره على الدين كله وكفى بالله شهيدا فصل الله عليه وعلى آله وسلما فسليما كثيرا كبيرا أما بعد فعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم اسم الله الرحمن الرحيم والعصر إن الإنسان لفي خصح إلا الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصالحات وتواصلوا بالحق وتواصلوا بالصدق صدق الله عديد اللهم ربش رحلي صدري ويسرري أمر بحلو قدتم باللسان يفقى القولي اللهم أرنا الحق حقا ورزقنا تسلاعه وأرنا الباط إلى باطلة ورزقنا اجتنابه اللهم آنس وحشتنا في قبولنا ورحمنا بالقرآن العظيم وجعله لنا إمامه ونوره وغده ورحمه يا رب العالمين لذا أرسلت أخيين أخيين وأخيين أنا فقط أرسلت لك فقط حولك صورة من القرآن لأن أأخيين جميعكم بالحلوات حتى أن الأطباء وإنسان وكلامهم مجيوثين هذا لأنه جميعا صورة في القرآن في القرآن هناك سورة with 3 آيات و this is one of them It's Surat Al-Asra And although it is one of the shortest Suras in the Qur'an It is yet one of the most comprehensive Jamia One of my teachers who taught me the Qur'an He based an entire course of study on this one Sura That if you can understand what's happening right here It'll give you a comprehensive understanding of your Deen And also of the obligations that you have in this Deen فرايف الدين كجامة صبور لكالد نكتب إسرار أحمد من الله هل مرسي on him He also called it سهل ممتنة Because on the surface the easy impossible Because on the surface it's very simple And in fact if you're somebody who can speak And understand Urdu Most of the words are easy to understand Even if you don't know Arabic والعصر إن الإنسان اللي في خصر إلا اللي نأمنوا وعملوا الصالحات وطواصه بالحق وطواصه بالصبر You need to know maybe just a little bit of explanation But on the surface The words are very easy to understand But the meanings are Deen And it is reported that إمام الشافة يرحم الله Has said ponder over this Surah To the point that If you think just about this Surah لو تدب بر الناس who had this Surah If you just If human beings were to think just about this Surah Would be sufficient for your guidance Dive deep into it There's also a report that comes Is reported on the authority of Pavarani That when two companions Among the companions of the Prophet The Prophet would meet كان رجلاني من أصحاب النبي إذا تقايروا They would meet لم يتفرقوا They wouldn't part each other حتى يقرأ أحدهما على الآخر سورة العصر And this is why when we Often sit in gatherings And if they're gatherings with learned people You will notice that Before anything There are a few words like سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك نشهد ولا إله إلا أن نصطق في رقم تبو إلي These are reports that we have What you should recite When a gathering is concluding But also they will recite سورة العصر It's because of this Because the companions Would remind each other Before they left of this Surah And today We're going to think about All these things In Sha Allah In the time that we have I think that was just a brief introduction We'll begin I'll put forward some different translations In English Because the word عصر Has been translated differently And that's because People have read different meanings into it And all of these go back To authentic reports And traditions There's more than one way To think about something Then we'll discuss Some of the meanings Then I'll point out Some thematic aspect Of the Surah Because where it comes In the Qur'an That are very interesting Surahs That help us Really understand What's happening Right in the middle If we have time We'll talk a little bit about The relationship of sound And rhyme To meaning Okay So سورة العصر و العصر That's the first ayah و العصر The second ayah إن الإنسان اللفي خصر و العصر إن الإنسان اللفي خصر And the third ayah إلا اللينا عاملوا و عاملوا الصالحاتي و طباصة بالحق و طباصة بالصبر So already you notice A kind of asymmetry The first ayah is short The second just a little bit longer And the third one Not just a little bit longer than that But much longer Although they all end in a rhyme عصر خصر And صبر Okay What does it mean? و العصر This is و قسم By time So I have four translations I picked The Saheed International Comes out of Saudi Arabia عبدالله يوسف علي Marmadouk Big Fall And عبدالحليم And you can go further And look at even more I had a lot more When I was looking But I picked these ones So the Saheed International One says By time و العصر By time So they're عصر As in time And the Arabs have different words For time وق ده So here's a particular kind of time عبدالله يوسف علي Says By the token of time Through the ages A kind of historical time By the token of time Through the ages Big Fall says By the declining day By the declining day It's very interesting Obviously you know صلاة العصر It's the same word The mid-afternoon prayer And so He picked Going off of that By the declining day And عبدالحليم Went the same way But he adds I swear to make the Oath explicit Not just by و العصر I swear By the declining day إنة الإنسانة لا في خسر Indeed mankind is in loss Indeed mankind is in loss And there are several modes Of emphasis employed In the Arabic إنة لا في خسر Indeed This is why the translators Indeed Verily Surely mankind All human beings Are in loss عبدالحليم says Verily man is in loss Big Fall says لا man is in a state of loss And عبدالحليم says I swear By the declining day That man Is indeed loss So when you read This far It should be Send shivers up your spine Because it's talking about us And It's not pleasant We're in a state of loss That's by default But then the third ayah Speaks of an exception إلا But not those who So now you have to pay attention Right This is the moment Where we have to say Okay I don't want to be in a state of loss So Let me listen To the exception إلا الذين آمنوا Except for those who There are four things here آمنوا Have faith وعاملوا الصالحات And do righteous Deeds وات الله صول بالحق And Encouraged each other In the path of حق Truth Righteousness Reality God دوحيد The Qur'an They encourage each other واتاوا صول بالصب And they exhort Or encourage each other To have patience And perseverance So here are the translations Except for those Who have believed And done righteous deeds And advised each other To truth And advised each other To patience Except such as Have faith And do righteous deeds And join together In the mutual Teaching of truth And of patience And constancy You should already Be getting the idea That if anybody Thinks That the Deen of Islam Is about private Devotion Isolated From society Not bothered about you You're not bothered about me To each his own You have to think again Right? It's giving you a Comprehensive understanding Of your Deen And some of them مفصلون Have said because other places In the Qur'an You just have iman Or you just have iman And righteous deeds Like So here they have said That you have something Particular That's mentioned After the general And it's already Included in the general In iman And good deeds But it's been mentioned Exclusively afterwards Because of its importance That you may understand That to have iman And good deeds Includes a social Responsibility And good deeds And good deeds And good deeds And good deeds Includes a social responsibility And when you engage In social responsibility You will face opposition And resistance And you have to be patient In the face of their opposition It's not simple And in other places In the Qur'an This has been mentioned In different terms In surahة القوان أقيم الصلاة و أمر بالمعروف و نهي عن المنكر. و إضافة ما is good and forgive and forgive what is wrong. This is social responsibility. But you know what happens in that eye afterwards? و أمر بالمعروف و نهي عن المنكر. و أصبر على ما صادق. But then the patient. Because you think you have fulfilled your obligation and then suddenly you face opposition and ridicule and then you give up. And you start blaming others. You know it's not for me. Why does this happen to me? Well that's because that's the path. That's the way things happen. And who is it that faced more opposition than the prophets? So at least the shadow of that those people will get to walk in their path. So this is the Surah. The other last two translations. Big fall. You know man is in a state of loss. Save those who believe and do good works. And exhort one another to truth. And exhort one another to endurance. Because it's not easy to stay on the path. You have to endure. And عبد الحليم says I swear by the declining day that man is indeed loss. Except for those who believe and do good deeds. Urge one another to the truth. And urge one another to steadfastness. So that's the idea in the Surah. There's a couple of hadith that need to be mentioned here. One is the one that says speaks about degrees of iman in relation to social responsibility. It's just a reminder. I'm sure all of you know this. Whosoever amongst you sees something that is wrong. Witnesses something that is abhorrent. You should repel it. Change it. And actively with your hands you have to engage in this. And if you're unable to there may be sort of incapacity. You might have some prudence. You don't have to be reckless. Then at least speak out. If you are unable to do it actively then at least speak out with your tongue. At least acknowledge it as wrong in your heart. Don't reconcile with it. That is none of my business. That's what they're doing. That's what's happening outside. I have nothing to do with it. I'm content. I'm happy. I'm not bothered. And this is أضعف the lowest or the weakest point of faith when you don't have the strength or the capacity or the ability. We are the Muslim Ummah. And when we were made the Muslim Ummah كذلك أجعلنا أم أم تن وصطن. And there's interesting interpretations of this وصط the middle. But we were made this middle nation a just nation لتكونوا شهداءة على الناس. The purpose of us existing in the form of a community is that we will bear witness unto humanity that this is behind guidance. This is how it's done. This is how people are supposed to live. This is the path to prosperity to success to happiness. إتكونوا بشهداءة على الناس ويكون الرسول عليكم شهيلة and that the messenger will be witness unto you. And he wants. He said this in his last Hajj. على البلادو Have I not? Born witness? And they all said yes, we bear witness. You have. You've delivered the message. فَلْ يُبَلِّرْ أَشَاهِبْ وَنْغَائِبْ So then the one who is present should take what I have given to those who are absent. And we are bearers of that message. And we have social responsibility. You can't neglect it. And so the take home lesson be involved in your community. The Muslim community and the larger community that Muslims are in. Don't isolate yourselves. And it's not easy. That's not the easy way. The easy way is to mind your own business. Keep doing what you're doing. You're well established. You have nice positions. You have nice salary coming in. Don't rock the boat. No. This message rocks the boat. Don't feel secure. أعزيب الناس أن يتركوا أن يقولوا آمننا وهم لا يفننون. Do people think that they can say we believe and then they will not be tested and tried but لقد فتنل الذين من قبلهم. Everybody was tried before you. This is how it works. When you say I believe enter the realm of examination and test and struggle و لقد فتنل الذين من قبلهم. This is the sunnah of Allah. This is how it is done. You will be tested and examined. So don't forget that. There's another hadeeb. It's a very interesting hadeeb. It's a hadeeb قدسي. In which there's this village where the people are unrighteous. And Allah says to the angel go and turn it over. Time has come. And the angel goes down and you know the story but understand it again in this context. And the angel comes up back to Allah. And of course the angel knows this. But still he does it. This is how Allah has created them in us. Says there's this one person in this village who has not disobeyed you for the twinkling of an eye. Not disobeyed you for the twinkling of an eye. And Allah says as reported to have said in this hadeeb turn the village over him first. And then everybody else. Because he saw and witnessed what was happening around him. And even the face of his color didn't change by seeing the wrong acts. He had a social responsibility. And finally Allah will reward his devotion to how He chooses to reward him. That's something else. But the rules in this world are that if you have knowledge, if you have been given knowledge, if you have been given revelation, now you are responsible. And if you do not actively engage in trying to understand that and believe in it act upon it. And in some way fulfill a social responsibility in the society around you. Then if a punishment comes it will overtake you and everybody else in this world. And there's a way to safeguard yourselves. Take on that responsibility. So here is Surah Al-Asr the main theme of it. Now try to understand it inside of the Surah that came before and after. It's Surah At-Taka'athur and Al-Humaza. And at this point I'm zeroing in although not exclusively taking one meaning over another. But to think about this in light of the life of the people in Arabia. Asr time. What do people do at Asr time? You're closing up shop. If you're a businessman or businesswoman and both were there. At the end of the day it's time to take account how much did I make? What do I get to take home? وَالْعَسْرِ إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ الَّفِيْخُصْرِ No, it's a loss. If you are unmindful of core principles it's a loss. It doesn't matter how much you made. أَلْهَاكُمُتَّكَاتُرْ The Surah before it. This is Abdullah Yusra Ali. The mutual rivalry for piling up the good things of this world diverts you from the more serious things until you visit the graves. It's a distraction. أَلْهَاكُمُتَّكَاتُرْ Piling up the good things of this world حتى زلطه المقادر. And then you're gone. It's over. And the same thing with the Surah after it. أَلْهَاكُمُتَّكَاتُرْ كُلِّهُمَزَةِ الْلُمَزَةِ وَاَمْتُرْهُمْتَكَاتُرْ وَاَمْتُرْهُمْتَكَاتُرْ وَاَمْتُرْهُمْتَكَاتُرْ اللَّذِي جَمَا عَمَالًا The one who gathers wealth جما عَمَالًا وَعَدَّدًا and counts it constantly. Well asked whether you think of it as humanity doing this over the ages or you think it as mid afternoon the time when it comes to actually do the counting at the end of the day. إنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ اللَّهِ يِخُصُمْ It's a loss Now you can understand why the companions used to recite this. Think about it, where are we going after now? Do work. Go back to the accounting making how much you make the right decisions I could have done this had a little bit more. That's not what's going to end up as profit at the end of the day. This could turn out any which way it is a categorical statement it's a loss unless you have the framework of Eman and unless you are mindful of righteous deeds and unless you are fulfilling a higher responsibility to those around you and that you are steadfast in that path that is the priority So these three ayats we hear them often we recite them and in such a concise way the Quran has put forward an entire framework for understanding your Dean for establishing your priorities and then for moving forward with that understanding I ask الله سبحانه وتعالى to keep us on the right path to keep us mindful of his teachings and to keep us attached to the core values of this need which are not very difficult to grasp we forget them and the idea of a Juma the idea of other gatherings that you may have to do zikr of Allah to remember Allah is to keep those core values in mind because we forget we're so overwhelmed by the world around us the messages that keep flooding in so many different media and gadgets and even through our associations we forget and so we need this constant reminder and one of the names of the Quran is a zikr it's the reminder because we know deep down بل الإنسان وعلى نفسه ضصيرة but human being sees deep down really what he's all about لو القام على بيره وعلى نفسه if you look deep down inside we can recognize certain truths and no Quran is there to remind us بل قد يسبن القرآن للذكر it's made easy you know there are certain alum and there is specialized knowledge and we need people to study deeply no Quran and these alum and these sciences to make sure that we don't violate certain parameters but that doesn't mean that the ordinary person should feel like they can't approach these topics and they all have to be mediated it has been made easy for a reason it's supposed to appeal to everybody and so we ask Allah سبحانه و تعالى to make us from among those who are mindful and who do we mean أقول القولي هذا وستقفر الله إنه هو or هو وستقفر والصلاة والسلام وعلى عبابه الذين استطاع أما بعد إن الله و ملائكه يصالون على النبي يا أيها الذين آمنوا صلوا عليه وسلم وتسليمه الله مصلي على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم إنك حميد المجيب الله مبارك على محمد وعلى آل محمد كما صليت على إبراهيم إنك حميد المجيب الله ما ربنا ذو لمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تقفلنا وترحمنا لنكوننا من الخاصلين ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنا وفي الأخلة حسنا وقنا عذاب النبي ربنا رقفلنا ذو مبنى وتفل عننا سيجئاتنا وتوفنا مع الأبرار عباد الله إم الله يقول بالعدل والحساد وإتاة بالقربة وينهى على الفحشاء وإنك للضرب يعيذكم العلكم تذكرون خذكم الله يذكركم ولعوب يستجب لكم لاتكله إتعاله أكثر والله يعلم ما تصنعون