Way to Salvation in the Light of Surah al-Asr

8/8/2019 Way to Salvation in the Light of Surah al-Asr

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DR. ISRAR AHMAD

Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an,Lahore


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The W ay to SalvationIn the Light of

Surah Al-AsrOriginal in Urdu

byDr. Israr A h m adTranslated

byDr. Absar Ahmad &Dr. Sanaullah Ansari

RevisedbyIqbal Ahmad Siddiqui

LahoreMarkazi Anjuman Khuddam-uI-Qurann2004


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English Name : The Way to Salvation In The LightOf Surah Al-Asr

Urdu Name :

First Print July 1980 2000 copiesSecond Print July 1982 2200 copiesThird Print Mar 1989 2200 copiesFourth Print June 1993 2200 copiesFifth Print Jan 1995 2200 copiesSixth Print Apr 2001 1100 copiesSeventh Print Aug 2004 2200 copies

Published by Markazi Anjuman Khuddam -ul-Qur'an,36-K Model Town, Lahore-54700

Tel: # 5869501-3, Fax: 5834000E-mail: c ~ l ~ i ~ ~ m c ~ i ~ ( ( l l t a n ~ e t ~ m . o r ~Web. Page: ww7w.tanzeem.org

The Anjuman does not reserve to itself any copyright For thePublication o f this tract. It may be published by any personW.ho happens to be inspired by the sam e purpose as the writer

Price Rs: 50/-


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In the name of Allah,Most Gracious, Most Merciful.1.By (the Token of)

Time (through the Ages),2. Verily Men are

In a state of loss,3. Except those who have Faith,

And do righteous deeds,And join togetherIn the mutual teachingOf Truth, and ofPatience and Constancy.


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FOREWORD

This booklet includes two papers on the same topic.The first one was published in the monthly 'MEESAQ'Lahore in 1966. The second is a speech which was deliveredbefore a gathering of the staff and senior students of Aitchi-son College, Lahore (Pakistan). The speech was taped by thePrincipal, and was transcribed later. It appeared in themonthly 'MEESAQ' of June, 1973. The Principal of Aitchi-son College also published it and distributed it freely. I praythat these sincere efforts of the former Principal of Aitchi-son College may be accepted by Allah, and may He showerHis blessings on him in this world and in the Hereafter.Both the articles are now being published together by Mar-kazi Anjuman Khuddamul Quran, Lahore.

As the topic of both articles is the same,naturally theremight be some repetition. It might be asked what was thenecessity o f publishing both of them. In this connection itmay be pointed out that the style and standard of bothdiffer in many respects. The first one is a written documentin which, leaving aside the mental horizon of readers, thethoughts have been expressed smoothly and fluently in aparticular style of writing and in a special linguistic tone.

The second article is basically a speech and i t s styleportrays the sense of the spoken discourse and the languageused is comparatively simpler. In this way the combinationof these two articles, it is hoped, has enhanced its utility andefficacy.

Secondly, when studied seriously, it would becomeclear that wherever something. has been repeated, it has

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also brought out a new point and there are many importantitems, which are either in the first one and absent in theother and vice versa. Both these articles are based on thesole aim, that is: to explain to Muslims the correct doctrineof eternal salvation and deliverance, and the practical de-mands of the Islamic faith. For this objective, I have comp-iled a selected course of the Holy Quran, the starting pointof which is ~ u i a hAl-'Asr. If Allah so wishes and gives us themeans, we intend to bring out the entire course in the formof such booklets for our readers.

Dr. lsrar Ahmad,Founder President,

Markazi Anjuman Khuddamul Quran,Lahore


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THE WAY TO SALVATIONIN THE LIGHT OFSURAH AL - ' ASR

SURAH AL-'ASR, a very early Makkan surah i s one ofthe shortest surahs of the Quran. The words used in thissurah are also commonly used in Urdu and are familiar tothose who have a fair knowledge of this language. This i swhy a sketchy meaning of the surah i s grasped withoutmuch difficulty by every Urdu-knowing individual. Butstudied and pondered over at a deeper level, this Surahopens up a treasure house o f knowledge and wisdom.

As a matter of fact, there i s a striking analogy betweenthis surah and Surah Al-lkhlas. Surah Al-'Asr sums up inafew concise words the way and practical guidance that leadsto eternal success and salvation just as Surah Al-lkhlas deli-neates in a few words the nature and unity o f Godhoodin Islam. Though very short and compact, both of thesesurahs are extremely rich in meaning relating to their res-pective themes. On this ground Maulana Ham id-ud-DinFarahi has categorized Surah Al-'Asr as an aphorism ofgreat wisdom, whereas Imam Al-Sha'feii maintained that adeep and thoughtful study of this surah alone providesadequate guidance for attaining one's salvation.

This surah i s composed of three verses. The secondverse i s of central importance in meaning and significance.This verse expresses the painful and tragic state of mangenerally, a state of loss and deprivation. The evidence forthis i s presented in the first verse, in the form of an oath oradjuration. The third verse of the surah carves out an excep-tion from the general condition of man laid down in thesecond verse.

In this way, this suroh is cJearly divided into two parts.7


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I t s first part 'By fleeting time, verily man i s doomed (ordestined) to loss and ruin1-consists of a statement and i t sproof and as such is o f immense philosophical significance,whereas the second part of the surah-'Save those whobelieve, and do righteous deeds, and unite for the sake oft ru th and steadfastness'-is o f utmost practical importance,giving the essential requirements and conditions o f a wccess-fu l l i fe, a precise but nevertheless complete and comprehen-sive elucidation o f the 'right path'.BIG IMPACT

It is not my aim to write down, in the following pages,an exegetical explanation o f th is surah, fi rs tly because th isventure calls for greater scholarship and deeper insight thanI can cla im and, secondly, because in my opinion MaulanaHameed-ud-Din Farahi has already done full justice to theelucidation and exposition o f the pro found meaning o f thissurah. In the fo llow ing discussion an attem pt has beenmade merely at explain ing some general princip les o f thesurah and, in particular, some crucial points o f i t s secondpart so that a detailed and synoptic view o f the obligationsand duties that Islam enjoins upon us i s pu t in bo ld relief.

If we look at this surah as a whole, we realize thatthe note of warning and admonition is much more pro-nounced than the conditions for hope given at the end.Firstly, i t s very opening statement produces a b ig impact onthe reader. The words 'By (the token of) time, verily manis in a state o f loss' even if considered only in their vocaleffect, are capable o f giving a big jo lt and arousing thelistener from his slumber. A full realization of i t s meaningmust produce a st i l l more potent effect.

Secondly; the statement, 'Verily man is doomed tofailure', has been laid down as an all-compassing and cate-gorical assertion. On the other hand, the verse starting withthe words, 'except those who have faith. . .' grants an8


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exception to the general statement. This is tantamount tosaying that whereas the loss or doom of man is almost auniversal truth, salvation i s an exception to be achieved byonly a few.

A statement very similar to this has been made in SurohAt-Teen (XCV). The verse of this surah, "Then we reducedhim to the lowest of the low" describes the depraved condi-tion of mankind as a whole, while the next part of thisverse 'Save those who believe and do good deeds' marksout the persons saved from the state of depravity.But in Surah At-Teen two optimistic points have beenmade to lighten the note of warning. One, prior to, "Then wereduced him to the lowest of the low" a reassurance of theprimordial goodness of man has been given in these words:"Surely we created man in the best of moulds''. Two, imme-diately after the words "Save those who believe and do gooddeeds", a heart-warmingpromise of eternal salvation has beenmade in the same verse, 'and theirs i s a reward unfailing'. InSurah Al-'Asr , on the contrary, not only there is no re-assurance of man's creation 'in the best of moulds', but alsoit lacks a positive promise of an 'unfailing reward'. It endswith a mere statement of the possibility of deliverancefrom loss and ruin. Further, in Surah At-Teen onlytwo conditions have been laid that exempt one from fallinginto a depraved state i.e., belief and good deeds, Surah Al-'Asr demands for the exemption from universal ruin, in addi-tion to faith and good deeds, two stringent requirementsof faith-exhorting one another to truth and exhorting oneanother to endurance.

A statement of Prophet Jesus is very helpful in under-standing a subtle difference in the subject matter of SurahAt-Teen and Suah Al-'Asr. In the famous sermon of theMount he said:

"Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spaciousi s the road leading off into destruction, and many are the

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ones who go in through it; whereas narrow i s the gate andcramped the road leading to life, and few are the ones whofind it"Surah At- Teen and Surah Al-'Asr bo th conta in a referenceto the t w o paths alluded t o by Jesus. The m ain emphasis o f

Surah Al-'Asr i s on that broad path wh ich t he large m ajo rityof humanity is treading in its blind worship o f carnal desires,gra tif ication o f sex and hu nger, be1 ief in"w ishfu l th in king"and po llute d traditions and unauthentic existence, com ingnearer every moment to a dreadful en'd of an eternal doom.On the contrary, the l ight of Surah At-Teen i s converging o nthe other type of path, which, though narrow and followedby a handful of men, ultimately leads to 'openness' andeternal success and well being.

When a thoughtful and sensitive person would thinkin the l ight of Surah Al-'Asr about the wretched plight ofso many and visualise the doom they shall meet, he maywell be overwhelmed by a deep sense of dejection andhopelessness. It i s just possible that he might lose faith inthe natural and p rim ordia l goodness o f man. In the darknesso f th is stark pessimism, Surah At- Teen appears as a shining rayof hope and confidence. In its l ight we have a glimpse ofsome pious and sa intly persons fo llo w ing the rig h t path, andalso the evidence o f man's natural and orig inal goodness andhis potential for the pinnacle of excellence. And this quellsthe darkness o f pessimism, giving a man self-confidence andhope abou t his future.

The universal tru th , "Ver ily man is doomed" has beensupported by the equally comprehensive evidence, 'By (thetoken of time'. This is so because the substantive propositionand its evidence are both almost universal and open tocommon observation. On the other hand, the rather little-known truth expressed in the verse 'Surely we created manin the best of moulds' has been instantia~edb y a few holypersons who walked under the 'fig and olive trees', or conver-


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sed with the Lord on the Mount of Sinai, or were witnessto the spiritual greatness of man in the City of Security.The thundering call of 'By (the token of) time' joltsthe mind of a sensitive and thoughtful person out of absorp-tion in his petty personal involvements, and presents to himthe vast panorama of world history as unfolded in time.The primary purpose of this adjuration, therefore, is tomake the reader ponder over the deeper meaning and valueof the vicissitudes of world history.The truth of the matter is that complete preoccupationwith the demands of his immediate environments and per-sonal problems is a manifestation of man's intellectualbankruptcy. In this way the entire expanse of his consciousbeing i s often confined to these demands, and he is renderedincapable of any intuitive illumination emanating from hisinner-most self or comprehension of the astounding signs('ayat' in Quranic terminology) present throughout theuniverse. Very insignificant and minor issues of daily l i feare blown quite out of proportion, and he exhausts all histime and energy in struggling for trifles and petty desires.The Holy Quran has delineated two ways that help a personin coming out of this mental and psychological confinement. First, the way of attaining the ultimate truth througha deep soul-searching, a listening to the affirmations ofone's inner self. Second, the way of reflecting and medi-tating on the signs found in the cosmos and the clear testi-monies provided by history. The contents of Surah Al-'Asr guide us to this latter way.It is only due to sheer negligence or insensitivity that wetake time to be something static. On the contrary, every-thing which exists today in the world will perish beforelong. Similarly, human beings who are busy now in managingthe manifold activities of a full life, will in a matter of fewyears yield place to other generations. The fleeting passageof time is itself a warning to unmindful persons and shouldbe sufficient to bring home to them that they and all their

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worldly pursuits will shortly come to an end. Our shortlease of l i f e i s expiring rapidly, and after a l i t t l e while wewill disappear in the mist of past.CHANGES

Time is the greatest teacher and mentor of man. It islabelled in oriental lore as "Falak-i-Peer" (the old heaven).In the bosom of time are contained tremendous accountsof nations' r ise and fall which can be of great significanceand value for people living now on earth. This planet hasseen hundreds of nations in the past, rising slowly towardseminence, consolidating their power for sometime and thendegenerating and falling into oblivion. How many nationstook shape, reached their climax and then vanished withouta trace! Dozens of civilizations saw the light of day and,after touching the summit of success and fame, decayed andwere annihilated. Billions and billions of human beings wereborn into this world and after having passed through thestages of adolescence, youth, and old age, returned to dust.

Thousands built big empires by means of massive mili-tary campaigns and conquests, some even went to the extentof claiming divine and god-like status for themselves, andordered their subordinates to worship them. But at lastthey were all drowned in the ocean of time.

The great historical episodes, alluded to by the Quranin the brief 'By (the token of) time' were studied andexpounded in great depth and detail by scholars and co-mmentators of the Holy Book. This particular attempttowards understanding the meaning of the Quran assumedthe status of a separate branch of Quranic studies and wastermed by Shah Waliullah of Delhi as 'Tazkeer b iAyyamillah'which means reminding or instructing the reader of theBook by means of recounting the moral lessons inherentin the events of past history.


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The Quranic verse, 'Verily men are in a state of loss',epitomizes the undeniable tragedy to which relics of historyspread all around the world bear witness. The real bitternessof this tragic fact will however be experienced only in thelife Hereafter. It is something to be commended that veryfew persons have been gifted with a really keen and sensitiveheart, otherwise thousands of men like Buddah, at thesight of mankind's misery and exceedingly unhappy plight,might have turned their back on worldly pleasures and goneinto ascetic hide-outs. On examining rather critically andattentively the human condition, one will come to realizethat inspite of hard labour all day long, millions of theunprivileged classes do not even get an adequate meal. Thereare tens of thousands of people who see their relatives anddear ones dying before their eyes but cannot afford a spoon-ful of medicine that might help in curing the disease. An un-accountable number of human beings do not possess eventhe bare minimum of clothing and shelter. Terrible andheart-rendingafflictions are suffered by many.

Even the bright exterior of the l i f e of men of privilegeand wealth only covers up their own tales of woe. Oftenthe travail and suffering o f these men are more dreadfulthan that of the common run of people. lnspite of havingall conceivable luxuries of life, they crave for an anxiety-free moment during the day and for peaceful sleep at night.

In this stage of terrestrial existence the condition ofmost men is as pitiable as that of animals which are mer-cilessly forced to carry back-breaking burdens throughouttheir l ife. Taking a more judicious view of things, one cansay that pangs of psychic anxiety and bouts of spiritualagony suffered by human beings are much greater i n intensitythan the purely bodily pains which, animals wffer.

But, still worse, man will see the climax of his tragedywhen, having experienced all these worldly hardship, griefsand afflictions, he will at last be brought before Almighty

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Allah for the last reckoning o f his deeds. The Quran describesthis in these words:

'0thou man ! Verily thou art ever toiling on towards thyLord-painfully toiling-but thou shalt meet Him'. . . . . .(LXXX IV: 6)

At that crucial moment of great trial man will cry out:'Would that I were dust'! The noblest souls of all humanitytremble and quiver at the very though t o f that final trial andsome men even wish they were like a sparrow chirping on atree or like a straw o f grass (so they migh t not be called toaccount for on the day o f judgement).

At that critical moment the reality of the verse 'Verily,man i s in a state o f loss' w ill become man ifest in the highestdegree, and the large majority of human beings will say inutter despair: ' I f on ly m y mother had not given b ir th to me'.As the Quranic verse tells us the most real and obvious lossi s the loss met on that Day in the l i f e hereafter.

The last verse of Surah A/-'Asr "save those who believe,do good deeds and exhort one another t o uphold the tru thand exhort one another to constancy", delineates the solemeans of deliverance from eternal hell-fire. It is, therefore,imperative that we should exercise utmost diligence inunderstanding the fu ll meaning o f this verse.Since this verse is inseparably linked with the preceding

one "Verily man i s in a state of loss", it must be studiedprincipally in this context. Both these verses describe mostclearly and d istinctly the all-im portan t tr u th that the successo f human li fe depends upon the following:1. 'lman' or belief ( in the metaphysical tenets of Islam).2. 'A mat-i-Soteh' or good deeds.

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3 'Twasi bil-Haq' or mutual exhortation to truth.4. 'Twasi bis-Sabr' or mutual exhortation to constancyand steadfastness.

DESTR UCTIONLife without fulfilling these four inevitable conditionsleads to eternal destruction. However, bright or glittering aman's worldly success might be, it i s no success if he lacksthe above four conditions. These verses present a criterionof man's ultimate triumph and failure which is diametricallyopposed to the one prevalent in present day materialisticsociety. A thorough grasp of the meaning of these verses anda deep conviction of their veracity must necessarily resultin a total transvaluation of values regarding life's aims andachievements. If all that man cherishes most-political power,social status, affluence, availability of resources, high-rankingposts, well-established business, shining limousines, and bigpalatial buildings-are unaccompanied by the above mention-ed four conditions, then they must be a preamble to eternaltorment.The only thing that can possibly save a man from ever-

lasting doom is a real transformation of his nature, one whichreforms his mind and heart and radically changes his per-spective to conform to these four items, which collectivelyconstitute the indispensable minimum requirements ofhuman salvation. And this is only sufficient for the delive-rance from destruction and not necessarily enough for theattainment of lofty stations in paradise. The Quran i s not thework o f a poet who says many things simply for the sake ofadding elegance to the composition or under the necessityof rhythm and rhyme, but the word of God Almighty,and each word is precise and full of true wisdom. It containsnothing else but 'Haqq' or the truth, not allowing anyaddition or diminution whatsoever. If we eliminate even asingle of the above mentioned stipulations, the responsi-bility of the Quran in respect of our salvation stands null15


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and void and it will be sheer self-deception if we considerourselves as the rightful recipients of the Quranic promise.TRUTH

It is most unfortuante that, in the present age of religiousdegeneration and decline, we have become completelyignorant of this truth. A large majority of Muslims todayassumes that belief (lmon) is the sole condition of a man'ssuccess on the Day of judgement, and hence takes belief ina strictly legal sense. Those who are a l i t t l e more sensibleand knowledgeable also take good deeds as an essentialrequirement in addition. But even a good number of learnedreligious persons nowadays consider 'mutual exhortation totruth' and 'mutual exhortation to constancy and steadfast-ness' as secondary of superarogatory conditions to be fulfilledonly by those desirous of exceptionally higher positions inthe Hereaftlr. May people study and ponder over Surah Al-'Asr afresh and get to know with full conviction that theQuran has very clearly and unambiguously made humansalvation to depend upon four conditions :(1) Belief.(2) Good deeds.(3) Mutual exhortation to uphold the truth, and(4) Mutual exhortation to constancy.Let us take another step and concentrate our attentionon these four points separately so as to get a better compre-,hension o f thier profound meaning. The first most importantpoint that comes out on a closer study is that these fourthings are not to be compared with the four independentitems of, for example, a medical compound but rather theyare four stages on the road that leads to salvation, four mile-stones o f one single path of truth. They have within them-selves an organic unity, and logically imply each other.True belief (lman) is a prelude to righteous action whichitself is a preliminary to mutual teaching of t ruth(Twas/ b/l-

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haqq). And this in turn i s a forerunner of mutualteaching o f steadfastness (Twasi bis-sabr). Deeply entrenchedand rightly-nurtured belief and faith must necessarilyblossom into righteous l i f e and conduct. Further, if a truebeliever lived only for himself, he will not have fulfil led hiswhole duty. Whatever good he possesses, especially moraland spiritual truth, he must disseminate among his brethren,so that they may also see the truth and stand by it in patienthope and unshaken constancy amidst all the storm and stressof worldly life. An essential consequence of righteous lifeis the teaching of truth to others and this necessitates unitingtogether and exhorting one another to patience and endu-rance in facing the forces of evil.

Reflecting on the reality and pristine nature of faith andbelief i.e., ' /man: leaving aside i t s politico-social aspectsand legal or theological controversies, we come to know thatfaith connotes a particular mode of one's mind or psyche(nafs or qulb) which i s governed by a recognition of the one-ness and unity of God, the reality of prophethood and thel i f e Hereafter. This state of mind reigns over one's entirebeing, one's faculties of head and heart, so that his desires,emotions and actions all harmon'ize with this knowledge.

In a word, it does away with disunion and duplicity incognition and volition, and produces, concordance betweenthem. The essence of genuine belief therefore, lies in acomplete co-ordination of a man's knowledge of ultimatetruths ,and his will and actions. The real fruit o f ' /man'i s the tranquillity of mind that a believer experiences as aconsequence o f this harmony. As long as a man's religiousbelief remains merely an idea untranslated into action, hew i l l not have attained true belief or ' Iman', Summing uphis excellent discussion of belief Maulana Hamid-ud-DinFarahi writes :

"Belief or 'Imon' refers to a particular mental and spiritualstate which rules over a man's total creed and actions ....i t

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has two pillars : knowledge and action. I f we pull down eitherone of the two, the entire edifice will collapse. A man whoi s well-versed in theological doctrines such as God's Pro-vidence, and in al l the principles and details of Islamic faith,but continues to indulge in sinful and forbidden (haram)activities, he does not have an iota of that belief or 'lman'which alone i s creditable in the sight of Allahl' *If this is the nature of faith, then righteous action i s a

corollary, or, if you prefer, an essential consequence of faithand from the absence of righteous deeds and the actualmanifestations o f belief, one can rightly infer the lack o ffaith. A Quranic verse describes this situation thus :

I I,' .. / / / / /I > , / .,lh+ j l $ +w3~ \g9 '~$w$s$~&(Ggji46b@a#z-i& p J3 'G;;$,,-& ,, > J,_ -,jl+ p a(\f:bw\) @ , / p , j < / A , $ ,O e j d 4 C I CI,"The desert Arabs say, 'we have faith'. Say Ye have no faith ;but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to God',for not yet has faith entered your hearts. But i f ye obey Godand his apostle, He wi l l not belittle aught of your deeds :for God i s Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful." (XL I : 14).Belief ( lman) and righteous deeds are so closely united

and inter-twined that the latter can be treated as a sine quanon of the former. Indeed to consider the two as one andthe same thing i s not wholly unjustified.

Understanding the Quranic term 'Amal-i-Saleh' -righteous or good deeds - requires deep thought andreflection. The Quran includes under this blanket term alli t s moral and legal teachings, including the laws o f indivi-dual and social conduct. I t also makes an allusion to thefact that the secret of man's real development and progressl ies in performing these very acts. Righteous deeds alone

*Mujrnuoa -e-Tafasir -e-F ara hi page 35018


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can guarantee the growth of man's natural capacities andpotentialities on the right lines. To quote Maulana Farahiagain :

"Almighty Allah has designated good and righteous deeds withthe word 'Salehat'. This term itself guides us to the great truththat the whole of man's development and rectitude - be itoutward or inner, worldly or spiritual, personal or collective,bodily or intellectual - depends upon good and righteousdeeds. Righteous action i s life-giving and a source of maturityand enhancement. By means of good deeds alone man canattain those highest stages of development to which he aspiresby nature. .. ..This point can be put in alternative words thus:Since man i s an integral part of the total scheme of universe,only those of his deeds will be righteous which accord withthe grand design on which the universe has been fashioned byi t s Creator".

TWO SIDESAnd so, belief and faith is simply a 'complete consonance

between a man's true knowledge of the Absolute and histhoughts, ideas, emotions and passions. And righteousness ofaction i s the co-ordination which human actions should havewith the Divine will, the will that animates and sustains thecosmos. Belief and righteous deeds are two aspects or facetsof one and the same reality, two sides of a single picture.This i s the reason why the Quran usually mentions these twotogether. There are very few cases in the Quran where beliefalone has been mentioned, and even in these cases we canmost often, on deeper reflection, discover an implicit refe-rence to the moral and practical obligations that genuinefaith must entail.

Let us press our inquiry a step further. It i s almost atruism that man i s a social animal. There i s always an inter-action between him and the surrounding social reality. Heinfluences his environment and receives i t s influence. Thiscan be illustrated by considering an example. Just as fire

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warms the objects around i t while ice freezes whatsurrounds it, a man's righteous deeds have a wholesome andennobling ~nfluenceupon others. Similarly, immoral actionstend to degrade and disintegrate the world. If evil is rampantin a society, a righteous person muststruggle hard to ward off its influence. So mutual exhortationto truth (twasi-bil-haqq) and mutual exhortation to stead-fastness (twmi-bis- sabr) must necessarily ensue from truebelief (/man) and righteous deeds. Just as true belief andrighteous actions go togehter, so uniting in truth and inconstancy to it are inseparable.

Maulana Farahi elaborates the relation between righteousconduct and mutual exhortation (twasi) in these words :

"Just as '/man1gives rise to righteous deeds, so righteousdeeds necessarily give rise to mutual encouragement to truth.This is so quite understandably because a person, whoseadherence to the truth can make him endure the worstpossible trial and affliction, must consider his knowledgeof the truth and fidelity to i t as superior to everything else".

TRUTH

He will not rest content merely with his own love of thetruth but rather will also wish to see the whole world ad-hering to it. Wherever he sees the truth trampled upon andfalsehood triumphant, he will be moved tremendously,and try to persuade his fellows to support the truth. Thisdefence of his convictions is a natural and essential conse-quence o f his own sentiment. Therefore, Allah has herementioned 'twasi' (mutual exhortation) as an implication of'omal-i-saleh' (righteous deed). Maulana Farahi has thusexplained the literal meaning of the word 'Truth' or (Haqq) :Truth, though originally it signified anything existent, stable,and fixed , in actual usage has acquired a variety of meanings.It is generally used to mean the following three :20


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(i) anything the existance or occurrence of which isabsolutely sure.(ii ) anything ra tionally proved and accepted.(iii) any moral obligation.This amply shows that the expression 'twasi bil-haqq'(mutual exhortation to truth) covers a wide range of acti-vities starting from the teaching of minor moral duties andthe selfevident principles of reason and established facts ofthe universe, to the highest and most esteemed activity, thepropagation and establishment of the religion of truth(Din-a/-Haqq) which Allah revealed to the ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him). Maulana Farahi expressed

this very explic itly in a passage :"This brings out* clearly the t ru th that it i s incumbent onMuslims to do righteous deeds in order to fulfil their obli-gations (to the Almighty). This fulfilment further necessitatesthat they help each other in executing their re ligious andmoral duties. Since execution o f all the duties and obligationslaid down by Allah i s not possible withou t 'Kh ilafat' (IslamicGovernment and justice), i t i s imperative that they strive toestablish it".Now only one step remains to be explored, that mutualexhortation to truth (twasi-bil-haqq) necessarily impliesmutual exhortation to constancy (twasl bis-sabr). Self-res-

traint and constancy is required even in one's own firmadherence to truth simply because one must exercise self-control in the face of a great many temptations, must curbhis sensual appetites, and must face scores of painful dis-appointments and impediments. At the stage of mutualexhortation to t ru th (twasi bil-haqq) much bigger trials o fpatience and resolution become inevitable. I t i s a matter o fcommon observation that at times even propagating a minortruth puts a man to severe tests of endurance. Sticking to a

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right policy is sometimes as difficult as trial by fire.History is replete with instances of torture and wantoninjuries inflicted on champions of moral truths. Proclamation

and dissemination o f the basic truth of man's l i f e and obli-gation to God may well require proportionately greaterordeals and suffering. If an attempt is made to call all peopleto the fulfilment of their religious obligations and the estab-lishment of an equitable and just order, severest oppositionis sure to follow. Any one may try it for himself. He needsonly start by advising people to perform ordinary and simplemoral actions, and soon they wil l frown and become furious.Let him try to persuade somebody who has forcefullyusurped the property of a poor man to give the man his dueand he will see how great a resentment he must face. Let himjust utter a word in support of someone oppressed, and inno time the tyrant becomes his deadly enemy. It should nottake much thought to realise that demanding the fulfi lmentof one's total moral obligations, fighting for an entire systemof social justice and equity, and calling to the whole of'Din-a/-Haqg' (the true religion) can never be possiblewithout utmost hostility and opposition.UNITY

I f an exhortation is made to uphold the truth withoutevil forces putting obstacles in i t s way, if a programmaticand concerted call is issued to establish social justice buttyrants and oppressors merely keep silent, then either theadvocates of Truth have some clandestine agreement with theforces of injustice, or they are working for just a part of theTruth, not the whole of it. Men thriving upon injusticemay not deem it necessary to suppress a movement towardssocial justice if they find that that particular part of the truthis harmless to their vested interests. But total commitment totruth and the struggle to establish it inevitably brings per-secution and harassment. Every step on this path invitesever greater ordeals and challenges. A poet has rendered this2 2


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in a beautiful couplet :"People consider beinga true Muslim an easy affair.Nay! It i s like stepping in the pyre of love and martyrdom!'A t this stage there i s no alternative for men of faith inthe true religion but to unite their aspiration and energies.Encouraging and helping each other, being firm and patientthemselves and exhorting others to firmness and patience,

they must form a united front, what the Quran calls a 'solidcemented structure! In so doing, they will make themselvesan embodiment o f the Quranic verse :

('0Ye who believe! persevere in patience and constancy. Vie insuch perseverance '; Strengthen each other. And fear God ;so that ye may succeed and propsper." ( 111 : 200)At the stage of 'twasi-bil-haqq' (mutual exhortationto Truth), it is perhaps impossible for Muslims in theirindividual capacities to stand up to the opposition mountedagainst them by the evil forces. I t is therefore, imperative,that they unite into a well-organized group. This is thereason why the Quran has given the injunctions regarding'Haqq' and 'Sabr' in the Arabic grammatical form of "tafal-ul". that i s to say, in the verse 'wa twaso bil-Haqqe watwaso bis-sabr' there i s an implicit reference to the necessityof a united and organized group life for Muslims. Thesevirtues we must exercise both for ourselves and in relationto others. We must set an example for others and take theexcellence o f others as an example for ourselves, so that wemay not fall short of what is due from us, In this way westrengthen each other and bind our mutual relations closerin common service to God. In the later part of the passagequoted above from Maulana Farahi's book, he says, '-andsince the establishment of 'Khilafat' depends on obedience


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to an 'Ameer' (the leader), it is essential that Muslimssubmit themselves to discipline. It is, therefore, clear thatbelief, righteous deeds, mutual exhortation to truth andmutual exhortation to steadfastness are not mutually ex-clusive. Rather, they are bound together closely in a strictlylogical sequence, four stages of a single straight path.

Faith is like a seed from which sprouts the bud of right-eous conduct. The bud grows into a mature plant withleaves and flowers of mutual exhortation to truth and cons-tancy. This also explains why the Quran almost alwayscouples faith and good deeds, even when only faith is men-tioned, the reader can easily understand that it covers in i t sconnotation all of the four requirements. For instance, inthe following verse:

'Lo! those who say: Our Lord is Allah, and further standstraight and steadfast. . . . .' (XL I : 30)Here only the most fundamental of Islamic beliefs, i.e.,

belief in the providence of Almighty Allah, has been men-tioned, though, it should be taken to include the otherfundamentals, such as Hazrat Muhammad's prophethood(peace be upon him) and the reailty of l i fe in the Hereafter.And in 'Summa-staqamu' (further stand straight and stead-fast) have been summed up the remaining three conditions,viz., righteous conduct, mutual exhortation of truth -andmutual exhortation to persistance in truth. At other placesin the Quran, in addition to the primal condition of beliefonly mutual exhortation has been mentioned. The followingverse of Sumh 'Al- Balad'is an example of this:

"Then will he be of those who believe and enjoin com-passion". (XXC : 17)24


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The truth of the matter is that all these four conditionsare basic to the Quranic way that leads to eternal bliss andsalvation. Elucidation and explanation of these requirementsand detailed accounts of their stages and degrees are foundthroughout the Holy Book.CONDlTlONS

In the preceding paragraph mention has been made ofstages and degrees pertaining to the several conditions ofsuccess and salvation. A point of crucial importance as it is,a few brief remarks about them are in order here. Each ofthe three articles of belief, righteous deeds and mutual exhor-tation of truth admits of degrees and ranks. Taking belieffirst,even the ordinary believer who accepts faith, that is wh(jbelieves in the tenets of Islam and does good deeds, becomesa member of a great and beautiful spiritual fraternity - acompany which lives perpetually in the sunshine of God'sgrace.

Within itself however '/man1has a glorious hierarchy,of which two grades are specified by the Quran: the highestgrade is that of the prophets, who get plenary inspirationfrom God and who teach mankind by example and preceptand that of the 'Siddiqeen', the most sincere lovers of truth,who support the truth with their person, their means, theirinfluence, and all that i s theirs. This second rank was heldby the closest companions of Prophet Muhammad (peacebe upon him), such as Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddique.

Similarly the category of righteous deed (amal-i-saleh)applies to a wide variety of actions, beginning from the veryordinary moral acts of kindness like removing a stone from aroad on which men walk. In its higher reaches it is attri-butable to thorough obedience to Quranic injunctionscovering all aspects of a Muslim's life, including even theminor details of his personal l i fe. It means more than justconformity to an external code of law. At its highest level

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~tpermeates all actions to attain a state of moral excellencewhich the Quran calls 'ihsan' and 'taqwa'.

In a like manner 'twasi bil-haqq' has several grades. Itslowest stage is exhorting one another to perform acts ofkindness and compassion, 'twasi bil-marhama', on occasionswhich arise fairly commonly in every day l ife. A sense ofkindness and compassion has been ingrained in the natureof human beings and only the most wicked one lacks it.According t o a Quranic verse, thsoe who discourage or forbidothers from feeding the poor have touched the nadir ofmoral depravity.KINDNESS

Aprophetic saying further elaborates this in these words:,3 ,/< />. > 0' ~ ~ ! / ! ! G S J ~ & ; P

'He who is devoid of kindness is devoid of all good'.A higher stage of 'twasi bil-haqq' is that o f calling people

to Allah, enjoining good and forbidding evil. A true Muslimshould give clothing to the ill-clad, food to the hungry anddrink to the thirsty. But the greatest benefit he can renderto his fellow beings i s to turn them back from moral andspiritual bankruptcy and guide them to the straight path ofthe Quran and Sunnah. In one's l i f e journey to the ultimategoal, the duty of each Muslim is to catch hold of the hand ofone who goes astray from the straight path of Islam and toguide him aright. Mutual counsel gives life to actions andfoster a healthy spirit among the individuals.

At a still higher stage, 'Twasi bil-haqq' adopts the formof testifying to the truth and veracity of lslam (Shahadat-i-haqq) exalting the truth from Allah over all man-madeideologies (E'la-e-Kalimatillah), and establishing lslam bothin the individual and social aspects of l i f e (lqamat-i-Din).The testimony to the truth may be by the tongue of a26


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true preacher or the pen of a devoted scholar, or by thel i f e of a man devoted to service. The highest and most re-vered form of this testimony is presented by a Muslim wholeaves his house and family to fight the enemy for the causeof Allah (jehad-fi-Sabillillah). Endurance i s the greatestsolace of a true Muslim while going through all the trials onaccount of 'twasi bil-haqq! Especially in the higher stages,mutual teaching and exhorting to constancy become soessential that 'twasi-bis-sabr' has been mentioned separatelyto highlight the collective and cooperative character ofMuslim society.

It is no doubt difficult for all and sundry to attain theabove mentioned highest stages of belief or 'lman', righteousdeeds, mutual exhortation of truth and mutual exhortationof patience and endurance. But if a man's inner personalityhas not been corroded by some spiritual or moral ailment,it is almost certain that a healthy and potent seed of religiousbelief will flourish into wholesome and balanced branches ofrighteous actions, exhortation to truth and constancy.

It is surely excusable if a lay Muslim, who has veryl i t t l e knowledge of the fundamentals of Islam and performsthe well known basic duties of 'Shariah' (Islamic code oflaw), confines himself to 'twasi bil-marhama' i.e., doinghimself acts of kindness and compassion and advising othersto the same, which i s just the threshold of 'twasi bil-Haqq!But those who embark on rigorous spiritual exercises likerepeated recitation of a religious formula called 'Zikr' toattain deeper and richer states of faith and belief, those whoengage themselves in devotional prayers and 'mustahabbot'(some thing additional to what is obligatory of 'farz') butpay l i t t l e attention to the more obligatory duty of 'twasi-bil-haqq' are seriously misguided in their attitude. Lives ofthese people are mostly either totally devoid of the essen-tial religious duty of 'twasi bil-haqq' or they exhibit just avestige of it in the form of occasional brief sermon or spora-dic moralising advice. This state of affairs i s certainly wrong

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and needs to be rectified immediately. In this connection astory reported by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)puts the urgency of this duty in very bold relief. He men-tioned an extremely pious old man whom the angels tes t i -fied that he never indulged in sin even for as long as theblink o f an eye, but who never angered or got moved at thesight of people breaking the commands of God. Despite allhis piety and life-long spiritual observances, Allah orderedthe angels to destroy him first and then the entire comm-unity.

On the other hand, i t should also be clearly understoodthat it is equally dangerous to aspire and struggle for thehighest stages of 'twasi bil-haqq' through activities geared toestablishing an Islamic order of society, but taking meagreinterest in spiritual devotions and performing only thoseprayers which are obligatory (farz), and attenuate faith toa mere theological belief without realising its deeper meaningand cultivating it inwardly. All types of unbalanced atti-tudes and life-styles within these two extremes are mis-conceived and possibly dangerous.

STRUGGLEThe sole way of salvation and deliverance from eternal

damnation towards which Surah Al-'Asr points is that everyhuman being should strive and struggle within the limits ofhis capacity to attain the maximum degree of faith, righteousaction, enjoinment of truth and of constancy. As far as thequestion of determining one's capacities i s concerned, thereis a simple and foolproof procedure for this which each mayapply to himself.

Self deceiving and self-pityins excuses of incapabilitymay be induced by Satan (Devil), but the honest test ofself-assessment i s quite simply this: each Muslim shouldask himself to what extent he is exerting himself in theeconomic struggle of life and to what degree his capacities28


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and potentialities, mental and physical, are becoming visiblein the over-all course of mundane pursuits. If a weak, frailand ungifted person who has either met complete failure orlagged far behind in the struggle of worldly existence tenderson the Day of judgement some excuse for his shortcomingand deficiency in spiritual attainments, he is most likely tobe pardoned by the Grace of Allah. But surely those who areprogressing and flourishing in worldly matters cannot legiti-mately make such excuses. Nor should they expect fromAllah any mercy on them. A Quranic verse puts this unambi-guously in these words:

(1'3-,f :-1) Z j ~ $ - ~ ~ & & y + , &../"Nay, man will be a telling witness against himself, eventhough he were to put forward excuses? (LXXV : 14, 15)


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COMMENTARY ON SURAH AL-'ASR(A speech delivered at Aitchison College, Lahore)

Four Fundamental Points Regarding Surah Al-'Asr:1. The first point is that this is one of the earliest

surahs of the Glorious Quran to be revealed. It was revealedto Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the earliestperiod of his prophethood i n Makkah.

2. The second point is that it i s one of the shortestsurahs of the Glorious Quran as it has only three verses, thefirst of which is comprised of only one word "Wal-Asr".

3. The third point is that it is one of the most compre-hensive surahs of the Glorious Quran. The Holy Quran i s abook of guidance for all mankind, which has been revealedto guide mankind on the road to success and salvation. Thispath o f salvation towards which the Holy Quran guides ushas been described with utmost brevity and comprehensive-ness in this short surah.

The whole Glorious Quran is like a tree, and this shortsurah is its seed. And as a seed contains the total potentialityof a whole tree, Surah Al-'Asr contains the essence of theHoly Quran.

This is why some reports of the Companions of the HolyProphet (may Allah be pleased with them) indicate thatwhenever two of them met and sat together they neverparted without reciting Surah Al-'Asr to each other.

And this can be the reason why /man1 A/-Sha'feii (mayAllah bless him) has said about this surah that if the peoplewere to ponder over this surah alone, it would suffice fortheir guidance. He has also been reported as saying that if

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no thing else would have been revealed in this Glorious Quranexcept this surah then this surah would have been sufficientfor man's guidance.4. The four th po int is that the wording of this surah isvery simple and easy to understand. The masterpieces ofliterature o f every language are sublime in subject matterand meaning bu t so simple in style and word ing tha t theycan be understood by all. This is why such pieces of liter-ature are easily accessible to everyone. The G lor ious Quran i sthe most eminent masterpiece of Arabic literature and inits totality can be understood easily. But this short surah

is the best example o f the most lucid surahs o f the H o lyQuran. Though it i s very complete and all-embracing, not asingle high-sounding or elusive word has been used in it.I t s words are familiar even to those who are only acquaintedw ith Urdu or Persian, and do n o t know Arabic.The Tw o Levels o f Understanding Quran:

Before describing the significance of this surah, it isimportant to state the fundamental principle that the Qurancan be comprehended on many levels. The real lesson whichi s im p lic it i n any surah or verse o f the H o ly Quran should bemade explicit in order that the basic guidance regarding hu-man conduct may be attained. The Glorious Quran callsthis Tazakkur-bil-Quran, i.e., realizing through the Quranthe fundamental truths im plic it in human nature. Fromthis po int o f view, the Glorious Quran i s the easiest o f booksto understand. The highest stage o f contemplation o f Quranicverses has been termed Tadabbur-i-Quran, which meansreflecting and pondering over every word deeply, in orderto deduce the philosophy and the wisdom of the Holy Book.In this sense the Holy Quran i s the most di f f ic ul t o f booksas it is n o t easy t o atta in the depth o f i t s meaning.

I n this paper, I w il l describe clearly and in deta il the basicguidance obtained through the application of Tazakkur-bil-32


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Qumn to Surah Al-'Asr. I will also include some hints con-cerning Tadabbur-i-Quran so that those who are interestedin the deeper contemplation of the Quran may also benefit.The English Translation of Surah Al-'Asr :

A simple translation of the surah is as follows:1. By Time,2. Veri ly all human beings are in loss,3. Except those who have achieved 'Faith', have per-

formed Righteous deeds, and have emphasizedto each other the teaching of 'Truth' and (the valueof) 'Patience' (perseverance and constancy).

Analysis of the Translation :The three verses in this surah form one complete sen-

tence. The first verse "Wal-'Asr" is an oath. The second versedescribes a general rule. The third verse describes an excep-tion from that general rule. Combined together, all the threeverses constitute a single statement.

Please implant this simple statement firmly and clearlyin your mind. And by pondering over it, you should deducefour conclusions which are the basic lessons of this surah.The Criterion o f Success and Failure:

The most important truth flowing forth from this surahis Allah's presentation of the real criterion of man's successand failure.

Every person keeps in his mind a criterion of success andfailure, of gain and loss. All his endeavours and the wholestruggle of his life in this world is directed according to thiscriterion. An intellectually mature person i s rarely foundwho does not have an appointed goal or an ideal b e f o r e him.

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Even small children, specially the more intelligent ones,keep before them a standard of achievement. They con-centrate their energies on the attainment o f their goals.

I f we were to look around in our society as w ell as tosearch our hearts and minds, we would f in d that in thisage,the real cr iterion o f success or fa ilure is wealth and property,or status, honour, fame and ostentation, or world ly power.All but a few are running after these things. They expendtheir energies for these purposes. The minds of most of ourstudents are directed towards obtaining degrees in science ortechnology, so that they may earn a lot of money or achievestatus, position or power. The achievement of these thingsis their cr iterion o f success or failure.

The paramount truth which comes to our minds bystudying Surah Al-'Asr is very different from this. In otherwords, the criterion o f man's success is neither money orwealth, nor status, position, power, or ostentation. Ratheri t s first condition i s 'Faith', the second i s 'righteous deeds',the third is 'exhortation to truth', and the fourth is 'exhor-tation to patience'.

By this criterion, a person who does not possess theabove four qualities is unsuccessful and will never achievehis real goal, and in the end he will be a loser, though hemight be a millionaire, even a billionaire like Qarunand ,might, have highest status, position, and power,even kingship like Pharaoh or Herod. Conversely any onewho has these four prerequisites is successful and trium phant,even if he has no wordly wealth or property, and may bepenniless, homeless, friendless, unknown, unhonoured andstarving.

If you reflect deeply over it, you will f ind that acknow-ledging this t ru th is very easy, but its realization in your heartand soul is very difficult. We are living in a world of causeand effect, and we are bound to be influenced by its exter-34


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nal features. When we see that comfort, prosperity, honourand reputation i s due to wealth and worldly resources,we involunta rily rush to get these things, so much sothat we forget to distinguish between right and wrong, legaland illegal, approved and forb idden. In other words, thereformation of our attitudes and the righteousness of ouractions depends upon changing our crite ria o f ou r successand failure, gain and loss. This i s the real lesson of thisunique surah.

With a l i t t l e contemplation it will become clear thatif the simple truth stated in this great surah is engraved onour heart and penetrates our soul, it will revolutionize ourpoint of view, change our values, and transform radicallyour day to day life. What was thought most importantbefore w il l appear t o be most trivial, and what was insignifi-cant before w ill become significant.

The great transformation which was brought aboutin the l ives of the Companions of the Holy ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him ) was the result o f thisdeep-rooted change in their poin t o f view. In their sight thisworld and whatever is in i t seemed insign ifican t as comparedto the achievement of Allah's pleasure and that of the Pro-phet. This i s the real lesson of this magnificant surah, andeveryone should keep it in mind so that it may be infused inhis heart and soul.The Minimum Conditions and Essential prerequisites ofSalvation:

This surah describes only the minimum conditions andthe essential prerequisites for salvation, not the higheststages of achievement, nor the lofty ranks of success andaccomplishment. It explains the minimum demanded of usfor our salvation. Anything less would be failure. It does notmention first or second division, grades 'A' or 'B ' of success,but only states the mere passing grade, the minimum require-35


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ment for our success.This second conclusion has very important implicationsfor our actions. The extreme decadence of the moral and

practical life of Muslims is a result of their forgetting thisinjunction o f the Glorious Quran. The realization that thisis the minimum standard of success will necessarily producethe proportionate effort, struggle, and sacrifice for achievingit. People who strive for the lofty ranks and sublime stagesof religious excellence are rare. Most men only try to fulfilthe minimum requirements for salvation in one way or an-other. This is why in this glorious surah the minimum de-mands o f salvation have been described in simplest terms sothat people may dedicate themselves to its achievementaccording to their capability.All the four Conditions are indispensable :

The third conclusion i s a corollary of the second one.For salvation, 'faith', 'righteous deeds', 'exhortation of truth'and 'exhortation of patience' are all necessary. None of themcan be dropped. These are the words of Allah. Not a singleadditional word is added in it for the sake of rhyme orexaggeration. Four conditions have been stated for savingus from utter loss or failure, and certainly all four of themare necessary. If any one of them i s l e f t out, then the guaran-tee of man's salvation will not rest on the Holy Quran.For example, if a medical expert writes four medicines in aprescription for a patient, and the patient leaves out any ofthem according to his own judgement, then the medicalexpert will not be responsible for the incomplete medication.The patient himself will be responsible for this error.

It is necessary to emphasize this fact, because a falsenotion. has taken hold of the great majority of Muslimsthat salvation depends on the mere utterance of the declara-tion of faith, that the mere verbal confession of 'faith' issufficient for salvation, and any practical application of it36


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to his life is an additional goodness which will elevate himto high stages. You will find very few people who thinkthat after professing faith actively living by i t s dictates isnecessary for salvation. Even these few people rarely regardit as necessary for everyone to take up the task of 'exhor-tation to truth'. It is usually assumed that the propagationof the message of Islam i s the task of a particular grouponly, and for others preaching is neither necessary norsuitable. Even that special group, instead of propagating thecomplete truth facing all the tribulations this effort bringswith it, have left the path of determination and sacrifice,and made their path easier by attenuating Allah's require-,ments. In this manner the whole Muslim Nation has becomedominated by inactivity, stagnation, escapism, and sloth.This situation cannot change until Muslims realize thatthe performance of righteous deeds i s essential for salvation.Even more i s required. The affirmation and declaration oftruth and inviting others to accept it, as well as remainingsteadfast in the face of hardships and calamities for truth'ssake is also necessary. This is the truth which has been statedin this shortest but most comprehensivesurah.

It is necessary to understand the rational relation bet-ween these four components. To be called a man of charac-ter implies, judging what isl wrong or right in every matter,then adopting in practice whatever his heart and mind hassanctioned as right. A man must not only adopt it himself,but must declare it openly, inviting others to acknowledgeand accept it. If in this connection, he faces difficulties andhardships, or has to offer sacrifices, then he must showcourage and fortitude, patience and perseverance, and shouldnever retreat or withdraw from his stand. For a Inan ofnoble character, it is not possible to adopt any other course.Otherwise he will be a coward and man of weak character,not a man of principle. This is the rational and logical se-quence in these four components: (1) 'faith' ( 2 ) 'righteousdeeds' (3) 'exhortation to truth' (4) 'exhortation to patienceand endurance'. And it i s not possible for a man o f str'ong37


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character to t ry t o avoid any one o f these.Eloquence w ith categorical Emphasis:

The fourth conclusion obtained by analysing and para-phrasing this surah i s that the above three conclusions arecategorical and most emphatic in their nature and that thereis no doubt concerning any of them. Our whole faith restsupon accepting the Glorious Quran as the word of Allahand accepting this word as infallible. And who can be moretr u th fu l in his statements than A llah? Moreover, Allahhas not merely stated these truths, but has taken an oathfor confirming their validity. This oath makes this state-ment more emphatic, and whatever realities are hidden init, and whatever moral lessons are conveyed by it, are all ofthem delivered w ith complete certainty, free from all doubtsand compromise. This means that mankind i s unknowinglymoving towards utter loss and i s on the verge o f destruction,with the exception of those who have fulfi l led these fourconditions o f 'faith', 'righteous deeds', 'exhortation t o truth',and 'exhortation to patience', and have passed all tests andordeals which come in the wayof fulfil l ing these conditions.

These are the four basic conclusions which can be drawnb y contem plating on this glorious surah. In fact this i s thegist o f Surah At-'Asr, according to the practice o f Tazokkur-bit-Quran in order t o ob tain i t s basic meaning.Now I want you to study and understand every wordof this surah rather in depth, in order to make clear thatinspite of i t s simple wording great realities are concealed in

it, and gems o f wisdom and prudence are hidden i n it.The Real Meaning o f "Wal-'Asr":

Let us take the word "Wal-'Asr" which we have simplytranslated as ' tak ing an oath by time'.


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The real meaning of 'Asr' is not only time, but a periodwhich passes swiftly. In Arabic language the two words 'Asr'(v )and 'Dahr' ( &a) are very comprehensive. In both ofthem, not only time, but time-space complex is implied.Curiously enough in the Glorious Quran, there are surahswith the t i t l e of both 'Asr' and 'Dahr'. The word 'Dahr'connotes the vastness of the space-time continuum, or inthe terminology of modern philosophy, absolute time orpure duration. The word 'Asr' connotes the sweep of timeor i t s swift flow. In other words, 'Asr' means serial time.

In the word "Wol-'Asr" the letter '3' ( ~ o ' w )is a pre-position, and is used as an oath and testimonial. In short,the real meaning of the word "Wal-'Asr" is that the swiftpassage of time through the ages bears witness and providesevidence for the statements that follow.The Vast Meaning of 'Khusran' or Loss:

We have translated the second verse as 'Verily all humanbeings are in loss'. But even this translation does not conveythe real meaning, because the Quranic term 'Khusran' is nota monetary loss of a few thousands or millions, but indi-cates complete destruction. In the Holy Quran many wordshave been used for achievement and success such as accomp-lishment, triumph, fulfilment, and blessing. But as an an-tonym of all these, only one comprehensive word is usedand that is 'Khusran'. It means that the second verse reallyshows that the whole mankind i s standing on the verge ofdestruction or doom.

The significant reality which has been described in thisverse, and the human tragedy towards which this versepoints out, can be conceived or realised full in i t s true pers-pective in two stages.

Firstly, every one in this worldly l i f e faces a hard strugglefor existence. Many people have to undertake rigorous

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labour from morning till evening, but are unable to providethe bare necessities of life for their dependents. The major-ity of human beings can not afford even the basic necessitiesof life, such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and medi-cal care. Even prosperous people have to work hard to main-tain their status. From this po-int of view, a human being i slike a beast of burden, But it is even more tragic becausehe i s a creature of feelings and emotions. In addition to allthat labour, he has to bear numerous mental hardships.Sometimes, he is deeply moved by the love of his children,sometimes by the troubles faced by his ki th and kin. Some-times he has to put up with the sorrow of a relative's illness,or the shock of the death of someone loved by him. Notonly hard work and labour is his lot but grief and sorrowas well.

You must have known that by observing these verytroubles and tribulations of l i f e Buddha was so much dis-heartened and dismayed that in the prime of his life heleft his young wife and innocent son and ran out to thejungles in search of 'truth'.

The masses generally harbour the misunderstandingthat wealthy and prosperous people have no anxieties. Asa matter of fact, the kind of psychic agony which they faceis rarely experienced by a common man. They face numerousconflicts and frustrations, and very often the people of thisclass fall prey to mental diseases and psychic disorders.This is the first stage of human tragedy and this has beenmentioned very eloquently in the last part of the GloriousQuran, is surah No. 90 'A/-Balad' in verse No. 4 whereinAllah says:

( d :A q \ ) Gd$G$ ,W3* I ,'verily We have created man in toil and struggle!

But added to this tragedy of the terrestrial existence i s40


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the doom of the worst type that is manifest in the l i feHereafter. The climax of human tragedy is that after toler-ating all troubles and hardships of this world, suddenly hewill have to present himself before his Creator and giveaccount for all the activities of his l ife. This is the picture,which has been presented in surah No. 84, entitled 'Insheqaq'verse No. 6 wherein Allah says:

'Verily 0 man,thou art ever toiling on towards thy Lord-painfully toiling- but thou shalt meet Him'.And, if in that trial, his thoughts, convictions, actions and

activities are found deviating from the straight path, hewould undergo a heart-rending and most severe punishmentand torture in the hell for ever. And this is the real loss asAllah says in the Holy Quran:

'That is the sheer loss'

The Inter-relation of the First Two Verses:It is clear that the first verse is an oath and the second

is the statement for which the oath has been taken. That is,in the second verse a truth has been stated, and in the firstevidence has been presented for it. The question is: what i sthe logical sequence between the two?

By contemplating over it, we realize that 'time', cons-tantly passing, is like a sheet, which is spread up to eternity.It means that 'time' i s an entity, which i s an eye witness tothe entire passage of man's life, from his birth to death andto the l i f e of the Hereafter. Hence, the toiling, painful lifeof man is present before it, and it stands witness also to themomentous events of the rise and fall of nations. The l i f e of

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the Hereafter, the climax of human tragedy, is also beforeits gaze. Thus 'time' is the greatest witness to the fact that'verily man i s in a state o f loss'.

This ascertained truth has an added element of warningimplied by "Wal-'Asr". This warning is, that the real causeof mankind's ruination, destruction, and utter loss is hisnegligence, and that by entangling himself in his immediateproblems and the trivial affairs of his life, he faces a state ofperplexity and self-negation.

The word "Wal-'Asr" is a clarion call to wake him upfrom his indifference and slumber. I t points out: 0 carelessman! your real asset is time, which is passing swiftly, andyour real capital is this probationary period of worldly l i f ewhich i s ending quickly, and if you are unable to build upyour personality, or according to the words of Iqbal, thepoet of the East, i f you have not achieved any sublimityin your SELF or EGO, then you will have'to face eternalloss, and your l i f e will be doomed.The Real Meaning o f 'lman' or Faith:

The first condition o f salvation, or deliverance from thissheer destruction, i s 'lman' (faith). The word 'lman' has beenderived from 'aman' meaning peace. Its literal meaning isto provide peace and tranquillity But in its technical sensethe word '/man1 is used wit) jFe prepositions ( J ) or ( )suchas ( d&i(l) or (+>I). In this form i t s literal mean-ing is to have trust or b/elief in and to testify. In order tounderstand the real meaning of 'lman' (faith) it is necessaryto realize that any man who has attained maturity of intelli-gence obviously starts thinking on perennial questions like"Who am I ?", "From where did I come ?", "What is thenature of the Universe ?" and "What i s the last destinationof the journey o f my l i f e ?" Those who have studied philoso-phy, know that throughout the history of human thoughtmany thinkers continued to ponder over these questions,42


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and trie d t o find satisfactory answers. W ithou t an answerto these questions, a human being i s in the dark, knowinglittle about his real self, or about the universe, or his ownbeginning, or the beginning or end o f the Universe.I t is evident that these questions cannot be answeredmerely by our physical senses. As yet we have not beenable to fathom the vastness even of the physical world.How can we have any knowledge of i t s beginning or end?Similarly, the question whether or not we had any existencebefore our creation in this world, and whether after deaththere wil l be any continuity of our existence or not, cannot

be answered by our senses, because we cannot possiblypeep in to the world o f existence either pr ior to our b irth orbeyond physical death. I n short, man i s utterly helpless toattain true and ult imate knowledge.Despite these natural limitations, there have been in thehistory of mankind a number of persons who claimed thatthey had a special source of knowledge which they called'revelation'. On the authority of 'revelation' they knew forcertain that this universe did not exist from eternity norwould t o remain in existence fo r ever. I t has been brought

into existence by a Creator Who possesses all the attributesof perfection in their utmost degree of excellence, and Hei s Unique in His essence and attributes. He had alwaysexisted and will continue to exist for ever. I t is He Whohas created you, and your l i f e i s not the l i fe of this worldon ly, bu t He wou ld again bring you back to life after death,and that l i f e will be real and eternal. In that l i f e of theHereafter, you will face your rewards or punishments foryour convictions, actions and pursuits during this life. ThisCreator and Master has assigned messengers from amongmen and given them the task of proclaiming these veritiesand the right way of l iving in this world so that men maybe saved from sheer loss in the life Hereafter and may achievesuccess and eternal bliss.


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These Messengers are known as Prophets of Allah andthe affirmation of our belief in them is called '/man1orbelief in prophethood. This faith has two aspects: verbal con-fession and certainty in our hearts. We testify verballythat we believe in all prophets, and, according to theirteachings, we believe in Allah with all His revealed attributes,and we believe in l i fe after death, and in the day of judge-ment, in reward and punishment, and in hell and heaven.We also accept these verities with utmost certitude in ourhearts. These two conditions constitute our faith or '/man'.Faith is certitude about the Creator, man and the universe.It leads to two results:

The first i s that a man's internal anxiety must disappearand he must achieve inner peace and satisfaction, when,as a result o f this faith, the natural inquisitiveness regardinghis own identity and the nature of universe is gratified.This internal serenity is the gift o f faith. That is why, ety-mologically, the Arabic word for faith is a derivative of theroot word 'aman' which means peace.

,

The second is a reform of one's actions and life-style.As the Socratic doctrine says 'Knowledge is virtue, andignorance is vice'. A believer should be adorned with highmorals and virtuous deeds, and should be free from inferiorand degrading actions.

This second point i s very important because i t showsthat 'faith' and 'action' are linked, that faith (/man) andrighteous deeds (Amal-i-Saleh) are interrelated. Comparefor a moment two men. One thinks that this universe hascome into existence accidentally and that its entire systemand organization is running automatically. The secondacknowledges that there is an Almighty, All-knowing, All-wise, All-powerFul, Supreme Being, Who has ordained andcreated this cosmos and that He is the Ordainer Who hasordained this Universe and everything in it, and i t is runningaccording to His decrees. Is it possible that the l i fe attitude


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and actions of these two persons would be similar? Wouldnot there be a tremendous difference between their attitudesand behaviour ? Similarly, one man thinks that this l i f ewhich he i s leading in this world is the only life and thereis no l i fe after death, there i s no accountab ility, no responsi-bility, no reward or punishment. Another man i s sure thatthe real and everlasting l i fe will begin after death, that thel i fe of this material world i s nothing but a preamble ofthat real l i f e which will start in the Hereafter, and thatafter death every person will be answerable not only forevery action, but for every word and thought. The attitudesand actions o f these two would necessarily be dif feren t.

It i s quite easy to conclude that the goal of l i f e o f theformer would be to enjoy every minute of this life, as thereis no l i fe after it. And in this gratification of the instinct ofenjoyment, he might not distinguish between right andwrong, law ful and unlawful. But the second man wouldtake every step in his life with caution and he would beconscious o f his responsibility at a ll times. A man's fa ithnecessitates tremendous transform ation in his l ife.

Please do understand clearly that the idea commonlyheld in our society that 'faith' and 'action' are separate isonly true about the legal aspect o f 'faith'. In this societya man is considered and pronounced a Muslim on the basisof verbal confession only. We cannot possibly include hisaction and conduct i n this. But tha t genuine 'faith ' whichincludes certainty o f one's heart and soul must bring atransformation in one's actions. If one's daily l i f e is notchanged, this is an absolute proof that genuine 'faith' doesnot exist in his heart. His faith i s no more than a profession.This truth has been clarified by the Holy ProphetMuhammad (peace be upon him) in many of his traditionsand sayings. He said:


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"A man who betrays his trust has no 'faith ', and the personwho does not fu lf il his promise has no religion."N ow th ink over i t and see how beautiful i s ou r Prophet'sway of expression, and how the thought expressed i s asclear as a basic mathematical pro pos ition.Sim ilarly, once the Prophet o f Islam (peace be up on him )swore three times, saying:

"By God, he i s not a believer, by God, he i s not a believer,by God, he is not a believer". The Companions of the Pro-phet enquired: "Who is that person about whom you aresaying this ? " He said in reply : "It i s the person from whosemisconduct his neighbour is not safe."Just see how emphatically the H oly Prophet has referredto the complete negat ion of fai th and that too not onaccount of committing a major sin, such as, polytheism,unjustif ied murder, adultery, theft or robbery, but only on

account o f something norm ally regarded as merely poorbehaviour. I s there any justif ication after this for thinkingthat 'faith' and 'action' are separate things and are notco-essential and interrelated? This i s why in order t o removethis misunderstanding completely the Holy Quran consis-ten tly mentions righteous deeds as the accom paniment o f'faith'.So long as faith i s confined to the stage of verbal con-fession and it i s l imited upto an utterance of words only,actions can be exactly the opposite o f it, because the con-tradict ion of word and actions is very commonly found inthis world. Bu t when fa ith reaches a state o f certainty i n ourheart, when i t penetrates our heart and soul and becomes an

unshakable conviction, then our actions w il l necessarily be


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changed because the actions of a man are based on his beliefand conviction. For example, we know that fire can burnus, so we would never put even a finger in it.Even suspicioncan influence our actions. We know that all snakes are notpoisonous, but s t i l l even if we suspect that a particular snakemight be poisonous, we keep away from it. Now if a personbelieves with utmost surety that Allah exists and that He isAll-seeing, All-hearing, All-knowing; that every movementof his, every word which he utters and, more than this,even every intention of his heart i s known to Him; thatafter death, he shall have no alternative but to present him-self before Him, and shall have to give full account of hisentire life, with no chance of escaping from the grip of Hispunishment, nor any hope of deliverance through ransomor intercession; then that man, believing all these thingsfirmly, would not dare to lead a sinful life. This i s the condi-tion which has been described in the following saying ofProphet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

"No adulteror commits adultery while he has faith. No thiefcommits a theft while he has faith. And no drunkard drinksintoxicants while he has faith."

In fact these sins are committed only at a time when dueto one reason or another the real faith of a man has dissi-pated or vanished from his heart. Faith and righteous deedsare interdependent and each of them i s essential for the other.Righteous deeds, good morals and a lofty character are sinequa non of true faith. This is why in Surah A/-'Asr, afterfaith, righteous deeds have been mentioned as a necessarycondition of salvation.


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The Real Meaning of Righteous Deeds:The phrase righteous deeds is commonly translated as

good actions. But, if we look deep into it, we would dis-cover more significance hidden behind it. The two locutions'action' and 'activity' are generally taken to convey the samesense. But there is a subtle difference in their meaning.Any kind of movement or work can be called activity, butthe word action usually implies some strenuous or arduouswork. On the other side, the word 'virtuous' or 'righteous'denotes something which had developmental characteristicsand potential for enhancement. By combining these two,we would realize that the actual significance of this term isthat it is necessary for man to put up a hard struggle toachieve that real goal for which he was potentially created,and he had to ascend certain heights to attain that goal.All this is conveyed by the comprehensive word 'righteousdeed'.Surah 'At-Teen' in many respects resembles Suroh A/-'Asr. Verses 4, 5 and 6 of the surah state:

'surely we created man o f the best stature. Then we reducedhim to the lowest of the low, save those who believe and dogood works, and theirs i s a reward unfailing.' (X CV : 4 - 6 )This means that, in reality, man was created for the

most sublime rank, and Allah conferred on him superioritynot only over j inn (Genie) but also over angels. He waseven endowed with the vicegerency of God. But in histerrestrial existence the spiritual self is imprisoned in hisgross body of clay, wherein he falls a prey to the clutchesof his carnal nature and i s reduced to the lowest of low. Nowto regain his lost status and sublime rank, it i s necessaryfor him to obtain real knowledge. He must illumine hisinner self with the light of faith and must perform gooddeeds, adorning his outer self with righteous actions, obser-ving the canonical law of Islam and following the Prophet's48


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way of life. These are the prime prerequisites o f his salvation. ,

The Meaning of Mutual Exhortation :In the last part of Surah A/-'Asr, the word 'tawasau' has

been used twice. I t s verbal noun i s 'tawasi', and it is derivedfrom 'wasiyyat', which means admonition, exhortation withpersistent emphasis. Again, this infinitive i s formed from thestem of the verbal noun 'tafaul: whose first attribute ismutual cooperation and the second i s emphasis to the pointof exaggeration. It means that this action of exhortation isrequired with the greatest fervour and intensity. This stagenecessitates the establishment of a collective community orUmmah based on the principles of mutual preaching oftruth and patience.

The Meaningof 'Haqq' or Truth:Similarly, the connotation of the word 'Haqq'is very ex-

tensive. I t s meaning includes everything which i s actuallyreal (that is , it is not imaginary or based on presumption).It also connotes what is acknowledged by reason or is necess-ary ethically, or i s purposive and not useless or vacuous.Hence exhortation to truth means confirming, acknowledg-ing, inviting to and preaching every thing which i s factuallytrue and real, i s ethically necessary and i s proved by reason.Thus the spectrum of 'truth' encompasses on the one handthe testimony of the evident facts of our existence and, onthe other hand, the testimony of the ultimate metaphysicaltruths of existence. Exhortation to truth includes a wholerange o f activities, from giving personal moral advice to theclarion call of the greatest truth, -the truth that the realLord and 'master of this universe i s Allah, and that it is Hewho deserves that His Commands should be promulgatedand that His laws should be enforced in this world. Andthis truth should not merely be pronounced verbally, buta vigorous struggle should be launched for i t s practical imple-mentation and actualization.

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Similarly, the comprehensive term 'exhortation totruth'embraces within i tsel f concepts which underlie manytechnical terms of the Holy Quran, such as preaching vir-tues and holding back people from vices. It implies askingand inviting people to do good deeds and stop them fromfalling in the snare of every kind of evil, exhorting them tobe merciful, to have compassion for each other and to bekind to each other; and calling people towards Allah, per-suading them to seek real knowledge and devotion beforetheir Real Sovereign and Master, Allah. Also it includesefforts in the path of Allah, that is, struggling hard for theestablishment of the supremacy of the true religion ofAllah and spending one's wealth for this purpose and sacri-ficing one's l i fe for this noble cause.The Meaning of Patience :

The meaning of patience i s very comprehensive. Its realessence is that a person should continue to maintain himselfupon the chosen path, without allowing any trouble, ortemptation to deviate him from it. No amount of persecu-tion or trial should cause him to desist. He must remainsteadfast in every situation, and should display firmness,perseverance, bravery and fortitude. He must not onlypersevere in fqllowing the truth but must also continue topursuade others to accept i t and comply with it.Exhortation to Truth and Exhortation to Patience areco -essential :

As faith and righteous deeds are inter-related; so areexhortation to truth and exhortation to patience. This i sbecause the invitation to truth is usually not welcomedand it has often to face resistance. It i s necessary for thosewho are dedicated to truth to put up with oppression andpersecution.

Perhaps all of us have experienced that even a little50


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piece of moral advice can be disliked by people. For ex-ample, if a person owes five dollars to some one, and isputting off i t s payment and you ask him to pay that amountto his creditor, he will frown at you. I f he is in an angrymood, he may warn you not to interfere in his affairs. Nowyou can well imagine how much resistance would be offeredand to what extent people will oppose the preaching whichdemands from them the fulfilling of their major obligationsand religious duties.

And this is the point where a person faces the real tes t ofhis character and conviction. It is a fact that mere appre-hension and recognition of truth is not so difficult, as isadopting it for oneself and inviting others to act upon it andto remaining firm in this struggle. In Quranic terminology,this i s called 'istiqamat' i.e., steadfastness. This is the acidtest which proves to what extent a person is committed tohis objectives and whether he possesses anything whichcan be termed stability af character and commitment.

This i s why the Holy Quran lays so much emphasis onthe fact that true believers necessarily have to face testsand ordeals, and the truthfulness of their claims to havefaith is to be examined and tested in many ways. Only thoseare regarded as sincere in their faith who remain firm inthe face of ordeals and provide concrete proof of patienceand perseverance.The Interrelation of Faith, Righteous Deeds and MutualExhortation:

We have seen that faith and righteous deeds are inter-dependent and also exhortation to truth and exhortation topatience. Now, if we understand the relationship betweenthese two pairs, we will have a complete view of thissurah.

Nothing and no one can avoid influencing his environ-ment and being influenced by it. The coldness of ice will

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necessarily chill i t s surroundings and the heat of fire willsurely make them warmer. The same is true in the field o fmorality. If the spirit of righteous deeds is really engenderedin a person, it must have an impact upon his envrionmentand he will necessarily be a source of diffusing goodnessand virtue. The natural outcome of righteous deeds is thepropagation of truth in society.

This principle operates in ethics very forcefully. If thesoclal environment favours evil, it will necessarily bringabout deterioration in the lives of its citizens. The onlypossible way to escape from this is to change that environ-ment or at least to struggle vehemently to change it. Evenif a person cannot change it, he can at least in this way,act on the principle that the best defence i s a good offence,and repel it defensively. Thus the Holy Prophet (peace beupon h'im) said:

I/I f any one among you observes a vice, it i s his duty to changeit by force. I f he i s not able to do so, he should protest againstit verbally. If he does not possess even this much of courage,he should detest it by his heart and soul, which means that hisheart should regard it as bad, and that he should regret that hecould not stop it, and this is the weakest degree of faith".The nobility of a man's character demands exhortation

to truth because the goodness in any person who has dis-covered trut

Way to Salvation in the Light of Surah al-Asr

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