Time is the greatest evidence of loss and the witness of one’s life works. Time is the object of the oath. The sura encapsulates success in three verses.
Successful time management is described as:
Having faith in Divinity.
Manifesting the faith as good deeds (serving humanity).
Counselling one another to the truth (the right thing to do).
Counselling one another to persevere and patience
(in standing for the truth).
The word wa (which means ‘and’) between each of the 4 conditions denotes that all four are necessary for success. When the companions of the Prophet (pbuh) used to meet one another, they only departed until one of them recited Suratul ‘Asr to the other and they bid peace upon one another. They did not want to forget or become heedless of the essential message of success.
103 – Al ‘Asr – The Time
