بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ وَٱلْعَصْرِ
By time (some say: by the late afternoon),
Pickthall (1930): By the declining day,
Quran · Surah 103 · 3 ayat
Surah Al-'Asr
The Declining Day
ٱلْعَصْر
Awaiting review by a scholar of this tradition. Original texts are public domain; the plain meanings and notes are written by IndiaDigital and are being checked. We describe what each tradition teaches, in its own terms, and never rank faiths. Report a correction
About this surah
Surah Al-'Asr ('Time') has 3 ayat and is Meccan, one of the shortest surahs of the Quran. Swearing by time, it says that every human being is in loss except those who believe, do good, and encourage one another to truth and to patience. The scholar Imam al-Shafi'i is reported to have said that if people reflected on this surah alone, it would be enough for them. Reports also say that some companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would recite it to each other before parting.
The value of timeFaith and good deedsEncouraging truth and patience
Read the surah
Arabic exactly as in the Tanzil text, then a plain meaning in your language. The Arabic is never read by a machine voice; "Listen" reads only the meanings.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
every human being is surely in loss,
Pickthall (1930): Lo! man is in a state of loss,
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
except those who believe and do good deeds, and urge one another to the truth, and urge one another to patience.
Pickthall (1930): Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.
Quick quiz
By what does this surah swear in its first ayah?
According to ayah 2, what state is every human being in?
Which of these is NOT one of the four qualities named in ayah 3?
Your score: 0 / 3
Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani, Version 1.1), tanzil.net, CC BY 3.0, verbatim: tanzil.net. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain; text from English Wikisource. Al-Fatiha aligned to the Hafs count (basmala as verse 1, his verses 6 and 7 joined); Quraysh: his verses 4 and 5 joined.. Plain meanings, introductions and quiz: IndiaDigital, awaiting review by an Islamic scholar.
Corrections from members of every tradition are welcome at support@indiadigital.org. Last checked: .