This Surah carries the central theme of the Qurʾān regarding human beings, their state, their role, and their salvation.
The word ʿAṣr comes from the root ʿayn ṣād rāʾ which was used in the following
meanings: ● To squeeze grapes or anything that contains oil, juice or honey to extract what is within ● For the liquid that drips or oozes when the object is squeezed The central meaning is to force or squeeze out what is held within by applying pressure or force such as the juice of the grapes.88
The Arabs used this word ʿAṣr to refer to late afternoon and the reason why they did so is quite eloquent. The light and heat of the sun is at its peak and most intense at noon. From then, the light of the sun little by little, keeps on losing its intensity and ferocity till we reach late afternoon at which time, the intensity of its light is significantly less than what it was during noon.
It is almost as if the light and heat of the sun gets squeezed out of it little by little just like the juice from the grapes.
This phenomenon is called to light to state that mankind as a whole is engulfed and engrossed in loss. We will cover the contextual meaning in the next verse.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
Truly, man is drowning in loss It is phrased as a nominal sentence. Nominative sentences in Arabic imply a constant and unchanging state. Man is drowning inside loss and this is the constant state he is in.
The verse literally says “man is in loss.” This creates meanings of being immersed, entrapped and engulfed in loss. It is as if the human being is imprisoned inside a prison of loss or drowning inside it or is entrapped and totally immersed in loss. The word Khusr (loss) is indefinite which implies greatness i.e, man is not just drowning in any loss. but in a loss which is great and deadly in its nature. The verse is emphasized twofold which as explained earlier is used when the addressee is in denial of what you are saying. Man is drowning in loss left right and center but he is in denial of it. He thinks he is in profit.
The Connection
ʿAṣr means late afternoon when the light of the sun is extremely less in intensity and ferocity than it is at noon. From noon to late afternoon, the sun little by little loses its light, its light gradually loses its intensity and ferocity.
From noon to late afternoon, the sun suffers loss as its light diminishes and it loses
its intensity and ferocity. Just like the sun, the human being is suffering from loss as well.
The Sun is a metaphor for the human being. A being with dazzling brilliance and potential but one which is losing this brilliance, potential, and light - which is the very core of human essence. The light of the sun is its very essence. If the sun loses its light, what worth does it have? It becomes a worthless existence with no purpose. The human being is also losing the very light that makes him what he is. That gives him purpose, meaning and worth.
But all hope is not lost. Allah swears by ʿAṣr and not the sunset. Even though the sun loses its light and intensity by ʿAṣr, it is not all gone. It only completely goes away at
sunset. Just so, even though the human being is losing his very essence which gives him his worth, he has not lost it totally. The sun - the human being - has not yet set. There is still hope. He can still recover and reclaim his brilliance and potential. The next verse will mention how to recover this loss. It will use the word Ṣāliḥāt which at its root means rectification and correction. By means of Ṣāliḥāt, a human being can reverse his state and recover his losses.
Truly, man is drowning in loss
This Surah carries the central theme of the Qurʾān regarding human beings, their state, their role, and their salvation.
The word ʿAṣr comes from the root ʿayn ṣād rāʾ which was used in the following
meanings: ● To squeeze grapes or anything that contains oil, juice or honey to extract what is within ● For the liquid that drips or oozes when the object is squeezed The central meaning is to force or squeeze out what is held within by applying pressure or force such as the juice of the grapes.88
The Arabs used this word ʿAṣr to refer to late afternoon and the reason why they did so is quite eloquent. The light and heat of the sun is at its peak and most intense at noon. From then, the light of the sun little by little, keeps on losing its intensity and ferocity till we reach late afternoon at which time, the intensity of its light is significantly less than what it was during noon.
It is almost as if the light and heat of the sun gets squeezed out of it little by little just like the juice from the grapes.
This phenomenon is called to light to state that mankind as a whole is engulfed and engrossed in loss. We will cover the contextual meaning in the next verse.
إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ
Truly, man is drowning in loss It is phrased as a nominal sentence. Nominative sentences in Arabic imply a constant and unchanging state. Man is drowning inside loss and this is the constant state he is in.
The verse literally says “man is in loss.” This creates meanings of being immersed, entrapped and engulfed in loss. It is as if the human being is imprisoned inside a prison of loss or drowning inside it or is entrapped and totally immersed in loss. The word Khusr (loss) is indefinite which implies greatness i.e, man is not just drowning in any loss. but in a loss which is great and deadly in its nature. The verse is emphasized twofold which as explained earlier is used when the addressee is in denial of what you are saying. Man is drowning in loss left right and center but he is in denial of it. He thinks he is in profit.
The Connection
ʿAṣr means late afternoon when the light of the sun is extremely less in intensity and ferocity than it is at noon. From noon to late afternoon, the sun little by little loses its light, its light gradually loses its intensity and ferocity.
From noon to late afternoon, the sun suffers loss as its light diminishes and it loses
its intensity and ferocity. Just like the sun, the human being is suffering from loss as well.
The Sun is a metaphor for the human being. A being with dazzling brilliance and potential but one which is losing this brilliance, potential, and light - which is the very core of human essence. The light of the sun is its very essence. If the sun loses its light, what worth does it have? It becomes a worthless existence with no purpose. The human being is also losing the very light that makes him what he is. That gives him purpose, meaning and worth.
But all hope is not lost. Allah swears by ʿAṣr and not the sunset. Even though the sun loses its light and intensity by ʿAṣr, it is not all gone. It only completely goes away at
sunset. Just so, even though the human being is losing his very essence which gives him his worth, he has not lost it totally. The sun - the human being - has not yet set. There is still hope. He can still recover and reclaim his brilliance and potential. The next verse will mention how to recover this loss. It will use the word Ṣāliḥāt which at its root means rectification and correction. By means of Ṣāliḥāt, a human being can reverse his state and recover his losses.
88 Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1474