All worship depends on utilising our time correctly. If we fail to pay attention to this, then all our actions go to waste. Through this act, we attain Paradise and we are protected from Hellfire. Our success is based upon the way we utilise our time.
وَالْعَصْرِ . إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ .
"By Time! Indeed, mankind is in loss." [103:1&2]
Allah ta'ala swears by the time to show its importance and to warn us from wasting it. The human being is in loss if he does not understand the importance of time. Hadhrat Imam Shafi'ee رحمة الله عليه says that this verse is enough for our success even if there was no other verse present in the Quran.
In this verse of Surah Asr, the entire deen has been encapsulated. Time is very valuable. The commentators explain that time is what delivers a person to success or failure.
Shaytan does not allow us to recognise the importance of time and he encourages us to waste our time by occupying ourselves in futile activities. He tempts us towards those worldly things which will cause loss to our Imaan. Therefore, we become lost in this world if we fail to understand the importance of time
All success is based upon time. We must spend every moment of our life earning for the Hereafter. Most of us are cautious regarding how we spend our money. Similarly, we should be cautious over the way we utilise our time. We should treat time as a precious commodity too.
Allah ta'ala commands us to keep a beard and this beard which is always visible to us, carries a sign. The beard is such a thing which changes from black to white over time. Through this transformation, Allah ta'ala reminds us regarding time. Those who are influenced by Shaytan, trim the beard and they eliminate this reminder. In this way, Shaytan makes a person complacent with his lack of adherence to Sunnah.
In reality, every hair of the beard is a testimony to that individual that such a person has appreciated time.
Time refers to three things combined. The past, the present and the future. All three are significant. These three parts are intertwined. Therefore, when a person wastes his time, he wastes all three and gives loss to all three.
The present is the most important, as it controls the past and the future. If you control your present, your past becomes brilliant and you become optimistic regarding your future. The one who rectifies his present, is a successful person because his past and future become great. Whosoever’s past is good, he works hard for a better future. If your present is good, your past is filled with good memories and it is secured as an asset. Furthermore, with a beautiful present, you are lighting up your future which you will soon meet. Living in such a way, makes one truly successful.
We should utilise our present by adopting good deeds. The one who benefits his present state, has become a complete believer as he did not waste time.
The present state is extremely valuable and if our present is wasted, our past and future is also wasted, which is why Shaytan seeks to make us waste our present.
If we focus on the present and perform rightful actions, it will be the cause our past and future to become illuminated. This is the way of a believer.
Allah ta'ala has granted us worship to perform during the day to connect ourselves with Allah ta'ala. Outside prayers we should be occupied in earning towards the Hereafter and protecting ourselves from wasting time.
"Except those who have faith and performed righteous deeds.." [103:3]
How to improve our present time?
Time becomes valuable with Imaan. We should be grateful for our faith which illuminates our present and past. After faith, righteous deeds make our present extremely beautiful. Righteous deeds here refers to those actions performed in accordance to the Shariah and the Sunnah.
We must focus on the imitation and obedience to the Prophet ﷺ in order to beautify our present. Without this, our present cannot be improved and we are merely wasting time.
وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ
"...and urge each other to the truth," [103:3]
Haqq refers to the true deen of Islam and certainty. It also refers to turning away from wrongdoing and deception and turning towards the path which Allah ta'ala has prescribed. If we fail to do this, we are contaminated by shirk.
We must adopt the true deen if we wish to be saved from shirk. We should stand upon the truth with firmness and without fear. We should submit to Allah ta'ala and not to anyone else. We should establish ourselves upon this path and stick to it without wavering in our practice. We should be connected to Allah ta'ala with every second of our life.
In every aspect of life, we must question whether our actions are in accordance to Shariah. If we fail to rectify our present, we have destroyed both our past and future as they are all connected together and we become destined for Hellfire.
وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ.
"..and urge each other to perseverance." [103:3]
All goodness and protection are based upon the true deen. The one who stands firm upon the deen, will certainly face trials. His life may be far from enjoyable. He will never be wealthy upon the truth as he will never engage in usury, fraud and theft. However, he must exercise patience.
Patience refers to persevering without complaining to Allah ta'ala. One should not complain even with his thoughts. Patience refers to being pleased with the decree of Allah ta'ala no matter what occurs in one life.
We must adhere to four things. We must believe in Allah ta'ala, take hold of the Prophet ﷺ's teachings so that we aren't deviated after adopting Imaan. We should stick to the deen without submitting to other nations. We must exercise patience after enduring difficulties.
If we live such a lifestyle, we will be welcomed in to Paradise by the angels from all four sides. Such a person's rewards will be endless. He will be granted Jannatu Adn.
We must decorate our present with Imaan, Sunnah, Truth and Patience.
In this world, we have commitments and responsibilities to fulfil. At the same time, we must not spoil our present. Allah ta'ala orders us to remember Him in abundance and to follow the Sunnah. Through this, our present is constantly shining as Allah ta'ala remembers the one who remembers Him.
We must learn the dhikr of the heart. In this way, when we are physically occupied with worldly responsibilities, our heart remains occupied in His dhikr and our present is improved.
If we implement what we have been taught today and we learn dhikr, we are decorating our present.
We should ask Allah ta'ala for Aafiyah - ease and goodness in this world and the Hereafter and we should stick to the truth. Through this supplication, we will adhere to the true path and be protected from calamities befalling us.
We must live in this world and fulfil our desires, however, they must be within the limits of Shariah. If we are financially restricted, we must be satisfied with our condition. We should not attach our heart to the world. If we attain wealth, we must be grateful and if we are deprived, we should not feel loss.
Dhikr of the heart is learnt by a Sheikh. There are thirty five levels of dhikr which we must learn. When a student approaches his Sheikh, admits his mistakes and repents, Allah ta'ala elevates such a student, as well as his future. If he is sincere, even his past which was full of loss will be transformed in to positivity.
If anyone desires to depart this world with Imaan, he must keep reciting Surah Asr.
When the pious predecessors would meet each other, they would recite this Surah to each other. We should uphold this habit in order to protect our Imaan.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen
12th Sep, 2025
This bayan is a priceless treasure and a Sarmaya e Hayat for me. May Allah Taala bless you immensely my beloved Murshid. Ameen.
All worship depends on utilising our time correctly. If we fail to pay attention to this, then all our actions go to waste. Through this act, we attain Paradise and we are protected from Hellfire. Our success is based upon the way we utilise our time.
وَالْعَصْرِ . إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ .
"By Time! Indeed, mankind is in loss." [103:1&2]
Allah ta'ala swears by the time to show its importance and to warn us from wasting it. The human being is in loss if he does not understand the importance of time. Hadhrat Imam Shafi'ee رحمة الله عليه says that this verse is enough for our success even if there was no other verse present in the Quran.
In this verse of Surah Asr, the entire deen has been encapsulated. Time is very valuable. The commentators explain that time is what delivers a person to success or failure.
Shaytan does not allow us to recognise the importance of time and he encourages us to waste our time by occupying ourselves in futile activities. He tempts us towards those worldly things which will cause loss to our Imaan. Therefore, we become lost in this world if we fail to understand the importance of time
All success is based upon time. We must spend every moment of our life earning for the Hereafter. Most of us are cautious regarding how we spend our money. Similarly, we should be cautious over the way we utilise our time. We should treat time as a precious commodity too.
Allah ta'ala commands us to keep a beard and this beard which is always visible to us, carries a sign. The beard is such a thing which changes from black to white over time. Through this transformation, Allah ta'ala reminds us regarding time. Those who are influenced by Shaytan, trim the beard and they eliminate this reminder. In this way, Shaytan makes a person complacent with his lack of adherence to Sunnah.
In reality, every hair of the beard is a testimony to that individual that such a person has appreciated time.
Time refers to three things combined. The past, the present and the future. All three are significant. These three parts are intertwined. Therefore, when a person wastes his time, he wastes all three and gives loss to all three.
The present is the most important, as it controls the past and the future. If you control your present, your past becomes brilliant and you become optimistic regarding your future. The one who rectifies his present, is a successful person because his past and future become great. Whosoever’s past is good, he works hard for a better future. If your present is good, your past is filled with good memories and it is secured as an asset. Furthermore, with a beautiful present, you are lighting up your future which you will soon meet. Living in such a way, makes one truly successful.
We should utilise our present by adopting good deeds. The one who benefits his present state, has become a complete believer as he did not waste time.
The present state is extremely valuable and if our present is wasted, our past and future is also wasted, which is why Shaytan seeks to make us waste our present.
If we focus on the present and perform rightful actions, it will be the cause our past and future to become illuminated. This is the way of a believer.
Allah ta'ala has granted us worship to perform during the day to connect ourselves with Allah ta'ala. Outside prayers we should be occupied in earning towards the Hereafter and protecting ourselves from wasting time.
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ
"Except those who have faith and performed righteous deeds.." [103:3]
How to improve our present time?
Time becomes valuable with Imaan. We should be grateful for our faith which illuminates our present and past. After faith, righteous deeds make our present extremely beautiful. Righteous deeds here refers to those actions performed in accordance to the Shariah and the Sunnah.
We must focus on the imitation and obedience to the Prophet ﷺ in order to beautify our present. Without this, our present cannot be improved and we are merely wasting time.
وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ
"...and urge each other to the truth," [103:3]
Haqq refers to the true deen of Islam and certainty. It also refers to turning away from wrongdoing and deception and turning towards the path which Allah ta'ala has prescribed. If we fail to do this, we are contaminated by shirk.
We must adopt the true deen if we wish to be saved from shirk. We should stand upon the truth with firmness and without fear. We should submit to Allah ta'ala and not to anyone else. We should establish ourselves upon this path and stick to it without wavering in our practice. We should be connected to Allah ta'ala with every second of our life.
In every aspect of life, we must question whether our actions are in accordance to Shariah. If we fail to rectify our present, we have destroyed both our past and future as they are all connected together and we become destined for Hellfire.
وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ.
"..and urge each other to perseverance." [103:3]
All goodness and protection are based upon the true deen. The one who stands firm upon the deen, will certainly face trials. His life may be far from enjoyable. He will never be wealthy upon the truth as he will never engage in usury, fraud and theft. However, he must exercise patience.
Patience refers to persevering without complaining to Allah ta'ala. One should not complain even with his thoughts. Patience refers to being pleased with the decree of Allah ta'ala no matter what occurs in one life.
We must adhere to four things. We must believe in Allah ta'ala, take hold of the Prophet ﷺ's teachings so that we aren't deviated after adopting Imaan. We should stick to the deen without submitting to other nations. We must exercise patience after enduring difficulties.
If we live such a lifestyle, we will be welcomed in to Paradise by the angels from all four sides. Such a person's rewards will be endless. He will be granted Jannatu Adn.
We must decorate our present with Imaan, Sunnah, Truth and Patience.
In this world, we have commitments and responsibilities to fulfil. At the same time, we must not spoil our present. Allah ta'ala orders us to remember Him in abundance and to follow the Sunnah. Through this, our present is constantly shining as Allah ta'ala remembers the one who remembers Him.
We must learn the dhikr of the heart. In this way, when we are physically occupied with worldly responsibilities, our heart remains occupied in His dhikr and our present is improved.
If we implement what we have been taught today and we learn dhikr, we are decorating our present.
We should ask Allah ta'ala for Aafiyah - ease and goodness in this world and the Hereafter and we should stick to the truth. Through this supplication, we will adhere to the true path and be protected from calamities befalling us.
We must live in this world and fulfil our desires, however, they must be within the limits of Shariah. If we are financially restricted, we must be satisfied with our condition. We should not attach our heart to the world. If we attain wealth, we must be grateful and if we are deprived, we should not feel loss.
Dhikr of the heart is learnt by a Sheikh. There are thirty five levels of dhikr which we must learn. When a student approaches his Sheikh, admits his mistakes and repents, Allah ta'ala elevates such a student, as well as his future. If he is sincere, even his past which was full of loss will be transformed in to positivity.
If anyone desires to depart this world with Imaan, he must keep reciting Surah Asr.
When the pious predecessors would meet each other, they would recite this Surah to each other. We should uphold this habit in order to protect our Imaan.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen