Loss and gain in time (al-khusr)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy presents Sura al-Asr as a sura that gathers all good for the Muslim. He explains that al-asr is not only the time between noon and sunset but the span of time a person lives. ¹ He says that God swears by time and by His creatures, and that a person's real lifespan is the period between birth and death. Whoever gains no good in his time is in loss. ²

The Sheikh says that the Arabs used to close their markets near the afternoon prayer, so that the afternoon recalled the end of buying and selling (needs_source: a historical statement not sourced in the recording). ³

The Sheikh says that trade is either profit or loss, that most people are in loss because time slips away from them, that whoever fears God is blessed in his time, and that he describes time as one of God's soldiers. ⁴ He likens the afternoon to the end of the day, and holds that whoever has not feared God throughout his life will realise his loss at its end. He explains the indefinite form of the word for loss in the sura as meant to magnify it, and gives the example of someone who prayed facing the wrong direction. ⁵ He holds that whoever neglects his qibla in life loses, as the one who prayed facing the wrong direction loses, and that the true qibla is turning toward God through righteous deeds. ⁶ He says that the greatest loss is for a person to waste his life far from sincerity, and that the heart must be cleared of showing off, vanity, pride, malice and envy. ⁷

The Sheikh tells of a man who used to weep in prayer and be moved by the Qur'an and by gatherings of knowledge, then grew cold. One of the scholars told him that a thief had entered his heart and stolen his faith (needs_source: the anecdote is not sourced in the recording). ⁸

The Sheikh holds that the believer affects others without changing from his principles, and that a person is in loss except one in whom the four categories the sura names are found. Verse 3 of Sura al-Asr ⁹

The Sheikh sums up the exception in the sura as those who believe and do righteous deeds, and those who add to these the call to truth and patience in it. He then opens the floor to questions from viewers. Verse 3 of Sura al-Asr ¹⁰

A viewer asks about the exception in the verse, and whether the four described are the only way. The Sheikh answers that these descriptions are sufficient and complete. Verse 3 of Sura al-Asr ¹¹

The Sheikh compares Sura al-Duha, in which gain is mentioned, with Sura al-Asr, in which loss is mentioned, and sees in this a facet of the inimitability of the Qur'an. Verse 1 of Sura al-Duha ¹² He lists the commands in Sura al-Duha, such as kindness to the orphan and the beggar and speaking of God's blessings, and holds that a person should set a programme for his life from the age of responsibility. Verse 9 of Sura al-Duha Verse 10 of Sura al-Duha ¹³

The Sheikh holds that the forenoon is the dawning of the light of faith in the heart, and that the afternoon recalls the end of life. He explains that God swears by His creatures to remind us of His blessings and of the need to make use of them. ¹⁴

The Sheikh holds that real life is the eternal life of the hereafter, and that whoever is among the four categories has the door of mercy and hope opened to him. He cites a saying about the bliss God prepared for the people of Paradise, without naming its narrator in the recording (needs_source: the saying is unnamed, and its text is not reproduced here). ¹⁵

The Sheikh says that the sura passes judgement of loss without naming its cause, because its forms vary from one person to another, while it names the causes of gain: faith, righteous deeds, the call to truth and patience. He holds that naming these causes opens the door of mercy. ¹⁶