Surah Al-Asr: Meaning, English Translation and Transliteration

Surah Al-Asr is one of the shortest surahs in the Quran: three verses, about fourteen words in Arabic. Many Muslims know it by heart from childhood and recite it in their prayers. Yet in those three verses it sums up what a human life is for, and what it takes to make sure it isn't wasted.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning verse by verse.

The full surah

وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَفِي خُسۡرٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ

Transliteration

1. Wal-ʿaṣr
2. Innal-insāna lafī khusr
3. Illal-ladhīna āmanū wa ʿamiluṣ-ṣāliḥāti wa tawāṣaw bil-ḥaqqi wa tawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabr

English translation (Saheeh International)

By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (103:1-3)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

وَالۡعَصۡرِۙ اِنَّ الۡاِنۡسَانَ لَفِىۡ خُسۡرٍۙ اِلَّا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالۡحَقِّ ۙ وَتَوَاصَوۡا بِالصَّبۡرِ

You can read and listen to Surah Al-Asr with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Al-Asr is the 103rd surah of the Quran and sits in the 30th juz, among the short surahs that most people memorise first. Most scholars count it as Meccan, from the early years of the Prophet's ﷺ mission. It takes its name from its first word.

Imam al-Shāfiʿī is reported to have said that if people reflected on this surah alone, it would be enough for them. He did not mean that the rest of the Quran is unnecessary, but that these three verses hold the whole path in outline: what to believe, how to act, and how to live with others.

Verse 1: "By time"

وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ

The surah opens with an oath. The wa at the start means "by", as in "I swear by", so wal-ʿaṣr is "by al-ʿaṣr". When Allah swears by something in the Quran, it draws attention to it: the thing sworn by is significant, and often it is evidence for what follows.

The word al-ʿaṣr has more than one meaning, and the commentators mention several:

• Time itself, the passing of the ages. This is the most widely held view, and the one Saheeh International follows with "By time", adding in a footnote that Allah "swears by time throughout the ages".
• The late afternoon, the last part of the day, which is also why the afternoon prayer is called ʿAṣr.
• The era of the Prophet ﷺ, according to some.

All of these point the same way. Time is the one thing every person is given and no one can get back, and the afternoon is the day running out. The oath sets up what follows: a life is made of time, and it is passing.

Verse 2: "Mankind is in loss"

إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَفِي خُسۡرٍ

Indeed, mankind is in loss, (103:2)

The verse is emphatic in Arabic: it begins with inna ("indeed") and adds la- ("surely") before fī khusr. Not just at risk of loss, but in it, surrounded by it. Khusr is the word a trader uses for a deal where they end up with less than they started with.

Every hour that passes is spent, whether or not we choose how to spend it. Left to drift, a life ends with everything given out and nothing of lasting value in return. That is the default, and the next verse is the only exception.

Verse 3: The four ways out of loss

إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ

Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (103:3)

The exception names four qualities. Scholars note that they come in two pairs: the first two make a person right in themselves, the second two reach out to others.

1. Faith (āmanū). Believing in Allah and what He has revealed is the foundation. Without it, nothing else in the list holds together.
2. Righteous deeds (ʿamiluṣ-ṣāliḥāt). Faith is not only a feeling: throughout the Quran it is paired with action, and here too it shows itself in prayer, honesty, kindness and every other good deed.
3. Advising one another to the truth (tawāṣaw bil-ḥaqq). The verb tawāṣaw describes something people do to each other. It is not one person lecturing everyone else, but believers reminding each other, and being willing to be reminded, of what is true and right.
4. Advising one another to patience (tawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabr). Holding to the truth is hard: there is patience in doing what is right, in staying away from what is wrong, and in bearing what one cannot change. People need each other to keep going.

The surah does not say that those who are personally good are saved and leave it there. Being saved from loss includes caring whether the people around you are also on the right path, and helping them stay there.

How the Companions used it

There is a report that when two of the Prophet's ﷺ Companions met, they would not part until one of them had recited Surah Al-Asr to the other, and then they would greet each other with salām. It is reported by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ and by al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān.

Whatever its chain, the practice it describes is the surah's own advice put into action: friends reminding each other of the truth and of patience before they go their separate ways.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ	wal-ʿaṣr	by time
إِنَّ	inna	indeed
ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ	al-insāna	mankind
لَفِي خُسۡرٍ	la-fī khusr	is surely in loss
إِلَّا	illā	except
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ	alladhīna āmanū	those who believed
وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ	wa ʿamiluṣ-ṣāliḥāt	and did righteous deeds
وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ	wa tawāṣaw bil-ḥaqq	and advised each other to truth
وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ	wa tawāṣaw biṣ-ṣabr	and advised each other to patience

Living by Surah Al-Asr

• Notice where your time goes. The surah begins by swearing by time. At the end of a day, ask what the hours were exchanged for.
• Pair belief with action. Choose one good deed you can do consistently, however small.
• Keep company that reminds you. Look for friends who will tell you the truth and help you be patient, and be that friend for them.
• Recite it in your prayers. Because it is short, it is an easy surah to recite after Al-Fatihah, and doing so keeps its message in front of you every day.

Three verses is a small enough surah to memorise today if you don't know it already. Open Surah Al-Asr and listen to the recitation a few times while following the words.