Coolness of the eye - Some Wisdoms of the Surah of `Asr
Some Wisdoms of the Surah of `Asr 103
Tags: Surah-yi `Asr, `Asr, ya`sirun, Squeeze
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
"By the `Asr, indeed, man is in loss, except those who believe and do good deeds and exhort one another to truth (true knowledge) and exhort one another to patience" (103:1-3).
Wisdom 1: One of the meanings of the `asr is afternoon prayer (as-salatu'l-wusta, 2:238), by which is meant the Asas, namely, Hazrat `Ali-yi Murtaza (May peace be through him), see Wajh-i Din, Guftar or Kalam 20 (Urdu Translation).
Wisdom 2: Another meaning of the `asr is time, by which is meant the spiritual time, for it also implies meanings such as squeezing, essence, perfume, quintessence, substance, summary, result, etc. And there is no doubt that every cycle has two aspects, one relates to the physical or external aspect and the other to the spiritual or internal aspect. For instance, the external history of a nation cannot be as systematic and perfect as its record of deeds. This shows that the spiritual aspect of the time has paramount importance, which is related to the custodian of ta'wil, i.e. the custodian of the `asr, who is the Asas. And the proof of the spiritual time is established from the records of deeds of the ummats (45:28).
Wisdom 3: You can be certain that every word of God, in its meaning, encompasses and comprises the universe and the existents. Thus, Divine mercy and Qur'anic wisdom demand the mention here of that everlasting wealth also, by failing to attain which man is in loss. Yes, this is alluded to in the word "`asr", the key wisdom of which has already been referred to in the beginning. Further, God's Hand squeezes and enfolds the universe and the existents towards the personal world, so that a Paradise and a great kingdom may be established in the personal world. Thus, what can be a greater loss for a man, who due to negligence and ignorance, loses such a great kingdom.
Wisdom 4: See the example in verses (12:47-49): According to this example, in the world of religion, there are seven major cycles of the Natiqs and seven minor cycles of the Imams and then comes the cycle of the Qa'im, in which there is an abundant rain of spiritual knowledge and in which people will squeeze out fruits (ya`sirun, 12:49), i.e. they will do the ta'wil of the tanzil. Because according to the Qur'anic prophecy, this is the age of ta'wil (7:53). This is the explanation of "`asr" or "squeezing".
Wisdom 5: The law of nature always squeezes things. For instance, the minerals come into being by squeezing the earth and the mountains, the plants by squeezing minerals, animals by squeezing plants, man by squeezing the animals and the Perfect Man is the quintessence of the world of humanity. This is an external example of `asr, i.e. squeezing, which cannot be denied.
Wisdom 6: The great power and wisdom of God lies in that, by squeezing and enfolding the heavens and the earth, He makes the personal world, which contains everything. For God, in this process, in His infinite generosity, also places all His treasures (15:21) in it, and nothing is left out of it. You should study carefully, this law of treasures and this universal law in the Wise Qur'an, again and again.
Wisdom 7: The Hand of God always squeezes and enfolds the universe and the creatures it contains, yet the physical world and the spiritual world remain intact in their places. The secret of this is that the Lord of the world encompasses the inner form of all things in the personal world at the rank of the soul and then again at the rank of intellect.
Wisdom 8: Those who believe as God wishes, i.e. those who believe in God, the Prophet and the Revealed Light (64:8) and do good deeds and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to patience, are in great profit and that great profit is that they will be given the great kingdom of Paradise (76:20).
Wisdom 9: God, according to His wisdom, has created both good and evil in this world. The means of good is the true Guide and that of evil the one who misguides (muzill), i.e. Satan. But how is it possible that Satan should have a huge army and the true Guide should be without even a small army? Rather, it should be known that in this battle of good and evil, both sides are provided for equally with the necessary material for the struggle. Thus, if it is not difficult for Satan, to insinuate himself in the hearts of the people (11:5), and also to converse with them (17:64; 59:16), how can it be impossible for the true Guide to manifest himself in the hearts of mu'mins through his holy light (6:122) and grant them the wealth of knowledge and guidance?
Wisdom 10: The way true mu'mins exhort one another to truth and patience, furnishes the concept of equality and oneness. This is the description of the collective state in which they are human beings, the spiritual army (spiritual particles) and also angels. That is, they are human beings on the earth, the spiritual or heavenly army in the world of particles and in the world of the intellect, they are angels.
Wisdom 11: Those who said (with word, deed, knowledge and recognition), that our Sustainer is God and then they did "istiqamah" (i.e. they sought voluntary Qiyamat), the angels descend upon them... And they say we are your friends in this life and in the life Hereafter (41:30-31). It is obvious that mu'mins are friends to each other in the life of this world and those friendly angels are from the mu'mins.
Wisdom 12: In this wisdom-filled surah, there are eight topics: `asr (spiritual time), man, loss, faith, good deeds, exhortation, truth and patience. Thus, in the `asr are hidden very sacred meanings, therefore God swears by it. If man cannot attain the spiritual kingdom, he suffers a great loss. Faith or iman, which is mentioned here, is the perfect faith and similarly, the good deed also. The exhortation here is related to haqqu'l-yaqin or the truth of certainty, and patience is related to the severities of the personal Resurrection.
Allahumma salli `ala Muhammad in wa-ali Muhammad!
N. N. Hunzai, London,
6 Muharramu'l-haram, 1412/18th July, 1991.
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