Reflections on Sūrat-Al-ʿAṣr and Al-Shāfiʿī’s word about it
Al-Shāfiʿī said: “If Allah had not sent down any proof to His creation except this surah, it would have sufficed them.”
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
﴿﴿١﴾ وَٱلْعَصْرِ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ﴿٣﴾ ﴾
By Time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except those who have faith, do good, advise each other to truth, and advise each other to patience.
I say: In the text of “The Three Fundamental Principles” which is studied by beginners among the Salafi students of knowledge, there is a phrase attributed to Al-Shāfiʿī:
If Allah had not sent down any proof to His creation except this surah, it would have sufficed them.
Of course, most sheikhs and students, young and old, ponder this word of Al-Shāfiʿī because it is in a text that everyone passes through when they first make their way in seeking knowledge.
Today, after a long absence from pondering this word, I returned to it with a mind other than the one from the past, and the truthfulness of Al-Shāfiʿī’s word truly became clear to me. This surah has a unique miraculous nature, as it summarizes the question of existence from A to Z in phrases that are easy on the tongue to pronounce and easy on the mind to memorize.
“Indeed, mankind is in loss...”
...Every human being. And this refutes humanism, since the default state of man is loss and failure, unless he has support from the heavens. Because, otherwise, he has no valid purpose, and he is not the center of the universe, but rather one of Allah’s creations, that has no value if he does not implement the purpose for which he came.
“[It] is in loss...”
...Whether one is rich or poor, whether one benefits humanity in worldly matters or not, whether one is intelligent and eloquent, or dull and ineloquent, whether one is male or female, whether one is from an advanced or a backward country — and this refutes all the deviant ideologies such as capitalism, socialism, materialism, feminism, naturalism, utilitarianism, etc. — All of these are in loss except “those who have faith” i.e. achieved the teleology. And notice the emphasizing of the correct faith that is necessary, and which is despised by those whose minds are dominated by materialism, so they say about the disbelievers: “I saw Islam without Muslims.” And they say about the disbelievers: “Why don’t they enter Paradise when they have benefited humanity?” And some of them say: “Religion is behavior,” and they do not mean the correct meaning by that but rather they mean to marginalize the correct faith.
And they are deceitful in their claim, including their assumption of a non-exhaustive division: either one is a bad believer or a good disbeliever, as if there cannot be a good believer, knowing that disbelief is greater than every sin committed by a Muslim that does not take him out of the fold of Islam. But these people deify themselves and make those who benefit them and fulfill what they see as their right greater than those who fulfilled the right of Allah the Almighty.
And this type of people push the most people away from Islam, despite their frequent talk about others pushing people away from Islam, because the bitterness of a medicine may push a sick person away from it, but he would soon learn to endure it in the hope of regaining his health, but if you convince him that he is not sick at all and that he’s better than healthy people, the how and when will he ever take the medicine?
“[And who] do good...”
...Because faith is not just words spoken. And ponder His Words: “Good” includes all acts of obedience to Allah. Today, many people belittle prayer, fasting, Hajj, and other great righteous deeds that save from loss, under the pretext that they do not see any material benefit in them, to the point that some of them have taken the habit of belittling something from the jurisprudence of ablutions, prayer, Hajj, or fasting whenever they mention the issues of the Ummah. Even if his intentions were good, this is a terrible way that belittles the status of the Rites of Allah in the hearts that are plagued and assaulted by secularist values from every side, so the last thing they need is your smarty-pants attitude.
Many people understand the difference in righteous deeds and that people are on different levels, but they do not understand the difference in correct faith, so you find them despising the study of creed, and this is contrary to what the apparent meaning of the Qur’an indicates.
“[And] advise each other to truth...”
...Today, many of those whom Allah has blessed with faith and righteous deeds limit this right to themselves and do not enjoin one another to truth, sometimes under the pretext of fear of showing off, sometimes under the pretext of fear of harm, sometimes under the pretext of having bad character, and other satanic doubts and whispers. You are ordered to do what is required of you according to your ability and do not ask people for a reward, but the reward is with Allah.
“And advise each other to patience...”
...And in this is a profound indication that the absolute empowerment that many young people dream of, where there is not much patience but only the soothing of the hearts, is not a condition for the correctness of the methodology and is not a condition for succeeding and escaping loss, but rather a person may be powerless in this world or in partial empowerment or in a state that fluctuates between empowerment and powerlessness, but he is among the great winners with Allah and he feels its blessings in his worldly life what turns it into permanent bliss for him, regardless of his state as perceived by people through their mortal perceptions.