Time is the most precious asset or resource human beings have. We hear expressions such as ‘time is money’ and ‘time is wealth’ from the people who can fathom its value. It is, in fact, even more precious than wealth: Time is life!

Its supply is defined and limited. The maximum time available to us is our lifespan, the duration of which is not precisely known for any individual. Its end can come any time, whether we are ready or not. It is a non-renewable resource. Every moment gone is gone forever. It can never be brought back or repeated. We cannot stop it. Whether we utilize it for our advantage or not, it passes away.

And it is passing swiftly! Just look at the second hand on your watch, where every tick is indicating the passage of time that is gone forever. And the length of this tick is a long time. Light travels 186,000 miles in that time, while your computer executes millions of instructions. Think of a fast moving electronic ticker tape – the kind that displays stock market activity. Now imagine the passing of a continuous stream of milliseconds of your time (life) moving fast on that electronic ticker tape. It is with that speed you are moving towards the end of your time – your death.

Clearly, our success depends on how judiciously, effectively and efficiently we utilize our time in attaining our goals and objectives. The better a person is at it, the more successful an achiever he is. The weaker one is in its utilization, the bigger the loser he is. For example, a student’s objective is to properly learn the subject matter covered by the course he is taking and to obtain the maximum score in the test administered to evaluate his learning. His success depends upon how effectively and efficiently he utilizes his time in learning the subject matter and in demonstrating his knowledge and understanding of the subject matter during the test.

The time that has passed becomes history. History of nations is remembered and recorded. The Qur-aan also reminds us about the end results that previous nations faced. Thinking people can learn many lessons from history.

Al-‘Aŝr refers both to the fleeting nature of time (how quickly it is passing) and to the passed time that has become history.

Its historical aspect reminds us that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta‘aala always deals with communities of people precisely according to their collective behaviour. Those nations who did good deeds flourished and prospered. Those who were bad, corrupt or unjust, i.e. who did not live according to the guidance of Allaah, were losers. Those societies lost their peace and order as a consequence of their bad behaviour. In addition, they became weak, fell apart or were overrun by others. Or, after being given due respite, they were punished and destroyed.

Its fleeting nature reminds us that we have been put on this Earth to be tested for a limited time that is passing very fast. To pass the test, we must live our life the way our Lord wants us to live. Any moments not spent for the goals and objectives that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta‘aala wants us to achieve are opportunities wasted forever. Those who continue losing the opportunity are going to be the “utter losers”. From this point of view, we are like students who are writing an exam. The time a student does not spend doing the exam questions is time wasted that will result in the loss of marks. Our situation is even more precarious because we do not even know how soon our death may terminate our exam. We will never have an opportunity to make up for the lost time.

Another way of looking at it is that we have a limited amount of capital in the form of our time. Either we invest it and earn future profits from it, or we let it go to waste and become bankrupt. The time we spend in the activities geared to the attainment of our goals and objectives is being invested, while every other moment is wasted, never to be available again.

The swift speed of time also underscores another point: this temporary life is passing very fast and will be over before we know it. In this quickly passing brief life we have on Earth, a wise person uses this opportunity to focus on the goals and objectives pertaining to the eternal never-ending life, even if it entails sacrificing the goals and objectives pertaining to the temporary life of this world. A loser, on the other hand, falls for the transitory objectives and deprives himself of the eternal success. It is like a student spending his time on leisure activities instead of learning the subject matter of the course.

Thus, this Soorah presents time as an element which, if contemplated upon, shows that people who do not use their limited but precious time properly are utter losers.