Time is a witness, that man is surely in a state of loss, except for those who believe and do good deeds and exhort one another to hold fast to the Truth, and who exhort one another to steadfastness. (THE QURAN 103:1-3)
AL-ASR (The Time) is the one hundred and third chapter of the Quran. In this chapter the Quran refers to time. What is time? Time is a passing phenomenon; it is always in a state of travel, from present to future, from morning to evening, from today to tomorrow. Time is beyond our control, we can never stop time. In making this reference, the Quran gives a very important lesson, one which is important for all. This lesson is: take time as an opportunity. Avail of time before it passes away forever. If we miss the train of time, we will never be able to catch it again.
Al-Razi, one of the commentators of the Quran, says: “I was pondering over the meaning of this Quranic verse while I was in Baghdad. Why does the Quran say that time is a witness for man? Then I heard the voice of an ice vendor. He was calling out to people, ‘O people, purchase my goods before they melt away and vanish.’ The phenomenon of ice successfully explains this Quranic verse.Everyone’s life is like a melting block of ice. Everyone is constantly losing time. When we rise in the morning, we have lost the night, to which we cannot return again. As evening nears we have lost the day. By these verses, the Quran warns every human being to avail of time. We should avail of the opportunities of the day that we will not get during the night, and avail of the opportunities of the night that we will not get during the day.
Take time as an opportunity. Avail of time before it passes away forever. If we miss the train of time, we will never be able to catch it again.
In other words, with these verses the Quran tells us the importance of time management. Time management is a must for all of us. We have a very short time here on this earth. In only a few years’ time, we will face death. We should undertake a serious planning of our time in order to avail properly of our pre-death period. We have only two options before us, either to avail of the time wisely or face failure forever.
