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Friday, 16 January 2015

The Way to Salvation - The Real Meaning of “Wal-’Asr”

The Real Meaning of “Wal-’Asr”:


Let us take the word “Wal-’Asr” which we have simply translated as ‘taking an oath by time’.
The real meaning of ‘Asr’ is not only time, but a period which passes swiftly. 

In Arabic language the two words ‘Asr’ and ‘Dahr’ are very comprehensive. In both of them, not only time, but time-space complex is implied. Curiously enough in the Glorious Quran, there are surahs with the title of both ‘Asr’ and ‘Dahr. The word ‘Dahr’ connotes the vastness of the space-time continuum, or in the terminology of modern philosophy, absolute time or pure duration. 

The word ‘Asr’ connotes the sweep of time or its swift flow. In other words, ‘Asr’ means serial time.

In the word “WaI-’Asr” the letter ‘ ‘ (wa’w) is a preposition, and is used as an oath and testimonial. In short, the real meaning of the word “Wa/-’Asr” is that the swift passage of time through the ages bears witness and provides evidence for the statements that follow.

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