In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

The Messenger [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said, “Verily ahead of you is the era of patience during which (one’s firm) adherence (to the religion) will be the reward of fifty men”. [1]

Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdil Wahhaab [may Allah have mercy upon him] said: Know, may Allah have mercy upon you, that it is obligatory upon you to have knowledge of the four matters: (i) Knowledge (al – ‘ilm), which is knowledge and awareness of Allah, and knowledge of His Prophet, and knowledge of the religion of Islam with the proofs. (ii) Action upon that. (iii) Calling to that. (iv) Patiently persevering and bearing any harm encountered upon that way. The proof is the saying of Allah [The Most High]:

وَٱلۡعَصۡرِ
إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسۡرٍ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡاْ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ

By time, mankind is in loss, except for those who truly believe and worship Allah alone, and do righteous deeds, performing that which is obligatory upon them and avoiding that which they are forbidden and enjoin one another with patient perseverance upon obedience to Allah and in facing harm and trials. [Surah Al ‘Asr]

Ash Shaafi’ee [may Allah have mercy upon him] said, “If Allah had sent down to His creation no other proof besides this Surah, it would have been sufficient for them”. [2]

Imam Ibn Qayyim [may Allah have mercy upon him] said: Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee [may Allah have mercy upon him] said, “If all the people pondered upon this Surah, it would have sufficed them”. This affair clarifies that the fulfilment of the four affairs in this Surah will lead a person to attain the highest level of human perfection. The first affair is acquaintance with the truth, the second is to act upon the truth, the third is to teach the truth to the one who does not know and the fourth affair is to exercise patience whilst learning the truth, acting upon it and teaching. Allah mentioned these four levels in this Surah and made an oath by Time – that everyone is in a state of loss except those who believe and perform righteous deeds, and they are those who act upon the truth they know, enjoin one another to the truth whilst exercising patience in the path and being steadfast. This is the pinnacle of human perfection because perfection necessitates that a person attain perfection himself and enable others to attain it. This is attained through rectification of the strength of one’s knowledge and action- rectification of the strength of one’s knowledge is attained by way of Iman and rectification of the strength of one’s actions is attained through righteous deeds; then enabling others to attain this perfection (i.e. by the will of Allah) through teaching, exercising patience upon this path and enjoining one another to exercise patience in the path of knowledge and righteous action. This Surah, despite its shortness, is one of the most comprehensive Suras of the Qur’an that gathers good in its entirety, and all praise and thanks are due to Allah Who revealed and assured that His Book is sufficient besides everything else – a cure for every disease and a guide to every good. [3]

It is not enough that they know the truth and exercise patience, rather they have to command, guide, and urge one another to act upon it. And when it is the fact that others besides these people are losers, it is well known that disobedience and sins blind the sound discernment (or perception, foresight) of the hearts, so they do not understand the truth as it should be and their strength of determination is weakened due to not exercising patience; rather the heart is exposed to haphazard thoughts until its understanding goes the opposite way and likewise the person’s conduct, so he perceives falsehood as truth and truth as falsehood, good as evil and evil as good. His conduct goes the opposite way- turns away from his journey towards attaining the Pleasure of Allah and the home of the afterlife (i.e paradise) and proceeds towards the residence of the futile souls that are pleased with the worldly life, satisfied with it, heedless of Allah and His signs (revelation, lessons, etc), and abandons preparing to meet Allah (i.e. by way of upright believe and righteous deeds). (I) Had there not been any other punishment due to one’s sins other than this, it would have been (enough as a) demand that one abandon this path and distance from it. And Allah’s Aid sought! [4]

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Footnote (I): The Imam stated: “If a person prefers what is deficient and will eventually cease to exist, then that is either because the virtue of (the afterlife) is not manifested to him or due to a lack of desiring what is more virtuous. Both these two states are an indication of weakness in Iman, intellect, and clear-sightedness, because indeed the one who desires the worldly life- the one who gives it precedence and is eager for it, either testifies that there is what is more virtuous and everlasting, or he does not testify. If he does not testify (i.e. that the Hereafter is more virtuous and everlasting), he is completely devoid of Iman; however if he testifies (i.e. that the Hereafter is more virtuous and everlasting) but does not give it precedence, then his intellect is corrupt and he has made an evil choice for himself. These two (testimonies) are inevitable and a servant cannot escape them, because giving precedence to the worldly life over the Hereafter is either due to corruption in Iman or due to corruption of one’s intellect, and in many cases, both of them are combined (in a person)”. [5]

[1] Saheeh al-Jaami 2234

[2] Translation of the “Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles” By Shaikh Abu Talhah [may Allah have mercy upon him and his wife]

[3] An Excerpt from Miftaah Daarus Sa’aadah page 61. slightly paraphrased

[4] An Excerpt from Al-Jawaab Al-Kaafi 135-136. slightly paraphrased

[5] Al-Fawaa’id page 137