ONE AYAT A DAY

Surah Al-'Asr, Ayah 2

Read all of Surah Al-'Asr

اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَفِيْ خُسْرٍۙ

Innal-insāna lafī khusr(in).

Indeed, mankind is in loss,

Tafsir (Ibn Kathir)

Which was revealed in MakkahHow `Amr bin Al-`As was aware of the Qur'an's Miracle due to this SurahThey have mentioned that `Amr bin Al-`As went to visit Musaylimah Al-Kadhdhab after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was commissioned (as a Prophet) and before `Amr had accepted Islam. Upon his arrival, Musaylimah said to him, "What has been revealed to your friend (Muhammad ﷺ ) during this time" `Amr said, "A short and concise Surah has been revealed to him." Musaylimah then said, "What is it" `Amr replied;وَالْعَصْرِ - إِنَّ الإِنسَـنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ - إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِالصَّبْرِ(By Al-`Asr. Verily, man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and recommend one another to the truth, and recommend one another to patience.) So Musaylimah thought for a while. Then he said, "Indeed something similar has also been revealed to me." `Amr asked him, "What is it" He replied, "O Wabr (a small, furry mammal; hyrax), O Wabr! You are only two ears and a chest, and the rest of you is digging and burrowing." Then he said, "What do you think, O `Amr" So `Amr said to him, "By Allah! Verily, you know that I know you are lying." I saw that Abu Bakr Al-Khara'iti mentioned a chain of narration for part of this story, or what was close to its meaning, in volume two of his famous book Masawi' ul-Akhlaq. The Wabr is…