Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: (And by time, indeed, man is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience).

The Shaykh : As for the second surah, it is Surat al-Asr. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: . This "waw" is for the oath, and "al-Asr" is the age. Allah swore by it because the age is the storehouse of storehouses for righteous or evil deeds. It is said that al-Asr is one hundred years, or one thousand years, or something similar, but the correct view is that it is the age in general.
. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, swore that man is in loss. Who is the man, O man? Who is the man? Answer, O man. Every man, every man. So "al-insan" here is like "al-insan" in His saying, the Exalted: . Man was created from what? Which man? Every man. And I will give our brothers who catch a whiff of grammar, who are not those who have had their fill of it, who catch the scent, that "al-", if it is correct that "kull" (every) can take its place, then it is for generality; it is for generality.
So here, is it correct to say that every man is in loss? Answer, everyone. Yes. And for this reason He said: .
The exception is the criterion of generality. Every man is in loss. And look how Allah, Mighty and Majestic, expressed it by saying: , and He did not say "for a loser," because "in loss" is greater and more eloquent. It is as if the loss is a vessel, as if it is a vessel, and the man is in the middle of it, meaning that the loss surrounds him from every side, because "fi" (in) indicates location, and the location surrounds what? It surrounds the located thing. So the meaning is that man is in loss except for these noble, distinguished, honorable gentlemen.
How many descriptions did He mention? Four. Those who believed in Allah and in what is obligatory to believe in, which is faith in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers and the Last Day and the divine decree, its good and its evil.
Meaning they did righteous deeds. And these are acts of worship built upon sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
The third description: Meaning some of them came to advise one another to the truth. And the truth is what the Shari'ah brought.