O Muslims: Nations in their life have decisive issues that is, issues toward which one takes a single stance: life under them or death for them. The creed of Islam has specified for us, we the Muslims, our decisive issues; that is, those for which the measure taken is life or death.

This Surah is Makkan, revealed before the Hijrah (migration). It contains three verses, making it one of the shortest chapters in the Qur’an, similar to Surah Al-Kawthar and Surah Al-Nasr. It is named Al-Asr (The Time) because Allah swears by Al-Asr, which refers to time or part of it. Although this Surah consists of only a few verses with short passages,

The recent meeting between Trump and European leaders was a mirror that vividly reflected the profound disintegration eating away at the core of Western civilization. The West, despite its boastful claims...