Surat Al-`Asr (The Declining Day, Eventide, The Epoch, Time) is the 103rd sura of the Qur'an. It contains 3 ayat, and is believed to be an early Makkan sura (although a few commentators consider it Madinan.) It is said to have sparked the conversion of Amr ibn al-As after he recited it to the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylimah and he responded with a "sura" about the hyrax which Amr ibn al-As rejected as absurd. Its text (in Shakir's translation, slightly edited for literalism) is:

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

1. By the time,
2. Most surely man is in loss,
3. Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

The word "asr", translated here as "time", may also refer specifically to the late afternoon (the time of the asr salat.)

Certain Shia sources cite a hadith in the Majma' ul-Bayan [1] claiming that Ali recited the following, presumed to be a different form of the same sura:

1. By the age and the misfortunes of time
2. Most surely man is in loss,
3. And he is in it until the end of time.

These reports are not considered credible among Sunnis, and are treated with reserve by most Shia.