After that the word has been used in the sense of -absolute time...

After that the word has been used in the sense of -absolute time, in general; the course in the history of Man or a part of it, such as the appearance of Islam and the Call of the holy Prophet (S), and the like.

This is why commentators have provided different probable meanings for the commentary of the oath which are given as follows: Some have rendered it to mean the time of 'evening' with the evidence that in some other verses of the Holy Qur'an an oath is taken to the beginning of the day, like Surah Duha, No. 93, verse 1: "By the Glorious Morning Light", or Surah Muddaththir, No. 74, verse 34: "And by the Dawn as it shineth forth".

This oath is made due to the importance that this time of day has, since this time is the time when the regularity in the life of Man varies; daily activities end, people return to their homes, birds and cattle come back to their shelters, the sun sets on the horizon in the West, and night gradually falls. This variation attracts Man's attention to the endless, everlasting power of Allah dominating over this regularity.

It is, indeed, a sign out of the signs of the Divine Unity that deserves an oath to be taken to. Some others consider it to be the 'Time' through the ages of the history of Mankind, which is full of lessons and teachings from the startling events which have occurred. For the same reason, it has such a dignity that matches the Divine Oath.

Some have emphasized on a proper part of the time like the Age of the Holy Prophet (S) or the Rise of the twelfth Imam, 'Mahdi' (as), which has peculiar specialities and a definite glory in the history of Man, to which, they say, the oath refers to.

[^2] Some have also referred to the original meaning of the term and say that the oath points to the various kinds of stresses and difficulties that happen during the lives of people which awaken them from their neglectful sleep, reminds them of Allah, and develops the spirit of patience and constancy in them. Some other commentators have taken it to mean 'the chosen ones' who are the 'pick of the crop' in the world of creation.

And finally, some others have rendered the word' 'Asr' to mean the ceremonial afternoon prayer for its special importance among the obligatory prayers, because they interpret /salat-i-wusta/, on which the Qur'an emphasizes particularly, as afternoon prayer.