إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
Humanity is in loss, except those who believe. (العصر: 2–3)
The oath draws attention, the emphatic statement names loss, the exception defines an escape, and the remaining clauses specify the qualities of the excepted group. Treating each as an isolated technical label would obscure the coherence of the argument.
Read alone, inna al-insāna la-fī khusr foregrounds warning. Once illā alladhīna appears, the text also opens a path of hope and action. The meaning of the whole passage depends on both portions, making the exception a decisive rhetorical turn.