Sūrat al-Kawthar

سورۃ الکوثر

Sūrat al-Kawthar, Makkī — revealed in Makkah. It has three (3) āyāt.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillāhi l-Raḥmāni l-Raḥīm.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

Innā aʿṭaynāka l-kawthar.

"Indeed, We have given you al-Kawthar." (al-Kawthar 108:1)

Innā — indeed, certainly, We have — in the original truly and definitely. Aʿṭaynāka — We have given you, bestowed upon you. Al-kawthar — the Kawthar — the river of abundant goodness. Kawthar — what is this very great thing? It is an incredible thing — al-ghayfar — a great deal of good. Consider — the Islamic world is poised to remain until the Day of Resurrection — even many sects refuse to accept it. Ḥażrat ﷺ — being God's Messenger and the Messenger of everything — has made intercession for sinners in his Umma — and the Kawthar is one of the rivers of Paradise — on the Day of Resurrection there is a great pool (ḥawḍ) in Makkah — the thirsty followers of Muḥammad ﷺ will be given to drink from it there — and we are all Muslims who stretch out our hands — and some people of other faiths call it the "propagation cup (kauthar)" — whatever may be the name. Ḥażrat ﷺ says: the Kawthar is the river of abundant goodness — the great river of good — it is from the Islamic mission — it includes the mission of Ḥażrat ﷺ — and also the Muslims of all other sects who stretch their hands — and some small benefit also comes from that.

Muslims are not working hard — the progress of Islam is not from the efforts of Muslims but from the personal goodness of Muḥammad Muṣṭafā ﷺ. Islam is advancing — the number of followers of other faiths is diminishing as compared to the population of Muslims which is growing. Ḥażrat ﷺ has made duʿāʾ for the Umma — he has put an enormously great thing up for our intercession — and Kawthar too is a very great river — for one who pains the feet of Ḥażrat ﷺ — and all other faiths try to hinder the mission of Ḥażrat ﷺ — they are deprived of success.

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

fa-ṣalli li-rabbika wa-nḥar.

"So pray to your Lord and sacrifice." (al-Kawthar 108:2)

Fa-ṣallī — so pray — go to the masājid and see how many people pray. Li-rabbika — for your Lord. Rabb — Lord who reaches you to completeness — offer sacrifice — wanḥar — and sacrifice, slaughter an animal. Go to Makkah al-Mukarrama and see — go on Ḥajj — where hundreds of thousands of people perform the pillar of Islam.

Translation: "So offer your Lord's prayer and give sacrifice."

Esteemed readers! Be mindful of prayer — how much of the Qurʾān is contained in prayer! It is an ascent (miʿrāj) of the heart — the ṣalawāt upon him are included in it — in prayer one worships in the manner of a tree standing — in rukūʿ it is the worship of animals prostrating on the earth — in sajda one collapses to the ground — one releases movement from one's body — finishing the prayer one makes salām to the right and left Muslims — the special characteristic of Islamic prayer is that you cannot practise with anything else. Islam has four fundamental acts: prayer, fasting, zakāt, and Ḥajj — here prayer and Ḥajj are mentioned and zakāt is recalled — fasting and Ḥajj's reminder is not here. However, prayer is the foundation — one who maintains prayer fully establishes zakāt and gives well — one who maintains these things is a good Muslim. Some people say regarding fa-ṣallī li-rabbika wa-nḥar that the second word is from naḥr (slaughter) — those people hold that the nāfirīn (devotees) who come to the ḥajj from the direction of the qibla, facing the qibla — and some say this means raf ʿ al-yadayn (raising the hands) — because the literal meaning of prayer is that it expresses nearness to God and through the sijda (prostration) closeness is attained — some say this means the descendants of Quraysh, of Walīd ibn al-Mughīra, the enemy of Ḥażrat ﷺ — because they will take the name of the family in the world — but this is the name of the descendants who will come — from the spiritual descendants of the Prophet (namely the Āl Muḥammad ﷺ) — the descendants who will be born — and in the world their name will also always remain — and the jealous enemy will never take it — his name is enemy — and from the place of enmity will always remain a name.

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ

inna shāniʾaka huwa l-abtar.

"Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off." (al-Kawthar 108:3)

Inna — indeed. Shāniʾaka — your enemy — your foe. Huwa — he. Al-abtar — the one who has no descendants — the one cut off — the one whose lineage does not continue — the one after whom none remain to keep his name alive.

Translation: "Indeed your enemy is certainly the one who has no posterity."

O unbelievers! Those who went against the faith — their name no one knows even — from all sides, from everyone, hatred and enmity — and from the name of Muḥammad ﷺ — this is the cause of their enmity — and everyone's name remains even now.