Surah Al-Kawthar

Introduction

It is called—as Al-Biqa‘i stated—the Surah of An-Nahr (Sacrifice). It is Meccan according to Ibn Abbas, Al-Kalbi, and Muqatil. In Al-Bahr, it is attributed to the majority that it is Medinan, which is the view of Al-Hasan, ‘Ikrimah, Qatadah, and Mujahid. In Al-Itqan, it is stated that this is the correct view, and Al-Nawawi—may mercy be upon him—favored it in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, due to what Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i, Al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan, and others narrated from Anas bin Malik, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ drifted into a light slumber, then raised his head smiling. He said: 'A Surah has just been revealed to me,' then he recited: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar...' until he concluded it."

The reports regarding the reason for its revelation support both views, and you will hear some of them, God willing. Because of this, the matter of its revelation became problematic. Al-Khafaji mentioned that some scholars authored works in which they validated that it was revealed twice; thus, there is no problem.

Its verses are three, without hesitation. There is no Surah in the Quran with fewer verses than that, as Al-Bayhaqi narrated from Ibn Shubrumah; indeed, they have explicitly stated that it is the shortest Surah in the Quran. The Imam said: "It is as if it is a counterpart to the one before it; for in the preceding one, God Almighty described the hypocrite with four traits: stinginess, neglecting prayer, showing off, and withholding charity. Thus, in this Surah, in opposition to stinginess, He mentioned: 'Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar,' meaning abundant goodness. In opposition to neglecting prayer, He said: 'So pray', meaning be constant in prayer. In opposition to showing off, He said: 'To your Lord', meaning for His pleasure, not for the people. And in opposition to withholding charity, He said: 'And sacrifice,' intending by it—Glory be to Him—the distribution of the meat of sacrificial animals." Then he said: "Contemplate this marvelous connection." Thus, do not be heedless.

Al-Kawthar: (1) Indeed, We have given you Al-Kawthar.

(Indeed, We have given you) It was read by Al-Hasan, Talhah, Ibn Muhaysin, and Al-Za‘farani as Antayna-ka with a nun (n). According to Al-Tabrizi, this is the dialect of the pure-blooded Arabs from the first of Quraysh, while others mentioned it is the dialect of Banu Tamim and the people of Yemen, and it is not among the artificial substitutions at all. Among the speech of the Prophet, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, is "The giving hand (al-yadu al-mantiya) is better than the lower hand (al-yadu al-safla al-muntah)." And he, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, wrote to Wa’il: "Give (Antu) the thabjah," meaning the middle (portion) in charity.

(Al-Kawthar) There are many opinions regarding this. The majority of exegetes hold that it is a river in Paradise, due to his statement, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, in the latter part of the previously mentioned hadith narrated on the authority of Imam Ahmad, Muslim, and those with them: "Do you know what Al-Kawthar is?" They said, "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said, "It is a river that my Lord has given me in Paradise, upon which is much good. My nation will come to it on the Day of Resurrection, its vessels are as numerous as the stars. A servant from among them will be pulled away, and I will say, 'O Lord, he is from my nation,' and it will be said, 'You do not know what he introduced after you.'" And his statement, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, according to what was recorded by Imam Ahmad, the two Sheikhs (Bukhari and Muslim), Al-Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, and others on the authority of Anas, from him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace: "I entered Paradise and suddenly I was at a river, the banks of which were tents of pearls. I struck my hand into what flowed of its water, and it was pungent musk. I said, 'What is this, O Gabriel?' He said, 'This is Al-Kawthar which Allah has given you.'"

And it came in a hadith also on the authority of Anas, who said: I entered upon the Messenger of Allah, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, and he said, "I have been given Al-Kawthar." I said, "O Messenger of Allah, what is Al-Kawthar?" He said, "A river in Paradise, its width and length are between the East and the West. No one drinks from it and becomes thirsty, and no one performs ablution from it and becomes disheveled ever. No one will drink from it who violated my protection (dhimmah) or who killed the people of my house."

It is narrated from ‘A’ishah that she said: "It is a river in Paradise, its depth is seventy thousand farsakh, its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, its shores are pearls, rubies, and chrysolite. Allah specially favored His Prophet Muhammad, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, with it, above the rest of the Prophets, peace be upon them." She also said: "There is no one who puts their two fingers in their ears but that they hear the gurgling of that river," and this is by way of metaphorical analogy (tashbih baligh).

It is said that it is a Basin (hawd) belonging to him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, at the Gathering (Mahshar). The statement of some that the difference in the narrations is due to considering the difference in the speed of the progression (or lack thereof), and it is before the Scale and the Bridge (Sirat) according to some, and after them, near the gate of Paradise where its people are detained—for those whom he, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, secured—in order to settle the injustices between them, according to others; thus, it would be on the Earth that has been replaced.

It is said that he, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, has two basins: a basin before the Sirat and a basin after it, and each of them is called Kawthar according to what Judge Zakariya related. He, may Allah have mercy on him, deemed it correct that it is after the Sirat and that the Kawthar is in Paradise, and that its water pours into it, and for that reason it is called Kawthar. It is not something unique to him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, like the aforementioned river; rather, it belongs to the rest of the Prophets, peace be upon them, and the believers of their nations will come to it. In the hadith of Al-Tirmidhi: "Every Prophet has a basin, and they boast as to which of them has the most people coming to it, and I hope that I will have the most people coming to it." And it is, as he said, a hasan gharib (good but singular) hadith. It is not mandatory to believe in these basins as it is mandatory for us to believe in his basin, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, contrary to the Mu’tazilah who deny it, because the hadiths concerning his basin have reached the level of tawatur (mass transmission), unlike the others, which are ahad (singular), or it is even said they barely reach the level of authenticity.

I have seen in some books that Al-Kawthar is the river mentioned first, and that it is the Basin, and it is a matter of great sovereignty that will be with the Prophet, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, wherever he is—so it will be in the Gathering when he, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, is there, and in Paradise when he, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, is there; and nothing incapacitates Allah.

It is said that it is his children, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, because the Surah was revealed in response to those who reviled him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, and they—praise be to Allah—are many and have filled the earth. Ibn Abbas and Yaman bin Withab said it is his companions and his followers until the Day of Resurrection. It is said it is the scholars of his nation, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, and they are also many, and in every region, even if in some regions they are—and the command belongs to Allah—the fewest of the few. From Al-Hasan, it is the Quran, and its virtues are countless. Al-Husayn bin Al-Fadl said it is the facilitation of the Quran and the lightening of the laws. It is said it is Islam. Hilal said it is Tawhid (monotheism). ‘Ikrimah said it is Prophethood. Ja’far al-Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him, said it is the light of his heart, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace. It is said it is knowledge and wisdom. Ibn Kaysan said it is altruism (ithar). It is said it is the many virtues with which he was characterized, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace. It is said it is the Maqam al-Mahmud (the Praiseworthy Station). And it is said other than that. Twenty-six opinions have been mentioned regarding it in Al-Tahrir. In Al-Bahr, the opinion of the river was deemed correct.

A group holds that it is the "abundant good" and the worldly and otherworldly blessings, from virtues and bounties. Ibn Jarir and Ibn ‘Asakir narrated it from Mujahid, and it is the famous position from the "Ocean" (Ibn Abbas), may Allah be pleased with them both. Al-Bukhari, Ibn Jarir, and Al-Hakim recorded via Abu Bishr from Sa‘id bin Jubayr from him (Ibn Abbas), may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "Al-Kawthar is the good which Allah gave to him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace." Abu Bishr said: I said to Sa‘id, "Some people claim that it is a river in Paradise." He said, "The river which is in Paradise is part of the good which Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, gave to him, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace." The ruling of this answer is attributed to Ibn Abbas himself as well, and in it is an indication that what is authenticated in the hadiths of his interpretation, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, of it as the "river" is by way of illustration and specification for a subtle point. Otherwise, if the hadith is authentic in that—and it has nearly reached the level of tawatur—how can one turn away from it to another interpretation? The same is said for everything else in the previous opinions and others.

It is a fu‘al form from kathra (abundance), a superlative form meaning the thing that is excessively abundant. A Bedouin woman was asked about her son who returned from travel, "With what did your son return?" She said, "With kawthar (much)." Al-Kumayt said: "And you, O son of Marwan, are abundant (kathir) and good / And your father, the son of the noble ones, was a kawthar." In the omission of its described noun, there is that which is hidden of hyperbole, as pointed out by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.

In attributing the "giving" (i‘ta’) to Him, rather than "bringing/granting" (ita’), there is an indication that it is a giving by way of ownership, for i‘ta’ implies that, and it is frequently used in that context. From it is (the word) of the Exalted to Solomon, peace be upon him: "This is Our gift, so grant or withhold," after he said, "Grant me a kingdom." It is said there is an indication in it that the given object, even if it is great in itself, is small in relation to his status, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace, based on the fact that ita’ is not used except for something great, like His saying, "And Allah gave him the kingdom," and "And We have certainly given David from Us bounty," and "And We have given you seven of the oft-repeated and the Great Quran." While i‘ta’ is used for both small and large, as the Exalted says: "He gave a little and stopped," so it contains what it contains of his exaltation, may Allah exalt him and grant him peace.

It is said the expression (used) is because it is more akin to "bestowal of favor" (tafaddul), unlike ita’, which may be obligatory; thus, it is an indication of permanence and increase forever, because tafaddul is a result of the infinite generosity of Allah. In making the first object the pronoun of the addressee rather than "the Messenger" or the like, there is an indication that the giving is not caused (by merit), but is rather of pure choice and will. In it is also, from his exaltation by address, what is not hidden. It is permitted that the attribution of the giving to "We" (the royal plural) is an indication that it is something the angels and the preceding Prophets, peace be upon them, exerted effort toward.

In expressing it in the past tense, it is said to be an indication of the realization of the occurrence. It is also said it is an indication of the greatness of the gift, and that it is a matter already guarded that was not left to be done later. It is also said to be an indication of another glad tiding, as if it were said: "Indeed, We prepared the causes of your happiness before your entry into existence, so how could We neglect your affair after your existence and your occupation with servanthood?" It is said it is an indication that the decree of Allah regarding enrichment and impoverishment, and bringing happiness and misery, is not a new affair, but rather it is obtained in eternity.

The verb was built upon the subject for emphasis and strengthening. It is permitted that it is for specification according to some of the previous opinions regarding Al-Kawthar. In emphasizing the sentence with "Indeed," there is what is not hidden of concern for the status of the news. It is said it is to refute the listener’s disbelief in the giving, given that it was not caused (by merit) and the given object is in the extreme of abundance. It is permitted that it is to refute denial regarding some opinions on Al-Kawthar.