Al-Kawthar: (2) So pray to your Lord and sacrifice [to Him alone].

There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: Regarding the command {Faṣalli} (So pray)

There are several interpretations:

First View: It means the command to perform Ṣalāh (prayer). If one asks: Gratitude is appropriate upon receiving a blessing; why did He say Faṣalli (So pray) and not Fashkur (So be grateful)?

The answer involves several points:

1. Gratitude (Shukr) is an expression of glorification, having three pillars:
   • The heart: Recognizing the blessing comes from Him alone.
   • The tongue: Praising Him.
   • The action: Serving Him and humbling oneself before Him. Prayer encompasses all these meanings, plus more. Thus, commanding prayer is commanding gratitude plus an increase, making the command for prayer superior.
2. If He had said, "So be grateful," it might imply that he was not grateful before. However, from the beginning, the Prophet (PBUH) knew his Lord, obeyed Him, and was grateful for His blessings. Prayer, however, was known to him only through revelation, as stated: {You did not know what the Book was, nor what Faith was} [Qur'an 66:5].
3. He was commanded to pray at the very beginning. The Prophet (PBUH) asked, "How shall I pray when I am not in a state of Wuḍūʾ (ablution)?" Then Allah revealed: {Indeed, We have granted you Al-Kawthar}. Then Gabriel struck the earth with his wing, and the water of Al-Kawthar sprang forth, from which he performed Wuḍūʾ. At that point, he was told: Faṣalli (So pray). If we interpret Al-Kawthar as Prophethood, it is as if He said: "We gave you Prophethood so that you may command yourself and all creation to acts of obedience, the noblest of which is prayer, so Faṣalli to your Lord."

Second View: Faṣalli means "So be grateful to your Lord." This is the view of Mujahid and 'Ikrimah. Regarding the Fāʾ (So) in Faṣalli under this interpretation, they mentioned several benefits:

1. It indicates that thanking for a blessing is obligatory immediately, not delayed.
2. The Fāʾ of immediate succession here points to what was established in {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me} [Qur'an 51:56]. Furthermore, He singled out the Prophet (PBUH) in this regard with greater emphasis by saying: {And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty} [Qur'an 15:99]. Also, He said: {So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]} [Qur'an 94:7], meaning, follow one act immediately with another. How much more incumbent is it upon you to begin thanking Him immediately after receiving My blessings?

Third View: Faṣalli means "So supplicate to Allah," as prayer is supplication. The benefit of the Fāʾ in this case is as if Allah is saying: Before you asked and supplicated, We were not stingy with you regarding {Al-Kawthar}. How could We be so after your request? (Ask, and you will be given; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.) This is because he was constantly concerned with the affairs of his Ummah.

The first view is preferable because it is closer to the established usage in Divine Law.

Issue 2: Regarding {li-Rabbika wanḥar} (to your Lord and sacrifice)

There are two main opinions:

First View: This is the view of the majority of commentators: it means the sacrifice of sacrificial animals (naḥr al-budn).

Second View: It means an action related to prayer, either before it, during it, or after it. They mentioned several interpretations for this:

1. Al-Farra’ said its meaning is to face the Qiblah (direction of prayer).
2. Al-Asbagh ibn Nubātah narrated from 'Ali (RA): When this Sura was revealed, the Prophet (PBUH) asked Gabriel, "What is this naḥīrah (sacrifice/offering) that my Lord has commanded me to do?" He replied, "It is not a naḥīrah. Rather, He commands you, when you begin the prayer (taḥrim), to raise your hands when you say Allāhu Akbar, when you bow, when you raise your head from bowing, and when you prostrate. This is our prayer, and the prayer of the angels in the seven heavens. Indeed, everything has an adornment, and the adornment of prayer is raising the hands with every Takbīr."
3. It is narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Ṭālib that he interpreted this naḥr as placing the hands on the chest (naḥr) during prayer. He said: Raising the hands before prayer is the custom of one seeking refuge, while placing them on the chest is the custom of the humble and submissive.
4. 'Aṭā’ said: It means sitting between the two prostrations until your chest (naḥr) becomes visible.
5. It is narrated from Al-Ḍaḥḥāk and Sulaymān al-Taymī that {wanḥar} means raising your hands towards your chest after supplication.

Al-Wāḥidī said: The origin of all these opinions stems from naḥr, which is the chest. The throat of a camel is called its naḥr because its throat emerges from the upper part of its chest. Thus, the meaning of naḥr in this context is to strike or reach the chest, just as one says "his head and his belly" when referring to striking those parts.

As for Al-Farra’s view that it means facing the Qiblah, Ibn al-A'rābī said: An-naḥr is the standing of a person in prayer facing the miḥrāb (prayer niche), meaning setting one's chest towards the Qiblah and not turning right or left. Al-Farra’ also said that houses tanāḥar (face each other). He cited poetry:

O Abū Ḥakam, are you the uncle of Mujālid, And the master of the people of Al-Abtah who face each other?

The conceptual subtlety here is as if Allah is saying: The Ka'bah is My House, and it is the Qiblah for your prayer, your heart, and the Qiblah for My Mercy and the focus of My Care. Therefore, let the two Qiblahs (the Ka'bah and your chest) face each other (tanāḥar).

The majority hold that applying it to the sacrifice of animals is preferable for several reasons:

1. Whenever Allah mentions prayer in His Book, He mentions Zakah (charity) afterward.
2. The people used to pray and perform sacrifices (yanḥarūn) to idols. So, he was told: Faṣalli (Pray) and wanḥar (sacrifice) li-Rabbika (to your Lord alone).
3. These actions (raising hands, etc.) are manners or parts of prayer. If Faṣalli refers to the entirety of prayer, then wanḥar must refer to something else, as it is unlikely to conjoin a part of a thing with the whole thing.
4. The statement {Faṣalli} points to glorifying Allah's command, while {wanḥar} points to compassion for Allah's creation. The entirety of servitude does not depart from these two principles.
5. The usage of the word naḥr for sacrificing animals is more common than its usage in the other mentioned interpretations. Therefore, the word of Allah must be interpreted according to its most common meaning.

If this is established (that it means sacrificing animals), the Ḥanafī school used this verse to argue for the obligation of the Uḍḥiyah (Eid sacrifice). They argue that Allah commanded the sacrifice, and the Prophet (PBUH) must have performed it, as abandoning an obligation upon him is not permissible. If the Prophet (PBUH) performed it, it becomes obligatory upon us based on the command to follow him: {And follow him, [and] you will be guided} and {Follow me; Allah will love you}. Our companions (the Shāfi'īs) argue that the command to follow is specific, citing the narration: "Three things were written as obligatory upon me but not upon my Ummah: Ḍuḥā (forenoon prayer), Uḍḥiyyah (Eid sacrifice), and Witr (Witr prayer)."

Issue 3: If {Faṣalli} is interpreted as prayer

There are different views on this:

1. It means the genus of prayer, because they used to pray and sacrifice to other than Allah. He commanded him not to pray or sacrifice except for Allah alone. Those who permit delaying the clarification of a general term use this verse as evidence, as He commanded prayer without specifying its manner. Abū Muslim answered this by saying: It refers to the obligatory prayers, the five daily prayers, and the manner was not mentioned because it was already known.
2. It refers to the Eid prayer and the sacrifice of the Eid, because they used to offer the sacrifice before the prayer. This verse was revealed to correct that. The established scholars consider this weak because connecting two things with wāw (and) does not necessitate sequence.
3. According to Sa'īd ibn Jubayr: Pray the dawn prayer at Al-Muzdalifah and sacrifice at Minā.

The first view is the closest, as the mention of sacrifice alongside prayer does not necessitate restricting the prayer to the day of sacrifice.

Issue 4: The Lām (preposition 'for') in {li-Rabbika} (for your Lord)

This Lām has several benefits:

First Benefit: This Lām is to the prayer what the spirit is to the body. Just as a body is beautiful and praiseworthy from head to toe only if it has a spirit, but if it is dead, it is discarded—similarly, prayer, bowing, and prostration, even if beautiful in form and long, would be dead and discarded if they lacked the Lām for your Lord. This relates to what Allah said to Moses: {Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book, [and] establish the prayer for My remembrance} [Qur'an 20:14]. It is also said that their prayer and sacrifice were directed to idols, so he was told: Let your prayer and sacrifice be for Allah.

Second Benefit: It is as if Allah is saying: In the preceding Sura, it was mentioned that they used to pray for show (riyāʾ). So, you, O Prophet, pray not for show, but with sincerity.

Issue 5: The Fāʾ (So) in {Faṣalli}

The Fāʾ implies two causalities:

1. Causality of Worship: As if it is said: The abundance of blessings bestowed upon you necessitates your engagement in servitude.
2. Causality of Indifference: Since they called him abtar (cut off/without posterity), it is as if He said: Just as We have favored you with these numerous blessings, you should occupy yourself with your obedience and not care about their words and idle talk.

It is known that abundant blessings are beloved, and what is necessary for a beloved thing is also beloved. The Fāʾ in {Faṣalli} implied that prayer was a necessary consequence of those blessings. Consequently, prayer became the dearest thing to the Prophet (PBUH). He said: "Prayer has been made the coolness of my eyes," and he prayed until his feet became swollen. When asked, "Have you not been forgiven all your past and future sins?" he replied, "Should I not be a grateful servant?" His statement, "Should I not be a grateful servant?" points to the necessity of engaging in obedience based on the implication of the Fāʾ in {Faṣalli}.

Issue 6: Why He said {Faṣalli li-Rabbika} (So pray to your Lord) instead of {Faṣalli lanā} (So pray for Us)

He omitted the direct address for several benefits:

1. The shift in address (from "We gave you" to "to your Lord") is one of the primary features of eloquence (faṣāḥah).
2. Shifting the speech from the pronoun (Us) to the explicit noun (your Lord) imparts a sense of majesty and awe. This is similar to how rulers address others: "The Commander of the Faithful commands you," or "The Commander of the Faithful forbids you."
3. The statement {Indeed, We have granted you} does not explicitly state that the speaker is Allah or someone else. Furthermore, the word Inna (Indeed) can imply the plural (We) or the singular exalted self. If He had said, "Pray for Us" (ṣalli lanā), it would have negated the possibility that he did not know whether this prayer was solely for Allah or jointly for Him and someone else (i.e., polytheism in obedience). Therefore, He omitted that wording and said: {Faṣalli li-Rabbika} to remove that ambiguity and clarify the monotheism in obedience and action for Allah alone.

Issue 7: {li-Rabbika} is more eloquent than {li-Allāh} (for Allah)

The word Rabb (Lord) implies the preceding nurturing mentioned in {Indeed, We have granted you Al-Kawthar} and implies the beautiful future promise that He will nurture him and not abandon him.

Issue 8: Two questions regarding the verse

First Question: In the preceding verses, Zakah is mentioned after prayer. Why is Naḥr (sacrifice) mentioned here? Second Question: Why did He not say Ḍaḥḥi (Sacrifice [the Eid sacrifice]) to encompass all types of sacrifices?

Answer to the First Question:

1. If Faṣalli is interpreted as the Eid prayer, the matter is clear.
2. If it is interpreted as general prayer, there are reasons:
   • The polytheists directed their prayers and offerings to idols. So, he was told: Make both of them for Allah.
   • Some say the Prophet (PBUH) did not possess anything worldly beyond his immediate need, so Zakah was not obligatory upon him. However, the Naḥr (sacrifice) was obligatory upon him based on the narration: "Three things were written as obligatory upon me but not upon my Ummah: Ḍuḥā, Uḍḥiyyah, and Witr."
   • The most cherished wealth among the Arabs was the camel. He was commanded to sacrifice them and dedicate them to Allah's obedience, signaling the severing of personal attachments to worldly pleasures and delights. It is narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) gifted one hundred camels, including a bull with a golden ring in its nose belonging to Abū Jahl, and he performed the naḥr until he was exhausted, then commanded 'Ali (RA) to complete it. The she-camels crowded around the Messenger of Allah, but when the knife was taken up, they moved away from him.

Answer to the Second Question:

1. Prayer is the greatest physical act of worship, so it is paired with the greatest type of sacrifice.
2. It also hints that after his poverty, he would reach a state where he could sacrifice one hundred camels.

Issue 9: The verse indicates that prayer must precede the sacrifice.

This is not because the wāw (and) necessitates sequence, but because of the Prophet's (PBUH) statement: "Begin with what Allah began with."

Issue 10: The Sura is Meccan (according to the soundest opinion).

The command for sacrifice was a harbinger of the establishment of the state and the removal of poverty and fear.

{Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off (abtar).}