Al-Kawthar: (3) Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off (Al-Abṭar).

Issues Discussed:

Several views are mentioned regarding the occasion of this verse's revelation:

1. Al-'Āṣ ibn Wā'il al-Sihmī: The Prophet (PBUH) was leaving the Mosque, and Al-'Āṣ was entering. They met and spoke. When Al-'Āṣ returned to the Quraysh leaders in the Mosque, they asked whom he was speaking with. He replied, "That Al-Abṭar (the one cut off)." This suggests the conversation was private, yet God revealed it, making the revelation a miracle. It is also narrated that Al-'Āṣ ibn Wā'il used to say Muhammad (PBUH) was abtar because he had no son to succeed him; once he died, his memory would cease. This was said after the death of his son 'Abdullāh from Khadījah. This view is attributed to Ibn 'Abbās, Muqātil, al-Kallabī, and the majority of the exegetes.
2. Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf: When Ka'b arrived in Mecca, the leaders of Quraysh approached him, saying: "We are the custodians of the well (Siqāyah) and the Ka'bah covering (Sidānah), and you are the master of Medina. Are we better, or is this Abṭar from his people who claims to be better than us?" Ka'b agreed that they were better, and then this verse was revealed. It is also stated that the verse, “Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in Jibt and Ṭāghūt…” was revealed concerning this incident.
3. 'Ikrima and Shahr ibn Ḥawshab: When God revealed to the Messenger and he called Quraysh to Islam, they said: "Muḥammad has become abtar (cut off/opposed us)." God then revealed that they are the ones who are truly cut off.
4. Abū Jahl: It was revealed concerning Abū Jahl. When the Prophet's son died, Abū Jahl rejoiced, saying he hated him because he was abtar. This is considered foolishness, as he hated the Prophet for something outside his control (the death of a son).
5. His uncle Abū Lahab: It was revealed concerning Abū Lahab, who used to call the Prophet abtar in his absence, after the Prophet confronted him saying, "Perish to you!"
6. 'Uqbah ibn Abī Mu'ayṭ: He was the one who used to say this.

Conclusion on Reasons: It is plausible that all these disbelievers said such things, as they uttered worse insults. However, since Al-'Āṣ ibn Wā'il was perhaps the most persistent in saying this, the narrations often attribute the revelation specifically to him.

• Al-Shana'ān means hatred/enmity.
• Al-Shāni' means the hater/enemy.
• Al-Baṭr (in language) means complete severance or cutting off. One says baṭartuhu (I cut it off). Abṭar means one whose tail is cut off. It also refers to one who has no offspring to succeed him. Hence, the ḥimār al-abṭar (the tailless donkey), and similarly, one from whom goodness has been cut off.

When the disbelievers described the Prophet (PBUH) as abtar, God revealed that the one described with this attribute is the hater himself, as a form of reprimand. If you say, "Zayd is the scholar," it implies no one else is a scholar.

The disbelievers intended by calling him abtar that goodness had been cut off from him. This can be interpreted in several ways:

1. Lack of Male Offspring: Al-Suddī said the Quraysh used to say that one whose male children died was abtar. When his sons Al-Qāsim, 'Abdullāh (in Mecca), and Ibrāhīm (in Medina) died, they said he was abtar because no one would succeed him. God then showed that his enemies are the ones described this way, as the lineage of those disbelievers has been cut off, while the Prophet's lineage grows daily until the Day of Judgment.
2. Interruption of Purpose: Al-Ḥasan said they meant that he would be cut off from his goal before reaching it. God showed that his opponents became defeated, subdued, and overcome, while the banners of Islam became high, and its followers humble across East and West.
3. Lack of Helper/Supporter: They claimed he was abtar because he had no helper or supporter. This is false, as God is his Patron, along with Gabriel and the righteous believers. As for the disbelievers, they have no remaining helper or beloved.
4. Humiliation and Baseness: Al-Abṭar means the despicable and lowly one. It is narrated that Abū Jahl prepared a feast, insulted the Prophet (PBUH) with this description, and then said, "Let's go wrestle him and make him humiliated and base." When they reached Khadījah's house and agreed, Khadījah brought out a mat. When they wrestled, Abū Jahl exerted himself to throw the Prophet, but the Prophet stood firm like a mountain. Afterward, the Prophet threw Abū Jahl in an ugly manner. When he returned, he took him by the left hand (the hand used for cleansing oneself), implying impurity, and threw him down again, placing his foot on his chest. Some narrators suggest this incident is the meaning of “Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.”
5. Futility of His Words: Since the disbelievers described him this way, God replied, “Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off,” meaning the false words they spoke about you will perish and vanish, whereas the praise mentioned for you will remain forever.
6. The Umayyad Dynasty: A man once approached Al-Ḥasan ibn 'Alī (RA) and said, "You have disgraced the faces of the believers by yielding the Imamate to Mu'āwiyah." Al-Ḥasan replied, "Do not hurt me, may God have mercy on you. The Messenger of God saw the Umayyads ascending his pulpit one by one in a dream, which saddened him. Then God revealed: 'Indeed, We have given you Al-Kawthar' and 'Indeed, We sent it down on the Night of Decree.' The rule of the Umayyads was like that, then they were cut off and became abtar."

When the disbelievers insulted the Prophet (PBUH), God responded directly without an intermediary, saying: “Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.” This is the custom of the beloved ones: when a lover hears someone insulting their beloved, the lover takes it upon themselves to respond.

God Almighty took responsibility for responding to them, as He did in other instances:

• When they said: “Shall we direct you to a man who informs you that when you are completely disintegrated, you are indeed in a new creation? Have you invented a lie against God, or is he possessed?” God responded: “Nay, those who do not believe in the Hereafter are in severe error and far astray.”
• When they said he was mad, God swore three times and then said: “You, by the grace of your Lord, are not a madman.”
• When they said: “You are not a messenger,” He replied: “Yā-Sīn. By the Wise Qur’an, indeed you are one of the messengers.”
• When they said: “Are you going to forsake our gods for a mad poet?” He refuted them: “Nay, he has brought the Truth and confirmed the messengers,” confirming him, then mentioning the warning for his opponents: “Indeed, you shall taste the painful punishment.”
• When He recounted their saying: “Or do they say, ‘He is a poet’?” He said: “We have not taught him poetry.”
• When He narrated their saying: “And those who disbelieve say, ‘This is not but a fabricated lie he has invented, and others have helped him,’” He called them liars by saying: “Indeed, they have come with injustice and falsehood.”
• When they said: “Why is this messenger eating food and walking in the marketplaces?” He answered: “And We did not send before you any messengers except that they ate food and walked in the marketplaces.” What an honor this is!

When God promised the Prophet (PBUH) great blessings, He knew that true enjoyment of blessings only comes when the enemy is subdued. Thus, He promised him the subjugation of the enemy by saying: “Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.” This contains subtle points:

1. Inflicting Grief: God says, "I will do this so that he [the enemy] may witness the means of your success and the means of his own affliction, thus killing him with rage."
2. The Enemy's Inability: Describing the enemy as a shāni' (hater) implies that this hater is incapable of anything other than hating you. When a hater is unable to cause harm, his heart burns with rage and envy, making that enmity a major cause of his own affliction.
3. Causality: This sequence indicates that the enemy became abtar precisely because he was a shāni' (hater). This is true in reality: whoever opposes someone favored by God opposes God Himself, especially when God has taken responsibility for proclaiming the Prophet's status and exalting his rank.
4. Reversal of Fortune: The enemy described Muhammad (PBUH) as few in number and lowly, while describing himself as numerous and dominant. God reversed the situation: the honored one is whom God honors, and the lowly one is whom God humiliates. Thus, abundance (Al-Kawthar) belongs to Muhammad (PBUH), while being cut off (Al-Abṭariyyah), baseness, and humiliation belong to the enemy. This creates a subtle correspondence between the beginning and the end of the Sūrah.

Anyone who contemplates the openings and closings of this Sūrah will realize that the benefits mentioned here are but a drop in the ocean compared to what God has kept to His knowledge regarding the Sūrah's benefits.

It is narrated that Musaylimah attempted to imitate it, saying: "Indeed, We have given you the masses; so pray to your Lord and proclaim! Indeed, your hater is an infidel man." The misguided one failed to grasp what he was deprived of for several reasons:

1. The words and arrangement are borrowed from this Sūrah; this is not true imitation (mu'āraḍah).
2. We mentioned that this Sūrah serves as a completion to what precedes it and a foundation for what follows it. Mentioning these words alone neglects most of the Sūrah's subtleties.
3. There is a vast difference recognized by anyone with sound taste between “Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off” and “Indeed, your hater is an infidel man.”

A subtlety of this Sūrah is that each disbeliever described the Messenger (PBUH) with a different negative attribute: one said he had no son, another said he had no helper or supporter, and another said his memory would not remain.

God Almighty praised him with a praise that encompasses all virtues: “Indeed, We have given you Al-Kawthar.” Since Al-Kawthar was not restricted to anything specific, it encompasses all the good of this world and the Hereafter.

Then, God commanded him during his life to perform all acts of obedience. Obedience is either of the body or the heart. The best bodily obedience involves Prayer (Ṣalāh) and Charity (Zakāh, the obedience of wealth). The obedience of the heart is to do nothing except for God. The preposition Lām (for/to) in “So pray to your Lord” (Faṣalli li-Rabbik) indicates this state.

It is as if God indicated that the obedience of the heart is only achieved after the obedience of the body, so He mentioned bodily obedience first (Faṣalli), and delayed the Lām indicating heart obedience. This serves as a warning against the doctrine of the Ibāḥiyyah (those who claim the heart's devotion suffices without physical acts), showing that the Lām invalidates their doctrine and confirms the necessity of sincerity (Ikhlāṣ).

Furthermore, by using the word Lord (Rabb), God points to His high status concerning the Hereafter, as if saying: "I nurtured you before your existence; would I abandon nurturing you after your persistence in these acts of obedience?"

Finally, just as God initially took responsibility for bestowing blessings upon him, He took responsibility at the end of the Sūrah for defending him and invalidating the words of his enemies. This indicates that God is the First in bestowing blessings and the Last in perfecting blessings in this world and the Hereafter. And God Almighty knows best.