108
اَلْكَوْثَرِ
Plenty

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ۔

اِنَّآ اَعْطَيْنٰكَ الْكَوْثَرَ۔ؕ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَ انْحَرْ۔ؕ اِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْاَ بْتَرُ۔

In the name of God—the most compassionate, the most merciful.

We have given you plenty, so pray to your Lord and sacrifice since your opponent is the one who will be lopped off.

This is the shortest chapter in the Koran, consisting of only three verses. It was revealed at Mecca. The title is taken from the first verse. Al-Kauthar is the name of a legendary river which flows through Paradise; its water being reserved exclusively for God–fearing Muslims. It is sweeter than honey, whiter than milk and smoother than cream. This lyric chapter gives added consolation to the Prophet during his early persecution.

The disbelievers used to taunt the Prophet that he had no son, and therefore he had none to uphold his religion after him. But the Koran says that it was in fact the Prophet’s opponents who were cut off from all future hope, in this world and the next, while the Prophet was granted abundance by God.

At the time when this chapter was revealed, the Prophet was facing stiff resistance from the Meccan Quraysh. Only a handful of people had responded to his call. At that difficult moment this chapter was a message of hope to the Prophet and to the Muslims.

The Prophet Muhammad had arisen with the pure mission of calling all men to the Truth. In the present world this is the most difficult task. So for the sake of this mission, he had to forego his all. He was isolated from his community. His economic position was ruined. The future of his children became dark. Nobody except a few supported him. But under these very discouraging conditions, he was told by Almighty God, ‘We have given you abundance’ i.e. the highest success of every kind (kawthar here means khayr kathir). This prediction of the Koran was fulfilled to the letter in later years.

This very promise was also applicable in various degrees to the followers of the Prophet. For them also there was an ‘abundance of good things’ provided they rose in the cause of the divine religion for which the Prophet and his companions had risen. This ‘abundance’ extends from this world up to the Hereafter. It is never ending.