108- AL-KAUTHAR
ABUNDANT GOOD
Most commentators maintain that al-Kawthar is an early Makkan sūrah, but some exegetes, such as Ibn Kathīr, take a report from Anas ibn Mālik that this verse was revealed while the Messenger was among us in the Mosque” as an indication that it was revealed in Madinah at the Prophet’s Mosque. If this is an authentic report, then it is most likely from the Madinan period, as Anas ibn Mālik did not meet the Prophet until after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. The shortest sūrah of the Quran, it takes its name from the mention of abundant good (kawthar) in the first verse, a reference to the blessings of Heaven that is subject to various interpretations.
According to al-Wāḥidī this sūrah was revealed in response to a specific incident: “Whenever the Messenger of God was mentioned, al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wāʾil al-Sahmī would say, ‘Leave him be. He is just a man without posterity; he has no offspring [alluding to the fact that the Prophet’s son ʿAbd Allāh died as a child]. Were he to die, no one would mention him again, and you would be rid of him.’ And so God revealed from Truly We have bestowed abundant good upon thee to the end of the sūrah”.
According to another account, Anas ibn Mālik said, “While we were with the Messenger of God in the Mosque, he dozed off into a slumber. Then he lifted his head, smiling. We said, ‘O Messenger of God! What has caused you to laugh?’ He replied, ‘Verily, a sūrah was revealed unto me.’” Then he recited the sūrah and said, “Do you know what Kawthar is? It is a river that my Lord has promised me, and it has abundant goodness. It is a pool to which my community (ummah) will be brought on the Day of Judgment. Its containers are as numerous as the stars in the sky”.
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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