108- AL-KAUTHAR
ABUNDANT GOOD
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
#Truly We have bestowed abundant goods upon thee. # So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice. # Truly thine enemy shall be the one without posterity.
Commentary
# Truly We have bestowed abundant good upon thee.
1 Abundant good translates kawthar, which derives from kathīr, meaning “much,” “abundant,” or “copious”; it is used to indicate something that is abundant in number, measure, weight, or quality, and there are at least sixteen different opinions regarding its meaning in this context (Q). The most widespread opinions regard it as a proper name referring to a river or pool in the Garden. Some
Muslims will thus use the phrase “sitting by Kawthar” as a reference to being in Paradise. Other opinions relate abundant good to the gift of prophecy, the Quran
(Q, Ṭs), or various aspects of Islam, such as the daily prayers, the two testimonies (shahādatayn), “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God,” or the light within the breast that guides one to religion. Some commentators take abundant good as a reference to the abundance of the Prophet’s progeny. The association with a river in Paradise finds the strongest support in the Ḥadīth literature. In a widespread account, Anas ibn Mālik said, “When the Prophet was made to ascend to the heavens, he said [after his return], ‘I came upon a river the banks of which were made of tents of hollow pearls. I asked Gabriel, “What is this river?” He replied, “This is Kawthar”. According to another account, “Kawthar is a river in the Garden whose banks are of gold, and it flows over pearls and rubies. Its scent is finer than musk, and its water is sweeter than honey and whiter than milk”. Another account joins the river to the other gifts bestowed upon the Prophet. It is related that Abū Bishr mentioned, Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said that Ibn ʿAbbās said regarding Kawthar, ‘That is the good that God has bestowed upon His Messenger.’ I said to Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, ‘But the people claim that it is a river in the Garden.’ Saʿīd said, ‘The river in the Garden is part of the good that God has bestowed upon His Messenger’” (IK; for references to the river or pool in the Ḥadīth literature, see the introduction to the sūrah). Al-Ṭabarsī notes that all these sayings are particular aspects of the whole, which is the abundant good in the two abodes: Heaven and this world.
# So pray to thy Lord and sacrifice.
2 Most interpret so pray as a command to perform the obligatory prayers. As it is connected to the command to sacrifice, others say it indicates the prayer of the Feast of Sacrifice (ʿīd al-aḍḥā), which is part of the rites of the ḥajj and comes at its end. In accordance with this verse and a well-known ḥadīth, most maintain that the prayer must precede the sacrifice in order for the sacrifice to be accepted. And sacrifice translates waʾnḥar, which could also mean, “and raise your hands.” In this interpretation it is taken as a reference to the practice of raising the hands to the ears during prayer (Ṭs). All schools of law agree that this should be done at the opening of the canonical prayer while saying, “God is greatest” (Allāhu akbar), marking the entry into the sacred rite. According to the Mālikī and Ḥanafī schools of law, the hands should only be raised in this fashion at the opening of the prayer (IA, Q); some other schools maintain that it should be done at the opening, when bowing, and when prostrating.
# Truly thine enemy shall be the one without posterity.
3 The one without posterity translates abtar, which can be used to refer to anything whose effects do not produce any good. Abtar was used by Arabs to refer to one whose sons had died, but who still had daughters. At the time at which this sūrah was most likely revealed, the Prophet had sired two sons, Qāsim and ʿAbd Allāh, both of whom died while toddlers. He later had a third son, Ibrāhīm, who also died as a toddler. It is reported that whenever the Prophet was mentioned in the presence of al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wāʾil, he would say, “Leave him, for indeed he is a man who is cut off, having no descendants. So when he dies, he will not be remembered.” So God revealed this sūrah in response. A less accepted account of the revelation reads abtar as a reference to being “cut off” from one’s tribe. According to Ibn ʿAbbās, Kaʿb ibn Ashraf, the leader of one of the Jewish tribes of Madinah, came to Makkah and the Quraysh said to him, “You are the leader of the people. What do you think about this worthless man who is cut off (abtar) from his people? He claims that he is better than us, while we are the people of the sanctuary, the people of custodianship over the Kaʿbah, and the people who supply water to the pilgrims.” And Kaʿb replied, “You are better than him.” So God revealed this sūrah in response; for other verses connected to this incident, see 4:51–52 and commentary. In either interpretation, it indicates the importance of loving the Prophet and the dire consequences of hating him as well as the idea that true posterity or legacy lies in belief and deeds, not children, for the Day of Judgment is the Day when neither wealth nor children avail, save for him who comes to God with a sound heart (26:88–89).
(Source: The study Quran, by Sayyed Hossein Nasr and 4 others)
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