Surah Kauthar
– Haris Mumtaz Falahi (B.Ed, JMI)
Time of Revelation: The majority of scholars agree that this surah was revealed in Makkah.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
Before this, Surah Zuha and AlamNashrah have been revealed and it was revealed in such a serious situation that at that time he ﷺ had only a handful of companions with him.
All sorts of tactics were being used against hisdawah towards haqq by the Mushrikeen and kuffar.
In such circumstances, Surah Kawthar was revealed and it was told that soon your opponents will be destroyed.
Conditions in Makkah and the word “abtar”:
1. There is a narration of Ibn Jarir’ that the Quraysh used to say that “Abtar Muhammad mana” that is-Muhammad ﷺ was cut off from his people as if a tree had been cut off from its root and the result of cutting from the root would be that one day it would be destroyed.
2. Ata’ says that when the second son of the Holy Prophet ﷺ died, his own uncle Abu Lahab (whose house was adjacent to his house) ran to the polytheists and gave them the news that “Tonight Muhammad became childless.” This Surah was revealed in such heart-breaking circumstances while the death of his son was being celebrated with joy and celebration instead of expressing condolences.
108:1
إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ……
“Surely we have given you (Muhammad ﷺ) Kauthar”
The word Kauthar is a word whose meaning cannot be fully expressed in any other language. This is an exaggeration, it means plurality. In terms of occasion and place, it means not only abundance but also an abundance of goodness and blessings. If we look at the situation, it becomes clear what blessings were given to the Prophet ﷺ. Circumstances are such that the apparent blessings that preceded the Prophethood seemed to disappear, isolation from the nation, trade; and economy ceased, even the death of male offspring. Except for a few selected people, the whole of Mecca was against himﷺ. But the unparalleled virtues of morality, Prophethood, the Qur’an, the blessings of knowledge and wisdom, as well as the guidance towards monotheism, the perfect system of life, the removal of ignorance, and then the universality of his call were so eloquent that people are still accepting it. Along with all these blessings, the Prophet ﷺ was also blessed with the great success of his da’wah in his blessed life.
108:2
فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ
So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice [to Him alone].”
That is, when all people are worshiping their self-made deity, then return to your Lord. Unlike the polytheists, your every worship should be for Allah.
108:3
إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ
Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off.”
The meaning of Abtar is thorn but its meaning is very wide like a metaphor, such as the unfortunate man, the man deprived of resources, from whom there is no hope of any good, isolated from his family and community, and whose male offspring has passed away; is also considered as abtar. And the disbelieving Quraysh used to call the Prophet ﷺ asabtar in all these senses, but Allah Almighty says that you ﷺ are not abtar but the real abtar are your enemies. This was not a reply but a sure prophecy. No one could imagine in those days that how can the great chiefs of Quraysh will become abtar who were famous not only in Makkah but in the whole of Arabia. They were looked as successful, they had a lot of wealth and children, but things changed completely within some years, and there was a time when the Quraysh and the Jewish tribes were on the offensive in the invasion of Ahzaab in 5 AH. But 3 years later, in 8 AH, when he ﷺ invaded Mecca there was no one to support them and after that people from all over Arabia came and swore allegiance to him ﷺ.
And then they became so nameless that to this day no one takes their name, no one pays homage to them that“they were our forefathers”. On the contrary, millions of people all over the world are still sending blessings and peace upon the Prophet ﷺ, and they feel proud of him ﷺ and millions of people respect and attribute their closeness not only to him ﷺ but also to his family and the families of his companions.
People take pride in attributing themselves as Syed, Alvi, Hashmi, Abbasi, Siddiqui, Farooqi, Usmani, Zubair or Ansari, etc but till today no one has seen that anyone uses Abu Jahli, Abu Lahabi, etc. with his name, thus this prophecy of the Allah Almighty is fulfilled.
