What Is Al-Kawthar?
- philhoraia
- Nov 8, 2024
- 5 min read
We find this term in S 108. Let's look at the whole surah.
1 We have given you Al-Kawthar. 2 So pray to your lord and slaughter. 3 Your hater, he is the one cut off.
Asbab al-Nuzul for the whole surah says:
(Lo! We have given thee Abundance…) [108:1-3]. Said Ibn 'Abbas: “This Surah was revealed about al-'As ibn Wa'il. He met the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, as he was entering the Sacred Mosque while the Prophet was coming out of it. They met at the gate of Banu Sahm and started talking to each other while the chiefs of Quraysh were sitting in the mosque. When al-'As entered the mosque, they asked him: 'Who were you talking to?' He said: 'I was talking to that man without posterity', meaning the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, had lost 'Abd Allah, his son from Khadijah, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this Surah”. Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Fadl informed us> Muhammad ibn Ya'qub> Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Jabbar> Yunus ibn Bukayr> Muhammad ibn Ishaq> Yazid ibn Ruman who said: “Whenever the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was mentioned, al-'As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi used to say: 'Leave him be, he is just a man without posterity; he has no offspring: If he were to die, no one would mention him again and you will be rid of him'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! We have given thee Abundance…) to the end of the Surah”. 'Ata' reported that Ibn 'Abbas said: “Al-'As ibn Wa'il used to pass by the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and say: 'Indeed I am insulting you, and truly you are without posterity, without no male offspring to survive you'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! it is thy insulter) i.e. al-'As (who is without posterity) insofar as the good of this world and of the life to come are concerned”. Altafsir.com -تفسير ايآت القرآن الكريم (86-0-1-108)
A man says that he has no kids. Why might Allah be giving him something on that account? And what exactly is it? In non-quranic ahadith Allah's boss gives some clarification.
Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) was asked:
"What is Al-Kawthar?" He said: "That is a river that Allah has given me"- that is, in Paradise- 'whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. In it are birds whose necks are like the necks of camels." 'Umar said: "Indeed this is plump and luxurious then." So the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said, "Those who consume it are more plumb than it."
Birds are in this river?
It was narrated that Anas in Malik said:
"One day when he-the Prophet (ﷺ)- was still among us, he took a nap, then he raised his head, smiling. We said to him: 'Why are you smiling, O Messenger of Allah?' He said: 'Just now this Surah was revealed to me: In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Verily, We have granted you (O Muahmmad) Al-Kawthar. Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only). For he who hates you, he will be cut off.' Then he said: 'Do you know what Al-Kawthar is?' We said: 'Allah and His Messenger know best.' He said: 'It is a river that my Lord has promised me in Paradise. Its vessels are more than the number of the stars. My Ummah will come to me, then a man among them will be pulled away and I will say: "O Lord, he is one of my Ummah" and He will say to me: 'You do not know what he did after you were gone."
Why might a river have vessels, i.e. containers?
Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
When the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) was lifted to the heavens (for travelling) in Paradise, or as he said, a river whose banks were of transparent or hollowed pearls was presented to him. The angel who was with him struck it with his hand and took out musk. Muhammad (ﷺ) then asked the angel who was with him: What is this? He replied: It is al-Kawthar which Allah has given you.
It was narrated from Zaid bin Thabit that :
He said to Marwan: "O Abu Abdul-Malik, do you recite: 'Say: He is Allah, (the) One' and 'Verily, We have granted you Al-Kawthar' in maghrib?" He said: "Yes." He (Zaid) said: "I swear by Allah, I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) reciting the longer of the two long surahs in it: 'Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad.'"
Anas b. Malik said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: A surah has just been revealed to me. He then recited:”In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Lo! We have given thee Abundance” until he finished it. Then he asked: Do you know what Abundance (al-Kawthar) is? They replied: Allah and His Apostle know it better. He said: It is a river of which my Lord, the Exalted, the Majestic has promised me to give in Paradise.
It was narrated that ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to pray Witr reciting nine surahs from Al-Mufassal. Aswad said: In the first rak’ah he would recite `The mutual rivalry (for piling up of worldly things) diverts you` [At-Takathur 102] and “verily, We have sent it (this Qur`an) down in the Night of Al-Qadr (Decree)` [al-Qadr 97], and `When the earth is shaken with its (final) earthquake` [az-Zalzalah 99]. In the second rak`ah he would recite `By Al-‘Asr (the time)” [Al-ʻAsr 103] and `When there comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad against your enemies) and the Conquest (of Makkah)` [An-Nasr 95] and “Verily. We have granted you (O Muhammad (ﷺ)) Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise)` [Al-Kawthar 108]. In the third rak`ah he would recite “Say (O Muhammad to these Mushrikoon and Kafiroon): `O Al-Kafiroon (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al Qadar)!” [Al-Kafiroon 109] and “Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet (ﷺ)) and perish he!` [Al-Masad 109] and `Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ)): “He is Allah, (the) One“ [Al-Ikhlas 112].
Considering that the verse was 'sent down' following someone's statement that Allah's boss had no kids and as this is a river and is white, is this a pool of semen?
Another interesting article. Thanks. I didn't know that the Quran tells Muslims to sacrifice! animals? As for Al-Kawthar ... sperm? Ha Have you heard of this guy: https://www.youtube.com/@SaintMurad He has made a new translation of the Quran using only the root Arabic. It makes the Quran read quite differently. Perhaps he can help with Al-Kawthar Btw, I'm the guy that invited you over to those Discord channels a few months ago.