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Surah Al-Kawthar

(ABUNDANCE)

Surah #108 Consisting of 3 Ayahs

Listen to Surah Al-Kawthar

                         

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِِ

In Allah's Name, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

 

Verily We have provided you with abundance,

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ

so, pray to your Lord and sacrifice.

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

Surely he who defames you shall be condemned.

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الأَبْتَرُ

    

    

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ  go to top of page

Verily, We have provided you with abundance,

     Allah God Almighty said to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with terms of emphasis that:

 Allah had truly given His Prophet a great deal

of abundance and grace.

     This abundance is in the form of heavenly grace and great wisdom; in the form of highest integrity and richness of soul.  The abundance is also in the form of kindness, love, and feeling for others, and in the form of deep understanding of other people's problems.

     Such qualities mean abundance and blessings which Allah (swt) enriched Prophet Muhammad with.  They are unique heavenly gifts.

  

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

so, pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice.  go to top of page

     Allah is telling the beloved Prophet that in return for the abundance He enriched him with, the Prophet should be:

  1. Grateful to the Almighty,

  2. Thankful to Him,

  3. Praying to Him, and

  4. Devoting all his life to His service.

In this Ayah, Allah orders His Prophet to offer sacrifice, which also makes reference to:

  1. Sacrificing his time,

  2. Sacrificing his effort,

  3. Sacrificing his belongings, and

  4. Sacrificing his comfort,

to be in the service of Allah and Islam.  As we all know, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did all that and he did it very well. 

 

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الأَبْتَرُ

 Surely he who defames you shall be condemned.  go to top of page

     In the early years of Islam, the cruel disbelievers vehemently opposed the Muslims and the Prophet (pbuh) and tried to hurt them any way they could.  They did everything in their power to damage Islam and to stop its march.  This Surah was revealed to assure and console Muhammad (pbuh).

     Abtar literally means cut-off.  At the time this Surah was revealed, many enemies of Islam tried to hurt Islam by defaming the character of the Messenger of Islam.  Muhammad (pbuh) was ridiculed because he was an orphan and cut-off from much of the support of his clan.  This Surah assures the Prophet that those who defame him are the very ones who are cut-off.  They are cut-off from the Grace and Mercy of Allah.

     Allah clearly says that the disbelievers themselves are the condemned ones.  They are the ones who will meet their end in Hell, and they are the ones to lose.

 

THROUGH SURAH AL-KAWTHAR ALLAH WANTS US :   go to top of page

  1. To know that Allah has given us a great deal of wealth through the knowledge of Islam,

  2. To know that we are fortunate to have Islamic teachings,

  3. To know that the real abundance is the abundance of the soul, by being of good moral character, of integrity, and people of virtue.

  4. To be grateful to Allah for having given us so much,

  5. To be thankful to His gifts to us,

  6. To sacrifice:

    1. our time,

    2. comfort,

    3. belongings, and

    4. effort to work for Allah's cause,

  7. To Stand fast in our faith even though others may ridicule us,

  8. To know that the disbelievers are the losers and will be damned in Hell.  They are the ones who are condemned.

 

 

 QUESTIONS  go to top of page

 

 1.     What is meant by:      الْكَوْثَرَ?

 2.     What does it mean to say:       إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ?

 3.     Name ways to be rich other than having money.

 4.     What is the meaning of:       وَانْحَرْ?

 5.     What is the meaning of:      فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ?

 6.     Do you sacrifice of your time and effort for Allah?

 7.     How do you serve Allah?

 8.     Why was this Surah revealed?

 9.     How did the Prophet (pbuh) sacrifice for Allah

10.    What is meant by:      إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الأَبْتَرُ ?

11.    How did people try to hurt Islam?

12.    Do the enemies of Islam deserve to be condemned?

13.    What is meant by abundance of grace?

14.    What various forms of sacrifice are there?

15.    Can we build an Islamic society without sacrifice?

16.    Did Islam expand so swiftly without sacrifice?

17.    Recite the second Ayah of Surah Al-Kawthar.

18.    Recite the third Ayah of Surah Al-Kawthar.

19.    What is the meaning of the first Ayah of Surah Al-Kawthar?

20.    What is the meaning of the third Ayah of Surah Al-Kawthar? 

 

 

MEANING OF WORDS  go to top of page

In the name of

بِسْمِ

Allah

اللهِ

 

The Gracious

  الرَّحْمنِ

The  Merciful

الرَّحِيمِِ

Verily, We

إِنَّا

 

Have provided you

أَعْطَيْنَاكَ

Abundance

الْكَوْثَر

So pray

فَصَلِّ

 

To your Lord

لِرَبِّكَ

And sacrifice

وَانْحَرْ

surely

إِنَّ

 

He who defames you

شَانِئَكَ

Shall be

هُوَ

Condemned

الأَبْتَرُ