23. Prophesy.
An interesting observation of this chapter is that it also is factual and accurate. At the time when this chapter was revealed the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمwas in one of the lowest points in his life. His enemies were the ones who seemed to have prosperity and power. However, the reality soon changed. The Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمturned out to be the most successful Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمboth as a man.
delivering a Divine message and as a statesman. His enemies eventually lost their power. In fact, the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمis the most remembered, loved and praised person on earth. No one’s life is recorded and remembered as the life of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم. Someone is always praising and remembering the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمevery second on this planet; it is always the Islamic prayer time somewhere on earth, therefore there is always the call to prayer, which mentions the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. A key feature of perfecting one’s faith as a Muslim is to love the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمmore than.
oneself and family. In fact, a sign of self-love—wanting goodness for oneself—is to love the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم. For loving and following him leads to a special Divine love and forgiveness.65
What makes this chapter prophetic and factual is the events that took place after this revelation.
As mentioned in the section explaining the reason for its revelation, it was al-‘Āṣ ibn Wā’il and the other leading Arabs who denigrated the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم. However, after these revealed verses the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمsucceeded in spreading Islam, idol worship (the religion of the Prophet’sصلى الله عليه وسلم haters) disappeared, and the most honoured lineage among the Arabs now is the Prophet’sصلى الله عليه وسلم, and the most honoured and praised person in Arabia (and one can argue in the whole world) is the Prophet Muhammad himselfصلى الله عليه وسلم..
24. Unique Structure This chapter has 10 lexical items. A lexical item refers to a word or a chain of words that make up the building blocks of a text or language. For example, the words “I love you” are three words but one lexical item, also, the words “I am not” are three words but one lexical item. In the context of Arabic, it can be a word with a linguistic particle, preposition, etc.
This chapter has 10 lexical items:
1. Innā, indeed We.
2. Aʿṭaynāka, have given you.
3. L-kawthara, Al-Kawthar/The abundance.
4. Faṣalli, so pray.
5. Lirabbika, to your Lord.
6. Wa-in’ḥar, and sacrifice.
7. Inna, indeed.
8. shāni-aka, your enemy.
9. huwa, he is.
10. L-abtaru, cut off.
Fascinatingly, the whole chapter has used 10 letters only once:
ع 1.
ط 2.
ي 3.
ف 4.
ث 5.
ص 6.
ح 7.
ش 8.
ه 9.
ت 10.
Interestingly, it also uses ten letters in each verse, with the exception of the last verse. However, in the last verse, the letter ء has been used which is considered a letter that is “cut off” from the letter ع. There is also a difference of opinion whether ء is considered a full letter. Although the majority view is that it is.
The challenge to produce something like this chapter does not only refer to producing three lines of classical Arabic. The challenge includes using only 10 lexical items, and 10 letters only once throughout the whole chapter.
25. Unique Words.
Chapter Al-Kawthar is one of the one-hundred and fourteen chapters of the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān contains over seventy-thousand words and this chapter uses four words that have not been used in the entire book. These words are:
1. l-kawthara: the root ر ث ك occurs 167 times in the Qur’ān. One of its forms (رَوثْكَ ( occurs once as the noun.66.
2. wa-in’ḥar: the root ر ح ن occurs only once in the Qur’ān, as (رْ حَ ْٱن (the form I verb.67.
3. Shāni-aka: the root أ ن ش occurs three times in the Qur’ān. One of its forms (ئِشانَ ( occurs only once as the active participle.68.
4. l-abtaru: the root ر ت ب occurs only once in the Qur’ān, as (رَبتْ the) َأ noun.69.
The use of these four words not used anywhere else in the Qur’ān, provides strong evidence that there was a careful selection of words in composing this chapter. The Qur’ān did not reuse familiar words found in the Qur’ān, but aimed for originality and a choice of words that maximally enhanced the communicative effectiveness of the chapter’s theme and message.
26. Semantic Mirroring of Previous Chapter.
Imam Ibn ‘Ādil Al-Hanbali cites Imam Ibn Al-Khatīb who explains the special structure of this chapter. Ibn Al-Khatīb shows how this chapter is the direct opposite of the chapter, Al-Mā’ūn, the chapter that comes directly before Al-Kawathr. In Al-Mā’ūn (chapter 107), the hypocrites are described in the following way: they are stingy (verse 2-3), they abandon their prayers (verse 4-5), they are insincere (verse 6), they do not give people their rights (verse 7). In Al-Kawthar, the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمis described as follows: he has overabundance of goodness that negates tight-fisted stinginess (verse 1), he establishes his prayers (verse 2), he is sincere in doing this for “your Lord” (verse 2), he gives sacrifices, which includes doing good and sacrificing animals to give to charity to the needy (verse 2). The chapter ends by implying that the true belief of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمwill outlast the showmanship of his haters (verse 3). The point-by-point parallel between chapters 107 and 108 is how the Qur’ān exhibits the stark difference between hypocrisy and true faith.70.
In this light, Al-Kawthar exhibits a stunning ability to semantically mirror the same themes of Al-Mā’ūn; yet, Al-Kawthar is only 3 verses while Al-Mā’ūn is 7 verses long. The linguistic prowess here is clear. Chapter 108 of the Qur’ān is able to mirror perfectly chapter 107 but with less than half the number of verses. The Qur’ānic challenge to mimic Al-Kawthar is not simply a challenge to compose three lines; rather, it is a challenge to convey seven lines of imagery and information in three lines without any loss of meaning.
27. Universal, Timeless Lessons.
Although this chapter was specifically revealed to console and advise the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم, there are universal and timeless lessons for those who experience tragic loss and hatred from people.
God reminds and affirms that He has given the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمthe abundance. It can be said that God is reminding the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمto be grateful and joyous due to the blessings He has received. God then advises the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمto pray and sacrifice, which is an expression of that gratitude. Sacrifice can also mean giving charity and help others. Finally, God is saying that those who hate are truly cut off, and since the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلمshould be busy with prayer, sacrifice and doing good, the haters should be left to God.
This consolation and advice can be universalised. For all of us who face tragic loss and enmity from people we should:
● Be grateful for the abundance of blessings we have. Focussing on gratitude changes one’s perspective and emotional state. Once in a state of gratitude, it is difficult to be in a negative state at the same time.
● Pray to God and sacrifice, give charity and help others. Expressing gratitude facilitates the state of being grateful. Doing good and helping others also serves as a way to feel better and increase our well-being.
● Leave the haters to God. We must realise they are cut off from blessings because the very fact that they hate is a symptom of an underlying cause. They are not happy, they do not realise their abundant blessings. If they did, they would not hate this way. Ignore your haters, and what they say against you, because they will, ultimately, only harm themselves and fail in the end.