Surah Al- Kawthar-The Abundance of Good

 

This surah brings the glad tidings of “abundant goods” of this life and the next to the last Prophet (pbuh). Allah gives assurance to him that his remembrance will be preserved for all the world to see and will continue for all of time till the day of resurrection so he needs to be thankful to Allah for this. And those who insult him will soon be cut from all good. So is the case with all mankind, our true goodness will always be measured by the purity of our souls and not by worldly possessions. The more we be thankful, the more we be bestowed upon.

     The Surah begins with Allah consoling His last messenger Muhammad (pbuh) against the thinking of his opponents’ and reminding him the glad tidings of abundant bestowal of all the divine gifts including the revelation, knowledge, wisdom, the ability to do good works, and dignity in this world and in the hereafter. This surah was revealed at the time when the manifestations of this “abundance of good” had not yet appeared. It was a miraculous piece of news which informed about the near future and the remote future regarding the legitimacy of the holy Prophet (pbuh). The world is the witness to the fact that his message became the standard-bearer of Truth throughout the world and still continues to reach far and wide with his name still alive. These are all the manifestations of the blessings that we witness today regarding how Allah blessed His Prophet in the world. “Indeed, We have granted you, (O Muhammad), al-Kawthar” (Holy Quran 108:1) meaning copiousness, multitude and abundance of all that is good in this world and in the hereafter. Such a magnitude of blessings needs a lofty thankfulness, however no doubt His creatures can never thank the Creator fully for His blessings. If it’s taken with reference to the believers in general, it evidently signifies the ability to acquire knowledge, to do good works, to be kind towards all living beings, and thus to attain to inner peace and dignity. These all are blessings in one or the other way and even the thankfulness that one offers to Allah, is itself a blessing from Him. “So pray to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him alone)” (Holy Quran 108:2). Worship Him alone and do not associate any partner with Him and sacrifice (animals) solely and sincerely for your Lord. “Indeed, your enemy is the one (who is) cut off” (Holy Quran 108:3) from all that is good in this world and in the life after death. The Quraysh would call the Prophet ‘abtar’ (the one cut off).  They thought in their ignorance that his remembrance would be cut off as he had no progeny. Contrary to this, Allah preserved his prophet’s remembrance for all the world to see, and for all the times to come- until the Day of Gathering and the coming of the Hereafter. Today, no one knows the enemies of the prophet and the enemies of Islam. History has proven that they were so rooted out that no trace of their generations can be seen today and thus they proved to be ‘abtar’.

         Allah was always there in all those times when our hearts sank out of sadness and grief and He turned our tears of sadness into ones of absolute bliss. But how many times have we thought of it? Have we ever thought and thanked the One who intervened, pulled us out and gave us tranquilly when the pains of the world had tired us? He just waited for a single tear that came down our cheek and a single call that escaped our quivering lips and then we witnessed how the things that had left us scarred, got removed entirely. Wish we realize that its Allah who put things at the right place, at the right time, for the right reasons known to Him. Blessed are those who never for a moment lose hope in Him as they know that Allah is with them. Moreover, may our own faults keep us away from seeing the faults of others.  May Allah give us strength to lift others up rather than putting them down. Wish we never forget the days when we prayed for the things that we have now. What we get is always from His blessings and what we don’t get has His wisdom hidden in it.

     One rather more strong message that this surah is putting forth is that, the actual powerful ones will always be those who will have the support of Allah. It’s a kind of glad tidings for those who follow and maintain the path of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) with faith and determination. The mere gathering together of individuals will never be the mark of strength. It’s always something beyond this. It’s the stock of humanity, ethics and morality that has brought up the super heroes of different times. The only molds to caste such individuals are offered in the true teachings of Islam, of which the biggest example is of our Prophet (pbuh). If we try to bring ourselves to this understanding and start organizing others along this particular mode of living, we will be able to bring closer the Muslims across the globe and will be able to cope easily and successfully with the challenges of modern times.