Almighty Allah has said:
اِنَّاۤ اَعْطَیْنٰكَ الْكَوْثَرَؕ(۱) فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَ انْحَرْؕ(۲) اِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْاَبْتَرُ۠(۳
O beloved We have indeed bestowed upon you
countless excellences. So you offer Salah for your Lord, and sacrifice. Indeed
he who is your enemy, only he is deprived of every good.
[Kanz-ul-Iman (translation of Quran)]
Here is a holy reason for the revelation of
this verse. When a beloved son of the Holy Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم passed away, disbelievers like Abu Lahab,
‘Uqbah Bin Mu’eet, ‘Aas Bin Waa`il, etc. began to say hurtful words. Someone
said, ‘The root of Muhammad (صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم) has been cut off.’
Someone said, ‘Don’t mention Muhammad (صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم). He is the sort of
person whose root has been cut off. He does not have any male child. When he
passes away, his name will be wiped off the face of the earth.’ Responding to
these disbelievers and comforting His Beloved Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم, Almighty Allah
revealed this Quran Surah. It is as if Allah Almighty said, ‘O Beloved! Do not
get grieved at what these people say. Look what benevolence and grace We have
bestowed upon you. We have blessed you with countless qualities and bounties.
Therefore, offer Salah and make a sacrifice in gratitude. As far as your enemies
are concerned, it is actually them whose root has been cut off. They are
deprived of every good.’
In fact, as long as the world exists, every
such person who blasphemes [i.e. shows disrespect to] the Holy Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم is deprived of
good and is included in this verse. This Quran Surah is a wonderful proof of
the dignity and the great rank of the Holy Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم in the Divine
court as well as of Divine love for him صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم. When disbelievers
poked fun at him صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم, Almighty Allah
Himself replied on behalf of His Prophet that his enemy was deprived of good.
This is actually a sign of affection. If anyone objects to one’s beloved, one
replies to the objection himself. A similar way of affection is found in many
other places of the Holy Quran. For example, when Waleed Bin Mugheerah called
the Holy Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم insane and
crazy, Almighty Allah mentioned nine of his faults in his denunciation.
Almighty Allah also said to the Beloved Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم, ‘By the grace of
your Lord, you are not insane.’ (Part 29, Quran Surah Al-Qalam, Ayah 2)
Similarly, on one occasion, Abu Lahab
blasphemed [i.e. disrespected] the Greatest Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم, so Almighty Allah
revealed a complete Quran Surah, denouncing Abu Lahab and saying, ‘May both the
hands of Abu Lahab be destroyed, and he has been destroyed.’ (Part 30, Quran
Surah Lahab, Ayah 1)
The first verse of the above Quran Surah
says that Almighty Allah has bestowed Kawsar, i.e. countless virtues upon His
Beloved Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم. Derived from the
word ‘کثرت’ and strongly emphasized, the word ‘کوثر’ means “a lot; extremely
abundant; to be so abundant that people cannot make an estimate of it and this
abundance may be in terms of quantity and number and status and rank or any
other. It is as if it is being said that your enemies are under the impression
that you have nothing and even your son has passed away but, in actual fact, We
have bestowed upon you so much that no one can even make an estimate of it”.
“Kawsar” is a very comprehensive word.
According to a strong opinion, “Kawsar” means a stream in Paradise. Abu Dawood
states that the Holy Prophet (صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم) once dozed off.
Afterwards, he صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم lifted his head
smilingly and said, ‘A Quran Surah has just been revealed to me.’ He صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم then recited Quran
Surah Al-Kawsar up to the end and said, ‘Do you people know what Kawsar is?’
Blessed companions رَضِىَ اللّٰەُ عَنْهُم respectfully
replied, ‘Almighty Allah and His Rasool know the best.’ The Beloved
Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم said, ‘In
Paradise, it’s a stream that my Lord has promised to me.’ (Abu Dawood,
vol. 4, pp. 313, Hadith 4747)
It is stated in another Hadith that the
Revered and Renowned Rasool صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم said: While
walking in Paradise, I suddenly came across a stream whose both the brinks were
domes of hollow pearls. I said, ‘O Jibraeel! What is this?’ He respectfully
replied, ‘This is Kawsar that Almighty Allah has bestowed upon you.’
Afterwards, I saw that its fragrance or soil was like wafting musk. (Sahih
Bukhari, vol. 4, pp. 268, Hadith 6581)
Regarding “Kawsar” there is another opinion
of Islamic scholars. It means “the pond of Kawsar”. Sayyiduna Anas رَضِىَ اللّٰەُ عَنْهُ stated: The Holy Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم was sitting
among us. Suddenly, he dozed off. Then, he صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم lifted his
blessed head smilingly and said, ‘A Quran Surah has just been revealed to me.’
He صلّی اللّٰہ
علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم recited Quran Surah
Al-Kawsar and said, ‘Do you know what Kawsar is?’ We replied, ‘Almighty Allah
and His Rasool know the best.’ The Beloved Prophet صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم said, ‘It’s a stream that my Lord has
promised to me. It has a lot of good and it’s the pond where my Ummah will come
to drink [its water] on the Day of Judgement.’ (Sahih Muslim, pp. 169, Hadith
894)
The stream of Kawsar is in Paradise,
whereas the pond of Kawsar will be on the plains of resurrection. Water will be
flowing through the pond of Kawsar from two drain spouts of Paradise. It is as
if this pond originates from the stream of Kawsar in Paradise. (Fath-ul-Baari,
vol. 12, pp. 398)
Here is a summary of a Hadith mentioned in
“Sahih Muslim”, describing the glory of the pond of Kawsar. ‘Its pots outnumber
even the stars shining on the clear and bright sky in a dark night. One who
drinks Kawsar water from it will never be thirsty. The width of this pond is
equal to its length, as is the distance between Oman and Eela. Its water is
whiter than milk and sweeter than honey.’ (Sahih Muslim, pp. 969, Hadith
5989)
Apparently, these are two different
opinions about Kawsar, one of which says that it’s a stream and, according to
the other, it’s a pond. In actual fact, these two and other opinions are all
included in one opinion which says that “Kawsar” is “immense goodness”. It is
stated in Sahih Bukhari that Sayyiduna Abdullah Bin ‘Abbas رَضِىَ اللّٰەُ عَنْهُ stated, ‘Kawsar
means the goodness that Almighty Allah has bestowed upon His Beloved
Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم.’ The narrator said:
I asked Sa’eed Bin Jubair رَضِیَ اللہُ عَنْہُ, ‘People say that
it’s a stream in Paradise?’ Upon this, he replied, ‘The stream in Paradise is
also included in this goodness which Almighty Allah has bestowed upon
him.’ (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 3, pp. 390, Hadith 4966)
Overall, in the commentary of “Kawsar”,
there are around thirty opinions. In reality, the Greatest and Noblest
Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم has been blessed
with immense goodness, encompassing all things. For example, the Holy Quran is
also definitely included in “immense goodness”. What goodness can be greater
than it? In a similar way, the Revered and Renowned Rasool صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم was blessed with the greatest wisdom and even the treasure of wisdom. Wisdom has been declared to be
immense goodness by the Holy Quran. (Part 3, Quran Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah
269) Likewise, he صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم has been blessed
with the ability to put many meanings in nutshell known as ‘جوامع الکلم’.
In short, it was said, ‘O Beloved
Prophet صلّی
اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم! Indeed We have
bestowed countless virtues upon you including Quran, Nubuwwah, Risalah, Islam,
easy Shari commandments, wisdom, knowledge, Ma’rifah and Noor in your heart.
Your pure character has been adorned with great acts of worship, good manners,
excellent attributes, and wonderful habits. You have been blessed with many
miracles, intercession, Maqaam-e-Mahmood, pond of Kawsar, stream in Paradise
and even the entire Paradise. You have been blessed with the pure group of
blessed companions, abundance in Ummah, the domination of religion and conquests.
Your enemies have been made overawed by you. Your lineage has been made great
and you have been given perfection is apparent and inner beauty. Whether it is
the east or the west, the earth or the sky, the world or the Hereafter, there
is the elevation of your remembrance everywhere in the form of your praise, eulogy,
compliment and admiration.
In gratitude to all of these bounties,
offer Salah and make a sacrifice for the pleasure of your Lord. The enemy calling
you “اَبْتَر” is actually deprived of good, whereas you are
blessed with immense good. سُبْحٰنَ اللّٰە! How beautifully
Almighty Allah has described the glory of Beloved Mustafa صلّی اللّٰہ علیہ واٰلہٖ وسلّم! This has also been
expressed by A’la Hadrat Imam Ahmad Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ اللّٰەِ عَلَيْه in the following couplet:
Ay Raza khud Sahib-e-Quran hay maddah-e-Huzoor
Tujh say kab mumkin hay phir midhat Rasoolullah ki
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