Surat al Kawthar starts off with Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ Innaa a’taynaakal kawthar إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ Indeed (O Muhammad) (s) We have given you a lot of goodness. Why does Allah say ‘We have given?’ Why didn’t Allah say I have given? One of the reasons is to show the Glory and Power of Allah, it like the ‘Royal We’. Just like when a king says ‘we will do this’. It shows the strength, greatness and power of the King The word Kawthar has so many meanings, one of them is so much of goodness and blessings that the Prophet received Another meaning of Kawthar is a main river in Heaven which is full of goodness. Which was granted to the Prophet (s) after his son’s death. And another meaning of Kawthar is Sayida Fatima who was full of goodness and blessings. The next verse says Fasalli lirabbika wanhar فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Allah has giving the Prophet Muhammad so much of goodness, and the best way to thank Allah is to pray and sacrifice. What is this sacrifice? Some have said the word wanhar وَانْحَرْ(sacrifice) comes from the word nahr which means throat. So some have concluded that it is a sacrifice of an animal which is commonly done at the throat and neck, and some say it’s a specific animal, the camel, which the sacrifice is to be done for Allah alone. It also has been used with the meaning to face the direction of something. So in this meaning it means to face the qiblah, the direction towards the Ka’ba while praying. In another meaning it means to raise your hands to your throat and face while doing Takbir. The next verse says Inna shaani aka huwal abtar إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ Indeed your enemy is the one who left no one behind. The word abtar means an animal whose tail is cut off. It is used in this meaning to tell the enemies of the Prophet that they will be cut off, i.e they will have no successors to continue their deeds. Why is Allah mentioning this Surah? Some of the Arabs at the time of ignorance used to bury their baby daughters alive because they believed that females could not benefit them. The Prophet had a son who died at a young age at that time. The enemies of the Prophet (s) would tease and make fun of him because they believed that having a son was so important as a successor to continue the deeds of a father when the father dies. In this case they believed that by leaving a son the father will be remembered. So they called the Prophet an ‘Abtar’, the one who has left no one behind. Soon later, Surat al Kawthar was revealed. So from the start of the Sura in the first meaning it indicates don’t worry too much about the death of your son, We have given you too much blessings, so pray to your Lord and give thanks, your enemy is the one who left no one behind without all these blessings and won’t be remembered. The Prophet Muhammad (s) is the most remembered name in the world and is the most blessed person in the world till today. The enemies of the Prophet were not remembered nor blessed. If we look at the Sura in the second meaning it will indicate, don’t worry too much about the death of your son, We have giving you the main river in Heaven full of blessings and goodness. So pray to your Lord and give thanks, Indeed, your enemy is the one who will not drink from the river of goodness and won’t be in Heaven. But the closest meaning according to scholars is the third meaning which indicates, don’t worry too much about the death of your son, We have given you so much goodness, she is Fatima, So pray to your Lord and give thanks. Indeed, your enemy is the one who left no one behind. Lady Fatima and the Prophet have left the best legacy behind, the ahlul bayt. All the Imams (As) are connected to Sayida Fatima. All the millions of Sayids in the world come through Sayida Fatima. A legacy that will last forever. But the enemies of the Prophet, even though they left many sons behind, where are they today? They are the abtar, the ones who left no one behind. What we can learn from this sura is that it’s showing us the great status of the Prophet, he has the highest position in Heaven where he was granted Sayida Fatima. It also shows the great status of Sayida Fatima and how she left the best legacy. It also shows the great status of ahlul bayt through the lineage of Sayida Fatima and shows that the enemies of the prophet (s) will have nothing. No blessings or remembrance in this world or in the hereafter.