Sura al-Kawthar

Priority: b, Quality: b
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Sura al-Kawthar
al-Ma'un
Sura Number108
Juz'30
Revelation
Revelation Number15
Makki/MadaniMakki
Information
Verse Count3
Word Count10
Letter Count43\


This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Kawthar; to read its text see text:Sura al-Kawthar.

Sūra al-Kawthar (Arabic: سورة الكوثر) is the 108th sura and a Makki sura of the Qur'an, located in the thirtieth juz' thereof. It is the smallest sura of the Qur'an, which is called "al-Kawthar" because its first verse talks about a blessing to the Prophet (s) called "al-Kawthar," asking the Prophet (s) to say prayers and sacrifice for such a great blessing.

Instances of "al-Kawthar" are variously interpreted as the Pond of Kawthar, a river in the Heaven, an abundance of the good, prophethood, the Qur'an, the significant number of his companions, and intercession. In the view of many Shiite scholars, one instance of "al-Kawthar" is Lady Fatima (a) and her children because the sura was revealed in response to those who had claimed that the Prophet (s) had no progeny.

As to the virtue of the recitation of Sura al-Kawthar, it is said: if one recites the sura in his daily prayers, then he will drink from the Pond of Kawthar on the day of resurrection, and will be a companion of the Prophet (s) under the Tree of Tuba.

Introduction

  • Naming

The sura is called "al-Kawthar" because its first verse talks about a blessing called "al-Kawthar" which is given by God to the Prophet (s).[1]

  • Order and Place of Revelation

Sura al-Kawthar is a Makki sura. In the order of revelation, it is the fifteenth sura revealed to the Prophet (s). In the current order of compilation, it is the 108th sura, located in the thirtieth juz' of the Qur'an.[2]

  • Number of Verses and Words

Sura al-Kawthar has three verses, ten words, and forty-three letters. It is the smallest sura of the Qur'an.[3]

Contents

The sura addresses the Prophet (s) in all of its verses, just like Qur'an 93 and Qur'an 94.[4] It points to a blessing called "al-Kawthar", which was given to the Prophet (s) by God.[5] Quranic exegetes have interpreted "al-kawthar" as abundant good—one[6] for which the Prophet (s) is asked to perform prayers and make sacrifices.[7]

Instances of al-Kawthar

Main article: Al-Kawthar

There is a disagreement among exegetes as to what the instance of al-Kawthar is. Some possible interpretations include the Pond of Kawthar, a river in the Heaven, abundant good, prophethood, the Qur'an, the great number of the Prophet's progeny, and intercession.[8]

In Tafsir-i nimuna, many Shiite scholars are said to believe that one instance of al-Kawthar is Lady Fatima (a) because the sura talks about those who claim that the Prophet (s) has no progeny, while his progeny continued through Fatima (a), and this is the progeny in which Imamate appeared.[9]


Occasion of the Revelation

Sura al-Kawthar was revealed after what 'As b. Wa'il said about the Prophet (s). When 'Abd Allah, the Prophet's son, died and the Prophet (s) had no son, he referred to the Prophet (s) as "Abtar" (without posterity, that is, without a progeny) when he was in a gathering of the Quraysh.[11] With this sura, God consoled the Prophet (s) that he was given the abundant good. Moreover, God prognosticated that his enemies will have no progeny.[12]

The Recitation of the Sura in Mustahab Prayers

Sura al-Kawthar inscribed on the ceiling of one of the halls of Imam al-Husayn's shrine

It is recommended to recite Sura al-Kawthar in some recommended prayers, including:

  • The Prayer of the eleventh night of the month of Ramadan: this Prayer consists of two rak'as, in each of which, Sura al-Hamd is recited once, and Sura al-Kawthar is recited twenty times.
  • The Prayer of the eighteenth night of the month of Ramadan: this prayer consists of four rak'as, in each of which Sura al-Hamd is recited once, and Sura al-Kawthar is recited twenty-five times.

Virtue and Features

Abu Basir quoted Imam al-Sadiq (a) as saying: if one recites the sura in his daily prayers, he will drink from the Pond of Kawthar on the day of resurrection, and will be a companion of the Prophet (s) under the Tree of Tuba.[13] In Majma' al-bayan, the Prophet (s) is quoted as saying: if one recites Sura al-Kawthar, God will satiate him with rivers of the Heaven, and will reward him as many times as servants of God make sacrifices on Eid al-Adha and as People of the Book and polytheists make sacrifices.[14]

Artworks

Sura al-Kawthar has been inscribed on tiles of some buildings, such as holy shrines, mosques, Imamzadas, and seminary schools, Such as the interior part of Imam al-Husayn's darih

For the full text, see text:Sura al-Kawthar.


Notes

  1. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1269.
  2. ↑ Maʿrifat, Amūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 166.
  3. ↑ Khurramshāhī, Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān, vol. 2, p. 1269.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 370.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 370-371.
  6. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 835.
  7. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 373.
  8. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 836-837.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 375; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 370.
  10. ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
  11. ↑ Wāḥidī, Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurʾān, p. 494; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 836.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, p. 369.
  13. ↑ Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 126-127.
  14. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 835.

References

  • Khurramshāhī, Bahāʾ al-Dīn. Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān-Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1371 Sh.
  • Maʿrifat, Muḥammad Hādī. Amūzish-i ʿulūm-i Qurʾān. Markaz-i Chāp wa Nashr-i Sāzmān-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1371 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Thawāb al-aʿmāl wa ʿiqāb al-aʿmāl. Qom: Dār al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1406 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassiast al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Fāḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Jawād Balāghī. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusru, 1372 Sh.
  • Wāḥidī, ʿAlī b. Aḥmad al-. Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyya, 1411 AH.
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