Ayah 1 continued:

إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ
Inna A'ttayna kal kawthar

A’tta/i’tta/yu’ttee – (explained after the below definitions).

There are other words which could be used, i.e;

Aataa – eetaa - to give, but not absolute. I.e. You are giving something which you can take back.

تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ

(tu'teel mulku...)

..You give [tu'tee] the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will..[aal Imran 3:26]

Eetaa/aataa implies: something can be given – with a condition of responsibility, or it can be taken back. I.e. Allah gives kingdom to people with a duty of responsibility of ruling in fairness and justice.

وَآتَيْنَاهُمَا الْكِتَابَ

- aatayna hum ul kitab (We gave them the book) – Allah gave the Book with responsibility, and if people don’t fulfill that responsibility – He can take the guidance away from them.

wahaba (i.e. Hablana) – hiba – to give a huge gift.

This is why the du’a in surah Furqan is for Allah to give us happiness and tranquility with our spouses (husband/wife), and our children. It is difficult since most people are not happy, so for Allah to make families happy is a big gift indeed.

وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَاوَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

And who say, “Our Lord, bestow upon us from our spouses and offsprings comfort of the eyes, (Literally: the coolness (when)the eyes settle down) and make us an Éîmam (Leader) of the pious.” [Furqan 25:74]

A’tta/i’tta/yu’ttee [used in this ayah 1 of surah kawthar] -

In classical Arabic, words have 3 root letters. These 3 letters have a relation in meaning, so if you were to mix the 3 root letters around – they are most likely associated with a similar meaning.

i.e. SHiRK and SHuKR – both have similar yet opposite connotations.

Husn and Nahs – different in meaning but contrast each other

I’ttaa (ayn, ttaa, and waw)
Taa'a’ (ttaa, waw, and ayn) – when you; obey, follow and listen carefully.

Taa’a = obedience.

When someone is obedient to you, you are happy with them so you give alot to them (i’ttaa).

So innaa a’ttayna kal kawthar would imply;

Allah is so pleased with the obedience of His Messenger, that He will give him al Kawthar.

This is not a giving that was expected.

Ajr is when you expected a payment/reward. I.e. You work and you get payed.

However A’ttaa is alot of reward without expecting it and more than your expectations.

I’ttaa is grand, very big. It’s not used for small things.

I’ttaa is a favour that has no conditions attached to it. Once you have it, it is yours and you don’t have to give it back, or be responsible. It is a big gift to you to do as you please. Enjoy.

al Kawthar. Allah is saying to His Messenger that I have given you alot of gifts, so enjoy them. They won’t be taken away from you.

A’ttayna – past tense – Surely We have (ALREADY) given you alot..

He did not say; Sanu’ttiy [present-future tense] (soon We will give you). (like sanulqi qawlan thaqeela – soon We will give you a heavy word – surah muzzamil)

He said innaa A’ttayna (surely We have [already] given you) al Kawthar (the Abundant Good). But he did not see all the Abundant good within his lifetime, so why was past tense used?

Past tense in Arabic implies:

1 – The past is for sure. It is certain. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

So if something is so certain – Allah will use the past tense to explain a future event (i.e. Judgment Day) – to show that this Day is as real as you believe yesterday was real.

So past tense is used for Certainty. This is why Allah is implying using past tense that His Messenger has already recieved the big gift of al Kawthar (Abundant good).

2 – Past tense signifies Completion:

i.e. “I learnt Arabic” (past tense) means I have completed learning Arabic.

“I am learning arabic” signifies incompletion – i.e. I am still in the process of learning other things which I don’t know yet = uncomplete.

So past tense is used to show Completion.

In this surah, Allah is implying that He has already given al Kawthar (the Abundant Good) to His Messenger, even though His Messenger has not seen all that good within his lifetime.

This shows the favour is Guaranteed and Completed.

Linguistic Definition of Kawthar:

Kawthar – (faww’al – through hyperbolisation/mubalaghah/maximization).

Hyperbolise/Mubalaghah مبالغة :
[to empower a word to its maximum in its meaning (i.e. muscle it up)] – say something in an extremely powerful way, with no exaggerations attached.

al Kawthar - katheer / kathra (to have plenty) -incredibe loads of amounts, lots and lots and lots and lots.. of it.

Katheer كث ير has a Y [letter Ya] in it.

KaWthar كوثر has a W [letter Waw] in it.

In Balaghah/Arabic Rhetoric – the Waw و is stronger than the Ya ي .

The 3 Steps:

1 – Kathra كثر means ‘Alot’

2 – Katheer كثير emphasises – alot more abundance than kathra.

3 – KaWthar كوثر = even more than Katheer – ABUNDANCE of ALOT.

This is used to describe khayr al katheer(Abundance of Good).

al Qurtubi:

The Arabs used to describe anything in alot of; quality, quantity, and it is very valuable that you have to guard it = al Kawthar.

I.e. al Jawhar min al Jahr (the Gem from the gems), al Nawfal min al Nafl etc.

When you say Katheer – it can refer to alot of good or bad things.

KaWthar however, can only refer to good things. (kawthar is mutakhassas – specific, to good only.)

Everything Allah has given him is incredibly good, and it is in Abundance.

AL kawthar ال كوثر – the Abundance.

kawtharaN كوثرن[with taNween] – MANY different good things.

Because of the AL (the) – it refers to one thing.

Some have therefore argued that AL kawthar only refers to the Water in Paradise and Judgment Day, because it is only 1 AL kawthar. (based on the reports/athar which mention it).

However, when you refer to something with an adjective [i.e. saying 'You have been given alot'] – without mentioning the Noun [i.e. without mentioning what you have been given alot of'], then it can refer to many things, even if AL is mentioned next to it.

So Allah mentioned Al Kawthar (the Abundant Good). Abundant Good of what? It is not mentioned – so it is possible that it refers to many different types of good.

Plenty, Alot, kawthar, without a noun (object) opens possibilities for alot of good in lots of different forms.

Poetry Describing the word Kawthar

The Old Woman Poetry by the Pre-Islamic Arabs:

A woman had a son who travelled on a business trip to gain wealth.

He comes back from his trip, so someone asks his mother – the old women
bi maa aababnuk - what did your son bring/earn?

She replies: ب كوثرن- “Bi Kawtharin” (i.e. With ALOT of good i.e. wealth).

Another Poem:

The poet said;

wa anta katheerun yabna marwana tayibbun- و أنتكثير يا ابن مروان طيبن – you are really good (tayyib) oh son of Marwan.

wa kaana abooka ibn al aaqa’ili kawthara – و كان أبوكابن آقاعل كوثر 

(but your father ibn al aaqa’il – he was kawthar [had ALOT of good] – he was awesome.

He is implying that you should be more like your dad because he is awesome.

Emphasis:

InNa – surely We (first word of the first ayah)

Even not placing the Inna in the sentence, gramatically it is correct.

i.e. A’ttayna al Kawthar (We have given you the Abundant Good) is still a gramatically correct sentence.

We is also mentioned in that sentence because of the a’ttayNa [We gave]:

So why did Allah mention Inna?

surely We (inNa), We gave (a’ttayNa) you the Abundant Good.

This Repetition emphasises Certainty (incase one was to forget), ihtimaam (highlights and gives importance).

“I, surely I gave you the Abundant Good!”

Why Inna and not Nahnu?

Nahnu نحن (We) could be used. [i.e. Nahnu a'ttayna al Kawthar - We gave you al Kawthar]

InNa إن - Surely We (harf at-tawqeed) – To remove doubt that Allah has give His Messenger an abundance of good.

[No doubt, We have given you al Kawthar]

Causes for Revelation?

There is a difference of opinion on whether this is a Makki or Madani surah.

There are multiple authentic narrations which suggest it is either Makki, and others say Madani revealed surah.

We will understand why the difference of opinion exists, and how to reconcile between the differences insha’ Allah (God willing).

There is a strong close to Ijma’ (consensus) view that it is Makki (it is even written in the Mus-haf[copy of the Qur'an] that it is Makki (revealed in Makkah).

If it is a Makki surah (revealed in Makkah) – the word InNa (surely We) is pleasing to Allah’s Messenger.

Why?

We know that the disbelievers would insult the Messenger of Allah, saying; he does not have much, that he is cut off etc.

So Allah is reassuring His Messenger; InNa – surely We have given you the Abundant Good.

The sons’ of Allah’s Messenger die;

Allah’s Messenger had two sons from Khadijah; Qasim passed away, and he only had one son left – Abdullah. But Abdullah also passes away in his childhood.

The first person to find out about this is the neighbour of Allah’s Messenger, his uncle Abu Lahab – the one who opposed Allah’s Messenger severely.

When Abu Lahab found out about this, so Abu Lahab came out of his house dancing and celebrating, saying “Batara Muhammadun” - Muhammad has been cut off – your lineage has been cut off. Since if you have no sons, your name does not live on.

Think of the evil of Abu Lahab; his own nephew from his own tribe has – who is a child – has died, yet Abu Lahab is celebrating and dancing.

They would boast about what the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (sal Allah alayhi wasalam) does not have; sons, wealth (he could not continue doing business after the message because he spent all day spreading the call to Allah). His lack of backing (because he was an orphan).

The disbeliever leaders would say;

وَقَالُوا لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنَالْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ

And they say: “Why is not this Quran sent down to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Ta’if)?” [such as al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra at Mecca or ‘Urwa b. Mas‘ūd al-Thaqafī at Tā’if.]
[az-Zukhruf 43:31]

They would consistently say and comment on what Allah’s Messenger does not have.

So Allah sent down this surah; telling His Messenger what he surely does have, what Allah has surely given him – the Abundant Good.

Inna – Don’t doubt it ever.

Surely We have given you Alot in abundance, more than anyone can imagine.

When someone insults you, if someone reassures you that you have alot of good – you feel better. Out of everyone, Allah is reassuring His Messenger, the best reassurance.

وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ يَضِيقُ صَدْرُكَ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ

We know your chest feels tight by what they say. [Hijr 15:97]

The extreme Emotional hardship faced by Allah’s Messenger:

If someone dances and celebrates when your child dies, obviously you’re going to feel saddened.

He has to then give da’wah [call to Islam] to these same people who celebrate his massive hurts (and he is a sensitive person.) Yet Allah tells him to be patient with them. He cannot fight them yet, he has to call them to Allah’s way for 10 long years non stop daily. This requires the highest level of manners, perseverance, and morals.

Inna – ikhtisas (exclusitivity) – Only We have given it to you.

No-one can take it away from you because We have given it to you. And We will not take it back because We have A’tta (permanently given it to you without expecting it back).

ihtimam - hama (importance) – a special privilege has been given to Allah’s Messenger which has not been given to anyone else.

We see from every word Allah has chosen – He has Magnified the blessings and gifts He has bestowed upon His beloved Messenger (sal Allah alayhi wasalam).