A Quranic Journal

"Indeed We have given you abundance." The word used in the surah and rendered here as "abundance" is "kawthar", derived from the stem word "kathrah" which signifies "abundance" or "a multitude". This "kawthar" is unrestricted and unlimited. It indicates the opposite meaning to the one the impudent folk of Quraish tried to attach to the Prophet." We have given you" that which is plentiful, overflowing and rich, unstinting and unending. If anyone wishes to pursue and observe this abundance which Allah has given to His Prophet, he would find it wherever he looks and reflects. He would find it in Muhammad's prophethood itself this link with the great Reality and the great Being, Who has no parallel and no partner. What indeed can the one who has found Allah be said to have lost?

He would find it in this Qur'an which was revealed to Muhammad every chapter of which is a fountain of richness which flows incessantly.

He would also find this kawthar or abundance manifest in the of the Prophet's Sunnah (way of life) throughout the centuries, in the far flung corners of the earth, in the millions upon millions who follow in his footsteps, in the millions upon millions who pronounce his name with respectful affection and the millions upon millions of hearts that cherish, and would cherish his example and memory even to the Day of Resurrection.

He would also find this Kawthar or abundance manifest in the goodness and prosperity which have accrued to the human race as a result of his message, and which reach those who know and believe in him and those who do not. He would also discern this abundance in various and manifold phenomena, attempting to enumerate which would at best give only a passing feeling of a great reality.

This indeed is abundance in its absolute unlimited sense. The surah therefore does not give it a specific definition. Several accounts relate that "al-Kawthar" is a river in Paradise granted to the Prophet but Ibn Abbas, a learned companion of the Prophet, contends that the river is but one part of the abundance which Allah has furnished for His Prophet. Keeping the circumstances and the whole context in mind, Ibn Abbas's view is the more valid.