Secrets from Surat al-Kawthar

Surat al-Kawthar, Surah 108.
ﺇِﻧَّﺎ ﺃَﻋْﻄَﻴْﻨَﺎﻙَ ﺍﻟْﻜَﻮْﺛَﺮَ ﻓَﺼَﻞِّ ﻟِﺮَﺑِّﻚَ ﻭَﺍﻧْﺤَﺮْ ﺇِﻥَّ ﺷَﺎﻧِﺌَﻚَ ﻫُﻮَ ﺍﻟْﺄَﺑْﺘَﺮُ
“Inna `ataynaaka al-kawthar fa salli li rabbika wanhar inna sha’anayaka huwa al-abtar.”
To thee (O Muhammad) we have granted the abundance. [Which is the Bounty of Allah bestowed on the Prophet (s)]. Therefore to thy Lord turn in Prayer and Sacrifice. For he who hates thee, he will be cut off (from Future Hope).
Allah said, “Inna `ataynaaka al-kawthar” – “We gave you the Kawthar.”
He did not say, “We are giving.” He did not say, “We will be giving.” He said in the past tense, “inna `ataynaaka” – “We gave you…”
When Allah says, “We have given you already,” it means, “We have given it before you have been created and before anything has been created, we have given you the abundance, Allah’s Bounty.”
What is Allah’s Bounty? It has no description, no details, so no one knows it. Allah says, “We have given you,” meaning, “No one knows what I have given you, Ya Muhammad; it is up to My Greatness that I gave, without limitation.”
So in whatever way you try to limit the Prophet (s), it is a mistake. When you say, “The Prophet (s) is someone who brought the message and died and that is it,” that is a big mistake. Everyone is going to die, and the Prophet (s) passed from this life, but that does not mean he is like me or like you or like anyone else.
Allah did not say to any other prophet what He said to the Prophet (s), “We have given you ‘the abundance.’”
And what did He say? Al-kawthar. Kawthar comes from the Arabic “katheer.” “Katheer” means “too much.” We gave you that which is too much. How then can what Allah gave Sayyidina Muhammad(s) be restricted?
Whatever you exaggerate in praising the Prophet (s), and whatever you praise is not yet anything compared to what Allah has given him and to where He has raised him. But you need both a mind and a heart in order to understand this point.
Today they attack those, who, like Imam Muhammad al-Busairi, praised the Prophet (s) intensely. Despite that, today everyone is reciting his poems, al-burda ash-sharif and al-mudariyya.
Some people recite it every day. Other people tell them, “No don’t do that; you might end up in a line praising the Prophet (s) too much.”
In these three verses Allah informed us, “O human beings, say whatever you want to say of praise of the Prophet (s), as much as you feel free to say, it is not shirk, because you cannot praise him as I have.”
And it is from the secret of the ayat, that Muhammad al-Busairi said in al-Burda, “Say whatever you want to say about the Prophet (s), but don’t say like the Christians said about Jesus, that he is God or the son of God.” It means go as high as you like in praise of the Prophet (s).
So who can go higher, when he said “Muhammadun Rasulullah” to follow “la ilaha ill-Allah?”
When someone wants to give, if I want to give you something, there must someone giving and someone taking. Someone gives and someone takes. If there is not someone taking how do you give. Do you give in the air? No.
So when Allah said, we have given you, not in dunya, but before he gave him.That will explain something was given by Allah something that was existing.
That is why when Jaabir asked the Prophet (s), “what Allah created first,” he said, “The first thing that Allah created was the light of your Prophet O Jaabir.” And that light was turning in Bahr al-Qudrah, the Ocean of Allah’s Attribute of Power. There he was turning, accumulating more and more energy. When someone turns he gathers centrifugal force. More and more power accumulating as he circumambulates in the Bahr al-Qudrah.
And the hadith continues, from that light He created creation, and from one fourth of it the dunya was created.
It means “We gave you what is beyond description. We gave you “al-katheer, min kulli shay,” from whatever We created, We gave you, O Muhammad, more than that.”
So what was the Prophet (s) given? That is what no one knows. That means that whatever level Allah has raised him to, no one knows. No one but Allah knows. No one else.
There are many hadith explaining the meaning of “inna ‘ataynaak al-kawthar”.
ﻭﺭﻭﻯ ﻋﻨﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺍﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﺍﻧﻪ ﻗﺮﺃﻫﺎ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ " ﺍﺗﺪﺭﻭﻥ ﻣﺎ ﺍﻟﻜﻮﺛﺮ ﺍﻧﻪ ﻧﻬﺮ ﻓﻰ ﺍﻟﺠﻨﺔ ﻭﻋﺪﻧﻴﻪ ﺭﺑﻰ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺧﻴﺮ ﻛﺜﻴﺮ ﺃﺣﻠﻰ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻌﺴﻞ ﻭﺃﺷﺪ ﺑﻴﺎﺿﺎ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻠﺒﻦ ﻭﺃﺑﺮﺩ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺜﻠﺞ ﻭﺃﻟﻴﻦ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺰﺑﺪ ﺣﺎﻓﺘﺎﻩ ﺍﻟﺰﺑﺮﺟﺪ ﻭﺃﻭﺍﻧﻴﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻓﻀﺔ ﻋﺪﺩ ﻧﺠﻮﻡ ﺍﻟﺴﻤﺎﺀ ﻻ ﻳﻈﻤﺄ ﻣﻦ ﺷﺮﺏ ﻣﻨﻪ ﺍﺑﺪﺍ ﺍﻭﻝ ﻭﺍﺭﺩ ﺑﻪ ﻓﻘﺮﺍﺀ ﺍﻟﻤﻬﺎﺟﺮﻳﻦ ﻟﺪﻧﺴﻮﺍ ﺍﻟﺜﻴﺎﺏ ﺍﻟﺸﻌﺚ ﺍﻟﺮﺅﺱ ﺍﻟﺬﻳﻦ ﻻ ﻳﺰﻭﺣﻮﻥ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﻌﻤﺎﺕ ﻭﻻ ﺗﻔﺘﺢ ﻟﻬﻢ ﺍﺑﻮﺍﺏ ﺍﻟﺴﺪﺩ ﻭﻳﻤﻮﺕ ﺍﺣﺪﻫﻢ ﻭﺣﺎﺟﺘﻪ ﺗﺘﻠﺠﻠﺞ ﻓﻰ ﺻﺪﺭﻩ ﻟﻮ ﺃﻗﺴﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻷﺑﺮﻩ "
In one of the hadiths, the Prophet (s) after reading the surah, said, “Do you know what Allah has given me? It is a river in Paradise that Allah promised and gave me. In it is a lot of goodness, abundance.”
And ibn `Abbas (r) mentioned this understanding where he said, “The word 'al-Kawthar' means the abundant good which Allah gave to him (the Prophet Muhammad). Abu Bishr said: I said to Sa`id ibn Jubayr, "Some people claim that it (al-Kawthar) is a river in Paradise." Sa`id replied, "The river that is in Paradise is one item of that good which Allah has bestowed upon him (Muhammad)." (Sahih Bukhari)
He described it as, “ahla min al `asl” – “sweeter than honey,” “wa ashaddu bayaadin min al-labni, wa abradu min ath-thalj.” - “Intensely white even more than milk and cooler than ice.”
What is sweeter than honey? Think about it. The Prophet (s) said, “ahla min al-`asl.” Honey is the sweetest thing, and feehi shifa’, it contains a cure for human beings.
It means that what Allah has given to the Prophet (s) from that river, has an effect top cure human beings. Anyone wants to quench his thirst will be cured. Whoever wants to come to the Prophet (s) Muhammadun Rasulullah, will be given knowledge, more than anywhere.
“And more white than milk.” That means any knowledge that you acquire in this dunya, must have an ego flavor. First of all, when they say something, they write by their name, professor, or PhD, or doctor. Even Muslim scholars write “doctor” in front of their names.
So he said, "Ashaddu bayaadin min al-labni." What I am giving you from that knowledge, from that river, is knowledge or a river that quenches your thirst and has no spot of dust or darkness. It is a pure white spiritual knowledge that is from the Divine Presence - that will make you white. When you acquire it, it purifies you like crystal clear water. You become like that. You will be able to inherit and to receive blessings of the Divine Presence. It is perfect clarity and with that you will be dressed.
And he said, “cooler than ice.” When you drink cool water you feel refreshed, as if newly born. When he (s) says, “cooler than ice,” what is the most precious thing in that time in the desert? It was water and they had no ice there. They were only hearing about ice. The Prophet (s) said it is colder than ice, so it will rejuvenate you and refresh you in a way that will enable you to receive heavenly knowledge.
When you are tired and sweating from running, what do you take? You take icy water. When you are dumping yourself in the difficulties of this dunya, and ego is taking your self over, you are sweating and tiring; you need to drink something. So that is the cure for bringing the ego down, after it makes you tired. It will give you the heavenly water of youth that will rejuvenate you.
“Wa alyanu min az-zabad” – “more soft than the zabad.” Zabad is when the waves come on the seashore, you see white stuff - that foam. Something softer than the foam, something so clean and so white will be given to you when you are dressed with that dress.
Allah gave the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) gave to the Ummah.
Mawlana Shaykh Hisham Kabbani