Gems from Juzz 'Amma: "An Abundance of good..."

~ Gems from Juzz 'Amma ~

Surah Kauthar, ayah 1: : "An Abundance of good..."

Al Kawthar: 

1) The Abundant Good (khayr al katheer).

2) The river in Paradise, and a pond on Judgment Day which Allah’s Messenger will give water to from his followers before the entrance into Paradise. They are 2 sources of water.

A’tta/i’tta/yu’ttee:

In classical Arabic, words have 3 root letters. These 3 lettere 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.

Example:

- 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)
Taw’ (ttaa, waw, and ayn) – when you; obey, follow and listen carefully.

Taa’a = obedience.

Thus, A’tta/i’tta is when someone is obedient to you, you are happy with them so you give alot to them 

So innaa a’ttayna al 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.

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 a lot..A

He did not say; Sanu’ttiy [present-future tense] (soon We will give you).

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.