Dr. Bassam Saeh says that Surah al-Kawthar, though the shortest surah in the Quran with only ten words, is filled with deep linguistic renewal that sets it apart from anything Arabs had heard before. He identifies at least fifteen unique features that show the Quran’s unmatched use of language, even in such a brief space.
The surah introduces completely new words never seen before in Arabic, like al-kawthar (abundance), wanhar (sacrifice), and al-abtar (cut off). These words not only appear for the first time here, but also carry layered, open meanings that invite reflection and allow for multiple interpretations. For example, kawthar might mean a river in Paradise, or vast goodness, or spiritual abundance, depending on context.
The structure of the surah is also unique. Each of its three verses forms a full, independent composition with a distinct rhythm and grammatical form. The verbs used, such as pray and sacrifice, follow unusual patterns: pray is used with for your Lord (rather than on or without a preposition, as in other places), and sacrifice appears with no object, creating a stripped, focused command that surprises the listener.
Most strikingly, this is the first surah among those examined where Allah speaks directly in the first person plural (We gave you), rather than hiding behind third-person descriptions or passive verbs. This shift to direct speech gives the surah a feeling of intimacy and divine closeness. Yet even here, the second verse suddenly moves back to the third person (your Lord), creating a deliberate and rhythmic shift in style, something new and powerful in Arabic.
Dr. Saeh explains that early Arabs would have been shocked and puzzled by the surah. Every word raises questions: Who is We? What is kawthar? Who is the cut-off one? This puzzlement is part of its rhetorical force. The surah uses minimal words to introduce major concepts, personal address, and emotional weight, making it a model of concise, powerful, and renewed language.
In short, Dr. Saeh presents Surah al-Kawthar as a perfect example of how the Quran transforms Arabic: giving new meanings to old words, introducing unheard expressions, shifting grammatical norms, and creating unique linguistic patterns — all in just three verses.
The Shortest Surah and Its Unique Structure
This is the seventh surah in the order we have followed in this study. It is the shortest surah, containing no more than ten words. Yet, we find in it at least fifteen new and remarkable linguistic features that the Book introduced into the Arabic language for the first time.
The surah draws its character from its unique use of the verb pray (ṣalli صلِّ) with the preposition for (li لـِ), unlike the other eleven places where this verb appears. It also stands out because every word in the surah — except for grammatical tools and the word Lord (rabb رب) — is exclusive to this surah and not found in any other. These words are: We gave you (aʿṭaynāka أعطيناك), abundance (al-kawthar الكوثر), sacrifice (inḥar انحر), your enemy (shāni’aka شانئك), and cut off (abtar الأبتر). It also features three expressions that do not appear anywhere else in the Book: We gave you abundance (innā aʿṭaynāka al-kawthar إنا أعطيناك الكوثر), pray to your Lord and sacrifice (faṣalli li-rabbika wanḥar فصلِّ لربك وانحر), and your enemy is the one cut off (inna shāni’aka huwa al-abtar إن شانئك هو الأبتر).
But perhaps the most striking feature of the surah is that it is the first, among the ones we have studied so far, to include the pronoun of the speaker (or speakers) referring directly to Allah. In the previous surahs we examined:
A – The divine pronoun was either hidden behind command verbs coming from an unknown source, as in: Say: I seek refuge…, Say: He is…, Say: O disbelievers…
B – Or implied under a neutral, third-person form that speaks “about” Him, not “from” Him: Lord of the worlds, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment, Lord of people, King of people, God of people, Lord of the dawn, Allah the eternal…
C – Or a clear third-person singular pronoun (He), either visible or implied, without the neutral tone: From the evil of what He created, He is Allah, One, He did not give birth and was not born, There is none like Him, Ask forgiveness from Him, for He is the One who accepts repentance…
Often, the pronoun referring to Allah is hidden behind different rhetorical and grammatical techniques. A neutral passive voice replaces the direct personal voice: He will enter a fire… instead of I will make him enter a fire; or the passive replaces the active: a carrier of firewood, around her neck a rope… instead of I will make her carry the wood, I will place a rope… The subject is concealed: He will be thrown into the crusher, You will be asked about pleasure, rather than the active forms I will throw him, I will ask you…
The first-person pronoun referring to Allah appears, when it appears, most often in the plural form: We gave you, and much less often in the singular form. To encounter this singular form, one would need to wait until much later, like in Surah al-Fajr, where it finally appears: Enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise. Meanwhile, the third-person pronoun referring to Allah is always singular (He), never plural (they).
The singular pronoun from Allah, has a special intimacy. We feel closer to Him through it. It usually appears in verses that speak of a deep and personal relationship between Allah and His servant, such as:
“If My servants ask you about Me, I am near” (al-Baqara: 186)
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ
“Tell My servants that I am the Forgiving, Merciful” (al-Hijr: 49–50)
نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الْأَلِيمُ
“I am your Lord, so take off your shoes, you are in the sacred valley” (Taha: 12)
إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى
“O My servants who have wronged themselves, do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy” (al-Zumar: 53)
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ
“O peaceful being, return to your Lord pleased and pleasing. Enter among My servants, and enter My Paradise” (al-Fajr: 27–31)
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي
The topic of pronouns referring to Allah in the Book deserves a full, separate study. One strange fact that should be mentioned is that among the three revealed books, only the Book uses the plural We to refer to God. The Torah and the Gospel only use the singular form I, never We.
New Words and Expressions
We previously explained the value that Arabs gave to new words, how they would give poets titles just for using a unique word that caught people’s attention and stayed on their tongues.
This helps us understand how an Arab would be surprised to hear three entirely new words with powerful meanings all in one short surah of ten words:
Abundance (الكوثر)
This word is not found in pre-Islamic poetry at all. That explains the wide disagreement among scholars about its meaning. Most said it is a river in Paradise from which all other rivers flow. Others said it is the basin from which the Prophet will give water to believers on the Day of Judgement. Others said it refers to the Book, or prophethood, or many descendants, or great goodness, the word being related to abundance.
Al-Qurtubi mentioned sixteen meanings for it. Others listed up to twenty-six. The word appears only once in the entire Book, here in this surah.
Sacrifice (وانحر)
Scholars mentioned several meanings for this word, most of which show how new it is. Some said it refers to the prayer of the Festival of Sacrifice, which Arabs did not know before Islam.
Others said it means placing the right hand over the chest during prayer, also a new practice. Others said it means raising the hands to the level of the chest in prayer.
Some said it refers to slaughtering the animal of sacrifice, meaning: sacrifice for your Lord, not for idols as the polytheists did. Or it is a command to sacrifice after the Festival prayer, not before. Others said it means to face the direction of prayer with the chest.
Oddly, this verb never appears again in the Book, nor any of its forms. It is another unique feature of this surah.
The Cut Off (الأبتر)
This word appears only once in pre-Islamic poetry and in a different meaning, referring to a sharp sword. In the line of Antara:
“I pierced this one with the spear and struck that one with the sharp sword”
In the Book, it refers to the one with no descendants. Some said it also means disgraced, without blessing, or cut off from goodness.
It was said that someone from Quraysh (some say al-As ibn Wa’il) mocked the Prophet when his sons died, saying Muhammad is cut off and his name will vanish. This surah came as a direct response to that.
This word also appears only here in the Book. In hadith, it appears only in a different meaning, describing a certain type of snake: “Kill the two-striped and the one with a short tail (abtar), for they steal vision and cause miscarriages.” (Muslim 4/1752, hadith 2233)
Language and Grammatical Structure
We Gave You (إنا أعطيناك)
It is easy to find lines of pre-Islamic poetry beginning with we (inna), such as the verse of
Al-Nabigha: “We divided our sin between us, so Barra bore part and Fujar bore part”
إِنَّا اقْتَسَمْنَا خَطِيئَتَنَا بَيْنَنَا فَحَمَلَتْ بَرَّةُ وَاحْتَمَلَ فُجَّارُ
But it is clear that the poet meant himself and another, not himself alone. Pre-Islamic Arabs rarely used the plural pronoun for one person.
Kings might have used we in formal declarations to represent the nation:
We, Kisra, king of Persia, command the following… (نحن كسرى عظيم الفرس نأمر بما يلي)
But the verse here is not a command or announcement, it is a statement of giving from the One who has no partner.
We Gave You Abundance (إنا أعطيناك الكوثر)
Imagine yourself in the place of Utbah ibn Rabiʿah, sent by Quraysh to listen to the Prophet and report back. He returned saying: “By Allah, I understood nothing of what he said, except a mention of thunder!”
Now imagine hearing this verse for the first time, with no knowledge of the Book or Islam.
You would ask: Who is We? Who is you? Who is giving, who is receiving, what is this giving? What is abundance?
Imagine a radio suddenly cutting off the news to announce:
“We are sending to you the sayyal”
You would wonder: who is we? who is you? what is sayyal?
(I made up the word sayyal from little, just as abundance comes from much)
The use of the past tense we gave increases the confusion: if it already happened, where is it? Who received it?
This was the state of the early listeners to the Book, full of questions and wonder.
So Pray to Your Lord (فصل لربك)
The verb pray and its forms are rare in pre-Islamic poetry, and even where used, differ in meaning and structure. For example, prayer was said on something, not for something. In this surah, the verb is followed by for your Lord — this is unique in the Book.
Of the twelve times the verb appears, six are without an object, five use on, and only once, here is it followed by for.
This use is part of what makes this surah different in language from every other.
So Pray to Your Lord and Sacrifice (فصل لربك وانحر)
You might also ask: What prayer is this? Who is the speaker? Who is being spoken to? What is this sacrifice, and why is it linked to prayer?
Even after fourteen centuries, many people still ask these questions, especially those who do not often turn to explanations and commentaries. So what of the Arab who heard this for the first time during the time of revelation?
We, then to Your Lord (إنا … لربك)
The first verse speaks from Allah directly in the plural form We. Then suddenly, the next verse shifts to your Lord, third person. One would expect: So pray to Us or to Me.
This shift is a striking example of stylistic movement, something Arabs did not know before this Book. It became a key feature of its language and style.
Your Enemy is the One Cut Off (إن شانئك هو الأبتر)
Once again, the verse comes with no connector to the one before it, no and or so. A reader might expect: So your enemy… or Therefore, your enemy… but the verse stands alone.
Compositions in the Language of the Book
It is worth repeating what we mean by “compositions”: they are the joined patterns of grammar, meaning, and sound that create a complete unit in the structure of language, like bricks in a building.
In this surah, we can identify three clear linguistic compositions, each forming one verse:
We Gave You Abundance (إنا أعطيناك الكوثر)
This composition begins with We followed by a past verb, then a direct object. Other similar verses include:
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا (يوسف: ٢)
“We revealed it as an Arabic reading” (Yusuf: 2)
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ (الأحزاب: ٧٢)
“We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth” (al-Ahzab: 72)
إِنَّا سَخَّرْنَا الْجِبَالَ مَعَهُ (ص: ١٨)
“We made the mountains submit with him” (Sad: 18)
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا (الفتح: ١)
“We opened for you a clear opening” (al-Fath: 1)
إِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ (الإنسان: ٣)
“We showed him the path” (al-Insan: 3)
They all start with We, followed by a past tense verb, but each has its own rhythm and structure. The verse in this surah keeps its unique identity even among these.
So Pray to Your Lord and Sacrifice (فصل لربك وانحر)
It is common to see two command verbs in one sentence. What is unusual is that the first verb pray is a verb that normally does not need an object, yet it is followed by for your Lord. The second verb sacrifice is usually followed by an object (like the animal), but here it is stripped of all attachments, as if it were a verb that needs no object.
Other verses with similar command pairs include:
يَا مَرْيَمُ اقْنُتِي لِرَبِّكِ وَاسْجُدِي (آل عمران: ٤٣)
“O Mary, submit to your Lord and prostrate” (Aal Imran: 43)
فَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ وَاعْبُدُوا (النجم: ٦٢)
“So worship and serve” (al-Najm: 62)
وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ (العلق: ١٩)
“Prostrate and draw near” (al-ʿAlaq: 19)
These show the same pattern: command verbs, some needing objects, but expressed without them — just like in this surah.
Despite the Similarity, Every Verse Has Its Own Identity
Even though the verse structures appear close to others we’ve seen, it is clear that each of the four verses we discussed has its own distinct identity and unique composition. This confirms that the verse “We gave you abundance” has a linguistic personality and independence, even from other similar patterns found in the Book, each of which also has its own distinct structure.
Your Enemy Is the One Cut Off (إن شانئك هو الأبتر)
Here we have another unique composition that can be clearly identified by its specific rhythm and structure. It begins with Indeed (inna), followed by a verbal noun in the form of the active participle (enemy) linked to the second person pronoun (your), followed by the emphatic pronoun (he), and ends with a superlative noun with the definite article (the cut off).
The structure combines several elements in a way that forms a clear, recognisable composition unique to the Book. Notice how it differs, for example, from the verse:
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُعْتَدِينَ (الأنعام: ١١٩)
“Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of the transgressors” (al-Anam: 119)
Although both verses begin with Indeed, followed by a noun and then he, and conclude with a superlative adjective, they differ in form. The subject in the second verse is not an active participle, the superlative is not defined with the, and it also takes a prepositional phrase (of the transgressors), while the cut off stands alone and absolute.
This distinction allows the verse from Surah al-Kawthar to keep its own separate identity and structure.
Open Expressions
Abundance (الكوثر)
As seen earlier, scholars proposed many meanings for this word, supported by hadiths and interpretations. The richness of meaning and the layers of suggestion give the word a depth that makes it an open, multi-dimensional term.
Sacrifice (وانحر)
This word, as shown in the earlier section on vocabulary, carries just as much depth and suggestion as abundance. It has been connected with many meanings: Festival prayer, direction in prayer, raising the hands, or the act of slaughtering the animal itself. Its single appearance in this surah gives it a unique impact and allows the imagination to explore multiple interpretations.
Concise and Powerful Speech
Your Enemy Is the One Cut Off (إن شانئك هو الأبتر)
This verse was, of course, a response to the mockery and attacks of idolaters and hypocrites who insulted the Prophet by saying his lineage had been cut off after the death of his sons.
But the way the verse is phrased gives it the nature of a proverb or common saying. It can be quoted in any situation where someone is wrongly accused, especially when the one making the accusation is more deserving of it. In such cases, one could calmly say to the person being accused: Do not worry, your enemy is the one cut off.
