إِنَّآ أَعۡطَيۡنَٰكَ ٱلۡكَوۡثَرَ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنۡحَرۡ إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلۡأَبۡتَرُ
Verse: "Indeed, your enemy is the one who is cut off." (108:3)
Occasion (Sahih): Al-Bukhari (4970), Al-Tirmidhi (3360), and Al-Tabari narrated: When the Prophet's son died before him, Al-As ibn Wail Al-Sahmi said: "Muhammad has died and his memory is cut off — he is abtar (cut off without progeny)." The surah was revealed in response.
Reliability: Sahih — Al-Bukhari and Al-Tirmidhi
Lesson:
- "Al-Kawthar" is abundant good — Allah gave it to the Prophet above all that his lovers and enemies attached to him
- "Your enemy is the one cut off" — Al-As ibn Wail's memory faded while the Prophet's name endures until the Day of Judgement
- The response to verbal injustice is not always more speech — but the future that days reveal
Question: What does "al-abtar" mean and how did it turn against Al-As ibn Wail?
Answer: "Al-abtar" means one whose line and memory are cut off. Al-As said it about the Prophet when his son died. But the Quran reversed it: the forgotten one is Al-As himself while the Prophet's name remains immortal.