Al-Kawthar, "Abundance," is the 108th surah and the shortest in the Quran — just three verses, revealed in Mecca.1
What it is about
The surah answers a wound. Opponents had mocked the Prophet ﷺ as abtar — "cut off," without a male heir to carry his name, after his sons died in infancy. The surah replies: "Indeed, We have granted you al-Kawthar" — abundance, understood in the hadith tradition as a river or fountain given to him in Paradise, and more broadly every good God gave him. It then directs him: "So pray to your Lord and sacrifice." Finally it turns the insult around: "Indeed, your enemy is the one cut off" — it is the mocker, not the Prophet, whose legacy ends.
Why it matters
In three lines the surah models a response to ridicule: receive God's gift with gratitude, answer it with worship, and leave the outcome to Him. To read Al-Kawthar in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.