The Perennial Spring of Kowthar
The Perennial Spring of Kowthar: “Indeed, We have granted you Kowthar…Indeed, it is your enemy who is without posterity.” (holy Qur’an 108:1 & 3) Today, the 20th of Jamadi al-Akher, is the day when God granted Kowthar or Perpetual Abundance to His Last and Greatest Prophet, in the form of a blessed daughter, whose offspring that have multiplied and spread all over the globe, ensures the continuity of the progeny of the Seal of Divine Messengers.
She is Fatema az-Zahra (SA), who was conceived of the Fruit of Paradise that God gave Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) to eat during his Me’raj (ascension) to the highest points in the ethereal heavens and back again to Planet Earth in the part of a single night.
It is thus clear that the Me’raj was a physical journey transcending time and space, and certainly not a dream or spiritual ecstasy experienced by the Prophet, as the weak of faith conjecture.
Unfortunately, there are some sceptics who also try to cast doubts on the reference to Hazrat Fatema (SA) in the opening Ayah of the above-mentioned Surah of the holy Qur’an, and instead like to restrict Kowthar to the spring in afterlife from which the faithful will quench their thirst.
It again shows the fickleness of faith of such persons, if not outright hypocrisy or disbelief. In view of wordings of the last Ayah of Surah al-Kowthar, the reference is clearly to the birth of the propitious daughter and continuation of abundance of progeny to keep alive forever the lineal descent of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), while persons like Aas bin Wa’el who prided on male issue and mocked at God’s Messenger for absence of any son, would be long cut off from any issue.
No wonder, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the faithful throughout the world, mark the 20th of Jamadi al-Akher as Mother’s Day and Women’s Week in honour of the lady, who as the wife of Imam Ali (AS), the person whose merits are second only to the Prophet, gave birth to such exemplary sons as Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) and equally virtuous daughters as Hazrat Zainab (SA) and Hazrat Omm Kulthoum (SA) – each of whom played immortal roles in the history of humanity.
In other words, the Almighty has blessed Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) with infinite favours, both in this transient world where he was sent to salvage mankind, and in the Hereafter where his intercession guarantees a drink of the limpid waters of Kowthar and entry into the blissful peace of Paradise.
For his part, the “Mercy unto to the creation” made clear at every step that the virtues of his daughter, the Lady of Paradise – as Muslims unanimously hail her – are not restricted to the Day of Resurrection, but since she the pivotal figure of the blessed group called Ahl al-Bayt by God in the holy Qur’an, they cover all aspects of our life and faith.
“Indeed, Allah desires to keep away uncleanness from you Ahl al-Bayt, and preserve you thoroughly purified.” – (33:33)
Time and space do not permit me to go into details of this Ayah at whose revelation the Prophet assembled under his cloak Hazrat Fatema (SA), Imam Ali (AS), Imam Hasan (AS) and Imam Husain (AS) – and no one else besides. The subsequent entry of this specific group – again no one else besides – on the field of the historic Mubahela (holy Qur’an 3:61) with the Christians of Najran, confirm the fact that no other woman except the Prophet’s daughter is mentioned in this particular Ayah.
To be more precise, it is only Fatema (SA), who as the Perennial Kowthar cleanses the faithful of any worldly blemishes and keeps alive their faith for the eventual journey to the Spring of Kowthar and to Paradise.
In view of these undeniable facts regarding the paragon-par-excellence of all feminine virtues, isn’t it a blasphemous idea, if, because of the lingering tribal prejudices of the Days of Jahiliyya, one were to associate with the Ahl al-Bayt, the Prophet’s wives, who were neither born pure and clean of any worldly impurity, nor many of them remained unpolluted from the political crimes that plagued the ummah after the passing away of the Prophet?
Definitely – the Battle of Jamal and the shedding of Muslim blood stands as a permanent blot on any undeserving lady. Moreover, God Almighty has used unambiguous words in Surah Tahrim to openly censure two of the Prophet’s wives for their intrigues – after citing the examples of the treacherous wives of the Prophets Noah and Lot – thereby making it clear that it is Divine Discretion and not the whims of fallible minds to determine who the Immaculate Ahl al-Bayt are.
So, instead of depriving ourselves of the blessings of God by blindly following lies and conjecture, let us sincerely stick to the brilliant path of guidance blazed out for mankind by Fatema (SA), the Unique daughter of the Impeccable Khadija (SA), her husband, her sons, and the Infallible Imams of her progeny, to ensure a virtuous life in this world and the blissful bounties of Kowthar in afterlife.
