Al-Kawthar

In conjunction with Read the Qur’an‘s campaign launched by Kak Marina and Syed, I am writing about a surah, closest to my heart. A close friend, Kawthar, was also named after this surah. 

I start this post with a translation of the Surah in bahasa Melayu: 

“Al-Kauthar
Dengan nama Allah, Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani.
[108:1]
Sesungguhnya Kami telah mengurniakan kepadamu (wahai Muhammad) kebaikan yang banyak (di dunia dan di akhirat).

[108:2]
Oleh itu, kerjakanlah sembahyang kerana Tuhanmu semata-mata dan sembelihlah korban (sebagai bersyukur).”

[108:3]
Sesungguhnya orang yang bencikan engkau, Dialah yang terputus (dari mendapat sebarang perkara yang diingininya).” 

And Kawthar, or best known as “Chal” among friends, is a god-fearing person. A wife and a mother to 2 beautiful boys, Chal, never preaches but she shows you the way to be closer to God. Chal makes it so easy to stop shopping for 15 minutes to give way for solat. She jokingly told me that her handbag is huge; she chucks everything inside including her telekong. It is just the way  she does everything in her life that humbles me. 

Chal is still the epitome of fashion even when she’s fully covered. That is just amazing… 

Once, I called her, laden with my worldly woes, but Chal just made everything better. Her smile, intonation and wise words shooed away the miseries I had at that time. When I grow up, I want to be like Chal. 

I hope you will find your Kawthar because I surely have found mine. Amin. 

Chal & Aswi during iftar at Rebung, Oct 2008