Surah Al-Kawthar (108) — Ayah 2

(Ayah2) ➊ { فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَ انْحَرْ:} It is generally understood that in this verse, the command to perform prayer and offer sacrifice has been given, although the real meaning here is that when you pray, do so only for your Lord, and when you offer sacrifice, that too should be only for Him, not for anyone else. This is similar to when someone is told, "Pray standing," the intention is not to command prayer itself, but rather to command that prayer be performed standing, not sitting. The same meaning is conveyed in Surah Al-An'am, where it is said: «قُلْ اِنَّ صَلَاتِيْ وَ نُسُكِيْ وَ مَحْيَايَ وَ مَمَاتِيْ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ (162) لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهٗ وَ بِذٰلِكَ اُمِرْتُ وَ اَنَا اَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ » [ الأنعام : ۱۶۲، ۱۶۳ ] "Say, indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds, who has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit."
➋ Allah Almighty, after mentioning the favor of granting Al-Kawthar, commanded that prayer and sacrifice be performed only for the Lord Almighty. In the word {’’ الْكَوْثَرَ ‘‘} (abundant good), everything that Allah has granted you is included; there is nothing that is not encompassed in it. The "fa" in {’’ فَصَلِّ ‘‘} means that since We have granted you abundant good, the way to show gratitude is that every act of worship of yours (whether physical or financial) should be only for Him, not for anyone else. It is extreme ingratitude that every blessing is given by Allah, yet physical or financial worship is for someone else.
➌ Apparently, it should have been said that We have granted you Al-Kawthar, so perform prayer and sacrifice only for Us, but it is said: "So pray to your Lord and sacrifice." This is called {’’اِلْتِفَاتٌ مِّنَ الْمُتَكَلِّمِ إِلَي الْغَائِبِ‘‘}. The purpose is to draw attention that, because of being the Lord, it is Our right that you worship only Us, not anyone else.
➍ In some narrations, it is reported from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the meaning of {’’ وَ انْحَرْ ‘‘} is to fold the hands on the chest during prayer, but those narrations are not Sahih. However, the issue of folding the hands on the chest is established from other authentic ahadith.

2. 1. That is, prayer is also only for Allah and sacrifice is also only for Allah; do not associate others in this as the polytheists do. The original meaning of نحر is to strike a knife or spear into the throat of a camel to slaughter it. Other animals are laid on the ground and a knife is drawn across their throats; this is called ذبح. But here, نحر refers to sacrifice in general; in addition, it includes sacrificing animals as charity and alms, sacrificing at Mina during Hajj, and sacrificing on the occasion of Eid al-Adha—all are included.

2. So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice [2].

[2] That is, as gratitude for these blessings and favors, you ﷺ should perform prayer for your Lord and also offer sacrifice. Among physical acts of worship, prayer holds great importance, and among financial acts of worship, sacrifice. As stated at another place: ﴿قُلْ اِنَّ صَلَاتِيْ وَنُسُكِيْ وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِيْ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ﴾ that is, say: "Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds." Thus, in these verses, there is an allusion to the polytheists of Makkah, who used to worship idols and offer sacrifices in the names of idols and for them. Muslims should perform these acts purely for Allah Almighty. It should be noted that some scholars have interpreted "nahr" as the sacrifice of the day of Eid al-Adha, and "prayer" as the Eid prayer performed on that day before the sacrifice.