Are the verse on the “Seal of the Prophets” and Surah Al-Kauthar connected?

Yes. Both passages answer the taunt that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) had no son. Al-Kauthar foretells that his enemies will be left without issue, and the verse on the Seal shows that he is the spiritual father of the prophets.

In ancient Arabia a man without a son was seen as marked. Daughters were held in low regard, and sons were the pride of a family. So when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) proclaimed his message, his opponents mocked him for this. What kind of prophet is this, they said, whom God has not even given a son.

The short Surah Al-Kauthar answers this. It promises him abundant gifts and says that it is his enemy who will be left without issue. The Arabic word refers especially to someone who is left without a son. And so it happened. The leaders of Mecca either accepted Islam themselves or their children did. These children were proud to belong to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and were ashamed of their fathers’ hostility.

The verse in Surah Al-Ahzab takes up the same subject. It stands in a passage that also concerns Zaid, whom the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) had taken as a son. The verse makes clear that he is not the physical father of any of their men. But it does not stop at this denial. It calls him the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.

A seal confirms. Whatever bears its imprint is accepted as genuine. In this sense the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is, as it were, the spiritual father of the prophets, by whom their truth is recognised. Where he lacked physical sons, God gave him a spiritual progeny greater than any family. So both passages tell the same story, and the mockery of his opponents fell back on themselves.