“Pray to your Lord, and sacrifice.”

So pray to your Lord and offer sacrifice to Him alone.

Surah al-Kawthar is the shortest surah in the Qur'an, three verses, and it was revealed to a man being told his line had ended. Ibn Kathir reports from Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr and Qatadah that it came down about al-'As ibn Wa'il, who used to say of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he was cut off and would not be remembered once he died. The answer is that he has been given abundance instead, and this verse is what is asked of him in return: pray to your Lord and sacrifice — both read by the commentators as gratitude, and as the deliberate opposite of what the idolaters offered their idols.