By the One in Whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is, its vessels will outnumber the stars in the sky and its planets
Authenticعَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ رضي الله عنه قَالَ: قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ مَا آنِيَةُ الْحَوْضِ؟ قَالَ: «وَالَّذِي نَفْسُ مُحَمَّدٍ بِيَدِهِ لَآنِيَتُهُ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ عَدَدِ نُجُومِ السَّمَاءِ وَكَوَاكِبِهَا، أَلَا فِي اللَّيْلَةِ الْمُظْلِمَةِ الْمُصْحِيَةِ، آنِيَةُ الْجَنَّةِ مَنْ شَرِبَ مِنْهَا لَمْ يَظْمَأْ آخِرَ مَا عَلَيْهِ، يَشْخَبُ فِيهِ مِيزَابَانِ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ، مَنْ شَرِبَ مِنْهُ لَمْ يَظْمَأْ، عَرْضُهُ مِثْلُ طُولِهِ، مَا بَيْنَ عَمَّانَ إِلَى أَيْلَةَ، مَاؤُهُ أَشَدُّ بَيَاضًا مِنَ اللَّبَنِ، وَأَحْلَى مِنَ الْعَسَلِ».
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what about the vessels of the Cistern?" He said: "By the One in Whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is, its vessels will outnumber the stars in the sky and its planets shining on a dark cloudless night. These will be the vessels of Paradise. He who drinks from them will never feel thirsty. There will flow in it two spouts from Paradise and he who drinks from it will not feel thirsty. Its breadth is like its length, as wide as the distance between Ammān and Aylah. And its water is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey."
Explanation
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swore that the vessels of his Cistern on the Day of Judgment will outnumber the stars and planets of the sky. This appears on a dark moonless night, for stars are not obvious on moonlit nights, as they fade due to the light of the moon, and on cloudless nights, for clouds obstruct the visibility of the stars. And whoever drinks from the vessels of Paradise will never become thirsty again, and this will be the last time he experiences thirst. And two spouts from Paradise will flow in his Cistern, whose breadth is like its length. The Cistern is equilateral. It is as wide as the distance between Ammān, a town in Balqa’, in the Levant, and Aylah, a well-known city on the outskirts of the Levant. The water of the Cistern is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey.
Benefits
- The Hadīth establishes the existence of the Cistern and describes the types of bliss it will contain.
- It points out the vastness of the Cistern and its length, breadth, and abundant vessels.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).