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."
Reported by Muslim (No. 2300), At-Tirmidhi (No. 2445) and Ahmad (No. 20364).
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.
Lessons
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.
Explanation in Arabic
أقسم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بأن آنية حوضه يوم القيامة أكثر من عدد نجوم وكواكب السماء،
وذلك يظهر في الليلة المظلمة التي لا قمر فيها؛ لأن الليلة المقمرة لا تكون فيها النجوم واضحة لاستتارها بضوء القمر، والتي لا غيم فيها؛ لأن وجود الغيم يمنع من رؤية النجوم،
وأن آنية الجنة، مَن شرب من الشراب الذي فيها لا يعطش أبدًا، ويكون ذلك آخر ما يصيب الشارب من العطش،
وأن حوضه يسيل فيه ميزابان من الجنة، وعرضه مثل طوله؛
فالحوض متساوي الأركان، طوله يكون بمقدار المسافة التي بين عَمّان وهي بلدة بالبلقاء من الشام، إلى أَيْلَةَ وهي مدينة معروفة في طرف الشام،
وماء الحوض أكثر بياضًا من اللبن، وطعمه أحلى من طعم العسل.
"My Cistern takes a month's journey to cross it. Its water is whiter than milk, its smell is nicer than musk, and its drinking cups are like the stars of the sky; whoever drinks from it will never become thirsty."
