Explanation of the hadith of Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him): (My pool is between Aden and Oman, its cups are as numerous as the stars of the sky . . . ).

The Shaykh : : Today we have learned what our predecessors did not know, and we have no pride in that. We have learned that the number of stars in the sky is many times greater than what the naked eye can see. Therefore, when the Messenger (peace be upon him) meant by his saying: , he was referring to the actual reality of the matter. However, people differ in their discovery of the number of stars in the sky, even the scholars among them, for they discover a star or many stars or galaxies, as they call them, every day, which gather hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of stars. Therefore, this phrase means that the number of cups from which the believers drink from the pool of the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) is beyond the capacity of the human mind to comprehend, or more than what the human mind can encompass.

And this pool is, as I said, al-Kawthar, and it is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an by this name: . Although al-Kawthar in the language means abundant good, this does not contradict that it is this river which flows into this pool, the river of al-Kawthar, because the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) interpreted al-Kawthar as such. So, in this case, in the saying of Allah the Exalted: , it is the abundant good, as is its original meaning in the language, and from it is this river which the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) described as having pebbles of pearls and banks of precious gems, as mentioned in the hadith. So this river is either to be taken as the interpretation of al-Kawthar, or it is said to be a part of the abundant good given to the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him). And perhaps this meaning is the most appropriate linguistically and the most fitting for the status of the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him), because he was indeed given abundant good, from which is al-Kawthar and from which is this pool which the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him) described with these attributes and said: .