Central Khutbah : “The Water After Which One No Longer Feels Thirsty – The Hawd”

The Hawd is a spring whose water is whiter than milk, whose fragrance is more pleasant than musk, and upon which the glasses for drinking water are as numerous as the stars in the sky, and the water of the Hawd comes from the celestial river Kawthar; whoever drinks from it once will never feel thirsty again.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Its width is like the distance between Ayla and Aden.” (Muslim) Ayla is, as is known, a city in Akaba in Jordan, and Aden is a city in Yemen. “My spring will be as long as the distance one can travel in a month of walking, and as wide.” (Bukhari) The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, also said: “Its water is whiter than milk, its fragrance is more pleasant than musk, and its vessels are like the stars in the sky. I will turn people away from it as someone turns camels away from his source.” Some companions asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “O Messenger of Allah, will you recognize us on that day?” He replied: “Yes, you will have a sign that no one else among the other nations will have – you will come to me with the traces of ablution (on your face).”

Brother and sister, servant of Allah, rejoice in the day when you will stand before the Hawd with other Muslims, so be careful not to commit acts that would distance you from this Hawd. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I will be at the Source and I will see who comes to me. Some people will move away, and I will say: ‘O Lord, these are of me and my community!’, and it will be said to me: ‘Have you not heard what they did after you? By Allah, after you, they completely turned away.'” (Bukhari, Muslim) In another narration, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Unhappy is the one who changes (religion) after me.”

We have a scheduled appointment with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, as promised to us, we just have to aspire to meet him, we must strive to gather with him on that day and never be separated from him thereafter. He will wait for us there, waiting to lead us into eternity. The place of our meeting and gathering will be his Hawd, the spring or lake from which we will drink and finally be happy.

O Allah, the Merciful, quench us with the Source of your Prophet. Amen.

(Central khutbah by the religious leader Hafiz Hilmija Redžić on April 19, 2024, at the “Association Islamique et Culturel Afnane” in Differdange)