Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2542
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا الْكَوْثَرُ قَالَ " ذَاكَ نَهْرٌ أَعْطَانِيهِ اللَّهُ يَعْنِي فِي الْجَنَّةِ أَشَدُّ بَيَاضًا مِنَ اللَّبَنِ وَأَحْلَى مِنَ الْعَسَلِ فِيهَا طَيْرٌ أَعْنَاقُهَا كَأَعْنَاقِ الْجُزُرِ " . قَالَ عُمَرُ إِنَّ هَذِهِ لَنَاعِمَةٌ . قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَكَلَتُهَا أَنْعَمُ مِنْهَا " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ . وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ هُوَ ابْنُ أَخِي ابْنِ شِهَابٍ الزُّهْرِيِّ وَعَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ قَدْ رَوَى عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ وَأَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah was asked, ‘What is al-Kawthar?’ He replied, ‘It is a river Allah has given me in Paradise, whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. In it are birds whose necks are like the necks of camels.’ Umar remarked, ‘How splendid they are!’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Those who eat them are even more splendid.’ Abu Isa graded this hadith hasan. He identified Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Muslim as the nephew of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri and noted that Abdullah ibn Muslim narrated from Ibn Umar and Anas ibn Malik.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic describes the birds with a term of softness or luxuriance; the English witness takes Umar's remark as referring to their plumpness. The translation uses ‘splendid’ to preserve the appreciative sense without narrowing the image to body shape.
The source specifies that al-Kawthar is a river in Paradise.