Understanding the Hawd al-Kawthar: Will Innovators Enter Paradise?

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The Hawd al-Kawthar: Separating Fact from Fiction

The Hawd al-Kawthar: Separating Fact from Fiction

Question: Yesterday, we read a Hadith in the Book of Heart-Melting Narrations (Kitab al-Riqaq) which means that some people will be turned away from the Hawd al-Kawthar in Paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) will say that these are my people, and it will be said to him that you do not know what innovations they introduced after you. This raises the question: will innovators (those who commit Bid’ah) also enter Paradise, only to be turned away from the Hawd al-Kawthar, while we have read elsewhere that every innovation is misguidance and every misguidance leads to Hell?

Answer: On the Day of Judgment, every prophet will be given a Hawd (pond) from which they will drink and give their followers to drink. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) will also be given a Hawd, just like all other prophets, and his Hawd is called Hawd al-Kawthar because there is a river in Paradise named Kawthar from which water will continuously flow into his Hawd. Thus, the Hawd al-Kawthar of the Prophet (peace be upon him) will not be in Paradise but in the place of gathering (Mahshar).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“Every prophet will have a Hawd, and they will boast about whose followers are the most numerous. I hope that my followers will be the most numerous.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi: 2443)

Since we know that the Hawd al-Kawthar will be in the place of gathering and not in Paradise, the matter of innovators (those who commit Bid’ah) also pertains to the place of gathering.