The lands of al-Shām hold immense virtue. Al-Shām does not only refer to modern day Syria. It includes Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and parts of Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Al-Shām was the place of migration for the Prophets and the place where revelation descended.
Ibn Rajab (raḥimahullāh) said: “Know that the blessings of al-Shām encompass both matters of dīn and worldly affairs. For this reason, it is called the Holy Land.”
19. The Virtue and Strategic Importance of Sham
ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥawālah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: “The matter will come to the point that you will be organised into armies: one in al-Shām, one in Yemen, and one in Iraq.” Ibn Ḥawālah said, “O Messenger of Allah, choose for me if I live to witness that.”
He ﷺ replied: “Stick to to al-Shām, for it is Allah’s chosen land from His earth; He selects for it the best of His servants. But if you refuse, then stick to Yemen and drink from your wells. Indeed, Allah has entrusted al-al-Shām and its people to me” (Abū Dāwūd).
20. Iman in Sham in the Times of Trials
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whilst I was sleeping, I saw the pillar of the Book being taken from beneath my head, and I thought that it was being taken away, so I followed it with my gaze, and it was taken to Shām. Indeed, when tribulations come, īmān will be in Shām” (Aḥmad).
The ‘pillar of the Book’ refers to īmān, or the dīn as a whole; or those who carry the dīn by learning the Qur’an and adhering to it.
It is likely that these ‘tribulations’ refer to those that will occur at the time of the emergence of the Dajjāl. At that time, the heartland of the Muslims will be al-Shām. When trials spread across the Muslim lands, believers will migrate there, seeking safety and steadfastness on the truth.
21. Al-Sham: The Stronghold of the Believers
The Prophet ﷺ said: ““Indeed, the stronghold of the believers is al-Shām” (Aḥmad).
The people of al-Shām have always been a stronghold of Islam and the Muslims. These blessed lands have consistently produced scholars who acted upon their knowledge, guiding people in their dīn, reviving what had weakened, and defending the faith. Upon its soil, and through its people, some of the greatest military campaigns waged by the disbelievers against Islam were repelled, such as during the Crusades and the Tatar invasions, when their power and arrogance were broken.
By the will of Allah, this blessing will continue in al-Shām until the end of time, culminating in the defeat of al-Masīḥ al-Dajjāl and his followers at the hands of the people of al-Shām, when ʿĪsā b. Maryam (ʿalayhis-salām) descends and leads the believers in battle against the Dajjāl.
Ibn Taymiyyah (raḥimahullāh) said: “The Prophet ﷺ singled out the people of al-Shām as those who will always uphold the command of Allah until the end of time, and that the victorious group will remain among them until the end of time. This is a report of a continuous and enduring reality among them, accompanied by strength and numbers. This description does not apply to any other region of Islam. In al-Shām, knowledge and īmān have always remained, and so have those who fight, remaining supported and granted victory, in every era.”
22. Under the Wings of the Angels
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Glad tidings for al-Shām.” So we said, “What is the reason for this, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Because the angels of the All-Merciful have spread their wings upon it” (Tirmidhī).
The scholars explained this spreading of the wings in profound ways. ʿAllāmah Munāwī stated that it signifies blessings, protection, and general safeguarding from calamities and harm. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaq al-Dihlawī explained that it refers to the mercy of Allah and His compassion upon the people of al-al-Shām. Meanwhile, Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī explained that the angels have spread their wings over the land of al-Shām and its people as a protection from disbelief.
These explanations show that the spreading of the wings refers primarily to the preservation and protection of īmān. This virtue becomes even clearer when contrasted with other regions, such as Spain and similar lands, where Islam was once present but has since been largely erased. al-Shām, by contrast, remains divinely guarded, sheltered beneath the wings of the angels, and preserved as a land of īmān, blessings, and steadfast belief.
We can all bear witness to this reality through the footage emerging from that Blessed Land: their īmān remains firm and unshakeable, by the grace of Allah.
23. The Blessed Stronghold and Light of Islam
Abu Umāmah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates: I said, “O Prophet of Allah, what was the beginning of your mission?” He said, “The supplication of my father Ibrāhīm, the glad tidings given by ʿĪsā, and my mother saw that a light came forth from her by which the palaces of Shām were illuminated” (Aḥmad).
Ibn Kathīr (raḥimahullāh) said: “The specification of al-Shām as the place where this light would appear indicates the establishment of his dīn and Prophethood in the lands of al-Shām. For this reason, al-Shām will be a stronghold of Islam and its people at the end of times, and it is where ʿĪsā b. Maryam (ʿalayhis-salām) will descend.”
24. Al-Sham: The Ever-Victorious Stronghold of the Ummah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “If the people of al-Shām were to corrupt themselves, then there would be no good in you. A group from my Ummah will always remain victorious; those who abandon them will not harm them, until the Hour is established” (Tirmidhī).
25. The Supplication of the Prophet ﷺ
The Prophet ﷺ said: “O Allah, bless our al-Shām, and O Allah, bless our Yemen” (Bukhārī).
26. Damascus: One of the Best Cities of Sham
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The encampment of the Muslims on the Day of the Great Battle (al-Malḥamah) will be in Ghūṭah, next to a city called Damascus, one of the best cities of al-Shām” (Aḥmad).
27. The Descent of ʿIsa (ʿalayhis-salam) in Damascus
The Prophet ﷺ said: “ʿĪsā b. Maryam (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) will descend at the White Minaret, east of Damascus” (Ṭabarānī).
28. The Ever-Victorious Group
Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) heard the Prophet ﷺ say: “A group from my Ummah will continue to fight for the truth, prevailing, until the Day of Resurrection.”
He ﷺ then said: “ʿĪsā b. Maryam (ʿalayhis-salām) will descend, and their commander will say: ‘Come and lead the prayer for us.’ He will reply: ‘No. Some of you are appointed as leaders over others; this is from Allah’s honouring of this Ummah’” (Muslim).
29. Al-Sham: The Land of Gathering and Resurrection
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Al-Shām is the land of gathering (al-maḥshar) and resurrection (al-manshar)” (Aḥmad).
Al-Munāwī (raḥimahullāh) explains: “This refers to the place where people will be gathered for judgement and where they will be raised from their graves and driven to it. It was singled out because Allah said about it: ‘We have blessed it for the worlds’ (21:71). Most of the Prophets were sent in this land, and from here their guidance spread across the world. Hence, it is fitting for it to be the land of gathering and resurrection.”
ʿAbdullah al-Ghufaylī writes: “The reason al-Shām is the land of gathering is that, when tribulations occur at the end of time, security and īmān will be found in Shām. It has already been mentioned that the descent of ʿĪsā (ʿalayhis-salām) at the end of time will take place in al-Shām, and the believers will gather to fight the Dajjāl there. It is there that the Messiah (ʿalayhis-salām) will kill him at the Gate of Ludd.”
30. The Best Ribat
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The best and most virtuous of your ribāṭ is ʿAsqalān” (Ṭabarānī).
Ribāṭ in the path of Allah means guarding the Muslim frontiers from its enemies and thwarting any attempts to invade the Muslim lands. It is one of the most virtuous deeds. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Doing ribāṭ for one day in the path of Allah is better than the world and what it contains” (Bukhārī).
ʿAsqalān is a famous historical sea-port in Palestine, about 20 km from Gaza. Today, all the people living in Gaza are in ribāṭ. The blessed al-Masjid al-Aqṣā is protected because of these honourable people and their sacrifices. Despite being besieged for 17+ years, they’ve stoutly remained on this blessed frontline defending Al-Aqṣā.
The Virtues of al-Aqsa & the Blessed Land: Part 2
