Tag: Mishkat al-Masabih

عَنْ شُرَيْحِ بْنِ عُبَيْدٍ قَالَ: ذُكِرَ أَهْلُ الشَّام عِنْد عليٍّ [رَضِي الله عَنهُ] وَقِيلَ الْعَنْهُمْ يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَالَ: لَا أَنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «الْأَبْدَالُ يَكُونُونَ بِالشَّامِ وَهُمْ أَرْبَعُونَ رَجُلًا كُلَّمَا مَاتَ رَجُلٌ أَبْدَلَ اللَّهُ مَكَانَهُ رَجُلًا يُسْقَى بِهِمُ الْغَيْثُ وَيُنْتَصَرُ بِهِمْ عَلَى الأعداءِ وَيصرف عَن أهل الشَّام بهم الْعَذَاب» وَعَنْ رَجُلٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ” سَتُفْتَحُ الشَّامُ فإِذا خُيِّرْتم المنازلَ فِيهَا فَعَلَيْكُم بِمَدِينَة يُقَال لَهُ دِمَشْقُ فَإِنَّهَا مَعْقِلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنَ الْمَلَاحِمِ وَفُسْطَاطُهَا مِنْهَا أَرْضٌ يُقَالُ لَهَا: الْغُوطَةُ “. رَوَاهُمَا أَحْمَدُ

Shuraih b. `Ubaid told that when the people of Syria were mentioned in `Ali’s presence and someone said, “Curse them, commander of the faithful,” he refused, saying he had heard God’s messenger say, “The substitutes[*], a body of forty men, will be in Syria, and as often as one dies God will put another in his place. By virtue of them rain will be provided, by virtue of them help will be sought against enemies, and by virtue of them affliction will be averted from the Syrians.” One of the Companions reported God’s messenger as saying, “Syria will be conquered, and when you are given your choice of places in which to settle go on a city called Damascus, for it will be the fortress of the Muslims to protect them in the wars during which it will be a place of assembly. In its neighbourhood there is some land called al-Ghuta.” * al-abdal . These belong to one of the degrees of the Sufi hierarchy of saints. There are different views as to their number. This tradition would seem to support the view which holds that there are 70. forty in Syria and thirty elsewhere. They presumably get their title because every vacancy in their number is immediately filled. Ahmad transmitted the two traditions.