The prophecies of the Messenger, peace be upon him, about the place of Gaza and Asqalan in the history of Islam

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The beginning of this matter is Prophecy and mercy, then it will be Caliphate and mercy, then it will be Kingship and mercy, then there will be Imarah and mercy, then they will fight over authority like fighting donkeys biting one another. So hold fast to jihad, and the best of your jihad is Ribat (i.e. guarding the frontier in the face of enemies), and the best and most virtuous of your Ribat is ‘Asqalan (Ashkelon).”

Related by al-Tabarani on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (r) in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir #11138. Al-Haythami said ‘it’s men (i.e. narrators) are trustworthy’ (Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, 5/193)

قال الطبراني – رحمه الله – في “المعجم الكبير” (11138) : حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ النَّضْرِ الْعَسْكَرِيُّ ، ثنا سَعِيدُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ النُّفَيْلِيُّ ، ثنا مُوسَى بْنُ أَعْيَنَ ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ ، عَنْ فِطْرِ بْنِ خَلِيفَةَ ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( أَوَّلُ هَذَا الْأَمْرِ نُبُوَّةٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ خِلَافَةً وَرَحْمَةً ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُلْكًا وَرَحْمَةً ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ إِمَارَةً وَرَحْمَةً ، ثُمَّ يَتَكادَمُونَ عَلَيْهِ تَكادُمَ الْحُمُرِ فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالْجِهَادِ ، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ جهادِكُمُ الرِّبَاطُ ، وَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ رباطِكُمْ عَسْقَلَانُ )

Although Ashkelon is now the name of a coastal city in the Southern District of ‘Israel’, in the past, after the Islamic conquest of Palestine, ‘Asqalan was synonymous with Gaza (غزة). In fact, as mentioned by Shaykh Salih al-Munajjid (see here), the area was known as “غزة عسقلان” (“Gaza Ashkelon”).

At the time of writing, Gaza is facing a land invasion. Almost 3,000 children have been murdered by ‘Israel’. What is required is for the Muslim armies to take action now. Insha’Allah if they were to do so then the above hadith of our beloved Messenger ﷺ would apply to them as well as the fighters who are ready to face the Zionists now. What awaits them is victory or martyrdom. حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل – “Allah is sufficient  for us, and He is the best Protector” [Qur’an 3:173]

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