“You will soon be formed into battalions: a battalion in al-Sham, a battalion in Yemen, and a battalion in Iraq.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, choose for me.”
He replied, “Stay in al-Sham, for it is Allah’s chosen land; to it He draws the elect of His servants. Whoever refuses should go to Yemen and drink from its cisterns⦗1⦘, for Allah has pledged His protection for al-Sham and its people.”
Al-Hāwali commented, “Whoever is guaranteed by Allah will never be lost.”
118 – It is also recorded in Sunan Abi Dawud⦗2⦘, on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “There will be a migration after another migration. The best people on earth will be those who keep to Abraham’s place of migration, while the worst of its inhabitants will remain; their land will cast them out, the soul of the Most Merciful detests them⦗3⦘, and the Fire will gather them with the apes and the swine.”