time. They called the people of Najd and Iraq “the people of the east,” and the people of al-Shām “the people of the west.” East and west are relative: every place has its own east and west. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke these words in Medina, so whatever lay west of it was its west, and whatever lay east of it was its east.

Anyone familiar with the geographical coordinates of lands—their longitudes and latitudes—knows that the fortresses on the banks of the Euphrates, such as al-Bīra and others, are aligned with Medina. Likewise, places farther east by approximately the distance permitting the shortening of prayers, such as Harrān and places in line with it, including al-Raqqa and Sumaysāt, are aligned with Umm al-Qurā (the Mother of Cities), Mecca—may Allah ennoble it. Hence, the direction of prayer there is the most direct. Whatever lies east of the line corresponding to Medina is to its east, and whatever lies west of that is to its west.

Reliable works, such as Ahmad’s Musnad and others, contain several reports from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning this principle. These include his description of the people of al-Shām:

“Their hypocrites do not prevail over their believers.”

And his saying:

“I saw what seemed to be the pillar of the Book—in another narration, the pillar of Islam—being taken from beneath my head. I followed it with my eyes as it was carried to al-Shām.”

The pillar of the Book and Islam is that upon which they rest; these people are its bearers and upholders.

Another example is his saying, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“The heartland of the believers is al-Shām.”

Another is the report in the two Sahīh collections from Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal, who related from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,