to the boundary of Muslim territory. Thus, a place may at one time be a frontier and at another not, just as it may at one time be a land of Islam and righteousness and at another a land of unbelief and wickedness. Mecca was once a land of unbelief and war, while Medina was a land of faith and emigration and a place of frontier duty. When Mecca was conquered, it became a land of Islam, and Medina was no longer a place of emigration and frontier duty as it had been before the conquest of Mecca. Indeed, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“There is no emigration after the conquest, but jihad and intention remain. When you are called to arms, go forth.”

The frontier regions then became the outer reaches of the Hijāz bordering the lands at war with the Muslims: Syria and Iraq. When the Muslims subsequently conquered Syria and Iraq, the frontier regions in Syria shifted to the seacoast, including Ashkelon, Acre, and the surrounding areas; in Iraq, they included Abbādān and similar places. This is why “Ashkelon” and “Abbādān” are frequently mentioned in the writings of earlier scholars: both were frontier towns. “Tartūsh” was also a frontier town when it belonged to the Muslims. When the unbelievers captured it, the frontier shifted to those parts of the Aleppo region bordering enemy territory.

Someone travelling to the frontier regions, to seek knowledge, to trade, or to visit a relative does not seek a particular place except incidentally, because he knows that what he seeks is there. Were it elsewhere, he would go there instead.

Scholars agree that travel of this kind is not covered by the hadith. Rather, it covers someone who travels to a particular place because of the virtue of that very place, such as someone travelling to mosques and sites associated with the prophets, including Mount Sinai, where Allah spoke to