He also said—may Allah have mercy on him:

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The virtues of al-Shām (Greater Syria) and its people are established by the Quran, the Sunnah, and reports transmitted from scholars. These virtues were among the grounds on which I relied when urging the Muslims to fight the Tatars, instructing them to remain in Damascus, forbidding them to flee to Egypt, calling upon the Egyptian army to come to al-Shām, and encouraging the Syrians to stand firm there. Many events unfolded in this connection.

These virtues include the following:

First: the blessing bestowed upon this land. This is established by five verses from the Book of Allah Most High. In the account of Moses, Allah Most High says:

“They said, ‘We were harmed before you came to us and after you came to us.’ He said, ‘Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy.’”

—and continues to His words:

“But when We lifted the punishment from them until their appointed time, they immediately broke their word.”

“So We took vengeance upon them and drowned them in the sea, because they denied Our signs and were heedless of them.”

“And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the eastern and western parts of the land which We had blessed. And the good promise of your Lord to the Children of Israel was fulfilled because of their patience.”

It is well known that