The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Matters will eventually come to the point where you will be organized into separate armies, an army in Sham, an army in Yemen, and an army in Iraq."Ibn Hawala said, "Choose for me, Messenger of Allah, if I live to see that time."He replied, "You must go to Sham, for it is Allah's chosen land, to which He draws His chosen servants. But if you refuse, then stay in your Yemen and drink from its pools, for Allah has guaranteed me the safekeeping of Sham and its people."
حدثنا حيوة بن شريح الحضرمي حدثنا بقية حدثني بحير عن خالد يعني ابن معدان عن ابن أبي قتيلة
قال رسول الله ﷺ سيصير الأمر إلى أن تكونوا جنودا مجندة جند بالشام وجند باليمن وجند بالعراق قال ابن حوالة خر لي يا رسول الله إن أدركت ذلك فقال عليك بالشام فإنها خيرة الله من أرضه يجتبي إليها خيرته من عباده فأما إن أبيتم فعليكم بيمنكم واسقوا من غدركم فإن الله توكل لي بالشام وأهله
[Its isnad is sahih] Ahmad narrated it in 4/110, from Haywa, with the same wording. Baqiyyah's narration from Buhayr is to be treated as based on direct hearing, whether he explicitly stated that he heard it or not. See the book Fath Mubin fi Tahqiq Tabaqat Mudallisin.