We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when we complained to him about poverty, lack of clothing, and scarcity of provisions. He said, "Rejoice. By Allah, I fear for you the abundance of wealth more than its scarcity. By Allah, this matter will continue among you until the lands of Persia, Rome, and Himyar are opened for you, and until you become three armies, an army in Syria, an army in Iraq, and an army in Yemen, and until a man is given a hundred dinars and is displeased with it."Ibn Hawala said, "I asked, 'Messenger of Allah, who can withstand Syria when the horned Romans are there?'"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, "By Allah, Allah will surely make you His successors there until a band of them, with their white shirts and shaven necks, will stand attending upon a black, shaven man from among you. And there are men there today in whose eyes you are more contemptible than ticks on the rumps of camels."Ibn Hawala said, "I said, 'Messenger of Allah, choose for me if I live to see that time.'"He said, "I choose Syria for you, for it is the choicest of Allah's lands, and Allah selects for it the choicest of His servants from among the people of Islam. So hold fast to Syria, for it is the choicest of Allah's lands. Whoever refuses, let him drink from the wells of Yemen, for Allah has guaranteed Syria and its people to me."I heard Abdul-Rahman bin Jubayr say that the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ recognized the description of this hadith in Juzz bin Suhayl al-Sulami. He was governor over the foreigners. He was a short, dark man, and they would pass by while those foreigners stood at attention, doing whatever he commanded them. The people would marvel at this hadith.
كنا عند رسول الله ﷺ، فشكونا إليه الفقر والعري وقلة الشيء، فقال: أبشروا فوالله لأنا وكثرة الشيء أخوف عليكم من قلته والله لا يزال هذا الأمر فيكم، حتى تفتح لكم أرض فارس والروم وأرض حمير، وحتى تكونوا أجنادا ثلاثة: جند بالشام، وجند بالعراق، وجند باليمن، وحتى يعطى الرجل المائة الدينار فيسخطها. قال ابن حوالة: فقلت: يا رسول الله من يستطيع الشام وبها الروم ذوات القرون؟ قال رسول الله ﷺ: والله ليستخلفنكم الله فيها حتى تظل العصابة، منهم البيض قمصهم، المحلقة أقفاؤهم، قياما على الرجل الأسود منكم المحلوق، وإن بها اليوم رجالا لأنتم أحقر في أعينهم من القردان في أعجاز الإبل. قال ابن حوالة: فقلت يا رسول الله، خر لي إن أدركني ذلك، قال: أختار لك الشام، فإنها صفوة الله من بلاده، والله يجتبي صفوته من عباده بأهل الإسلام، فعليكم بالشام، فإن صفوة الله من الأرض الشام، فمن أبى فيسقي بغدر اليمن، فإن الله قد تكفل لي بالشام وأهله. فسمعت عبد الرحمن بن جبير يقول: فعرف أصحاب النبي ﷺ نعت هذا الحديث في جزء بن سهيل السلمي، وكان ولي الأعاجم، وكان أويدما قصيرا، فكانوا يمرون، وتلك الأعاجم قيام لا يأمرهم بالشيء إلا فعلوه، يتعجبون من هذا الحديث.
No references are available.
Tahawi reported it in Sharh Mushkil Athar (1114) from Muhammad bin Sinan Shirazi, who said, Hisham bin Ammar narrated to us, who said, Yahya bin Hamza narrated to us, who said, Nasr bin Alqama narrated to us, from Jubayr bin Nufayr, from Abdullah bin Hawala, who said, then he mentioned it.Its chain is hasan because of Nasr bin Alqama, from whom a group of narrators reported, whom Duhaym declared trustworthy, and whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in Thiqat. Abu Hatim said, Nasr bin Alqama from Jubayr bin Nufayr is mursal, meaning disconnected.I say, however, Nasr bin Alqama made explicit the intermediary, who is Abdul-Rahman bin Jubayr bin Nufayr, as appears in the last part of the hadith, namely his statement, "I heard Abdul-Rahman bin Jubayr say."