D. Nasr Fahajan

The bond of Ashkelon is good news and promise

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “The first of this matter is prophecy and mercy, then it will be a caliphate and mercy, then it will be a king and mercy, then they will be a king and a mercy, and then you will fight against the reds, so you have to wage jihad, and your best jihad is Rabat, and your best bond is Ashkelon.” It was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer (11/88) (11138), and al-Haythami said in Majma’ al-Zawa’id: His men are trustworthy, and al-Albaani corrected it in al-Saheehah (3270).

The bond of Ashkelon is good news and promise

When we look at the previous hadith, we can understand the context in which the report about the Palestinian city (Ashkelon) was reported. Since it will be the best bond of Muslims, At a time when it is the most unjust and ordeal for the people of Palestine.

The hadith tells us that Rabat in Ashkelon is at a late stage of the transition and transformation of government among Muslims. so that mercy disappears in him, Injustice prevails, The blessed land is subject to corruption, occupation and loss, This calls for jihad and bond.

This stage can be determined by reviewing the different stages dealt with by the hadith, They are as follows:

First Stage: The stage of prophecy and mercy:

It is the stage in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the most merciful ruler. This phase ended with his death, peace and blessings be upon him.

Second Stage: The stage of the Rightly Guided Caliphate:

It is the stage of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs who ruled by the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). With all the mercy that was in it, And it’s over.

Third Stage: Monarchy (hereditary):

It is what is known as the stage (the king of the bite or the member), As in the hadith of al-Nu’man ibn Bashir that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
(The prophecy will be in you what God wills it to be, Then God Almighty will lift it up, Then there will be a caliphate according to the method of prophecy, what God wills it to be, Then God Almighty will lift it up, Then you shall be a king of bitterness, So it will be what it wants to be, Then God Almighty will lift it up, Then you shall be a forced king, So it will be what God wills it to be, Then God Almighty will lift it up, Then there will be a caliphate according to the method of prophecy, Then he fell silent…) Al-Albani graduation of the lamp niche 5306 His isnaad is good.
It is a stage that came after the stage of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, It started from the first Umayyad era and continued until the end of the Ottoman rule, The ruling at this stage was still merciful, as in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This phase ended in the early twentieth century.

Fourth stage: Stage of red bruise:

It is the stage of the forced king, and the struggle for power, And to attack him as the Reds do, Through the many military coups, and various conflicts, This stage began after the end of the rule of the Ottomans at the beginning of the twentieth century, most likely, It continues.
At this particular stage, we find that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentions Ashkelon. He recommends jihad, He tells us that our best jihad is Rabat, And that our best bond is Ashkelon!!
Which is striking, As if telling the unseen, Palestine was occupied by the Zionists, They established their state on its land in 1948. and displaced hundreds of thousands of its people, Which necessitated jihad and Rabat to liberate it, This is what we find in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), He recommends jihad and ribat in the Ashkelon region of Palestine: (Then they will fight against him like the reds, You have to wage jihad, And the best of your jihad is Rabat, The best of your bond is Ashkelon).

Why Ashkelon?

Ashkelon is the starting point.
It is known to everyone that Ashkelon is a Palestinian city occupied by the Zionists in 1948. It lies north of besieged Gaza, It is known that the mujahideen cannot tie it now, Because it is part of the occupied territory of Palestine.
But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) specifically mentions Ashkelon, He says: (The best of your bond is Ashkelon)!! In reference to the fact that Ashkelon will be the starting point for the liberation of Jerusalem, God willing.
We can also understand what is meant by Ashkelon in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in two ways:

The first face:

What is meant by Ashkelon: The nearby Gaza area and its surroundings, Whereas Gaza and Ashkelon are located on the Mediterranean Sea, They are two plain, coastal and contiguous areas in southern Palestine, Which makes them like one area, I do not rule out that what is meant by his saying, peace be upon him, is Rabat in Gaza near Ashkelon, Especially that Gaza is really an area of jihad, bond, resistance, defiance, patience and steadfastness, The Mujahideen are stationed there, And prepare in it as much strength as they can for liberation and return, The Israeli occupation waged war after war, So it resists and does not break, And besieged by near and far, And her family is patient with all this, And they don’t give up their jihad and bond, And they do not waste their weapons despite the pain and harm they find, It is not far from Gaza to be the intended one. This is good news from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to its people and mujahideen that their bond is the best.

Second face:

What is meant by Ashkelon: It is the region (Ashkelon) itself, Which has been under Israeli occupation since 1948, This is good news for the Mujahideen and the Almoravids, In the hadith there is an indication that they will be stationed in Ashkelon soon, Which makes me expect that a war will break out soon, One of its results is that Gaza will win, Its mujahideen control the Gaza envelope area. and the region of Ashkelon, After heated military confrontations with the Israeli occupation, forcing it to withdraw and leave the area, The good news of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) will be fulfilled that the Mujahideen will be stationed in Ashkelon. In preparation for the conquest of Jerusalem, And theliberation of all Palestine, in which the mujahideen from Jerusalem and the environs of Jerusalem will participate.