Takhrij Hadith 564: "“O Messenger of Allah, choose…"

“O Messenger of Allah, choose for me a land in which I may settle. Had I known that you would remain (alive), I would not have preferred anything to being near you.” He said: “You should go to al-Sham (the Levant).” He repeated this three times. When the Prophet ﷺ saw his reluctance toward it, he said: “Do you know what Allah says concerning al-Sham? Indeed, Allah says: ‘O Sham, you are My chosen land among My lands. Into you I shall admit the elect of My servants. You are the scourge of My vengeance and the scourge of My punishment. You are the one that leaves nothing behind and spares nothing. You are the threshing floor, and to you and upon you is the ultimate gathering”. And on the night of my Night Journey, I saw a white pillar, as though it were a pearl, being carried by the angels. I said: ‘What are you carrying?’ They replied: ‘The Pillar of Islam. We have been commanded to place it in al-Sham’. And while I was asleep, I saw that the Book was snatched from beneath my pillow. I thought that Allah had abandoned the people of the earth. So I followed it with my gaze, and behold, it was a light before me until it was placed in al-Sham. Therefore, whoever refuses, let him join his Yemen and drink from its ponds; for Allah has guaranteed al-Sham for me.”