Question:
Is the hadith stating that Sham (Syria) will be the land where all people are gathered on the Day of Resurrection authentic?” & “Did Abdullah ibn Abbas interpret Qur’an 79:14 (the place called Sāhirah) as referring to land in Palestine?
Answer:
First point we must understand. Whenever we see any hadith that praises Sham, we must examine it with extra caution, more than other hadith.
Why? After the time of Prophetﷺ Muhammad, the first three caliphs ruled from Medina:
- Abu Bakr (RA)
- Umar ibn al-Khattab(RA)
- Uthman ibn Affan(RA)
All three had governed with Medina as the capital. After the assassination of Uthman, the political situation changed. Ali ibn Abi Talib(RA) ruled from Kufa. Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan ruled from Damascus. Now think about what happened. The capital was no longer Medina. They had moved to other cities.
In order to make people feel that these new centers were also honorable places, many narratives began circulating praising Sham, especially during the Umayyad period.
Some supporters even fabricated stories in the name of the Messenger of Allahﷻ to elevate the prestige of Syria.
Because of that historical background, whenever we see hadith that excessively glorify Sham, we must analyze them carefully. There is a strong possibility that many of them are fabrications or weak reports.
That is the first principle we must keep in mind.
Now let us examine this particular hadith. The hadith says that when the world is destroyed and Allahﷻ resurrects humanity, all people will be gathered in Sham.
This report appears in the book Musnad al-Bazzar. In its chain of narration appears a narrator named Sa‘id ibn Bashir. The chain goes roughly like this:
Abu Dharr narrated it → Abdullah ibn Samit narrated it → Qatadah narrated it → and from Qatadah it was narrated by Sa‘id ibn Bashir.
Now the problem is with this narrator. Some scholars such as Sufyan ibn Uyainah said he was a pious person. But many other scholars evaluated him very critically.
For example:
- ‘Amr ibn ‘Ali criticized him.
- Muhammad ibn Sa‘d criticized him.
- Yahya ibn Ma‘in said he should not be relied upon.
- Imam Ahmad considered him weak.
- Abu Dawud reported similar criticism.
- ‘Ali ibn al-Madini said he was weak.
Some scholars described his reports as munkar—rejected narrations.
These criticisms are recorded in works of narrator evaluation such as Tahdhib al-Tahdhib.
What do they say about him? They say: His memory was poor. He made many mistakes in narration. He transmitted reports from Qatadah that others did not support. Many of his narrations were rejected.
Some scholars even said his narrations should not be used as evidence. Because this particular hadith passes through that narrator, the report becomes weak from the standpoint of transmission.
The compiler of Musnad al-Bazzar himself did not give him a strong endorsement. He only said something like: he is acceptable but not strong. So, from the chain alone, this hadith already becomes unreliable.
The second problem: the meaning itself; Even if we put the chain aside and examine the content, there are serious issues. The hadith says that when Allahﷻ resurrects humanity, it will happen in Sham.
But the Qur’an tells us something else. When the Day of Resurrection arrives, it is not just human beings who will perish. The entire earth will be destroyed.
Allahﷻ says in Qur’an 14:48: “On that Day the earth will be replaced by another earth.”
So what does this mean? It means the earth we are living on now will not remain the same. It will be transformed into a completely different earth.
Why will it be replaced? Because the events of the Day of Resurrection require an enormous space and arrangement. On that new earth there will be: The plain of Mahshar where all humanity stands. The Hawd al-Kawthar, the reservoir. The bridge over Hell.
Paradise and Hell prepared for the final judgment. Think about the scale of this. Today the world population is about eight billion.
But from the time of Adam until the end of the world, how many billions of people will have lived? Thousands of billions.
Can all of them be gathered in one small region like Syria? Of course not.
The total land area of modern Syria is around 185,000 square kilometers. Even if you calculate how many people can stand their shoulder to shoulder, it will not accommodate the entire human race from the beginning of time.
And remember: the Day of Judgment is not just about standing there. There must be space for the resurrection, the gathering, the judgment, the bridge, Paradise, Hell, and the reservoir.
The Qur’an even describes Paradise as having a width like the heavens and the earth combined (see **Qur’an 3:133 and 57:21).
If Paradise itself is that vast, how can the current earth accommodate all of this?
That is why Allahﷻ says the earth will be transformed into another earth.
So where will Mahshar occur?
It will occur on a new earth created by Allahﷻ after the destruction of the current world.
Once the earth is transformed, there will no longer be Syria, Mecca, Medina, Sri Lanka, Chennai
All geographical identities will disappear. It will simply be a completely new earth prepared for the Day of Judgment.
What about the opinion attributed to Ibn Abbas?
Some reports say Abdullah ibn Abbas said the resurrection will occur in Palestine. Even if such a statement exists, it would be his personal interpretation, not a definitive revelation.
In his time the population of the world was very small. Perhaps he thought the resurrection would happen soon and that region would suffice. But the Qur’an clarifies the matter by saying the earth itself will be replaced.
Therefore, that opinion cannot override the Qur’anic principle.
Final conclusion:
The hadith claiming that Mahshar will occur in Sham has multiple problems: Its chain includes a weak narrator. Its content contradicts Qur’anic descriptions.
Historical context suggests that many such reports praising Sham were produced later to elevate the prestige of that region. Therefore, the claim that the gathering of humanity will occur specifically in Syria or Palestine is not supported by reliable evidence.
Rather, the Qur’an clearly indicates that the entire earth will be transformed, and a new earth will be created for the events of the Day of Resurrection.
That is the correct understanding.