Is It Correct to Say That a Particular Region Has the Most Tribulations (Fitan)?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
Is it correct to say that a certain region has the most tribulations (fitan)?
❖ Answer:
Yes, it is permissible to say so. The Prophet ﷺ himself pointed this out, identifying Najd of Iraq as the center and source of many tribulations.
Evidence from Hadith
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) narrates:
رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يشير بيده، يؤم العراق ها إن الفتنة هاهنا، ها إن الفتنة هاهنا، ثلاث مرات، من حيث يطلع قرن الشيطان .
“I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ pointing with his hand toward Iraq and saying: ‘Indeed, the tribulation is here! Indeed, the tribulation is here! Indeed, the tribulation is here — from where the horn of Shayṭān will rise.’”
(Musnad Aḥmad: 2/143, ḥadīth 6302, chain authentic)
❀ Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
اللهم بارك لنا فى مدينتنا، وبارك لنا فى مكتنا، وبارك لنا فى شأمنا، وبارك لنا فى يمننا، وبارك لنا فى صاعنا ومدنا، فقال رجل : يا رسول الله ! وفي عراقنا، فأعرض عنه، فقال : فيها الزلازل والفتن، وبها يطلع قرن الشيطان .
“O Allah! Bless our Madinah, bless our Makkah, bless our Shām, bless our Yemen, and bless our ṣāʿ and mudd (measures).”
A man said: “O Messenger of Allah! And our Iraq as well?” The Prophet ﷺ turned away from him and said: “There will be earthquakes and tribulations there, and from there the horn of Shayṭān will rise.”
(Musnad al-Shāmiyyīn by al-Ṭabarānī: 1276; al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh by al-Fasawī: 2/747–748; al-Mukhallaṣiyyāt: 2/196, ḥadīth 1341; Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ by Abū Nuʿaym: 6/133; Tārīkh Ibn ʿAsākir: 1/131 — chain authentic)
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (RA) also narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
اللهم بارك لنا فى صاعنا، وفي مدنا، فرددها ثلاث مرات، فقال الرجل : يا رسول الله ولعراقنا، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : بها الزلازل والفتن، ومنها يطلع قرن الشيطان .
“O Allah! Bless our ṣāʿ and bless our mudd.” The Prophet ﷺ repeated this three times.
A man said: “O Messenger of Allah! And bless our Iraq as well.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “There will be earthquakes and tribulations there, and from there the horn of Shayṭān will rise.”
(al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī: 12/384, ḥadīth 13422; al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh: 2/747; Musnad al-Bazzār: 5881; Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ: 6/133 — chain authentic)
Conclusion:Yes, it is correct to state that certain regions have more tribulations than others, as affirmed by the Prophet ﷺ himself. Specifically, Iraq (Najd) has been identified as a focal point of fitan and upheavals.
