«Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) collecting the Qur'an from parchments. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How blessed the Levant is!" So we said: "Why is that, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "Because the angels of the Most Merciful spread their wings over it."»
Meaning translation ·
Explanation
The meaning in a few plain lines
Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that some Companions were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) collecting the Qur'an from parchments on which they used to write it. In the meantime, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Blessed is the Levant", meaning: a good and comfortable life is for the people of the Levant. As the Companions asked why, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said because the angels of the Most Merciful spread their wings over it, thus protecting it, blessing it, warding off evil from it, and guarding it from disbelief and temptations. The question is: does this description apply to our time or does it refer only to the time that followed the prophet-hood? The answer is: the Hadīth is general, but it does not necessarily indicate permanence, and Allah knows best.
