How sound is the Hadith: "The beginning of this matter will be prophethood and mercy, then it will be a caliphate and mercy, then a kingdom and mercy, then an emirate and mercy. Then they will bite each other like donkeys. So, you must engage in jihad, and the best of your jihad is ribat, and the best of your ribat is Ashkelon"? And what is meant by Ashkelon in the Hadith; is it Gaza?

Gaza and Ascalon are ancient Canaanite cities located in southern Palestine. Gaza was subordinate to Ascalon from the Islamic conquest until the Crusader invasion, and they are approximately 21 km apart. A noble Hadith is narrated about the virtue of ribat (garrisoning) in Ascalon, but there is some discussion regarding certain narrators in its chain, and the mention of Ascalon within it may not be preserved. Other narrations regarding the virtue of Ascalon are not authentic. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah clarified that the virtue of these cities, such as Ascalon and Alexandria, stems from their being frontiers (thughur) for Muslims, rather than any intrinsic characteristic of the place itself. This virtue varies with the inhabitants and their qualities. Assuming the Hadith is authentic, it indicates the virtue of ribat in Ascalon and Gaza because they were frontiers for Muslims.