The fall of Bashar al-Assad brings Syrian affairs back into the spotlight. But beneath this current focus lies another timeless reality: the "sacred geography" in which Syria (Shām, in Arabic) is inscribed, where it fulfills several spiritual roles.

This geography permeates Muslim consciousness and continues to influence events even today. It delineates spaces that stand out qualitatively, becoming spiritual centers — places "where Heaven touched the earth." This echoes the insight of historian Mircea Eliade: "For a religious man, space is not homogeneous; he experiences interruptions and breaks within it".

Islamic sources reference certain extraordinary places that serve as conduits of blessings or manifestations of the divine: Mount Tūr (Sinai), where God revealed Himself; Al-Quds (Jerusalem), which God has "blessed its surroundings" (Qur'an 17:1); Mecca ("the navel of the world" and "the land most beloved by God," according to the prophet Muhammad); and Shām, particularly Damascus.

Damascus: a divinely chosen place

Shām is first and foremost a divinely chosen place, according to numerous hadiths (sayings of the prophet Muhammad). One of them quotes God as saying: "O Shām, O Shām! My Hand is over you, O Shām! You are the chosen of My lands. I will populate you with the elite of My worshippers." The sanctity of this region has been confirmed throughout history: it is a major spiritual center of Islam, home to countless saints and scholars.

Damascus, in particular, is a prominent destination for pious visits (ziyāra). The tomb of the mystic Ibn Arabi (d. 1240), later joined by that of his posthumous disciple and fellow mystic Emir Abdelkader (d. 1883), is but one example among many.

A place with eschatological significance

Traditions trace the blessing of this region to ancient times: Mount Qāsiyūn, overlooking Damascus, is said to contain a cave where Abraham, Job, Moses (and his enigmatic guide Al-Khidr, mentioned in Qur'an 18:59–82), and Jesus once prayed. During the Middle Ages, a literary theme emerged: the books of Merits (Faḍā’il) of Shām, which compiled hadiths about the region and biographies of its prominent figures. The most famous of these works is by Ibn Asakir (1106–1176), whose History of Damascus spans 80 volumes.

However, tradition also views Shām as the site of divine upheaval, with eschatological undertones: violence there is both primordial and final. At the dawn of humanity, the first murder in history is said to have occurred at Qāsiyūn, where Qābīl (Cain) killed Hābīl (Abel). The reddish hue of the mountain's rock is seen as the trace—the mark—of the spilled blood.

At the end of time, the region, again engulfed in violence, will witness the Mahdī ("the rightly guided one") fighting the Dajjāl (the Antichrist, coming from the Syrian-Iraqi borderlands). Jesus will descend from the heavens onto Damascus, slay the Dajjāl, establish justice and peace, and then complete his human life.

Daoud Riffi is a historian of the Muslim world and an editor. He is a regular columnist for La Croix.