Fadail Albelad Alarba’ Mecca, Almadina, Alquds, Khalil Alrahman, By: Mahmoud Bin Sawandak Bin Amen he was alive(856H / 1452 Ad) Investigation and Study

Mahmoud bin Sawandak bin Hussien bin Amen lived in the Ottoman country during the period (800-860H/1397-1481 Ad).He Witnesed the Ottoman Country turning into a great empire with its capital Constantinople. Ibn Sawandak wrote his book “The Virtues of the Four Cities: Mecca, Madina, Jerusalem and Hebron” and dedicated it to the grand vizier Khalil Pasha (857H/1452AD). He included the reason of producing this book in the introduction stating that his book"is a guide to everyone who wants to visit the mentioned cities and shrines". Through this book he tries to raise the status of these cities to the grand vizier Khalil Pasha who had an extreme power at that period. In the book he talked about the virtues of Mecca, the etiquettes of going to pilgrimage, the vitue of performing pilgrimage,and the origin of Mecca and how it was built. He also talked about the virtue of looking at it and praying in it.He explained the topics of supplication in Mecca , described the holy places in Mina, and the virtues of Al-Safa & Al-Marwa, Arafat, and Mina befor he explored the reward of illness and death in Mecca. He described the status of Madina, the grace of visiting the prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) tomb, performing the preyers in his mosque.He also investigated the reason for calling the holy columns the"Holy Rawda". the grace of Qeba’ Mosque, Uhud, Al-Baqee’, and the mountain of Tur Sina’. He talked about the migration of prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to Madina, he narrated his life and the lives of his caliphs, then he mentioned the mosques where prophet Mohammed (PBUH) performed his first prayers and the first wells he used. He talked about the virtues of Jerusalem, and how Al-Aqsa Mosque was built, he talked about the grace of praying, fasting, calling for prayer in it, the dome of the rock and the ascension of prophet Mohammed from there to the heaven, and the relation between Mecca and Al-Aqsa Mosque. He also described the grace of its water. He mentioned the grace of Hebron by describing some prophets who inhabited the City,like Abraham, Josef, Ismail, and Isaac (PBUT). He finished his book by mentioning some prophets, companions, scholars’ shrines in these cities and others such as Egypt, Damascus, and Aleppo.