Epistle to the Son of the Wolf — Paragraph 261
Source (Persian)
و قال ابن مسعود رضی اللّه عنه انّ النّبيّ - صلّی اللّه عليه و سلّم - قال الا انّ افضل السّواحل عسقلان و انّ عکّاء افضل من عسقلان و فضل عکّاء علی عسقلان و علی جميع السّواحل کفضل محمّد علی جميع الانبياء الا اخبرکم بمدينة بين جبلين فی الشّام فی وسط المرج يقال لها عکّاء الا و انّ من دخلها راغبا فيها و فی زيارتها غفر اللّه له ما تقدّم من ذنبه و ما تاخّر و من خرج منها غير زائر الا لم يبارک اللّه له فی خروجه * الا و انّ فيها عينا يقال لها عين البقر من شرب منها شربة ملأ اللّه قلبه نورا و امّنه من العذاب الاکبر يوم القيامة *
Translation
Ibn-i-Mas'ud - may God be pleased with him - hath stated: "The Prophet - may the blessings of God and His salutations be upon Him - hath said: \‘Of all shores the best is the shore of Askelon, and ‘Akká is, verily, better than Askelon, and the merit of ‘Akká above that of Askelon and all other shores is as the merit of Muḥammad above that of all other Prophets. I bring you tidings of a city betwixt two mountains in Syria, in the middle of a meadow, which is called ‘Akká. Verily, he that entereth therein, longing for it and eager to visit it, God will forgive his sins, both of the past and of the future. And he that departeth from it, other than as a pilgrim, God will not bless his departure. In it is a spring called the Spring of the Cow. Whoso drinketh a draught therefrom, God will fill his heart with light, and will protect him from the most great terror on the Day of Resurrection.'"