According to some scholars like Al-Qadi 'Iyad, this prophecy has already been fulfilled, when the caliphate was shifted from Al-Madinah to Syria and Mesopotamia, although Al-Madinah was superior to these places in every way, worldly or otherwise, scholars were in abundance and the people were well off. However, others say that the prophecy has not been fulfilled yet, and that it will be fulfilled shortly before the Day of Judgement; they hold this view because the conditions described in the narration have not taken place. This second view seems to be more correct.