وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه
أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه خرج إلى الشام حتى إذا كان بسرغ لقيه أمراء الأجناد (أبو عبيدة بن الجراح وأصحابه) فأخبروه أن الوباء قد وقع بالشام، قال بن عباس: فقال عمر: ادع لي المهاجرين الأولين، فدعوتهم، فاستشارهم، وأخبرهم أن الوباء قد وقع بالشام، فاختلفوا، فقال بعضهم: خرجت لأمر، ولا نرى أن ترجع عنه.
وقال بعضهم: معك بقية الناس وأصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا نرى أن تقدمهم على هذا الوباء. فقال: ارتفعوا عني، ثم قال: ادع لي الأنصار، فدعوتهم، فاستشارهم، فسلكوا سبيل المهاجرين، واختلفوا كاختلافهم، فقال: ارتفعوا عني، ثم قال: ادع لي من كان ها هنا من مشيخة قريش من مهاجرة الفتح، فدعوتهم، فلم يختلف عليه منهم رجلان، فقالوا: نرى أن ترجع بالناس، ولا تقدمهم على هذا الوباء، فنادى عمر رضي الله عنه في الناس: إني مصبح على ظهر، فأصبحوا عليه فقال أبو عبيدة بن الجراح رضي الله عنه: أفرار من قدر الله؟
فقال عمر رضي الله عنه: لو غيرك قالها يا أبا عبيدة! (وكان عمر يكره خلافه) نعم نفر من قدر الله إلى قدر الله، أرأيت لو كان لك إبل، فهبطت وادياً له عدوتان، إحداهما خصبة، والأخرى جدبة، أليس إن رعيت الخصبة رعيتها بقدر الله، وإن رعيت الجدبة رعيتها بقدر الله؟
قال: فجاء عبد الرحمن بن عوف رضي الله عنه، وكان متغيباً في بعض حاجته، فقال: إن عندي من هذا علما، سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: «إذا سمعتم به بأرض، فلا تقدموا عليه، وإذا وقع بأرض وأنتم بها، فلا تخرجوا فرارا منه«فحمد الله تعالى عمر رضي الله عنه وانصرف
Umar ibn Al- Khattab (radiyallahu anhu) set out for Ash-Sham (the region comprising Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan). As he reached at Sargh (a town by the side of Hijaz) he came across the governor of Al-Ajnad, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (radiyallahu anhu) and his companions. They informed him that an had broken out in Syria.
Ibn Abbas relates: Umar (radiyallahu anhu) said to me: “Call to me the earliest Muhajirun (Emigrants).” So I called them. He sought their advice and told them that an epidemic had broken out in Ash-Sham. There was a difference of opinion whether they should proceed further or retreat to their homes in such a situation.
Some of them said: “You have set forth to fight the enemy, and therefore you should not go back;” whereas some of them said: “As you have along with you many eminent Companions of Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), we would not advice you to set forth to the place of the plague (and thus expose them deliberately to a danger).”
Umar (radiyallahu anhu) said: “You can now go away.” He said: “Call to me the Ansar (the Helpers).” So I called them to him, and he consulted them and they differed in their opinions as well.
He said: “Now, you may go.” He again said: “Call the old (wise people) of the Quraish who had emigrated before the conquest of Makkah.” I called them. Umar (radiyallahu anhu) consulted them in this issue and not even two persons among them differed in the opinions.
They said: “We think that you should go back along with the people and do not take them to this scourge. Umar (radiyallahu anhu) made an announcement to the people, saying: ‘In the morning I intend to go back, and I want you to do the same.’
Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah (radiyallahu anhu) said: ‘Are you going to run away from the Divine Decree?’ Thereupon Umar (radiyallahu anhu) said: ‘O Abu Ubaidah! Had it been someone else to say this.’ (Umar (radiyallahu anhu) did not like to differ with him).
He said: ‘Yes, we are running from the Divine Decree to the Divine Decree. What do you think if you have camels and you happen to get down a valley having two sides, one of them covered with foliage and the other being barren, will you not act according to the Divine Decree if you graze them in vegetative land? In case you graze them in the barren land, even then you will be doing so according to the Divine Decree.
There happened to come Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf who had been absent for some of his needs. He said: I have knowledge about it. I heard the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) saying, ‘If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, you should not enter it; but if it spreads in the land where you are, you should not depart from it.’ Thereupon Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu anhu) praised Allah and went back.’”