Allah Almighty says: {Wherever you are, death will overcome you, even if you are in fortified towers.} [Surat an-Nisā’: 78] He also says: {And do not throw yourselves into destruction} [Surat al-Baqarah: 195]
1791/1 - Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: “‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) set out for the Levant. As he reached Sargh, he came across the governors of Ajnād, Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāh and his companions. They informed him that an epidemic had broken out in the Levant. ‘Umar said to me: ‘Call the earliest Emigrants.’ So I called them. He sought their counsel and told them that an epidemic had broken out in the Levant. There was a difference in opinion as to whether they should proceed further or retreat to their homes in such a situation. Some of them said: ‘You have set forth for some purpose, and you should not go back.’ Some others said: ‘As you have with you many eminent Companions, we would not advise you to set forth to the place of the plague (and thus expose them deliberately to danger).’ ‘Umar said: ‘You can now go away.’ He said: ‘Call the Ansār (Supporters).’ So, I called them, 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 Quraysh who had emigrated before the conquest of Makkah.’ I called them. ‘Umar consulted them over this issue and not even two persons among them differed in their opinions. They said: ‘We think that you should go back along with the people and do not take them to this epidemic.’ ‘Umar made an announcement to the people, saying: ‘In the morning I intend to go back, and I want you to do the same.’ Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāh said: ‘Are you going to run away from the divine decree?’ Thereupon, ‘Umar said: ‘O Abu ‘Ubaydah, had it been someone else who said this! 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 be acting 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.’ Then, ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), who had been absent for some need of his, came. He said: ‘I have knowledge about it. I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “If you heard of it (the plague) striking some land, then do not proceed towards it, and if it struck some land while you are there, then do not leave to escape it.”’ So, ‘Umar praised Allah Almighty and left.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1792/2 - Usāmah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If you get news of the outbreak of a plague in a land, do not enter it, and if it breaks out in a land in which you are, do not leave it.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
Sargh: a place, some distance away from Madinah, where the pilgrims coming from the Levant stay.
Ajnād: cities of the people of the Levant like Palestine, Jordan, Damascus, Hims.
Epidemic: the plague, which is a name referring to any infectious disease that kills a lot of people and spreads rapidly.
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1) Excellent policy of the Commander of the Believers ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) as he used to seek the opinion and advice of wise and guided people.
2) Some aspects of the Shariah knowledge may be unknown to senior people and known to those less in rank.
3) It is part of the Prophet’s guidance that one should not go to a place where there is danger and harm to him or to others.
4) It is required under the Shariah to pursue the means whereby we can protect ourselves from ruin and suffering. This does not contradict true reliance upon Allah Almighty. In doing so, we actually face the divine decree with the divine decree.
One of the righteous predecessors said: “It is unwise to abandon the pursuit of the proper means, and reliance upon them is a sign of poor belief. True monotheism entails the pursuit of the proper means along with the heart’s reliance upon Allah Almighty.”