When the plague intensified, Abu Ubayda bin Jarra stood among the people to address them and said, "People, this plague is a mercy from your Lord, the supplication of your Prophet, and the manner of death of the righteous before you. Abu Ubayda asks Allah to grant him his share of it."He was then struck by the plague and died, may Allah have mercy on him. He had appointed Muaz bin Jabal as his successor over the people, who then stood to address them after him and said, "People, this plague is a mercy from your Lord, the supplication of your Prophet, and the manner of death of the righteous before you. Muaz asks Allah to grant the family of Muaz their share of it."His son Abdul-Rahman bin Muaz was then struck by it and died. Then Muaz stood and prayed to his Lord for himself, and was struck in the palm of his hand. I saw him looking at it, then kissing the back of his hand and saying, "I would not exchange what is in you for anything of this world."When he died, he had appointed Amr bin As as his successor over the people. Amr stood among us to address them and said, "People, when this plague strikes, it spreads like a raging fire. So take refuge from it in the mountains."Abu Wathila al-Hudhali said to him, "You have lied, by Allah. You accompanied the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and yet you are worse than this donkey of mine."Amr replied, "By Allah, I will not respond to what you say. But by Allah, we will not remain in this place."He then departed, and the people departed with him, dispersing throughout the land, and Allah lifted the plague from them. Word of Amr's view reached Umar bin Khattab, and by Allah, he did not disapprove of it.Abu Abdul-Rahman Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Hanbal said, Abban bin Salih is the grandfather of Abu Abdul-Rahman Mushkadana.
حدثنا يعقوب حدثنا أبي عن محمد بن إسحاق حدثني أبان بن صالح عن شهر بن حوشب الأشعري عن رابه رجل من قومه كان خلف على أمه بعد أبيه كان شهد
لما اشتعل الوجع قام أبو عبيدة بن الجراح في الناس خطيبا فقال أيها الناس إن هذا الوجع رحمة ربكم ودعوة نبيكم وموت الصالحين قبلكم وإن أبا عبيدة يسأل الله أن يقسم له منه حظه قال فطعن فمات رحمه الله واستخلف على الناس معاذ بن جبل فقام خطيبا بعده فقال أيها الناس إن هذا الوجع رحمة ربكم ودعوة نبيكم وموت الصالحين قبلكم وإن معاذا يسأل الله أن يقسم لآل معاذ منه حظه قال فطعن ابنه عبد الرحمن بن معاذ فمات ثم قام فدعا ربه لنفسه فطعن في راحته فلقد رأيته ينظر إليها ثم يقبل ظهر كفه ثم يقول ما أحب أن لي بما فيك شيئا من الدنيا فلما مات استخلف على الناس عمرو بن العاص فقام فينا خطيبا فقال أيها الناس إن هذا الوجع إذا وقع فإنما يشتعل اشتعال النار فتجبلوا منه في الجبال قال فقال له أبو واثلة الهذلي كذبت والله لقد صحبت رسول الله ﷺ وأنت شر من حماري هذا قال والله ما أرد عليك ما تقول وايم الله لا نقيم عليه ثم خرج وخرج الناس فتفرقوا عنه ودفعه الله عنهم قال فبلغ ذلك عمر بن الخطاب من رأي عمرو فوالله ما كرهه قال أبو عبد الرحمن عبد الله بن أحمد بن حنبل أبان بن صالح جد أبي عبد الرحمن مشكدانة
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Its chain of transmission is daif because of the anonymity of the shaykh from whom Shahr bin Hawshab narrated, who was his "rabb," meaning his mother's husband. "Ar-rabb" (with the doubling of the ba) means the husband of an orphan's mother, while "ar-rabba" means the wife of one's father. This distinction was obscure to the copyist of manuscript K, who wrote it as "an rabba" (from Rabba), and the same error occurs in the History of Tabari, in Ibn Kathir, in Usd al-Ghaba, and in Majma al-Zawaid. The copyists assumed that "Rabba" was the specific name of a man, and this was reinforced by the orientalist De Goeje, who compiled the index to Tabari's History, for he wrote there, "Rabba al-Ashari, the narrator" - a further compounding of the mistake, since as far as we know there is no narrator whatsoever named "Rabba."This hadith was narrated by Tabari in his History, 4:201-202, from Ibn Humayd, from Salama, from Ibn Ishaq. Ibn Kathir transmitted it, 7:78-79, from Ibn Ishaq. I judge it more likely to derive from Tabari's History. Ibn Athir narrated it in Usd al-Ghaba, 5:319, from the Musnad. It also appears in Majma al-Zawaid, 3:316, where it is said, "Ahmad narrated it. There is some discussion regarding Shahr, and his shaykh is not named." An error occurs there in the name Shahr, where it is written "and from Shahr bin Hurayth," and the phrase "and his shaykh" is written as "and in a copy." Both are printing errors.Amwas, with a fatha on the ayn and the meem, and a soft waw, is a district of Palestine near Bayt al-Maqdis. It was there that the plague first began in the days of Umar, and it then spread throughout the land of Syria, killing countless people, both companions and others, in the year 18. "They took refuge in the mountains from it" means they went up into the mountains and made their way to them.Abu Wathila al-Huzali was a companion who witnessed the conquests of Syria. His biography appears in Usd al-Ghaba and in Isaba, 7:211-212, which refers to this hadith.Mishkadana is Abu Abdul-Rahman Abdullah bin Umar bin Muhammad bin Abu Aban bin Salih bin Umayr, mentioned previously at 1071. See also al-Kabir by Bukhari, 1/1/451-452, biography of Abu Aban bin Salih.