Umar bin Khattab set out for Sham, and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the army, Abu Ubayda bin Jarra and his companions, met him and informed him that a plague had broken out in Sham.Ibn Abbas said, Umar told me, "Call the early Muhajirun for me." So I called them, and he consulted with them and informed them that a plague had broken out in Sham. They differed in their opinions.Some of them said, "You have set out for a purpose, and we do not think you should turn back from it."Others said, "You have with you the rest of the people and the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and we do not think you should expose them to this plague."Umar said, "Leave me." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." So I called them, and he consulted with them. They followed the same course as the Muhajirun and differed just as they had differed.He said, "Leave me." Then he said, "Call for me whoever is here of the elders of Quraysh from those who migrated at the time of the Conquest." So I called them, and not two men among them differed. They said, "We think you should return with the people and not expose them to this plague."So Umar called out to the people, "I will be setting off in the morning to return, so be ready."Abu Ubayda bin Jarra said, "Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah?"Umar replied, "If only someone other than you had said this, Abu Ubayda." Umar disliked disagreeing with him. "Yes, we flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah. Tell me, if you had camels and they descended into a valley with two slopes, one fertile and the other barren, would you not be acting by the decree of Allah whether you grazed them on the fertile side or on the barren side?"Then Abdul-Rahman bin Awf came, having been absent attending to some need of his, and said, "I have knowledge concerning this matter. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'If you hear of it in a land, do not go to it, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave fleeing from it.'"Umar bin Khattab praised Allah and then departed.
حدثنا يحيى بن يحيى التميمي قال قرأت على مالك عن ابن شهاب عن عبد الحميد بن عبد الرحمن بن زيد بن الخطاب عن عبد الله بن عبد الله بن الحارث بن نوفل
أن عمر بن الخطاب خرج إلى الشام حتى إذا كان بسرغ لقيه أهل الأجناد أبو عبيدة بن الجراح وأصحابه فأخبروه أن الوباء قد وقع بالشام قال ابن عباس فقال عمر ادع لي المهاجرين الأولين فدعوتهم فاستشارهم وأخبرهم أن الوباء قد وقع بالشام فاختلفوا فقال بعضهم قد خرجت لأمر ولا نرى أن ترجع عنه وقال بعضهم معك بقية الناس وأصحاب رسول الله ﷺ ولا نرى أن تقدمهم على هذا الوباء فقال ارتفعوا عني ثم قال ادع لي الأنصار فدعوتهم له فاستشارهم فسلكوا سبيل المهاجرين واختلفوا كاختلافهم فقال ارتفعوا عني ثم قال ادع لي من كان هاهنا من مشيخة قريش من مهاجرة الفتح فدعوتهم فلم يختلف عليه رجلان فقالوا نرى أن ترجع بالناس ولا تقدمهم على هذا الوباء فنادى عمر في الناس إني مصبح على ظهر فأصبحوا عليه فقال أبو عبيدة بن الجراح أفرارا من قدر الله فقال عمر لو غيرك قالها يا أبا عبيدة وكان عمر يكره خلافه نعم نفر من قدر الله إلى قدر الله أرأيت لو كانت لك إبل فهبطت واديا 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 وكان متغيبا في بعض حاجته فقال إن عندي من هذا علما سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول إذا سمعتم به بأرض فلا تقدموا عليه وإذا وقع بأرض وأنتم بها فلا تخرجوا فرارا منه قال فحمد الله عمر بن الخطاب ثم انصرف
Muslim reported the hadith about the plague from the narration of Maamar, Yunus, and Malik, from Zuhri. They differed regarding it. Malik said "Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Harith," while Maamar and Yunus said "Abdullah bin Harith," contrary to what Malik said. Bukhari reported it only from the narration of Malik. The hadith is sahih despite their disagreement over its chain.
I say, it appears that Imam Muslim, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned the hadith of Yunus in order to clarify the difference in the hadith, and to point out the flaw in the hadith of Yunus, as shown by his statement, "except that he said, Abdullah bin Harith told him," and he did not say Abdullah bin Abdullah. The discussion of this chain of transmission has already been given in hadith thirty-one.