from it.” (1) The Prophet ﷺ thus restricted the prohibition of leaving to cases where one leaves in flight from it. But if a person came to that town for some purpose or for trade, and has finished what he came for and wishes to return to his own town, we do not say, “This is unlawful for you.” Rather, we say, “You may leave.”

One question remains: may we permit him to leave if it is feared that he has contracted the epidemic? The answer is no: we do not permit him to leave; rather, we prevent him from doing so. Indeed, some physicians have supposed that the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “If it breaks out in a land while you are there, do not leave it,” refers to quarantine. They said that the Messenger ﷺ meant that people should not leave this plague-stricken land, as a form of quarantine. But this is incorrect, because the Prophet ﷺ considered something more general and more important: fleeing from Allah’s decree. He said, “Do not leave it in flight from it.”

If a person hears that it has broken out in a land, may he go there? No, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “If you hear of it in a land, do not enter it.” This is a case of casting oneself into destruction, and falls under Allah’s saying: “And do not kill yourselves.” [al-Nisaʾ: 29] How could you proceed to a town where plague has broken out? You are like one who walks into a fire in order to plunge into it.

If someone says, “Is it not possible for a person to remain safe while in a town afflicted by plague?” We say: Certainly; but the general likelihood is that he will be infected, so he may not go there.