Mabid, on the authority of Ismaʿil ibn ʿUbayd Allah, who said:
Muʿadh ibn Jabal related:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘You will emigrate to Syria; it will be opened up for you, and therein will appear a disease like a boil—or like a stab—that seizes a man at the base of the throat. Through it Allah will either cause you to testify—or to be martyred; He will take your souls and purify your deeds by means of it.’
O Allah, if You know that Muʿadh heard this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then grant him and the members of his household the fullest share of it.”
The plague did strike them, and none of them was spared. It began with a lesion in his index finger, and he would say, “I would not trade it for a herd of red camels.” (1)
Hammam narrated to us, and so did Qatadah and Matar, from Shahr, from (2) ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm, who said:
“The plague fell upon Syria, so ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs addressed the people, saying, ‘This plague is a scourge; flee from it into the valleys and mountain passes.’
When Shurahbil ibn Hasanah heard of this he became angry; he came dragging his cloak, his sandals in his hand, and said, ‘I accompanied the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and yet it is a mercy from your Lord, the supplication of your Prophet, and the death of the righteous before you.’
When that reached Muʿadh he said, ‘O Allah, allot the greatest share of it to the household of Muʿadh.’
Two of his daughters died, and he buried them in one grave. His son ʿAbd al-Rahman was then stricken, and when he asked him, ‘How do you find yourself?’ he replied, “‘The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt’ [Āl ʿImran 3:60].” He added, “‘You will find me, God willing, among the patient’ [al-Saffat 37:102].”
Muʿadh himself was then struck in the palm of his hand. He kept turning it over, saying, ‘It is dearer to me than a herd of red camels.’ Whenever the pain eased he would supplicate, ‘My Lord, speed it on, for You know that I love You.’
He once saw a man weeping and asked, ‘What makes you weep?’ The man replied, ‘I am not crying over any worldly share I used to receive from you; rather, I weep for the knowledge I used to gain from you.’
He said, ‘Do not weep for it, for indeed—’