…the people as quʿāṣ does sheep; a tribulation whose boundaries will enter every Muslim household; that a man will be given a thousand dinars yet remain displeased; and that the Romans will charge, marching against you under eighty banners, beneath each banner twelve thousand men.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī said:
“Abū Zakariyyā ibn Abī Isḥāq informed us; Abū al-ʿAbbās Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb narrated to us; Baḥr ibn Naṣr narrated to us; Ibn Wahb narrated to us; he said: Ibn Luhayʿah informed me, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥayyān, that he heard Sulaymān ibn Mūsā mention:

‘The plague struck the people on the day of Jisr ʿAmūsah. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ rose and said, “O people! This illness is a defilement, so keep away from it.” Then Shurahbīl ibn Ḥasnah rose and said, “O people! I have heard the words of your companion. By Allah, I accepted Islam and have prayed, yet ʿAmr is more misguided than the stray camel of his household. Rather, it is a trial that Allah has sent down, so be patient.”

Muʿādh ibn Jabal then stood and said, “O people! I have heard the words of your two companions. This plague is your Lord’s mercy and the supplication of your Prophet ﷺ. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

‘You will come to Syria and settle in a land called ʿAmūsah. Two outflows will break out among you there, each having a ‘fly’ like the fly of a boil. Through it Allah will cause your own selves and your children to attain martyrdom, and He will purify your wealth thereby.’

O Allah, if You know that I heard this from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then allot to Muʿādh and the family of Muʿādh the fullest share of it, and do not spare them from it.”’

He was then struck in his index finger, and he would look at it and say, “O Allah, bless it, for when You bless the small it becomes great.” Then his son was struck, and when Muʿādh entered upon him he recited, “The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among those who doubt” (2:147). His son replied, “You will find me, if Allah wills, among the patient” (37:102).

It is authentically recorded in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, from the ḥadīth of al-Aʿmash and Jāmiʿ ibn Abī Rāshid, on the authority of Shaqīq ibn Salamah, from Ḥudhayfah, who said:

‘We were sitting with ʿUmar when he said, “Which of you remembers the ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about tribulation (fitnah)?” I replied, “I do.” He said, “Speak, for you are bold.” I said, “He spoke of a man’s tribulation regarding his family, his wealth, his children and his neighbour; it is expiated by prayer, charity, enjoining good and forbidding wrong.” He said, “That is not what I mean. I mean the tribulation that surges like the waves of the sea.” I said, “Commander of the Believers, between you and it lies a closed door.” He said, “Woe to you! Will the door be opened or broken?” I said, “Rather, it will be broken.” He said, “Then it will never be closed again.” I said, “Yes.”

We later asked Ḥudhayfah, “Did ʿUmar know who the door was?” He replied, “Yes; I told him a narration free of errors.” We shrank from asking Ḥudhayfah who the door was, so we said to Masrūq, who asked him. He said, “Who is the door?” He replied, “ʿUmar.”