“This affliction or illness is a scourge by which some nations before you were punished, [or a group among the Children of Israel]. It then remained on earth: it disappears at one time and comes at another. Whoever hears of it in a land should not proceed towards it, and whoever is in a land where it breaks out should not leave it in flight from it.”

A hadith of the highest authenticity, narrated from Usamah ibn Zayd, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, and others.

1. As for the hadith of Usamah, it has several routes of transmission from him. The first is through ‘Amir ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas from him, according to the second wording. It was recorded by al-Bukhari (6974) and Muslim (7/26–30)—the wording, together with the addition, is Muslim’s—as well as by Malik (3/91), from whom it was also recorded by the two Shaykhs; likewise by Abu ‘Amr al-Dani in al-Fitan (folio 43/1), al-Nasa’i in al-Sunan al-Kubra (4/362/7524), and ‘Abd al-Razzaq in al-Musannaf (11/146/20158), from whom Ahmad also recorded it (5/207); by al-Humaydi in his Musnad (249/544); by Ahmad as well (5/200–201, 202, and 208); and likewise by al-Dani (folio 42/2) and al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir (1/92–94 and 124), through several routes from him.

Al-Humaydi added: “Amr ibn Dinar said: Perhaps it is a punishment or a scourge for some people, and martyrdom for others.” Sufyan said: “I liked this statement of Amr’s.”

The second route is through Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d, who said: “I heard Usamah ibn Zayd narrate it.” It was recorded by al-Bukhari (5728)—the wording is that of the first narration—Muslim (7/28), Ahmad (1/178; 5/206, 209, and 210), and al-Dani (42/1–2), through several routes from him.