7 of 10 · 18 AH · 639 CE · Madinah, and Sargh on the road to Syria
'Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه
The Year of Ash
In 18 AH drought struck the Hijaz so hard that the wind blew the dry earth about like ash, and the year became known as 'Am al-Ramadah, the Year of Ash. Hungry Bedouin crowded into Madinah. 'Umar wrote to his governors in Egypt, Syria and Iraq for relief, and caravans of food came. The historians report that he vowed not to taste meat or ghee until the people were relieved, and lived on bread and oil until his face grew dark.
That same year plague broke out in Syria, around 'Amwas. 'Umar was travelling there and was met at Sargh by Abu 'Ubaydah and the commanders. He consulted the Muhajirun, then the Ansar, then the elders of Quraysh, and decided to turn back. Abu 'Ubaydah asked, "Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah?" 'Umar said: "If only someone other than you had said that, Abu 'Ubaydah! Yes — we flee from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah."
Then 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf arrived with a hadith: the Prophet ﷺ had said that if you hear of plague in a land, do not enter it, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave it to flee from it. 'Umar praised Allah and went home (Sahih al-Bukhari 5729). Abu 'Ubaydah himself and Mu'adh ibn Jabal were among the many who died in that plague.
'Umar met hardship with both trust and responsibility: he relied on Allah's decree and still took every means to protect his people.
In a time of hardship, how do you balance trusting Allah with doing all that is in your power?
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5729 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabaqat al-KubraHistorical report
- al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-MulukHistorical report
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
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