39/32. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 2218h — Medina Report About Plague in Kufa
The Plague, Ill Omens, Soothsaying And The Like
Kufa Plague Report and the Hadith on Outbreaks
Sahih Muslim : 2218h
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 2218h
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي عَدِيٍّ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ حَبِيبٍ، قَالَ كُنَّا بِالْمَدِينَةِ فَبَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الطَّاعُونَ قَدْ وَقَعَ بِالْكُوفَةِ فَقَالَ لِي عَطَاءُ بْنُ يَسَارٍ وَغَيْرُهُ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِذَا كُنْتَ بِأَرْضٍ فَوَقَعَ بِهَا فَلاَ تَخْرُجْ مِنْهَا وَإِذَا بَلَغَكَ أَنَّهُ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَدْخُلْهَا " . قَالَ قُلْتُ عَمَّنْ قَالُوا عَنْ عَامِرِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ يُحَدِّثُ بِهِ . قَالَ فَأَتَيْتُهُ فَقَالُوا غَائِبٌ - قَالَ - فَلَقِيتُ أَخَاهُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ فَسَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ شَهِدْتُ أُسَامَةَ يُحَدِّثُ سَعْدًا قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " إِنَّ هَذَا الْوَجَعَ رِجْزٌ أَوْ عَذَابٌ أَوْ بَقِيَّةُ عَذَابٍ عُذِّبَ بِهِ أُنَاسٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ فَإِذَا كَانَ بِأَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلاَ تَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا وَإِذَا بَلَغَكُمْ أَنَّهُ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوهَا " . قَالَ حَبِيبٌ فَقُلْتُ لإِبْرَاهِيمَ آنْتَ سَمِعْتَ أُسَامَةَ يُحَدِّثُ سَعْدًا وَهُوَ لاَ يُنْكِرُ قَالَ نَعَمْ .
Habib Narrated from:
While we were in Medina we heard of plague having broken out in Kufa. 'Ata b. Yasir and others said to me that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had said. If you are in a land where it (this scourge) has broken out, don't get out of it, and if you were to know that it had broken (in another land, then don't enter it. I said to him: From whom (did you hear it)? They said: 'Amir b. Sa'd has narrated it. So I came to him. They said that he was not present there. So I met his brother Ibrahim b. Sa'd and asked him. He said: I bear testimony to the fact that Usama narrated it to Sa'd saying: I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying that it is a God-sent punishment from the calamity or from the remnant of the calamity with which people were afflicted before you. So when it is in a land and you are there, don't get out of it, and if (this news reaches you) that it has broken out in a land, then don't enter therein. Habib said: I said to Ibrahim: Did you hear Usama narrating it to Sa'd and he was not denying it. He said: Yes.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218hIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 131USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5500
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 2218h
This plague Hadith includes a report from Habib while he was in Medina and heard that plague had broken out in Kufa. Ata b. Yasar and others mentioned the Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم statement: if someone is in a land where plague has broken out, he should not leave it; and if he hears it has broken out elsewhere, he should not enter it. Habib then checked the source and was directed to Amir b. Sa'd. When Amir was away, he asked Ibrahim b. Sa'd, who testified that Usama narrated it to Sa'd from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This makes the narration useful not only for the plague ruling, but also for careful reporting. People searching for plague hadith or Kufa plague hadith will find the core message: do not enter the outbreak land, and do not leave the land already affected.
What we learn from this hadith
- Do not enter a land after hearing that plague has broken out there.
- If plague breaks out where someone already is, the report says not to flee from it.
- The Hadith describes plague as a calamity or punishment linked to earlier people.
- The teaching encourages careful movement and steadiness during a serious outbreak.
