Plague and Quarantine
Total Hadiths 16
Prophetic Guidance on Plague and Quarantine Protocols
These authentic narrations detail the core principles of quarantine and isolation during epidemics as established by the Prophet Muhammad. He explains that the plague is a sign of a calamity or disease sent to past nations, including the tribe of Bani Isra'il. To prevent the spread of such infectious outbreaks, the Prophet implemented practical movement restrictions. He strictly commanded that if you hear about a plague affecting a certain territory, you must not travel into it. Conversely, if an epidemic breaks out within a country while you are living there, you are explicitly forbidden from running away to escape it. According to Islamic scholars, these regulations lay down the early foundations for public health safety, ensuring the containment of contagious diseases while safeguarding surrounding communities from harm.
وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ، سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ دَاوُدَ وَقُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادٌ، وَهُوَ ابْنُ زَيْدٍ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ، دِينَارٍ بِإِسْنَادِ ابْنِ جُرَيْجٍ نَحْوَ حَدِيثِهِ .
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Juraij through another chain of transmitters.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218eIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 128USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5497
وَحَدَّثَنَاهُ أَبُو كَامِلٍ الْجَحْدَرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَاحِدِ، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ زِيَادٍ - حَدَّثَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، بِإِسْنَادِ يُونُسَ نَحْوَ حَدِيثِهِ .
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Zuhri with a different chain of transmitters.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218gIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 130USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5499
وَحَدَّثَنِيهِ وَهْبُ بْنُ بَقِيَّةَ، أَخْبَرَنَا خَالِدٌ، - يَعْنِي الطَّحَّانَ - عَنِ الشَّيْبَانِيِّ، عَنْ حَبِيبِ، بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ سَعْدِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم . بِنَحْوِ حَدِيثِهِمْ .
This hadith has been transmitted by Ibrahim b. Sa'd b. Malik on the authority of his father.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218lIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 135USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5503
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى التَّمِيمِيُّ، قَالَ قَرَأْتُ عَلَى مَالِكٍ عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ، الْحَمِيدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ نَوْفَلٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، خَرَجَ إِلَى الشَّامِ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ بِسَرْغَ لَقِيَهُ أَهْلُ الأَجْنَادِ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ وَأَصْحَابُهُ فَأَخْبَرُوهُ أَنَّ الْوَبَاءَ قَدْ وَقَعَ بِالشَّامِ . قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ ادْعُ لِيَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ الأَوَّلِينَ . فَدَعَوْتُهُمْ فَاسْتَشَارَهُمْ وَأَخْبَرَهُمْ أَنَّ الْوَبَاءَ قَدْ وَقَعَ بِالشَّامِ فَاخْتَلَفُوا فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ قَدْ خَرَجْتَ لأَمْرٍ وَلاَ نَرَى أَنْ تَرْجِعَ عَنْهُ . وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ مَعَكَ بَقِيَّةُ النَّاسِ وَأَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَلاَ نَرَى أَنْ تُقْدِمَهُمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَبَاءِ . فَقَالَ ارْتَفِعُوا عَنِّي . ثُمَّ قَالَ ادْعُ لِيَ الأَنْصَارَ فَدَعَوْتُهُمْ لَهُ فَاسْتَشَارَهُمْ فَسَلَكُوا سَبِيلَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَاخْتَلَفُوا كَاخْتِلاَفِهِمْ . فَقَالَ ارْتَفِعُوا عَنِّي . ثُمَّ قَالَ ادْعُ لِي مَنْ كَانَ هَا هُنَا مِنْ مَشْيَخَةِ قُرَيْشٍ مِنْ مُهَاجِرَةِ الْفَتْحِ . فَدَعَوْتُهُمْ فَلَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ عَلَيْهِ رَجُلاَنِ فَقَالُوا نَرَى أَنْ تَرْجِعَ بِالنَّاسِ وَلاَ تُقْدِمْهُمْ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَبَاءِ . فَنَادَى عُمَرُ فِي النَّاسِ إِنِّي مُصْبِحٌ عَلَى ظَهْرٍ فَأَصْبِحُوا عَلَيْهِ . فَقَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ أَفِرَارًا مِنْ قَدَرِ اللَّهِ فَقَالَ عُمَرُ لَوْ غَيْرُكَ قَالَهَا يَا أَبَا عُبَيْدَةَ - وَكَانَ عُمَرُ يَكْرَهُ خِلاَفَهُ - نَعَمْ نَفِرُّ مِنْ قَدَرِ اللَّهِ إِلَى قَدَرِ اللَّهِ أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَتْ لَكَ إِبِلٌ فَهَبَطْتَ وَادِيًا لَهُ عِدْوَتَانِ إِحْدَاهُمَا خَصْبَةٌ وَالأُخْرَى جَدْبَةٌ أَلَيْسَ إِنْ رَعَيْتَ الْخَصْبَةَ رَعَيْتَهَا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ وَإِنْ رَعَيْتَ الْجَدْبَةَ رَعَيْتَهَا بِقَدَرِ اللَّهِ قَالَ فَجَاءَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَوْفٍ وَكَانَ مُتَغَيِّبًا فِي بَعْضِ حَاجَتِهِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ عِنْدِي مِنْ هَذَا عِلْمًا سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِهِ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَقْدَمُوا عَلَيْهِ وَإِذَا وَقَعَ بِأَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلاَ تَخْرُجُوا فِرَارًا مِنْهُ " . قَالَ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ثُمَّ انْصَرَفَ .
`Abdullah bin `Abbas Narrated from:
Umar b. Khattab set out for Syria. As he came at Sargh (a town by the side of Hijaz on the way to Syria), there met him the commander of the forces, Abu Ubaida b. Jandb, and his companions. They informed him that a scourge had broken out in Syria.Ibn 'Abbas further reported that 'Umar said: Call to me the earliest emigrants. So I called them. He (Hadrat 'Umar) sought their advice, and they told him that the scourge had broken, out in Syria. There was a difference of opinion (whether they should proceed further or go back to their homes in such a situation).Some of them said: You ('Umar) have set forth for a task, and, therefore, we would not advise you to go back, whereas some of them said: You have along with you the remnants (of the sacred galaxy) of men and (the blessed) Companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), so we would not advise you to go forth towards this calamity (with such eminent persons and thus expose them deliberately to a danger). He (Hadrat 'Umar) said: You can now go away.He said: Call to me the Ansar. So I called them to him, and he consulted them, and they trod the same path as was trodden by the Muhajirin, and they differed in their opinions as they had differed. He said: Now, you can go. He again said: Call to me the old persons of the Quraish who had migrated before the Victory (that is the Victory of Mecca), so I called them (and Hadrat 'Umar consulted them) and not even two persons differed (from the opinion held by the earlier delegates).They said: Our opinion is that you better go back along with the people and do not make them go to this scourge, So 'Umar made announcement to the people: In the morning I would be on the back of my side. So they (set forth in the morning), whereupon Abu 'Ubaida b. Jarrah said: Are you going to run away from the Divine Decree? Thereupon 'Umar said: Had it been someone else to say this besides you!'Umar (in fact) did not approve of his opposing (this decision) and he said: Yes, we are running from the Divine Decree (to the) Divine Decree. You should think if there had been camels for you and you happened to get down in a valley having two sides, one of them covered with verdure and the other being barren, would you not (be doing) according to the Divine Decree if you graze them in verdure? And in case you graze them in the barren land (even then you would be grazing them) according to the Divine Decree.There happened to come 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Auf and he had been absent in connection with some of his needs. He said: I have with me a knowledge of it, that I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: If you hear of its presence (the presence of plague) in a land, don't enter it, but if it spreads in the land where you are, don't fly from it. Thereupon 'Umar b. Khattab praised Allah and then went back?
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2219aIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 136USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5504
وَحَدَّثَنَاهُ عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَذْكُرْ قِصَّةَ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ فِي أَوَّلِ الْحَدِيثِ .
Shu'ba Narrated from:
This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters except for the fact that no mention has been made of the account of 'Ata b. Yasir as in the previous hadith.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218iIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 132USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5501
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ بْنِ قَعْنَبٍ، وَقُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، قَالاَ أَخْبَرَنَا الْمُغِيرَةُ، - وَنَسَبَهُ ابْنُ قَعْنَبٍ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْقُرَشِيُّ - عَنْ أَبِي النَّضْرِ، عَنْ عَامِرِ بْنِ سَعْدِ، بْنِ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الطَّاعُونُ آيَةُ الرِّجْزِ ابْتَلَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِهِ نَاسًا مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَإِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِهِ فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوا عَلَيْهِ وَإِذَا وَقَعَ بِأَرْضٍ وَأَنْتُمْ بِهَا فَلاَ تَفِرُّوا مِنْهُ " . هَذَا حَدِيثُ الْقَعْنَبِيِّ وَقُتَيْبَةَ نَحْوَهُ .
Usamah bin Zaid Narrated from:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had said: Plague is the sign of a calamity with which Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, affects people from His servants. So when you hear about it, don't enter there (where it has broken out), and when it has broken out in a land and you are there, then don't run away from it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218bIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 125USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5494
حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو وَحَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى قَالاَ أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَامِرُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أُسَامَةَ بْنِ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ " إِنَّ هَذَا الْوَجَعَ أَوِ السَّقَمَ رِجْزٌ عُذِّبَ بِهِ بَعْضُ الأُمَمِ قَبْلَكُمْ ثُمَّ بَقِيَ بَعْدُ بِالأَرْضِ فَيَذْهَبُ الْمَرَّةَ وَيَأْتِي الأُخْرَى فَمَنْ سَمِعَ بِهِ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ يَقْدَمَنَّ عَلَيْهِ وَمَنْ وَقَعَ بِأَرْضٍ وَهُوَ بِهَا فَلاَ يُخْرِجَنَّهُ الْفِرَارُ مِنْهُ " .
Usamah bin Zaid Narrated from:
Usama b. Zaid reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) having said this: This calamity or illness was a punishment with which were punished some of the nations before you. Then it was left upon the earth. It goes away once and comes back again. He who heard of its presence in a land should not go towards it, and he who happened to be in a land where it had broken out should not fly from it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218fIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 129USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5498
حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَكْرٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرُو، بْنُ دِينَارٍ أَنَّ عَامِرَ بْنَ سَعْدٍ، أَخْبَرَهُ أَنَّ رَجُلاً سَأَلَ سَعْدَ بْنَ أَبِي وَقَّاصٍ عَنِ الطَّاعُونِ، فَقَالَ أُسَامَةُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ أَنَا أُخْبِرُكَ عَنْهُ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " هُوَ عَذَابٌ أَوْ رِجْزٌ أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى طَائِفَةٍ مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَوْ نَاسٍ كَانُوا قَبْلَكُمْ فَإِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ بِهِ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوهَا عَلَيْهِ وَإِذَا دَخَلَهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَلاَ تَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فِرَارًا " .
Amir b. Sa'd Narrated from:
A person asked Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas about the plague, whereupon Usama b. Zaid said: I would inform you about it. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: It is a calamity or a disease which Allah sent to a group of Bani Isra'il, or to the people who were before you; so when you hear of it in land, don't enter it and when it has broken out in your land, don't run away from it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218dIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 127USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5496
وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُنْكَدِرِ، عَنْ عَامِرِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ أُسَامَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِنَّ هَذَا الطَّاعُونَ رِجْزٌ سُلِّطَ عَلَى مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ أَوْ عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ فَإِذَا كَانَ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَخْرُجُوا مِنْهَا فِرَارًا مِنْهُ وَإِذَا كَانَ بِأَرْضٍ فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوهَا " .
Usama Narrated from:
Usama reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Plague is a calamity which was inflicted on those who were before you, or upon Bani Isra'il. So when it has broken out in a land, don't run out of it, and when it has spread in a land, then don't enter it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2218cIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 126USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5495
وَحَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ رَافِعٍ، وَعَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، قَالَ ابْنُ رَافِعٍ حَدَّثَنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، أَخْبَرَنَا مَعْمَرٌ، بِهَذَا الإِسْنَادِ . نَحْوَ حَدِيثِ مَالِكٍ وَزَادَ فِي حَدِيثِ مَعْمَرٍ قَالَ وَقَالَ لَهُ أَيْضًا أَرَأَيْتَ أَنَّهُ لَوْ رَعَى الْجَدْبَةَ وَتَرَكَ الْخَصْبَةَ أَكُنْتَ مُعَجِّزَهُ قَالَ نَعَمْ . قَالَ فَسِرْ إِذًا . قَالَ فَسَارَ حَتَّى أَتَى الْمَدِينَةَ فَقَالَ هَذَا الْمَحِلُّ . أَوْ قَالَ هَذَا الْمَنْزِلُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ .
Ma'mar Narrated from:
Do you think that he would graze in the barren land but would abandon the green land? Would you not attribute it to be a failing on his part? He said: Yes. He said: Then proceed. And he moved on until he came to Medina. And he said to me: This is the right place, or he said: That is the destination if Allah so wills.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2219bIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 137USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5505
