Umar bin al-Khattab travelled to Syria for the second time and when he approached it, he and those who were with him heard that the plague was widespread therein. His companions said to him: Go back and do not enter it, for if you enter it when (the plague) is in it, we do not think that you should leave it. So he set off, heading back to Madinah, and he stopped to rest at the end of that night. I was the closest of the people to him, and when he woke up, I woke up with him and followed him, and I heard him say: They turned me away from Syria after I had got close to it because the plague was there. It would be a good idea to go to Madinah and finish some work that I have to do there, then I will go and enter Syria and stay in Homs, for I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will resurrect from it seventy thousand without any reckoning or punishment, and their place of resurrection will be between the olive trees and the garden at al-Barth al Ahmar near (Homs).ʿ

لَهُ أَصْحَابُهُ ارْجِعْ وَلا تَقَحَّمْ عَلَيْهِ فَلَوْ نَزَلْتَهَا وَهُوَ بِهَا لَمْ نَرَ لَكَ الشُّخُوصَ عَنْهَافَانْصَرَفَ رَاجِعًا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَعَرَّسَ مِنْ لَيْلَتِهِ تِلْكَ وَأَنَا أَقْرَبُ الْقَوْمِ مِنْهُ فَلَمَّا انْبَعَثَ انْبَعَثْتُ مَعَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ رَدُّونِي عَنِ الشَّامِ بَعْدَ أَنْ شَارَفْتُ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّ الطَّاعُونَ فِيهِ أَلَا وَمَا مُنْصَرَفِي عَنْهُ بمُؤَخِّرٍّ فِي أَجَلِي وَمَا كَانَ قُدُومِي مِنْهُ بمُعَجِّلِي عَنْ أَجَلِي أَلا وَلَوْ قَدْ قَدِمْتُ الْمَدِينَةَ فَفَرَغْتُ مِنْ حَاجَاتٍ لَا بُدَّ لِي مِنْهَا لَقَدْ سِرْتُ حَتَّى أَدْخُلَ الشَّامَ ثُمَّ أَنْزِلَ حِمْصَ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ اللهُ مِنْهَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ سَبْعِينَ أَلْفًا لَا حِسَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا عَذَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَبْعَثُهُمْ فِيمَا بَيْنَ الزَّيْتُونِ وَحَائِطِهَا فِي الْبَرْثِ الْأَحْمَرِ مِنْهَا