According to the well-known view, which is also supported by the majority of scholars, the Amwas plague appeared in this year. However, following the opinions of Sayf b. ʿUmar and Ibn Jarīr, we are of the view that this plague occurred in the seventeenth year of the Hijra. Nevertheless, we will, God willing, mention the names of the notable individuals who died due to the plague in this year in the following pages.
Ibn Isḥāq and Abū Maʿshar said: In this year, the Amwas plague and famine occurred. Because of these two reasons, people perished.
I say: In this year, a general famine was seen throughout the land of the Ḥijāz. People were exposed to hunger. We have provided a detailed explanation of this in the book "The Biography of ʿUmar." This year was called the "Year of Ash" (Sanat al-Ramāda), meaning "the Year of Ash." Because of the scarcity of rain, the color of the soil changed and it almost turned to ash. Again, due to the lack of rain, the winds began to scatter the soil like ash. Perhaps for these two reasons, this year was called the "Year of Ash." God knows best.
In this year, the people of the Ḥijāz suffered from famine. Tribes flocked to Medina. None of them had any provisions left. They appealed to ʿUmar. ʿUmar distributed the food and goods from the bayt al-māl (public treasury) to them. Nothing remained in the bayt al-māl. ʿUmar vowed not to eat fat or fatty things until the people were saved from the famine. In times of abundance, he would eat bread soaked in milk and butter. In the year of famine, he began to eat bread with olive oil and vinegar. He could eat and digest olive oil easily, but he was not satiated by it. ʿUmar's complexion darkened, he lost weight, and it was feared that he might fall ill due to weakness. This state of the people lasted for nine months. Then, gradually, abundance and prosperity returned. The people left Medina and returned to their homes.
Al-Shāfiʿī said: According to a report that reached me, an Arab man said to ʿUmar as the tribes were leaving Medina and returning to their homes:
"The famine has left you, for you are the son of a free woman." That is, you did good to the people, treated them with fairness, and showed them kindness.
According to a narration that has reached us, during the year of famine, one night while ʿUmar was walking around Medina, he saw that no one was laughing, people were not conversing as they used to, and he did not encounter any beggar. When he asked the reason, he was told: "O Commander of the Believers! The beggars begged, but when nothing was given to them, they stopped begging. People are in sorrow and distress. That is why they do not converse or laugh." Upon this, ʿUmar wrote separate letters to Abū Mūsā, the governor of Basra, and ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ, the governor of Egypt, asking them to help the Ummah of Muḥammad. Each of these governors sent a large caravan carrying wheat and other foodstuffs to Medina. The caravan sent by ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ arrived at Jeddah by sea and was then transported to Mecca.
However, the statement that ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ was governor of Egypt during the year of famine, that is, in the eighteenth year of the Hijra, is difficult to understand. For Egypt had not yet been conquered in the eighteenth year of the Hijra. Therefore, either the year of famine was after the eighteenth year of the Hijra, or it is incorrect to say that ʿAmr b. al-ʿĀṣ's governorship of Egypt coincided with the year of famine. God knows best.
According to Sayf b. ʿUmar, narrating from his teachers, Abū ʿUbayda came to Medina with a caravan of 4,000 camels loaded with food and provisions. ʿUmar ordered that these foodstuffs be distributed to the tribes around Medina. After completing this task, ʿUmar ordered that 4,000 dirhams be given to Abū ʿUbayda, but he did not want to accept the money. When ʿUmar insisted, he was compelled to accept it.
Sayf b. ʿUmar narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Kaʿb b. Mālik:
"The famine occurred at the end of the seventeenth year and the beginning of the eighteenth year of the Hijra. The people of Medina and its surroundings were exposed to hunger. Many people died because of this. So much so that wild animals came to Medina and sought refuge with humans. The people and ʿUmar, in this situation, were cut off from other cities and were almost besieged, when Bilāl b. Ḥārith al-Muzanī came and asked for permission to meet ʿUmar. When admitted, Bilāl b. Ḥārith said:
- I am a messenger sent to you by the Messenger of God (peace be upon him). The Messenger of God says to you: 'I had made a covenant with you. You are a person who keeps his word and fulfills his covenants.' ʿUmar asked him:
- When did you see this dream? He replied: —Last night. Upon this, ʿUmar announced for the people to gather in the mosque for prayer. After leading them in two units of prayer, he stood up and said to them:
- Have you seen anything in me that you dislike?
The congregation replied:
- Absolutely not. But why do you ask? ʿUmar then told them about Bilāl's dream. The congregation said:
- Bilāl speaks the truth. Ask God for rain, and then seek help from the Muslims.
ʿUmar then said:
- Allahu Akbar! The time of affliction has ended. The famine has been lifted from us. When a people are permitted to ask for help, that affliction is surely removed from them.
After this, ʿUmar wrote to the governors, asking them to help the people of Medina and its surroundings. He informed them that the people in these regions had become exhausted from hunger. He also led the people outside the city to perform the prayer for rain (ṣalāt al-istisqāʾ). Together with ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, he went out on foot to pray for rain. ʿUmar delivered a short sermon, then prayed. After completing the prayer, he knelt and supplicated: "O Allah, we worship You alone and seek help only from You. O Allah, forgive us, have mercy on us, and be pleased with us." After the supplication, they returned. Before reaching their homes in Medina, it began to rain. Everywhere was almost flooded.
Sayf b. ʿUmar narrated from ʿĀṣim b. ʿUmar:
On one occasion, a woman from the Muzayna tribe said to her husband:
- We are ruined. At least slaughter a sheep for us. Her husband Bilāl replied:
- There is nothing left to eat in these sheep. But when his wife insisted, he got up and slaughtered the sheep. When he saw only a bare and reddish bone under its skin, he exclaimed:
- Ah, O Muḥammad! That night, he saw the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in a dream. The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) came to him and said:
- I give you glad tidings of rain. Go to ʿUmar, convey my greetings to him, and say to him: 'I had made a covenant with you. You are a person who keeps his word and fulfills his covenants. Take heed, O ʿUmar.' Upon this, Bilāl went to the house where ʿUmar was and said to his servant:
- Ask permission for the Messenger of God’s (peace be upon him) messenger to enter. When the servant obtained permission from ʿUmar, Bilāl met with ʿUmar and told him his dream. Alarmed by this, ʿUmar went out and ordered the people to be called together. He went to the mosque, ascended the pulpit, and said:
- I ask you, by Allah who has guided you to the right path, have you seen anything in me that you dislike?
The congregation replied:
- Absolutely not, but why do you ask? ʿUmar then told them about Bilāl’s dream. Although everyone understood the meaning of the dream, ʿUmar did not. They said to him:
- The Prophet wants to tell you that you have delayed going out to pray for rain. Take us with you and go out to pray for rain. Thereupon, ʿUmar,
made the necessary announcement and, together with ʿAbbās, went out on foot to pray for rain. ʿUmar delivered a sermon and gave a very concise speech. After praying, he knelt and supplicated: "O Allah! Everyone who could help us has failed. We have become powerless and unable to do anything with our own strength and means. Without You, we can do nothing and have no power. O Allah, grant us rain. Give life to Your servants and lands."
Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqī narrated from Mālik: "During the time of ʿUmar, the Muslims suffered from famine. A man came to the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) grave and said:
- O Messenger of God! Ask Allah to send rain to your community, for they have perished.
Later, the Messenger of God appeared to that man in a dream and said:
- Go to ʿUmar, convey my greetings to him, and inform him that rain will be sent to them. And say to him: 'O ʿUmar, take heed, take heed.'
When the man awoke, he went to ʿUmar and told him his dream. ʿUmar said: "O Lord, they only turned away from that which I was powerless to do."
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated from Anas: ʿUmar went out to pray for rain with ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. During the supplication, he said:
"O Allah, when we suffered from drought during the time of our Prophet, we would ask You for rain through him as an intercessor. Now we ask You for rain through the Prophet’s uncle as an intercessor."
Al-Bukhārī narrated from Anas: "When the Muslims suffered from drought, ʿUmar would ask Allah for rain through ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib as an intercessor and would say: 'O Allah, previously we would ask You for rain through our Prophet as an intercessor, and You would send us rain. Now we ask You for rain through the Prophet’s uncle as an intercessor, so send us rain.' After this supplication, Allah sent rain to the Muslims."
Abū Bakr b. Abī al-Dunyā, in his works "Kitāb al-Maṭar" and "The Book of Those Whose Supplications Were Answered," narrated from Ḥawwād b. Jubayr:
"ʿUmar went out to pray for rain. After leading the Muslims in two units of prayer, he supplicated:
'O Allah, we ask Your forgiveness and request that You send us rain.' Before the Muslims and ʿUmar left the place of supplication, it rained. Meanwhile, Bedouins from the desert came and said:
- O Commander of the Believers, at such-and-such an hour, while we were in our valley, a cloud passed over us. We heard a voice from within the cloud saying: 'O Abū Ḥafṣ (ʿUmar), help has come to you. O Abū Ḥafṣ, help has come to you.'
Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated from al-Shaʿbī:
"ʿUmar went out to pray for rain for the people. But he only sought forgiveness (istighfār). Then he returned. The people said to him:
- O Commander of the Believers, we did not see you ask for rain. He replied:
- I sought rain with that which brings rain down from the sky to the earth. After saying this, ʿUmar recited the following verses, intending that what brings rain is seeking forgiveness: 'Seek forgiveness from your Lord and turn to Him in repentance.' (Hūd 11:3)
'Seek forgiveness from your Lord; indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers.' (Nūḥ 71:10-12)
Ibn Jarīr, narrating from al-Shaʿbī, relates: A letter from Abū ʿUbayda reached ʿUmar this year, mentioning that a group of Muslims, including Dirār and Abū Jandal b. Shahr, had consumed wine. In his letter, Abū ʿUbayda wrote:
"When we questioned these men, they repented and said: 'We were given a choice, and we chose.' (That is, at the end of the verse prohibiting wine, Allah addresses the Muslims: 'So will you not desist?' as if giving them a choice, and they claimed to have exercised this choice by continuing to drink.) Later, Abū ʿUbayda asked: 'Will you not desist from drinking?' but did not state the prohibition in absolute terms. ʿUmar then gathered the Muslims. Contrary to the opinion of those who drank, they reached consensus (ijmāʿ) that the phrase in the noble verse, 'So will you not desist?' means 'You must desist,' and that these drinkers should be punished with eighty lashes. They even decided that those who did not interpret the verse in this way and continued to drink should be executed.
ʿUmar sent a letter to Abū ʿUbayda informing him of this decision and instructed: 'Summon them and ask them about the ruling on wine. If they say it is lawful, kill them. If they say it is unlawful, then punish them with eighty lashes for drinking.'
Abū ʿUbayda summoned the drinkers and questioned them. They admitted that wine was unlawful and regretted their erroneous interpretation and continued drinking. The prescribed punishment of eighty lashes was carried out. Abū ʿUbayda reported this to ʿUmar by letter and asked Abū Jandal to inform him as well. ʿUmar then wrote to Abū Jandal: 'From ʿUmar to Abū Jandal. Surely Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whom He wills. Repent, raise your head, come forth, and do not despair, for the Exalted Allah says:
'Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."' (al-Zumar 39:53)
ʿUmar also sent a letter to the people: 'Look to your own souls. Stand together against those who seek to alter the rulings of the religion. Do not blame anyone. Otherwise, calamity and tribulation will become widespread among you.'
Abū Zahra al-Qushayrī also composed the following poem on this subject: 'Do you not see that many a young man slips and cannot avert death. I was patient, did not show impatience, even though my brothers died. I will never part from the wine cup. The Commander of the Believers smashed the wine cup, but the friends of wine weep around the halls.'
Al-Wāqidī and others said: In the month of Dhu al-Ḥijja of the seventeenth year of the Hijra, ʿUmar changed the location of the Maqām Ibrāhīm. Previously, it was adjacent to the wall of the Kaʿba. So that those praying at the Maqām Ibrāhīm would not have their prayers disturbed by those circumambulating the Kaʿba, he moved the Maqām Ibrāhīm slightly back. Praise and thanks be to Allah.
Also in this year, ʿUmar appointed Shurayḥ as judge (qāḍī) in Kūfa and Kaʿb b. Sūr as judge in Basra. Again in this year, ʿUmar led the people in ḥajj.
Raqqa, Urfa, and Harran were conquered by ʿIyāḍ b. Ghanam, while ʿAyn and al-Wardah were conquered by ʿUmar b. Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ.
Shaykh al-Dhahabī, in his history, says: In the seventeenth year of the Hijra, Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī captured Urfa and Samsat by force. At the beginning of this year, Abū ʿUbayda sent ʿIyāḍ b. Ghanam to the Jazīra region. There he met Abū Mūsā, and together they conquered Harran, Ḥuṣaybin, and some parts of the Jazīra. Some say they conquered these places by force, others say by peace. Also in this year, ʿIyāḍ b. Ghanam went to Mosul and conquered it and its surroundings by force. In this year, Saʿd built the mosque of Kūfa.
Al-Wāqidī said: The Amwas plague appeared in the seventeenth year of the Hijra.
Because of this disease, 25,000 people died.
I say: This disease is named after the small town of Amwas. Amwas is a small city between Jerusalem and Ramla. Since the disease first appeared there, it was called the Amwas plague. Then the disease spread in Syria. Indeed, we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.
Al-Wāqidī said: Because of the Amwas plague, 25,000 Muslims died in Syria. Others said that 30,000 Muslims died. Here, we will list the names of the prominent Muslims among them: