Bayhaqi 14242 — The owner of sick camels should not bring

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that he was with Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when he set out for Syria. The people were returning from Sargh, and he was also met by his commanders who were appointed over the armies, Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah and his companions as well, (who informed him) that disease had broken out in Syria. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered that the first Muhajirun be gathered, so I gathered them all. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted them, and they differed about it. Some said: One should not go to the place of the epidemic; turn back. Others said: Now you are going there for a purpose, you should not turn back; this is the decree of Allah. He (may Allah be pleased with him) consulted them, then gave them an order and they left. Then he said: Call the Ansar. I called them and he sought their counsel, and they too differed like the Muhajirun; some said one thing and some said another. He (may Allah be pleased with him) gave them an order as well, and they also left. Then he said: If there are any elders of the Muhajirun who emigrated at the time of the Conquest, call them. I called them, and they were of one opinion: turn back. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had it announced among the people that they should stay on their mounts, and they stayed on their mounts. He said: Keep watching what I do, and do whatever I command. There Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reached the morning, then mounted, then said to the people: I am going back. Then Abu Ubaydah said, and he disliked opposing him: Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became angry and said: If only someone other than you had said this, O Abu Ubaydah! I am fleeing from the decree of Allah to another decree of Allah. If there were two valleys, one stricken with drought and the other green and fertile, if he left his animals to graze in the dry valley, that too would be by the decree of Allah, and if he left his animals in the green and fertile valley, that too would be by the decree of Allah.
He said: Then he went aside privately with Abu Ubaydah and the two discussed the matter for a while. Then Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived; he had been absent because of some need of his. He came while the people were differing, and he said: I have knowledge about this. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: What is it? He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When you hear of an epidemic in a land, do not go there, and when an epidemic breaks out in a land while you are in it, do not leave it fleeing." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) praised Allah, returned himself and ordered the people to return as well.
(b) Abdullah bin Umar and Abdullah bin Amir bin Rabi'ah (may Allah be pleased with them both) both said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) returned from the place called Sargh only because of the hadith of Abd al-Rahman bin Awf.