Note 361 — Chapter XXIII · FAMINE AND PLAGUE. A.H. XVIII. A.D. 639.
Reading edition
The council was held at Sargh, near Tebûk, on the confines of Syria. During the discussion Abd al Rahmân quoted a saying of Mahomet:—‘If pestilence break out in a land, go not thither; if thou art there, flee not from it.’ Omar’s views were more reasonable, and he justified them by this illustration: ‘Suppose that ye alight in a valley, whereof one side is green with pasture, and the other bare and barren, whichever side ye let loose your camels upon, it would be by the decree of God; but ye would choose the brow that was green.’ And so he judged that in removing the people from the scene of danger into a healthier locality, he was making no attempt to flee from the decree of God.