Narrated from Sayyiduna Usama bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him): He was asked, "What have you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the plague?" Sayyiduna Usama (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The plague is a punishment that was sent upon a group from the Children of Israel, or (he said) upon people before you (the narrator is unsure). So when you hear that it has broken out in a land, do not go there, and when it breaks out in the land where you are, do not leave from there with the intention of fleeing."

Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) says: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the plague, so he (peace be upon him) said: "The plague is a punishment; Allah sends this punishment upon whom He wills, and Allah has made it a mercy for the Muslims. When the plague spreads somewhere and a Muslim remains in his town with patience and seeking reward, and does not flee, believing that only what Allah has decreed for him will befall him, then he will receive the reward of a martyr."

Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them) says: It is as if I am seeing the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) at this moment, describing the condition of a prophet from among the prophets of Bani Israel: "His people beat him so much that he became covered in blood, and he would wipe the blood from his face and (when he regained consciousness) he would say: O Allah! Forgive my people, for they do not know."

Narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "A man was dragging his lower garment with pride, he was made to sink into the earth, and he will continue to sink and writhe in it until the Day of Resurrection."