It is narrated from the wife of the Prophet, Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whatever affliction befalls a believer, even if it is only a thorn, it becomes either retribution or expiation for his sins." Yazid (bin Khusaifah) said that he does not know which words 'Urwah (bin Zubair) used: retribution or expiation?

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to visit me due to my severe illness. I said: O Messenger of Allah! You see how intense my pain and illness is. I am a wealthy man and my only heir is one daughter. Should I give two-thirds of my wealth in charity? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“No.”I said: Should I give half of my wealth in charity? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“No.”Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Give a third, and a third is still a lot. If you leave your heirs wealthy, that is better for you than leaving them poor, begging from people. Whatever you spend seeking Allah’s pleasure, you will be rewarded for it, even the morsel you put in your wife’s mouth.”Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I said: O Messenger of Allah! Will I be left behind from my companions? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: You will not be left behind from your companions. Whatever good deed you do, your rank will be raised and you will be honored. And it may be that you remain after me, so that some people benefit from you and others (disbelievers) are harmed by you. O Allah! Complete the migration of my companions and do not turn them back on their heels. But the one truly afflicted is Sa’d bin Khawlah (may Allah be pleased with him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) grieved and felt sorrow for him because he died in Makkah.

And with the same chain of narration (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him) that Abu Taybah cupped the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered that he be given a sa' of dates (as wages), and he, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered his owners to reduce the fixed levy (kharaj) upon him.

And with the same chain of narration (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him) that Abu Taybah cupped the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, so the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered that he be given a sa' of dates (as wages), and he, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered his owners to reduce the fixed levy (kharaj) upon him.

And with the same chain of narration (it is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Fever is from the breath of Hell, so cool it with water." And Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, used to say: "O Allah! Remove the punishment from us."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Bashir Al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a journey, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a messenger (one who made an announcement). Abdullah bin Abi Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him, the narrator of the hadith) says: I think that people were in their sleeping places when he announced: Beware! Do not leave any camel’s neck with a string collar or any other collar without cutting it off. Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I think they had put these collars (amulets) for protection from the evil eye.

It is narrated from Abdullah bin Amir bin Rabee'ah Al-Adawi (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) set out towards Syria (for jihad). When he reached Sargh (a place near Syria, in the valley of Tabuk), he learned that an epidemic (plague) had spread in Syria. Then Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) informed him that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you hear of its (the epidemic's) occurrence in any land, do not go there, and if it spreads in the land where you are present, do not flee from it in escape." So Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) returned from Sargh.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) set out for jihad towards Syria. When he reached Sargh (a place near the valley of Tabuk), the commanders of his army (who were appointed over Jordan, Homs, Damascus, Palestine, and Qinnasrin), Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions, came to him and informed him that an epidemic (plague) had spread in Syria. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Call the earliest Muhajirun to me. He called them and consulted them, and informed them that an epidemic had spread in Syria. There was a difference of opinion among them. Some said: You have set out from your home for a purpose, and in our opinion, you should not turn back leaving it. Some said: With you are the remaining senior companions and other companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and we think you should not take them into the area of the epidemic. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You may leave from me. Then he said: Call the Ansar to me. He consulted them, and they too, following the footsteps of the Muhajirun, differed among themselves. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them as well: You may leave from me. Then he said: Bring to me the elderly Quraysh among the Muhajirun who accepted Islam at the conquest of Makkah. They were called, and none of them differed. They said: We think you should return with the people and not take them into the area of the epidemic. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) announced among the people: In the morning, I will be mounted for return, so you too mount your rides. Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you fleeing from the decree of Allah? Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: O Abu Ubaidah! If anyone other than you had said this... Yes! We are fleeing from the decree of Allah to the decree of Allah. What do you think? If you have camels and you come to two valleys, one lush and green and the other dry and barren, where would you graze them? If you graze them in the lush and green valley, you do so by the decree of Allah, and if you graze them in the dry and barren valley, you do so by the decree of Allah. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Then Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), who was absent from the army due to some work, arrived. After learning of the companions’ disagreement, he said: I have knowledge about this. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: When you hear of an epidemic in a land, do not go there, and if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not flee from it. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) praised and thanked Allah and returned.

Aamir bin Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah have mercy on him) heard his father (Sayyiduna Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him) asking Sayyiduna Usamah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him): "What have you heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about the plague?" So Usamah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The plague is a punishment (disease) that was sent upon a group of the Children of Israel or upon people before you. So if you hear of its (the plague's) occurrence in a land, do not go there, and if it (the plague) comes to your land, do not leave it fleeing from it." Malik said: Abu al-Nadr said (in the narration from Aamir): "It should not drive you out by forcing you to flee."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If there is any bad omen, it is in three things: a house, a woman, and a horse."