The servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Usaib (may Allah be pleased with him), narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Jibril came to me with fever and plague. I kept the fever in Madinah and sent the plague to Syria. (Remember that) death by plague is martyrdom and mercy for my Ummah, while for the disbelievers it is punishment (and retribution)."