It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning this saying of Allah Almighty: "Have you not seen those who went out from their homes in their thousands, fearing death?" [Surah al-Baqarah: 243] ; he said: They were four thousand people who went out (from their homes) out of fear of the plague, saying: We will go to a land where there is no death. So Allah Almighty said to them: "Die!" and they all died. Then a prophet passed by them and prayed to Allah to bring them back to life, so Allah gave them life again. These are the very people about whom Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said that they were thousands (who went out) for fear of death. This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), and they did not record it.