The Plague of Amwas in 7th Century Palestine Remembered During the COVID-19 Pandemic

posted on: Apr 15, 2020

By: Kareem al-Sharabi/Arab America Contributing Writer

Since COVID-19 was first reported in the United Arab Emirates on January 29, 2020, Arab news outlets and social media circles have evoked the memory of the Plague of Amwas. In 639 AD/18 AH, a plague emerged in the village of Amwas, located 12 kilometers southeast of Ramlah and approximately 26 kilometers from Jerusalem (Biblical ‘Emmaus’, destroyed in 1967 and converted into ‘Canada Park’).

The Plague of Amwas figures into a long series of epidemics known as the Justinian Plagues, which ravaged Byzantine territories beginning in 541 and re-emerged sporadically until 750. The plagues were genetically related in a way not unlike the family of coronaviruses first found in humans in the 1960s. The epidemic is famous in Muslim sources for the resolve Caliph ‘Umar bin al-Khattāb (644/23) showed in containing its spread as well as the number of prominent Companions of Prophet Muhammad who died therein. The plague is reported to have killed some 25,000 people before subsiding.

The Plague: Outbreak and Response

What follows is an account of the plague as reported in the collection of Sahīh al-Bukhārī, then woven into an account of the political developments narrated in Ibn Jarīr’s, Tārīkh al-Tabarī:

“A plague appeared in Amwas two years after the conquest of Jerusalem (637/16), and then briefly lapsed. In the period in which it had lapsed, ‘Umar left al-Madina with a delegation in order to meet with the leaders of the provinces of al-Sham in a place called Sargh (one of the valleys of Tabuk close to al-Sham).

The leaders of al-Sham who came to greet ‘Umar’s delegation included its governor, ‘Amr Abu ‘Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah (commander in the conquest of Damascus and Jerusalem, d. 639/18), Khālid bin al-Walīd (commander in the Ridda Wars and the conquest of Iraq, d. 642/21), ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas (commander in the conquest of Palestine and later governor of Egypt, d. 664/43), Yazīd bin abī Sufyān (commander in the conquest of Palestine, d. 639/18), Suhail bin ‘Amr (leader of one of the brigades in the Battle of Yarmouk, d. 639/18). At the meeting, they told ‘Umar and his delegation that a plague had struck al-Sham.

‘Umar consulted his delegation – first the early Muhajirūn – asking, ‘Should we continue to Amwas or return to al-Madina?’’ They disagreed amongst themselves, but most recommended a return to al-Madina. Then he called upon the Ansār, who likewise disagreed. Finally, he called upon those Quraysh notables who had migrated to al-Madina the year Mecca was conquered, who unanimously agreed that ‘Umar and his delegation should return. ‘Umar ultimately decided upon that course of action. He announced to all that were present, “I’m leaving in the morning, mounting my camel, and going back to al-Madina”.

Disagreeing with the decision, Abu ‘Ubaidah bin al-Jarrāh said, “Are you fleeing from Allah’s Qadr?” To which ‘Umar said, “If only someone other than you had said such a thing, O Aba ‘Ubaidah” – pointing to both his high esteem of Abu ‘Ubaidah and the severity of what he had just said. “Yes”, he continued, “We flee from Allah’s Qadr to Allah’s Qadr! Imagine you had a camel down in the valley. One side of the valley is fertile and the other side is barren. If you grazed her on the fertile side, would you not be doing so by Allah’s Qadr? And if you grazed her on the barren side, would you not be doing so by Allah’s Qadr?”

Then Abdel-Rahman bin ‘Auf (one of the first ten men to accept Islam and a nominator of caliphs, d. 656/~31) – who had been absent from the previous consultations – came in to say that he had knowledge about this affair (i.e. plagues). He said, “I heard Allah’s Messenger upon whom be peace and blessings say, “If [the plague] is in a land where you happen to be, then do not leave that land. And if it is in a land where you are not, then do not approach that land”. Pleased at that word, ‘Umar and his delegation returned to al-Madina while Abu ‘Ubaidah and his returned to their posts in al-Sham.

Over the course of ‘Umar’s journey back to al-Madina, the plague of Amwas had spread with more intensity, rapidly taking lives across al-Sham. When ‘Umar heard of this, he composed a letter to Abu ‘Ubaidah, “I have a pressing need from you that I wish to speak to you verbally, so I ask that when this letter reaches you, you come forward (to al-Madina).”

Abu ‘Ubaidah understood from this letter that ‘Umar wanted him to come in person in order to save him from the plague. He replied to ‘Umar’s letter thanking him for his concern but he informed him that he is but a soldier amongst Muslim soldiers and that he will not separate from them until death do them part. When ‘Umar received Abu ‘Ubaidah’s letter, he cried. The people around him said, “O Commander of the Faithful, did Abu ‘Ubaidah die?” To which he replied, “No, but it is as if he had”. Then ‘Umar wrote back to Abu ‘Ubaidah, ordering him to lead the people out of the low lands to elevated places.

When Abu ‘Ubaidah received the letter, he called for Abu Mūsā al-Ash’arī (a Qur’an reciter and later governor of Basra and Kufa, d. 662/44) and hastened him to find an elevated place for people to resettle. When Abu Mūsā returned to his home, he found that his wife had been afflicted by the plague. With Abu Mūsā unable to carry out the order, ‘Ubaidah then went to search for himself.

By the time Abu ‘Ubaidah had mounted his camel, he had fallen ill. Before the plague overcame him, he advised the people in a speech, the end of which contained, “Indeed Allah has decreed for Banī Adam death, so all of them will die. The wisest of them are those who are most obedient to their Lord, and most active in working towards their Return”.

The death of Abu ‘Ubaidah was followed shortly by that of Shurhabīl bin Hasana (military commander in the conquest of Jordan, d. 639/18). The governorship of al-Sham then passed from Abu ‘Ubaidah to Mu’āth bin Jabal (a compiler of the Qur’an and later governor of Yemen, d. 639/18) who then wrote the letter informing ‘Umar of Abu ‘Ubaidah’s death. Shortly after taking power, Mu’āth bin Jabal died and passed command to Yazīd bin abī Sufyān – himself dying shortly thereafter – and then to ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas, who then led groups of people up the mountains, which helped stem the spread of the plague.”

The Response: Aftermath and Legacy

After running its course for about a year, the Plague of Amwas had finally subsided. It presents a compelling case study of leadership in times of crisis and marks what may have been the first documented application of a cordon sanitaire: the prohibition of people entering or leaving a contaminated land. Medical isolation – the isolation of diagnosed patients from undiagnosed patients – appears in Biblical scripture (1, Lev. 13.46) and was applied by Emperor Justinian in Byzantine territories when he ordered the isolation of travelers arriving from contaminated areas in 549.

But this kind of quarantine still allowed for travel between lands. It was only late into the spread of the Black Plague in the fourteenth century that some Asian and European cities began preventing people from entering and leaving contaminated areas, thus adopting the kind of quarantine applied in Amwas.

In the era of COVID-19, countries that have closed their borders and airports to all but emergency cases are again practicing this kind of quarantine. As of mid-March, ninety percent of people currently live in countries with some form of travel restrictions. Among them, about 3 billion people, or 39 percent, live in countries with borders completely closed to non-citizens and non-residents, several of which are part of the Middle East.

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