A Clarification

A narration from Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal has been presented in which there was mention of the plague. The Holy Prophet (sa) said “You will soon migrate to Syria and it will be conquered at your hands. However, there, you will suffer from a disease consisting of boils and blisters, which will catch a person at the rung of the ladder.”

There was a mistake in the translation and therefore the meaning was not accurately conveyed and subsequently it did not explain the reality of the matter. The account again with its correct translation is as follows:

Ismail bin Ubaidullah narrates that Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) bin Jabal stated:

“I heard the Holy Prophet (sa) say, ‘You will soon travel to Syria and will conquer it. There, a disease will break out among you, which will resemble a boil or will be something that will give a sharp and severe pain. It will appear below one’s navel.’”

Here, the translation [which was originally quoted], “which will catch a person at the rung of the ladder” was incorrectly translated. The correct translation is that it will appear below the navel; just as a boil develops on the lower part of the body, under the navel and above the leg. The Holy Prophet (sa) stated that through this, Allah the Almighty would grant people martyrdom and as a result of this, He would purify their deeds. Following this, Hazrat Mu‘az (ra) prayed, “O Allah! If You are aware of the fact that Mu‘az bin Jabal heard these words from the Holy Prophet (sa), then grant him and his family a large portion of this [glad tiding of martyrdom].”

As a result of this, all of them were struck by the plague and not one of them was spared. When the boil of the plague developed on the index finger of Hazrat Mu‘az (ra), he said, “I will not rejoice if I were given red camels in exchange for this.”

(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal, Vol. 7, p. 371, Musnad Mu‘az bin Jabal, Hadith 22,439, Alam al-Kutub, Beirut, 1998)