Umar - The Great Plague

The Great Plague

While famine was ending in Arabia, many districts in Syria and Palestine were devastated by plague. While Umar was on his way to visit Syria, at Elat, he was received by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, governor of Syria, who informed him about plague and its intensity, and suggested Umar to go back to Madinah. Umar tried to persuade Abu Ubaidah to come with him to Madinah, but he denied to leave his troops in that critical situation. Abu Ubaidah died in 639 due to plague, which also cost the lives of 25,000 Muslims in Syria. After the plague had weakened in late 639, Umar visited Syria for political and administrative re-organization, as most of the veteran commanders and governors had died of plague.