With the outbreak of swine flu, panic has enveloped people across the world. In this current atmosphere, it would do good to recall what the Prophet (peace be upon him) to mankind had to say on an epidemic called as plague. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “If you hear about it (the plague) in a land that you are in, do not run away from it, and if you hear that it broke out in a certain land, do not enter that land.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) This 1,400-year-old hadith established the concept of quarantine through faith long before the relatively new medical concept of quarantine was substantiated. If a plague-type epidemic breaks out in a region, it is best to stay away from that area. The Prophet (peace be upon him) also prohibited people from escaping or running away from the infected area if they happen to be in that place. This would prevent any further spread of the disease. Ibn Al-Qayyim (d. 751H) explains that not all types of motion is prohibited for the people living in a plague-infected area. “People cannot act as if they were fixed objects. Rather, engaging in excessive physical movements and activities that are not necessary is discouraged during the outbreak of an epidemic. Being idle and calm are better for the people's hearts and bodies in this situation.” Ibn Al-Qayyim also mentions an incident related with the outbreak of plague during the caliphate of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in his book Medicine of the Prophet: Umar was on his way to Ash-Sham when he reached the area of Sargh where he met Abu Ubaydah Bin Al-Jarrah with some people. They told Umar that there was a outbreak of plague in Ash-Sham. After discussion and consultaion, Umar ordered the people to leave, saying, “In the morning, I will be riding on my animal's back, and so you too should.” Soon after, Abdur Rahman Bin Awf came back from attending to some of his needs and said, “I have knowledge regarding this matter. I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘If you hear about it (the plague) in a land that you are in, do not run away from it, and if you hear that it broke out in a certain land, do not enter that land'.” (Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An
