PART VI: Lay Reactions in the Middle East

Oh, if you could see the nobles of Aleppo studying their inscrutable books of medicine. They multiply its remedies by eating dried and sour foods. The buboes which disturb men’s healthy lives are smeared with Armenian clay. Each man treated his humours and made life more comfortable. They perfumed their homes with ambergris [a wax-like substance from the intestines of sperm whales] and camphor [distilled from trees to treat skin], cyperus [weed used in perfumes in India] and sandal [fragrant wood]. They wore ruby rings and put onions, vinegar, and sardines together with the daily meal. They ate less broth and fruit but ate the citron and similar things….

The plague is for the Muslims a martyrdom and a reward, and for the disbelievers a punishment and a rebuke. When the Muslim endures misfortune, then patience is his worship. It has been established by our Prophet, God bless and give him peace, that the plague-stricken are martyrs…and this secret should be pleasing to the true believer.…

One man begs another to take care of his children, and one says goodbye to his neighbors.

A third perfects his work, another prepares his shroud [used for burial].

A fifth is reconciled with his enemies, and another treats his friends with kindness.

One is very generous; another makes friends with those who have betrayed him.

Another man puts aside his property; one frees his servants.

One man changes his character while another mends his ways….

Prayer for lifting the epidemic is abhorrent because plague is a blessing from God; at the least, a Muslim should devoutly accept the divine act.

When you learn that epidemic disease exists in a county, do not go there; but if it breaks out in the county where you are, do not leave.

He who dies of epidemic disease is a martyr.

It is a punishment that God inflicts on whom he wills, but He has granted a modicum of clemency with respect to Believers.