Allah the Exalted says: "But those who did wrong changed the word to a different one from that which they were told, so We sent down upon those who did wrong a punishment [rijz] from the sky," meaning: a torment from the sky, "because they used to disobey." Yahya said: It has reached me that this torment was the plague, and seventy thousand of them died from it.
The meaning of 'hittah' is: Remit our sins for us.
Muhammad said: It is in the nominative case with the meaning: Our request is 'hittah' (remission).
Yahya said: A companion of mine informed me from al-A'mash, from Ibrahim ibn Sa'd ibn Malik, from Sa'd ibn Malik, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "The plague is a remnant of a punishment [rijz] and torment with which those before you were punished. So if it occurs in a land where you are, do not depart from it, and if it occurs in a land and you are not in it, do not enter it."
