Yahya related to me that Malik said, "I heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab said, 'A night in Rukba (a valley near Taif,) is morepreferable to me than ten nights in ash-Sham.' "Malik said,"He meant to lengthen and preserve their lives because of the severityof the plague in ash-Sham ."
USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 45, Hadith 26
Arabic reference: Book 45, Hadith 1625