Is it permissible, from a Sharia perspective, to travel to a country afflicted by SARS for work, given that the job opportunity in Singapore is currently the only available and guaranteed one?

Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "If you hear of it [the plague] in a land, do not go to it; and if it befalls a land while you are in it, do not go out of it, fleeing from it." Scholars have differed regarding the ruling on leaving a plague-stricken land or entering it. The apparent meaning of the words of Ibn Abd al-Barr and Qadi Iyad is that the prohibition is for tahrim (prohibition), and this is the view of the majority of scholars, including An-Nawawi and Ibn Khuzaymah. Some scholars, including the Malikis, permitted entering and leaving it. The correct view is the prohibition of entering and fleeing.

As for other epidemics besides the plague, scholars have agreed on the permissibility of fleeing from them. The plague differs from other epidemics in that it is a martyrdom and a mercy, and it is forbidden to flee from it. However, fleeing from other epidemics is permissible by consensus.

In summary, the preponderant view among scholars is that epidemics other than the plague do not share the same ruling.