|
Question :
What Ruling on visiting the sick ?.
Answer :
Praise be to Allâh.
Visiting the sick is called
‘iyâdah in Arabic (from a root word meaning return) because people come
back time after time.
Ruling on visiting the sick
Some of the scholars are of
the view that it is a confirmed Sunnah (Sunnah mu’akkadah). Shaykh al-Islam
(Ibn Taymiyah) favoured the view that it is a communal obligation (fard
kifâyah), as stated in al-Ikhtiyârât (p. 85) and this is the correct view.
It is proven in al-Sahîhâyn that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh
be upon him) said: “There are five duties that the Muslim owes to his
brother Muslim,”one of which is visiting the sick.
According to another
version: “The rights of one Muslim over another are…”.
Al-Bukhâri said: Chapter on
the obligation of visiting the sick, and he narrated the words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him):
“Feed the
hungry, visit the sick and free the captives.”
This hadîth indicates that
it is obligatory, and may be understood as meaning that it is a communal
obligation, like feeding the hungry and freeing the captives. Al-Nawawi
narrated that there is scholarly consensus that it is not wâjib
(obligatory). Al-Hâfiz said in al-Fath (10/117): i.e., it is not obligatory
for individuals.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymîn (may
Allâh have mercy on him) said in al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (5/173):
The correct
view is that it is a communal obligation, and the Muslims are obliged to
visit their sick.
The virtue of visiting the sick
There are many ahâdîth
which speak of its virtue, such as the words of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allâh be upon him):
“When the
Muslim visits his (sick) Muslim brother, he is harvesting the fruits of
Paradise until he returns.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2568.)
The reward attained by the
one who visits the sick is likened to the harvest reaped by one who gathers
fruit.
According to al-Tirmidhi
(2008), the Messenger of Allâh (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him)
said:
“Whoever visits
a sick person or visits a brother in Islam, a caller cries out to him: ‘May
you be happy, may your walking be blessed, and may you occupy a dignified
position in Paradise’.” (Classed as hasan by al-Albâni in Sahîh al-Tirmidhi.)
Imam Ahmad narrated that
Jâbir (may Allâh be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger
of Allâh (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) said:
“Whoever visits a sick person is plunging into mercy until
he sits down, and when he sits down he is submerged in it.” (Classed as
sahîh by al-Albâni in al-Silsilah al-Sahîhah, 2504.)
Al-Tirmidhi (969) narrated
that ‘Ali (may Allâh be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of
Allâh (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) say:
“There is no
Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand
angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in
the evening, seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until morning
comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.” (Classed as sahîh by
al-Albâni in Sahîh al-Tirmidhi. )
Visiting the sick does not
involve only those whom you know, rather it is prescribed for those whom
you know and those whom you do not know. This was stated by al-Nawawi in
Sharh Muslim.
Definition of the sick person whom it is obligatory to visit
It is the sick person whose
sickness is preventing him from seeing people. If he is sick but he is
still going out and seeing people, then it is not obligatory to visit him.
(Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 5/171)
Visiting a non-mahram woman
There is no sin in a man
visiting a non-mahram woman, or a woman visiting a non-mahram man, so long
as the following conditions are met: proper covering, no risk of fitnah,
and no being alone together.
Imam al-Bukhâri said:
“Chapter on
women visiting (sick) men. Umm al-Darda’ visited one of the Ansâri men from
the mosque.” Then he narrated a hadîth from ‘A’ishah (may Allâh be pleased
with her), who said that she visited Abu Bakr and Bilâl (may Allâh be
pleased with them both) when they fell sick when they first came to
Madînah.
Muslim narrated from Anas
that Abu Bakr said to ‘Umar (may Allâh be pleased with them), after the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) died:
“Let us go to
Umm Ayman and visit her as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be
upon him) used to visit her,” so they went to her.
Ibn al-Jawzi said:
"This is to be interpreted as referring to one from whom there is no
fear of fitnah, such as an old woman."
Visiting a kâfir
There is no sin in visiting
a mushrik kâfir who is sick, if that serves an interest. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allâh be upon him) visited a Jewish boy and called him to
Islam, and he became Muslim. Narrated by al-Bukhâri (1356). And the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) was present when his paternal
uncle Abu Tâlib was dying, and he called him to Islam but he refused.
Agreed upon.
The purpose in that case
may be to call the person to Islam, or to restrain his evil, or to soften
his heart, and so on. (See Fath al-Bâri, 10/125)
Should the visit be repeated?
Some scholars are of the
view that one should not visit every day so that it will not become
burdensome for the sick person. The correct view is that it varies
according to the situation. Some people may be dear to the sick person and
it may be hard for him if he does not see them every day. In that case it
is Sunnah to visit continuously, so long as they do not know that the sick
person dislikes it. Hâshiyat Ibn Qâsim, 3/12
One should not sit too long with the sick person
The visitor should not sit
for too long with the sick person, rather the visit should be short so that
it does not cause any hardship to him or his family. The sick person may
pass through periods when he suffers pain because of his sickness, or he
may do something that he would not like anyone to see, so sitting with him
for too long will cause him embarrassment. However, it depends on the
situation; the sick person may like some people to sit with him for a long
time. (Hâshiyat Ibn Qâsim, 3/12; al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 5/174)
Time for visiting
There is nothing in the
Sunnah that suggests that there is a specific time for visiting the sick.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him) did not specify any
particular day or time for visiting the sick, rather he prescribed that for
his ummah by night and by day, at all times." (Zâd al-Ma’âd,
1/497)
Some of the Salaf used to
visit the sick at the beginning of the day or in the early evening, so that
the angels would send blessings upon them for the longest time, based on
the hadîth quoted above:
“There is no
Muslim who visits a (sick) Muslim early in the morning but seventy thousand
angels send blessings upon him until evening comes, and if he visits him in
the evening, seventy thousand angels send blessings upon him until morning
comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.”
But we should pay attention
to the condition of the sick person and what is easiest for him; the
visitor should not choose the time that suits him best, if that is going to
cause hardship to the sick person or his family. That can be worked out
with the sick person himself or with his family.
Frequent visits from people
who do not take care to keep their visits short or choose the right time
may make the sick person’s sickness even worse.
Making du’â’ for the sick person
Du’â’ should be made for
the sick person in the manner narrated in the Sunnah:
“La ba’s, tuhûr
in sha Allâh (No worry, it is a purification, if Allah wills).” (Narrated
by al-Bukhâri.)
Du’â’ for healing should be
said three times. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him)
visited Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqâs and said: “O Allâh, heal Sa’d,” three times.
Narrated by al-Bukhâri (5659) and Muslim (1628).
The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allâh be upon him) used to place his right hand on the sick
person and say:
“Adhhib al-ba’s
Rabb an-nâs, wa’shfi anta al-Shâfi, lâ shifâ’a illa shifâ’uka shifâ’an lâ
yughâdir saqaman
(Take away the pain, O Lord of mankind, and grant healing,
for You are the Healer, and there is no healing but Your healing that
leaves no trace of sickness).” (Narrated by Muslim, 2191.)
It was narrated by Ahmad
and Abu Dawûd (3106) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon
him) said:
“Whoever visits
a sick person who is not yet dying, and says seven times in his presence:
‘As’alu Allâha rabb al-‘arsh il-‘azîm an yashfiyaka (I ask Allâh, Lord of
the mighty Throne, to heal you), Allâh will heal him of that sickness.”
(Classed as sahîh by al-Albâni in Sahîh Abi Dawûd.)
The visitor should ask him
how he is and how he is feeling, etc. That is proven from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him), as narrated by al-Tirmidhi
(983) and classed as hasan by al-Albâni.
It is also narrated in
Sahîh al-Bukhâri that ‘A’ishah did that when she visited Abu Bakr and Bilâl
(may Allâh be pleased with them both).
Reassuring him and giving him hope of a long life
A hadîth concerning that
was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2087) but it is a weak hadîth:
“When you enter
upon a sick person and reassure him that he is going to live, that does not
change anything, but it lifts his spirits.” It was classed as da’îf (weak)
by al-Albâni in Da’îf al-Tirmidhi.
But it is supported in
meaning by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon
him):
“La ba’s, tuhûr
in sha Allâh (No worry, it is a purification, if Allah wills).”
So we should try to cheer
him up and give him glad tidings of healing in sha Allâh, for that will
comfort the sick person. (See al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 5/171-176l.)
By
Shaykh Muhammad Sâlih
al-Munajjid
|
