Demonstrating the greatness of the reward of visiting the sick, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reportedly said, “On the Day of Resurrection, Almighty Allah will say, ‘O son of Adam! I became sick and you did not visit me!’ The person will say, ‘O Lord, how can I visit you and you are the Lord of all that exists!’ Allah will say, ‘Did you not know that my slave ‘so and so’ was sick, and you did not visit him? Did you not know that if you visited him, you would have found me with him?’” (Muslim) A Role Model In the Quran, Almighty Allah says: (Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example to follow for whoever hopes for [the meeting of] Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.) (Al-Ahzab 33:21) Sent as a role model for all virtuous deeds and noble duties, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) led people by example. He would both make time to personally visit the sick and would also enquire after them through others. Whilst in Makkah, for example, a pagan woman used to throw filth and garbage at the noble Prophet whenever he passed by her house. One day, the noticeable absence of the Prophet’s abuser concerned him so much that he enquired after her. When he learnt of her sickness, he visited her. She was so taken aback by his merciful concern that she embraced Islam. This sublime attitude is encouraged in a Qur’anic verse that reads: (Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become) as though he was a bosom friend.) (Fussilat 41:34) The learned Companion Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) related the following episode from the life of Allah’s Final Prophet to humanity: A Jewish boy who would serve the Prophet fell sick. The Prophet said to some of his Companions, “Let us go and visit him.” They went to visit him and found his father sitting by his head. The Messenger of Allah said to the boy, “Proclaim that there is no god but Allah, and I will intercede on your behalf on account of it on the Day of Resurrection.” The boy looked at his father, who said, “Obey Abul-Qasim (Muhammad)!” In response, the boy uttered it, saying, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger.” Upon that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “All praise is due to Allah Who saved him from the Fire of Hell.” (Ibn Hibban) It is clear from these two examples from the Prophet’s life that the virtue of visiting the sick is not restricted to Muslims, but it includes non-Muslims as well. Such a visit to a non-Muslim patient can be such a touching and moving experience that it might even cure the most fateful of diseases: disbelief.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 06:14:08 +0000
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