What are the manner of visiting patients? What do you say when visiting a patient in islam?
“The one who visits the sick is in fact like one who is in the fruit garden of Paradise so long as he does not return.” (Muslim, Birr, 39)
Health and illness are two important reasons for which people are tested and warned against. With the feelings of praise and gratitude to Allah by not being heedless in healthy times, we should try to come closer to our Almighty Lord wholeheartedly with supplications and invocations in times of illness. Intelligent believers who make good use of both situations always profit in the end.
There are various diseases that people of almost all ages are suffered from. Illness is a source of sadness and distress. In cases of illness, a person wants to see his wife, friends and relatives next to him and to find solace with their sweet words and help. He even expects the people whom he did not get in touch throughout his life to visit him and ask how he is. He gets upset if they do not come his visit. For this reason, our beloved Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- ordered his followers to perform acts of social worship, such as visiting the sick, that brings people closer to each other. Bara bin Azib -May Allah be well-pleased with both of them- says:
“The Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- ordered us to do seven things and forbade us to do other seven. He ordered us: to follow the funeral procession. to visit the sick, to accept invitations, to help the oppressed, to fulfill the oaths, to return the greeting and to reply to the sneezer: (saying, “yarhamukallah (May Allah be merciful on you),” provided the sneezer says, “Alhamdulillah (All the praises are for Allah)”. He forbade us to use silver utensils and dishes and to wear golden rings, silk (clothes), Dibaj (pure silk cloth)”. (al-Bukhari, Janaiz, 2; Muslim, Libas, 3)
The sick person’s state becomes heartbroken and sensitive. Almighty Allah is closer to the people with broken hearts. Since Allah Almighty likes His servants to visit the sick, He considers these visits to be made for Him. The Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- expresses this truth as follows:
“Verily, Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would say on the Day of Resurrection:
“O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit Me.” Son of Adam would say:
“O my Lord; how could I visit You whereas You are the Lord of the worlds?” Thereupon He would say:
“Did not you know that such and such servant of Mine was sick but you did not visit him and were you not aware of this that if you had visited him, you would have found Me by him?” He would say
“O son of Adam, I asked food from you but you did not feed Me.” Son of Adam would say:
“My Lord, how could I feed You whereas You are the Lord of the worlds?” He would say:
“Did not you know that such and such servant of Mine asked food from you but you did not feed him, and were you not aware that if you had fed him you would have found him by My side?” (The Lord would again say:)
“O son of Adam, I asked drink from you but you did not provide Me.” Son of Adam would say:
“My Lord, how could I provide You whereas You are the Lord of the worlds?” Thereupon He would say:
“Such and such of servant of Mine asked you for a drink but you did not provide him, and had you provided him drink you would have found him near Me” (Muslim, Birr, 43)
Therefore, the servant should not think about whom he is visiting, but whose command he is carrying out. For this reason, the Prophet -upon him blessings and peace- advised his Companions to ask for an invocation from the sick person whom they visited and stated that the patient’s invocation was like the prayer of the angels. (Ibn Majah, Janaiz, 1)
Visiting the sick means asking about the patient’s condition and well-being, fixing his broken heart and meeting his needs as much as one can. In this context, visiting a patient is a muakkad sunnah of the Prophet. There are also scholars who think that it is a compulsory duty upon Muslim society. If no one visits a patient and does not meet his needs, all Muslims living there become responsible. Thus, just like feeding the hungry, visiting the sick becomes communal obligation (fard kifa-i).
Ibn Umar – May Allah be well-pleased with both of them – narrates the following incident about our Prophet’s visit to the sick:
“While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace-, a person, one of the Ansar, came to him and greeted him. The Ansari then turned back. Upon this the Messenger of Allah said:
“O brother of Ansar, how is my brother Sa’d ibn ‘Ubada?” The man said:
“He is better.” The Messenger of Allah said:
“Who amongst you would come to visit him with me?” He (the Holy Prophet) stood up and we also got up along with him, and we were more than ten persons. We had neither shoes with us, nor socks, nor caps, nor shirts. We walked on the barren land till we came to him. The people around him kept away till the Messenger of Allah and his Companions with him came near Sa’d b. ‘Ubada.” (Muslim, Janaiz, 13)
In like manner, our mother Aisha -May Allah be well-pleased with her- describes this beautiful characteristic of the Messenger of Allah with the following striking example:
“Sa’d bin Mu’adh was wounded in the arm vein during the Battle of the Trench. The Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- had a tent set up for him in the mosque. His purpose was to visit (take care of) him more often and closely.” (al-Bukhari, Maghazi, 30)
As it is seen, the Messenger of Allah -upon him blessings and peace- was closely interested in all kinds of problems of people. Behaviors based on love and compassion, such as inquiring about the sick, visiting his friends, trying to meet the needs of those in need, attending the funerals of the deceased and leading their prayers, and expressing condolences to those left behind, were manifestations of his good character. While performing social duties such as visiting the sick, he would often go with some of his companions and educate them in such matters. Being in poverty and need was not an obstacle to these visits. On the contrary, it enabled them to get closer to each other, to meet their needs jointly, and to share the blessings they had.
Regarding the visit of the sick, one should make no discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims, acquaintances, close neighbors and distant neighbors. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah visited a Jewish child who was sick and it was an occasion for the sick child to become a Muslim. (Bukhari, Janaiz, 80)
Source; Islamic Etiquette, Faruk KANGER – Lokman HELVACI, Erkam Publications
Good Manners Towards Allah Almighty
Good Manners Towards Our Prophet
