One of the very important actions the Prophet encourages us to do is to visit those who are ill. When someone is ill in bed, he does not only suffer pain and physical weakness, his spirits are also low. He is in need of every encouragement as much as he needs medical and social care. One way of providing the social care is to visit a person when he is ill. Indeed, Islam makes such a visit a Sunnah for which a Muslim is highly rewarded.
To discuss the benefit that such a visit brings is to state the obvious. An ill person is always pleased to find people inquiring after his health and come and talk to him. His family members realize that they are not alone in this hardship, but they can rely on the good will of others. When you visit your brother who is ill, you also pray for his recovery and his hopes rise as he feels that your prayer may be answered. The Prophet has set us the example of visiting his companions when any of them fell ill. When a companion of the Prophet had such a visit, he was so happy because he realized that God’s messenger cared for his well-being. When he prayed for his recovery, he was certain of speedily regaining his health, because a prayer by the Prophet was soon answered.
Moreover, if the Prophet felt that something he may do could benefit his companion who was ill, he did not hesitate to do it. Jabir ibn Abdullah reports: “I was taken ill. And the Prophet (peace be upon him) came walking with Abu Bakr to inquire after me. They found me unconscious. The Prophet (peace be upon him) performed ablution, then he threw water left from his ablution on my face. I regained consciousness and saw the Prophet (peace be upon him). I asked him: ‘Messenger of God, what shall I do with the money I have? Give me a ruling about the distribution of my property.’ He did not give me any answer until the Qur’anic verse giving the ruling of inheritance was revealed.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).
In this Hadith we note that the Prophet uses the water with which he performed ablution to throw over the face of his unconscious companion to help him regain consciousness. When the Prophet used something personally before giving it to any of his companions, it had more than its usual effect because it was blessed by the Prophet’s usage. In this instance, Jabir immediately regained consciousness when the Prophet used his ablution water to awaken him.
Apparently Jabir was preoccupied with the division of his property should his illness end in death. At that time, Jabir did not have children of his own, nor did he have either of his parents alive. But he had several sisters. At that time, only two verses which outline much of the Islamic system of inheritance had been revealed. The one which occurs at the end of the fourth Surah, “Women”, had not yet been revealed. It is to this fact that Jabir refers when he says that the Prophet did not answer him until that verse was revealed. It outlined the distribution of a deceased person’s estate in the case that he had no heir in the direct line of inheritance which extends from parents and grandparents to children and grandchildren.
The Prophet did not hesitate to visit a patient even when he was a young child. People who were close to him realized this and requested him to visit their patients in the hope that they recovered when he prayed for them. Ussamah ibn Zaid reports that a child of one of the Prophet’s daughters was seriously ill.
His mother sent a word to the Prophet (peace be upon him) telling him that her child was dying. He said to the messenger she had sent him: “Go and tell her that to God belongs whatever He takes and whatever He gives. With Him, everything has a definite time. Let her, then, be patient and accept her loss as something ordained by God.”
The messenger went back and conveyed to her what the Prophet said. She sent again to him, asking him by God to come over and see the child. The Prophet went to her with a number of his companions including Saad ibn Ubadah.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) picked up the child and drew him to his chest. Internal noise in the child’s chest was audible. The Prophet was in tears. Saad said to him: “Do you, messenger of God, cry?” The Prophet answered: “I am crying out of compassion to her. God does not bestow his mercy except on those of His servants who are compassionate.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and others).
There are several reports which identify at least four of the Prophet’s grandchildren as the one meant in this Hadith. Most probably he was Ali ibn Abul-Aas, the son of Zainab, the eldest of the Prophet’s daughters.
Some reports suggest that it was a daughter of Zainab. The identity of the child is not a matter of great importance. What is important is that the Prophet responded to a call to come and see a child who was seriously ill. We must not understand the Prophet’s answer to the messenger as hesitation to go and see the child. Indeed, it was not. The Prophet realized that his daughter, Zainab, must be in great distress, seeing that her child was about to die.
Therefore, he wanted to send to her words of encouragement. Moreover, he was with a number of his companions and he did not want to leave them immediately so that none of them would feel uneasy about the Prophet’s departure. Knowing what might have held her father from coming immediately, Zainab sent the messenger again to ask him by God to come. This shows that it is permissible for anyone of us to entreat a superior person, asking him by God to do something for us, provided that by so doing, we do not put ourselves in a derogatory position.
The Prophet’s words which he sent his daughter represent the attitude of every Muslim toward death. He may suffer the death of a very dear person and the dearest is one’s own child, but he should soon reconcile himself to the fact that death is ordained by God. It is He who gives life and it is He who takes it away. Therefore, we must resign ourselves to our loss and accept it as we accept God’s will in any matter. Indeed, to be overwhelmed by one’s sense of loss to the extent that one speaks in bitter words about it or says what may be construed as a protest against God’s will is alien to Islamic attitude.
The compassion shown by the Prophet toward the child whose chest infection must have been very serious to the extent that it produced audible noise was the compassion of a parent and a Prophet who considered everyone in his community to be under his guardianship. His companions were surprised to see tears in his eyes. They had learned from him that one must accept God’s will with patience. Therefore, he explained that his tears were nothing of the sort which was unacceptable. They did not mean that he was complaining. They were only an expression of his grief and his compassion toward the mother and her child. He further explained that a person devoid of compassion is not worthy of God’s mercy.
Perhaps, it is useful to add a word here on how scholars understood the Hadith of the Prophet. In a book of commentary on the Hadiths listed in Al-Bukhari’s Al-Adab Al-Mufrad we read the following: “From this Hadith we conclude: 1) It is permissible to ask people known to be of strong faith to attend a person in the throes of death, hoping that that person will benefit by their prayer; 2) It is also permissible to ask them by God to attend; 3) It is appropriate to walk a distance in order to utter condolences and to visit a patient; 4) Similarly, it is permissible to use a word which suggests that something has already happened, simply because one thinks it certain to happen or to further encourage the person requested to come; 5) It is recommended to respond favorably to someone who asks us by God to do something, and to encourage the person facing a misfortune to remain patient, even before death occurs; 6) We are also recommended to explain why we are asking someone to come over, and that he is recommended to start with greeting; 7) People of honor and good position should not refrain from responding to other people’s requests; 8) When we request something from others, we should ask them properly and gently. The Hadith also encourages us to show compassion to other people.”
This is indeed a good example which shows how scholars always tried to understand the significance of every word included in every Hadith.