We have repeatedly said that Islam spares no effort to strengthen social ties. When we know that someone is in distress, we are encouraged by Islam to try to alleviate his distress, even though he may not appreciate our care. One aspect which stands out in this connection is visiting those who are ill. Islam encourages its followers to visit those who are ill in order to encourage them and cheer them up. We also pray for their recovery.
It goes without saying that if we know that someone has an infectious disease and that we are liable to catch that disease if we spend sometime with him, we are strongly recommended not to come near him. It is sufficient to inquire after him through his family who will communicate our inquiry to him. Nowadays, we can speak to him on the telephone and this should give the patient the sort of encouragement which he would have through our visit and prayer for his recovery.
Indeed, the Prophet visited his companions when they were ill, and visited people who were not Muslims when he came to know that they were in distress. Even when the patient is liable to offend his visitor inquiring after his health, visiting him is recommended. The Prophet did not hesitate to do that.
Abdullah ibn Abbas, the Prophet’s learned companion and cousin reports that the Prophet went to visit a Bedouin who had fallen ill. Ibn Abbas explains that when the Prophet visited a patient, he said to him as he entered: “You have nothing to worry about. It is a source of purification, God willing.” When the Prophet said these words to the Bedouin, the latter said: “Do you say it is purification? Indeed, it is not. It is a fever which is overwhelming an old man, leading him to the grave.” The Prophet (peace be on him) said: “It may be so, then.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
What we have here is a typical example of a person who is totally uncouth, speaking roughly to a well-wisher who is none other than the Prophet himself. Had the Bedouin known better, he would have been so pleased with the Prophet’s words. What the Prophet said to him as he entered was a prayer that his illness would be the means of God’s forgiveness of the Bedouin’s sins. If so, then the Bedouin patient had, as the Prophet said, nothing to worry about. If he recovered and regained his health, he would have profited on two counts: health and forgiveness. If his illness ends in his death, then he will be at least forgiven his sins and that is a great profit indeed.
The Prophet’s statement, “You have nothing to worry about. It is a source of purification,” was followed by his saying, “God willing.” This signifies that his words were meant as a prayer, not as a statement of fact. It means that not everyone who has an illness receives forgiveness of past sins as a result. He has to accept what has befallen him as something that God has willed and, therefore, he proves his good, strong faith and thus earns God’s forgiveness. Therefore, we are recommended to follow the Prophet’s example and pray for the forgiveness of the patient whom we visit.
However, this Bedouin did not seem to appreciate the Prophet’s prayer. He questioned him about his description of illness as a source of purification. Then he describes his ailment most vividly as it was the habit of Bedouins: it was “a burning fever, overwhelming an old man leading him to his grave.”
What could the Prophet say when he was faced with this attitude by the Bedouin? If the Bedouin was a man of strong faith and found the Prophet praying for his forgiveness, he should have rejoiced. But he deplored what he felt his approaching end. The Prophet simply said that it may be that his death was near. Some commentators suggest that the Prophet might have been informed by God before he visited the Bedouin that he was in his final illness. They also say that it may be that the Prophet was informed of it when the Bedouin made his uncivilized answer. Whatever the case might have been, the Bedouin died the following morning.
The possibility of meeting such an attitude should not deter us from visiting those who are ill. Indeed, we are recommended to do so in all situations. Such an action is counted among the best that cements social ties. Abu Hurairah quotes the Prophet as saying to his companions: “Who of you has started the day fasting?” Abu Bakr said: “I have.” The Prophet said: “Who of you has visited an ill person today?” Abu Bakr answered: “I have.” The Prophet then asked: “Who of you has today attended a funeral?” Abu Bakr said: “I did.” The Prophet asked again: “Who has fed a needy person today?” Again it was Abu Bakr who said: “I did.” Marwan ibn Mu’awiyah, one of the people mentioned in the chain of reporters of this Hadith adds that he learned that the Prophet commented: “Anyone who combines all these actions on the same day will be admitted to Heaven.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Muslim and An-Nassaie)
Needless to say that the Prophet asked his companions these questions on a day when fasting was not required by way of duty. In other words, it was not a Ramadan day. All of them would have been fasting, except those who were exempt for a legitimate reason such as illness or traveling. Abu Bakr was then fasting voluntarily on that day. It is well-known that voluntary fasting is handsomely rewarded by God in all cases.
This is due to the fact that fasting is an action which admits no hypocrisy. When a person abstains from eating and drinking, he does so in order to please God.
The Prophet then asks about two actions which cannot fail to cement social ties, namely, visiting patients and attending funerals. Both actions are indicative of care toward others. If you go and visit a patient, you sacrifice your time and effort in order to cheer him up and help him face his misfortune with patience and fortitude. You also give moral support to his family. When you attend a funeral, you demonstrate to the family of the deceased that you share in their grief. Your ties with them are not of the sort which demonstrate itself only in a situation of comfort and good health.
The last action the Prophet asks about is feeding a poor person. Again this is an action which expresses care for the community. It is true that God has made it an obligation on all of us to pay zakah, which is a contribution collected in order to alleviate poverty and other hardships. The Prophet is asking here about voluntary actions and when he asks about feeding a poor person, most probably he means that this is done on top of paying zakah. This understanding of the Hadith fits in well with the first question about fasting. Both fasting and payment to the poor are done voluntarily in this case, although they are required to be done as obligatory in other situations.
The Prophet’s comment that when all these actions are done by the same person on the same day, they qualify that person to be admitted to Heaven, is a highly significant comment. These four actions can only be combined on the same day by a person who has strong faith and who is keen to earn reward at every possible moment. He allows no opportunity of earning reward to escape.
He is keen to do voluntary worship as in the case of fasting, and he is keen to share other people’s grief as in the case of visiting patients and attending funerals, and he is very generous when he realizes that they are deserving of his generosity. Abu Bakr was such a person who combines strong faith with a strong desire to do good and a compassionate heart.
