Chapter
14: Illness
* Discussion on Illness
* Ahadith
* Virtues of visiting the sick
Discussion on Illness
Illness is also a great Ne’mat (blessing). It has countless hidden
benefits, even though man feels discomfort due to it; but in reality it allows
one to be blessed with a huge treasure of relief and comfort. The apparent
physical illness which man sees as an illness, in reality is a great cure for
spiritual illnesses. The real illness is the Spiritual illness and we should
regard this as the real ‘dreaded disease’ (which is the cause of destruction).
It is a very well-known fact that no matter how neglectful one may be, but when
he becomes ill, don’t we see how much he remembers Allah and how he hastens
towards ‘Taubah’ (repentance) and Istighfar. The sign of those who are blessed
with and exalted status, is such, that they even welcome discomfort and
affliction just as they welcome relief (and comfort).
That which is from the Beloved is
Beloved
Those like us should at least be patient and steadfast (in
adversity), and not allow our impatience to be the means of losing the reward which
we are blessed with.
Every one of us knows well that calamities which befall us due to impatience
do not go away quickly, and with all this, we still want to be deprived of a
great reward (for patience) and this (deprivation) is a second calamity.
Many naive people unwittingly even say such words during their illness
that are baseless and some even go to the extent of uttering words of kufr
(Allah Forbid), they attribute injustice towards Allah. Doing this makes them
deserving of the verse خَسِرَ الدُّنْیَا وَالْاٰخِرَۃَ (They have lost the world and the hereafter) We will now present
a few Ahadith in this regard, so that the Muslims may listen to the beautiful
words of the Beloved Rasool
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم with the ears of their hearts, thereafter
practising and acting upon them. Almighty Allah bless us with Divine Guidance
(to do so).
Hadith 1&2: It is in
Sahih Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa’eed رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہما
that Rasoolullah صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘For
whatever agony, grief and discomfort a Muslim feels, even if he is pricked by a
thorn, Allah causes his sins to be forgiven because of it’.
Hadith 3: It is reported in the
Sahihain from Abdullah ibn Mas’ud رضی اﷲ
تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘For whatever agony a Muslim feels due to
illness or anything else, Allah Almighty causes his sins to fall off, like the
leaves fall off a tree.’
Hadith 4&5: It is
reported in Sahih Muslim Shareef from Jabir رضی اﷲ
تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم went to visit Ummus Saa’ib. He صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم asked,
‘What has happened to you, which is causing you to shiver?’, She said, ‘It is due
to fever. May Allah not cause it to increase’. He صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘Do
not say speak ill of fever; because it removes the sins of man, just as the furnace
(of a goldsmith) removes rust from metal’. (There is a similar narration in
Sunan Ibn Majah from Abu Hurairah رضی اﷲ
تعالیٰ عنہ)
Hadith 6: It is in Sahih Bukhari
from Anas رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said,
‘Almighty Allah says; when I take away the eyes (i.e. the sight) of a servant,
and he is patient, then in place of his eye, I shall bless him with Jannat’.
Hadith 7: It is in Tirmizi
Shareef Umaya asked Siddiqa رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہا in regards
to these two verses:
وَ
اِنۡ تُبْدُوۡا مَا فِیۡۤ اَنۡفُسِکُمْ اَوْ تُخْفُوۡہُ یُحَاسِبْکُمۡ بِہِ اللہُ
ؕ
Whether you reveal or conceal
whatever is within you, Allah will hold you accountable for it. [Surah Baqarah, Verse 284]
مَنۡ
یَّعْمَلْ سُوۡٓءًا یُّجْزَ بِہٖ ۙ
Whosoever commits any wrongful act,
will get the recompense of it [Surah
Nisa, Verse 123]
In other words, when there is recompense for every wrongdoing, and
there is also accountability for the thoughts of the heart, then it is very
difficult. How then is it possible to be protected from this? Siddiqa رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہا
says, ‘From the time I asked Rasool صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
in regards to her question, no one else asked
me (this)’. Rasoolullah صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said. ‘The meaning of it is reprimand, which
Allah shows towards His servants, by which he causes him to be afflicted with
fever or some agony; to the extent that if he had something valuable kept in
the sleeve of his kurta (long shirt), and it is lost, and due to this he
becomes stressed; then because of such things, he comes out of sins just as
pure gold is extracted in a furnace (in other words he becomes so pure from
sins, just as gold becomes completely clean from a furnace)’.
Hadith 8: Tirmizi reported from
Abu Musa رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
said, ‘A servant is not afflicted more or
less by any agony, but due to his sins; and that which Almighty Allah forgives
is a lot’. He صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم then recited this verse (of the Qur’an):
وَ
مَاللہ اَصَابَکُمۡ مِّنۡ مُّصِیۡبَۃٍ فَبِمَا کَسَبَتْ اَیۡدِیۡکُمْ وَ یَعْفُوۡا
عَنۡ کَثِیۡرٍ ﴿ؕ۳۰﴾
‘And whatever befalls you of
misfortune, is because of what your hands have done, and He forgives much (of
it)’ [Surah Shur’a, Verse 30]
Hadith 9&10: It is
reported in Sharah Sunnat from Abdullah ibn Umar رضی
اللہ تعالٰی عنہما
that Rasoolullah صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said,
‘When a servant is on the pious path of worship and becomes ill, then the Angel
which is appointed to him is commanded to: Record for him deeds like he did when
he was not ill, until such time that I grant him relief from his illness or
call him towards me (in other words, until I cause him death)’. The Narration
of Anas رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ mentions that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم says, ‘When a Muslim is afflicted by some
bodily agony (illness) then the Angel is commanded; Write the good deeds which
he used to do before (he became ill), then if I grant him Shifa (cure), then I
cleanse and purify (him), and if I grant him death, then I forgive and have
mercy (on him)’.
Hadith 11: Tirmizi reports with
the advantage of accuracy and endorsement of Ibn Majah and Daarmi from Sa’ad رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
was asked, who faces the most difficult
trials? He صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
said, ‘The Ambia (alaihimus salaam), followed
by those who are the best after them. The more religious a person, the more
trials and calamities he is made to face. If he is steadfast in Deen, then his
hardships (trials) too shall be intense; and if he is weak in Deen, then it is
made less intense upon him; so he will always be afflicted with hardships,
until such time that he walks on the earth in a manner whereby he has no sins left’.
Hadith 12: Tirmizi and Ibn Majah
report from Anas رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم
said, ‘The more the trials (hardships) the
more the rewards; and when Allah loves any nation, he puts them through trials,
those who are pleased, for them there is pleasure, and those who are
displeased, for them there is displeasure’. In another narration it is
mentioned: that Rasoolullah said, ‘When Allah Almighty Wills goodness for
his servant, He punishes him on the earth, and when He Wills bad for him, He
does not give him the retribution for his sins (on earth), but on the day of
Qiyaamat He will give him the full retribution for it’.
Hadith 13: Imam Maalik and
Tirmizi report from Abu Hurairah رضی اﷲ
تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘There are always trials in the life,
wealth and children of a Muslim, until he meets Allah in a state wherein he has
no sins against him’.
Hadith 14: Ahmed and Abu Dawud
report from Muhammad bin Khalid who reports from his father who reports from
his grandfather that Rasoolullah صلی اللہ
تعالی علیہ وسلم
said, ‘In the Divine Knowledge of Allah, a
servant is blessed with a fixed level of excellence, and if he does not reach this
level of excellence through his virtuous deeds, (then) He (Allah) causes him to
be afflicted by calamity either physically, or through his wealth, or through
his children. He (Allah) then blesses him with patience, until He causes him to
be elevated to the level of excellence which is fixed for him in the Divine
Knowledge of Allah’.
Hadith 15: Tirmizi reported from
Jabir رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘On the Day of Qiyaamat, when those who
were afflicted with hardships are granted their Thawaab (reward), then those
who had comfortable lives (i.e. those who suffered no hardships) would say (wishing);
it would have been better if our skins were cut with scissors whilst we were on
earth’.
Hadith 16: Abu Dawud reports from
Aamir Ar Ram that Rasoolullah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم stated in regards to illnesses (as follows);
‘When a believer becomes ill and then recovers, his illness becomes atonement
for his sins, and admonition for his future; and when a hypocrite (munafiq)
becomes ill and then recovers, his example is like that of a camels whose
master has tied it up and then released it. It does not know why it was tied up
and why it was released’. One person asked, ‘Ya Rasool’Allah
صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم ! What is illness? I have never been ill’. He
صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘Leave our gathering! you are not from
amongst us’.
Hadith 17: Imam Ahmed reports
from Shadaad bin Aus رضی اﷲ تعالیٰ عنہ that Rasoolullah
صلی
اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم said, ‘Allah Almighty says; When I cause my
believing servant to be afflicted by (some) hardship and he (still) praises me whilst
in this hardship, then he will rise from his resting place (grave) so cleansed
from sins, just as the day when his mother gave birth to him and Almighty Allah
says; I have caused My servant to be confined and afflicted with hardships,
(so) record and continue recording virtuous deeds for him, just as it was when
he was in good health.
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