Hadith>Articles>Discussion on Illness

ترجمۂ کنزالایمان: اللہ کے نام سے شروع جو نہایت مہربان رحم والا

Translation: Allah in the name of the most Affectionate the Merciful

Du’a for Reading the Book or Islamic Lesson

Read the following Du’a (supplication) before studying a religious book or Islamic lesson , you will remember whatever you study.

Translation:Ya Allah! Open the portal of knowledge and wisdom for us, and have mercy on us! O the one who is the most honourable and glorious! (Al-Mustaraf, vol. 1, pp. 40)

Note: Recite Durud Sharif once before and after the Du’a.

ترجمۂ کنزالایمان:اور اگر جب وہ اپنی جانوں پر ظلم کریں تو اے محبوب تمہارے حضور حاضر ہوں اور پھر اللہ سے معافی چاہیں اور رسول ان کی شفاعت فرمائے تو ضرور اللہ کو بہت توبہ قبول کرنے والا مہربان پائیں۔

                                                                                                      

Translation of Kanzul Iman:And if when they do justice unto their souls, then O beloved! They should come to you and then beg forgiveness of Allah and the messenger should intercede for them then surely, they would find Allah Most Relenting, Merciful (4:64)

Excellence of Durud Shareef

The Noble Rasool صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم has stated, ‘Whoever recites Salat upon me one time, Allah عزوجل sends ten mercies upon him.’ (Sahih Muslim, pp. 166, vol. 1)

Discussion on Illness as Mentioned in Hadith

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.

Ya Allah عزوجل of Mustafa  صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلم! We make sincere Dua that  blesses us all with strength in Imaan and true love for the Holy Prophet  صلی اللہ تعالی علیہ وسلمand for all those who follow that which has been taught and commanded by Him. Amin! (Source: Extracted from Bahaar-e-Shariat Volume 4)

Courtesy: Imam Mustafa Raza Research Center

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