Sheikh Abdul Wahhâb Al Turayri
There is a good deed, a Sunnah, an Islamic duty, that we forget about altogether, except when our close family members are involved. This is the duty of visiting the sick. We should make it our habit to visit those we know are ill and spend just a little time in their company to cheer them up and show them that we care.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) always made it a point to visit those who were sick and comfort them. For instance, upon hearing that Sa’d bin Ubadah was complaining of an illness, he went to visit him at home, accompanied by three of his companions. When they arrived at Sa’d’s home, they found that he was unconscious and his family were gathered round him.
The Prophet (PBUH) asked: “Is it over?” They said it was not. The Prophet began to cry, and upon seeing this, everyone was moved to tears as well. He then said: “Listen to me! Allah does not punish anyone for the tears that are shed, nor for the grief in their hearts. However, He punishes on account of this” — and he pointed to his tongue — “or on account of it gives mercy.” (Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
This is how easily he was moved by compassion and sympathy. He wept just because one of his companions had fallen unconscious. How Sa’d must of felt when he came to, and learned that the Prophet was moved to tears by his unconscious state.
Consider how it made Sa’d’s family feel that the Prophet shared with them their grief and was truly affected by it as if their sorrows were his very own. Indeed, Allah declares about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in the Quran: “He is full of kindness and mercy for the believers.” (Surah Al Tawbah: 128)
Jabir bin Abdullah recalls to us the time that the Prophet (PBUH) visited him when he was ill:
I fell sick, and Allah’s Messenger came to visit me, with Abu Bakr walking alongside him. I was at my family homestead — the clan of Banu Salamah — and by the time the two of them arrived, I had fallen unconscious, or was at least delirious and unable to comprehend anything.
Allah’s Messenger performed ablutions and then sprinkled water from his hand onto me. This made me come to, so Allah’s Messenger was the first thing I saw. I said: “Messenger of Allah, what should I do with my estate, since I have only distant relatives, no parents or children to leave anything to?”
He did not reply to my question. Afterwards, the verse of inheritance was revealed in the Quran. (Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
We should know that Jabir asked that question fearing he was going to die on that occasion. However, he had a long life ahead of him. He was to outlive the Prophet by seventy years, but this incident from his early life stayed with him as a vivid memory, especially the moment when he opened his eyes and beheld the Prophet’s face.
Nothing inspires love in the heart like showing you care when others are in distress. This is how our Prophet (PBUH) lived every day of his life with his companions. He did not neglect them for even an hour in their time of sorrow, nor did he forget to share in their every joy, and he was dearer to their hearts than anything else in the world.
(The writer is former professor at Al Imam University in Riyadh)
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