Finding God in visiting the Sick
Matters of Faith
By Faraz Khan
I begin in the name of God with His praise and with salutations on Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and all the prophets of God. We praise God, seek His assistance, seek His forgiveness, and seek His protection from our wrong actions. Whomever God guides there are none who could lead this person astray.
God says in the Quran:
“Surely, God commands you to deal with justice, goodness, giving rights of near ones and He forbids you from lewdness, wrong actions, and wickedness; You are given this counsel that you may remember Him”.
Islam promotes good and forbids evil. Muslims should not limit their good manners, generosity, and compassion to the Muslim community only. The Prophet Mohammad did not distinguish between Muslims and non-Muslims when engaged in doing good. His concern was for all of humanity and all its ills and he never kept this compassion solely for the Muslim community.
I would remind you of a very well known incident that took place in Makkah. When Muhammad (peace be upon him) began preaching about Islam, he made enemies very quickly in his own town. Many rumors began spreading about the Prophet and many people became misled by the propaganda. Amongst this group was an old woman who was the neighbor of the Prophet. Blinded by prejudice, she would collect all of the garbage in her house and wait for the Prophet to walk by her house. Any time he did walk by she would discard all her trash upon him. It became her habit to throw garbage on the Prophet, but due to his noble character he never said a word to her. Some time passed, and one day when he passed her house he was not pelted with a heap of trash. Upon inquiry, he found that the old woman had become ill and was bed ridden. The Prophet paid a special visit to the old woman and she was surprised and, despite her animosity, became very ashamed of her behavior which she never took part in again.
We learn from this incident that despite the prevalence of prejudice and narrow mindedness, a Muslim should take the higher moral ground and follow the Prophet in visiting sick and elderly in their community. As Muslims, we are all responsible for a good and healthy community.
The messenger of God Prophet Mohammad said, “Every Muslim has five rights over another Muslim: To return greetings, to visit the sick, to accompany funeral processions, to accept an invitation, and to respond to one who sneezes (say May God have mercy upon you)” (ref. Bukhari & Muslim).
The Messenger of God informed us that on the Day of Resurrection God will say: “O son of Adam, I was sick but you did not visit me”. Man would say, “O my Lord, how could I visit you and you are the Lord of the worlds?” Thereupon He would say: “Did you not know that such and such a worshipper of mine was ill but you did not visit him? If you had visited him, you would have found me there…” (Muslim).
Brothers and sisters, Islam does not reside in religious books. If Islam was found in religious books, then libraries would have been considered holy shrines and God would simply send books from the sky for guidance. Rather, He sent prophets along with the holy books such as the Bible, Torah, Psalms, Quran, etc. to guide humans toward heavenly aspirations and those prophets taught us that one has to live Islam by embodying a beautiful character.
On a personal note, I remember very well when my father had a heart attack last year – it was a difficult time for the family. While he was bedridden and in need of prayers, a group of local brothers from New Brunswick Islamic Center paid a visit to the hospital. My father had never seen them and they had never seen him as well. They were strangers to him and he was a stranger to them. However, the Muslim brothers went to the hospital seeking God. They inquired about the health of the sick and elderly only to please God. I still recall the happiness my father felt upon seeing these men. They came from different part of the world, spoke different languages, and had different racial backgrounds and cultures, but they all had one thing common – they were all believers seeking God while serving humanity. May God be pleased with them and bless them in this life and the hereafter.
I encourage myself first and my brothers and sisters to gain the true meaning of Islam – peace through submission to God. Thus in the coming days, pay a visit to the nearby hospital, call your ailing relatives, connect with your neighbors, and always be dutiful to your parents. Prophet Mohammad informed us on how we could become the people of paradise. He mentioned, “He who visits a sick person will remain engaged in picking the fresh fruits from the garden of paradise till he returns” (Muslim). It is narrated by his companions in a different books of hadith that the Prophet would visit the sick with a greeting of peace, a cheerful face, a radiant smile, and a supplication: “O God! Lord of humanity, remove this disease and cure this person. You are the Great Curer. There is no cure but through you”.
Let us pray that may God cure those who are sick. May He shower His blessings and mercy upon everyone. May He guide us to the actions most beloved to Him. Amen.
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