Virtues and Etiquettes of Visiting the Sick

We should always visit those who are sick because it helps us to reflect and take heed, as those who are ill are close to Allah Ta'ala. We have only to consider that the sick person has no one to call but Allah, nothing to reflect on but Allah, and his condition reminds us of the blessing of health.

Hadrat Abu Moosa(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'Visit the sick, feed the hungry and free the one who is imprisoned (unjustly).' (Sahih Bukhaari)

Hadrat Abu Hurairah(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "On the Day of Qiyaamah, Allah Ta'ala will announce: O son of Aadam, I was sick yet you did not visit me. He will reply, 'O Allah, how could I have visited You since you are Rabbul 'aalameen? Allah Ta'ala will say: Did you not know that so and so slave of mine was sick, and yet you did not visit him? Should you have visited him you would have found Me by him. " (Sahih Muslim)

Hadrat Ali(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'When a Muslim visits his sick Muslim brother in the morning, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the evening. And when he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels make dua for his forgiveness till the morning, and he will be granted a garden for it in Jannah.' (Timizi, Abu Dawood)

Hadrat Anas(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'When a person performs a proper wudhu (observing all its etiquette) and then goes to visit his sick Muslim brother with the intention of gaining sawaab, then he will be kept far away from the Fire of Jahannam by a distance equivalent of Sixty years.' (Abu Dawood)

Our Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) has also said, 'Whoever visits a sick person (for the pleasure of Allah), a Caller from the skies announces: You are indeed blessed and your walking is blessed and you have (by this noble act) built yourself a home in Jannah.' (Ibn Maajah)

Hadrat Ibn Abbaas(R.A.) relates: It is part of the Sunnah that when you visit a sick person, you should shorten your visit to him and make the least amount of noise by him. (Mishkaat)

Once our Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'The best type of visit to a sick person is when the visitor gets up to leave without delay.' (Bayhaqi) If we act upon these simple teachings, then the visitors to a hospital will no longer remain a problem for those who are in charge of the administration of hospitals.

Hadrat Umm Salmah(R.A.) relates that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'When you visit a sick person or (go to the home of) someone who has died, then speak only what is good, for the angels say 'aameen' to whatever you will say.' (Sahih Muslim)

Hadrat Abu Sa'eed Khudri(R.A.) reports that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'When you visit a sick person, speak in a reassuring way to him (about his age and his life).' (For instance, tell him, 'Alhamdulillah, your health has improved' or 'Inshaa Allah you will get better soon.') Saying this will not delay what is predestined, but it will certainly make him feel happy.'(Tirmizi, Ibn Maajah)

Hadrat Aa'isha (Radiyallaahu anha) relates: Whenever anyone of us would become sick, Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) would pass his right hand over the affected part of the sick person's body and recite the following dua:

Azhubil ba'sa rabban naas washfi. Antash shaafie. Laa shifaa-a illaa shifaa-uk. Shifaa-al laa yughaa diru saqamaa

0 Allah, Lord and Sustainer of mankind, remove his difficulty and cure him You are the only

One who cures. There is no cure but Yours.

Grant such (complete) cure that leaves no trace of illness. (Bukhaari and Muslim)

Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) once visited a Muslim man who was sick. His voice was very feeble and he had become very thin and weak.

Seeing his condition, Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) asked him, 'What dua have you been making to Allah?' He said, 'Yes, I used to say: 0 Allah! Whatever punishment was in store for me in the Aakhirah, let it descend upon me now.' Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'Subhaanallah! You do not have the strength to bear it. Why do you not say this dua:

Rabbanaa aatinaa fid dunyaa hasana taw wafil aakhirati hasana taw wa qinaa azaaban naar

O Allah, our Lord and Sustainer, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the Fire of Jahannam.

The narrator, Hadrat Anas(R.A.), says that the man thereafter began to make this dua (abundantly), and Allah Ta'ala cured him. (Musnad Ahmad)

Hadrat Salmaan(R.A.) says: Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) visited me when I was ill. When he was leaving he told me, 'O Salmaan! (and said this dua) :

Ka shafallaahu durrak. Wa ghafara zambak. Wa'aafaaka fee deenika wa jasadik.

May Allah remove your pain, forgive your sins, and grant you strength in your Deen and your health until your death. (Tabaraani)

Another Hadith has it that whoever visits a sick person, not yet destined to die, and he recites the following dua seven times, Allah Ta'ala will certainly cure him of his sickness:

As-alul laahal azeem Rabbal arshil azeem Ay yashfi yak

I beg Allah the Almighty, the Owner of the Majestic Throne, that He should cure you. (Abu Dawood)

Hadrat Ibn Abbaas(R.A.) relates that when Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) would visit

Laaba-sa tahoorun, lnshaa Allah

Have no fear ! If Allah wills, your sickness will purify you of your sins. (Sahih Bukhaari)

Hadrat Usmaan bin abil-Aas(R.A.) says that he once complained about pain in his body to Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam). Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) instructed him: Place your hand on the area of the pain and recite:

Bismillah thrice and say (the following) seven times:

A'oozu bi'izza tillaahi wa qudratihi min sharri maa ajidu wa uhaaziru

I seek protection in the great might of Allah and His power against the evil I am experiencing

and dread. (Sahih Muslim)

Our beloved Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) has also said, 'Whoever sees somebody who is sick or in some hardship, and says the following dua will never be afflicted by that sickness or difficulty:

Alhamndulil laahillazee'aafaanee mimmab-talaaka bihee wafad dalanee 'alaa kaseerim mimman khalaqa tafdeelaa

All praise is for Allah alone Who has saved me from what the has afflicted you with and greatly favoured me over many of whom He has created. (Tirmizi, Ibn Maajah)

However, it should be recited softly and in a manner that the afflicted person is unable to hear it and does not get offended.

Hadrat Aa'isha (R.A.) says that whenever Rasulullah(Sallallaahu alaiyhi wassallam) would become ill,

he would recite the Muawwizaat and then blow his breath on the palm of his hands and then move them (gently)

She also says that when anyone in his family was sick, he would recite the Mu'awwizaat and blow onto the sick person's body. (Sahih Muslim).

The Mu'awwizaat are Surahs al-Falaq and an-Naas. According to some Ulama, it also includes the Surahs al-Ikhlaas (Qul huwallahu ahad) and al-Kaafiroon.