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Visiting the sick

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Visiting the sick (Arabic: عيادة المريض) is among the Islamic etiquettes that is considered one of the best acts of goodness according to the hadiths. In Shi'a hadith sources, dozens of hadiths have been narrated on this topic. Visiting the sick was a conduct of the Prophet (s) and the Shi'a Imams (a), and in Shi'a hadiths, it has been listed among the rights that must be observed toward other Muslims. The acceptance of supplications, God's mercy, and benefiting from the angels' seeking forgiveness are among the religious rewards mentioned for visiting the sick.

Some of the etiquettes of visiting the sick, according to hadiths, are as follows: comforting the sick, bringing gifts for them, keeping the visit brief, and fulfilling the needs of the sick person.

Books such as Adab-i 'Iyadat by Muhammad Baqir Ta'ati and Adab-i 'Iyadat az Mariz by Muhammad Jawad Nuri and others are among the monographs written on the topic of visiting the sick.

The Status of Visiting the Sick in Islamic Culture

Sayyid Abu l-Qasim Kashani visits Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Khwansari at Firuzabadi Hospital in Tehran

Visiting the sick, or going to see a patient,[1] is among the Islamic etiquettes[2] and is considered one of the best religious acts of goodness.[3] In Shi'a hadith sources, dozens of hadiths have been narrated on this subject, and this worldly[4] and Hereafter benefits[5] have been mentioned for the visitor.

Visiting the sick was part of the conduct of the Prophet (s)[6] and the Imams (a),[7] and in the hadiths narrated from the Prophet (s)[8] and the Ahl al-Bayt (a),[9] visiting the sick has been counted among the rights that Muslims must observe toward one another.

Additionally, the hadiths recommend visiting someone who did not visit you during your own illness,[10] as well as informing others about a person's illness so that they may visit and earn rewards by visiting them.[11]

Religious Rewards of Visiting the Sick

In the hadiths from the Prophet (s) and the Imams (a), both worldly and Hereafter benefits have been mentioned for visiting the sick, some of which include acceptance of supplications, God's mercy, going to Paradise and benefiting from the angels' seeking forgiveness.

In the book Makarim al-akhlaq] by Tabrisi, a hadith from the Prophet (s) is narrated according to which, Whoever visits a believing servant of God, finds God with that servant, and if he asks God for something, it will be fulfilled.[12] Also, it has been narrated from Imam al-Rida (a) that: Whenever a believer visits another believer during his illness, seventy thousand angels accompany him, and God's mercy encompasses him, and angels seek forgiveness for him until night, and if the visit takes place at night, the same reward will be for him until morning.[13]

According to a narration reported by Shaykh Saduq (d. 381 AH/991-2) from Imam 'Ali (a), if someone leaves their home with the intention of visiting a sick person and dies on the way, going to Paradise becomes obligatory for them.[14]

Etiquettes of Visiting the Sick

In the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), some etiquettes have been mentioned for visiting the sick, some of which are as follows:

  • Comforting the sick person[15]
  • Bringing gifts for the sick person;[16]
  • Offering the sick person food that they like[17]
  • Keeping the visit brief,[18] unless the sick person requests a longer visit;[19]
  • Praying for the sick person with affection;[20]
  • Fulfilling the needs of the sick person;[21]
  • Expressing affection to the sick person.[22]

Monographs

Some of the published books on the subject of visiting the sick are as follows:

  • Adab-i 'Iyadat by Muhammad Baqir Ta'ati: This book compiles the narrations of the Prophet (s) and the Imams (a) regarding visiting the sick. It was published by Barkat-i Kawthar Publications in 1386 SH/2007-8.[23]
  • Adab-i 'Iyadat az Mariz by Muhammad Jawad Nuri and others: In addition to the narrations from the Prophet (s) and the Imams (a) about visiting the sick, this book examines Iran's situation regarding the issue of visiting the sick, as well as the role of society and public culture toward sick individuals. It was published by Abid-Andish Publications in 1395 SH/2016-7.[24]
  • Ziyarat-i Khuda, Pazhuheshi piramun-i 'iyadat dar Islam written by 'Ali Akbar Mazahiri and others: This book was published by the Islamic Research Center for Disabled Veterans in 1375 SH/1996-7.[25]

Notes

  1. Ibn Manẓūr, Lisān al-ʿArab, vol. 3, p. 319.
  2. Mahdawī Kanī, Akhlāq-i ʿAmalī, p. 199.
  3. Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 2, p. 77.
  4. Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 360-361.
  5. Qummī, Akhlāq wa ādāb, p. 376.
  6. Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 19, 361; Ibn Ashʿath, al-Jaʿfarīyyat, p. 159; Ibn ʿAsākir, Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq, vol. 39, p. 114.
  7. Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 2, p. 80; Majlisī, Jalāʾ al-ʿuyūn, vol. 2, p. 460; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 44, p. 189.
  8. Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 74, p. 236; Muslim Nayshābūrī. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, vol. 4, p. 1704.
  9. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 169.
  10. Rayshahrī, Mizān al-ḥikma, vol. 10, p. 500.
  11. Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 78, p. 218.
  12. Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 360-361.
  13. Ṭabrisī, Makārim al-akhlāq, p. 361.
  14. Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 1, p. 140.
  15. Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 81, p. 224.
  16. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 118.
  17. Muttaqī Hindī, Kanz al-ʿummāl, vol. 9, p. 97.
  18. Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 2, p. 642.
  19. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 118.
  20. Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 118.
  21. Ṣadūq, al-Amālī, p. 431-432.
  22. Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Kitāb al-Wāfī, vol. 24, p. 221; Dhahabī, Mīzān al-iʿtidāl, vol. 3, p. 7.
  23. Ṭāʿatī, Ādāb-i ʿIyādat, p. 1.
  24. Nūrī, Muḥammad Jawād. Ādāb-i ʿIyādat az marīḍ, p. 1.
  25. Ziyarat-i Khuda, Pazhuhishi piramun-i 'iyadat dar Islam (Persian)

References

  • Dhahabī, Shams al-Dīn. Mīzān al-iʿtidāl. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1382 AH.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, Muḥsin. Kitāb al-Wāfī. Isfahan: Maktaba Imam Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a), 1406 AH.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa. Tehran: Islamīyyā, 1403 AH.
  • Ibn Ashʿath, Muḥammad b. Muḥammad. Al-Jaʿfarīyyat. Tehran: Kitābkhāna-yi Niynawā, [n.d].
  • Ibn ʿAsākir, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥasan. Tārīkh madīnat Dimashq. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1415 AH.
  • Ibn Manẓūr, Muḥammad b. Mukarram. Lisān al-ʿArab. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1414 AH.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Islamīyyā, 1392 Sh.
  • Muttaqī Hindī, ʿAlī b. Ḥisām al-Dīn. Kanz al-ʿummāl fī al-sunan wa al-afʿāl. Beirut: Al-Rasāla, 1401 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Wafāʾ, 1403 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Jalāʾ al-ʿuyūn. Tehran: Islamīyyā, [n.d].
  • Muslim Nayshābūrī. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, [n.d].
  • Mahdawī Kanī, Muḥammad Riḍā. Akhlāq-i ʿAmalī. Qom: Intishārāt-i Masjid Jamkarān, 1385 Sh.
  • Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil wa musṭanbit al-wasā'il. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt (a), 1408 AH.
  • Nūrī, Muḥammad Jawād. Ādāb-i ʿIyādat az marīḍ. Qom: Abid Andīsh, 1395 Sh.
  • Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Akhlāq wa ādāb. Qom: Nūr Maṭāf, 1389 Sh.
  • Rayshahrī, Muḥammad. Mizān al-ḥikma. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1389 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Amālī. Tehran: Kitābchī, 1376 Sh.
  • Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Qom: Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭāʿatī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Ādāb-i ʿIyādat. Hamadan: Barkat-i Kawthar, 1386 Sh.
  • Ṭabrisī, Ḥasan b. al-Faḍl al-. Makārim al-akhlāq. Qom: al-Sharif al-Raḍī, 1370 Sh.
  • زیارت خدا; پژوهشی پیرامون عیادت در اسلام (Ziyarat-i Khuda, Pazhuhishi piramun-i 'iyadat dar Islam (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/06/27.