Do We Have a Right to Visit the Sick?
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: Assalam alaykum
I know someone who was told by his sick brother-in-law not to come visit him. He responded by telling his brother-in-law that he has a right to visit him. Is this true?
It has always been my understanding that we have a responsibility to visit the sick.
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
Yes, you are correct in stating that we have a responsibility to visit the sick, but not a right.
Visiting the sick is from the sunna of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) which he afforded even to those of other faiths due to the importance of fulfilling the rights of one’s fellow humans, generally.
Tirmidhi recorded a tradition (hadith) in which the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “No Muslim visits a Muslim in the morning without a thousand angels praying blessing on him until evening, or visits him in the evening without a thousand angels praying blessing on him until morning and he will have fruits in the Garden.”
On another occasion, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) reminded us that visiting the sick is a right of the afflicted. Abu Huraira (may Allah be well-pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The rights a Muslim has over another Muslim are five: returning the greeting, visiting the sick, joining funeral processions, accepting invitations and blessing those who sneeze.” [Bukhari; Muslim]
Consequently, the visitor doesn’t have a right to visit. Rather, the sick person has the right to be visited and he may forfeit this right if he deems fit, or simply, if circumstances don’t allow for a visit at the present time. What this tells us is that we should strive to be considerate in our seeking to apply the sunna, particularly during times of emotional stress or high sensitivity. Sunnas also have sunnas.
[Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]
Please also see: Forgotten Sunnas: Healthy Relationships Through Visiting the Sick and: Etiquettes of Visiting the Sick and: Prophetic Supplications to Cure Illnesses
And Allah Most High knows best.
wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.
