Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Man experiences ups and downs in his life, he is sometimes happy but at other times he is sad. Sometimes he is lucky, while other times he is unlucky. He is healthy sometimes and sick at other times. Among man's happiness is getting help when he is in troubles, getting easiness when he is in difficulties, and visited by his relatives and friends when he is sick. Visiting a sick person is a good deed that will be greatly rewarded by Allah.

Rasulullah once said a sentence whose meaning is:
"When one visits a sick person or visit a friend having a same religion, then a call (from Allah) is heard: 'you are a kind-hearted man, your going is good, and you have been building your own palace in the heaven'." (Hadith of Muslim)

In visiting a sick person, Islam gives us following guidance as follow:
1. Pray for the sick person that he will get healthy back soon, when visiting him. A prayer exemplified by Messenger of Allah is "La ba`sa `alaika, tahu run insyaa Allah".

The meaning is "don't be worry about your sickness, insya Allah (because of your sickness) you will be a person who are cleaned from sins. (Hadith of bukhari)

2. Place right hand on the sick person's forehead by praying:
Allahumma rabbun na si, azhib al ba`sa, wa asyfi anta as Sya fi, la syifa a illa syifa uka syifa an la yugha diru saqaman.

The meaning is: O Allah, God who created man, please eliminate his sickness, O Allah please heal him/her, since You're the Most Healer, no healing without healing from You, a healing which doesn't leave any sickness (Hadith of Bukhari).

2. Don't visit a sick person in a too-long time, since it may be disturbing the sick person or his family

3 . The visitations should be done repeatedly if the sick person wishes them, so that he will feel that others pay him attention.

4. Ask the sick person to be patient and ridla (acquiesced) to decisions and fate of Allah. Give him/her hope that he will probably recover his/her health and remind him not to be hopeless and not to hope to die soon, although his/her sickness may be so heavy. The Messenger of Allah once said "Don't any one of you hope to die soon because of a disaster happening to him."

However, if dead is indeed the best condition in this case, it is recommended that we pray as follow:
Allahumma ahyini ma ka nat al haya tu khairan li wa tawaffani iza ka nat al wafa tu khairan li.

The meaning is: O Allah, let me still alive if live is indeed better for me, or please let me die, if die is indeed better for me (muttafaq 'alaih)
6. It is a sunna for the sick person to recall the good deeds that he/she has already done. This is to encourage the sick person to confirm his husnuzzon (positive thinking) to Allah. In addition, he should also remember the hikmah of his sickness as gift of Allah to erase his sins, to increase his rewards, and to elevate his position.

7. It is recommended that the sick person increases his zikr to Allah and that he doesn't forget to declare testament/will to his family, especially regarding debt matters, things that are amanat (mandate) of others, or declare to bequeath parts of his property to the way of Allah.