When Sickness is a Blessing - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Opening — Khutbah al-Hajah

Amma ba'd — the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the worst of affairs are those newly invented, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is a going astray, and every going astray is in the Fire.

The Verse of Testing — Sūrah al-Tawbah

In Sūrah al-Tawbah, verse 126, Allah says:

"Do they not see that every year or twice a year they are tested and tried by Allah, yet they do not repent nor are they reminded?"

This verse in Sūrah al-Tawbah speaks predominantly, in the first instance, about the hypocrites — and the hypocrites are those people who, when they are tried and tested, are not reminded, nor do they turn back to Allah, nor do they seek His forgiveness. This verse, according to some of the scholars of tafsīr, where Allah says "do they not see that they will be tried and tested once or twice a year" — according to some of the scholars of tafsīr, Allah is referring to sickness and illness. Because the hypocrites are those people who, when they are tried and tested by Allah, irrespective of the trial or the test, it doesn't serve for them as a reminder. It doesn't make them think and take stock of their life. It doesn't make them reflect and ponder over what it is that they are doing in this dunya and how close their death is looming towards them.

But the believers are those people who are reminded by the signs of Allah. They are reminded by the tests and the trials that Allah places before them. Each and every single one of us — there is not a single person here except that they have been tried and tested by sickness and by pain, to a greater or lesser extent. Some people from amongst us suffer the odd toothache, headache, stomach ache — the odd pain or cramp here or there. And then there are others from amongst us, and the people that we know, the people that are dear to us, who suffer from chronic illness, from severe illness, from terminal illness. And each and every single one of us goes through this.

The way that we are taught to think today by society, the way that we have been taught to look at and view illness and sickness, is often the way that Allah speaks about the hypocrites in the Quran — that it's a calamity and a test, which it is, and therefore you should look at it in a very downcast, a very negative way. But Allah says here concerning the hypocrites that they are those people who, when they are tried and tested, it doesn't serve as a reminder — because for the believers, it does serve as a reminder. The believer is the one who, when they are tested, it brings them closer to Allah. When the believer is tested, the first thing that they think of is: Allah is trying and testing me, and Allah wants to see the way that I respond. And either it will be a means of cleansing my sins, elevating my rank, increasing my good deeds and reward in the sight of Allah — or else I will fail this test.

The Example of Mu'ādh ibn Jabal

We look at the lives of the companions رضي الله عنهم أجمعين and the Salaf of this ummah — the best of this nation. Those companions and their students, and those students that came after them, those about whom the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم praised them and said:

"The best of people are my generation, then those who will follow them, and then those who will follow them."

The way that they would look at this is a very different way to the way that we look at it today. All of us go through sickness and illness, but it is a test and trial from Allah — and the believer who shows patience and gratitude, for them that sickness, that debilitating, difficult illness that makes their life hard on a day-to-day basis, it becomes a means of blessing for them.

I want to give you the example of the famous companion Mu'ādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه. Mu'ādh رضي الله عنه is one of the greatest, most senior companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and someone who was acknowledged to be a scholar from amongst the companions. Mu'ādh ibn Jabal, as is mentioned in the Musannaf of Ibn Abī Shaybah and in other than that, when he was in the 18th year of the Hijra during the Khilāfah of Umar رضي الله عنه, he was with the Muslim army in al-Shām, the frontier lands where the Muslims were fighting against the Byzantine Romans. And there, in the 18th year of the Hijra, a plague struck — a plague that we know as the Plague of Amwās. A number of the Muslims and a number of the senior companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would die within that plague. From amongst them was the famous companion Abū Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrāh رضي الله عنه, one of the ten promised Paradise. And from amongst those companions who died in that plague was Mu'ādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه.

When the plague hit the area that he was in, he stood amongst his people — amongst those people who were there — and he said to them: "This is the promise that our Lord gave to us, and it is the tidings that our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave to us." Because the Prophet said صلى الله عليه وسلم:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1916)

"The one who dies as a result of plague is a martyr."

And then Mu'ādh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه asked Allah that He gives to him and his family a share of that martyrdom — not because he wants to be sick, not because he wants illness for the sake of illness, but because the companions understood from the Quran and the Sunnah that Allah tests and tries us. And maybe the calamity that you think is a calamity — because of the sickness and illness and its debilitating effect upon you — is a means of purification from Allah.

Sickness as Purification — The Du'ā for the Sick

Don't we say, as the Prophet said صلى الله عليه وسلم — in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbās رضي الله عنه in Sahih al-Bukhāri — when you come across someone who is sick, what is the du'ā that we read for them?

"There is no harm upon you — may it be a purification, by Allah's will."

A purification from what? From your sins, from your mistakes, from the things that you've done wrong — an expiation for your sins. That is the meaning of طَهُورٌ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ — let it be a means of purification.

The companions understood this point. So Mu'ādh رضي الله عنه made this du'ā: "O Allah, if that sickness, that plague, is going to come and strike us, give me and my family a portion of it." It is said in that narration that a week didn't pass by except that every member from the household of Mu'ādh رضي الله عنه died in that plague, and he was the last from amongst them رضي الله عنه.

Because the Salaf — the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — they understood a number of things from the Quran and the Sunnah. Chief from amongst them is that for the believer, there is no such thing as only a calamity. Because the believer takes difficulty and hardship and they turn it into goodness — they turn it into a source of blessing, a source of reward, a means of expiation from Allah.

The Prophet's Own Illness

Everyone of us goes through test and trial, and sickness is something that all of us can relate to — either within our own lives or the lives of those who are closest to us. It's a reality of the dunya. Everyone gets sick — sometimes a young child, a newborn baby will be extremely sick, and an elderly person may also be sick. Something which strikes everyone. But it is a means of purification. The pain that the believer feels — so long as they have patience, they turn to Allah, they continue to worship Allah, they show gratitude to Allah — that sickness, that debilitating illness, it is a means of purification.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the hadith of Sahih al-Bukhāri and Sahih Muslim of 'Abdullāh ibn Mas'ūd رضي الله عنه — the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in his final illness, when he was so overcome by fever, so overcome by illness, that if he attempted to stand he would fall unconscious. The hadith in al-Bukhāri says that he woke up and he said to the people around him: "Al-salāh — it's the time for prayer, did I pray?" They said: "No, Messenger of Allah." He said: "Bring me a bucket of water and pour it over me." Because of his sickness, his fever, his high temperature, they came and they gave him that bucket of water, they placed it over him صلى الله عليه وسلم. He stood — and he fainted. The second time he woke up: "Did I pray? Did we pray?" They said: "No, Messenger of Allah, they are waiting for you." "Bring me a bucket of water, pour it over me." He stood — and he fainted صلى الله عليه وسلم. The third time he woke up: "Did I pray?" "No." "Bring me a bucket of water, pour it over me." He stood — and he fainted صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Ibn Mas'ūd رضي الله عنه said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have seen fever and sickness, but I think your sickness is double what anyone else feels." The Prophet said صلى الله عليه وسلم: "Yes — I have double what everyone else feels in terms of sickness." Why? Because it is a means of purification. If it wasn't purification, if there wasn't a blessing for the believer in it, would Allah give it to His Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم? Would the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم have to suffer something that Allah didn't consider to be good for him?

And then he said صلى الله عليه وسلم:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5648; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2572)

"There is not a single Muslim who is afflicted by pain — a prick of a thorn or something greater than that — except that their sins will leave and fall off from them, just the way that the leaves of a tree fall off from its branch."

Not a prick of a thorn — a single amount of pain, that single sensation of pain — or anything greater. Some of the people that we know, some of the people sitting here in this masjid, have had illnesses and pain for weeks, for months, some of them for years. And we ask Allah that He cures all of our brothers and sisters and that Allah gives them good health. But if Allah didn't decree for you an immediate cure — didn't relieve you from your pain immediately — know that Allah is all-wise and all-knowing. Allah knows best our sins. Allah knows best our situation. And so the companions understood this principle.

The Story of Umm al-Sā'ib and the Fever

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in the hadith of Jābir رضي الله عنه in Sahih Muslim — he came to a woman by the name of Umm al-Sā'ib, or Umm al-Musayyib. He came to her and she was overcome by fever — and she was in the pangs of her fever. Fever, anyone that's experienced it — the type that makes you delirious, the type that overcomes you and you're unable to stand, the type that comes over you and you don't know what's going on around you — it is extremely difficult. And he found her shivering, because a person who is in a fever thinks that they are cold but actually their temperature is very high. He said to her: "Why are you shivering?" So she replied: "O Messenger of Allah, I have fever — may Allah never bless it!"

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم replied and he said to her: "Do not curse the fever, for the fever takes away the sins of the child of Adam just as the way fire takes away the impurities of iron."

Fever is something which Allah gives to a person because He takes away from their sins through it. And there are a number of narrations that say that whoever feels the heat of the fever of this world will never feel the heat of the Fire on Yawm al-Qiyāmah. And that is why Ibn Rajab rahimahullāh wrote a book where he gathered all of these narrations together — he called it a book of glad tidings that have been given in the Sunnah: that Allah will save the believer who feels the fever in this life from the Fire of the Ākhirah.

The Bedouin Who Never Had a Headache

The scholars understood this, and that is why the companions of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم were taught in all of these narrations to be careful in the way that they deal with these realities of life. The Salaf were of the position that if someone is sick, someone is ill, then they should be patient, and they should thank Allah for His blessings, and they should know that Allah gave them that sickness or that illness because Allah wants expiation for them.

There is even a narration — such as the hadith of Anas رضي الله عنه — that if Allah wants good for someone, He brings forth their punishment into this life; and if Allah wants evil for someone, He saves that punishment for them for the Ākhirah. Allah expiates sins by sickness, by pain, by the calamities that we suffer within this dunya. And that is why some of the Salaf were of the position that if a person doesn't become sick, never experiences pain, you never see them tested or tried — that is a sign that Allah doesn't love them.

Some of the Salaf, as is mentioned in the books of Al-Zuhd, Al-Wara', and Al-Raqāiq — if they had people in their community that they knew never became sick, never experienced pain, never had a test in their life — they would stay away from them. They wouldn't consider that to be a good sign. Unlike us, who see it the opposite way: someone who is constantly sick and ill, we feel that that person is the one that's tried and tested, that's the person that's always having calamities, that person can't be someone whom Allah loves. The Salaf thought of it the other way.

Because in the hadith in Al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Bukhāri and in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه — a Bedouin man came to the Prophet ﷺ, and it is a long narration, but he said within that narration: "Do you suffer from headaches?" The man said: "No, Messenger of Allah — what is a headache?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "A headache is a debilitating pain. It strikes your head and the nerves in your head — something like a migraine — something which, when you have it, it is difficult for you to do your daily activities." The man said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have never had one of those." And then he left.

The Prophet ﷺ said: "If you want to see a man from the people of the Fire, look at this man."

Ibn Rajab rahimahullāh, one of the scholars in his commentary on this hadith, said: the meaning of this hadith is this is a man who has never been tried and tested. A man that Allah does not test in this life is a man that Allah doesn't want good for. A person that Allah doesn't try and test is a person that Allah doesn't want good for. Why? Because the Sunnah of Allah with His Prophets — all of them in the Quran — and His Messengers and the Awliyā' is that Allah tries and tests them. That is the practice, that is the Sunnah of Allah. It is the law that Allah has applied to those that He loves from the Prophets of Allah, the Messengers of Allah — not least of whom was our Prophet ﷺ.

Conclusion — Part One

So Allah tries and tests each and every single one of us. And one of the greatest of those tests and trials is sickness and illness — pain that you feel within your body. But Allah, for the believer, makes it a way of expiation, makes it a way of coming closer to Him — so long as you have patience and Imān and Taqwā, and you turn to Allah in du'ā and in ibādah. Ask Allah that He makes us from amongst those people, and that Allah safeguards us from trials that we are unable to pass and from burdens that we cannot bear.

Second Khutbah — The Mindset of the Salaf

One of the benefits of reading the biographies of the Salaf — the biographies of the lives of the companions and those scholars who follow them in righteousness — is you get an indication of their mindset: the way that they thought, the way that they approached issues, the way that they interacted with circumstances of the dunya and life. And one of the biggest challenges that we have is: we have many of those same circumstances that present themselves before us, but our mindset and the way that we approach them is markedly different to the way of those companions رضي الله عنهم أجمعين.

And that is because our understanding of the Quran and Sunnah has become diminished, our Imān is weak, and the era that we live in is so distanced and removed from the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that now, often, the way that we approach things — for which we find texts in the Quran and the Sunnah — is the way that we are now taught to think about them by society, by media, by the way that life is amongst us and around us.

Reading the lives of the companions shows you that there is a way that the Muslim thinks, there is a way that you interact with things that happen to you, there is a way that you should behave when these different circumstances of life present themselves before you. And from the greatest of those principles is to understand the meaning of those issues. When the Sharī'ah speaks about illness — when the Sharī'ah speaks about wealth, when the Sharī'ah speaks about success — what it means. There is a way that we understand these terms by virtue of the language, by virtue of society, by virtue of the way that we are brought up and the way that we live. But there is an understanding that is more defined within the Quran and the Sunnah. What does success actually mean? What does it mean when Allah praises or dispraises wealth? What does it mean when Allah or the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم speak about sickness or illness?

These issues — all of them — you will find narrations concerning them in the Quran and the Sunnah. It is very important to understand those concepts in the way that they should be understood by the Muslim, because it will make life easier for you. Every one of us goes through all of those stages and all of those issues. But to understand the way that the Muslim should behave and interact is something which will bring you solace and contentment, because you know then that you approach that issue and that test in the way that is pleasing to Allah.

Closing Du'ā

Ask Allah that He safeguards us and our families from the traps of Shaytān, and that Allah bestows His blessings upon us and His mercy, and that Allah makes our tests and trials a means of expiation, a means of a rising of our rank on Yawm al-Qiyāmah, and a means of an increase in our reward. Ask Allah that He makes the affairs of the Muslims easy, and that Allah cures the sick from amongst us, and that He has mercy upon the deceased from amongst us. Ask Allah that He makes us from amongst those people who are firm upon Tawhīd, and that Allah keeps us steadfast upon this religion, and that Allah makes us from amongst those people who die upon Imān and are resurrected with the people of Imān under the leadership of the Imām of the people of Imān — our Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.