عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا، “أَنَّ نَاسًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم قَالُوا لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ذَهَبَ أَهْلُ الدُّثُورِ بِالْأُجُورِ؛ يُصَلُّونَ كَمَا نُصَلِّي، وَيَصُومُونَ كَمَا نَصُومُ، وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ بِفُضُولِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ. قَالَ: أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مَا تَصَّدَّقُونَ؟ إنَّ بِكُلِّ تَسْبِيحَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَكْبِيرَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَحْمِيدَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَهْلِيلَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَأَمْرٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَنَهْيٌ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَفِي بُضْعِ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ. قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيَأْتِي أَحَدُنَا شَهْوَتَهُ وَيَكُونُ لَهُ فِيهَا أَجْرٌ؟ قَالَ: أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ وَضَعَهَا فِي حَرَامٍ أَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ؟ فَكَذَلِكَ إذَا وَضَعَهَا فِي الْحَلَالِ، كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ

On the authority of Abu Dharr RA: Some people from amongst the Companions of the Messenger of Allah RA said to the Prophet ﷺ, “O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give [much] in charity by virtue of their wealth.” He ﷺ said, “Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity? Truly every tasbeehah [saying: ‘subhan-Allah’] is a charity, and every takbeerah [saying: ‘Allahu akbar’] is a charity, and every tahmeedah [saying: ‘al-hamdu lillah’] is a charity, and every tahleelah [saying: ‘laa ilaha illAllah’] is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the bud`i [sexual act] of each one of you there is a charity.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his carnal desire will he have some reward for that?” He ﷺ said, “Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner then he will be deserving of a reward.” [Muslim]

All of the above-mentioned actions have been referred to as charity because their reward is equivalent to giving charity. This is because they are done for the pleasure of Allah, even though they may differ in status, nature, characteristics and effect.

The Hadith highlights the aspect of morality and faithfulness in marriage and is particularly important in our era of immorality and shamelessness. Islam teaches that fulfilling one’s desires with one’s wife draws divine rewards when it is accompanied with the correct intention. Such an intention could be to safeguard one’s chastity or the chastity of one’s spouse from evil thoughts and gazes, to fulfil the spouse’s marital rights, to produce offspring that will believe in one Allah, or to increase the Ummah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Intending to rear pious offspring is a noble intention as they will serve as a perpetual reward after their parent’s demise by performing good deeds on the latter’s behalf.

EASY GOOD DEED – Visiting the Sick

Visiting the sick is an act of great merit and is included in the human rights an enunciated by the exalted Prophet ﷺ. Some jurists regard it Wajib, but in fact it is a Sunnah.

إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمَ إِذَا عَادَ أَخَاهُ الْمُسلم لم يزل فِي خُرْفَةِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ

Thauban RA reported Allah’s messenger ﷺ as saying, “When a Muslim pays a visit to his sick brother Muslim he continues to gather the fruits of paradise till he returns.” [Muslim]

ما من مسلم يعود مسلماً غدوة إلا صلى عليه سبعون ألف ملك حتي يمسي، وإن عاده عشية إلا صلى عليه سبعون ألف ملك حتي يصبح، وكان له خريف في الجنة

Ali bin Abi Talib RA reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, “When a Muslim visits a sick Muslim at dawn, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him till dusk. If he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him till the morning; and he will have (his share of) reaped fruits in Jannah.” [Tirmidhi].

It was the noble habit and practise of our exalted and eternally blessed Prophet ﷺ, that when he heard of sickness of anyone among his acquaintances, he ﷺ went to visit him.

The correct way of visiting the sick is to put one’s hand on the sick man’s forehead and inquire about his illness, but only if putting the hand on his forehead does not cause the sick one pain, otherwise it is sufficient to ask how he is.

Our Prophet ﷺ has taught us the following duas which are to be recited seven times when visiting the sick:-

مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَعُودُ مُسْلِمًا فَيَقُولُ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ: أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ يَشْفِيَكَ إِلَّا شُفِيَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدْ حَضَرَ أَجَلُهُ

Ibn Abbas RA reported Allah’s messenger ﷺ as saying, “No Muslim will visit another and say seven times, ‘I ask Allah, the Mighty, the Lord of the mighty throne, to cure you’ without his being cured, unless his time has come.” [Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi]

Our Holy Prophet ﷺ also used to recite the following prayers several times while visiting the sick:

انَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنَّا إِنْسَانٌ مَسَحَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ: «أَذْهِبِ الْبَاسَ رَبَّ النَّاسِ وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ شِفَاءٌ لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا

A’isha RA said: When one of us had a complaint, Allah’s messenger ﷺ wiped him with his right hand and then said, “Remove the harm, Lord of men, and give healing. Thou art the Healer. There is no healing but Thine, a healing which leaves no illness behind.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

And also said:

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم الله عليه وسلم صلى الله عليه وسلم ، دخل علي أعرأبي يعوده وكان إذا دخل علي من يعوده قال‏:‏ ‏ “‏لا بأس، طهور إن شاء الله

Ibn ‘Abbas RA reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) visited a bedouin who was sick. Whenever he visited an ailing person, he would say, “La ba’sa, tahurun in sha’ Allah [No harm, (it will be a) purification (from sins), if Allah wills].” [Bukhari].

It should be remembered that the visitors’ actions should never cause the slightest trouble or pain to the sick and this has been emphasized more than visiting the sick. A visit which pains or troubles the sick would be a sin rather than an act of merit. Thus, if visitors are not allowed to see the patient, they must not visit; in such a case mere asking and praying for the patient become an act of merit.