Uqbah bin ‘Amir RA said that the Prophet ﷺ said:

Each day, every deed [of a servant of God] has to be recorded and sealed. When a believer becomes ill, the angels say to Allah, ‘Oh, our Lord! You’ve confined so and so servant of yours.’ The Lord, the Almighty and Glorious replies, ‘Record and seal for the servant the same deeds that the servant does when the servant is not ill, until the servant recovers from his illness or dies.’ (Musnad Ahmad)

Abu Musa RA narrated that he heard the Prophet ﷺ say many times:

إِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ يَعْمَلُ عَمَلاً صَالِحًا فَشَغَلَهُ عَنْهُ مَرَضٌ أَوْ سَفَرٌ كُتِبَ لَهُ كَصَالِحِ مَا كَانَ يَعْمَلُ وَهُوَ صَحِيحٌ مُقِيمٌ

When a servant of Allah is accustomed to do a good work, then becomes ill or goes on journey, what he was accustomed to do when he was well and staying at home will be recorded for him. [Abu Dawud]

When a person falls ill or gets dementia, who used to do good deeds, the angels observe to Allah Almighty that the sick person can no longer do them. Perhaps he used to go to the mosque regularly, give charity, give lectures, run his business or help others, but because of the illness that Allah Almighty is testing him with, his good deeds have stopped.

The angels feel compassionate towards this good person, whose good deeds they enjoyed recording. If it was not for his illness, he would have carried on doing them.

Allah Almighty out of His mercy, fairness and justice, will reply that they can continue to record the same good deeds as the sick person used to do when he was healthy, until he either recovers or dies.

This is very good news for those who are ill and used to do good deeds. Never think that Allah Almighty treats you unjustly. If He afflicts you, He always compensates you and gives you extra reward.

Every day, your account is closed at specific times, as we know from many narrations the angels change shifts at Fajr and Asr time. Just before Maghrib, your deeds are sealed in your account.

Abu Hurayrah RA narrated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said:

يَتَعَاقَبُونَ فِيكُمْ مَلاَئِكَةٌ بِاللَّيْلِ وَمَلاَئِكَةٌ بِالنَّهَارِ، وَيَجْتَمِعُونَ فِي صَلاَةِ الْفَجْرِ وَصَلاَةِ الْعَصْرِ، ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ الَّذِينَ بَاتُوا فِيكُمْ، فَيَسْأَلُهُمْ وَهْوَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ كَيْفَ تَرَكْتُمْ عِبَادِي فَيَقُولُونَ تَرَكْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ، وَأَتَيْنَاهُمْ وَهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ

Angels come to you in succession by night and day and all of them get together at the time of the Fajr and `Asr prayers. Those who have passed the night with you (or stayed with you) ascend (to the Heaven) and Allah asks them, though He knows everything about you, well, “In what state did you leave my slaves?” The angels reply: “When we left them they were praying and when we reached them, they were praying.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

There are many similar narrations, such as the Prophet ﷺ narrated:

When the servant is ill or travelling, he will get the same reward as he would have got for the good deeds when he was home or healthy. (Bukhari)

This means that if a person is always engaged in goodness, the angels continue recording goodness even when the person is unable to do them.

Allah out of His generosity, does not credit you with the minimum or even the average of the deeds you did when you were well, but awards you the maximum and the best of the deeds you used to do.

If someone used to do goodness between 50-70%, the angels will write down 70% for him:

When a servant is ill, the angels are commanded to write the best of his good deeds, which he used to do before illness or travelling. [Musanaf Ibn Abi Shaybah and Mu’jam Al-Tabarani Al-Awsat]

If the sick person used to recite a chapter of Quran every day, or visit the ill in hospital or be good to neighbours, friends and relatives, and suddenly he can’t do anything, Allah Almighty tells the angels to keep recording the best of his deeds until he recovers or dies.

This hadith makes us reflect on our own situation….

What are our regular deeds?

The question that comes to us when we hear this hadith is how do we utilise our time?

We have to take advantage of the gift of time and health that we have been blessed with. We need to maximise the good in our day and in our life. The hadith is telling us that your days will not always be the same. Your health will not always be the same. Your energy, strength and influence will not always be the same.

When you have everything in place, and functioning properly, i.e. your body, status and wealth, be grateful to Allah Almighty and utilise your blessings in pleasing Him.

You never know when you might become ill, or when you will travel or when things might go wrong.