Visiting a sick person who does not pray
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
What is the ruling on visiting a sick person who does not pray?
Answer:
Visiting a sick person who does not pray is not recommended, except if it is for the purpose of calling him to the faith. If he visits him to befriend him and show that he is his companion and friend, that is not permissible. However, if he visits him to call him to Allah and remind him of the truth that is his duty, in the hope that he may die upon Islam or that he may repent, then that is good. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a Jewish servant of his who was sick, and the Prophet called him to Islam, so Allah guided him through his hands and he embraced Islam. He said, “Praise be to Allah who saved him from the Fire through him.” The point is, if one visits a sick person who does not pray, or a known polytheist, or one who is known for other types of disbelief, and he visits him to call him to Allah, in the hope that Allah will guide him through his hands before he dies, then he is doing good and he has a reward for that. But if he visits him as a friend, a beloved, or a companion, not for the purpose of calling him to Allah, that is not permissible. He is not a friend or a companion as long as he abandons the prayer. He must be boycotted, his invitation must not be accepted, he must not be visited, his invitation must not be responded to, and he must not be invited to feasts. Rather, he is to be boycotted among the Muslims, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed major shirk (associating partners with Allah).” Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunnah narrated this with a sound chain, and Muslim narrated it in his Sahih from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “Between a man and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of the prayer.” We ask Allah for safety. Yes. Yes.
What is the ruling on visiting a sick person who does not pray?
Answer:
Visiting a sick person who does not pray is not recommended, except if it is for the purpose of calling him to the faith. If he visits him to befriend him and show that he is his companion and friend, that is not permissible. However, if he visits him to call him to Allah and remind him of the truth that is his duty, in the hope that he may die upon Islam or that he may repent, then that is good. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a Jewish servant of his who was sick, and the Prophet called him to Islam, so Allah guided him through his hands and he embraced Islam. He said, “Praise be to Allah who saved him from the Fire through him.” The point is, if one visits a sick person who does not pray, or a known polytheist, or one who is known for other types of disbelief, and he visits him to call him to Allah, in the hope that Allah will guide him through his hands before he dies, then he is doing good and he has a reward for that. But if he visits him as a friend, a beloved, or a companion, not for the purpose of calling him to Allah, that is not permissible. He is not a friend or a companion as long as he abandons the prayer. He must be boycotted, his invitation must not be accepted, he must not be visited, his invitation must not be responded to, and he must not be invited to feasts. Rather, he is to be boycotted among the Muslims, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The covenant between us and them is the prayer, so whoever abandons it has committed major shirk (associating partners with Allah).” Imam Ahmad and the people of the Sunnah narrated this with a sound chain, and Muslim narrated it in his Sahih from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “Between a man and disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) is the abandonment of the prayer.” We ask Allah for safety. Yes. Yes.
Source
ندوات الجامع الكبير مع الأسئلة - 50 — archive.org (1:09:40)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.