Explanation of the hadith of Abu Burdah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I was with Mu'awiyah, and a doctor was treating an ulcer on his back while he was in pain, so I said to him:
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The Shaykh : The hadith that follows is also authentic, and it is his statement: And from Abu Burdah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I was with Mu'awiyah, and a doctor was treating an ulcer on his back while he was in pain, so I said to him: If one of our young men did this, we would hold it against him. He said: I would not be pleased if I did not find it. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: . Ibn Abi al-Dunya narrated it, and Ahmad narrated the version traced to the Prophet with a chain whose narrators are relied upon in the authentic collections, except that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: . Al-Tabarani and Al-Hakim also narrated it, and he said: It is authentic according to their conditions.
This hadith confirms what is in the previous hadith from Abu Sa'id and Abu Hurayrah, except that here there is a narrative: When Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) had the doctor come to treat his back because of the ulcer, some of those present—Abu Burdah—saw him suffering, meaning writhing and feeling pain. So Abu Burdah said to him: If one of our young men did this, we would hold it against him. And you are, of course, not a young man, but a middle-aged man—and perhaps an elder—and you are the Commander of the Faithful. So in your position and at your age, you are suffering, meaning you are showing that you are in pain from this treatment and this illness. What was Mu'awiyah's (may Allah be pleased with him) answer? He said: "I would not be pleased if I did not find it." As if he were saying: I am not happy that I do not have this illness, which I am suffering from; meaning I do not wish to be free from it. Then he mentioned this hadith, in which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) expiates for a person some of his bad deeds and sins because of his illness.
There is no Muslim who is afflicted with any harm in his body except that it is an expiation for his sins
ما من مسلمٍ يُصيبه أذى من جسده إلا كان كفارة لخطاياهThere is nothing that befalls a believer in his body and causes him pain except that Allah expiates for him some of his bad deeds because of it
ما من شيءٍ يُصيب المؤمنَ في جسده ويُؤذيه إلا كفَّرَ الله به عنه من سيِّئاتهThis hadith confirms what is in the previous hadith from Abu Sa'id and Abu Hurayrah, except that here there is a narrative: When Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) had the doctor come to treat his back because of the ulcer, some of those present—Abu Burdah—saw him suffering, meaning writhing and feeling pain. So Abu Burdah said to him: If one of our young men did this, we would hold it against him. And you are, of course, not a young man, but a middle-aged man—and perhaps an elder—and you are the Commander of the Faithful. So in your position and at your age, you are suffering, meaning you are showing that you are in pain from this treatment and this illness. What was Mu'awiyah's (may Allah be pleased with him) answer? He said: "I would not be pleased if I did not find it." As if he were saying: I am not happy that I do not have this illness, which I am suffering from; meaning I do not wish to be free from it. Then he mentioned this hadith, in which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) expiates for a person some of his bad deeds and sins because of his illness.
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.