The Ruling on Visiting the Sick
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The statement of al-Bara ibn ‘Azib (may Allah be pleased with him): (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to do seven things and forbade us from seven things,until he said: He commanded us to visit the sick and to respond to the sneezer—and other such things—and He forbade us from wearing rings and from wearing gold rings) and other such things, until he listed the seven items.
So is it the case now that al-Bara’s statement (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us—O Shaykh—A little while ago: that visiting the sick is a collective obligation, how is the meaning of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) statement (He commanded us) to be understood, O Shaykh?
The command implies obligation; that is the original rule. However, it is not an individual obligation; because we know that the sick in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were not visited by every single Companion. The loneliness of a Muslim among his brothers is removed when one person or a group visits them according to need. As for it being an individual obligation, that is difficult.
The questioner: But—O Shaykh—The word: a hadith came to us, and the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (He commanded us or I was commanded) or he said in other hadiths: (I commanded him) and so on, this includes the command; so if we find a factor that diverts it, it is understood as recommended and so on.We do not say that it is obligatory, O Shaykh: The original rule is that a command implies obligation, unless a factor is found that diverts it. This is the stronger position among the scholars of legal theory.And some scholars of legal theory say: The original rule for a command is that it is recommended, unless there is evidence for its obligation.
So is it the case now that al-Bara’s statement (The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us—O Shaykh—A little while ago: that visiting the sick is a collective obligation, how is the meaning of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) statement (He commanded us) to be understood, O Shaykh?
The command implies obligation; that is the original rule. However, it is not an individual obligation; because we know that the sick in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were not visited by every single Companion. The loneliness of a Muslim among his brothers is removed when one person or a group visits them according to need. As for it being an individual obligation, that is difficult.
The questioner: But—O Shaykh—The word: a hadith came to us, and the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (He commanded us or I was commanded) or he said in other hadiths: (I commanded him) and so on, this includes the command; so if we find a factor that diverts it, it is understood as recommended and so on.We do not say that it is obligatory, O Shaykh: The original rule is that a command implies obligation, unless a factor is found that diverts it. This is the stronger position among the scholars of legal theory.And some scholars of legal theory say: The original rule for a command is that it is recommended, unless there is evidence for its obligation.