The Book of Visiting the Sick, Following the Dead and Praying for Them, Attending Their Burial, and Staying at Their Grave After Burial.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Chapter on the Command to Visit the Sick and Follow the Dead. Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded us to visit the sick, follow the funeral procession, respond to the sneezer, fulfill the oath of the one who swears, support the oppressed, respond to the one who invites, and spread the greeting of peace. Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
We have previously covered in *Riyad al-Saliheen* by its author al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) several useful chapters, all of which concern the living. Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in this chapter the ruling on visiting the sick and following funerals. Regarding visiting the sick, some scholars held that it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). If no one performs it, then it becomes obligatory for anyone who knows the condition of the sick person to visit him, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) made this one of the rights of a Muslim over his brother. It is not befitting for Muslims to know that their brother so-and-so is sick and for none of them to visit him, because this is severing ties, and what kind of severing is that? This is the stronger position: that visiting the sick is a collective obligation. It is well known that most sick people are visited by their relatives and friends, and thereby the collective obligation is fulfilled. However, if we know that a stranger in the town is sick, is not well-known, and we learn that no one has visited him, then it is obligatory for you to visit him, because this is among the rights Muslims have over one another. It is recommended for the one who visits the sick to ask about his condition: "How are you?" and about his deeds: "How do you perform the ablution? How do you pray?" and about his dealings: "Do you have rights over people? Or do people have rights over you?" Then, if he says yes, you tell him: "Make a bequest regarding what is upon you," because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Do not press him with questions, especially if his illness is severe, because he may become annoyed and tired. Do not prolong your sitting with him, because he may become bored, as the condition of the sick person is not like that of the healthy person; he may become bored and wish for you to leave so that his family can come to him and the like. However, if you see that the sick person is at ease with you and is happy that you stay and prolong your sitting with him, then that is better and there is no harm in it. This may be a cause of his healing, because among the causes of healing is bringing joy to the sick person, and among the causes of the continuation and increase of illness is bringing sadness to the sick person. For example, if you come to a sick person and say, "By Allah, today you are better than yesterday," even if he is not better in terms of feeling well or the illness, do not say "better than yesterday" because you have increased the good between yesterday and today: he prayed the five prayers, sought forgiveness, said the takbir, said the tahlil, and so on; thus his reward increased due to the illness. So you say, "You are better than yesterday," meaning that you have gained good in your remaining between yesterday and today, so that you bring him joy. As for saying, "By Allah, today your face is worse than yesterday; yesterday was better than today," that is a mistake, even if that is the case, because this does not benefit if it does not harm, but it does not benefit. However, bring him joy as much as you can. Likewise, if the man is one who likes stories, because some people like stories—meaning what people call "chatter," which is true and not lies—and you see that you can bring him joy with stories, then that is also good, because it is important to bring joy to the sick person. If you wish to leave and ask his permission and say, "Do you permit me to leave?" then that is also something that pleases him, because he may wish for you to stay and say, "No, stay," or say, "The place is yours." If he says, "The place is yours," it means that he has given you permission. But he may love for you to stay. Then strive with utmost effort to direct him to doing good and saying good in this illness. You say: "Allah may decree illness for a person, and it may be better for him; he can devote himself to the remembrance of Allah, devote himself to supplication, devote himself to reading the Qur'an, and the like." Alert him to doing this good, so that he may be alert, and you will have the reward of the cause. We ask Allah the Exalted to make us and you blessed wherever we are.