And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

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 Book of Visiting the Sick and Following the Dead. From al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), who 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. It is agreed upon. And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The rights of a Muslim on the Muslims are five: to respond to the salaam, visiting the sick, to follow the funeral processions, to accept an invitation, and to reply to those who sneeze.

حق المسلم على المسلم خمس رد السلام وعيادة المريض واتباع الجنائز وإجابة الدعوة وتشميت العاطس

Sahih al-Bukhari 1240

It is agreed upon.”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “The Book of Visiting the Sick and Following the Funeral”. It is called visiting (‘iyadah) and visiting (ziyarah) and following (tashyi'). Ziyarah is for the healthy person; if you visit a brother of yours in Allah in his home or place, that is ziyarah. ‘Iyadah is for the sick person, because a person repeats it and returns to it as long as his brother is sick. Tashyi' of the funeral is following it. Then the author mentioned the hadith of al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, and most of it has been discussed previously. The point of it is his saying: So visiting the sick is something the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded, and it is a collective obligation. If enough people perform it, it drops off the rest. If no one performs it, it becomes obligatory for the one who knows the condition of his brother to visit him. The sick person intended to be visited is the one who is confined to his home and does not go out. As for the person who is lightly ill, in a way that does not prevent him from going out and accompanying people, he is not visited in this manner, but one asks about his condition if one knows of it. There are many etiquettes of visiting the sick, among which is that a person intends by it to obey the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) commanded it. Among them is that one intends to do good to his brother by visiting him, for when a sick person is visited by his brother, he finds great comfort and a broadening of the chest in that. Among them is that one takes the opportunity to direct the sick person to what benefits him, commanding him to repent, seek forgiveness, and give up the rights of people. Among them is that there may be difficulties for the sick person regarding his ritual purity or his prayer or the like. If the visitor is a student of knowledge, the sick person benefits from him, because he must inform him of what he should do regarding purity and prayer, or the sick person asks him. Among the etiquettes of visiting the sick is that a person looks at the benefit in staying long with the sick person or not, and this is the correct view. Some scholars held that it is recommended to shorten the visit and not burden the sick person. But the correct view is that a person looks at the benefit: if he sees that the sick person is at ease, relaxed, with a broad chest, and that he likes the one visiting him to stay with him, then he should be slow to leave, because of the joy that brings to the sick person. And if he sees that the sick person is annoyed and that he wishes for people to leave so that his family can come and attend to him, then he should get up and not delay. Among the etiquettes of visiting the sick is that a person remembers the blessing of Allah upon him with health, for a person does not know the value of Allah’s blessing upon him until he sees one who has been afflicted with its loss. As it was said: “By its opposite, things become clear”. So he praises Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for health and asks Him to make the blessing continue upon him. Among them is what is hoped for in the supplication of the sick person for the visitor, and the supplication of the sick person is likely to be answered, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is near to those whose hearts are broken for His sake. The sick person is among the weakest of people in spirit, especially if the illness lasts long or becomes severe, so it is hoped that the supplication of this sick person will be answered. It also has more benefits than what we have mentioned. Therefore, a person should strive to visit the sick in their homes, because of the great reward and immense recompense in that. As for following the funeral, the discussion of it will come, if Allah wills, in the next lesson.
The reader: And peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.