There are several responsibilities of a Muslim with respect to other Muslims. One of them is to visit the sick. Prophet Muhammad ordered us to do seven things and forbade us to do seven others. The seven orders are: to follow the funeral procession, to visit the sick, to accept invitations, to help the oppressed, to fulfill the oaths, to return the greeting, and to reply to one who sneezes by saying, “May Allah be merciful on you,” provided the sneezer says, “All the praises are for Allah.” He forbade us to use silver utensils and dishes and to wear golden rings, silk clothes, Dibaj (pure silk cloth), Qissi and Istabraq (two kinds of silk cloths). (Sahih Bukhari Chapter No: 23, book of Funerals, Hadith no: 331).

The following Hadith is powerful and remarkable: “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: ‘Indeed Allah would say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘O son of Adam! I fell ill but you visited Me not.’ He will say: ‘How could I visit You while You are the Lord of the worlds?’ Allah will say: ‘Did you not know that My slave so-and-so was sick but you visited him not? Did you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me by him? O son of Adam! I asked you for food but you fed Me not.’ The slave will say: ‘O Lord! How could I feed You whereas You are the Lord of the worlds?’ Allah will say: ‘Do you not know that such and such slave of Mine asked you for food but you did not feed him. Did you not know that if you had fed him, you would surely have found that with Me. O son of Adam! I asked you to give Me a drink but you gave Me not a drink.’ The slave will say: ‘O Lord! How should I give You a drink while You are the Lord of the worlds?’ Allah will say: ‘My slave so-and-so asked you to give him a drink but you gave him no drink. Had you provided him a drink, you would have surely found the reward for doing so with Me.’” (This Hadith is called Hadith Qudsi, meaning it is inspired by God and the words are from the Prophet. Such traditions are authentic and highly respected in the religion (40 Hadith Qudsi, Chapter 1, Hadith no 18).

Muslims are told to take care of the sick, even shortening their congregational worship because there may be sick people present. Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet (saw) said: “When any one of you leads the people in prayer, let him make it short, for among them are the sick, the weak and the elderly. And when any one of you prays by himself, let him make it as long as he wishes.” (Sunan An-Nasai Chapter No: 10, in the of the Book of Leading Prayers, Hadith no. 824)

The sick are allowed to pray their daily prayers in the way that is easy for them. If they cannot stand up, they may sit or even lie down to fulfill their obligation. The Prophet spoke about the daily worship (Salat) of a sick person and he said, “He should offer it standing up. If he cannot, then sitting down, but if he cannot offer it even sitting down then lying down.” (Sunan at-Tirmidhi (Jami-al-Tirmidhi, Chapter No: 2, in the Book of Prayers, Hadith no. 372)

Children shall care most for the sick, first for parents and then for other relatives. The Qur’an makes this clear: “for thy Sustainer has ordained that you shall worship none but Him. And do good unto [thy] parents. Should one of them, or both, attain to old age in thy care, never say ‘Ugh’ to them or scold them, but [always] speak unto them with reverent speech” (17:23). In another verse the Qur’an says: “NOW [among the best of the deeds which] We have enjoined upon man is goodness towards his parents. In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth; and her bearing him and his utter dependence on her took thirty months. and so, when he attains to full maturity and reaches forty years, he [that is righteous] prays: ‘O my Sustainer! Inspire me so that I may forever be grateful for those blessings of Thine with which Thou hast graced me and my parents, and that I may do what is right [in a manner] that will meet with Thy goodly acceptance; and grant me righteousness in my offspring [as well]. Verily, unto Thee have I turned in repentance: for, verily, I am of those who have surrendered themselves unto Thee!’”(46:15).

It is said that a young man heard the Prophet emphasize care for sick and aged parents. His mother was elderly and ill, and had not been to pilgrimage. So he took her on pilgrimage to Makkah, carrying her on his back and performing all the rituals. Upon his return, he told the story to the Prophet and asked him whether he had fulfilled his obligation to his mother. The Prophet replied that he had not, because when he was carrying his mother, he thought of her death so that he would be no longer be tested. The Prophet also told him that when as a child he was sick, his mother prayed for his life and never thought of his death as a way to end her responsibilities.

Visiting the sick is a communal responsibility. The obligation is fulfilled when some from the community visit the sick; otherwise the whole community is responsible. There are many narrations in Bukhari and Muslims (the two authentic sources of Hadith) in which the Prophet is reported to have said that if someone calls on his sick, it is as if he walks reaping the fruits of Paradise until he/she sits. When he/she sits he/she is showered in mercy, and if this is in the morning, thousands of angels pray for him/her until the evening, and if this is in the evening, thousands of angels pray for him/her until the morning. The prophet himself visited sick people, briefly stayed with them and prayed for them. It is reported that if someone fell sick, the Prophet would pass his right hand over them while saying the following prayer: ‘O Lord of humanity! take away the suffering, bring the recovery, there is no cure but Your cure that leaves no illness.”