As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters,
In our society today, illness is often perceived as a burden or even as punishment. Many feel disadvantaged or excluded from life because of it. It is especially difficult to find meaning in illness. Why does it strike a young woman with MS, a child with leukemia (ALL), or parents with severe conditions like heart attack or stroke? Yet even milder illnesses bring physical and emotional stress. That is why people avoid the topic of illness — and even more so death, for which, according to the Prophet ︎, there is no cure.
In Islam, illness carries a different meaning. It is a trial, just as health is a trial. The Prophet ︎ said:
اغْتَنِمْ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ خَمْسٍ: شَبَابَكَ قَبْلَ هَرَمِكَ، وَصِحَّتَكَ قَبْلَ سَقَمِكَ، وَغِنَاكَ قَبْلَ فَقْرِكَ، وَفَرَاغَكَ قَبْلَ شُغُلِكَ، وَحَيَاتَكَ قَبْلَ مَوْتِكَ.
Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your busyness, and your life before your death.
al-Mustadrak (al-Hakim) 7846, Book of Heart-Softening (al-Riqāq)
And he ︎ said:
مَا يُصِيبُ الْمُسْلِمَ مِنْ نَصَبٍ وَلَا وَصَبٍ وَلَا هَمٍّ وَلَا حُزْنٍ وَلَا أَذًى وَلَا غَمٍّ، حَتَّى الشَّوْكَةِ يُشَاكُهَا، إِلَّا كَفَّرَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ خَطَايَاهُ.
No Muslim is afflicted with fatigue, illness, anxiety, grief, suffering, or pain — not even by the prick of a thorn — except that Allah expiates his sins thereby.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5641 (Book of Patients); Sahih Muslim 2573 (Book of Virtue)
Both illness and health come solely from Allah. He gives them to whom He wills and takes them from whom He wills. It befits the Muslim to show Sabr — not in the sense of passive waiting, but as active steadfastness and trust in Allah. In health, one shows Shukr, and in both states, one hopes for the reward of their Lord.
To illustrate the difference between the Islamic and the prevalent understanding of illness, we have created the following diagram:
We would be pleased if you share these thoughts with family and friends.
In sha Allah, we will address the topics of illness, death, and end-of-life care in upcoming articles.
