Title: How to Respond to the Sick? Question: What is the Islamic response to physical/psychological impairment that has an impact on daily life? Answer: Clarification Sought I am extremely sorry but I could not fully understand your question. What exactly do you mean by: "Islamic response to..."? Does it mean how Islam wants us to deal with such people? Or what is the explanation that Islam gives regarding such calamities falling on people? Please clarify. I apologize for not being able to fully understand the question. The Clarification Rather sick the last few days so my written English can be strange. By an "Islamic response", I mean that "international human rights" is not the source I am looking for. I mean that as individual Muslims before Allah who has given us the Qur'an through his Prophet , what is the solution? A doctor might have the ability to provide charity medicine, but does that mean I should donate $100 to a Christian doctor so HE can provide medicine? Likewise with other professions. I am in a white, Midwestern, Protestant community and there is a fairly strong tradition of helping the sick with spiritual comfort as well as food, social visits, and errands. What are the Islamic traditions and what should I expect to see? Reply Caring for the needy, whether they are in need of our physical, financial or emotional help is a part of the basic moral teachings of Islam, as well as all other major religions of the world. The Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said that one of the rights a brother has on another is that when he falls ill, he should be visited and comforted. At one time, the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said: Feed the hungry, visit the sick. ( Bukhari , Kitab al-Mardha ) This is the least a person should do for his brother. Our visit to our sick brothers and sisters is a sign of our love, affection and concern for them. This love and concern provides the very basis of a sound and integrated society. Moreover, it gives us the realization of the blessings of our Lord on ourselves. Man is forgetful. He tends to forget His Lord's blessings upon him. A rich man may never realize how much he is blessed with, until the time he comes in contact with a poor man. A person enjoying good health may never realize the invaluable blessings inherent in good health, till the time he comes across people who (temporarily or permanently) lack or lose these blessings. In our everyday life, we start taking all the good things for granted. My eyes see, my ears hear... that is nothing unusual. But when I see a person who has lost his sight or his hearing, I not only condole with him for his great loss, but am also reminded of the fact that God has complete control over me. That it was not my right to be bestowed with sight or hearing, but is a privilege that God has granted me with. This realization makes me thankful for my Lord's blessings upon me. Visiting and comforting the sick or (physically, emotionally or financially) helping their recovery is most certainly one of the best deeds a person can do in this life. The Qur'an says: O you who believe, bow down, prostrate and be obedient to your Lord, and do good deeds, so that you may be successful. ( Al-Hajj 22: 77) It is not only a Muslim person who needs our help when he falls ill. A sick person, whatever his beliefs are, needs our comforting and help. Furthermore, if one cannot directly give to the needy, there is no harm in helping them through others. Therefore, I do not see any harm in giving your donations to a doctor (Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any other) who in turn uses it in extending help to his deserving patients. Another aspect of visiting and comforting the sick and the distressed is particularly related with our belief of the impermanence of the life of this world. Nothing in this life is permanent. Good and bad times shall all pass away. Happiness or sadness, nothing is eternal and everlasting here. Eternal and everlasting life, with eternal and everlasting happiness starts at the end of this temporary life. The eternal and everlasting happiness of that life is dependent on our attitude in our life in this world. The Qur'an has mentioned that those who do not believe in the real and eternal life (in the hereafter) and have all their hopes and dreams attached to the life of this world alone, they boast and are ostentatious of their achievements whenever any good happens to them. On the other hand, if some evil befalls them, they become absolutely despaired and chagrined. The Qur'an says: When we bestow good on man, he becomes proud and boastful and when evil touches him, he loses all hope. ( Al-Israa 17: 83) This attitude is a clear indication that the person does not have true faith in God's mercy and in the eternal life of the hereafter. It was for this reason, that when the Prophet (pbuh) visited the sick who were going through a hard time, he reminded them of this fact, so that they were not only comforted but were also reminded of the impermanence of the problems that they were facing. Bukhari has reported that the Prophet (pbuh) while visiting a sick person, is reported to have said: Don't worry, this [ailment] shall insha'Allah cleanse you [of your sins]. ( Kitab al-Mardha ) This event provides us with the guidance that while visiting sick and distressed people, we should try to remind them of the correct attitude that guarantees success in the hereafter. When such hard times hit us, we must not lose our faith in God, we must not complain, but rather be steadfast in our faith and pray that God make these hard times a purification for our souls, and thereby help us in qualifying for His everlasting bliss - the Jannah . 10 th December 1998