Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, asked, "Which of you is fasting today?" Abu Bakr
said, "I am." He asked, "Which of you has visited a sick person today?
"I have," Abu Bakr stated. Then he asked, "Who has attended a funeral today?"
"I have," Abu Bakr said. He asked, "Who has fed a poor person today?" Abu
Bakr said, "I have."
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ أَيُّوبَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا شَبَابَةُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: دَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى أُمِّ السَّائِبِ، وَهِيَ تُزَفْزِفُ، فَقَالَ: مَا لَكِ؟ قَالَتِ: الْحُمَّى أَخْزَاهَا اللَّهُ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: مَهْ، لاَ تَسُبِّيهَا، فَإِنَّهَا تُذْهِبُ خَطَايَا الْمُؤْمِنِ، كَمَا يُذْهِبُ الْكِيرُ خَبَثَ الْحَدِيدِ.
Jabir said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
visited Umm as-Sa'ib while she was sighing. He asked, 'What is wrong with
you?' 'The fever,' she replied, "May Allah debase it!' The Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Gently! Do not curse it. It
removes the errors of the believer as the bellows remove the dross of iron.'"
Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, went to visit a bedouin when he was ill and said,
"Do not worry. It is a purification if Allah so wills." He said that the
bedouin said, "It is a fever which boils in an old man and will cause him
to visit the graves." "It is a blessing then," he concluded.
Narrated Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "Allah says:
'I asked you for food and you
did not feed Me. He (His slave) will say, 'Lord, how could I feed You when
You did not ask me for food and You are the Lord of the universe?' He will
say, 'Do you not know that My slave so-and-so asked you for food and you
did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have
found that action with Me? Son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did
not give Me water.' The slave will reply, 'O Lord, how could I give you
water when You are the Lord of the universe?' He will say, 'My slave so-and-so
asked you for water and you did not give him water. Do you not know that
if you had given him water, you would have found that action with Me? Son
of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit Me.' He will say, 'O Lord, how
could I visit You when You are the Lord of the universe?' He will say,
'Do you not know that My slave so-and-so was ill. If you had visited him
you would have found that action with Me (or you would have found Me with
him)."
