ONE HADITH A DAY
Narrated by Muslim · Authentic hadith
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قَال: قَالَ رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : "إنَّ اللهَ عز وجل يَقُولُ يَومَ القِيَامَةِ: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، مَرِضْتُ فَلَمْ تَعُدنِي! قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، كَيْفَ أعُودُكَ وَأنْتَ رَبُّ العَالَمِينَ؟!، قَالَ: أمَا عَلِمْتَ أنَّ عَبْدِي فُلاَناً مَرِضَ فَلَمْ تَعُدْهُ! أمَا عَلِمْتَ أنَّكَ لَوْ عُدْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَني عِنْدَهُ! يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، اسْتَطْعَمْتُكَ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمنِي! قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، كَيْفَ أطْعِمُكَ وَأنْتَ رَبُّ العَالَمِينَ؟! قَالَ: أمَا عَلِمْتَ أنَّهُ اسْتَطْعَمَكَ عَبْدِي فُلانٌ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْهُ! أمَا عَلِمْتَ أنَّكَ لَوْ أطْعَمْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي! يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، اسْتَسْقَيْتُكَ فَلَمْ تَسْقِنِي! قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، كَيْفَ أسْقِيكَ وَأنْتَ رَبُّ العَالَمينَ؟! قَالَ: اسْتَسْقَاكَ عَبْدِي فُلاَنٌ فَلَمْ تَسْقِهِ! أمَا عَلِمْتَ أنَّكَ لَوْ سَقَيْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي".
“Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will say on the Day of Judgment: 'O son of Adam, I was ill, but you did not visit Me.' He will respond: 'O Lord, how could I visit You and You are the Lord of the worlds?' Allah will say: 'Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, was ill but you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food, but you did not feed Me.' He will respond: 'O Lord, how could I feed You and You are the Lord of the worlds?' He will say: 'Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, asked you for food, but you did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found (its reward) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you for water, but you did not give Me any.' He will respond: 'O Lord, how could I give You (water) to drink and You are the Lord of the worlds?' And Allah will say: 'My Servant, so-and-so, asked you for a drink, but you did not give him one. Do you not know that if you had given him a drink, you would have found (its reward) with Me?'"”
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will say on the Day of Judgment: 'O son of Adam, I was ill, but you did not visit Me.' He will respond: 'O Lord, how could I visit You and You are the Lord of the worlds?'" meaning: You are independent and not in need of my visit. Allah will say: “Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, was ill but you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him?” There is nothing difficult to understand in this Hadīth in the part where Allah, the Almighty, says: "I was ill, but you did not visit Me", because it is impossible for Allah, the Almighty, to become ill, as illness is an attribute of deficiency and Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is free from deficiency. What is meant by "ill" here is that one of the righteous slaves of Allah was sick and the allies of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, were close to Him. For this reason, Allah said: "…if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him", and did not say: "you would have found (its reward) with Me", as He said in regard to the food and drink. This indicates how close the sick person is to Allah, the Almighty. Hence, the scholars said: "The sick person is worthy of having his supplication answered, whether he supplicates for someone or against someone." “O son of Adam, I asked you for food, but you did not feed Me.” It is known that Allah, the Almighty, does not seek food for Himself, as He says: {He who feeds and is not fe…