toward Allah. When a person turns toward his Lord, his heart becomes ever more open and his soul ever more tranquil.

Issues:

First: Should a sick person be asked how he is to pray and purify himself, or should we say that this is interfering in matters that do not concern us?

Answer: In our view, if the sick person is among people of knowledge who are aware of these matters, there is no need to remind him, because he may take your reminder as a slight against him. But if he is an ordinary person who is ignorant of such matters, then it is appropriate to explain them to him, for the rulings he needs may not be known to him. I once visited a sick man and asked about his condition. He praised Allah and said, “For a month and a half, I have been combining and shortening my prayers.” Someone like this needs to be alerted and taught, because he assumes that shortening goes together with combining, and that whoever combines prayers also shortens them.

Another matter that should be pointed out is that it has become widespread among ordinary people that whoever cannot gesture for bowing and prostration should gesture with his finger. This is incorrect, as has already been explained.

Second: Should sick people be instructed to seek medical treatment, instructed not to seek treatment, or is there further detail to the matter?

Answer: Some scholars said that refraining from treatment is better, and that a person should not seek treatment. They cited the following evidence:

1. When the Prophet ﷺ fell ill and medicine was administered to him by the side of his mouth, he ordered that it be administered to everyone who