harm in associating with a leper. One day, the Prophet ﷺ took a leper by the hand and said to him, “Eat in the name of Allah.” (1) He then ate with him, out of the strength of his ﷺ reliance upon Allah, and because, however contagious this leprosy may be, if Allah Most High prevents it, it cannot be transmitted.

His statement: “or tuberculosis”: this consists of sores that develop in the lungs, causing them to clot and making movement difficult, since they are constantly in motion. If it afflicts a person—may Allah grant us well-being—it perforates the lung and destroys it.

But praise be to Allah, medical knowledge has now advanced, by Allah’s teaching mankind, and it has become possible to eliminate tuberculosis, especially in its early stages.

His statement: “or paralysis”: paralysis means the numbness that may affect a person on one side of his body, or in his head, or in his back. When it first strikes a person, it is dangerous; but once it has spread, its danger becomes less severe.

His statement: “and has not confined him to bed”: the reason for this is that, once it confines him to bed, it becomes a grave illness and the patient begins to feel that his appointed term is near. He therefore starts disposing of his wealth by making gifts to this person or that person. But if it has not confined him to bed, then even though the patient knows this may be his eventual outcome, he regards death as still far off. Every person’s eventual end is death, even if he is healthy; yet, when the illness has not kept him bedridden, he hopes for recovery in one respect, and moreover he does not