His words, “Remove the affliction”: the Arabic word ba’s denotes fatigue, hardship, and illness. Here it appears as bās, without the hamza, to maintain rhythmic and phonetic correspondence.

The hadith of Anas contains the wording, “O Allah, Lord of mankind, Remover of affliction.” This is an appeal to Allah—glorified is He—on the basis that He alone removes affliction, for no affliction can leave a servant except by His permission and will.

His words, “Heal him, for You are the Healer,” contain a request to Allah for healing—that is, well-being and freedom from illness. The words, “for You are the Healer,” are an appeal to Allah—glorified is He—on the basis that He is the Healer in whose hand all healing lies, as He, Most High, says: “And when I am ill, it is He who heals me.” 1

His words, “There is no healing except Your healing,” emphasize what preceded and acknowledge that if treatment and medication do not accord with Allah’s permission for recovery and healing, they will neither benefit nor avail.

His words, “a healing that leaves no illness behind,” mean a healing that leaves no sickness or ailment in its wake. The significance of this is that a person may recover from one illness, only for it to be followed by another that develops from it and arises because of it. He therefore asked Allah to make his recovery from illness complete, leaving no trace behind and causing no further ailment in the patient. This reflects the completeness, perfection, and comprehensiveness of the Prophetic supplications.