continuing in his error and persisting in his wickedness. He draws no lesson from his illness, nor does it bring him any admonition.

Anyone wishing to visit a sick person should choose a suitable time, for the purpose of such a visit is to comfort the sick person and lift his spirits, not to cause him hardship. For the same reason, the visitor should not remain seated with him for too long, unless the sick person desires it and there is some benefit in staying.

It is also Sunnah for the visitor to sit near the sick person’s head. In al-Bukhārī’s al-Adab al-Mufrad—may Allah have mercy on him—Ibn Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said: “Whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, visited a sick person, he would sit near his head and then say seven times: ‘I ask Allah the Almighty, Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure you.’ If his appointed term was still some time away, he would be cured of his ailment.”1

It is also Sunnah for the visitor to place his hand on the sick person’s body when he wishes to supplicate for him. In the two Sahih collections, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, visited Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās, may Allah be pleased with him, he placed his hand on Sa‘d’s forehead, then passed it over his face and abdomen, and said: “O Allah, cure Sa‘d.”2 Placing one’s hand on the sick person comforts him, enables the visitor to assess the severity or mildness of his illness, and is a gentle gesture toward him.

The visitor should then supplicate sincerely for the sick person and say nothing but good in his presence. In Sahih Muslim, Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “When you attend the sick or the deceased, say only what is good, for the angels say ‘Amen’ to what you say.”3