Chapter: The Recommendation to Ask the Family of a Sick Person About His Condition

910 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) came out from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ during the illness in which he passed away. The people asked him, “O Abū al-Ḥasan, how did the Messenger of Allah wake up this morning?” He replied, “He woke up, by Allah’s praise, in a state of recovery.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī.

[Explanation]
After Imām al-Nawawī (may Allah have mercy on him) set forth in his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn many of the etiquettes of visiting the sick, he turns here to the practice of enquiring from the sick person’s family about his condition, for this too is established by the Sunnah. He cites the report from Ibn ʿAbbās that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib left the Prophet ﷺ in the illness that ended with his death. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the Prophet’s son-in-law, his cousin, and the most virtuous member of the Household; he is the fourth caliph of this Ummah. When the Prophet ﷺ left him in charge of his family during the expedition of Tabūk and noticed that he was distressed by this, he said to him, “Are you not pleased that …”