Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn - Ibn al-'Uthaymin - (6/678)

Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-ṢāliḥīnIbn al-'Uthaymin

As for the third hadith, reported by ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever dies while a fast is still due from him, his wali (guardian or heir) should fast on his behalf.” In other words, if a person passes away owing any days of fasting, his wali may perform those fasts for him, whether the fast was a vow or an obligation established by the Sacred Law itself.

For example, suppose a man broke his fast in Ramadan because he was travelling, then after Ramadan became careless and did not make up the missed days—even though the law permits delaying the make-up until Shaʿbān—and he died before completing them. In that case, his wali—meaning any heir such as his mother, father, son, daughter, or wife—may fast those days for him. This is encouraged rather than strictly obligatory. If the wali chooses not to fast, he should instead feed one needy person for each missed day.

The same principle applies if the deceased had an expiation to perform and died before fulfilling it, despite having had the ability to do so; his wali may fast for him. Likewise, if he had vowed to fast three days and died before doing so, his wali should fast them; if the wali will not, he must feed a needy person for each of those days.

The fourth hadith, also narrated by ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), relates that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Fever arises from the heat of Hell, so cool it with water.” Fever is the illness that raises a person’s body temperature. The Prophet ﷺ attributed it to the heat of Hell. How that heat reaches the human body is known only to Allah; we do not know. We simply affirm, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Fever is from the heat of Hell, so cool it with water”—that is, pour water over the patient to lower his temperature. This is one of the means of healing for someone stricken with fever, and modern medicine substantiates it: among the standard treatments for fever is the physician’s advice that the patient bathe in water, the cooler the better so long as it causes no harm, whereby the fever diminishes.

وأما الحديث الثالث حديث عائشة ﵂ أن النبي ﷺ قال من مات وعليه صيام صام عنه وليه يعني إذا مات الإنسان وعليه صيام فإنه يصوم عنه وليه سواء كان نذرا أو واجبا في أصل الشرع فإذا قدر أن رجلا أفطر في رمضان لأنه مسافر ثم تهاون بعد رمضان ولم يقض لأنه يجوز أن يؤخر القضاء إلى شعبان ولكنه مات قبل القضاء فإن وليه أي وارثه يصوم عنه من أم أو أب أو ابن أو بنت أو زوجة وهذا ليس على سبيل الوجوب بل الاستحباب فإن لم يصم وليه أطعم عنه عن كل يوم مسكينا وكذلك لو كان عليه كفارة ومات قبل أن يؤديها مع تمكنه منها فإنه يصوم عنه وليه وكذلك لو نذر أن يصوم ثلاثة أيام ومات قبل أن يصوم فإنه يصوم عنه وليه فإن لم يفعل فإنه يطعم عن كل يوم مسكينا وأما حديث عائشة ﵂ وهو الحديث الرابع فهو أن النبي ﷺ أخبر أن الحمى من فيح جهنم فأبردوها بالماء الحمى هي المرض الذي يصيب الإنسان بالحرارة في جسمه هذه من فيح جهنم كما قال النبي ﷺ أما كيف وصل فيح جهنم إلى بدن الإنسان فهذا أمره إلى الله ولا نعرفه ما ندري لكن نقول كما قال النبي ﷺ إن الحمى من فيح جهنم فأبردوها بالماء يعني صبوا على المريض ماء يبرده وهذا من أسباب الشفاء لمن أصيب بالحمى وقد شهد الطب الحديث بذلك فكان من جملة علاجات الحمى أنهم يأمرون أي الأطباء المريض أن يتحمم بالماء وكلما كان أبرد على وجه لا مضرة فيه فهو أحسن وبذلك تزول