I say: Its chain of transmission is authentic; its narrators are those of the two Sahih collections. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in Iqtida al-Sirat al-Mustaqim (The Requirement of the Straight Path in Opposing the People of Hellfire) (p. 186): “The basis of this hadith is found in the two Sahih collections. All the narrators in its chain are trustworthy and well-known, and it is continuous, with no merely ‘from’ links.” Its final clause is found in the two Sahih collections, with other important additions, and it has been referenced in al-Irwa (2575).

The account of Buwānah also has a corroborating report from Maymunah, daughter of Kardam ibn Sufyan, from her father, with similar wording. It was narrated by Abu Dawud (3315), Ibn Majah (2131), and Ahmad (3/419), though Ibn Majah did not mention her father. Its chain is good as a supporting report, and the hadith is unquestionably authentic.

Among the juristic rulings derived from it is the prohibition of fulfilling a vow involving disobedience. This includes fulfilling a vow to perform an act of obedience in a place where associationism with Allah used to be committed, or where the disbelievers held a festival—let alone a place in which people engage in associationism or sins. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah discussed this matter in a most excellent and detailed manner such as you will not find elsewhere; consult his Iqtida, for it is very important.

2873 — “Why do you not call a physician for him?”

Ibn al-Hammami al-Sufi narrated it in Mukhtār min Masmūʿātihi (Selections from What He Heard) (35/1), from Hassan ibn Ibrahim al-Kirmani, from Amr ibn Dinar, from Jabir ibn Abd Allah: The Messenger of Allah visited a sick man and said, “Why do you not call a physician for him?” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, and you are instructing us to do this?” He then said: