Al Yusra

What do the Hadith Say About Illness in Islam?

Listed below are a compilation of ahadith found in the collections of hadith regarding illness.

Healing in Cupping
Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah that he paid Al-Muqanna a visit during his illness and said, "I will not leave
till he gets cupped, for I heard Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) saying, "There is healing in cupping."
(Bukhari 7.600)

Illness Cleans Sins
Narrated Ibn Abbas, Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) entered upon a sick bedouin whom he went to
visit and said to him, "Don't worry, Tahur (i.e., your illness will be a means of cleansing of your sins), if Allah Will."
 The bedouin said, "Tahur! No, but it is a fever that is burning in the body of an old man and it will make him
visit his grave." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Then it is so."
(Bukhari 9.562)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that death came to a man in the time of the Messenger
 of Allah (peace be upon him), may Allah bless him and grant him peace. A man said, "He was fortunate," as
he had died without being tried by illness. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "Alas for you, what will let you know that if Allah had tried him with illness, He would
have wiped out his wrong actions."
(Al Muwatta 50.8)

Take Advantage of Health Before Illness
Narrated Amr ibn Maymun al-Awdi Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said to a man in the course of
an exhortation, "Grasp five things before five others: your youth before your decrepitude, your health before
your illness, your riches before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death."
(Tirmidhi transmitted it in mursal form, number 1337.)

Narrated Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "None of you is expecting anything but
wealth which produces injustice, or poverty which makes one forgetful, for an illness which causes
deterioration, or decrepitude which weakens the mind, or death which suddenly gives the last stroke,
 or the Dajjal who is the worst of what is expected but has not yet come, or the last hour which is most
 calamitous and most bitter." (Transmitted by Tirmidhi and Nasa'i number 1338.)

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "When a servant of Allah is
 accustomed to worship Him in a good manner, then becomes ill, the angel who is entrusted with him is
 told to record for him actions equivalent to those which he did when he was well, till Allah sets him free
from his illness or takes him in death. This tradition is transmitted in Sharh as-Sunnah. Tirmidhi 472

Listed below are a compilation of ahadith found in the collections of hadith regarding mental illness.

Mental Illness in the Hadith
Companion Complains of Depression
Lunatics Actions Not Recorded
Deficiency of a Woman
Confused Minds Amongst the Companions
Satan Circulates in the Mind of a Person
Frightened During Sleep
What to Say for Insomnia
Tests from Allah - A Leper, Blind Man, and Bald-Headed Man

A Cure for All Diseases

Mental Illness in the Hadith
It was narrated by Abu Musa al Ashari that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said verily close to the hour
being established there is going to be (al haraj). Abu Musa al Ashari said, 'what is al haraj?'
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said al-haraj is murder or killing. When some of the Muslims heard that they
 said, 'O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) , verily in every single year we are murdering how many people
of the mushrikeen (disbelievers). How can you say that murder is one of the signs of the hour and right
now we're killing right now in Jihad, how many people from these kufar? Do you mean that the hour is now,
while you're here right now? I don't mean your killing the mushrikeen, I mean your killing one another,
and the mushrikeen killing one another, and you killing the mushrikeen, and the mushrikeen killing you, murder.
Until the point that a man will murder his neighbor, his cousin, and his closest relatives (mother, father, baby, wife).
They said, "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) will we have our minds on that day (will we be a people
thinking correctly on that day)? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said no that the minds of the people of
 that time (before the hour) will be taken away from them and there will only be left people who have no minds
 (people who have mental illnesses). Collected by Ahmed ibn Hanbal in his musnad with an
authentic chain of narration Abu Musa al Ashari

Companion Complains of Depression
Bara' b. 'Azib reported that a man complained to the Prophet, peace be upon him, about fear and depression.
The Prophet said to him, 'Say, 'Glory to Allah, the Holy, the King, Lord of the angels and of Gabriel.
Your power and glory encompass the heavens and the earth." The man said these words and Allah healed
him of his depression and fear. (Fiqh As Sunnah volume 4 number 122)

Lunatics Actions Not Recorded
Narrated Ali ibn Abu Talib, Ibn Abbas said: A lunatic woman passed by Ali ibn Abu Talib. He then
mentioned the rest of the tradition to the same effect as Uthman mentioned. This version has:
Do you not remember that the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) has said: There are
three whose actions are not recorded: a lunatic whose mind is deranged till he is restored to
consciousness, a sleeper till he awakes, and a boy till he reaches puberty? (Sunan Abu Dawood 2069.)

Deficiency of a Woman
Narrated Abu Said Al Khudri, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Isn't the witness of a woman
equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency
of a woman's mind." (Bukhari 3.826)

Confused Minds Amongst the Companions
Narrated Ibn Umar, Umar and a group of the companions of the Prophet set out with the Prophet
(peace be upon him) to Ibn Saiyad. He found him playing with some boys near the hillocks of Bani Maghala.
Ibn Saiyad at that time was nearing his puberty. He did not notice (the Prophet's presence) till the Prophet
(peace be upon him) stroked him on the back with his hand and said, "Ibn Saiyad! Do you testify that
 I am Allah's Apostle?" Ibn Saiyad looked at him and said, "I testify that you are the Apostle of the illiterates."
 Then Ibn Saiyad asked the Prophet (peace be upon him), "Do you testify that I am the apostle of Allah?"
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him, "I believe in Allah and His Apostles." Then the Prophet
(peace be upon him) said (to Ibn Saiyad), "What do you see?" Ibn Saiyad replied, "True people and
false ones visit me." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Your mind is confused as to this matter."
The Prophet added, "I have kept something (in my mind) for you." Ibn Saiyad said, "It is Ad-Dukh."
The Prophet said (to him), "Shame be on you! You cannot cross your limits." On that Umar said,
"O Allah's Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off." The Prophet said, "If he should be him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal)
then you cannot overpower him, and should he not be him, then you are not going to benefit by
 murdering him." (Bukhari 4.290A)

Satan Circulates in the Mind of a Person
Narrated Safiya (the wife of the Prophet) that she came to visit Allah's Apostle while he was in
 Itikaf(i.e. seclusion) in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramadan. When she got up to return,
Allah's Apostle got up with her and accompanied her, and when he reached near the gate of the mosque
 close to the door (of the house) of Um Salama, the wife of the Prophet, two Ansari men passed by them
and greeted Allah's Apostle and then went away. Allah's Apostle addressed them saying, "Don't hurry!
(She is my wife)," They said, "Glorified be Allah! O Allah's Apostle (You are far away from any
suspicion)," and his saying was hard on them. Allah's Apostle said, "Satan circulates in the mind of
a person as blood does (in his body). I was afraid that Satan might put some (evil)
thoughts in your minds." (Bukhari 4.333)

Frightened During Sleep
Umar b. Shu'aib reported from his father and he from his grandfather that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
said, "When one of you is frightened during sleep he should say, 'I seek protection in the perfect words of
 Allah, from His displeasure and punishment and from evil people, and from the (evil) prompting of devils
and from their presence.' Then nothing will harm him." The narrator added, "Ibn 'Umar used to teach this
 to his children, both grown up and young, and he would write it on a piece of paper and make them
wear it around their necks." The chain of authorities of this hadith is sound.
 (Fiqh As Sunnah volume 4 number 122)

What to Say for Insomnia
Khalid b. Walid reported that once he suffered from insomnia. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him,
 "Shall I teach you words that will make you go to sleep when you say them? Say, 'O Allah, the Lord of the
seven heavens and whatever they cover, Lord of the earths and whatever they contain, Creator of devils
and whomever they mislead, be my protector from the evil of all Your creatures lest some of them may hasten
with insolence against me or transgress the bounds. Honored is he who is in Your protection and blessed be
 Your name, there is no God except You'.' (Reported by At-Tabrani in his Al-Kahir and Al-Awsat. Its chain is
 sound, although Abdur-Rahman did not hear it from Khalid. Al-Hafiz al-Mundhari has mentioned it)
(Fiqh As Sunnah volume 4 number 122)

Tests From Allah
A Leper, Blind Man, and a Bald-Headed Man
Narrated Abu Huraira that he heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah willed to test three Israelis who were a leper,
 a blind man and a bald-headed man. So, he sent them an angel who came to the leper and said, 'What thing
 do you like most?' He replied, "Good color and good skin, for the people have a strong aversion to me.'
The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given a good color and beautiful skin.
The angel asked him, 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Camels (or cows).'
(The narrator is in doubt, for either the leper or the bald-headed man demanded camels and the
other demanded cows.) So he (i.e. the leper) was given a pregnant she-camel, and the angel said (to him),
 'May Allah bless you in it.'

The angel then went to the bald-headed man and said, 'What thing do you like most?' He said,
'I like good hair and wish to be cured of this disease, for the people feel repulsion for me.'
The angel touched him and his illness was cured, and he was given good hair. The angel asked
(him), 'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Cows,' The angel gave him a pregnant
cow and said, 'May Allah bless you in it.' The angel went to the blind man and asked, 'What thing do
you like best?' He said, '(I like) that Allah may restore my eye-sight to me so that I may see the people.'
The angel touched his eyes and Allah gave him back his eye-sight. The angel asked him,
'What kind of property do you like best?' He replied, 'Sheep.' The angel gave him a pregnant sheep.
Afterwards, all the three pregnant animals gave birth to young ones, and multiplied and brought
forth so much that one of the (three) men had a herd of camels filling a valley, and one had a herd
 of cows filling a valley, and one had a flock of sheep filling a valley. Then the angel, disguised in the
shape and appearance of a leper, went to the leper and said, I am a poor man, who has lost all
means of livelihood while on a journey. So none will satisfy my need except Allah and then you.
 In the Name of Him Who has given you such nice color and beautiful skin, and so much property,
 I ask you to give me a camel so that I may reach my destination. The man replied, 'I have many
obligations (so I cannot give you).' The angel said, 'I think I know you; were you not a leper to
whom the people had a strong aversion? Weren't you a poor man, and then Allah gave you
 (all this property).' He replied, '(This is all wrong), I got this property through inheritance from my
 fore-fathers' The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before.'

Then the angel, disguised in the shape and appearance of a bald man, went to the bald
man and said to him the same as he told the first one, and he too answered the same as the
 first one did. The angel said, 'If you are telling a lie, then let Allah make you as you were before.'

The angel, disguised in the shape of a blind man, went to the blind man and said, 'I am a poor man
 and a traveler, whose means of livelihood have been exhausted while on a journey. I have nobody
 to help me except Allah, and after Him, you yourself. I ask you in the Name of Him Who has given
you back your eye-sight to give me a sheep, so that with its help, I may complete my journey.' The
 man said, 'No doubt, I was blind and Allah gave me back my eye-sight; I was poor and Allah
made me rich; so take anything you wish from my property. By Allah, I will not stop you for taking
 anything (you need) of my property which you may take for Allah's sake.' The angel replied, 'Keep
 your property with you. You (i.e. 3 men) have been tested and Allah is pleased with you and is angry
 with your two companions." (Bukhari 4.670)

A Cure For All Diseases
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Allaah has not sent down any malady but He has also sent
down the remedy; those who know it, know it, and those who do
not know it, do not know it.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 3397; classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1650).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We send down of the Qur’aan that which is a healing and a
mercy to those who believe” [al-Isra’ 17:82]