I was in the hospital for a long time, surrounded by treatments, injections, and even chemotherapy, yet nothing seemed to work. My condition worsened to the point that I became paralyzed, and the doctors lost hope. I returned home feeling completely helpless. But during that time, I was never alone. My family, my friends, and even people in Madinah raised their hands in dua for me. Those sincere prayers became my strength. Then, by the mercy of Allah, a miracle unfolded. With the same medicines that once seemed useless, I slowly began to recover. Alhamdulillah, I started walking again. This journey changed my heart forever—I realized that medicine is only a means, but true healing comes only from Allah. My iman grew stronger, and I learned that when the world loses hope, Allah’s mercy is still near.

This is very beautiful, bought me goosebumps, indeed our creator is the most merciful upon us. Speed recovery inshallah, may Allah bless you 🙏🏼 

And He ˹alone˺ heals me when I am sick. 

The mufassiroon note  the adab (good etiquette) of Ibrahim AS when he relates illness to himself, and healing to Allah. Though he knows that both health and illness are by the Will of Allah, it is his good etiquette with Allah that reflects this phrasing. 

Reflection
The believer trusts in Allah, believing Him to be the only true cause, while taking the material means. However, modern life is permeated by material thinking to the extent that we can start to think primarily along material lines. When we feel unwell, is our first act to ask Allah for relief, recognising Him as the true healer? Or is it to rush to the medicine cabinet without pausing? If we feel a headache coming on and have no pain relief to hand, do we start to despair or do we keep a good opinion of Allah and think, if He can create the effect of healing in a tablet, he can equally manifest the healing without the tablet? 

Even worse, when an affliction affects some they will rush to blame God, and when they are healed, they will praise human endeavour. 

Since childhood, my parents always told me to say while taking medicine 'Allah shaafi, Allah kaafi' - God is the healer, and God is sufficient. In instructing us to take medicine with these words, my parents were teaching us that Allah SWT is true Healer. It is He who gave it the ability to act on its target, and allowed humanity to discover that a certain compound could have a certain effect.

The meaning also holds true for mental and spiritual diseases - we take the means, but we realise that it is with Allah's help and his causing that we attain cure. 

When materialist thinking occupies the minds of healthcare professionals, it can be harmful and lead to arrogance. Instead, they should remind themselves that Allah is the Healer, they are simply a vessel for people to access this healing. My uncle, a senior phyisican and a man of taqwa (mindfulness of God), told me:

'One of my previous teachers (an experienced & consultant physician), used to teach us that before you (physicians) enter the hospital ward, just focus your attention to the Creator & say ' اياك نعبد و اياك نستعين' meaning that we should take His refuge & assistance for all tasks wishes & problems (this was the routine of all the pious elders (ra)).'

When the Prophet ﷺ would visit sick people, this is the dua he would make, a prayer that reflects care for the ill person and an appreciation of Allah SWT as the only true healer:

'Take away the pain, O Lord of mankind, and grant healing, for You are the Healer, and there is no healing but Your healing that leaves no trace of sickness.'

ﷺ

Thank you for sharing your observation! A reminder for both doctor and patient. Jzk.

God may limit your body,  so He can liberate your spirit.  While the body may be ailing, the heart can be healing.

'When the body aches, The soul calls, 

calls for help from above, support from The Divine. 

When the body aches, 

The soul listens, 

listens for the truth, 

the truth of this world. 

The truth that it’s all temporary. 

Pain and pleasure, 

Sorrow and joy, 

Sickness and health, 

Worry and relief. 

What’s lasting then? 

What’s permanent then? 

Our souls, 

Our hearts, 

Our deeds, 

The difference we make, 

The hearts we touch. 

So when the body aches, Don’t despair. 

Listen to your soul, Listen to what it needs, Listen to its innermost callings, 

And let it lead you back to health and happiness.'

Excerpt from 'Hope Rekindled: A Heart Empowered'

Alhamdullilah wa iyakum may Allah bless you 

We have many hadith that demonstrate the great value of visiting the ill including finding God there with the Ill, being immersed in mercy and having thousands of angels pray for you (hadith listed below). 
 
Why so much reward Subhanallah ? 
 
Because God in His infinite mercy knows the weakness, helplessness and loneliness that the Ill may experience. And the comfort and important aspect of social support visitors can bring to the ill. 

This faith is so comprehensive and filled with compassion that it consistently encourages us to be kind to and comfort the most vulnerable groups in our society - the ill, the orphans, those in financial need, women, children, the elderly. I feel all this encouragement to take care of one another supports collective healing. 
 
Also the comfort that God, in His majesty and endless mercy, says He is with the sick reminds me of this excerpt below - God has and will always be with you.
 
'You are not alone. You are not forgotten.
 
 If you feel you are unable to do what you want to do because of limitations related to health, time, money or any other circumstances, know that you are not alone and you are not forgotten. 
 
If you are sick and in pain, you are not alone and you are not forgotten.
 
 If you wish you could run, jump, and laugh again, you are not alone and you are not forgotten.
 
 If you are brokenhearted and hurting, you are not alone and you are not forgotten. 
 
If you are grieving and filled with sorrow, you are not alone and you are not forgotten. 
 
If you are discriminated against and feel inferior because of your physical ability, age, gender, race, background, faith, etc., you are not alone and you are not forgotten. 
 
You are not forgotten by those with kind hearts and compassionate souls. You are not forgotten by those who have tasted your pain and understand how difficult your challenge is. 
 
And best of all you are not alone and you are not forgotten because I believe there is A Creator and Sustainer whose love, care and compassion is beyond what I can imagine. 
 
So don’t surrender to pain. Don’t surrender to hurt.
 
Don’t surrender to sorrow. Don’t surrender to inferiority. Feel them, recognize them, understand them but do not surrender to them. And remember, no matter what you are going through, you are not alone. You are not forgotten.'
 
Excerpt from ‘Hope Rekindled: A Heart Empowered’
 
'Whomsoever visits a sick person or visits his brother for the sake of Allah Ta’ala, a caller calls out, ‘You have done good, your footsteps are blessed and you have prepared an abode in Jannah' (Sunan Tirmidhi)
 
'When a Muslim visits a sick Muslim at dawn, seventy thousand angels make du’a of forgiveness for him till dusk. If he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand Angels make du’a of forgiveness for him till the morning, and he will be granted a garden in Jannah' (Sunan Tirmidhi)  
 
'When one sets out to visit the sick, he enters into Allah’s mercy. When he sits beside the sick person, he is totally immersed in mercy.'
(Muwatta Imam Malik) 
 
One who visits the sick will find Allah Ta’ala. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:
‘Allah Ta’ala will say to man [on the day of Qiyamah]: O my slave, I was sick and you refused to visit me.
 
Man will exclaim: O Allah, how could that be possible whereas You are the Lord of the Worlds?
 
Allah Ta’ala will reply: A certain slave of mine was sick, had you visited him, you would have found Me by him.’
 
(Sahih Muslim)

When you’re unwell, there are those who will be praying for you, there will be those trying to treat you or you treat yourself, but there is no one who can actually cure you other than Allah. 

There is nothing more humbling than a fever which doesn’t allow you to focus, a chesty cough which causes one to gasp for air or a virus which causes our joints to ache. They all teach us how weak we  are and how much we truly depend  on Allah. 

Perhaps the illness is not in the fever or infection, but when we go about our daily lives not thanking Allāh for the blessings we take for granted. 

The lesson is to never let a blessing from Allāh slip away, for us to be thankful for them.

This is so beautiful ماشاءاللہ 
May Allah advance you in your tadabur ameen. 

It's true that sickness makes most people think of their Lord, as the reality of death becomes more real. 

But even in sickness remembering Allah is no easy task. Even though for the sick , Allah swt allows a lot of leeway as you can pray while sitting if standing harms you etc. 

But salah doesn't seem right when not done in the regular way. 

The Prophet pbuh last prayers were all done while being in a state of sickness. The narrations tell us that he pbuh would wake up for a little bit then fall unconscious for a long portion. 

Everytime he pbuh woke up , he was worried about the prayer. Not about who would be in charge of the affairs of the Muslim. The salah was more important. 

'He alone heals me when I am sick'

His sending the sickness at the perfect time is a mercy that we cannot understand. 

How amazing was Ayyub A.S , in such great difficulty he remained grateful. 

Ya Rab, bestow mercy upon your slaves, the grateful and the ungrateful.
If they forget you in sickness, remind them with health. 
If they forget you in health, remind them with even more health.

Jazaak Allah Khair, Brother Sajid for this excellent reflection.

'The sicknesses of the heart are far more severe than the sicknesses of the body, the sicknesses of the body causes death, but the sicknesses of the heart causes death to the heart' I forgot where I read/heard this from. 

Ibrahim A.S was truly a great example for us, there are common themes to whenever Ibrahim A.S is mentioned. 

I always wondered why Allah swt keeps mentioning Ibrahim A.S making dua for his father , and it just hit me. Almost all of the times Ibrahim A.S is mentioned are Surahs revealed in Makkah. And at the time The Prophet pbuh was also making dua for Abu Talib. He really wanted his father figure to accept Islam. So maybe this is mentioned, to show the Prophet pbuh that Ibrahim. A.S went through a similar experience. 

However what we notice from both of these righteous prophets , is that the outcome of their Dua didn't impact their relationship with Allah. Even though their fathers didn't accept. They understood that guidance comes from Allah. And Allah accepts the Dua of those that He wishes, and guides whomsoever He wills

Not letting anything break your connection with Allah is a sign of a heart that has no disease. It's much harder to actually implement this , Because we tend to get attached to things and even duas. So I guess what's important for us to understand is that Dua is not used to get what you want, but it's supposed to be used to get closer to Allah. And its a manifestation of Sabr and Love for Allah. 

اللهم يسرلي هذه العبادة

#MASRamadan2020
#Night19

Aisha, (may God be pleased with her), narrated that when she would become ill, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) would put his right hand over the place of ailment and say: 'O God, the Lord of the people! Remove the trouble, for You are the Healer (Al-Shāfī). No healing is of any avail but Yours; healing that will leave behind no ailment.' (Bukhari) He is the healer of the diseases of the body and He is the healer of the diseases of the heart—such as rancor, envy, and hatred. God says in the Qur’an: '… and [God will] heal the hearts of a believing people.' (Qur’an, 9:14) Therefore, we should turn to ash-Shāfī first whether we are dealing with a physical ailment or an ailment of the heart. Turning to God also means utilizing the means, as the Prophet (pbuh) taught us: 'Every disease has a cure. So if the treatment is applied to the disease, the disease is cured by the Will of God.' (Muslim)

Learn more: https://www.the99names.com/names/106.html

The 99 Names of Allah

The first time you meet someone, you may define them by how they look. But over time, what truly defines them is their interaction with you. Even if someone is strikingly handsome, if his attitude is poor, no beauty can cover up his behavior.

Think of courtship: we feel as though we love the person with all our heart, even to the point of sacrifice. Yet after marriage, when daily interaction reveals the reality of their character, we learn that appearances fade but actions remain.

The Qur’an emphasizes this truth, that we are not defined by outward ties or forms, but by our deeds. When Prophet Nūḥ (AS) pleaded for his son, Allah replied:

'O Nūḥ, indeed he is not of your family; indeed, he is [one whose] work was other than righteous.'
(Qur’an 11:46)

This powerful statement shifts the measure of identity from bloodline to action: we are our deeds.

Now, consider how the prophets introduced Allah as Rabb al-‘Ālamīn. The word Rabb, in its literal sense, means the nurturer, sustainer, and caretaker, the One who brings something from stage to stage until it reaches completion. Contextually, it refers to Allah as the One who governs all affairs, providing guidance, sustenance, protection, and correction.

For Prophet Ibrāhīm (AS), Allah as Rabb was not an abstract concept but the One he experienced in his life:

'It is He who feeds me and gives me drink. And when I am sick, it is He who cures me.'
(Qur’an 26:79–80)

For Prophet Mūsā (AS), when Pharaoh asked, 'Who is your Lord (Rabb)?', his answer defined Rabb as the origin and guide of all creation:

'Our Lord is He who gave everything its form and then guided it.'
(Qur’an 20:50)

Allah Himself clarifies this relationship with His servants:

'Whatever good happens to you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.'
(Qur’an 4:79)

This means every goodness you encounter, whether food, health, knowledge, or the love of your parents—is a direct gift from your Rabb, the One nurturing you at every moment. Even the kindness of a parent is nothing but Allah’s mercy flowing through the vehicle of parenthood.

When you consciously associate every good with Allah, your bond with Him deepens. Then, whenever you hear the word Rabb! whether consciously or subconsciously—your heart recalls all these layers of goodness and mercy. This is how certainty grows: you begin to worship Allah as if you see Him, because you are constantly interacting with His nurturing presence.

At this level, every time you read the Qur’an and hear a prophet invoking Allah as Rabb, it resonates deeply. Their testimony aligns with your lived experience, strengthening your resolve to worship Him.

In our last reflection, we saw how Prophet Zakariyyā (AS) called upon his Rabb—his prayer whispered in secrecy, filled with humility and indebtedness. Despite his weakness and old age, he still turned to Allah, for he had no one else to call but his Rabb (Qur’an 19:4).

May the Rabb, the Nurturer and Sustainer, heal our hearts from every illness and fill them with His light, mercy, and certainty