Should We Visit a Sick Person If Their Illness Is Contagious?
Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa
Question
Should we visit a sick person if their illness is contagious?
Answer
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.
Virtuous Act
Visiting the sick is among the virtuous acts that Islam encourages us to do. As narrated by Bara’ Ibn ‘Azib (Allah be pleased with him), he said:
“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) commanded us to do seven things and forbade us from seven, and he mentioned: visiting the sick, following the funeral, saying ‘may Allah have mercy on you’ to the one who sneezes, returning the greeting of peace, supporting the oppressed, accepting invitations, and fulfilling oaths.” [Bukhari]
Contagious Disease
However, visiting a sick person is not allowed if the illness is contagious and a doctor has informed you of this. The same Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) who commanded us to visit the sick also prohibited it in certain cases, saying:
“Flee from the leper as you would flee from a lion.” [Ahmad]
Lastly, I remind you that illness and contagion are from the decree of Allah (Most High). Contagion in itself has no independent power. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“There is no contagion (in and of itself), no superstitious belief in omens, no (evil) omen in owls, and no (bad luck in the month of) Safar. Flee from the leper as you would flee from a lion.” [Bukhari]
Allah (Most High) also says: “No calamity (or blessing) occurs on earth or in yourselves without being (written) in a Record before We bring it into being. This is certainly easy for Allah.” [Quran, 57:22]
He also says: “And if it is Allah’s Will to torment a people, it can never be averted, nor can they find a protector other than Him.” [Quran, 13:11]
Summary
Muslims should avoid visiting a person with a contagious illness while keeping in mind that illness is from the decree of Allah (Most High), and contagion is also from Him.
Not visiting the sick will not necessarily prevent the transmission of illness to another person, nor will abstaining from the visit guarantee the disease won’t spread. Everything is by the will of Allah (Most High). As the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
“There is no contagion (in and of itself), no bad luck in (the month of) Safar, and no evil omens. A Bedouin asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about my camels? They are healthy, like gazelles in the sand, and then a mangy camel comes and mixes with them and they all get infected with mange.’ The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) replied, ‘Who infected the first one?’” [Bukhari]
May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.
[Shaykh] Anas al-Musa
