Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Sir,

My wife was working in bank and last year she was diagnosed of 3^rd Stage Lung Cancer, she has taken the required medication and there was no improvement and it later spread to the brain.  Right now her condition is very bad and she is suffering a lot.  Usually my relative's always question that what she might have done that she is suffering from a disease like cancer.  Please let me know if her suffering is due to the following issues.

1)    The suffering what she is undergoing from cancer is a punishment from god because she worked in the bank?

2)    Or she is suffering because her husband has done something wrong.

3)    If she maintain her patience and ask Allah Subanah-Tallah to forgive her, will Allah Subanah-Tallah wipe out her sins due to her sufferings and convert her sins into good deeds.

4)    I heard that if a person dies of internal disease like lung cancer will be a martyr.

5)    Lastly what are the supplications need to recite during illness.

Please do reply to my question and above points as soon as possible.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Are diseases punishments

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1:  The suffering what she is undergoing from cancer is a punishment from god because she worked in the bank?

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, if Allah Subhanah were to take every individual to account for their sins in the life of this world, not a single creature would survive on this earth!!!!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verse 45:

45 If Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term: when their Term expires verily Allah has in his sight all His servants.

Islam guides that the life of this short and transitory world is but a test and a trial from the Lord…..the real place to receive rewards and punishments is only the Hereafter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah Al Mulk verse 2:

He (Allah) created death and life that He may test you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 155-157:

155 Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and hunger, some loss in goods, or lives, or the fruits (of your toil); but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.

156 Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and to Him is our return."

157 They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and Mercy; and they are the ones that receive guidance.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.1

Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet (saws) said: "When Allah wants to be good to someone, He tries him with some hardship."

Abu Hurairah reports that Allah's Messenger (saws) said: "For every misfortune, illness, anxiety, grief, or hurt that afflicts a Muslim -even the hurt caused by the pricking of a thorn - Allah removes some of his sins."

Ibn Mas'ud said: "I visited the Messenger of Allah (saws) while he (saws) had a fever. I exclaimed: 'O Messenger of Allah (saws) ! You have a high fever!' He (saws) said: 'My fever is as much as two among you [might have].' I asked: 'Is it because you have a double reward?' He (saws) replied: 'Yes, that is right. No Muslim is afflicted with any hurt, even if it is no more than the pricking of a thorn, but Allah wipes off his sins because of it and his sins fall away from him as leaves fall from a tree'."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.545 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri and Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "No fatigue, no disease, no sorrow, no sadness, no hurt, no distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that."

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6244 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

Allah's Messenger (saws) visited Umm Sa'ib or Umm Musayyib and said: ‘Umm Musayyib, why is it that you are shivering?’ She said: ‘It is fever and may it not be blessed by Allah’, whereupon he (the Prophet (saws)) said: ‘Don't curse fever for it expiates the sin of the posterity of Adam just as furnace removes the alloy of iron.’

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, rest absolutely assured that fever, illness, sickness, diseases, or any calamity or hardship that befalls a believer is not a punishment from Allah Subhanah….but rather a trial and a Mercy from their Lord, for through these afflictions Allah Subhanah expiates some of the sins of that person. Rest assured that the past deeds or sins of your wife have absolutely nothing to do with her illness or her trial.

The life of this transitory and short world is a place to do deeds….it is only in the Hereafter when the Lord Most High, Most Just will determine who amongst mankind did deeds that deserve His Mercy, His Grace, His Forgiveness and His Rewards….and who amongst mankind did deeds which deserve His Wrath, His Anger and His Punishments.

Q-2:   Or she is suffering because her husband has done something wrong.

Allah Says in the Glorious Quran Chapter 53 Surah Najm verse 38:

38 No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another.

Allah Says in the Glorious Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anaam verse 164:

Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is toward Allah: He will tell you the Truth of the things wherein ye disputed.

Respected brother, rest assured that the illness and the trial of your wife is absolutely unrelated to the deeds or the sins of her husband or anyone else!

Q-3:    If she maintain her patience and ask Allah Subanah-Tallah to forgive her, will Allah Subanah-Tallah wipe out her sins due to her sufferings and convert her sins into good deeds.

If one who is afflicted by a calamity or a disease sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, accepts the calamity as a trial from their Lord, bears their affliction with patience, keeps their hope, trust and belief firm in their Lord Most Gracious, and beseech His Forgiveness…..it is indeed expected that a multitude of their sins would be forgiven unto them by their Lord Most Merciful.

Q-4:  I heard that if a person dies of internal disease like lung cancer will be a martyr.

Other than the believer who is killed by the disbelievers in a battlefield when defending or furthering the Cause of Islam….the Messenger of Allah (saws) also included several other forms and types of deaths amongst the rank of ‘martyrs’ or ‘shaheeds’:

Abu Hurairah reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) said:"He who is killed fighting for Allah's Cause is a martyr, he who dies in the Cause of Allah is a martyr, he who dies in an epidemic is a martyr, he who dies from a stomach disease is a martyr, and the one who dies of drowning is (also) a martyr."

Narrated by Muslim.

Al-Muwatta Hadith 16.36

Yahya related from Malik from Abdullah ibn Abdullah ibn Jabir ibn Atik that Atik ibn al-Harith told him that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘What do you consider dying a martyr to be?" They said, "Death in the way of Allah." The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "There are seven kinds of martyrs other than those killed in the Way of Allah. Someone who is killed by the plague is a martyr, someone who drowns is a martyr, someone who dies of pleurisy is a martyr, someone who dies of a disease of the belly is a martyr, someone who dies by fire is a martyr, someone who dies under a falling building is a martyr, and a woman who dies in childbirth is a martyr."

Sa'id ibn Zaid reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "He who is killed while guarding his property is a martyr, he who is killed while defending himself is a martyr, he who is killed defending his religion is a martyr, and he who dies protecting his family is (also) a martyr."

Related by Ahmad and Tirmidhi.

When one is constantly engaged in and strives one’s utmost to further the Cause of Allah Subhanah, and it his intention and humble prayer unto his Lord Most Gracious that his life be taken or sacrificed in the Cause of Allah Subhanah, and thus chosen as a martyr by the Lord…..even if the life of such a person is cut short by a natural calamity or a deadly disease, then it is expected that the Lord Most Gracious will include such amongst His believing servants as martyrs.

But if one denies Allah, and/or is negligent in performing his obligatory duties unto his Lord Creator, and/or lives his life preferring the luxuries of this world in preference to the Hereafter…..and this person never wished or hoped, leave alone strived that his life be spent furthering the Cause of Allah….then regardless of when, how, and where death approaches such a person….even if he dies in a natural calamity or from a deadly disease, such a person will have no rank worthy of mention in the Presence of the Lord All-Knowing, All-Just.

Q-5:    Lastly what are the supplications need to recite during illness.

Some of the best supplications one can and should make when afflicted by some illness as a test from their Lord is the supplication made by the Noble Prophet Ayyub (a.s.) as related in the Glorious Quran:

Allah Subhanah severely tested his Noble Prophet Ayyub (a.s.), whereby he was afflicted by an incurable disease for a long period of time. This incident and the beautiful supplication of Prophet Ayyub (a.s.) is related in the Glorious Quran:

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verses 83-84:

83 And (remember) Ayyub when he cried to his Lord "Truly distress has seized me, but Thou art the Most Merciful of those that are merciful."

84 So We listened to him: We removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his people to him and doubled their number as a Grace from Ourselves and a thing for commemoration for all who serve Us.

Amongst the supplications one may make when one is ill and related in the Sunnah are:

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.8a

Topic: supplications for illness

Aishah reports that the Prophet (saws) used to seek refuge in Allah for some of his family members. He used to touch them with his right hand, saying: ‘Allahahuma Rabbin nas adhhabal ba'sa, ashfi wa antashafi, la shifa' illa shifa'uka shifa' la yughadiru saqma’ (O Allah! The Sustainer of mankind! Remove the illness, cure the disease. You are the One Who cures. There is no cure except Your cure. Grant (us) a cure that leaves no illness.)

Related by Bukhari and Muslim.

Uthman ibn Abu Al-'As relates that once he complained of pain in his body to Allah's Messenger (saws). The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: 'Put your hand where you feel pain in your body and say, "Bismillah (in the name of Allah)," and say, "A 'udhu bi 'izzatillah wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhiru” (I seek refuge in the Might of Allah and in His Power from the evil that I find and that I fear)," seven times'." Uthman continued: "I did that a few times and Allah removed my pain. I always advised my family and others to do the same."

Related by Muslim.

Muhammad ibn Salim reported: "Thabit Al-Banani said to me: 'O Muhammad! When you have any pain, put your hand where you feel pain, then say: ‘Bismallah a'udhu bi'izatillah min shari ma ajidu min waj'i hadha’ (In the Name of Allah! I seek refuge in Allah's Might from the evil of this pain). Then remove your hand, and repeat the same for an odd number of times. Then he said to me that Anas ibn Malik had told him that Allah's Messenger (saws) had taught this to him."

Related by Tirmidhi.

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas reports that the Prophet (saws) visited him while he was sick and said: 'O Allah, make Sa'd well! O Allah, make Sa'd well! Make Sa'd well!"' Related by Muslim.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan