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There is no person who is immune to sickness, only people who have not been tested yet. The most unwell person you know today was just like you one day.

When we reflect as believers over the general, innumerable blessings Allah has endowed us with, we often face a harsh and saddening reality, more often than not, we have been negligent in expressing our gratitude for this invaluable blessing we have been granted through Allah’s forbearance.

This reality applies to general blessings, but it is even more pressing when it comes to the blessing of health.

It is one of those blessings we live inside every single day, yet we are rarely cognisant of its true value and role in every moment of our lives.

This is what led our beloved prophet to make this timeless and ever relevant statement in which he says:

نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ: الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ

There are two blessings which many *people waste: health and free time.

How true is this Hadith and how applicable is it to all of our respective lives?

It is a blessing that is quiet, constant, steady and always in the background. We have become accustomed to it to the point where it goes unnoticed, but one thing will remain perpetually true, you will take the blessing of health for granted, until Allah takes it away from you.

You woke up this morning and walked from your resting place with ease, your heart currently beats with absolutely no effort from your end. You are able to sit up and read this without thinking twice and you wrongly assume that things will always be this way.

The thing about illness is that it does not seek your permission to afflict you, it does not take into consideration your age, your wealth nor how you envisioned your life to unfold.

When illness strikes, everything comes to a halt.

It is only then that you realise health was never just a normal thing in your life. It is a *precious gift* from Allah.

The same way that Allah gives you good health without asking, he can test you through your health by taking it away from you.

Through this very test, there is a mercy, a relief and a glad tiding that we often forget:

Allah does not send down a disease except that He has also sent down its cure.

A divine command:

تَدَاوَوْا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمْ يَضَعْ دَاءً إِلَّا وَضَعَ لَهُ دَوَاءً

Seek treatment, O servants of Allah, for Allah has not created a disease except that He has also created its cure.

This means your illness is not meaningless. It is not hopeless. It is not the end of your story.

*Remember dear Muslim brother or sister who has been afflicted by illness:*

مَا يُصِيبُ الْمُسْلِمَ مِنْ نَصَبٍ وَلَا وَصَبٍ وَلَا هَمٍّ وَلَا حُزْنٍ وَلَا أَذًى وَلَا غَمٍّ، حَتَّى الشَّوْكَةِ يُشَاكُهَا، إِلَّا كَفَّرَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِنْ خَطَايَاهُ

No fatigue, illness, anxiety, sorrow, harm, or distress befalls a Muslim—even a thorn that pricks him—except that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it.

What you are currently going through may be the reason you enter Jannah.

إِنَّ عِظَمَ الْجَزَاءِ مَعَ عِظَمِ الْبَلَاءِ، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ قَوْمًا ابْتَلَاهُمْ

Indeed, the greatness of the reward is with the greatness of the trial. When Allah loves a people, He tests them.

It is a test, but it is also a call.

A call to turn back to Him.

A call to have patience.

A call to act.

Our perfect and complete religion does not teach us to sit stagnant and wallow in suffering without seeking a way forward. Rather, it teaches us the antithesis of this. Our beloved prophet taught us to seek treatment, to tie our camel and trust in Allah. To recognise that cures exist, seeking treatment and cure is heavily emphasised and even encouraged. It may not always be easy, it may not be found immediately but it is essential to believe wholeheartedly and with conviction that with Allah’s permission, they do exist.

Know dear brother or sister, that if you are healthy right now, do not let this precious blessing pass you by unnoticed.

Use your strength before weakness.

Use your energy before fatigue.

Use your ability before you are tested with its loss.

Know dear Muslim brother or sister that if you are ill:

You are not forgotten.

Your pain is seen.

Your patience is recorded.

Every moment of discomfort, every sigh, every tear, it is counted by Allah.

But alongside your patience, you are also called to seek the cure. To strive, to search, to take the means Allah has placed in this world while your heart remains attached to Him alone.

Because true reliance is not in abandoning effort, it is in combining effort with trust.

Illness can enter any life.

But so can healing.

So can reward.

So can closeness to Allah.

And sometimes, the very thing that breaks your body becomes the reason your soul is rebuilt.

عَنْ عَطَاءٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ لِي عبد الله بن عباس: أَلَا أُرِيكَ امْرَأَةً مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ؟ قُلْتُ: بَلَى.

قَالَ: هَذِهِ الْمَرْأَةُ السَّوْدَاءُ، أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَقَالَتْ: إِنِّي أُصْرَعُ، وَإِنِّي أَتَكَشَّفُ، فَادْعُ اللَّهَ لِي.

قَالَ: «إِنْ شِئْتِ صَبَرْتِ وَلَكِ الْجَنَّةُ، وَإِنْ شِئْتِ دَعَوْتُ اللَّهَ أَنْ يُعَافِيَكِ».

فَقَالَتْ: أَصْبِرُ، فَقَالَتْ: إِنِّي أَتَكَشَّفُ، فَادْعُ اللَّهَ أَنْ لَا أَتَكَشَّفَ، فَدَعَا لَهَا.

Abdullah ibn Abbas said to me: “Shall I show you a woman from the people of Paradise?” I said, “Yes.”

He said, “This woman came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: ‘I suffer from epilepsy and I become uncovered, so make du‘ā’ to Allah for me.’

The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘If you wish, be patient and you will have Paradise. And if you wish, I will ask Allah to cure you.’

She said: ‘I will be patient.’ Then she added: ‘But I become uncovered, so ask Allah that I do not become exposed.’ So he made du‘ā’ for her.”

This hadith teaches us a profound lesson:

Illness can affect anyone, even the most righteous amongst us. It is not always a marker or measure of Allah’s displeasure, in fact, in many cases, it is the complete opposite.

While patience carries immense reward, Islam does not ignore human struggle. She still asked for relief in what she could not bear, the exposure, highlighting that seeking ease and making dua is an integral part of our beautiful religion.

It also teaches us a pertinent lesson about balance:

She chose patience for the illness but she still sought help for what she was struggling to manage

This is the reality of our tests:

We are rewarded for our patience,

but we are also encouraged to seek cure, to make dua and to take the means Allah has placed in the world.

Know dear muslim brother or sister, who Allah has blessed with health, the body you are currently living in is one that millions are making dua for every single day.

Do not be heedless and always remember:

الصِّحَّةُ تَاجٌ عَلَى رُؤُوسِ الأَصِحَّاءِ لَا يَرَاهُ إِلَّا الْمَرْضَى

Health is a crown on the heads of the healthy that only the sick can see.

Know dear Muslim brother or sister who has been afflicted with illness, Allah recognises your pain, he sees your struggle, he is with you when the pain is unbearable. Perhaps Allah has something so beautiful that surpasses your wildest dreams on the other side of your illness. Remember, your illness is not the end of your story, it may be the path to your elevation and the reason why you may be admitted into paradise under which rivers flows with no prior punishment or account.

- via Ustadh AbdurRahman Hassan on X.