Chapter 8.3. The Length Of The Visit

Certain etiquette will make your visit to an ill person a refreshing and morale boosting one. Your duty is to ease his or her pains, and to make him or her more conscious of the rewards they will gain in return for their suffering and endurance.

Make your visit brief. Sick persons may not withstand such long visits. The length of the visit should be not longer than the time between the two speeches of Friday. In this respect, it was said that the visit should be long enough to convey your greeting and wishes (Salam), to ask the sick how he or she is doing, to pray for recovery and to leave immediately after saying good-bye.

If you visit a patient say your greeting and immediately you should say, 'good-bye' the best visit is every third day the best stay is in the blink of an eye do not bother the patient with many questions two or three words will get you all along.

At the end of his book of Malikite fiqh, al-kafi, Imam ibn Abdul al-Barr said: 'whether you visit a healthy or an ill person, you ought to sit where you are told. Hosts know better how to ensure privacy in their home. Visiting an ill person is a confirmed Sunnah. The best visit is the shortest. The visitor sought not to sit too long with an ill person, unless they are close friends and the ill person enjoys their company.'

• Praying For The Sick
• The Manners Of Visiting A Patient

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