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All hadith qudsi

The 40 Hadith Qudsi · Hadith 18

I fell ill and you did not visit Me

Allah at the bedside

" إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ يَقُولُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ: يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، مَرِضْتُ فَلَمْ تَعُدْنِي(1) قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَعُودُكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ؟ قَالَ: أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ عَبْدِي فُلَانًا مَرِضَ فَلَمْ تَعُدْهُ؟ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّكَ لَوْ عُدْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَنِي عِنْدَهُ. يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ: اسْتَطْعَمْتُكَ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْنِي، قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ وَكَيْفَ أُطْعِمُكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ؟ قَالَ: أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّهُ اسْتَطْعَمَكَ عَبْدِي فُلَانٌ فَلَمْ تُطْعِمْهُ؟ أَمَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّكَ لَوْ أَطْعَمْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي. يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ: اسْتَسْقَيْتُكَ فَلَمْ تَسْقِنِي، قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ كَيْفَ أَسْقِيكَ وَأَنْتَ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ؟ قَالَ اسْتَسْقَاكَ عَبْدِي فُلَانٌ فَلَمْ تَسْقِهِ، أَمَا إِنَّكَ لَوْ سَقَيْتَهُ لَوَجَدْتَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدِي"

Allah (mighty and sublime be He) will say on the Day of Resurrection: O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me.

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will say: O son of Adam, I fell ill and you did not visit Me. The servant will ask in confusion, how could I visit You, and You are the Lord of the worlds? And Allah will answer: did you not know that My servant so-and-so was ill, and had you visited him, you would have found Me with him? And the same for feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty.

Where this hadith comes from

This is a hadith qudsi: a saying the Prophet (peace be upon him) reports from his Lord, where Allah speaks in the first person, yet the words are not part of the Qur'an. It is narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and recorded by Muslim, and it is graded sahih (authentic).

On the Day of Resurrection Allah will address the son of Adam in a startling way: I fell ill and you did not visit Me, I asked you for food and you did not feed Me, I asked you for drink and you gave Me none. The servant protests in confusion, and Allah explains that He meant a sick, hungry, or thirsty servant whom the person ignored. Allah is far above illness, hunger, or any need; He frames the care of His servants as care of Himself only to show how greatly He honours it.

The key words

What it means, line by line

Allah says I fell ill and you did not visit Me, then I asked you for food, then for drink, and you did nothing. Each time the servant answers that he could never tend to the Lord of the worlds, and each time Allah names a particular servant who was sick, hungry, or thirsty, and whom this person passed by. The meaning, as the scholars explain, is not that Allah suffers need; it is that He so values mercy to the vulnerable that He places His own reward and pleasure at their side.

So neglect of the suffering becomes, in a real sense, a turning away from Allah, and care for them becomes a way of seeking Him. The Qur'an shows the same spirit when it praises those who feed others while themselves loving the food, doing it for nothing but Allah's sake: not for thanks, not for reward, only for His Face.

Allah's nearness in the needy

Allah is not, of course, the one who falls ill or hungers; He is far above any need. But He so honours the care of His servants that He frames it as care of Himself: tend to the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, and you will find Allah's reward, pleasure, and nearness there. The bedside of a suffering person becomes, astonishingly, a place to draw near to the Lord of the worlds.

Worship has a face, and it is your neighbour's

This hadith refuses to let worship float free of people. We sometimes imagine devotion as a private matter between us and Allah, with other people on the side. Here Allah ties His own nearness to how we treat the vulnerable. To ignore the suffering of His servants is, in a real sense, to turn away from Him; to serve them is to seek Him. The path to Allah runs straight through the needs of the people around you.

Carry this with you

The path to Allah runs through the needs of His servants.

  • Find Allah at the bedside.

    He so honours care of the suffering that He frames it as care of Himself. His reward and nearness are there.

  • Worship is not separate from people.

    Devotion is not a private affair with others on the side; Allah tied His nearness to how we treat the vulnerable.

  • To ignore the needy is to turn away.

    Neglecting His servants' suffering is, in a real sense, turning from Him; serving them is seeking Him.

  • Tend to one need today.

    Visit the sick, feed the hungry, ease the thirsty. The act of mercy is a meeting with your Lord.

A du'a to carry

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-akhirati hasanatan wa qina 'adhab an-nar

Our Lord, give us in this world good and in the Hereafter good, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Al-Baqarah 2:201)

A du'a of the merciful servant

Allah hid His nearness in an unexpected place: the bedside of the sick, the table of the hungry, the need of the overlooked. Go looking for Him there.

O Allah, let us find You in serving Your servants. Make us quick to visit the ill, feed the hungry, and ease the burdened, and reward us with Your nearness. Give us good here and in the Hereafter, and save us from the Fire. Ameen.

The hadith qudsi is from sunnah.com: 'I fell ill and you did not visit Me...' narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra), recorded by Muslim, graded sahih. The supporting Qur'an (16:90) is in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation. The meaning is given per the scholars (Allah is above need; this honours service to His servants). Per the editorial policy this stays with the spiritual meaning (mercy and nearness). FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.

Questions

Does this hadith mean Allah actually falls ill or hungers?
No. Allah is far above any need or weakness. He frames the care of His servants as care of Himself to show how greatly He honours such acts: when you tend to the sick or feed the hungry for His sake, His reward, pleasure, and nearness are found there.
What is the main lesson?
That serving people in need, the sick, the hungry, the thirsty, is a direct path to Allah. He ties His own nearness to our treatment of the vulnerable, so that compassion to others becomes a form of seeking Him.
How do I live this hadith?
By actively caring for those in need: visiting the ill, feeding the hungry, helping the struggling, and doing so with awareness that Allah's reward and nearness await in that service. It joins worship of Allah to mercy toward His creation.

What stayed with you?

A private note, kept only on this device. Find it again on your journey page.

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