Hazrat Aisha narrates one of her memoirs with the Prophet as follows:

“When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) came to my house, I had a pain in my head. Due to the severity of the pain, I said, ‘O my head!’

When the Messenger of Allah heard it, he said, ‘It is not important; why are you sorry? If you die before me, I will enshroud you and perform your janazah prayer.’

I said, ‘Do you want my death?’”

Hazrat Aisha spoke like that because she did not understand that the Prophet was joking.

The Messenger of Allah ended his joke as follows:

“O Aisha! Your headache will be all right. The real headache is mine; it is very difficult to recover it from now on.”[1]

The Prophet and Hazrat Abu Bakr

Hazrat Abu Bakr, who was always at the peak of loyalty to the Prophet everywhere, went to the presence of the Messenger of Allah and stated that it would be an honor for him to serve him as follows:

“O Messenger of Allah! If you let me, I want to serve you when you are ill.”

The Messenger of Allah did not let him but his answer conquered Abu Bakr’s heart:

“O Abu Bakr! You have already received the reward for the service that you wanted to do. However, if I let others service me when I am ill, my daughter and my wives will be sorry.”

The Gravest Illness, the Greatest Pain

The Prophet could not lie still in his bed due to the severity of his illness and the high fever. He was turning to the right and left in his bed.

Those who were near him said, “O Messenger of Allah! If one of us showed that he suffered so much pain, you would scold him.”

The Messenger of Allah said,

“My illness is not like the ones that you know. Allah inflicts the most severe troubles, illnesses and misfortunes on His righteous and believing slaves. However, due to that trouble, illness and misfortune, He elevates the rank of that person and eliminates his sins.”

Hazrat Aisha said,

“We have never seen an illness more difficult and severe than the illness of the Messenger of Allah.”

Ibn Mas’ud Narrates

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud describes the severity of the illness of the Prophet as follows:

“I went to the presence of the Prophet when his body was shaking due to the severity of the fever. I said,

‘O Messenger of Allah! You are suffering a lot due to the severity of the fever. O Messenger of Allah! This fever gives you double pain; it will definitely give you double reward.’ He approved what I said as follows:

‘Yes. There is no Muslim who suffers an illness and whose sins Allah does not shed like a tree sheds its leaves.’”[2]

Umm Bishr Narrates

Umm Bishr, Bishr b. Bara’s mother, who visited the Messenger of Allah when he was ill, narrates what she saw as follows:

“I went to see the Messenger of Allah. When I saw the severe temperature in his body, I could not help saying,

‘O Messenger of Allah! I have never seen such a fever.’

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

‘Our illness is more severe than the illnesses of other people but the reward that we will get will be more.’”[3]

The Messenger of Allah Wants Pen and Paper to Have Something Written

It was the month of Rabiul-Awwal, 8, Thursday…

The most painful moments of the illness of the Messenger of Allah… There were Hazrat Umar and some other people around him. He said, “Bring me pen and paper; I will write you something so that you will never deviate from your way after that.”[4]

Hazrat Umar said, “His illness is dominant over the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). We have the Quran. Allah’s book is enough for us.”

They hesitated to bring pen and paper.

Some people confirmed the words of Umar. Others thought it was necessary to bring pen and paper. When the Messenger of Allah noticed that there was a disagreement, he said, “Leave me. Do not argue near me. Leave me alone.”[5]

Thus, what the Messenger of Allah wanted to be written could not be written.

The Day When His Illness Gets Better

The disease of the Messenger of Allah was getting worse day by day and hour by hour. Once, he wanted cold water. He had the water poured on his body.

After that, he felt a bit relieved. When he noticed it, he leaned on Hazrat Ali and Fadl b. Abbas and went to the mosque. He ascended to the pulpit and sat there. He addressed the Companions as follows:

“O people! I have heard that you panic because I will die. No prophet lived eternally among their ummah; how should I live? Know that I will meet my Lord soon; you will meet Him, too. 

O Ansar! I advise you to do favors to muhajirs.

O muhajirs! I advise you to do favors to Ansar. They helped you. They allowed you to their land. They entertained you in their houses. Although they were in financial difficulty, they helped you. If any of you rules them, he should do favors to them.  

O people! Everything happens in accordance with the pre-eternal divine will of God Almighty. Do not try to overcome Allah’s qada and qadar; you will be defeated. Do not try to trick God Almighty; you will be the one that loses. I am compassionate and merciful to you. You will meet me again. The place where we will meet is near the Pond of Kawthar. If you want to meet me near the Pond of Kawthar, keep your hands and tongues away from unnecessary things. 

O people! Know it very well that committing sins causes to change bounties and kismets. If the majority of the people are good, their administrators will treat them justly. If the people tend to disobey and commit sins, their administrators will tend to oppress them and treat them unjustly.”[6]

After this address, the Prophet went to Aisha’s house and went to bed.