Hadith 19

Mishkat al-Masabih

Book 5: Funerals

Chapter 1

Visiting the Sick, and the Reward for Sickness - Section 1

باب عيادة المريض وثواب المرض - الفصل الأول

Mishkat al-Masabih 1541
وَعَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِ كَمَثَلِ الْخَامَةِ مِنَ الزَّرْعِ تُفَيِّئُهَا الرِّيَاح تصرعها مرّة وتعدلها أُخْرَى حَتَّى يَأْتِيهِ أَجَلُهُ وَمَثَلُ الْمُنَافِقِ كَمَثَلِ الْأَرْزَةِ الْمُجْذِيَةِ الَّتِي لَا يُصِيبُهَا شَيْءٌ حَتَّى يَكُونَ انْجِعَافُهَا مَرَّةً وَاحِدَة»
Ka‘b b. Malik reported God’s messenger as saying, “The believer is like a tender plant moved by the winds, sometimes being bent down and sometimes made to stand up straight, till his appointed time comes; but the hypocrite is like the cedar standing firmly, which is unaffected by anything, till it is completely cast down.”( The idea of this tradition is that believers have many troubles during their lifetime, whereas hypocrites escape them.) (Bukharl and Muslim.)