Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 1438
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عُقْبَةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ السَّكُونِيُّ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ " إِذَا دَخَلْتُمْ عَلَى الْمَرِيضِ فَنَفِّسُوا لَهُ فِي الأَجَلِ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ لاَ يَرُدُّ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ يَطِيبُ بِنَفْسِ الْمَرِيضِ " .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us; Uqbah ibn Khalid al-Sakuni narrated to us, from Musa ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Taymi, from his father, from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When you visit a sick person, give him hope for a long life. That will not avert anything, but it will bring comfort to the sick person.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The expression فَنَفِّسُوا لَهُ فِي الأَجَلِ means to cheer the patient by giving hope of a long life; the text says this does not avert anything.