SECTION OF CORPSES · 5 – VISITING A PROTECTED PATIENT
Anas (radiyallahu anhu) narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a Jewish child who was ill. He sat at his head and said to him, "Become Muslim." The child looked at his father who was sitting beside him. His father said to him, “Obey Abu al-Kasim.” So the child became Muslim. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then rose up saying, “I praise Allah who saved him through my intercession.”
COMMENTARY
In this hadith, the term *gulam* refers to a young boy. It is also used for a boy servant. This Jewish child was a servant. This honorable hadith indicates that it is permissible to employ non-Muslim children and that it is necessary to invite them to Islam, and that they can be visited when they are ill.