Explanation

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah, Glorified and Exalted, will say on the Day of Judgment: 'O son of Adam, I was ill, but you did not visit Me.' He will respond: 'O Lord, how could I visit You and You are the Lord of the worlds?'" meaning: You are independent and not in need of my visit. Allah will say: “Did you not know that My Servant, so-and-so, was ill but you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him?” There is nothing difficult to understand in this Hadīth in the part where Allah, the Almighty, says: "I was ill, but you did not visit Me", because it is impossible for Allah, the Almighty, to become ill, as illness is an attribute of deficiency and Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is free from deficiency. What is meant by "ill" here is that one of the righteous slaves of Allah was sick and the allies of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, were close to Him. For this reason, Allah said: "…if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him", and did not say: "you would have found (its reward) with Me", as He said in regard to the food and drink. This indicates how close the sick person is to Allah, the Almighty. Hence, the scholars said: "The sick person is worthy of having his supplication answered, whether he supplicates for someone or against someone." “O son of Adam, I asked you for food, but you did not feed Me.” It is known that Allah, the Almighty, does not seek food for Himself, as He says: {He who feeds and is not fed} [Sūrat al-An‘ām: 14]. Allah is independent and does not need anyone or anything or food or drink, but if one of Allah’s servants feels hungry and someone knows about it but does not feed him, Allah, the Almighty, says: “Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found (its reward) with Me?” This means that you would have found the reward of giving him food saved for you as a good deed, and a good deed can be multiplied ten times and up to seven-hundred times, or as many times as Allah wills. “O son of Adam, I asked you for water, but you did not it give Me any”, meaning: I asked you for a drink, but you did not give Me a drink. He responds: “… how could I give You (water) to drink and You are the Lord of the worlds?” meaning: You are not in need of food or drink. Then Allah says: “My Servant, so-and-so, asked you for a drink, but you did not give him one. Do you not know that if you had given him a drink, you would have found (its reward) with Me?” Providing someone with something to drink when they ask for a drink will win you a reward that will be saved for you as a good deed, and a good deed can be multiplied ten times and up to seven-hundred times or as many times as Allah wills.