Abu Dawud

1554. Commentary: In such types of illnesses, at times a person becomes fed up even with himself, and the caretakers also have to face hardships. [عافانا الله منها]

(1) Some illnesses are long-lasting and their effects do not disappear. They become inseparable until death. People begin to feel aversion, the body becomes defective, or they are harmful to human intellect to the extent that a person begins to act like animals. Such illnesses are counted among the severe diseases. In addition to the diseases mentioned in the hadith, contemporary illnesses such as paralysis, cancer, AIDS, polio, etc., are also of this kind. May Allah protect us from them. On the other hand, some illnesses are temporary and do not leave harmful effects; rather, at times, they even rectify the body, for example: mild fever, cold, and headache, etc. Such illnesses become an expiation for a person's sins and are also a means of protection from major diseases.

(2) According to other scholars, this narration is authentic, and their opinion is the preferred one. For details, see: (al-Mawsu‘ah al-Hadithiyyah, Musnad al-Imam Ahmad: 309/20)