Health and healing

Illness, recovery and the wish for someone to be well.

Cited background on how traditions meet this moment, with no ritual instructions. The texts further down come from named editions and were checked against them; none has yet been signed by a reviewer credentialed in its tradition. How that works.

A hospital room quiets differently for different families. In one, a rabbi is asked for a Mi Sheberach and the patient's Hebrew name is checked twice. In another, a priest is called for anointing, or the family wonders too late whether they should have called sooner. Muslims at the bedside make dua for shifa, healing, and keep visits short because the tradition itself asks for that. A Theravada Buddhist family may invite monks to chant; a Sikh household may begin Sukhmani Sahib; a humanist sits close and says what can honestly be said. Illness is the moment when nearly every tradition reaches for words, and the words are not interchangeable. Two threads run through almost all of them. First, healing prayer is communal: names are read aloud, lists are kept, congregations are told. Second, most traditions ask for more than a cure. The Jewish phrase refuah shleimah asks for a complete healing, of soul as well as body. Catholic teaching says anointing gives peace and courage even when recovery does not come. Muslim practice pairs supplication with patience. That distinction, between praying for cure and praying for strength, is what visitors and professionals most need to understand, and it is what people search for from waiting rooms at two in the morning. What follows maps how major traditions pray for the sick, names the rites without scripting them, and says when the right move is to call a person rather than search for a text.

Across traditions

Awareness-level notes: what this moment tends to involve, tradition by tradition. Each links to its background page.

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Christian
Prayer for the sick is anchored in the Letter of James, which calls elders to pray over the sick and anoint them with oil. Congregations pray for people by name in intercessions, keep prayer lists and prayer chains, and some hold healing services, at times with laying on of hands. Branches differ on formal anointing rites, covered in the Catholic and Orthodox notes, and on how liturgical or spontaneous the praying is.
Catholic
The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing and is not reserved for the dying. Serious illness is reason enough, including before major surgery and in frail old age, and a priest administers it. Its stated effects include peace and courage even when physical recovery does not follow. Near death it may be joined by other rites, including Viaticum, which is why families sometimes hear the older phrase last rites.
Orthodox
The anointing rite is called Holy Unction, a mystery of healing for body, soul and mind, offered whatever the gravity of the illness. Grounded in the Letter of James, it is often celebrated communally, with several priests when possible, rather than kept for emergencies. The church keeps separate prayers for the dying, so Holy Unction is not a last rite. Frequency and custom vary by jurisdiction and parish.
Jewish
The central communal prayer for the sick is the Mi Sheberach, traditionally offered during the Torah reading and naming the person, customarily with the mother's name. It asks for refuah shleimah, a complete healing, understood to cover both soul and body. Synagogues keep lists of names for it, and the prayer now travels to hospital bedsides with chaplains and relatives. A musical setting by Debbie Friedman is widely sung in liberal congregations. Customs vary by movement.
Muslim
Illness is met with dua, personal supplication asking God for shifa, healing, and hadith collections record short supplications the Prophet Muhammad offered at the bedside. Visiting the sick carries strong emphasis as a duty between Muslims, with an etiquette of brief, gentle visits that include praying for the person. Illness borne with patience is widely understood to hold spiritual worth, a theme running through the prophetic supplications themselves. Quran recitation for comfort is common; practice varies by community.
Hindu
Prayer for health takes many forms, varying by region, deity and family lineage. The Mahamrityunjaya mantra, a Rigvedic verse addressed to Shiva as Tryambaka, is among the best known recitations for health and longevity, and families may arrange sustained repetition of it during serious illness. Temple prayers, vows and pujas offered for recovery are common, and some communities honor deities associated with medicine. What one household considers essential, another may never have practiced.
Buddhist
Responses to sickness center on the mind as much as the body and vary by school. In Theravada communities, monks may be invited to chant paritta, protective recitations that include the Bojjhanga and Girimananda discourses, both linked in the early texts with recovery from illness. In Mahayana communities, devotion to the Medicine Buddha, Bhaishajyaguru, is a widespread focus of healing practice. Meditation on loving kindness is often directed toward those who are ill.
Sikh
Families often turn to recitation of Gurbani, the scriptural hymns, with Sukhmani Sahib holding a special place: a long composition by Guru Arjan whose title is rendered jewel of peace, remembered in tradition as first given to a suffering devotee and recited since for calm of body and mind. It may be read at home or arranged at a gurdwara, and the congregational petition known as Ardas can include those who are ill. Practice varies by family and community.
Interfaith
Healthcare chaplaincy is the usual meeting ground for mixed families: professional chaplains support patients of any tradition and none, locate the right clergy, and model wording that does not assume shared belief. In England, NHS chaplaincy guidance calls for provision serving religious and non-religious people alike. Gatherings for someone who is ill tend to hold to themes everyone present can carry: comfort, strength, gratitude for caregivers. The patient's own tradition, not the visitors' habits, sets the tone.
Non-religious and spiritual
Serious illness raises questions of meaning for people without religion too, and support exists that does not involve prayer. In the UK, accredited carers trained through the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network work in hospitals and hospices alongside chaplains, offering one-to-one emotional and existential support. Friends do the equivalent informally: steady presence, practical help, honest conversation. Phrases like sending good thoughts do similar work in secular settings, and many people simply say they are thinking of the person, which is enough.

Texts from their published editions

Each text below comes from the edition named under it and was checked twice, independently, before it appeared. Neither check was a person. Where the two disagreed by even one character, the text is not shown here. That is a claim about wording only: these are not selected or endorsed for any particular situation, and nobody credentialed in the tradition has signed them. Older spelling is kept as the edition prints it. The full record, including the texts we held back because the two transcriptions disagreed, is at the verification record.

Ratana Sutta (Fausboll 1881)

A Suttanipata discourse traditionally recited to avert illness, famine and other affliction, invoking the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha as an asseveration of truth. It is a staple of paritta ceremonies in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, chanted over the sick and at house blessings, often through the night by an assembly of monks.

English · The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X: The Dhammapada and Sutta-Nipata, 1881Read twice, independently

Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let all spirits be happy, and then listen attentively to what is said.
Therefore, O spirits, do ye all pay attention, show kindness to the human race who both day and night bring their offerings; therefore protect them strenuously.
Whatever wealth there be here or in the other world, or whatever excellent jewel in the heavens, it is certainly not equal to Tathagata. This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The destruction (of passion), the freedom from passion, the excellent immortality which Sakyamuni attained (being) composed, — there is nothing equal to that Dhamma. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Dhamma, by this truth may there be salvation.
The purity which the best of Buddhas praised, the meditation which they call uninterrupted, there is no meditation like this. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Dhamma, by this truth may there be salvation.
The eight persons that are praised by the righteous, and make these four pairs, they are worthy of offerings, (being) Sugata's disciples; what is given to these will bear great fruit. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly (sangha), by this truth may there be salvation.
Those who have applied themselves studiously with a firm mind and free from desire to the commandments of Gotama, have obtained the highest gain, having merged into immortality, and enjoying happiness after getting it for nothing. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
As a post in the front of a city gate is firm in the earth and cannot be shaken by the four winds, like that I declare the righteous man to be who, having penetrated the noble truths, sees (them clearly). This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Those who understand the noble truths well taught by the profoundly wise (i.e. Buddha), though they be greatly distracted, will not (have to) take the eighth birth. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
On his (attaining the) bliss of (the right) view three things (dhammas) are left behind (by him): conceit and doubt and whatever he has got of virtue and (holy) works. He is released also from the four hells, and he is incapable of committing the six deadly sins. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Even if he commit a sinful deed by his body, or in word or in thought, he is incapable of concealing it, (for) to conceal is said to be impossible for one that has seen the state (of Nibbana). This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
As in a clump of trees with their tops in bloom in the first heat of the hot month, so (Buddha) taught the excellent Dhamma leading to Nibbana to the greatest benefit (for all). This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The excellent one who knows what is excellent, who gives what is excellent, and who brings what is excellent, the incomparable one taught the excellent Dhamma. This excellent jewel (is found) in Buddha, by this truth may there be salvation.
The old is destroyed, the new has not arisen, those whose minds are disgusted with a future existence, the wise who have destroyed their seeds (of existence, and) whose desires do not increase, go out like this lamp. This excellent jewel (is found) in the Assembly, by this truth may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Buddha, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Dhamma, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.
Whatever spirits have come together here, either belonging to the earth or living in the air, let us worship the perfect (tathagata) Sangha, revered by gods and men; may there be salvation.

V. Fausboll and F. Max Muller. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1881. Published 1881, before 1929, US public domain, and both translators died before 1929. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so this entry is tied to one named edition and makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting.

The Hail Mary (Baltimore Manual 1889)

The central Marian prayer of Latin Catholicism, built from the Lucan greeting plus a later intercessory petition fixed in the sixteenth century. It is the repeated unit of the rosary and of the Angelus, and it is the prayer most often said at a sickbed or deathbed. Recited by anyone, at any time, with no conditions of office or state.

English · A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Catholic Laity, 1889Read twice, independently

Hail, Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

John Murphy and Company, Baltimore, 1889. Published 1889, before 1929, US public domain. Source

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Salmo 91 (Reina-Valera 1909)

Salmo 91 (Reina-Valera 1909), as it appears in the edition cited below.

Spanish · Santa Biblia, Reina-Valera, revision de 1909, 1909Read twice, independently

EL que habita al abrigo del Altísimo, morará bajo la sombra del Omnipotente.
Diré yo á Jehová: Esperanza mía, y castillo mío; mi Dios, en él confiaré.
Y él te librará del lazo del cazador: de la peste destruidora.
Con sus plumas te cubrirá, y debajo de sus alas estarás seguro: escudo y adarga es su verdad.
No tendrás temor de espanto nocturno, ni de saeta que vuele de día;
Ni de pestilencia que ande en oscuridad, ni de mortandad que en medio del día destruya.
Caerán á tu lado mil, y diez mil á tu diestra: mas á ti no llegará.
Ciertamente con tus ojos mirarás, y verás la recompensa de los impíos.
Porque tú has puesto á Jehová, que es mi esperanza, al Altísimo por tu habitación,
No te sobrevendrá mal, ni plaga tocará tu morada.
Pues que á sus ángeles mandará acerca de ti, que te guarden en todos tus caminos.
En las manos te llevarán, porque tu pie no tropiece en piedra.
Sobre el león y el basilisco pisarás; hollarás al cachorro del león y al dragón.
Por cuanto en mí ha puesto su voluntad, yo también lo libraré: pondrélo en alto, por cuanto ha conocido mi nombre.
Me invocará, y yo le responderé: con él estaré yo en la angustia: lo libraré, y le glorificaré.
Saciarélo de larga vida, y mostraréle mi salud.

Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, 1909 revision. 1909. Published 1909, before 1929, US public domain, and distributed as public domain by ebible.org. Later Reina-Valera revisions such as RVR1960 are in copyright and are not used here. Source

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Psalm 103 (JPS 1917)

Bless the LORD, O my soul: a psalm of thanks for forgiveness and healing, which sets human frailty, days like grass, against a mercy that does not end.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917Checked against a second digitisation

[A Psalm] of David.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits;
Who forgiveth all thine iniquity;
Who healeth all Thy diseases;
Who redeemeth Thy life from the pit;
Who encompasseth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thine old age with good things;
So that Thy youth is renewed like the eagle.
The LORD executeth righteousness,
And acts of justice for all that are oppressed.
He made known His ways unto Moses,
His doings unto the children of Israel.
The LORD is full of compassion and gracious,
Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always contend;
Neither will He keep His anger for ever.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins,
Nor requited us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father hath compassion upon his children,
So hath the LORD compassion upon them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.
As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
And the place thereof knoweth it no more.
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him,
And His righteousness unto children's children;
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those that remember His precepts to do them.
The LORD hath established His throne in the heavens;
And His kingdom ruleth over all.
Bless the LORD, ye angels of His,
Ye mighty in strength, that fulfil His word,
Hearkening unto the voice of His word.
Bless the LORD, all ye His hosts;
Ye ministers of His, that do His pleasure.
Bless the LORD, all ye His works,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the LORD, O my soul.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

לְדָוִד בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה וְכָל־קְרָבַי אֶת־שֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ׃
בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה וְאַל־תִּשְׁכְּחִי כָּל־גְּמוּלָיו׃
הַסֹּלֵחַ לְכָל־עֲוֺנֵכִי הָרֹפֵא לְכָל־תַּחֲלֻאָיְכִי׃
הַגּוֹאֵל מִשַּׁחַת חַיָּיְכִי הַמְעַטְּרֵכִי חֶסֶד וְרַחֲמִים׃
הַמַּשְׂבִּיַע בַּטּוֹב עֶדְיֵךְ תִּתְחַדֵּשׁ כַּנֶּשֶׁר נְעוּרָיְכִי׃
עֹשֵׂה צְדָקוֹת יְהוָה וּמִשְׁפָּטִים לְכָל־עֲשׁוּקִים׃
יוֹדִיעַ דְּרָכָיו לְמֹשֶׁה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עֲלִילוֹתָיו׃
רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן יְהוָה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב־חָסֶד׃
לֹא־לָנֶצַח יָרִיב וְלֹא לְעוֹלָם יִטּוֹר׃
לֹא כַחֲטָאֵינוּ עָשָׂה לָנוּ וְלֹא כַעֲוֺנֹתֵינוּ גָּמַל עָלֵינוּ׃
כִּי כִגְבֹהַּ שָׁמַיִם עַל־הָאָרֶץ גָּבַר חַסְדּוֹ עַל־יְרֵאָיו׃
כִּרְחֹק מִזְרָח מִמַּעֲרָב הִרְחִיק מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת־פְּשָׁעֵינוּ׃
כְּרַחֵם אָב עַל־בָּנִים רִחַם יְהוָה עַל־יְרֵאָיו׃
כִּי־הוּא יָדַע יִצְרֵנוּ זָכוּר כִּי־עָפָר אֲנָחְנוּ׃
אֱנוֹשׁ כֶּחָצִיר יָמָיו כְּצִיץ הַשָּׂדֶה כֵּן יָצִיץ׃
כִּי רוּחַ עָבְרָה־בּוֹ וְאֵינֶנּוּ וְלֹא־יַכִּירֶנּוּ עוֹד מְקוֹמוֹ׃
וְחֶסֶד יְהוָה מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד־עוֹלָם עַל־יְרֵאָיו וְצִדְקָתוֹ לִבְנֵי בָנִים׃
לְשֹׁמְרֵי בְרִיתוֹ וּלְזֹכְרֵי פִקֻּדָיו לַעֲשׂוֹתָם׃
יְהוָה בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֵכִין כִּסְאוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בַּכֹּל מָשָׁלָה׃
בָּרֲכוּ יְהוָה מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ׃
בָּרֲכוּ יְהוָה כָּל־צְבָאָיו מְשָׁרְתָיו עֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ׃
בָּרֲכוּ יְהוָה כָּל־מַעֲשָׂיו בְּכָל־מְקֹמוֹת מֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ בָּרֲכִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָה׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 103:1-22, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The English keeps the line breaks of one digitisation of the 1917 volume. The second, which it was checked against, stores each verse as running text, so it confirms the words and cannot confirm where a line ends.

Psalm 121 (JPS 1917)

One of the Songs of Ascents, a short psalm of protection for one setting out or in danger. Used in Jewish practice at times of travel, illness and childbirth, and included in some funeral and memorial orders. Often paired with Psalm 130 in visits to the sick.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917Read twice, independently

I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains:
From whence shall my help come?
My help cometh from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved;
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, He that keepeth Israel
Doth neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper;
The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall keep thee from all evil;
He shall keep thy soul.
The LORD shall guard thy going out and thy coming in,
From this time forth and for ever.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִים מֵאַיִן יָבֹא עֶזְרִי׃
עֶזְרִי מֵעִם יְהוָה עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ׃
אַל־יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֶךָ אַל־יָנוּם שֹׁמְרֶךָ׃
הִנֵּה לֹא־יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
יְהוָה שֹׁמְרֶךָ יְהוָה צִלְּךָ עַל־יַד יְמִינֶךָ׃
יוֹמָם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לֹא־יַכֶּכָּה וְיָרֵחַ בַּלָּיְלָה׃
יְהוָה יִשְׁמָרְךָ מִכָּל־רָע יִשְׁמֹר אֶת־נַפְשֶׁךָ׃
יְהוָה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ וּבוֹאֶךָ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-02. Cite as: Psalms 121:1-8, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns do not cover quite the same span: the Hebrew opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry, because the two transcription passes over the JPS volume agreed only from the first verse proper.

Psalm 121 (Singer 1904)

English · The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, with a New Translation, seventh edition, 1904Read twice, independently

I lift up mine eyes unto the hills : whence will my help come ?
My help is from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to slip : he that guardeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that guardeth Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy guardian : the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall guard thee from all evil ; he shall guard thy soul.
The Lord shall guard thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for evermore.

Simeon Singer. Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1904. Seventh edition, published 1904, before 1929, US public domain. The work first appeared in 1890 and the translator died in 1906, so it is also clear in life-plus-70 jurisdictions. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

שִׁיר לַמַּעֲלוֹת אֶשָּׂא עֵינַי אֶל־הֶהָרִים מֵאַיִן יָבֹא עֶזְרִי׃
עֶזְרִי מֵעִם יְהוָה עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ׃
אַל־יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֶךָ אַל־יָנוּם שֹׁמְרֶךָ׃
הִנֵּה לֹא־יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן שׁוֹמֵר יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
יְהוָה שֹׁמְרֶךָ יְהוָה צִלְּךָ עַל־יַד יְמִינֶךָ׃
יוֹמָם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לֹא־יַכֶּכָּה וְיָרֵחַ בַּלָּיְלָה׃
יְהוָה יִשְׁמָרְךָ מִכָּל־רָע יִשְׁמֹר אֶת־נַפְשֶׁךָ׃
יְהוָה יִשְׁמָר־צֵאתְךָ וּבוֹאֶךָ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Cite as: Psalms 121:1-8, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Wording and scope vary between editions and between communities, so each edition here is named and this entry makes no claim about which form is right in a given setting. The two columns come from different publishers: Singer's prayer book prints its own facing Hebrew, and the Hebrew shown here is a Masoretic edition rather than Singer's, which is why it is named separately above. The Hebrew also opens with the psalm's superscription, “A Song of Ascents”, which the English published here does not carry.

Psalm 20 (JPS 1917)

A prayer that God answer in the day of trouble. It stands near the end of the weekday morning service, and it is customarily said for a person in danger, including for a woman in labour.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917Checked against a second digitisation

For the Leader. A Psalm of David.
The LORD answer thee in the day of trouble;
The name of the God of Jacob set thee up on high;
Send forth thy help from the sanctuary,
And support thee out of Zion;
Receive the memorial of all thy meal-offerings,
And accept the fat of thy burnt-sacrifice; Selah
Grant thee according to thine own heart,
And fulfil all thy counsel.
We will shout for joy in thy victory,
And in the name of our God we will set up our standards;
The LORD fulfil all thy petitions.
Now know I that the LORD saveth His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the mighty acts of His saving right hand.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will make mention of the name of the LORD our God.
They are bowed down and fallen;
But we are risen, and stand upright.
Save, LORD;
Let the King answer us in the day that we call.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

לַמְנַצֵּחַ מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃
יַעַנְךָ יְהוָה בְּיוֹם צָרָה יְשַׂגֶּבְךָ שֵׁם אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב׃
יִשְׁלַח־עֶזְרְךָ מִקֹּדֶשׁ וּמִצִּיּוֹן יִסְעָדֶךָּ׃
יִזְכֹּר כָּל־מִנְחֹתֶךָ וְעוֹלָתְךָ יְדַשְּׁנֶה סֶלָה׃
יִתֶּן־לְךָ כִלְבָבֶךָ וְכָל־עֲצָתְךָ יְמַלֵּא׃
נְרַנְּנָה בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ וּבְשֵׁם־אֱלֹהֵינוּ נִדְגֹּל יְמַלֵּא יְהוָה כָּל־מִשְׁאֲלוֹתֶיךָ׃
עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה מְשִׁיחוֹ יַעֲנֵהוּ מִשְּׁמֵי קָדְשׁוֹ בִּגְבֻרוֹת יֵשַׁע יְמִינוֹ׃
אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים וַאֲנַחְנוּ בְּשֵׁם־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר׃
הֵמָּה כָּרְעוּ וְנָפָלוּ וַאֲנַחְנוּ קַּמְנוּ וַנִּתְעוֹדָד׃
יְהוָה הוֹשִׁיעָה הַמֶּלֶךְ יַעֲנֵנוּ בְיוֹם־קָרְאֵנוּ׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 20:1-10, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Psalm 6 (JPS 1917)

A plea for healing from someone worn out by illness and weeping, the first of the penitential psalms. In the Ashkenazi rite it is the core of the daily supplication after the Amidah, and it is among the psalms customarily said for a person who is ill.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917Checked against a second digitisation

For the Leader; with string-music; on the Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
O LORD, rebuke me not in Thine anger,
Neither chasten me in Thy wrath.
Be gracious unto me, O LORD, for I languish away;
Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are affrighted.
My soul also is sore affrighted;
And Thou, O LORD, how long?
Return, O LORD, deliver my soul;
Save me for Thy mercy's sake.
For in death there is no remembrance of Thee;
In the nether-world who will give Thee thanks?
I am weary with my groaning;
Every night make I my bed to swim;
I melt away my couch with my tears.
Mine eye is dimmed because of vexation;
It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity;
For the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping.
The LORD hath heard my supplication;
The LORD receiveth my prayer.
All mine enemies shall be ashamed and sore affrighted;
They shall turn back, they shall be ashamed suddenly.

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹת עַל־הַשְּׁמִינִית מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד׃
יְהוָה אַל־בְּאַפְּךָ תוֹכִיחֵנִי וְאַל־בַּחֲמָתְךָ תְיַסְּרֵנִי׃
חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה כִּי אֻמְלַל אָנִי רְפָאֵנִי יְהוָה כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ עֲצָמָי׃
וְנַפְשִׁי נִבְהֲלָה מְאֹד ואת [וְאַתָּה] יְהוָה עַד־מָתָי׃
שׁוּבָה יְהוָה חַלְּצָה נַפְשִׁי הוֹשִׁיעֵנִי לְמַעַן חַסְדֶּךָ׃
כִּי אֵין בַּמָּוֶת זִכְרֶךָ בִּשְׁאוֹל מִי יוֹדֶה־לָּךְ׃
יָגַעְתִּי בְּאַנְחָתִי אַשְׂחֶה בְכָל־לַיְלָה מִטָּתִי בְּדִמְעָתִי עַרְשִׂי אַמְסֶה׃
עָשְׁשָׁה מִכַּעַס עֵינִי עָתְקָה בְּכָל־צוֹרְרָי׃
סוּרוּ מִמֶּנִּי כָּל־פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן כִּי־שָׁמַע יְהוָה קוֹל בִּכְיִי׃
שָׁמַע יְהוָה תְּחִנָּתִי יְהוָה תְּפִלָּתִי יִקָּח׃
יֵבֹשׁוּ וְיִבָּהֲלוּ מְאֹד כָּל־אֹיְבָי יָשֻׁבוּ יֵבֹשׁוּ רָגַע׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 6:1-11, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Psalm 91 (JPS 1917)

A psalm of protection. It is said in the bedtime prayers, at the close of the Sabbath, and during a funeral as the coffin is accompanied to the grave.

English · The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text (JPS), 1917Checked against a second digitisation

O thou that dwellest in the covert of the Most High,
And abidest in the shadow of the Almighty;
I will say of the LORD, who is my refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust,
That He will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
And from the noisome pestilence.
He will cover thee with His pinions,
And under His wings shalt thou take refuge;
His truth is a shield and a buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flieth by day;
Of the pestilence that walketh in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand may fall at Thy side,
And ten thousand at Thy right hand;
It shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold,
And see the recompense of the wicked.
For thou hast made the LORD who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, thy habitation.
There shall no evil befall thee,
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent.
For He will give His angels charge over thee,
To keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee upon their hands,
Lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and asp;
The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet.
'Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he hath known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and bring him to honour.
With long life will I satisfy him,
And make Him to behold My salvation.'

Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917. Published 1917, before 1929, US public domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

Hebrew · Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, 2026Checked against a second encoding

יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלוֹנָן׃
אֹמַר לַיהוָה מַחְסִי וּמְצוּדָתִי אֱלֹהַי אֶבְטַח־בּוֹ׃
כִּי הוּא יַצִּילְךָ מִפַּח יָקוּשׁ מִדֶּבֶר הַוּוֹת׃
בְּאֶבְרָתוֹ יָסֶךְ לָךְ וְתַחַת־כְּנָפָיו תֶּחְסֶה צִנָּה וְסֹחֵרָה אֲמִתּוֹ׃
לֹא־תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם׃
מִדֶּבֶר בָּאֹפֶל יַהֲלֹךְ מִקֶּטֶב יָשׁוּד צָהֳרָיִם׃
יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ׃
רַק בְּעֵינֶיךָ תַבִּיט וְשִׁלֻּמַת רְשָׁעִים תִּרְאֶה׃
כִּי־אַתָּה יְהוָה מַחְסִי עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ׃
לֹא־תְאֻנֶּה אֵלֶיךָ רָעָה וְנֶגַע לֹא־יִקְרַב בְּאָהֳלֶךָ׃
כִּי מַלְאָכָיו יְצַוֶּה־לָּךְ לִשְׁמָרְךָ בְּכָל־דְּרָכֶיךָ׃
עַל־כַּפַּיִם יִשָּׂאוּנְךָ פֶּן־תִּגֹּף בָּאֶבֶן רַגְלֶךָ׃
עַל־שַׁחַל וָפֶתֶן תִּדְרֹךְ תִּרְמֹס כְּפִיר וְתַנִּין׃
כִּי בִי חָשַׁק וַאֲפַלְּטֵהוּ אֲשַׂגְּבֵהוּ כִּי־יָדַע שְׁמִי׃
יִקְרָאֵנִי וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ עִמּוֹ־אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ׃
אֹרֶךְ יָמִים אַשְׂבִּיעֵהוּ וְאַרְאֵהוּ בִּישׁוּעָתִי׃

Sefaria, from the Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex at tanach.us, 2026. Tanach.us states that all biblical Hebrew text on its site may be viewed or copied without restriction, and Sefaria labels this version Public Domain. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-17. Cite as: Psalms 91:1-16, Tanach with Nikkud, a digital edition of the Leningrad Codex, via Sefaria.org. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Al-Falaq, the Daybreak

The first of two short suras of refuge-seeking, asking protection from harm that comes in the dark. Usually recited together with An-Nas.

Arabic · The Tanzil Uthmani text, 2026Checked against a second service

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ
مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّٰثَٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ
وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

Tanzil Project (https://tanzil.net/), served by alquran.cloud, 2026. Not public domain, and the first licensed edition in this corpus. Tanzil grants permission to copy and distribute verbatim copies provided the source is named and tanzil.net is linked, and forbids altering the text. Both conditions are met here. Retrieved and verified 2026-09-04. Source

Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Al-Fatiha, the Opening

The opening sura, recited in every unit of each of the five daily prayers and so the most frequently said text in Islam. It is also read for the sick, at gravesides and at the start of gatherings in many communities.

Arabic · The Tanzil Uthmani text, 2026Checked against a second service

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
مَٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ
صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ

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This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Ayat al-Kursi, the Verse of the Throne

A single verse of the second sura describing God's sovereignty and his sustaining of all things. Widely recited for protection, at night and in illness.

Arabic · The Tanzil Uthmani text, 2026Checked against a second service

ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

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This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

The prayer of Ayyub in illness

Ayyub, after long illness, calls to God: harm has touched me, and you are the most merciful of the merciful. It is the Quranic prayer most associated with sickness.

Arabic · The Tanzil Uthmani text, 2026Checked against a second service

۞ وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَسَّنِىَ ٱلضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ ٱلرَّٰحِمِينَ

Licensed, not public domain: copy it only word for word, and name and link the source as its terms require. The terms.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

The Arabic is published without an English rendering. The securely public-domain English translations are nineteenth-century orientalist work that no Muslim community uses devotionally, and setting one beside the Arabic would present it as the meaning of the prayer. Recitation in Islamic practice has conditions this entry makes no claim about; what is verified here is the wording of the edition named below. The verse is given whole, as the edition prints it, including the words that introduce the prayer, because this text is used on condition that it is not altered, and a verse cut short is altered.

The General Thanksgiving

Two short prayers among the Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The General Thanksgiving, composed by Edward Reynolds for the 1662 revision, is used for recovery from illness and for deliverance generally. The Prayer of St Chrysostom closes Morning and Evening Prayer and is the usual ending for small gatherings and hospital prayer.

English · The Book of Common Prayer, 1662, 1662Read twice, independently

Almightie God, Father of all mercies, We thine vnworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty
thanks for all thy goodnes, and loving kindness to vs
and to all men [ particularly to those who desire now to offer vp their praises, and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed vnto them] We bless thee for our creation,
preservation, and all the blessings of this life, but
above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the
means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And
we beseech thee give vs that due sence of all thy
mercies that our hearts may be vnfeignedly thankfull, and that we shew forth thy prayse, not only with
our lips, but in our lives, by giving vp our selves to
thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness
and righteousnes all our dayes through Jesus Christ
our Lord, to whom with thee and the holy Ghost be
all honour and glory world without end. Amen.

Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

Psalm 121 (Coverdale)

A song of ascents used across Protestant and Anglican practice at departures, surgery, travel and deathbeds. It appears in the monthly Prayer Book psalm cycle and in most Protestant funeral and hospital orders, and it is among the psalms most frequently chosen by families asked to pick one.

English · The Book of Common Prayer, 1662, 1662Read twice, independently

I will lift vp mine eyes vnto the hills : from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh even from the Lord : who hath made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : and he that keepeth thee will not sleep.
Behold, he that keepeth Jsrael : shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord himself is thy keeper : the Lord is thy defence vpon thy right hand.
So that the sun shall not burn thee by day : neither the Moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : yea it is even he that shall keep thy soule.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out, and thy coming in from this time forth for evermore.

Church of England, 1662. Published 1662, long before 1929, US public domain. UK Crown patent applies within the United Kingdom, so this edition is used here on the US basis only. Source

Out of copyright in the United States on the basis stated here, and free to reuse there. Please keep the citation with it.

This prayer’s own page · How this text was verified

For the person holding this moment

Ask what would help before assuming what would. The person's own tradition, and how observant they are, decides everything: a lapsed Catholic may still want a priest, and a devout one may want one early, since anointing is not reserved for the dying. If the family is Jewish, ask whether they would like the person's name added for a Mi Sheberach and how the name should be given. For Muslim patients, brief visits and quiet are themselves part of the tradition. Offer rather than perform: asking permission before praying aloud respects the religious and the non-religious alike. In a hospital, the chaplaincy office is the switchboard; chaplains support people of any tradition and none and can locate the right clergy quickly. Do not promise outcomes, and go carefully with explanations of suffering. Presence outlasts formulas, and the person, not the illness, belongs at the center of whatever is said.

When to call someone instead: Call a person whenever a rite is wanted: Catholic anointing and Orthodox Holy Unction require a priest, a Mi Sheberach is arranged through a synagogue, and an imam or the family's own teacher can guide Quran recitation. Call early rather than late; Catholic teaching does not wait for the point of death. In hospitals, ask for the on-call chaplain, who serves patients of any tradition and none; in the UK, accredited non-religious pastoral carers can be requested. Sudden decline, treatment decisions with religious weight, or a patient asking why this is happening all call for a trained person, not a text.

Need your own words right now? The composer assembles a short prayer for health and healing from human-written lines, with or without religious language, free and without sending anything you type to anyone.

Questions people arrive with

What is the Mi Sheberach, and how do I add someone's name?#

The Mi Sheberach is the Jewish communal prayer for the sick, traditionally offered when the Torah is read, naming the person, customarily with the mother's name. It asks for refuah shleimah, a complete healing of both soul and body. Synagogues keep lists of names for the prayer and take requests through the synagogue office, and the prayer is also said at hospital bedsides by chaplains and relatives. If you are unsure how the name should be given, ask; communities differ.

Is the Anointing of the Sick the same as last rites?#

No. Catholic teaching presents the Anointing of the Sick as a sacrament for the seriously ill, appropriate before major surgery, during chronic illness and in old age, with no requirement to wait until death is near. What people call last rites is a cluster of rites for the dying that can include anointing alongside Viaticum. Orthodox churches likewise treat Holy Unction as a healing rite for any sick person and keep separate prayers for the dying. In both churches the guidance is the same: no one needs to wait.

Should we pray for a cure or for strength?#

Most traditions decline the either-or. The Jewish request for refuah shleimah bundles soul and body into one phrase. Catholic teaching says the anointing gives peace and courage whatever the physical outcome. Muslim supplication for healing sits beside the practice of patience. Buddhist chanting for the sick works on the mind of the listener. Chaplains generally encourage people to voice the honest hope for recovery while also asking for what no diagnosis controls: steadiness, comfort and company. Neither request cancels the other.

What should I know about visiting a sick Muslim friend?#

Visiting the sick is described in hadith as among the duties Muslims owe one another, so your visit itself lands inside the tradition. Custom favors short, calm visits, gentle speech and a supplication for the person's healing; hadith collections record brief prayers for exactly this moment. A visitor from outside the faith is not expected to know any of them: sincere good wishes are enough, and if the family wants formal prayer they will usually arrange Quran recitation or an imam themselves.

Can I pray for someone who belongs to a different religion?#

People do this privately all the time; at the bedside, ask first. A simple offer lets the patient set the terms, and wording that stays with comfort, strength and thanks for caregivers travels well across traditions. Hospital chaplains work this way daily with patients of every background and none, and they can arrange a visitor from the person's own community when that is wanted. With non-religious patients, presence and plain kindness do the same work; phrases about good thoughts are usually welcome where prayer would not be.

Nearby moments

Before surgery: The hours before an operation, for the patient and for those waiting.
Serious illness: A diagnosis that changes the shape of a life.
Anxiety and distress: Fear, worry and the nights that do not end.
Peace: Peace of mind, peace in a household, peace between peoples.

More specific moments

Before surgery: The hours before an operation, for the patient and for those waiting.
Serious illness: A diagnosis that changes the shape of a life.

Sources

The claims above rest on the following. Where practice varies, the variation is stated rather than resolved.

Anointing of the Sick, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Confirms the sacrament is for serious illness rather than only the point of death, administered by a priest, with effects of peace and courage even without physical recovery. Reviewed alongside Catholic press explainers distinguishing anointing from last rites and Viaticum.
Holy Unction (The Orthodox Faith, Volume II: Worship), Orthodox Church in America. Presents Holy Unction as healing of body, soul and mind for any gravity of illness, grounded in James 5:14-16, often celebrated communally, and distinct from the church's prayers for the dying.
Mi Sheberakh: May the One Who Blessed, My Jewish Learning. Details recitation during the Torah service, naming with the mother's name, the request for complete healing of soul and body, and the prayer's spread into hospital and chaplaincy settings.
Adab of Visiting the Sick: A Sunnah of Mercy, Online Islamic Institute. Describes visiting the sick as a cherished prophetic practice with an etiquette of brief, gentle visits and supplication for the patient; corroborated by hadith-collection summaries reviewed during research.
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, Wikipedia. Confirms the verse's Rigvedic origin, its address to Shiva as Tryambaka, and its traditional recitation for longevity and for mental, emotional and physical health.
The Book of Protection, Piyadassi Thera. Explains Theravada paritta chanting, including recitation during illness and the Bojjhanga and Girimananda discourses associated with recovery; the Mahayana Medicine Buddha tradition was verified separately in encyclopedic entries on Bhaishajyaguru.
Sukhmani Sahib: Psalm of Peace, SikhNet. Covers Guru Arjan's authorship, the title's meaning as a treasure of peace, the tradition of its origin for a suffering devotee, and its recitation for calm of body and mind.
Humanist Pastoral Support, Humanists UK. Documents accredited non-religious pastoral carers working in UK hospitals and hospices through the Non-Religious Pastoral Support Network, and NHS chaplaincy guidance recommending like-minded care for non-religious patients.

Content last changed 6 October 2026. Dates come from this page’s own revision history, not from the last time the site was deployed.