By | Shaykh Moutasem Al-Hameedy

To some, it may seem audacious to claim that taking care of your body contributes to having a sound heart. However, my personal experiences and the experiences of many others serve as a living testimony to this assertion. On a personal note, once I embarked upon the path of taking care of my body, including eating healthy food, exercising regularly, and being conscious of how my body responds to different situations, I witnessed an immense difference in my relationship with Allah. This is in no way a self-proclamation that I have a high level of righteousness; it is merely a report of the positive difference my healthy life-style has made in my relationship with Allah.

As humans, we are mainly spiritual beings who have a physical component to our existence. The different facets of the human experience are highly inter-connected, and it is mandatory to be aware of this feature. Thus, our physical states are not disconnected from our emotional states or vice versa. Neuroscience has produced compelling evidence that our physiology tremendously influences our thoughts, emotion, and motivations, and vice versa. The Arab proverb goes: A sound mind is most likely found within a sound body. Scientifically, it is proven that what we eat affects who we are and how we act. This does not suggest that those who live healthy lifestyles have good hearts; it merely indicates that those who live healthy perform better at whatever they do.

 

The Messenger (PBUH) said:

“Your body has a rights upon you”.

This statement should be seen in the wider context of the Islamic way of life. Each and every single one of the teachings of Islam is ultimately meant to take us closer to Allah and Paradise. The mechanics that underlie this process are not always obvious; this is why they call for proactive investigation. Unlike our times, the life-style of the Prophet (PBUH) and the Arabs was naturally healthy. It required a fair deal of physical exertion, and people consumed much less food than what constitutes the modern diet. Additionally, fasting is evidence that eating less is good not only for our bodies but for our souls, as well.

There are states of spirituality that are almost impossible to attain when one indulges in excessive eating and an inactive lifestyle.

Let me share with you how taking good care of your body can contribute to your relationship with Allah:

• Eating healthy food nourishes your heart and brain. Clear thinking and balanced emotions are noticeable benefits of sticking to a healthy diet. The quality of your thoughts is immensely contingent on the quality of food you eat.
• Healthy food strengthens and refreshes your body. Your energy level will improve to allow a person to do more for the sake of Allah in terms of quality and quantity when fueling oneself with a balanced diet.
• Regular exercise optimizes your body’s performance, your brain’s functioning, and your overall sense of wellbeing. Success in these domains allows a person a higher level of performance potential when chasing after good deeds.
• Sticking to a healthy life-style lessens the sense of guilt that many of us constantly suffer from at a subconscious level. A hidden sense of guilt is the enemy of wellbeing, focus, and success. This sense of guilt may impact other aspects of our lives, including the strength of our willpower in other domains.
• A healthy lifestyle improves the quality of your sleep while reducing the number of hours you spend sleeping. By improving the quality of sleep, a person feels well-rested and can spend their waking hours in beneficial and spiritually fulfilling endeavors.
• Living healthy satisfies one of the most fundamental human needs: the need for achievement and mastery. It is a tremendous challenge to have a healthy lifestyle in today’s culture of consumerism; thus, maintaining a healthy lifestyle pays huge dividends: feeling in control.

This list is by no means exhaustive; much more can be said as to the spiritual and physical benefits incurred by establishing healthful practices. Personally, I made a decision 16 months ago to live healthy, and Allah has helped me to maintain it thus far, and I pray He will allow me to continue as such.

In the past, I was overweight; sleeping a lot, feeling exhausted all the time, and experiencing negative thoughts most of the day.

One day I said to myself:

It is this one life that will determine my eternal destiny; what a waste if I keep dragging myself like this just because I can’t resist the temptation of unhealthy food and a messy lifestyle.

 

Here I am, 16 months later; I feel much younger than I did 10 years ago; I sleep less; I work more; I enjoy better relationships with family and friends; and never in my life have I been as positive as I am today. You cannot appreciate how unhealthy food and lifestyle are wasting your life until you transition to a healthier lifestyle for a few months.

Taking care of my body has become an act of worship for myself and some close friends. The way I see it is that Allah has given me a body to harbor my soul during this life and made both body and soul highly interconnected (this is why the Prayer has a physical component to it).

To extract the best out of my soul, I must take good care of its home: my body. 

The fruits of my endeavor during the last 16 months are priceless and I have no words to describe this transition. Almost every aspect of my life has improved tremendously. It was indeed one of the most successful investments I have ever made in my life, Alhamdulillaah.

To conclude: if you are keen to improve the quality of your relationship with Allah, as well as your life in general, taking care of your body is absolutely indispensable.