Whiteboard Wednesdays #3 – Health & Sabr | The Body & Soul Connection

 Whiteboard Wednesdays! An initiative to help YOU achieve your ideal healthy lifestyle inshaAllah! Every Wednesday at 7pm EST we will be doing a whiteboard presentation,  discussion & Q&A featuring cutting edge research on major issues in health and fitness that matter to you and your family’s life. Tune in for the LIVE Facebook broadcast every week to join the discussion!

Today’s topic: Health and Sabr – Our Body and Soul Connection!

Our religion, Islam, is a complete way of life leading to an easy and balanced way of living! It teaches the many principles to lead a proper and happy life! So, how does Islam relate to our Health? There are many narrations of the Prophet SAW advocating for healthier eating habits as well as staying active. For example, the Prophet SAW told us that: “verily, your body has a right over you” {Sahih Al-Bukhari}. Healthy living was shown to be a priority and was adhered to strongly by the companions and previous scholars as well.

Unfortunately, when we look at our situation in today’s world – there is a big disparity! Islam encourages healthy eating … but when we look at most of the Muslim populations, we see unhealthy eating practices and widespread obesity!

So how can we use this Islamic principle of Sabr (Patience) to further improve and enhance our health?

How can Sabr Help my Health? 

When we talk about Sabr, we usually think of patience, but Sabr is much more than that! We can define sabr as the strength a person has to avoid behaviours he is inclined towards and use that strength towards something he knows is better for him.

The famous scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH) wrote a whole book on Sabr, it is titled The Excellence of Patience and Gratitude. 

In this book he illustrates the ideal ways a person can achieve and use their Sabr to help them live a healthier life. He mentions some attributes that we can use to improve our health:

• Knowledge – Know what is good and bad for you! Many individuals are unaware of the fact that they are living an unhealthy lifestyle and continue on that path for the rest of their lives.
• Avoiding Triggering Environments – Stay away from any environment which you know will tempt you in falling back on your old practices. This includes looking at different pictures and videos showing tempting cakes and sweets – even being around friends that may tempt you into eating unhealthy foods!
• PRACTICE Self Control – It all comes down to you! Everyday tell yourself that you are going to avoid these specific habits and stop yourself when coming close. This way you will build yourself and will come out STRONGER the next day!
• Small wins – Don’t look at the big picture! If you keep focusing on the fact that you still have a belly and didn’t reach your goal, then you will feel down and won’t have the motivation to continue. Celebrate your small wins! Every week when you lose 2 pounds or don’t eat a sweet, for example, then that is a time to be happy and celebrate! Whether it is going out with friends or whatever you like! (Make sure to celebrate with non-food related activities)
• Fasting – A practice our Prophet SAW taught us and is very helpful when it comes to maintaining our health. If you’re fasting, you won’t have to worry about that big meal your friends are going to eat and the thought of taking that slice of cake won’t even cross your mind! This is because you are going to remember that you are fasting and it will always be at the back of your mind. But REMEMBER to not overdo it when it comes to iftaar time!

That is it for our third episode of Whiteboard Wednesdays. I hope you enjoyed this article and helped you and motivated you to achieve a more active and healthy family. Stay tuned next week for our 3rd episode of Whiteboard Wednesdays inshaAllah!