28 September 2020
There is little doubt that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting every aspect of our lives—from virtual classrooms to telecommuting to early restaurant closing times to outright quarantines. During these past 6 months, we have realized more than ever that we must be aware of the state of our health and that we must be conscious of what and how much we eat.
As Muslims, we turn to Allah subhana ta ala and His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) for guidance and observe that Allah says we must strive to maintain the balance that Allah has established in all things. Allah says, “And He (Allah) enforced the balance. That you exceed not the bounds; but observe the balance strictly and fall not short thereof.” (55:7-9)
The balance that Allah subhana ta ala speaks about is the amount of food consumed and the types of tayyib (pure) food designed to build and enhance a strong immune system. Our immune system is incredibly important towards helping us to fight infections and disease. Like every other part of your body, our immune system is made from the foods and nutrients you eat. Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is essential for good health.
Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) taught us in a hadith about the problems of overindulgence and the wastage of food: “No human being has ever filled a container worse than his own stomach. The son of Adam needs no more than a few morsels of food to keep up his strength, doing so he should consider that a third of his stomach is for food, a third for drink and a third for breathing.” (Ibn Maja)
Health is one of the greatest blessings that Allah has gifted us with. We may often take this blessing for granted, but we should be grateful to Allah for our health and do everything we can to take care of it. For example, if we know that eating a particular food item will be bad for our health, even where the damage takes years to take its toll, we should refrain from doing so. Otherwise, we would only encourage heedlessness within us, potentially harming other aspects of our lives.
We should remember that as humans, practicing something positive in one part of our lives can only be good for us, as it will become habitual and encourage us to improve all facets of ourselves.