Ramadan Notes #14: How to do More with Less this Ramadan.

As-salamu’alaykum,

Can you believe that it’s already the 15th of Ramadan?!

How did we breeze through the last 2 weeks so quickly?

How come I am falling short in my “goals” for the month?

These are some of the questions that are going through my mind at this pivotal point in the month - my guess is , you likely have similar questions if not exactly the same!

Allah SWT emphasizes the point that the days of Ramadan are limited when he says in the beginning of the verse;

Surah Al-Baqarah v184: ˹Fast a˺ prescribed number of days…

We are all aware of this fact and yet we allow “life” (read as work where many of us now spend most of the hours of our days even in Ramadan) to get in the way of a productive Ramadan year in and year out. As healthcare workers, we bear a huge brunt of these long hours at work and so this calls for special attention. 

Reality check - the limited days just got halved! SubhanAllah! (Glory to be Allah!)

Strategy check - with only half the time left how might we approach these 2nd half of the month such that we can achieve more with less in the limited days; we can tap into the Barakah paradigm - this divine concept that Imam Raghib Al-Asfahani defined as the attachment of divine goodness to a thing such that the thing increases (often out of proportion to the effort put in) in essence allowing us to achieve more with less by the will of Allah SWT.

 How might we achieve more with less in the 2nd half of the month while continuing to be there at the bedside to take care of the sick, to nurture a trusting relationship with patients and their families, to carry the emotional weight of working in healthcare?

Here are some thoughts to help approach the rest of the month with Barakah;

1. Prioritize your intention for showing up to work everyday. Align it with the essence of Ramadan - mindfulness of Allah SWT in however best you know how to express this. Let it come from your heart.

2. Start your work days early - even 30 minutes to an hour earlier makes a huge difference. The Prophet Muhammad SAW made special du’a (prayer) to Allah for Barakah in the early hours Sakhr ibn al-Ghamidi reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “O Allah, bless my nation in their early morning.” Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1212

3. Plan your day around the 5 daily prayers - Aligning your day with Allah’s will - the obligations that He has placed on us will attract immense Barakah and allow you to do more with less.

4. Engage the Qur’an daily - you may choose to listen, recite, read the translation, listen or read some Tafsir etc…The key thing is to engage in some manner even if it's only for a few minutes. The Qur’an is a fountain of Barakah (as it is apparent in many verses) but we often don’t tap into this overflowing source of blessings!

5. Remember Allah often during the course of your day - as you enter the hospital walls, Ask for His divine help, set an hourly reminder on your smartwatch so that you can pause for a few seconds to say a word of remembrance, make du’a for the patients that you interact with and their often struggling families, seek Allah’s help for difficult encounters 

For healthcare professionals, working long and often irregular hours is considered the norm for us and we often don’t bat an eye about it. The question is not so much the physical or emotional toll of these types of hours on our days in Ramadan and beyond - the key thing here is, how can we make these hours count towards our scales of good deeds on the day of judgment? How can we achieve more despite the limited days and the limited “free” time that you and I have?  This is where Barakah paradigm comes in and can be a game changer and a source of transformation for you and I if only we will engage it with its due accord!

May Allah SWT put barakah in all that we do at home and at work and help us to embrace a life of Barakah this blessed month and beyond. Amin

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Join like-hearted #HealthCareWorkers on Zoom every Thursday this Ramadan for weekly check-ins at 4.15pm CST/9.15pm GMT/10.15pm WAT . Register and join with this link.

P.P.S. What other suggestions do you have for me and others in this regard? Share in the comments section or reply to [email protected]

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