Ramadan Notes 1446 AH #6: Spiritual Intelligence in Healthcare Work

As-salamu’ alaykum,

Recently, I found myself in a difficult scenario while on a clinical shift. A patient who had undergone a procedure in the preceding 48 hrs. developed sudden onset of chest tightness. Despite a normal EKG and negative troponins, the pain persisted after two doses of nitroglycerin. With no cardiology team at my beck and call, I consulted the attending and we ultimately agreed to transfer the patient to a higher level of care facility.

In the aftermath of this scenario my decision turned out not to be the most popular. 

Later, a colleague pulled me aside and offered some “advice”:

"We’re here to make extra money. If someone higher up tells you to do something, just do it, document it and move on."

I nodded. I listened. But inside, I wrestled with the weight of those words.

“Just document it and move on.”

A simple phrase, but one that carries profound implications. What happens when our professional choices are dictated by self-preservation rather than patient care? What happens when we let convenience or hierarchy dictate our actions and challenge our integrity?

Who Do We Really Work For?

Healthcare work is more than a paycheck. It’s more than avoiding conflict. It’s an Amanah (Trust). An oath. A responsibility.

For the Muslim, it’s frankly, a spiritual challenge. Because at the end of the day, we all serve something—whether it’s money, reputation, fear, or ease.

The real challenge isn’t making the right decision when it’s easy—it’s standing firm when it’s inconvenient.

What Defines Our Work?

I thought about the many reasons we all show up to work each day—For most of us, its likely a combination of these:

• The paycheck—a means to an end.

• The status and reputation—to be in the good graces of those in power.

• The sense of fulfillment—the satisfaction of helping others.

But then there are levels beyond these that elevate the status of our work beyond these worldly considerations. 

• The spiritual fulfillment—that my helping others earns me a divine reward.

• The hereafter focus—to be mindful of the impact of our work on success in the afterlife.

• Ikhlas (sincerity)—that our work is done purely for the sake of Allah.

And when our guiding principles shift towards a divine and hereafter-focus, our decisions shift. We stop making choices based on fear or convenience. We hold ourselves to a higher standard, even when no one is watching.

The True Test of Integrity

The question I kept coming back to was: Who am I serving in these moments of decision?

Integrity isn’t about what we do when it’s easy. It’s about the quiet, unseen moments when standing firm comes at a cost.

Ramadan presents a unique opportunity to challenge our comfort levels and upgrade our intentions and our guiding principles as we serve at the bedside—knowing that the reward is with Allah and that the transformation and the impact that comes along with it in this life will not only help us better serve our patients, their families and our colleagues but that it will, in sha Allah, increase our chances of success in the hereafter where it matters infinitely more.

May Allah, the Most High, allow us to elevate our intentions, keep us firm in the face of the incessant tests that we face in serving patients and grant us the transformation that will serve us in this life and in the hereafter this Ramadan and beyond. Amin.

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Join us for our 2nd Ramadan Check-In this Sunday, 9th Ramadan 1446AH (March 9, 2025). Let’s reset, refocus, and realign our energy for the days ahead.

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