Ramadan Notes #22: Good healthcare begins with You and the Qur’an

As-salamu’alaykum,

Dr. Vivek H. Murthy the serving U.S. Surgeon General wrote  in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Building a Thriving Health Workforce 2022: Addressing Health Worker Burnout  that “our health depends on the well-being of our health workforce” referring to U.S. Healthcare workforce. The same can be said about the health of the global community and the critical role of the global healthcare workforce.

The essence of this statement is readily understood; that for healthcare workers to serve at their best and positively influence the health outcomes of individuals and of the populations that we serve, then healthcare workers first need to be in the best of health.

There are at least 4 main dimensions to holistic wellbeing - physical, mental, social/emotional and spiritual - each of which requires regular attention with intentionality to cultivate a strong body, mind and soul. 

The Qur’an makes reference to these in several places. Consider the verse below;

Surah Al-Baqarah v168: “O humanity! Eat from what is lawful and good on the earth and do not follow Satan’s footsteps. He is truly your sworn enemy.”

In the verse above, Allah, the Most High, calls upon all of mankind to eat from what is considered halal (lawful or “kosher”) and importantly, what is wholesome and inherently good speaking to the physical health and well-being component. 

The second part of the verse swiftly connects this physical dimension to our spiritual well-being, admonishing us about the potential consequence of not following this divine guideline - that we may, in fact, be following the footsteps of the open enemy for all of mankind, Satan by not paying attention to this with our choice of foods.

Consistent with this Quranic emphasis, many scholarly writings highlight the special place of our bodies and by default, our health specifically describing it is an Amanah (Trust) that we will be held accountable for how we manage it simply because it is one of the greatest blessings as we healthcare workers can appreciate from interacting with many ill people. 

Doing due diligence in managing our bodies and our holistic health and wellness sets up to be able to serve the global healthcare workforce in a manner that delivers high quality care and patient outcomes. Taking care of ourselves is a fundamental principle in the Qur’an and the example of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). This is one of the foundational precepts that many of us tend to ignore, sometimes out of altruism in the service of others, but it is one of the key principles to delivering high quality service in this increasingly challenging industry.

Good care for our patients and the populations that we serve in healthcare must start with us making better choices to nurture our bodies informed by Quranic principles and modern peak performance science.  

It is also crucially important to nurture your support system of family members and close friends and associates as you walk this challenging path as the Prophet Muhammad SAW did.

May Allah SWT guide us to connect more holistically with the Quran to unlock insights that transform us everyday of our service to humanity and May He allow us to reach Laylatul Qadr. Amin

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Join like-hearted #HealthCareWorkers on Zoom this Thursday for the final Ramadan weekly check-in 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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