Ramadan Notes #7: Recharge with the Wudu Buzz!

As-salamu’alaykum,

Alhamdulillah, we have all made it through the first week of Ramadan and we ask Allah SWT to accept from us and overlook our shortcomings this past week and make the rest of this Ramadan even more productive for all of us. Amin.

I am very grateful to those of you who continue to engage the content that we are sharing at SakeenahMD and also for taking the time to share your feedback despite the loaded Ramadan schedules for many of us. Thank you all. Jazakumullahu khayran!. 

Today, we turn our attention to Wudu (ablution) to explore yet another blessing from Allah SWT to keep us energized during the days of Ramadan and year round in sha Allah. 

One of our colleagues, an Anesthesiologist, who connected with me via email after reading the newsletter from yesterday about Power Naps (Qailullah) shared with me that “in my line of work only one patient can sleep in the afternoon either myself or my patient” 😂. I was enthused to read this for 2 reasons - it acknowledges, in a very real way, the struggle of providing care and taking care of ourselves simultaneously as well as highlights the place of humor in helping us cope with some of the tough choices and realities of working in healthcare.   

Wudu (Ablution) offers another option in our arsenal to stay energized during Ramadan and maintain levels of alertness that is essential to the type of work that we all do everyday. 

At its most basic level, the Wudu (ablution) is a ritual act that we engage in 5 times a day as we prepare for each of the 5 obligatory prayers.  It gets us in the mental zone for prayer (at least it should…barring the many distractions in our lives these days…SubhanAllah!) and comes with a number of spiritual benefits including washing away our sins as we see in the hadith that follows;

Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: When a believer washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes, will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water with the result that he comes out pure from all sins. Sahih Muslim 244 

We learn from an Islamic productivity framework that sins weigh us down and gets in the way of our productive pursuits, so even the spiritual significance of this act of washing away our sins when wudu is done correctly and sincerely has a profound impact on how we perform at home and at work.

Let’s take this a step further as I know many of us think through these things with a scientific lens;

Wudu also comes with physiologic and psychologic benefits;

1. Sensory stimulation comes with water interfacing with our skin which stimulates nerve endings and drives compensatory increased blood flow to deeper tissues improving alertness

2. The act of splashing cold water on the face can trigger the mammalian diving reflex which is associated with lowering of the heart rate and redirection of blood flow to vital organs increasing levels of alertness, reaction time, attention and memory.

3. Some other ideas that I found in my research include the connection between the act of making wudu and developing a renewed sense of focus on the action at hand - primarily (Salah) but this can translate to any productive pursuit that follows this

For some of us, taking a nap may not be an option especially when you are on duty but we all thankfully get a restroom break. This is your chance to recharge and leverage what one of my mentors calls the wudu buzz! Don’t just limit wudu to Salah times consider leveraging wudu to tap into its inherent barakah for your energy this month and beyond.

May Allah SWT grant us the capacity to tap into the barakah of this beautiful practice that one of our pious predecessors, Bilal Ibn Rabah (RA) is known for which earned him the sound of his footsteps in Jannah. 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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