What Mindset Will Drive Your Ramadan This Year?

As-salam alaykum,

Over the past couple of weeks, I have experimented with some of the seeds planted during the Healthcare Pro’s Seed Planting Workshop;

1.  If you prefer to listen instead of read the newsletter? Try the free Read Aloud Chrome extension—-just click and let it read the page for you!— Install here

2. We also restarted the SakeenahMD WhatsApp community based on a nudge from a few of you. 

3. We put out the Ramadan Readiness Survey for Healthcare Professionals - I would love to hear from you as well if you haven’t gotten a chance to complete this brief survey.

4. Preparations for the Healthcare Pro’s Ramadan Mastery Workshop are in full swing. Register here.

Having said all that, I’m glad to be back here today as we double down on our Ramadan focus.

As busy healthcare professionals, we often find ourselves stretched too thin—working long hours, unpredictable schedules, and taking on high-stakes responsibilities. This reality can make it difficult to engage deeply in the acts of worship that Ramadan offers. But what if, instead of feeling limited by our time, we shifted our mindset?

This Ramadan, I invite you to cultivate the Gardener mindset—an approach that can help you unlock barakah and do more with less. The Gardener mindset is predicated on 3 simple but profound considerations—the locus of our intentions; our relationship to the results that we seek and the timeline within which we operate. Let’s ground ourselves in the divine wisdom behind this Quranic mindset. 

Divine Wisdom

Allah, the Most High, challenges us with a set of rhetorical questions to slow down to in Surah Al-Waqi’ah v. 63-64:;

“Have you considered what you sow? Is it you who cause it to grow, or are We the grower?”

In these powerful verses from the famous surah, we find divine wisdom that grounds this mindset and helps us to hone in on the shift in perspective. Allah asks us about the seeds that we plant - the intentions we set - the plans that we make - including plans nurtured at the bedside and/or the C-suite among healthcare leaders - who actualizes them? The answer is definitively, Allah. We therefore need to align ourselves with this perspective especially as we approach Ramadan. 

Now, let’s carefully appraise each consideration;

1. The Power of Intentions: A Shift in Perspective

Every moment in healthcare—from office-based consultations about wellness, to disease-centric discussions at the bedside and the long shifts in between—can be an act of worship if we pause to upgrade our intentions, seeking Allah’s acceptance and executing with Ihsan (excellence). 

The essence of Ramadan is the cultivation of the mindfulness of Allah in a practical way that reflects the reality of our day-to-day struggles. Given our demanding schedules, our success this Ramadan will not come from quantity alone—rather quality has to be a major focus for us. The quality of the high value moments we spend in the ritual acts of worship as well as how we intend and execute on our multifaceted roles at home and work.

When we refine our intentions, even the challenges of our careers—fatigue, stress, and uncertainty—become opportunities to earn Allah’s pleasure.

2. Detach from the Results

As a community of healthcare professionals, we intensely focus on results - and rightly so, given that the often high stakes decisions that we make and the procedures we execute upon impact the lives of many during vulnerable periods of their lives. Allah, the Most High, however, is giving us the space to let Him carry the weight of the outcome so that we can invest our energy and focus on the process and the effort that we put in at work and home which is where the real opportunity lies for us to “win big!” with Allah, the Most High. 

The Ramadan experience is no different. Praiseworthy planning and diligence with execution coupled with a realistic approach grounded in sincere intentions will, in sha Allah, enable us to cultivate mindfulness of Allah this blessed month and earn bountiful rewards with the Most High. 

3. Think Long-Term

The seeds we plant this Ramadan aren’t just for this month—they are investments for our future in this life and ultimately for the eternal life of the hereafter. Thinking long-term will challenge us to think big and to put our best foot forward while seeking Allah’s divine permission and Taofiq (capacity) through prayer (du’a) for a transformative experience this Ramadan, in sha Allah.

A Ramadan Like No Other

Dear colleagues and friends, let’s prepare fertile grounds for this Ramadan with sincere intentions and praiseworthy planning. None of us is certain to witness another one and it may well be the one that secures our place in paradise (Jannah) in sha Allah.

In the next newsletter, I will share 3 high yield themes to focus on this Ramadan to maximize our reward despite our demanding schedules, in sha Allah.

May Allah, the Most High, allow us to reach Ramadan and grant us the ability to make the most of the blessed month with sincere intentions and actions. Amin.

Sincerely,

Sulyman

P.S. Get your FREE Ramadan Planning Worksheet for Busy Healthcare Professionals and share the subscribe link with your friends & colleagues: https://sakeenahmd-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe