Living a Healthy Life in Islam

The religion of Islam has always emphasized the importance of health and wellness. For centuries, Muslims have recognized the value of living a well-rounded, clean and healthy life. For these reasons alone, the Islamic religion and culture has instilled great values of taking care of the mind, body, and spirit in order for the Muslim to fulfill the obligations placed on them by Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

We will take a closer look at how the Muslims attempt to stay healthy and purified, the forbidden aspects of the religion, and medicinal practices within the religious culture.

Health is considered a great blessing of Allah and also a trust from the Almighty God (A'dab-e-Zindagi, 2007:15). Muslims strongly believe that health is important, for if one was unhealthy, then they would not have the ability to continue to do good deeds. Muslims have strong faith in the Almighty Allah. They believe that they must do good deeds in this life, by doing charitable works, taking care of their family, building a strong Islamic community, and most importantly worshiping Allah, so that they may abide in the eternal abode of Paradise.

Testifying there is only One God and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the servant of God, the continuous prayers 5 times daily, the paying of charity, the fasting during the month of Ramadan, and the rigorous visit to perform Hajj at Mecca, all constitute a healthy lifestyle if these 5 pillars are going to be fulfilled. If the Muslim is unable to fulfill these obligations due to an illness, these pieces of the faith may be hard or impossible to accomplish.