With Ramadan just days away, I’m taking the time to reflect on myself and Islam – specifically what it teaches about self-care. It goes beyond what’s on the surface, taking the steps to care for yourself on a physical, mental and spiritual level. Islam helps to feel inner peace through the simplest acts, like ablution for the five daily prayers, to listening to recitations of the Qur’an – it isn’t an aesthetic to achieve, but a way of life, a practice that goes far beyond face masks, scented candles and bubble baths.
What I realise every time Ramadan is near, is that our mental diet affects our mental wellbeing – meaning that everything we consume with our eyes, the accounts we follow on social media to what we read and watch, to the celebrities and influencers we idolise, or the gossip we take part in, all affect us. While social media is a powerful tool for change, to start a conversation and to connect with people, it is also very, very toxic. We are constantly bombarded with unrealistic standards and expectations of how to be, how to act, what we need to have achieved already, so it is no wonder that we feel a certain pressure when coming face to face with all these posts. Islam helps me to dig deeper, to understand that self-care isn’t solely focused on the physical, but on a mental and spiritual level. It shows that beauty is beneath the exterior and envy of those who are doing well, something social media can make us feel constantly, is so damaging to our hearts.
Understanding this, I detoxed all my social media accounts and unfollowed – and stopped looking at – the accounts that make me feel bad about myself physically, while trying to focus more on letting go of the need to try to be someone I’m not, or aspiring to have the ‘ideal’ body type. Falling back into religion helps to find comfort in a being higher than all of us and is a form of wellness.
Halimah says that she’s had a tough year, and had spent a lot of it questioning things. She had started therapy which put her in the right direction, and then after about seven months, she found herself going back to Islam. “I started small with podcasts and books. I learnt so much about my religion,” she says. “And things make sense. Islam has helped me understand and navigate my pain, and believing in God has made everything better. I don’t worry about my future too much, and getting back into prayer and my religion really helped me understand why so many doors were closed.”
She goes on to say that when she feels alone, she remembers she has God and it is comforting. “Religion has helped my mental health, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t have the occasional mental breakdowns. It’s Islam that has helped me realise why I feel the way I do, and it has helped things get better. Regular remembrance of God and gratitude to Him, has made me a lot more appreciative of what I have. And I realise, I have more blessings than problems.”
With Ramadan coming up, Halimah says that she has been reading a lot of books and has even joined a book club, where they are discussing and reading books on the teachings around Ramadan. “This is my first Ramadan in a while where I have felt truly to connected to my religion, and I’m getting a Ramadan planner as well – I want to make the most of it. Ramadan also helps me focus more on prayer, and I love the atmosphere of it. It has such a wholesome community sense to it. Living in a non-Islamic country, I feel that Ramadan is what brings Muslims together.”
Miguel, a Muslim revert since 2020, says that Islam has helped him take care of himself physically and mentally, especially during Ramadan. “I fasted from not just food and water, but also music and social media. Having sovereignty over my cravings and desires was just an awesome feeling. I was much more conscious of my actions and realised that it was possible for me to take really charge of my life. At the end of Ramadan 2020, it was undeniable; I was a much better person when I followed the guidance of Islam,” he explains.
“Not only was I better to myself in terms of health and mental wellbeing, but I also had an improved ability to pay attention and care for the people I love. This was huge for me. Converting to Islam was pure common sense at that point. So yeah, that is to say, fasting (and the holy month of Ramadan) were vital in my journey to Islam, Alhamdulillah!”
Miguel says that he also refrained from swearing, which improved his communication with people. “I’m very careful not to speak to anyone with an aggressive tone, even if I am upset, which has helped me in my relationships as well,” he clarifies. “The purification ritual [for prayer] has been a life-changer as well. There is science to back this up. The ritual of washing is very important for us as human beings. I suffer from allergies and all my life I was never taught to rinse my nose as a child. My breathing has improved as a result of regularly doing so. Breathing well makes a huge difference in day to day wellbeing.”
When Miguel had COVID, he says that “regular washing helped me with my headaches, and praying really helped me stay focused and grateful for the little things, even while I was ill. It definitely helped boost my mood, which was very clear to me. I have no science to back this up but I also believe that the regular washing and praying really helped to ease the symptoms as it meant I was physically (and spiritually) active and engaged in those activities while self-isolating.”
“Overall,” he tells me, “Islam has really taught me discipline and how important it is to be disciplined. It is actually a kind of liberation. Instead of being driven by whatever cravings of desires I might have, I can actually use my intellect to choose how I want to structure my time and then I can follow through. Waking up for Fajr [dawn prayer], for example, has been a huge lesson, along with making sure I pray my five daily prayers on time as much as possible. It feels natural and beneficial to have these commitments and it is very rewarding to be able to meet these commitments. It is liberating on a mental level and gives me the ability to meet other commitments with ease.”
It’s clear to see that Islam has different ways of helping people to embrace self-care, and navigating it is a personal journey for everyone. The contentment from committing to regular prayers, focusing on spirituality and even learning more about the religion, is a powerful form of self-care for some people. It shows how it is deeper than what is on the outside: it’s a mental process.