Maintenance of Health (2/4)

4. You should always be industrious, energetic, hard-working painstaking and bold in your daily life. You should form the habit of facing all forms of hardship and tackling with the most difficult situations. Prepare yourself to lead the hard and simple life of a Mujahid (a fighter in the service of True Faith). Don’t be ease-loving, careless, delicate, indolent, voluptuous, timid and a materialist. While dispatching   Mu'adh b. Jabal (God be pleased with him) as Governor of Yemen, the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave him the following instruction:

"Mu'adh! Deny yourself the love of pleasure, for the servants of God are not pleasure-seekers". (Reported by Miahkat)

Abu Omama (God be pleased with him) reports the Holy Prophet Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as having said:

"Simple living symbolizes true Faith". (Reported by Abu Ddumd)

The life of the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was ever a simple and hard one, like a Mujahid. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) took care to preserve his physical energy and strived to enhance it. The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also liked to swim, for this sport proves the best physical exercise, Once the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and some companions (God be pleased with them) were swimming in a pool. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) arranged the companions in pairs of two and desired that each man should swim towards his partner. Abu Bakr (God be pleased with him) was paired with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) swam towards Abu Bakr (God be pleased with him) caught him and held him by the neck.

Horse was the Prophet's (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) favourite riding animal. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself tended his horse. He used to rub and clean the mouth of his horse with his own sleeves. He would tie the hair of its mane into knots and used to say:

"Goodness remains attached to its forehead till Doomsday".

'Uqba (God be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet of God (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed:

"Learn archery and horse-riding. I like the archers more than the horse-riders. He who learns the art of shooting arrows and then gives it up has paid scant regard to a Divine blessing".

 ‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar (God be pleased with him) reports that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated:

"He who guards the soldiers of Islam against danger in the night passes a night better than Shab-e- Qadr”.

In an address to his companions, the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed: "A time will come when the other nations will fall upon my followers as diners scramble over food”.  Someone enquired:

"O Prophet of God (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon you)! Will our numbers so dwindle, that other people will join forces in order to annihilate us”.  The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) answered:  "Not that your numbers will be small. In fact you will be much larger in number, but then your number will carry no weight, just as so many straws floating in flood-tide are weightless. Your enemies will no longer fear you. Cowardice will creep into your hearts”. At this point a man enquired: "O Prophet of God (peace and blessings of Allah be upon you)! What will be the cause of this cowardice"? The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed: “The cause will be that you will grow to love the worldly life and hate death”.

Abu Huraira (God be pleased with him) reports that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed:

 “He who holds the reins of his horse firmly and rides to service the cause of Islam, lives the best life. From whichever spot the news of threat to the cause of Islam reaches him, he mounts his steed and rushes thither. He is so fearless of death as if he is after it”. [Reported by Muslim]

Women should also lead hard and strenuous life. They should perform all household chores with their own hands. They should form the habit of being active and train themselves to bear hardships. They should abstain from being work-shy, indolent or voluptuous. They should raise their children so as they learn to be sturdy, energetic and tough from the very beginning of their lives« Even when there are servants in home, do not encourage your children to depend on them for odd jobs. Teach children to cultivate the habit of self-help. The ladies of the companions of the Holy Prophet used to perform household tasks with their own hands. They would work in the kitchen; they would grind at the millstone; they fetched water for use in the home, washed clothes, sewed and led a strenuous life. In the hour of need, they took the responsibility of rendering medical aid to the wounded in the battles-field and supplied water to the fighting forces. Hard work keeps women fit; it ensures the purity of their moral3 and the good example of the mothers serves as a model for character-building of their children. From the Islamic point of view, a good wife is the one who keeps herself busy in housekeeping tasks. She should be so engrossed in household activities that signs of exhaustion due to hard work, the blackness of the kitchen and the soot of fire-smoke should be evident from her face. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has stated:

“I and the woman whose cheeks are besmeared with kitchen smoke will be close together on the Day of Resurrection". (While saying this, the Prophet made a sign by joining his index finger with the middle finger).

6. Be an early riser. Keep your sleeping hours within limits of propriety. Don't sleep little, for in that case your body will not get proper rest and your limbs will feel exhausted and weary. On the other hand, do not sleep for long hours, for in that case you will become lazy and inactive.

Follow the maxim:

"Early to bed and early to rise" should be your motto of life.

Get up early in the morning and offers prayers to God. Go for a stroll into the field or garden and relax there. The fresh air of the morning has a salutary effect on health. Make it a point to do some light exercise daily according to your physical strength and endurance. The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) liked to divert himself by visits to the gardens, He used to go for a stroll in the garden once in a while, The Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade to remain awake and engage in conversation after 'Isha' (night prayer) and observed:

"Only that person is permitted to remain awake after 'Isha' who is either engaged in talk concerning religion or has to discuss some important matter with the members of his household".

7. Learn self-control. Keep your passions, fancies, desires and lusts under control. Guard against your ideas getting distracted or your eyes going astray, Peace of mind and contentment of the heart evaporate when the passions are given free rein and eyes begin to wander astray and the faces of such people lose all the beauty, grace and attractiveness of a youthful man. Having lost these attributes, these persons prove to be timid, weak-minded and cowards in every sphere of life.

The Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has stated:

"To cast a lascivious eye is the adultery of eyes and shameless talk is the adultery of tongue. Your lust presses a demand on you and your genitals either affirm or contradict this demand".

A sage observes:

"O Muslims! Keep away from sin. Sin entails six evils; three evils relate to this world and the other three are concerned with the eternal world. Those evils that relate to this world are these:

- Beauty and grace vanish from the face of man.

- The man is seized by the torment of poverty and destitution.

- It shortens the life of man.”

8. Save yourself from intoxicants. They affect the brain as well as the stomach. Liquor, of course, is forbidden, but you should refrain from using all other things having an intoxicating effect.

(Continued)