Al Wasillah (In The Footsteps Of The Prophet PBUH)

Your Health Before You Fall Sick

2: Take Advantage of Your Health, Before You Fall Sick

The second of the five matters is, "your health, before you fall sick." The fact that one lives a normal life and is not afflicted with diseases and plagues, represents a person's health. Take advantage of this before diseases and plagues come because mankind, being mankind, will fall sick. Everyone falls sick. If we did not fall sick, we would not be humans, we would be divine.

There will come a time when we will fall sick. Some of those times the sicknesses will be more severe, and for certain people even more severe. So the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is reminding us that we do not know when we will have full possession of our faculties, of our strength, of our mental powers, before we will fall sick. Therefore, take advantage of it before that time comes.

When we are in good health, we take it for granted and don't always appreciate what we have. It is only when we fall sick that we realize what a great blessing we had and how we lost it by not doing as much as we could have done. Everyone falls sick. There may come a time when we also fall sick. Sometimes the sicknesses may be severe. So, the Prophet (SAW) is reminding us that we do not know the time up to which we will enjoy the full possession of our faculties, of our physical strength, and our mental capacities. Therefore, we should take advantage of our good health before that time comes when we may be deprived of it.

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: "There are two blessings the majority of mankind have been deceived concerning." The majority of mankind do not appreciate these two blessings. They are "health," good health, "and free time."

Once a person came to Yunus ibn 'Ubayy, one of the scholars of the Salaf, and he complained of extreme poverty as he had not been blessed with much. Yunus ibn Ubayy asked him, "Would you be willing to give away your sight for a certain amount of money?" The man said, "No, of course not." Then he asked him, "Would you be willing to give your hands away?" He said, "No, of course not." He asked, "Your feet?" He said, "Of course not." When he finished he said "I see that you have hundreds of thousands of millions of blessings, yet you are complaining of poverty?"

We have our full faculties, we can see and hear. Look at someone who Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala has tested with blindness. It is a very severe test, and that is why the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam has said in an authentic hadith:

"There are two things if Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala takes them away from a person and he is patient, he is guaranteed Jannah. These two things are the two eyes."

In other words, if a person is blind, and we seek Allah's refuge from the physical and the spiritual blindness in this world and in the hereafter, then Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala is testing him. And if he is patient, then Allah will reward him with Jannah.

How about one who has been blessed not just with eyesight, but with hearing, health, arms, limbs, energy, vitality, enthusiasm, and many other things. Should we not appreciate the blessing from Allah subhaanahu wa ta 'aala? Do we not realize how sweet health is? It can be used for the worship of Allah. When we are blessed with these bodies, why do we not use them in the worship of Allah?

"Any blessing you have is from Allah. Then when harm touches you, it is to Him alone you cry for help" (al-Nahl, 16:53).

The least we can do, brothers and sisters, is the faraa'id (obligatory actions) such as salah five times a day, fasting in Ramadan, and going for the Hajj. All of these require that we use our physical bodies. That is the least that we can do, the bare minimum. Of course, the more that one does, the better it is for him.

This is the second of the five matters: "your health before you fall sick."