Painful periods and productivity..?? For so many of us, those two words may seem uninteresting, especially during Ramadan.
We may feel we deserve a break from the fasting and worship, but does that mean lossing out on the rewards of Ramadan..?
I couldn’t agree more that the initial days of our menstrual cycle are for rest and recuperation. With dropping energy levels, loss of blood, appetite, and sleep; the last thing on our minds is how to be productive right now.
I know all I could do for the first 2 days was sleep, eat, and sleep some more. So much so that my only way to feel positive about total rest was to prepare for it. To free me of errands, deadlines, and study, so that I can just focus on rest and nothing but the most necessary.
We must realize that rest and recuperation during our period is our body’s right. Our body is a trust ( Amanah) from Allah, we are not only encouraged to take care of its needs and to treat them well, but rather it is a duty.
We are encouraged to take advantage of our health, and that can not be done without taking care of it first.
The Prophet ﷺ advised to: “Take benefit of five before five: Your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied, and your life before your death”
(Narrated by Ibn Abbas and reported by Al Hakim)
Read the full article >>> 5 Before 5
To take care of our body means to respect its boundaries.
Respecting our body means knowing its limits and taking care to stay within those recommended guidelines.
Getting enough sleep, eating healthy varied wholesome foods, and letting our body take its time to heal and feel rejuvenated; requires time and energy.
And if that means sleeping and lounging around during painful cramps then that is nothing to feel guilty about.
We all experience periods differently and some of us have more pain than others. Therefore, we need to allow time and space for those women who need it to recover.
But this does not mean your whole day and week can come to no good.
There are many ways to be productive that can also be relaxing and enjoyable and most of all rewardable in both worlds.
With Islam, this couldn’t be easier.
Here Are A Few Ideas
Engage Your Mind
This is the easiest way you can gain many rewards with minimal physical effort. You can,
- Count your blessing to keep positive
- Remember the good behind your cycle
- Think about how powerful and amazing your body is
- Thank Allah for all that your body does for you
- Do your Duas for pain relief, in English if not Arabic
- Remember all the pain other are going through greater than this
- Think about the Prophets struggles and pains and Allah loved him more anybody else
- Do your dhikr to keep you occupied
You have to think positively at that moment.
Yes, the pain is unwanted but it doesn’t mean anything negative about you or your life.
After it’s over, we can look into lifestyle factors to help soothe and reduce the pain.
Do Something Worthwhile
When we think we’re doing nothing, we’re still using our phones or some screen.
Our phones and screens have become an extension of our hands that we don’t realize how much time and energy it takes from our day.
We can turn this around by simply being more intentional without phones. This doesn’t mean you will never relax with it, rather it will become a better experience as you become more aware of what you do with it.
Make a playlist of podcasts, lectures/ vids on Youtube, wherever you like. Save articles, read an e-book, Kindle, blogs…watch documentaries.
Do anything that will increase your understanding of something, make you a more interesting human instead of unending shows on Netflix or the unending scrolling of another’s life on Insta.
Heal With Quran
We send down the Quran as a healing and mercy for the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss.
The Quran (Surah al-Isra, Ayah 82)
Try this!
It works for me every time. Nothing fills me with more relaxation and contentment. My whole body goes into relax mode and for once my mind is still.
I love to listen to Surah Maryam because it contains the story of Maryam ( Mary) the mother of Prophet Isa (Jesus). It speaks in detail about her birth story, her fleeing from the public eye whilst pregnant, and then giving birth alone herself under a tree.
It resembles for me what all women go through when they experience the struggles of the menstrual cycle to the debilitating pain of childbirth. It’s our story of femininity and womanhood, and that Allah is with us the whole way through.
Adjust To The New
Being on our period means certain things are not allowed, like praying….touching Quran..etc
But this doesn’t have to be negative, we have to learn to adjust to the changes and find new ways to engage our soul and spirituality.
We can still sit and listen to some Quran, study the Quran, revise what we already know, or read a Quran translation instead.
We can sit with a book, do some Adkaar, a short online course.
Truly, if there is a will, there is a way. You will find it.
Keep Fasting In Other Ways
The period also means we cannot keep fasting in Ramadan with everyone else.
But fasting is not limited to just this…
There is the fast of the eyes; which means not looking at what is forbidden like nudity, watching haraam, looking lustfully, etc
There is the fasting of the tongue, and the ears, and so on…
Keeping the rest of your body within the limits and guidelines of your Lord means your keeping it from what is forbidden for you. That is defined as fasting too.
Serve Others
Allah is helping the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother.
Muslim
Allah will be in our service as long as we are serving/ helping others, especially in their time of need.
Not fasting or praying can mean extra time and more energy through the day, this is a great reason to help others in your family who are fasting or would like to do extra prayers, etc
Perhaps you can babysit for them, or run a few errands outside, and if you are feeling up to it, then an Iftaar for the family even!
Whatever is needed in your household offer to help, be productive, and always look to engage yourself in good deeds.
Holistic Muslimah
