8 Healthy Habits from our Prophet that Will Improve Your Life

The prophet ‘peace be upon him’ provided us with a complete code of life through his lifestyle and teachings, to organize all our life matters, including our personal health and hygiene habits. We follow his actions because we love him in the first place, and we aim to be like him in this Dunya and be gathered with him in Paradise. We adopt his habits not only for spiritual benefits, but also physical and physiological benefits too. 

We might be applying some habits in our life that might be the same as those that the prophet did, yet in order to receive the Ajer (reward), we need to make our Niyya (intention) that we are following our prophet’s actions and we are imitating him.

Here are 8 easy Habits from the prophet that we must adopt in our daily life, and make them part of our life routine to get the benefits and receive the rewards from Allah.

1- Fasting Regularly outside the Month of Ramadan 

Fasting was a regular practice of the prophet ‘peace be upon him”, even outside the month of Ramadan. 

He was eager to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as on The White Days, which are the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month in the Hijri calendar.

The benefits of fasting are proven scientifically. Our eating timings and habits have a direct profound impact on our health, and those habits that the prophet adopted are the best to follow to improve our health, yet at the same time gain the Ajer.

2- Drinking Habits

Yes. Even when drinking water, the prophet had a special way of doing it, which was later proved to be the best way of drinking, that benefits the health and avoids many diseases.

Abu Huraira told us that the prophet ‘peace be upon him’ used to drink in three breaths, if the vessel was lowered to his mouth, he would say Bismillah, and if he finished drinking, he would say Alhamdulillah. He would do that three times. He also taught us to drink while sitting, mainly from a cup and not directly from the sharing bottle.

Doing so will prevent you from headaches and dizziness. It can in fact help you absorb the fluid and get the most benefit out of it. 

3- Eating Habits

Nowadays, we are adopting a very unhealthy eating habit, which is eating to reach the fill. Yet our prophet ‘peace be upon him’ taught us to eat less than our fill, in a slow pace.

Eating less and not reaching one’s fill, prevents sickness and disease, and as our Arab ancestors said: “The stomach is home for disease.” 

Not only this, but also the food that was prepared for a certain number of people, is always enough for the double. Add to this that eating in company, the blessing takes over. 

Eating less, slowly and together, brings a lot of health benefits and prevents many diseases. It also has a psychological effect that brings comfort and happiness, when people assemble to share the food.

4- Eating Dates in Odd Number

The prophet ‘peace be upon him’ used to break his fast with an odd number of dates, and even on regular days, he ate dates in an odd number. 

Eating dates in general has many benefits that you can learn about, yet eating them in an odd number is not only a Sunnah act, yet also a healthy habit, that avoids their transformation in the body into sugar.

5- Use Siwak

Our beloved prophet used the Siwak (The Arak Toothpick). It is very healthy for the mouth because it prevents toothache as well as bad breath. He urged us to use the Siwak in many hadiths and this is one of them:

 

Aisha ‘may Allah be pleased with her’ reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said “The miswak cleanses and purifies the mouth and pleases the Lord” (An-Nasai)

"السواك مطهرة للفم مرضاة للرب" (رواه النسائي)

For those who cannot find the Siwak nowadays, you can consider brushing your teeth, with the Niyya to follow the actions of the prophet ‘peace be upon him’

6-  Waking Up Early 

The Prophet ‘peace be upon him’ set a sleeping schedule for himself that was very healthy. He usually slept early (after Ishaa Prayer) and woke up early for Fajr Prayer. He often prayed the Qiyam prayer, between Ishaa and Fajr, where he wakes up from his sleep to perform a few Rakaat. So, the prophet recommended adequate sleep. He never deprived himself of sleep nor overslept and that’s what we must do.

He advised us to start our days with work early and he said:

7- Sleeping On your Right Side 

The prophet ‘peace be upon him’ slept on his right side, and advised us to do so. The benefits of this sleeping position were later proved scientifically, as it facilitates the function of the lungs and avoids pressure on the heart. 

He also recommended us to avoid sleeping on our stomach as mentioned in the hadith:

Ya'ish bin Tikhfah Al-Ghifari ‘May Allah be pleased with him’ reported:

“My father said: I was lying down on my belly in the mosque when someone shook me with his foot and said, "Lying down this way is disapproved by Allah." I looked up and saw that it was the Messenger of Allah ‘peace be upon him’.” (Abu Dawud)

8- Taking Care of your Personal Hygiene 

The Prophet 'peace be upon him' taught us to be clean and smell nice all the time.

In one of his hadiths, he mentions that personal hygiene is a human nature:

Doing so regularly keeps the person clean and healthy, so he appeals to himself and others. 

💐 May we all follow the actions of our beloved prophet to have better health and to earn the reward that we were promised by Allah. 💐