Preventive Measures for a Healthy Life: Towards an Islamic Perspective with Reference to COVID-19

Abstract

Traditions and practices in food, resting, and hygiene or cleanliness
are among the key factors deeply associated with human immunity against
fatal diseases and viruses. Al-Ṭibb Al-Nabawī (Prophetic medicine in Islam),
similar to popular herbal and Ayurveda medicine, promotes a symbolic
narration “prevention is better than cure.” Drawing on this broader notion of
Tibbin Nabawī, this paper addresses a critical question of how the “healthy
lifestyle” prescribed in Islamic tradition provides a preventive measure
against potentially fatal diseases and deadly viruses such as COVID-19. For
this, the essay examines Islamic perspective on, among other things, ṭahārah
(cleanliness), food habit and dieting, sleep and rest cycle, and pandemics. It
argues that Islamic traditions on healthy lifestyle, which is largely consistent
with the prescriptions of modern science, offer a unique physical and spiritual
paradigm to fight toxic diseases of the human body and pandemics such as
COVID-19.