For over a year now the entire world is battling a virus that has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, infected millions of people, brought global economies to a standstill and brought the world to its knees. If from all of this there is one lesson that we can learn is the importance of our health and that we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Health is a necessary condition for the preservation of life. Indeed, it is an essential requirement for the establishment of Allah’s law in human life, for it is only healthy human beings that can properly implement this law in human society.

According to Imam Al-Ghazali: “A proper understanding and implementation of religion, from the standpoint of both knowledge and worship, can only be arrived at through physical health and life preservation”. Imam Al-Ghazali, Al-iqtisad fi al-i’tiqad.

Hence, Islam places health very high in importance and very close to faith. The Prophet ﷺ said:
قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ ثُمَّ بَكَى فَقَالَ: «سَلُوا اللَّهَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فَإِنَّ أَحَدًا لَمْ يُعْطَ بَعْدَ الْيَقِينِ خَيْرًا مِنَ الْعَافِيَةِ»
Allah’s messenger mounted the pulpit, then wept and said, “Ask God for forgiveness and health, for after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health.” [Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah]

Another hadith gives us the proper perspective of the essential things in life, and sound health happens to be from among them:

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم‏:‏ ‏ “‏ من أصبح منكم آمنا في سربه، معافى في جسده، عنده قوت يومه، فكأنما حيزت له الدنيا بحذافيرها‏”
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Whosoever begins the day feeling family security and good health; and possessing provision for his day is as though he possessed the whole world.” [At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].

In another hadith, the Prophet ﷺ defined the relative importance of health and wealth:
كُنَّا فِي مَجْلِسٍ فَجَاءَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَعَلَى رَأْسِهِ أَثَرُ مَاءٍ فَقَالَ لَهُ بَعْضُنَا نَرَاكَ الْيَوْمَ طَيِّبَ النَّفْسِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏”‏ أَجَلْ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ أَفَاضَ الْقَوْمُ فِي ذِكْرِ الْغِنَى فَقَالَ ‏”‏ لاَ بَأْسَ بِالْغِنَى لِمَنِ اتَّقَى وَالصِّحَّةُ لِمَنِ اتَّقَى خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْغِنَى وَطِيبُ النَّفْسِ مِنَ النِّعَمِ ‏”‏
“We were sitting in a gathering, and the Prophet (ﷺ) came with traces of water on his head. One of us said to him: ‘We see that you are of good cheer today.’ He said: ‘Yes, praise is to Allah.’ Then he spoke to the people about being rich. He said: ‘There is nothing wrong with being rich for one who has piety, but good health for one who has piety is better than riches, and being of good cheer is a blessing.” [Sunan Ibn Majah 2141]

By contrast, health places on us a great responsibility, for which we are accountable to Allah.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَعْنِي الْعَبْدَ مِنَ النَّعِيمِ أَنْ يُقَالَ لَهُ أَلَمْ نُصِحَّ لَكَ جِسْمَكَ وَنُرْوِيكَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ ‏”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Indeed the first of what will be asked about on the Day of Judgment – meaning the slave (of Allah) being questioned about the favours – is that it will be said to him: ‘Did We not make your body, health, and give you of cool water to drink?’”

Islam directs people’s attention to this blessing and alerts them to the fact that many people end up making a great loss as a result of their casual and negligent attitude to it. The Prophet ﷺ said:

قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ نِعْمَتَانِ مَغْبُونٌ فِيهِمَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، الصِّحَّةُ وَالْفَرَاغُ ‏”‏‏
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There are two blessings that many people are deceived into losing: health and free time.” [Sahih al-Bukhari 6412]

Hence, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to regularly supplicate to Allah for good health.
انَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ ‏- صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏-يَقُولُ: { اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ زَوَالِ نِعْمَتِكَ, وَتَحَوُّلِ عَافِيَتِكَ, وَفَجْأَةِ نِقْمَتِكَ, وَجَمِيعِ سَخَطِكَ }
Ibn Umar (RA) relates that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate saying, “O Allah! I seek refuge in you from the withholding of your favour, the decline of the good health you have given, the suddenness of your vengeance and from all forms of your wrath.” [Related by Muslim.]

So if we have good health, be grateful to ALLAH for it, and if your health is not good, than remember Shifa is only in the Hands of Allah and if you ask from Him, he will restore your health in sha Allah.