With it being mental health awareness day, we thought we’d write a few words on our thoughts from an Islamic perspective on how we can take proactive steps to improving our wellbeing!

Long before the trendy self-care hashtags of the modern world. Allah (subhana tallah) in his infinite wisdom reminded us of the fundamental importance of reaching out to others.

Beautifully revealed in a detailed reading of Surah Maun (107:1) where we find great emphasis placed on the importance of sincere acts of kindness. It seems our need to connect with each other is locked into our very DNA. With current society preaching only looking out for yourself, we have moved away from our DNA of collectivism to a more individualist state of mind.

It is often said that money does not buy happiness, if it did then we as a nation would be enjoying peaks in our happiness. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case. As the Muslim community becomes wealthier as a collective, we don’t seem to become happier and content with what we have. There is always more to get, more to buy, more to compete with.

There is a widely referred to study done in America, where researchers calculated that beyond a certain amount where money is not an issue in your life you don’t become any happier the more you accumulate.

You can read more about that study here: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html

However, the concept that money does not buy happiness is not entirely untrue either. Money can it seems buy happiness and an improved mental health if it spent on others: if it is shared, if we move way from only looking out for ourselves and start to look as a community.

Money is after all a small part of the blessings of Rizq that Allah will hold us accountable for. Therefore, we can never underestimate the impact of a sincere thoughtful gift, donation or sharing what we have.

At Riwaya, we even a monthly donation policy to ensure as we grow our community grows too! You can read up about some of the projects we’ve supported here: https://riwaya.co.uk/riwayablog/

Surah Maun (107:1) reminds us of the impact of gift giving. A thoughtful present can shift the mood of the recipient almost immediately. The Prophet (pbuh) reminds us that giving softens the hearts and increases love for one another. What better way to combine the two than through an unexpected gift? With the increase in mental health issues especially during the ‘Covid’ era everyone it seems is feeling overwhelmed with some aspect of their lives.

Remember a simple gift can often translate into a powerful gesture. As our beloved Prophet (pbuh) taught us a genuine smile, a thoughtful gift and a heart-warming hug unite to become a powerful force towards healing our desperately wounded humanity.

Here at Riwaya, we are creating the world’s first online marketplace that has community at its core. We’re supporting Islamic businesses to help showcase their products to a dedicated Muslim audience! You can learn more about our mission here: https://riwaya.co.uk/about/

Interested in learning more about, get in touch with us here: https://riwaya.co.uk/contact-us/ or via email on [email protected] and help us big the best Islamic business community in the world!