“Balance is possible.” These three words have become something of a mantra for a Muslim nurse who, after years of allowing hospital demands to override religious practice, found renewed inspiration in our recent profile of Fareedah Chakwana.
“At first, I would ask myself how I could be assured that I still had tahara (ritual purity) to pray in my uniform after dealing with body fluids all day,” she explains, her voice reflecting years of inner conflict. “I would get discouraged and eventually stop trying. But Fareedah’s simple idea of bringing separate prayer attire and a mat gave me a solution I had never considered.”
This practical insightโthat maintaining religious practice sometimes requires adaptation rather than abandonmentโhas proven transformative for this nurse, who requested anonymity for this follow-up piece.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ก ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐
For this nurse, the challenge of maintaining religious obligations in a demanding healthcare environment had long seemed insurmountable. Working in a busy environment, she faced the practical challenges that many Muslim healthcare workers encounter daily.
“Honestly, praying in the hospital is challenging because sometimes the space is small. You might find yourself the lone Muslim on a ward. You might want to pray in the nurses’ station, but a colleague comes to pick up something urgent and disturbs you. Prayer times can coincide with emergencies when you simply can’t leave.”
These obstacles gradually eroded her practice. “I was discouraged. The concern about tahara after dealing with fluids, the lack of private space, and the interruptionsโthey all accumulated until I stopped trying altogether.”
It was reading about Fareedah’s systematic approachโkeeping separate prayer clothes, identifying quiet spaces, and maintaining disciplined timingโthat opened her eyes to possibilities she hadn’t considered.
“The conducive environment was there,” she admits, now with clarity. “Our Nurses and Midwives Council already allows us to dress Islamically as long as it matches prescribed uniforms. They’ve approved special dressing options that conform with our religion. The government and the council already provide supportive policiesโit’s just for us to see how we can balance the two.”
This recognition that external barriers were perhaps less significant than internal ones reflects a profound mindset shift. “I was lacking motivation, which Fareedah has given me.”
๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐ง
As she contemplates returning to regular prayer, this nurse draws strength from an unexpected sourceโa patient encounter that has stayed with her for five years. The irony isn’t lost on her: while she had neglected formal prayer while on duty, she had never abandoned the compassionate care that Islam demands.
“Just like other nurses, I give my whole self to assist patients,” she reflects. “Many have blessed me with their words for the care I provide. I’ve been on track with what my faith and profession require in terms of serviceโI just wasn’t seeking Allah’s blessings or thanking Him when designated prayer times came while on duty.”
Early in her career at a rural posting, she assisted a woman with delivery complications after an attempted home birth. Rather than scolding, she chose compassionate care.
“Here was a person who needed helpโwhether I treated her well or poorly, she wouldn’t have protested because she was vulnerable. She needed me. But that behavior would be planted in her head forever.”
Five years later, after being reposted to the same center, she encountered the woman again.
“Imagine meeting this woman five years later. She told me, ‘You are the very kind person who helped us. May God continue to bless you’.”
This encounter highlighted a profound realization: while patients were blessing her for compassionate care, she had neglected to seek Allah’s blessings through prayer while on dutyโthe very practice that could strengthen and sustain such service.
๐ช๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ก
The integration between religious values and nursing principles became clearer as she reflected on Fareedah’s example and her own experiences.
“Islam encourages us to speak well to everyone, to control anger by saying ‘audhu billah min shaitan rajim’ (I seek refuge in Allah from Satan), and to treat everyone with kindness,” she explains. “Meanwhile, our nursing ethics encourage the sameโtreating everyone equally regardless of background, color, or social or financial status. You have to put yourself in their shoes.”
This recognition that Islamic principles and professional ethics “talk to each other” rather than conflict has been professionally liberating.
“For us as Muslims, the hijab actually creates accountability because everyone can identify us easily,” she notes. “For example, I might be the only person wearing hijab in a ward. Some might sneak out without being noticed, but I couldn’t do that because everyone would immediately see that ‘the hijab nurse’ had left.”
๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ก ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐
With renewed perspective, this nurse now approaches the challenge of prayer with both pragmatism and faith. “The beauty of Islam is that you can replace prayers you’ve missed because of emergencies. There’s always accommodationโwe just need discipline.”
Her advice for colleagues reflects her newfound clarity: “Let’s balance our time. Whether it’s one hour or 30 minutes, let’s utilize it well. Make prayer a habit, and we’ll get used to it. We should not allow faith to suffer because of work, nor allow work to suffer because of faith. Let’s find balance, as it has been proven possible.”
๐ ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ช๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐
Perhaps most significantly, this nurse has begun to see how her integrated Muslim identity can serve as a powerful testimony in professional spaces.
“If someone has heard negative things about Islam, how you treat them either confirms those beliefs or offers another perspective,” she reflects. “Your behavior as a Muslim nurse can provide small Muslim girls with inspiration to be like you.”
As she prepares to bring her prayer mat to work for the first time in years, this nurse carries renewed purpose.
“I have already packed my prayer mat and burqa โ preparing for my next shift,” she says with quiet determination. “We just need to be disciplined. From Fareedah’s example, we know it’s possible.”
—
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ “๐๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ฆ” ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด.
