The jihad approach to battling with your weight

"In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate"

At first glance, the title of this post might sound ludicrous but I think it is appropriate.

Jihad, is an Arabic noun meaning "struggle" and is commonly found in the Quran in the form of "al-jihad fi sabillillah", meaning "striving in the way of Allah".

Surprisingly, Wikipedia gives a rather good sypnopsis of the various views regarding jihad. Being trained as a scholar, Wikipedia is not really seen as a credible source but this webpage has enough valid references to garner it some merit.

However, my main topic for the day is how I see battling with my weight a form of jihad. See, food, in excess becomes a form of gluttony and that in itself is a sin. Our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. has said that if you must eat more, then make sure you fill your stomach with 1/3 food, 1/3 water and 1/3 air.

Also, in my opinion, Allah has lent to us this vessel, in the form of our bodies for us to serve Him. And how can we do so with near perfection if our knees collapse due to our weight?

For every illness, there is a remedy and in the broadest sense, the illness of gluttony has to be remedied by watching what you eat and exercising.

I keep telling myself that I have to struggle to be healthy because of Allah, so I can do more prayers and have the stamina to do more fasts in His name. Yet, I fail miserably, day after day because my heart is not strong enough to resist temptations.

With two more weeks till Ramadhan, I can still utilize the gym facilities before they freeze my account. I pray that I can resist the urge to overeat when breaking fast.

Struggle struggle struggle... I've got to struggle with 20kg of excess weight...

Oh Allah, give me the strength!