Ramadan in UAE: This doctor receives patients even during Iftar

Abu Dhabi - The doctor says his days are highly busy even during the month of fasting because the center handles all sorts of patients on a daily basis.

A frontline doctor says nothing gives him more happiness than treating his patients well and taking care of them during the holy month of Ramadan.

Dr Abdullah Abubakar Al Shakkaf, 29, who works at SEHA’s Covid-19 Prime Assessment Centre in Mafraq area of Abu Dhabi, believes his duty is a way of giving back to the community and at the same time, it pleases Almighty Allah, his creator.

The doctor says his days are highly busy even during the month of fasting because the center handles all sorts of patients on a daily basis.

“I work at a very busy centre and we take care of so many patients every day. But at the end of the long-day duty, I feel happy to have helped the sick people because it is a good deed and Almighty Allah likes it. Also, I believe that taking care of the ill makes this beautiful nation, which is my second home, safe,” said Al Shakkaf, who hails from Yemen.

“We work in shifts. Sometimes for 12 hours from 10am to 10pm. On some days, I work six hours. I’m really proud of my job and I do it with a lot of joy because it saves lives.”

The Yemini expat says unlike past Ramadans before the Covid-19 pandemic when would work shifts that allowed him to have iftar with his family, now he barely gets to have breakfast with his mother and wife.

“The iftar timing is between 6.30pm and 7.30pm and at that time I am always at work. When we have a patient during iftar, we just take a few minutes to break our fast and then return to duty to attend to the patients,” Al Shakkaf said.

The frontline doctor noted that although he has a busy schedule, he finds time to worship Allah during Ramadan because it is a special month for all Muslims.

“I am always busy during the day, but at night when I have finished work, I ensure that I find time to recite the Holy Quran, pray Tahajud (night prayer) and make supplications so I don’t miss out on the blessings on Ramadan,” said Al Shakkaf.

He says, he always rushes home after his night shift to feast on the delicious samosa and shurba prepared by his mother and sweets arranged for him by his wife.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com