The Arabic word “Salah,” doesn’t only mean “prayer,” because “pray” basically means to address a prayer to God or another deity, according to the Oxford dictionary. “Salah,” is a word with a broad meaning, which doesn’t only mean prayer, but also means goodness, righteousness and godliness. In Salah, we not only ask from Allah but we also thank Him, praise Him and at the same time receive guidance from Him. Salah in the true sense is programming or conditioning. The prayer conditions us to stay away from forbidden and shameful actions, and encourages us to do righteous and sensible deeds. Since we humans have limited free will, this conditioning will help us and enable us to stay away from forbidden things, and enjoin on what is not forbidden. A healthy body requires three meals a day. Similarly, the spiritual soul requires five times Salah a day.Besides attaining spiritual upliftment from performing one’s Salat, one may also gain many physical and psychological benefits. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is recorded in a Hadith (Ibn Majah) stating that prayer is a cure for many diseases. The wisdom in this claim can be understood when assessing the physical benefits of the act of prayer.The process of performing Salat expects certain movements and actions, these actions performed at least five times a day have been found to equate to jogging or walking at a rate of three miles an hour. This is a basic level of exercise strongly advocated by doctors and members of the medical fraternity on a whole. The importance of exercise is undeniable, with potential benefits to the cardiac, respiratory, skeletal and muscular system. The dynamics of Salat contribute to the improvement of all of these systems, with specific emphasis on the muscular and cardiac systems. Before we delve into a detailed discussion, it needs to be noted that the purpose of performing Salat should not be to obtain health benefits, but rather to fulfill a religious requirement. The fact that there are physical benefits associated with prayer comes as a blessing.In Salah, when we perform ruku that is bowing down, extra blood flows into the upper part of the body. The spine becomes supple and flexible, while the spinal nerves are nourished. This relieves backache and pain. This is a good posture for reducing flatulence. This action stretches the lower back, thighs, and calves while blood gets pumped into the upper torso. Bowing position tones stomach muscles, abdomen and kidneys. When we come back to the standing position (after ruku), the blood which has entered into the upper part of the body, comes back to normal and the body is relaxed. As a result, this blood carries away toxins and releases tension.When we do Sujud, which is basically the prostration to the ground with eight parts of the body touching the floor, the forehead on the ground which is the best position of Salat. It is the most relevant part of Salat. Daily, the human beings are propounded by electrostatic charges from the atmosphere, which exudes perspiration in the central nervous system which gets super-saturated. These extra electrostatic charges have to be dissipated and discharged, otherwise resulting in headache, neck ache, muscles spasms, etc. No wonder people regularly take tranquillizers and drugs to relieve the pain. These electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged when the frontal lobe of the brain is put on the ground, in Sujud. There is dominance of the frontal lobe, and the thinking capacity of the brain is not on the top of the brain, but in the frontal lobe.In doing Sujud, there is less chance of getting headache, spasms, aches, etc. due to the fact that the electrostatic charges are dissipated and discharged.Moreover, the Sujud allow extra blood supply to enter the brain, which enables it to become healthier. It also has a positive effect on memory, vision, hearing, concentration and the psyche. In addition, extra blood flows into the skin, neck and face which increases circulation of blood of the skin, neck and face, which is very healthy especially in cold seasons. Also, it allows mental toxins to be cleaned by blood. This is also very good for the brain. This prevents diseases such as: Fibromyalgia (Fibrositis) and chilblains. During the Sujud, there is drainage of the paranasal sinuses, thus there are less chances of getting sinusitis which consists of inflammation of the linings of the sinuses that surround the nose. In certain forms of yoga, some adherents stand on their heads for the purpose of blood flowing to the brain, which we Muslims have been doing for centuries.
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