TOPIC: THE BENEFITS OF SALAH IN SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE

Course title/ code: RKF0443

Group members:

1. Abdul Manaf bin Mahmud (194665) (TPHM)

2. Akmal Ridhwan bin Noor Ahmad (194438) (ENCOM)

3. Mus’ab Umayr bin Hermee (192300) (HS)

4. Haiqal Wajdi bin Zahir (194722) (HS)

5. Mohammad Syawwal bin Redhuan Maullod (191410) (ECONS)

Section number: 703

Instructor’s Name: Madam Fathiyyatunnur Binti Idris

Semester: 1 2019

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What can be defined as salah? Salah in the literal definition of the word is, translated as
“contact”, “communication” or “connection”. However it is better translated as
“communication with the divine” but in Arabic it also means to pray or bless. The salah or
alternately is known as Namaz happens to be the second most important pillar of Islam after
the shahada (testimony of faith).It is a special form of worship practiced by muslim, the
adherence or followers of the Islam religion. It is an obligatory form of prayer performed five
times a day. When practicing salah, it requires for an individual to do a number of physical
movements such as standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting. During prayers or salah, it is
also essential for Muslims to perform recitation of verses from the Holy Quran in Arabic
along with a number of dua (supplications). All these physical movements, recitations and
supplications are all done in order to show humility and submission to Allah S.W.T. One
other necessity that we need to follow as Muslims when we are performing the salah is to
face the direction of the Kaba, The Sacred House of Allah located in Makkah. What is the
history behind salah? Some 11 years after the beginning of prophethood a miraculous journey
took place in which our prophet Muhammad S.A.W. was brought by the Angel Gabriel to the
first heaven. It was during this magical event, that Allah S.W.T commanded prophet
Muhammad and the Muslims to specifically pray five times a day. The full story of the
Prophet’s ascent to heaven is known as Isra’ and Mi’raj .It has been identified by the Islam
scholars that the main purpose of salah is generally to ensure Muslims maintain their faith
and devotion to Allah S.W.T., to increase taqwa (closeness to Allah SW.T.) and to remain
conscious of the importance of faith and submission to their creator.We as muslims are
encouraged to perform congregational prayer instead of praying alone. Why? This is due to
the fact that the reward will be 27 times more. The reason why we’ve chosen this topic as a
group is due to the fact that, Salah is a fundamental activity in our daily routine as Muslims,
unfortunately most Muslims tend to underestimate and take salah very lightly because they
feel forced doing it by others for example their parents, and not because of Allah S.W.T .
Which is why we’ve chosen this topic, to educate and open the eyes of the Muslim
community on the advantages of performing salah scientifically and spiritually that they may
not know and are quite surprising. Ultimately, we hope that after our explanation, our
audience will finally be aware of the importance of salah and take salah a lot more seriously
by making sure that our salah is performed correctly and perfectly in order to attain the
pleasures of Allah S.W.T.

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Physical benefits of Salah

1. Improves Blood Circulation

Various different positions during the Salah help in improving the overall blood flow in the
body. People have a lot of issues when it comes to blood pressure where their blood flow is
either too high or too low to a certain region in the body. In these cases, the Salah movements
help in regulating the blood flow to all parts of the human body. During the Ruku position,
for example, blood flow is regulated in the upper body and during Tashahhud, the blood flow
in the lower body is regulated.

2. Improves Digestion

According to scientific research, the Salah also helps to boost digestion of the body. For
instance, during the Quud state, which is basically when the men are sitting down with one
foot curled underneath them and the women sit with both their feet under them, the posture is
such that it enables and facilitates digestion. Next, it also improves liver functions and relaxes
the intestines, which in turn facilitates bowel movement in the body. Salah can also help
alleviate cases of constipation and overeating.

3. Relieves Back Pain and Joint Pain

The position of the body during prostration and bowing helps open up and ease the joints.
Regular use of the joints keeps them healthy and functioning. Moreover, the position of the
Ruku helps in alleviating pain in the lower back by relaxing the ligaments and muscles
(similar to yoga). It also helps ease the pain in the spinal cord and the hip joints. Through the
vertebral relaxation, backache and vertebral illnesses can also be avoided. The Salah overall
relaxes the shoulder joints, elbows, knees, ankles and the hip.

4. Cardiovascular Health

In essence, Salah is also a form of exercise and it increases a person’s metabolism, which
basically improves a person’s overall cardiovascular health. Every Salah that you offer is
similar to exercising on a daily basis which improves the overall functioning of the organs in
the body and regulates the secretion of glands and blood flow in the body.

5. Body Yoga

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According to modern science, one of the healthiest forms of exercise is yoga and it has been
found that the movements during Salah resemble the movements found in the domain of
yoga. Yoga, like Salah, rejuvenates the overall bodily mechanisms. It not only aimed to keep
a person physically fit but also works towards improving a person’s mental well-being. Yoga
therapy aims to bring harmony in a person’s life by bringing together all aspects of his/her
life including physical, social, spiritual, psychological etc. and creating a full circle of
harmony. This is precisely what the Salah aims to do; bring about utter and complete
harmony and peace within an individual. Salah also serves as a substitute for stress and
anxiety, which yoga also combats.

Spiritual Benefits of Salah:

1. Remembrance of Allah

As human beings, we often find ourselves distracted with our daily routine of activities like
for example earning a living, going to school ,sleeping, eating and socializing. This as a result
will naturally cause to forget Allah and the responsibilities towards him. When we forget
Allah, this life and its worries become the central occupation of the human mind. This will
ultimately lead to our worldly desires running wild. A person begins to “chase his shadow”,
something he can never catch. For a lot of us, money becomes the sole goal in our lives, the
more you make, the more you spend, the more you want. . Fear of Allah keeps a Muslim
away from the prohibited and encourages him to do the obligatory; a mix of divine love and
devout reverence that keeps him religiously observant. Regular performance of the prayers
increases one’s awareness of Allah.

Our almighty Allah SWT has conveniently sets time to break regularly from the daily
chores of life from a few minutes and worship him. When done with full concentration and
properly, it awakens and stimulate the soul. Almost them reminds himself that Allah is in
charge of everything, he is Allah’s faithful servant, and Allah’s pleasure is HIS aim. For a
few minutes, 5 times a day, a muslim lives this world and meet HIS lord:

“And establish the prayers ( salah ) in order to remember me” (Quran 20:14)

2.Seeking Forgiveness

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We as human beings cannot run away from making mistakes, and even the most pious of
Muslims sin and need to repent. We all need to constantly ask for Allah’s forgiveness and try
our best not to repeat our mistakes. Without regular contact with Allah, a person is unlikely
to feel guilty for his sins and repent. Sometimes if a person has not asked Allah to forgive
him in a long time, he might become insensitive to sinning and may even forget that he fell
into it, thus not even seeking forgiveness for it. Certain prayers in the formal prayers (salah)
reminds the Muslim of his sins and makes him seek forgiveness for them This in turn causes
Muslims to feel guilty for their sins and seek repentance as soon as they are committed. A
Muslim learns to constantly seeks forgiveness for his sins and never feels too distant from his
loving Lord. The prayer places man directly before Allah seeking pardon for his short-
comings.

The prayer itself is a means of erasing sins, albeit the lesser ones[1].

Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked:

“What do you think if there was a river by the door of any one of you and he bathed in it five
times a day, would there be any trace of dirt left on him?”

They (his companions)(may Allah be pleased with them) said, “No trace of dirt would be left
on him.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “This is like the five daily
prayers, through which Allah erases sin.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

3.Control and Discipline

The prayer has the capacity to catalyze change for the better in people’s life. The fact that we
give up whatever we are doing and line up behind a prayer leader (called imam) five times a
day in the mosque, or find room to pray in at work or school by ourselves, instills discipline
in life. People join the army to learn discipline and everyone admires it. Similarly, the prayer
trains us to go through specific motions and utter special words at specific times. All the body
parts are under control, obeying and worshipping Allah, and if this discipline is broken, the
prayer may have to be repeated.

Islam recognizes that we are all different, so it allows flexibility in many cases. The prayer
leader (imam) should keep the prayer short. Women are not required to attend the prayers in
the mosque. A sick person may pray sitting, and if unable, he may even pray laying down.

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The discipline learned in the prayer is to be acquired in other aspects of one’s religious and
mundane life as well. Just as we should not look around when praying, we should control our
eyes outside of the prayer not to fall on forbidden objects. Just like we use our tongue to
praise Allah, outside of the formal prayers we should not let it backbite or lie. Just as our
hands and feet perform controlled motions, outside of the prayers we should not use them to
steal, buy or eat what is forbidden. We should not walk towards the forbidden, but away
from it. This is the essence of which Allah tells us:

“…Surely, the prayer (salah) prevents evil speech and bad deeds...” (Quran 29:45)

4.Calmness and Serenity by Developing Focus in the Prayers

A very important ingredient of the prayer is the state of calmness and tranquility coupled with
humility achieved by deep concentration. Allah says in the Quran:

“Successful indeed are the believers, those who humble themselves in their prayers.” (Quran
23 :1-2)

For the prayer to be acceptable, it must be done with passion. We are advised to learn the
meaning of the Arabic words used in the prayer, focus on their meaning and whatever
portions of Quran you will recite. Know that Allah responds to prayers and He is listening to
you. Focus your eyes on the place of prostration, or shut them if something present causes
you to be distracted and can not focus otherwise. By concentrating on the words of the prayer
said in different postures, by raising one’s consciousness of being in front of Allah, by
choosing a comfortable, clean place with no distractions, one can increase their presence of
mind in the prayer. There will always be room to improve it. Remove the clutter in the mind
and focus on Allah’s blessings in life, feel your insignificance in front of the Magnificent
Creator, feel guilty for your sins. It will help you reduce stress, worries, and anxiety. There is
only so much our mind and body can take. The prayer is relaxing and will help regain lost
focus in life. The prayer is healing for the soul. But for your salah to reach this state of
concentration it requires patience, practice, and asking Allah for help. The postures of the
prayer are important. For example, in prostration the believer is closest he can be to Allah,
and thus he should feel this closeness and supplicate even more.

In order to reach a high level of concentration and humility in prayer requires constant work,
and struggle. There will be lows - but one should never give up the prayers (salah).
Remember! It connects you to your Creator. You don’t just pray while you feel it is working

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for you and easy to do. Frequently, a new Muslim is overcharged with zeal on accepting
Islam, reading a lot, listening to tapes, surfing the web, talking to friends, but after some time
they burn out. It is at that critical moment when the real test comes, one feels weak in faith
and it is difficult to pray. Take some good advice for those times, and keep on praying.

Conclusion

To sum things up, prayer provides a constant reminder of the essence of our creation and
provides a direct connection to Allah who linked success and felicity to humility in prayer. It
emphasizes the proximity between religion and daily life. Life, from an Islamic standpoint is
to be directed to Allah. Life is an opportunity for worship and the remembrance of Allah.
Praying repeatedly throughout the day and interrupting the daily activities brings about the
realization of this concept. The believer, through prayer, acquires a spiritual awareness that
he takes with him throughout all of life’s endeavours. Prayer purifies the heart and truly,
through prayer, a believer attains spiritual devotion and moral elevation. Prayer not only
gives deep connection with God but in prayer one establishes patience, humility and
sincerity.

Reference

Admin. (2005, March 28). Home. Retrieved from http://www.understanding-islam.com/the-

meaning-of-the-word-salah/

N. H. (n.d.). DEFINISI SOLAT. Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/doc/310350626/DEFINISI-SOLAT

NewMuslims.com. (2013, March 23). Retrieved from

http://islam.ru/en/content/story/spiritual-benefits-prayer

O. F. (2017, June 11). Spiritual, Psychological, Physical and Social Benefits of Salah.
Retrieved from https://obaidullahfarhan.wordpress.com/spiritual-benefits-of-salah/

(2019, May 9). Physical or Health Benefits of Namaz (Salat). Retrieved from
http://www.quranreading.com/blog/physical-or-health-benefits-of-namaz-salat/

A. A. (2018, February 27). Scientific benefits of Salah. Retrieved from

https://www.islamicfinder.org/news/scientific-benefits-of-salah/

Z. V. (2017, February 16). The Physical Benefits of Salat. Retrieved from

https://www.alislam.org/salat/the-physical-benefits-of-salat/

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