Standing before Allah makes man recognize his weakness. This helps
him remove all his inside fears and negative emotions. Almighty Allah
says:
Those who
believe, do good deeds, keep up the prayer, and pay the prescribed alms
will have their reward with their Lord: no fear for them, nor will they
grieve. (Al-Baqarah 2:277)
Prayer is an effective healing for anger as it trains man how to be quite, surrender to Allah, and be patient.
It provides the believer with a great amount of spiritual power which
leads to heart comfort, anxiety alleviation, peace of mind, and
clearness. This energy increases with submissiveness (khushu`)
which, in turn, intensifies concentration, the best way to deal with
nervous tension. Therefore, the Almighty God orders us to offer prayer
with submissiveness:
Certainly will the believers have succeeded. They who are during their prayer humbly submissive. (Al-Mu’minun 23:1-2)
Scientific Studies about the Psychological Impact of the Prayer
Prayer is a Healing
A number of scientific studies conducted in Malaysia (Axhar et. al.,
1994) on some patients suffering from public anxiety and others
suffering from depression. It turned out that those with religious
backgrounds among them benefit from using religious psychotherapy
courses in addition to the psychotherapy drugs more than other patients.
These methods are summarized in performing ablution properly and lengthening the period of bowing.
Prayer and Reverence
R0WTH Aachen University, located in Aachen city, Germany, published a
study that showed that human minds take a longer time to react if the
person does two jobs at the same time which will lead to an increase in
errors.
Kohler, the German psychologist, affirmed that the consequences of
doing more than one task at once are fatigue and headache. The solution
is summed up in one word that is ‘submission’. If each one practices
‘reverence sport’ for half an hour every day, a lot of things will
change in one’s life. He will have more ability to face difficulties and
burdens of life.
Prayer and Relaxation
Dr. Hossam Ar-Rawi says that relaxation method recommended by doctors
as a treatment for nervous tension is just a simple pattern of
relaxation in general, and will not achieve what could be achieved by
prayer. The slave’s silent supplication to Allah is the highest rank of
relaxation. If a person keeps up his concentration and reverence during
prayer, he will relieve the growing tension and anxiety in his being.
Prayer is a Healing for Disasters
With respect to the physical terms, namely the physical movements
during prayer, the psychiatrist, Tedues Costropala from California,
advises those suffering from depression and frustration to practice
simple muscular exercises if they cannot run. He says that this
increases the blood circulation and facilitates its arrival to the brain
which means an increase in the proportion of Oxygen in the brain. For
this reason, when anything big happened to the Messenger of Allah (peace
be upon him) or anything concerned him, he would seek refuge in the
Prayer. (Ahmad)
Prayer: Tranquility and Prevention
Dr. Tomas Hayslop says, “Prayer is the most important element which I
have known through experience and experiments over long years. As a
doctor I say that the prayer is the most important known means to
tranquility and calmness.” Indeed, the virtue of prayer is not limited
to the eradication and treatment of the disease, but exceeds to bringing
calmness to the heart and peace of mind. The Almighty Allah says:
Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured. (Ar-Ra`d 13:28)
Finally, prayer is a therapeutic and preventive healing taken five
times per day at fixed times by the Muslim. Therefore, he or she will
not be affected by the psychological diseases easily except if Allah
wills. Indeed, prayer is a comfort to the human being, that is what the
Prophet (peace be upon him) has expressed in his statement to the
companion Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) when he said: “Give us
comfort by it, O Bilal.” (Abu Dawud)
Don’t we all seek comfort? So, let us follow the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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Source: Translated and adapted from Al-Alukah website.
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