If you think that your problem doesn’t have a solution, try making a connection with God and witness the amazing results!
84.4% of the world’s population is following one religion or the other; Christians account for 31% of the world’s population, while 23% of the total population is Muslim. Religion unites, heals, and guides people in all phases of life.
Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the world, teaches its followers to live peacefully, which can be considered as a reason behind its rapid growth.
Prayer is an important pillar of every religion. Christians pray in a church, Hindus pray in a temple and Muslims pray in a mosque; all the religions have different methods of praying.
Prayer in Islam
Prayer, known as Salat, is the second pillar of Islam and is obligatory for every Muslim reaching the age of puberty. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and each prayer involves recitation and body movements.
Congregational prayer is offered on Friday, which is obligatory for men only. Eid prayers are offered twice a year.
Benefits of Congregational Prayer
· The reward is 27 times greater than that for individual prayer.
· When we all stand together, the differences of caste, color, and social status disappear, which reminds us that we are all equal.
· Hatred, jealousy, and enmity towards each other vanish from our hearts when we stand together.
Purpose of Prayer
Prayer is a way of communicating with Allah. We, as humans, have physical needs; our body needs food, water, and oxygen to function properly. Similarly, we need to worship Allah and be grateful for His countless blessings to remain spiritually alive.
If a Muslim doesn’t perform his/her duty of worshipping Allah, he/she commits a sin. We need to understand that Allah is free from all needs, and praying is just a way of remembering Him in happiness and hardships.
How to Prepare for Prayer
As Muslims pray at specific times in a day, a call to prayer reminds them to leave all the routine work and prepare for prayer. Before proceeding to pray, Muslims are instructed to wash away all the impurities from their bodies through ablution. Once the body is clean, the person stands up in a group of people or alone to offer Salat.
How Prayer Contributes to Your Physical Health?
Offering prayers brings a lot of benefits to your body and contributes to your overall health.
· Standing at the start of the prayer improves your posture as your spine is in a straight position.
· Bending forward stretches the spinal muscles, extends the spine, relieves stiffness, and increases the flexibility of hamstrings.
· Sitting down strengthens your lower back muscles and stretches your foot and ankle muscles.
· Standing up from the ground puts pressure on your legs, which increases the bone density
· Rotating your neck at the end of the prayer reduces stiffness and strengthens the neck muscles.
How Prayer Contributes to Your Emotional Health?
1. Provides Social Support
Do you have social anxiety due to which you have isolated yourself from the rest of the world? This problem can be solved within a week. Yes, you heard that, right!
Offering congregational prayers allows you to interact with people from all walks of life, involve yourself in community work, and share problems with others. This practice will make you feel comfortable around strangers, boost your self-confidence, and promote social well-being in society.
You are not alone! Each one of us is facing difficulties in life, so think about meeting new people as a way of counseling for everyone, not just yourself.
2. Treats Depression
When you constantly overthink your problems and lose interest in life, things only get worse. Prayer offers you an effective treatment for depression; at the prayer times, you should set aside all your worldly problems and intend to be attentive towards Allah.
When your complete focus is shifted towards Allah, you realize that your problems are very small in front of His greatness.
Nowadays, people have become totally dependent on each other for every need. When you are physically ill, you go to a doctor who prescribes you medicine, but when you are suffering emotionally, you turn your back on the people around you. What is the logic behind this?
We don’t realize that the power who has created us all has the solution to our every problem; we just need to make a connection with Him. How do you make a connection? By praying!
3. Provides Peace of Mind
Researchers have proven that offering Salat benefits your mental health in the same way as yoga does. The yoga positions relax our body and reduce stress levels. Similarly, the body movements involved in Salat calm down our brain and remove fear, guilt, and other ill feelings from our body.
By praying regularly, you witness a change in your behavior; your life becomes organized, you become more punctual and start treating everyone with kindness and respect. Praying is an excellent way to turn towards the righteous path and stay away from evil thoughts.
When you leave behind all your issues for the cause of worshipping Allah, your horizon broadens, and you get familiar with the real meaning of life. Our routine activities keep us busy all the time, but when we pause to analyze everything around us, we realize that Allah has created everything in the universe to serve some purpose.
Final Thoughts
Islam is a complete code of life. If we start incorporating its teachings in our daily lives, most of our issues will be resolved. As Muslims, it is our duty to also help the people around us without asking for anything in return.
I have tried to help you by pointing out some benefits of prayer. Now, it’s your turn to share this article with everyone else! Stay motivated and continue asking Allah for help at every stage of life.
