Investigating the effect of Salat (Muslim prayer) on mental health in the results of clinical studies: A mini review

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Studies, Jundishapur University of Technology, Dezful, Iran

2 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Background: Research shows that there is a relationship between religion and spirituality with social behavior and mental health. Among the different religions, Muslims have the largest number in the world. Muslims pray five times a day.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to review previous findings on the effect of Salat (Muslim prayer) on the mental and psychological health of people.
Materials and Methods: More than 50 articles were reviewed and finally the most relevant articles were separated and analyzed.
Results: The results indicate that there is a direct relationship between Salat and increasing the desire to live, hope, endurance of hardship, feeling happy and happiness, hope for recovery in patients. Also, prayer has an inverse relationship with anxiety and depression, despair, despair, dissatisfaction with life, discomfort with illness and problems.
Conclusion: According to these findings, doctors and researchers in the health sector are expected to conduct new studies without religious and belief bias in order to understand and improve the mental and psychological conditions of patients, so that the mechanisms involved in these positive effects are revealed and possibly insight new in the process of improving people's mental and psychological conditions.

Keywords


[1] Saniotis A, “Understanding mind/ body medicine from Muslim religious practices of Salat and Dhikr”. Journal of Religion and Health. 2018; 57: 849-857. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9992-2.
[2] Mueller PS, Plevak DJ, Rummans TA. Religious Involvement, Spirituality, and Medicine: Implications for Clinical Practice in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Elsevier. 2001. doi: 10.4065/76.12.1225.
[3] Levin JS. “How religion influences morbidity and health: Reflections on natural history, salutogenesis and host resistance”. Social Science & Medicine. 1996; 43(5): 849-864. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(96)00150-5.
[4] James W. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. 1902: Modern library.
[5] Ayele H, Mulligan T, Gheorghiu S, Reyes C. “Religious activity improves life satisfaction for some physicians and older patients”. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 1999; 47(4): 453-455. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1999.tb07238.x.
[6] Ghufran M. “Impact of religious practice on mental health of elderly people belonging to Muslim community”. Indian Journal of Community Psychology. 2011; 7(2): 380-387.
[7] Baetz MI, Larson DV, Marcoux G, Bowen R, Grif fin R. “Canadian psychiatric inpatient religious commitment: An association with mental health”. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2002; 47(2): 159-166. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370204700206.
[8] Koenig HG, George LK, Titus P. “Religion, spirituality, and health in medically ill hospitalized older patients”. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2004; 52(4): 554-562. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52161.x.
[9] Maltby J, Lewis CA, Freeman A, Day L, Cruise SM, Breslin MJ. “Religion and health: The application of a cognitive-behavioural framework”. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. 2010; 13(7-8): 749-759. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670802596930.
[10] Beach VL. “Religiosity and prayer in relation to health and life satisfaction in older adults”. 2016.
[11] de Mamani AGW, Tuchman N, Duarte EA. “Incorporating religion/ spirituality into treatment for serious mental illness”. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 2010; 17(4): 348-357. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2009.05.003.
[12] Rasic D, Robinson JA, Bolton J, Bienvenu OJ, Sareen J. “Longitudinal relationships of religious worship attendance and spirituality with major depression, anxiety disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts: Findings from the Baltimore epidemiologic catchment area study”. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2011; 45(6): 848-854. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2010.11.014.
[13] Sayeed SA, Prakash A. “The Islamic prayer (Salah/ Namaaz) and yoga togetherness in mental health”. Indian Journal of Psychiatry. 2013; 55(2): S224-S230. doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.105537.
[14] Koenig HG, Al Shohaib S. Health and Well-Being in Islamic Societies. Springer. 2014.
[15] Chamsi-Pasha M, Chamsi-Pasha H. “A review of the literature on the health benefits of Salat (Islamic prayer)”. Med J Malaysia. 2021; 76(1): 93-97.
[16] Sheikh R, Nikbakht M. “Physical activity and apoptosis, a brief review of previous findings”. Sport Sciences and Health Research. 15(1): 137-144. doi: https://doi. org/10.22059/sshr, 2023. 1097.
[17] Sheikh R, Shakerian S, Tabatabaei SR, Habibi A. “Moderate and high-intensity interval training protect against diabetes-induced modulation of hepatic CD86 and CD206 expression associated with the amelioration of insulin resistance and inflammation in rats”. Immunobiology. 2023; 228(6): 152745. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imbio.2023.152745.
[18] O'Connor PJ, Pronk NP, Tan A, Whitebird RR. “Characteristics of adults who use prayer as an alternative therapy”. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2005; 19(5): 369-375. doi: https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-19.5.369.
[19] Majeed A. “Salat offset the negative health effect of stress”. Inter J Adv Res. 2016; 4: 339-43.
[20] Yucel S. The Effects of Prayer on Muslim Patients' Well-being. Doctoral dissertation. 2007.
[21] Doufesh H, Ibrahim F, Ismail NA, Wan Ahmad WA. “Effect of Muslim prayer (Salat) on α electroencephalography and its relationship with autonomic nervous system activity”. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2014; 20(7): 558-562. doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2013.0426.
[22] Levine GN, Lange RA, Bairey‐Merz CN, Davidson RJ, Jamerson K, Mehta PK, Michos ED, Norris K, Ray IB, Saban KL, Shah T. “Meditation and cardiovascular risk reduction: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association”. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2017; 6(10): 18-22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.002218.
[23] Doufesh H, Faisal T, Lim KS, Ibrahim F. “EEG spectral analysis on Muslim prayers”. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. 2012. 37: 11-18. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-011-9170-1.
[24] Doufesh H, Ibrahim F, Safari M. “Effects of Muslims praying (Salat) on EEG gamma activity”. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice. 2016; 24(1): 6-10. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2016.04.004.
[25] Achour M, Muhamad A, Syihab AH, Mohd Nor MR, Mohd Yusoff MY. “Prayer moderating job stress among Muslim nursing staff at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC)”. Journal of Religion and Health. 2021; 60: 202-220. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00834-6.
[26] Ahmadi S, Sheikh R. “Effect of incremental interval training on levels of Fasl protein in lung tissue of mature male Wistar rats: Does exercise training reduce lung inflammation?”. Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk. 2023; 3(2): 66-72.
[27] Sheikh R, Gallehdari M. “The effect of herbal supplement and exercise training on plasma lipid profile in diabetic male rats”. Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk. 2023; 3(2): 86-92. doi: 10.22034/JEOCT.2023.399703.1083.
[28] Sheikh R, Habibi A. “Exercise training increases the chance of the body's immune system to fight against the disease of Covid-19: A mini review of exercise, immune system and myokines”. Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk. 2023; 3(3): 150-155. doi: 10.22122/JEOCT.2023.403936.1085.
[29] Soleimani N, Gallehdari M, Sheikh R. “Effect of six weeks of interval training and curcumin consumption on apolipoprotein A and B in diabetic male rats”. Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk. 2023; 3(2): 73-80. doi: 10.22034/JEOCT.2023.400236.1084.
[30] Bostani M, Sheikh R. “The effect of different degrees of dehydration on the plasma levels of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase of professional wrestlers in Ahvaz”. Sports Sciences Quarterly. 2023; 15(49): 49-70.