The general understanding about salah/Namaz/Prayer ,the 2nd pillar of Islam, is that this ritual is practiced in order to avoid the punishment from God in the Hereafter. Hence modern man comes up with the philosophy that he/she has so much to deal with in this world, let alone after dying!

However if we look at the actions involved in this ritual we will find out that even Non-Muslims can benefit from this activity. Just like Yoga, Tai chi and similar rituals are utilized to treat various mental conditions and physical stresses, healers and doctors can advice their patients regarding Salah/Namaz/Muslim prayers.

The act of Wudu/ablution is the best type of hydrotherapy which is an established treatment of tiredness, lethargy, generalized aches & pains, blotches and spots on skin because of sweat and sebaceous secretions, palpitation and high blood pressure, panic attacks, labile moods, hot flushes with fever or menopause, absentmindedness and many others.

Rubbing the face and limbs while washing opens the pores of the skin and does natural cleansing as well as stimulates touch receptors and helps the “Gate Theory” of pain to work in order to reduce joint pains or muscle aches.

Standing & sitting in the Prayers: Cutting off from the day to day stresses that are unavoidably prevail in one’s surrounding for a few minutes few times a day helps cutting stress signals off, hence saving the brain and body from the harms of the stress which could effect brain, heart , stomach and have repercussions on the other systems and organs of the body.
This meditation on something other than the day to day thoughts and worries gives an opportunity to the brain to have more space emptied up for the virtues like sympathy and care for others around and such a person can develop the skill of controlling his/her own stress in order to deal with others’ problems. Untill a person himself cannot be unperturbed, he can never share anything else except further anxiety and depression.

Imagine a busy day at work, dealing with colleagues, sub ordinates and seniors, business transactions, gains and losses~or a teacher who has to deal with all sorts of behavioural patterns from the students, or other tough jobs like police, fire fighting, forces, saving lives as doctors, decision making regarding crimes as judges and lawyers & so on; dealing with all this not only with a sound mind but also in full honesty and fairness, without being rude, arrogant or abusive to anyone; all this is not humanly possible unless there is some way out for stress release & a wel-balanced attitude . People may look at possible alternatives like smoking, alcohol, excessive caffeine beverages, stimulants, anxiolytics, anti depressants, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants and so on, but none of these is free of harm to our mind and body.

However unless one is familiar with & used to this type of activity regularly since an early age, it is difficult to adapt such suddenly when things start getting tough or looking impossible, parents and adults must therefore endeavor to introduce their young ones to the ritual of prayer. In Islamit is obligatory from puberty onwards when a person enters adulthood and is likely to start facing the challenges of life as a responsible human being. Prayers are expected to protect him/her from such behavioral calamities including sexual diversities and imbalances when hormones are more likely to start playing up.

Hence turning to something like prayers is a simple, natural and freely available method to deal with not only our day to day & life long issues, challenges and problems but also to get an excellent reward from our Lord Who is happy if His creatures we deal with are happy & safe from evil!