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Question:
Assalaamu ‘Alaykum,
What are the health benefits of prayer and fasting?
Please advise. Thank you.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah The Most Merciful, The Ever Merciful
Dear sister, Assalaamu ‘Alaykum,
There are many health benefits of prayer and fasting. Prayer creates a degree of spiritual clarity which man needs to get rid of the consequences of stress and the monotony of life. It has been observed that the rate of depression and the diseases of the aged among observant Muslims is very low in comparison to others. Moreover, organizing the times of sleep and allocating short periods for this greatly contribute to regulating the physiology of the body, creating a feeling of activity, fostering high morale and improving work as well as mental capacities. This is effective when one regularly performs the prayer. Prayer also plays a major role in alleviating the problems of back pain, which appear in old age.
A medical study was conducted to compare the rate of those who suffer from back pain in old age. The results revealed that the rate is much higher in non-Muslims when compared to Muslims. Furthermore, the study proved that those who start praying at a young age enjoy a greater degree of protection when compared to those who start praying in their old age. The study also proved that prayer contributes to maintaining flexibility of the connective ligaments in the back and that they are not highly affected by age, when compared to those who do not pray.
There are countless benefits of fasting, which can be summed up as: enabling the body to get rid of the harmful substances accumulated due to eating, helping the digestive system to improve its performance, regulating digestion and getting rid of excess fat to prevent it from being accumulated, rejuvenating the different tissues, and so on. This maintains the activity of the body in general.
May Allah grant us success.
