Effect of Prayer Practice on Physical Fitness and Mental Health of Adult Muslims: A Systematic Study
Keywords:
Prayer, Physical Fitness, Mental Health, Muslim, AdultAbstract
Introduction: Prayer is a very important act of worship and a daily obligation for Muslims. In the last few decades, there have been many studies that discuss the benefits of prayer on human health both physically and mentally. Prayer can be categorised as a type of physical exercise as it involves planned and repetitive body movements. This study aims to determine the effect of prayer on physical fitness and mental health in adults. Methods: This study used a systematic review method, by reviewing Quartile Q1-Q3 articles that used quantitative research and were published in the last 10 years. Articles were searched in 4 databases (Google Scholar, Science Direct, Pubmed, Springer Open). Selected articles were then assessed for quality and synthesised narratively. Results: There were 7 articles that met the inclusion criteria, all articles showed a positive effect of prayer implementation on physiological conditions related to physical fitness and mental health. Conclusion: Prayer has a positive effect on physical fitness by improving haemodynamic, immune, metabolic and muscular flexibility and potentially preventing oxidative stress. In mental health, prayer has an effect on peace of mind that can balance hormones and reduce gene expression triggered by stressful conditions.
Downloads
References
Al-Jaziri, A. (2008). Kitab al-Fiqh 'Ala Mazahib al-Arba'ah. Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah.
Alam, I., Ullah, R., Jan, A., Sehar, B., Khalil, A. A. K., Naqeeb, H., Ali, E. A., Wahab, Q. M. F., Safdar, M., Ali, A., Zaman, M. H., & Zeb, F. (2022). Improvement in cardio-metabolic health and immune signatures in old individuals using daily chores (Salat) as an intervention: A randomised crossover study in a little-studied population. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1009055. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1009055
Andirja, F. (2020). Bekal Shalat Volume I A Complete Guide to the Attributes of the Prophet's Prayer. Firanda Andirja Office.
As-sa'di, A. bin N. (2021). Al-qowaid Al-fiqhiyyah (Manzhumah wa Sharhuha). Maktabah As-Syafi'iyyah.
Åvitsland, A., Leibinger, E., Haugen, T., Lerum, Ø., Solberg, R. B., Kolle, E., & Dyrstad, S. M. (2020). The association between physical fitness and mental health in Norwegian adolescents. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08936-7
Bezuglov, E., Talibov, O., Butovskiy, M., Lyubushkina, A., Khaitin, V., Lazarev, A., Achkasov, E., Waśkiewicz, Z., Rosemann, T., Nikolaidis, P. T., Knechtle, B., & Maffulli, N. (2020). The prevalence of non-contact muscle injuries of the lower limb in professional soccer players who perform Salah regularly: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/S13018-020-01955-5
Boy, E., Lelo, A., & Sagiran. (2023). Dhuha prayer effect on oxidative stress in elderly women: A randomised controlled trial. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 30(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SJBS.2023.103603
Boy, E., Lelo, A., Tarigan, A. P., Machrina, Y., Sembiring, R. J., Syafril, S., Sumartiningsih, S., North, U. S., Muhammadiyah, U., North, S., North, U. S., North, U. S., North, U. S., Kuala, U. S., North, U. S., North, U. S., North, U. S., & Semarang, U. N. (2021). Dhuha Prayer Improves Blood Pressure: A Randomised Controlled Trial. 11.
Doufesh, H., Ibrahim, F., Ismail, N. A., & Wan Ahmad, W. A. (2013). Assessment of heart rates and blood pressure in different Salat positions. Journal of Physical Therapy Science, 25(2), 211-214. https://doi.org/10.1589/jpts.25.211
Halliwell, B., & Gutteridge, J. M. (2007). Cellular response to oxidative stress: adaptation, damage repair, senescence and death. In Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine. Oxford: University Press.
Higgins, J. P. T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. A. (2019). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, 1-694. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119536604
Lipka M, H. C. (2017). Why Muslims are the world's fastest-growing religious group. Pew Research Centre. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/04/06/why-muslims-are-the-worlds-fastest-growing-religious-group/
Mahmood, N. H., Jalaludin, S. N., Zakaria, N. A., & Ridzwan, W. M. F. W. M. (2010). Relationship study of heart rate and systolic blood pressure for healthy peoples. IFMBE Proceedings, 31 IFMBE, 1358-1361. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14515-5_346
McEwen, B. S. (2017). Neurobiological and Systemic Effects of Chronic Stress. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/2470547017692328
McEwen, B. S., Bowles, N. P., Gray, J. D., Hill, M. N., Hunter, R. G., Karatsoreos, I. N., & Nasca, C. (2015). Mechanisms of stress in the brain. Nature Neuroscience, 18(10), 1353-1363. https://doi.org/10.1038/NN.4086
Newberg, A. B., Wintering, N. A., Yaden, D. B., Waldman, M. R., Reddin, J., & Alavi, A. (2015). A case series study of the neurophysiological effects of altered states of mind during intense Islamic prayer. Journal of Physiology Paris, 109(4-6), 214-220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphysparis.2015.08.001
Nwimo, I. O., & Orji, S. A. (2015). Physical Fitness among School Children: Review of Empirical Studies and Implications for Physical and Health Education. Jotnal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports, 10, 2312-5179. www.iiste.org
Osama, M., Malik, R. J., & Fiaz, S. (2019). Activation of the trunk muscles during Salat (Muslim Prayer). JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 69(12), 1929. https://doi.org/10.5455/JPMA.33-1553667415
Palar, C. M., Wongkar, D., & Ticoalu, S. H. R. (2015). Benefits of Aerobic Exercise Training on Human Physical Fitness. E-Biomedical Journal, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.35790/ebm.3.1.2015.7127
Putri, A. W., Wibhawa, B., & Gutama, A. S. (2015). Mental Health of Indonesian People (Knowledge, and Public Openness to Mental Health Disorders). Proceedings of Research and Community Service, 2(2), 252-258. https://doi.org/10.24198/jppm.v2i2.13535
Rabbi, M. F., Ghazali, K. H., of Back, I. I. M.-J., & ...2018. (2018). Investigation of the EMG activity of erector spinae and trapezius muscles during Islamic prayer. Content.Iospress.ComMF Rabbi, KH Ghazali, II Mohd, M Alqahtani, O Altwijri, NU AhamedJournal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 2018-content.Iospress.Com. https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-back-and-musculoskeletal-rehabilitation/bmr170988
Reza, M. F., Urakami, Y., & Mano, Y. (2002). Evaluation of a new physical exercise taken from salat (prayer) as a short-duration and frequent physical activity in the rehabilitation of geriatric and disabled patients. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 22(3-4), 177-180. https://doi.org/10.5144/0256-4947.2002.177
Sobhani, V., Manshadi Mokari, E., Aghajani, J., & Hatef, B. (2022). Islamic praying changes stress-related hormones and genes. Journal of Medicine and Life, 15(4), 483-488. https://doi.org/10.25122/jml-2021-0167
Torlak, M. S., & Ata, B. (2022). Effect of Salat Activity on Knee Pain, Range of Motion and Muscle Strength After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Single-Blinded Randomised Controlled Trial. International Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Research, 3(1), 25-31. https://doi.org/10.53811/ijtcmr.1054467
WHO. (2013). Mental Health Action Plan 2013 - 2020.
WHO. (2022). Physical activity. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
Yusni, Y., Yusuf, H., Islamic, M. Y.-, & undefined 2023. (2023). Exploring the Influence of a Single Bout of Tahajjud Prayer on Acute Blood Pressure Response in Normotensive Young Adult Males with Varied Regularity of Tahajjud. Journal.Iaimnumetrolampung.Ac.Id, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.25217/0020236387400
Downloads
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fisio Mu : Physiotherapy Evidaces Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with FISIO MU: Phsiotherapy Evidences agree to the following terms:
- Author(s) retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License that allow others to share the work within an acknowledgement of the work’s authorship and initial publication of this journal.
- Author(s) are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangement for the non-exclusive distribution of the the journal’s published version of the work (e.g. acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal).
- Author(s) are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their websites) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published works.
