The Women Warriors

[Yasmine]

Prostration is a unique position or stance in the regular prayers, which a Muslim is supposed to offer at least five times a day.

Although the basic purpose of obligatory prayers is not to provide an exercise for people yet it is being increasingly recognized that it has plenty of medical advantages for the human body.

Here it is worth mentioning that Holy Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) has mentioned in a Prophetic tradition
''That prayer is a cure for many diseases''.

The position of Prostration in which the forehead touches the ground is exclusively associated with the Muslim form of prayer.

It is the climax of a Muslim's prayer and as mentioned in a Tradition a believer is nearest to God in this position.

The messenger of God said:
"The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself, so make supplication' (in this state)"

In another Prophetic tradition he (peace be upon him) advised to perform Prostration and Bowing calmly and to get up only when the body has come to ease.

Hence the first positive effect upon a person who prostrates is that he comes nearest to God and hence in that condition he can supplicate.



Psychological advantage:


This is a great psychological advantage and it gives relief to the person concerned as life is full of worries and in this position he gets at least a transient refuge from the agonizing problems.


When a person goes to the position of Prostration, his whole body is in active motion.
This position can be considered as a mini dive as the one who offers prayer goes to rest his forehead on the ground while his hands are placed at the sides.




This brings most of the body muscles if not all in active motion and serves to give them some exercise.



The hands are then specifically stretched out and thence the forearm as well as arm muscles are supposed to bear the weight in the Prostration position.



It gives good exercise to the muscles of the upper limb. The Prophet (peace be upon him) in a tradition advised not to put the forearms flatly on the ground but to keep them elevated above ground and this is better for the forearm and arm muscles.




Prostration is a unique position as this is the only position in which brain (or head) becomes lower than the heart and hence for the first time the blood gushes towards the brain with full force whereas in all other positions (even when lying) brain is above the heart when it has to work against gravity to send blood to the brain.



In the position of Prostration due to the increased blood supply the brain receive more nourishment and it has good effect upon memory, vision, hearing, concentration, psyche and all other cognitive abilities.



People who offer their prayers regularly have more will power and can cope with the difficulties of life in a much better manner.



This is mainly because there are hormones located at the back of the brain that need to move to the frontal lobe to experience contentment and happiness in daily life, by doing this regularly it releases this hormone and allows it to flow where it normally could not reach.




They have less incidence of headaches, psychological problems and other defects of cognitive function. In the unique position of Prostration the neck muscles get best exercise.




They have to bear the load when the forehead lies at the ground hence the neck muscles become stronger. One can note the tense pressure at the neck muscles in the position of Prostration specially the active motion of the neck and the facial muscles when the head is being lifted. (e.g. one inch above the ground) and it will be noticed that they are in a very active motion.



More strong cervical muscles mean the cervical vertebra will be better protected. Strength of cervical muscles is important as the head rests upon cervical vertebra supported by cervical musculature.



In fact head performs rotator movements over the cervical vertebra. In any accident cervical neck examination is especially important to the physicians because of its extraordinary importance.



It is uncommon that a person who offers his prayers regularly will get the usual neck myalgias or cervical spondylosis as the neck muscles particularly become very strong due to the 34 Prostrations offered daily in five prayers.




The unique position of Prostration also has positive effects upon the back muscles as while going into and getting up from it the back muscle contract actively and they become stronger. Probably it is because of this reason that a person who is regular in prayers will (rarely) get backache.



Finally it must be reminded that (even though) prayer is not meant to be an exercise, there are a lot of medical advantages associated with it.




Still the best blessing is the peace of mind, which a person derives by the accomplishment of his act and the connection he establishes daily with his creator by taking the time out of our lives to thank him.
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“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” rumi
Nur Illa' Hob!

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"Haspiallah a'am al waqil, na'am al maula, na'am al nasir"66

[RawMahdiyah]

This posture of supreme submission and humility is the essence of worship. It is the real means of uniting one with the whole of humanity, and with Almighty God; Annihilating egotism and vanity.
It is incorrect to say, as some do, that when a seeker gains his desires, worship and devotion are no longer incumbent upon him; for the Chief of the World, blessings and peace of God be upon him (and all the Spiritual Guides), was always prostrating in worship and devotion before God. Although he had reached the summit of devotion, he would say, "O Lord, I am ashamed, for I did not worship You as I ought to have done." wow!!!

It is narrated that God said to Moses: "When Abraham stood for prayer, the voice in his heart was heard from a distance of two miles." Then God said: "Tell your disobedient followers to remember Me. I took oath upon Myself that I shall remember one who remembers Me."

Seperation is the fundamental sin, which has countless expressions
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"Cast down what is in your right hand. It will swallow up what they have wrought. Verily they have wrought only a sorcerer's stratagem; and a sorcerer does not succeed (no matter) from whatsoever (skilled group) he may come." (Quran-20:69)

[faidh]

The practices of Islam are so complex and multi dimensional and take into consideration the complexity of us human beings as a phisical, spiritual, social and intellectual being, that if we were each to post all we know or have learned about individual teachings, it would fill much more than pages of this website.


For this reason I have taken the opportunity to add just a few more benefits or expand a little on the subject that Yasmine has introduced. It is so much easier to expand on a previous topic than to initiate one myself


The word prostration (sujood in Arabic) is mentioned in the Holy Quran at least 90 times.

One of the effects of the prostration which Yasmine mentioned was the effect on the supply of blood to different parts of the body. When standing erect, for example our blood rushes down to our feet so that when we bring or foreheads down to the ground at least 2 times and maximum four times per prayer for a minimum of the mandatory 34 times a day, the blood is then rushed to the head and the face.

The rush of oxygen in blood to the brain ensures the continued health of the brain. In addition the blood flow to the face helps prevent diseases such as chilblain.

In addition to blood flow there are other fluids that are also affected by this position. During the act of placing our forehead on the ground, the sinuses and bronchioles are drained, reducing chances of sinusitis (inflamation of the sinuses) and bronchitis.

Breathing normally removes 2/3rds of the air from the lungs with each exhale, the remaining 1/3rd remains in the lung as residual air. The act of performing prostration presses the diaphragm against the lower part of the lungs, the lower lobes, and when you breathe in that position, this 1/3rd is exhaled aswell. This is important for a healthy set of lungs and reduces the chances of deteriorating lungs or lung disease.

In the position of prostration, there is an increased veinus return and therefore reduced chance of contracting piles or hernia.

How perfect and all encompassing is our personal and universal trainer.