Islamists Salat Practices - Essay Example

Religion and Theology Over time, man has used religion to define his existence and explain that their lives must be controlled by some supernatural powers. Man has tried to understand religion from many perspectives: materialistic, faith-based, among others. Perhaps this explains why we have different religions in the world, each with unique characteristics and practices. Every community wants to interpret religion and the role it plays in their lives. Mary Pat delves deeper into the topic of religion in her book: Living Religions, 6th edition. I find her work invaluable and broad. She examines religion from several approaches, perhaps as a way having a neutral consideration (Fisher 123). I will concentrate on faith-based perspective of religion, prayer as a therapy and understanding different religious practices with a bias on the Islamist’s Salat practices. Most people believe that faith is the greatest component of any religion. This goes hand in hand with prayer. This is why when people pray, they must inject some elements of faith into the payers so that it can have an impact on their lives. This is perhaps why there are many religious doctrines across the world. Today, even scientists accept the therapeutic healing of prayers. Mary notes that it looks at prayer as a way of achieving the end with their creator, then they will receive healing in ways that that they cannot understand. In this regard, prayer backed with faith has a beneficial effect. Different religions have different ways of connecting with God. They have different beliefs that they incorporate in their prayers as well. In this regard, prayer can, therefore, be considered as a sustenance network. Various religions maintain that God heals only those who pray. So those who pray would be considered “religious” while those who do not have a religion will be considered “non-religious”. This is why Mary explains that faith-backed prayers are an important element of any religion. The Jewish, the Christian, the Muslim, the Buddhist, as well as other religious groups believe in the importance of faith. The essential factor about prayer is how it helps people to get into a personal relationship with God; God is the sustainer of life. In this case, God is the most important person in their lives and one who holds the answers to their problems. Health is a core element that these people consider as well. Through prayer, people present themselves as needy and want God to heal them. In this aspect, faith, therefore, becomes a crucial element in any religion (Fisher 45). Mary’s assertion about the importance of religion can be backed with history. Benedictions and prayers have been witnessed throughout human history. The Holy Quran, for instance, emphasizes on mental health. About 6236 verses talk about well-organized human training. Benediction implies stating needs and requesting for knowledge and ability towards divinity. God makes it obvious that people have to pray “and He will answer them.” Imam Ali mentioned prayer as a significant factor towards salvation. He said that the best prayer is one that came from a pure heart. For this to happen, one must have faith that God can provide answers to different problems they may be in. Psychologists have affirmed that faith and prayer can decrease stress, fear and disappointment. The Holy Quran mentions in Rad, verse 28, “Every heart shall never remain safe except through God. It is because of these studies that some schools of thought believe that prayers have health benefits. Some have gone further to engage their patients in prayers, as they believe it has healing powers. If the studies showed that prayers have no health benefits, the concept of religion would have been appreciated much. Proponents of prayer argue that unless prayer is carried out with the right intensity and said by people of sincere and extreme faith. In this regard, prayer is a therapy to for the sick people. Different religions vary in their view of religion and the element of prayer in the people’s lives. Nonetheless, they believe that faith is necessary for any healing to take place. Studies show that prayer has therapeutic powers. From the perspective of contemporary scientific medicine, no treatment should be administered without proof of safety and effectiveness. It is without surprise, therefore, that a faction of scientists attempts to test the usefulness of prayer as a form of cure. A research showed that of the patients suffering from coronary heart disease that were prayed for without their knowledge, suffered health complications. Perhaps religious figures influence a plethora of healing powers. For, instance, Jesus is known to heal people. He was able to heal different sicknesses and conditions. In Islam and other religions, the prophets and representatives of the supernatural beings are shown to have healing powers. All over the worlds, there are people from various religions who have healed the sick. People testify that they were healed after prayers. What is more, religious relics were considered to have healing and spiritual powers. Mary points out that even in the contemporary society, people still believe in divine healing. Although there is no evidence anyone has healing powers, generally across the world, people believe that if they have faith and pray, they will be healed of any conditions. Although most people attribute recovery and healing to divine sources, the healings can occur even without divine intervention. For instance, one can assert that their recovery was a result of divine intervention. They believe that a strong belief and faith in God or a supernatural being healed them. This belief is widespread across many religions and is, therefore, universally accepted that prayer and faith have therapeutic capability. Looking at the religious practices of the Muslims, I want to concentrate on the Salat. This is both a private and public ritual. According to Muslims, this practice puts a believer closer to God. It involves praying on several occasions in the course of the day. A religious practice has been part of the Muslim religion for ages. They believe that the Salat can be performed anywhere irrespective of the number of people involved. It can be performed under several circumstances; individually or in groups. In peace or different mind states. Salat session may vary and can take different forms. Women mostly perform it; the text of Salat comprises suuras as dictated by the Quran (Fisher 56). This practice is not only religious, but also formal. The repetition of the prayer items makes the Salat more familiar and easy to interpret. The meaning of this practice is slowly gaining acceptance among other religions as well. They include perception, personal experiences and theological aspects. Every participant of this culture can have their own interpretation save for the fact that the practice is meant to unite the believers and bring them closer to God. Every given verse has a significant index that corresponds to various aspects of the reciter’s life. Reciters can express elements of their life that correspond to the theme of the verse they are reciting at the moment. They can choose to change their particularities if they choose at any moment providing they keep in mind that they should be close to God to have his divine intervention in their daily lives. The set poetics of the Salat do never prevent thematic preferences of below-standard suuras or the communiqué of anxieties and questions to God. Indeed, it is these same possibilities that give emotional and moral force to Salat. Religion plays an integral role in the lives of people. It gives people a sense of hope and a way to connect with God. God or whatever supernatural beings they worship, provide solutions to various problems they may be undergoing. Ever religion is the world is about the divine powers if a supernatural being. Indeed, one wonder what would have happened if there were no religion. Where would man have turned to seek answers? Perhaps this is why the topic of religion is one that has a huge significance in the history of humankind and one that has been greatly exposed by biblical scholars such as Mary Path. Various perspectives and doctrines of various religious groups uniquely identify them. What is more, religion is a form of identity and offers believers the very reason for their living. Issues such as faith in God can be used to explain why the sick and people with various conditions turn to God to heal them (Fisher 61). This is due to holy and divine nature of God. He is the solution to most problems. It does not matter which religion one belongs to; it matters that they have faith in God. Such is the efficacy of the therapeutic nature of religion. There is evidence, even in the field of medicine that faith can heal. This borrows from stories in the Holy Bible and Quran (Fisher 215). One seeks to explain different phenomena in their lives. They need to have a purpose in their lives hence the need to spiritually connect with God. The Salat, for instance, offers a unique way to connect with God. Overall, religion plays a significant role in the lives of human beings. Work Cited Fisher, Mary P. Living Religions. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1999. Print. Read More