Ramadan is the month of multiple blessings. It is the time of fasting and of extensive spiritual exercise. It is the time when we change our everyday routine and set a new one: revolving around our religious duties more than around worldly affairs.
During Ramadan, Muslims make a special effort to find time for recitation and study of the Holy Quran, for supererogatory prayers, such as Taraweeh, and other charitable deeds.
The rewards in the Hereafter (akhira) for the good deeds done in Ramadan are manifold, but there are also more immediate benefits of Ramadan worship.
Taraweeh, the extra night prayers performed by the believers usually after Isha (evening prayers) and lasting from eight to twenty rakahs, brings great spiritual and psychological comforts, despite the physical and mental effort required to practice them.
Ibrahim B. Syed, doctor of medicine and the president of the Islamic Research Foundation International, in his essay ‘The Medical Benefits of Taraweeh Prayers’ published on the IRFI website, mentions the multiple benefits of tarawih for physical, emotional and mental health.
Mood & Mental State
According to Syed, taraweeh prayer, as indeed any prayer performed by Muslims, has the same effects on the body and mind as gentle exercise.
Therefore, tarawih improves mood, thought and behavior in the same way as exercise does.
Furthermore, the exercise of taraweeh “induces a greater sense of well-being and energy, reduces anxiety and depression, influences mood favorably and contributes to self-esteem and an aura of confidence; improves memory in the elderly, especially with constant repetition of the Ayaat”.
Physical exercise, but also other activities such as meditation and prayer, leads to the secretion of neurotransmitters such as Endorphins and Encephalin positively affecting the brain.
The release of encephalin and Beta-endorphins (Endogenous Morphines) acts on the central and peripheral nervous systems to reduce pain and has a calming effect on the mind. Encephalin is one of the most potent opiate-like substances naturally occurring in the body.
The endorphins too have an analgesic effect, but also reduce the negative effects of stress, bring feelings of euphoria and enhance the immune system.
Relaxation
Syed mentions in his essay that taraweeh helps achieve the ‘relaxation response’ of the brain.
The relaxation response is a theory developed by a Harvard professor, Dr. Herbert Benson, who studied the impact of spirituality on physical health and whose work serves as a bridge between religion and medicine, mind, and body.
According to Benson, continuous repetition of certain words, as in prayer or meditation, or a muscular activity coupled with passive disregard of intensive thoughts, leads to the lowering of blood pressure and reduction in heart and respiratory rates.
And while Benson never actually examined the effects of tarawih or any other Islamic prayer, focusing rather on the transcendental meditation of Yogis, his theory is well applicable in explanation of the soothing effects of taraweeh and zekr on Muslims.
According to the study “Effect of Taraweeh Prayers on Mental Health and Self Control” conducted by Quadri Syed Javeed, Head & Associate Professor in Psychology at M.S.S. Art’s Commerce & Science College, in Jalna, India, published in the February 2013 issue of Golden Research Thoughts, the tarawih prayer significantly improves mental health and self-control.
In his study, Javeed examined the mental health of fifty respondents aged 18-30 before and after the prayer using the Mental Health Inventory and Multi Assessment Personality Series Inventory, and the results upheld his hypothesis of the positive effects of taraweeh on mental and spiritual well-being.
