The effect of reverence (‘Khushoo’) in Muslim prayer on cardiovascular responses

Abstract

A Muslim usually prays 5 times a day, is obligatory for every Muslim. Prayer includes many movements and postures, and measure of reverence in Muslim prayer (MRMP) is an essential part of accepting this practice. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of MRMP on some cardiovascular responses (CRs). The study sample consisted of 74 students (36 = males, 38= females) with ages ranging from 18 to 20 years (M = 19.44, SD = 0.74). The participants were from Jadara University (Jordan) and were selected according to the degree of their responses to both sides of MRMP. They were divided into two groups: a high MRMP group (N = 37), who obtained the highest scores on the MRMP scale, and a low MRMP group (N= 37), who had the lowest scores on MRMP. The high MRMP group was trained on the items     of MRMP and reminded of them, while the low MRMP group did not receive any kind of training. The results showed that there was a decrease in the after measurements of pulse (F = 12.326, p = 0.001), systolic blood pressure (F = 30.331, p = 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (F = 18.375, p = 0.001), while the results did not show an effect on the oxygen level. The results did not show an effect of sex, nor an interaction between group and sex. The results of this study supported the importance of MRMP and its positive impact on the health of the body, the circulatory system, and heart health as a result of mental health.