Academic Sports Scholar ISSN : 2277-3665 Vol. 3 | Issue. 10 | Oct 2014 Impact Factor : 1.3205 (UIF) UNITY OF HEALTH THROUGH YOGA AND ISLAMIC PRAYER 'SALAH’ Abstract:-In every religion, there is a set of rituals and modes of worship. In Islamic World, Salah is the fundamental religious obligation of every Muslim to offer five times a day at set times and conditions, following a proper sequence. The Salah positions have corresponding Yoga positions, so the culminated purpose of the study was to analyze the paramount effect of Salah on psycho-physiological and physical efficiencies of people offering regular Salah as provided by Yoga. The paper also suggests in the unity of two great religions of the world i.e. Hinduism & Islam as the Yoga and Salah have many common points which may illuminate the lives of both the communities in positive manner. Keywords:Health Through Yoga , Islamic Prayer 'Salah'. INTRODUCTION The word Salah originates from the Arabic word 'Silah' which means connection i.e. connection with The God. The Islamic definition of Salah is the name given to the formal prayer of Islam. Salah is a fundamental principle of religion Islam and is an important practice which must be performed at set times and conditions', following a sequence. Islam is the religion where physical movements of prayer (Salah) are combined with spiritual exercise. The analysis has been made in the light of present day medical knowledge that how Salah can have positive effects on health. Salah is not just a religious obligation but a sure path towards better health and fitness as proven by contemporary science. Now in the 21st century we came to know that washing hands, face and other parts of the body will prevent diseases. But fourteen centuries ago when there was no microscope, Prophet (SAW), was the walking encyclopaedia of scientific discoveries & inventions, if we may so describe him, gave us a prescription of 26 washing movements to be carried out 5 times a day, a total of 130 daily washing movements to grant us optimum health. Salah has many postures like Standing (Qiyam), Bowing (Rukoo), Prostration (Sujood) and Sitting during the salutation (Tahayat), all have a strong relationship with spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing. The benefits of specific movements come from correct rendition of the position or action, the length of time the position is held and by careful and correct recitation. The Yoga is the ancient most art of living prescribed by the Rishis and Munis of India. The sole aim of the Ashtanga-Yoga is to concentrate & connect with The God as prescribed in Dhyana & Samadhi. Traditionally Yoga is thought of as the inseparable part of Hinduism whereas the authors believe that the yogic teaching is the culminating enlightenment of every religion. Hence to think Yoga belongs to Hinduism only is a gross misconception. The only viable justification put forward by the scholars in recognizing Yoga as the inseparable part of Hinduism is the language of its scriptures and chanting i.e. Sanskrit, whereas authors found in the Qur'anic teachings where The Al-Mighty God has 1 2 3 4 Please cite this Article as :Raof Ahmad Bhat , Syed Tariq Murtaza , Mohd. Sharique and Farkhunda Jabin , “UNITY OF HEALTH THROUGH YOGA AND ISLAMIC PRAYER 'SALAH’” : Academic Sports Scholar (Oct ; 2014) 1 2 3 4 Raof Ahmad Bhat , Syed Tariq Murtaza , Mohd. Sharique and Farkhunda Jabin 1 Student of M.P.Ed. (Sem.-III), Department of Physical Education, A.M.U, Aligarh . 2 PhD , Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Education, A.M.U, Aligarh. 3 PhD , Assistant Professor, Dept. Of Physical Education, KMCUAF University, Lucknow. 4 M.D. , Assistant Professor, Department of Hifzan-e-Sehat Wa Samaji Tibb, A & U Medical College, Aligarh. 1