The Effect of Prayer on the Human Body

The Effect of Prayer on the Human Body
By : Dr Noha abo-krysha
Translated By : Nassim Dhaher
Revised By Magdy Abd Al-Shafy

In fact , prayer is a strong connection to God . In prayer , one can find many meanings that beggar description , man can find out the basic reason behind his existence . Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran what means :

{ Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah. for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction} Sura Arraadverse28

Establish regular prayers - at the sun's decline till the darkness of the night, and the morning prayer and reading: for the prayer and reading in the morning carry their testimony. 79-And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) an additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a Station of Praise and Glory!} Sura Al-israa verses 78,79

Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say , when somthing distress him : (Oh Bilal(the prayer caller ), call for the prayer, relax us by it) [Sunan Abi Dawud]

The Scientific Study

It has become clear , through the results of several studies, the great effect that prayer and devotion have on brain stability and mode of function, and it has also become clear that several changes occur in the body ;among these is the effect that happens during blood systematization to certain parts in the brain

prayer effect on cerebral activities

This research was carried out by Dr. Newberg, the assistant Professor at X-Ray division of the Pennsylvania University Medical Center, on a group of faithful people who have faith in God , practice their prayers and come from different religious backgrounds.

This as done using Single Photon C.T. scan that shows the flow of blood in the cerebrum using colors which are based on brain activity where the color Red represents high activity and Yellow and Green represent low activity.

The First Image

The image shows the brain before meditation and prayer(on the left) and during prayer (on the right) where we see that during the envolvement in prayers and meditation, blood flow has increased , frontal lobe region is responsible for controlling emotions and agitations in humans and a region also important for the acquisition and practice of complicated percetion-movement abilities.

Terms used in the image

Baseline: normal state without meditation

Meditation: as name implies

The Second Image

The image shows a a blood flow decline in the the Parietal lobe at the region where humans sense their time and space limits. It was concluded from these results that during prayer, contemplation and seeking Allah, the limits of self-conciousness dissapear and a feeling of peace and freedom starts in the person and one feels closer to Allah in a way that no words can describe.

Verses from The Quran

Many are the verses that talked about the importance of prayer (Assalat), devotion and praise Allah the Almighty. The Quran has made a link between patience and prayer to make sure one does not get agitated.

Allah The Exalted Says in the Holy Quran what means:

{Nay, seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit} SuraAl-Baqara verse 45

There are other verses that linked between prayer and tranquility.

Allah The Exalted Says:

{When ye pass (Congregational) prayers, celebrate Allah’s praises, standing, sitting down, or lying down on your sides; but when ye are free from danger, set up Regular Prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.} Sura An-Nisa verse 103

{Successful indeed are the believers , Who are humble in their prayers} Sura Al Muminun verses 1,2

Source : Answering-Christianity

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Early humans ventured further north than thought

LONDON — Ancient man ventured into northern Europe far earlier than previously thought, settling on England's east coast more than 800,000 years ago, scientists said.

It had been assumed that humans — thought to have emerged from Africa around 1.75 million years ago — kept mostly to relatively warm tropical forests, steppes and Mediterranean areas as they spread across Eurasia.

But the discovery of a collection of flint tools some 135 miles (220 kilometers) northeast of London shows that quite early on man braved colder climes.

"What we found really undermines traditional views about how humans spread and reacted to climate change," said Simon Parfitt, a University College London researcher. "It just shows how little we know about the movement out of Africa."

About 75 flint tools have been found at the site near Happisburgh, a seaside hamlet in Norfolk, Parfitt and colleagues report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

The researchers dated the artifacts to somewhere between 866,000 to 814,000 years ago or 970,000 to 936,000 years ago. That's at least 100,000 years before the earliest known date for British settlement, in nearby Pakefield.

Exactly what kind of humans made these tools is unknown.

"It is impossible to guess who those people were without fossil evidence," said Eric Delson, an anthropologist at Lehman College of the City University of New York, who was not involved in the research.

Mammoths and saber-toothed cats roamed the area at that time, and the River Thames flowed into the sea there — about 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north of where its mouth is today. The climate was a little colder than now, at least during the winter.

The Natural History Museum's Chris Stringer, another of the paper's authors, said living in such an environment would have been challenging. Thick forests meant a poor supply of edible plants and dispersed prey. In the winter, there would be less daylight for hunting and foraging. Then, of course, there was the cold.

"For humans that have not long emerged from the tropic and the subtropics, that is something," Stringer said. "There's always been the view that that the cold was holding them back."

But the find suggests that it didn't. So how did these humans adapt? The researchers said the mix of a tidal river, marshes and coastline at the site might have helped, providing seaweed, tubers, and shellfish when prey was scarce.

"We could imagine these people exploiting the slow-flowing banks of the Thames, just as today," Stringer said.

Co-author Nick Ashton, with the British Museum in London, said there was still considerable uncertainty about how they adapted.

"Have they got effective clothing? Have they got effective shelters? Have they got controlled use of fire?" he said, adding that the find "provides more questions than answers."

Delson said that the discovery helped complete Europe's patchy prehistoric record.

"We don't know much, but we're increasing our knowledge of the earliest phases of what went on in Europe," he said. "It's one more piece of the puzzle."

Stringer, meanwhile, said he hoped more discoveries could be made along the coastline. He noted that he had already seen the chronology of human habitation in Britain pushed back, and then pushed back again.

"Now I'm thinking: 'Who knows, can we go back even further?'"

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/07/07/4631482-early-humans-ventured-further-north-than-thought

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Protein called Lectin found in Bananas, Helps fight the HIV virus.

Scientists say a plant protein found in bananas could be a powerful weapon in the fight against HIV.

A research team at an American university says the lectin found in bananas proved as potent as two current anti-HIV drugs in laboratory tests.

The lectin effectively stops infections by outsmarting HIV and preventing it from becoming integrated in a target cell.

Scientists say new weapons in the fight against HIV are urgently needed, and these lectins are one of the most promising options.

The University of Michigan researchers believe that vaginal microbicides made with this plant protein could be a cheap and effective treatment, particularly in developing countries.

Sources-BBC and ABC

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