A Reanalysis of Social - Cultural Impacts and Functions of Worship: A Case Study on Salah (Namaz)

Abstract

The sacred religion of Islam has imposed certain religious duties on its followers of which some are obligatory and some are just recommended, this is done for the sake of spiritual nourishment and growth of Islam followers. Salah (namaz) is an important obligatory type of worship that is crucial for self growth and getting closer to God. That is why we have chosen to analyze the quality, levels and orders of Salah (Namaz) in order to rediscover Islamic teachings, and contribute to spiritual growth of society. Descriptive- analytic methods were applied in this study. The study tends to answer questions such as: what are the social and cultural functions of Salah (namaz) and what we can do to optimize those functions? Salah, apart from its content helps people and societies to better themselves, based on its conditions and rules. This study had identified items such as: crime rate reduction, charitable attitude, kindness, discipline, justice seeking, social equality seeking and respecting other’s rights to be the cultural and social impacts of Salah. Thus this act of worship might help optimize the mentioned qualities in a society.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4S1p249