Five ways prayer helps with staying patient

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

{O you who believe! Seek help in patience and prayer…"}Holy Quran 2: 53

Sitting here in a prison cell, I can easily relate to this verse, and I can understand the union of patience and prayer in it, and I can relate a few manifestations of this union.

So, here are five ways prayer helps with staying patient:

When you stand with your head pointed to the ground, or you are bowing or prostrating, you are physically reminding yourself that you are the controlled praying to the Controller. This makes is so much easier to live comfortably with whatever befalls you of your status, putting you in your place as a subject to a Master. The same Master for Whom you touch your noble face to the ground is the Master that put you where you are, or gave you that disease, or deprived you of wealth, or struck you with that crisis. When your face is glued to the ground and you are obediently repeating 'Subhan Rabi al-A'la', you are making that connection. You are reminding yourself that just as you surrender your face to the ground before Him, you are to surrender yourself to the reality that He has chosen for you. Controller and Controlled.

The prayer instills a sense of discipline, which keeps you in check at a time when you might have the tendency to freak out. So, you must keep track of the time, and only pray each prayer within its  stated time. You must abide by the proper number of rak'at in each respective prayer. You must pray at a calm, relaxed pace. You must not miss any prayer… and so on. By praying, you abide by a system that cannot be violated just because you're in prison, or you don't have a job, etc. This restrains you, shapes you, gives your life form and purpose regardless of what you wish you could be doing. It disciplines you at a time that others would normally descend into chaos.

Prayer also helps you make use of your time. I personally divide my day up in here using the prayer. So, between Fajr and Dhuhr, I have certain tasks scheduled for myself, with a different set of tasks to be taken care of from Dhuhr to 'Asr, and so on. This way, I get a lot accomplished during the days while the rest of the unit lives in a stretched out, monotonous, blurry day where one hour is indistinguishable from the one before it or after it. Being productive is essential to maintaining patience.

Prayer is also a workout for the soul. Just like one release pent up aggression during a physical workout, the prayer – du'a' in particular – is a chance to let out your inner feelings to the Hearer and Responder. Every complaint, every desire, every worry, every hope, every anguish, every emotion – this is the time to let it all out. Let those tears flow. Let it come from the heart. Stand up in qunut in Witr in the depths of night and converse with your Lord – your own personal Lord, Who will listen and respond to you personally and specifically – and simply express to Him what you feel. He is the One you should direct your complaints to, as Prophet Jacob said in Surat Yusuf, v.86: {"I only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah."} So, just like the energy in the body is  released during a physical workout, the prayer is a spiritual workout where you can release what is built up inside.

Finally, by reciting the Qur'an in prayer, you are reminded of the bigger picture. The mention of the eternal prison of Hell minimizes the gravity of your challenges. The mention of the indescribable pleasures of Paradise are small vacations from your surroundings and circumstances. The mention of the struggles of the Prophets of the past provides a feeling of solidarity, reminding you that even the best of Creation didn't have it easy in life. Reciting the Qur'an in prayer puts everything you are facing into perspective and makes the bumpy road smoother and more familiar.

By: Tariq Mehanna / Plymouth Correctional Facility / Isolation Unit - Cell #108