Research Library

What the studies on dhikr breathing show

Two small studies, three claims I could not support

The research closest to pas anfas is small and uncontrolled. Here is what each study did, what it can and cannot show, and which popular numbers failed a check.

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3 min · 629 words
Tags
  • evidence
  • anxiety
  • cortisol
  • qeeg
  • breathing
  • dhikr

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This paper builds on one earlier paper.

  1. Pas Anfas: guarding the breath

Link to section: Bottom lineBottom line

Link to section: The two studiesThe two studies

What each study can and cannot show
Study Control group Randomised Named pas anfas
Indonesian dhikrullah breathing study nosingle group, before and after no nosoft "Allah" at 15–20 breaths a minute
Aren and Tarlacı (2022) noa single case no noa ten-week breath and meditation practice
Number of people studied
Indonesian dhikrullah study
20 people
One group, before and after
Aren and Tarlacı
1 person
A single case

Link to section: The Indonesian dhikrullah studyThe Indonesian dhikrullah study

Twenty participants practised three-minute sessions, five times a day for seven days, breathing 15 to 20 times a minute and saying "Allah" softly.1Published on PubMed Central as PMC13666339. The sample was twenty participants in Indonesia. Anxiety and cortisol both fell (p = 0.001). BDNF did not change significantly.

What this cannot tell you: with one group and no control, the fall could come from any of the following.

  • Simply sitting quietly for three minutes five times a day.
  • Expectation, and repeated measurement.
  • Wudu. The participants' ablutions are a confounder in this design, because washing alone can settle people.

The pace matters too. Fifteen to twenty breaths a minute is within the ordinary adult resting range, so this was not slow breathing, and the result should not be read as support for claims about slow or held breathing.

Link to section: Aren and Tarlacı (2022)Aren and Tarlacı (2022)

A single-case QEEG study published in the Journal of NeuroPhilosophy. One person followed a ten-week breath and meditation practice, and EEG coherence increased.2A QEEG study is one that records quantitative EEG; here it was applied to a single person. The practice was not specifically pas anfas. A single case is a report, not a trial, and generalising from one person is not safe.

Link to section: What did not hold upWhat did not hold up

Numbers and sources that circulate online
ClaimStatusBasis
Anxiety and cortisol fell after a week of soft "Allah" breathingVerifiedThe Indonesian study, p = 0.001; single group, no control
BDNF changedDiscardedThe same study reports it was not significant
EEG coherence rose after ten weeks of breath practiceVerifiedAren and Tarlacı, a single case, not named pas anfas
An RCT found 42% versus 28% improvement on HAM-AUnverifiedCited as an IJSRT paper; I could not find or check it
A Springer review supports breath-based dhikrUnverifiedI could not locate the review
Dhikr breathing raised HRV by 41%Discardedghayb.com cites a paper that does not support the figure

The 42% against 28% figure and the Springer review are not claims I am rejecting. I simply could not find them, so they are out of the evidence until someone does.

Link to section: What would make a claim strongerWhat would make a claim stronger

  • A comparison group doing a similar silent sitting practice without the Name.
  • Random assignment.
  • Naming the practice exactly as taught, with the breath rate recorded.
  • Following participants beyond one week.

Link to section: SafetySafety

For the practice itself, see Pas Anfas: guarding the breath.

Sources

  1. PrimaryDhikrullah breathing study, Indonesia (PMC13666339)
  2. PrimaryAren and Tarlacı (2022), Journal of NeuroPhilosophy 1(2), single-case QEEG study
  3. UnverifiedAn IJSRT RCT reporting 42% versus 28% on HAM-A (could not be verified)
  4. UnverifiedA Springer review of breath-based dhikr (could not be verified)