An old Chinese proverb says that if you “give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” I believe that Allah is teaching us the same concept on a much deeper level through the first word He revealed in His last book. “Read” is not just a command, it is a lifestyle. A way of being in the world. Allah didn’t tell us to “practice” this or that; didn’t give us a finite list of things to learn or do or see or understand or be thankful for. He gave us one word that would keep us learning, doing, seeing, understanding and being thankful for millennia. He gave us

“Read” is not just a command, it is a lifestyle. A way of being in the world. Allah didn’t tell us to “practice” this or that; didn’t give us a finite list of things to learn or do or see or understand or be thankful for. He gave us one word that would keep us learning, doing, seeing, understanding and being thankful for millennia. He gave us the motivation to explore our world and its creatures and reach out to each other. To enrich humanity by understanding our ancestors, exploring our emotions, and having any subject at our fingertips. He ensured that His religion, which was perfected during the Prophet’s lifetime (saw), would remain perfect but that its adherents would not remain stagnant. That we would excel in science and philosophy and mathematics and history. That we would take the world from the dark ages into the light of knowledge and Tauhid together.

And historically, we did. But then outside factors such as colonialism and war caused us to backslide – to forget our purpose and the rights, attitudes and practices that Allah blessed us with. And reading is the keystone habit that cost us many of the others. In many places, reading for Islamic knowledge, or even enrichment or curiosity has died out. People have been reduced to reading their (mostly science and math) textbooks and their Facebook feeds. So we need to remember that it is part of our deen that we #bewellread. Part of our identity as Muslims. And we need to spread the love of books and learning and sharing, as a way to help ourselves emerge from our own dark ages, back to lives of knowledge and Tauhid together. Plus, it’s so FUN!

Najiyah Diana Maxfield is the Editorial Director of Daybreak Press and an educator.

Thank You, Najiyah Diana Maxfield, for sharing your perspective on what it means to #bewellread. This forms part of our campaign to call people back to the first Qur’anic command to mankind which was ‘Read’. #callto1stverse