Reading…The vanishing habit

By Samar Yahya   Seeking knowledge and the pleasure of learning are among the essential instincts that distinguish humans. Learning and seeking knowledge starts from birth; babies who can scarcely talk or walk are always exploring the world around them. One can see their innocent expressions of pleasure when they discover and explore something new to them. It is a fact that the physical growth stops at a certain age. However, intellectual growth and the desire to learn never cease; it is always there inside each of us. Parents start teaching their kids prior to school age and some of them plant the value of learning and knowledge inside their children at this early age. I remember the times of my childhood and teen years; I used to read about diverse fields. I can claim that I have read every single book that my family owned such as cultural books, educational, social magazines, novels, and more. I enjoyed reading all these subjects. The genre that I ravenously read was mystery crime books. Reading novels, social books, history and more gave me great happiness and content at all times especially during summer vacations and also during the academic year. However, nowadays with all the new technologies, the younger generation seems to have lost interest in reading. Their means of pleasure have changed into playing video games, internet browsing, chatting, and spending time on social media. Unfortunately, for some youngsters, reading books has become old-fashioned. One teenage girl I spoke to simply said that internet browsing is more interesting than reading books. Reading is becoming an abandoned habit by many youngsters. It is through gaining knowledge that makes different civilizations, races, cultures, countries develop and advance. Islam encourages us to seek knowledge everywhere and from all sources. Knowledge is what helped Muslims to expand to non-Muslim countries and territories, and to spread Islam.   Islam has always stressed the value of seeking knowledge and venerated learning. It is a duty upon every Muslim, male and female. The first verse of the Holy Qur’an revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Angel Jibriel focused on seeking knowledge. The Angel commanded the Prophet (peace be upon him) to read. The first verse revealed was, {Read. In the Name of your Lord Who created.} [Chapter 96, verse 1] For years Muslims were inspired by the Qur’an and to achieve accomplishments and innovations in science and medicine that enlightened humanity. They advanced in algebra, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. Islamic medicine is one of the most famous and best-known facets of Islamic civilization in which the Muslims excelled. Dr. Donald Campbell, 20th-century historian of Arabian Medicine said, “The European medical system is Arabian not only in origin but also in its structure. The Arabs are the intellectual forebears of the Europeans.” The same objective for knowledge and learning led to the establishment of Al-Azhar in Egypt (800 A.D), the first university in the world. Related by Anas bin Malik that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.” [Sunan Ibn Mâjah (224) Al-Tirmidhi (74)] This obligation is not limited to a certain sex or class, but rather it is for everyone, man and woman, young and old, poor and rich.  Allah has raised the ranks and status of those who have knowledge. {Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Aware of what you do.} [Quran 58:11] There are a multitude of reasons why many youngsters are detached from reading. It could be attributed to their zeal to catch up with the unlimited means of online entertainment, they have shorter attention spans, and their interests have changed.   As parents, teachers, and educators, we have to work harder to encourage kids these days to read.   Tips to revive the habit of reading: Time management may be the most effective skill to develop to become successful. Look at your daily schedule and decide to allocate time for reading. Begin with a short time each day until you develop the habit of daily reading.   Benefit from your electronic devices to download books to access anytime. Instead of buying your kids an I-pad, you could buy them a device like Kindle that has the ability to download hundreds of books, but not the option for playing games.   Pick what interests you, what you have a passion for, for example: sports, cars, science, fashion, make-up, airplanes, wild animals, biographies, etc…   Gradually expand your fields of reading so your knowledge will grow.   Make reading a daily habit like drinking tea or coffee, so you miss it if it is not done.   Adults should read in front of their kids, so they would deliver an indirect message about reading. Actions speak louder than words.