Gems from Juzz 'Amma: "Read!"

~ Gems from Juzz 'Amma ~

Day 19 / Gem 19

Surah Alaq, 1: "Read!"

اقْرَ‌أْ بِاسْمِ رَ‌بِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

Iqra/ bi-ismi rabbika allazhee khalaq

"Recite in the name of your Lord who created.."

This is one of the surahs’ which begins with a command.

Iqra’! Read!

Bismi Rabbika could mean the following:

1 – Read in the Name of your Master (i.e. bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem)

2 – Read what has been revealed to you from your Master. 
Allah’s Messenger would fulfill this command throughout his life (for the remaining 23yrs) since the Day he got this command. So he would recite the Qur’an revealed to him to the people.

3 - Read with the support (bi) / help of your Lord.

4 - Read in the Name of your Master.

In short, the way the Qur'an was Revealed has been mentioned in the Introduction. It was revealed as speech which mankind is then commanded to read....

Allah is telling the masses who are unread, to read. So the Arabs who were predominantly illiterate people became the leaders of the greatest civilization which encouraged the high class, and lower classes equally to become literate, and become of the most knowledgeable civilizations in the world. How? Due to reading, learning and implementing.

If we look back, Muslims were the ones who developed the modern universities. The PHD system in Universities today developed from the Ijaazah system of the Muslim past. The maths education spread amongst Muslims like no other. High academics and research developed into complex fields by Muslims, and was not just ‘passed on from the Greeks’ as some misinformed intellectuals are mistaken to believe. Rather, Muslims had over 1000 years of advanced civilization (from 700 CE – 1700 CE – ironically this part in history is ignored in Western timelines – which attempt to show the advance of mankind from Dark Ages to Light.)

This shows the importance of education and how it empowers mankind. It is us Muslims who should be leading by example, through learning and seeking knowledge. Knowledge is the light which shines bright in the darkness of ignorance. May Allah make us an Ummah who read, learn and educate, as well as a people who use our skills and talents to benefit his deen!