Reading 101

3rd Ramadhan 1441 H (26 April 2020)

To read or to recite is a very familiar phrase in Islamic tradition, as it was the first revelation given to Prophet Muhammad SAW through Jibril AS. The Prophet SAW was told to “Read, in the name of your Lord”, in Surah Al Alaq. 

Nowadays, there are many books that we can choose to read from. There are many categories, from spiritual, science, history, to entertainment. We usually choose books that we want to read based on knowledge, background and experience that we have and want to experience.

Gaining information from reading a book is somewhat different from gaining information from reading a story on social media or news. The latter two are so compact that we usually do not get a chance to think about the information or question it. What often happens is we see many people are convinced that what they read on social media and the news is the truth, they fail to see different points of views on the issue. 

Unfortunately, the information that is perceived as the truth in social media is sometimes not (the truth), and oftentimes it actually needs to be interpreted more. But because of the casualty, and availability of the information, we often do not try to understand at all. We do not train ourselves to reason about the information. We simply just make a copy paste on something written, probably from someone that we look up to, that is suitable for our hearts at that time and share it or defend it with all our might. As emotions play a part, the process sometimes leads to use of foul language in the posting or comment and logical fallacies. 

Real reading actually is not as simple as just reading the words that are written. Rather, there are processes of thinking which include learning about the sentences, the words that were chosen, the story, the hikmah (lessons) inside of it, and the most important task, which is understanding what the author wants to reveal or convey. Sometimes we cannot grasp all of that information at one time. We need to read over and over again to really understand the meaning of what is written. This is not an easy task. Sometimes we will need to pause to make further reading, to have time to think deeply on the sentences that we already read. 

Reading good books or well written passages are always challenging. The process enriches our vocabulary, increases our ability of interpretation, and gives new experience every time they read it. 

To enjoy the process of reading a book, first, try reading a simple book, a book with simple vocabulary, grammar, and story line. We could start with fiction or history with a gradual time frame. After we are comfortable reading those books, we can then challenge ourselves to read more difficult books.

-Emiria

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