As Muslims, our entire community is built upon the foundation of knowledge ('ilm). Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every one of us. If we look to the past, we find a correlation between how seriously our community took knowledge and their achievements. They were at the forefront of society. They were in the innovators and inventors. They were a reflection of beauty (jamāl) and excellence (ihsān).
Today, we live in a time where we're prone to more scrolling of bitesized information and not an absorption of knowledge. We're living in a time we're our minds are like a TikTok but we're not Teek Taak (okay). Reading has seen a big decline as a result. There are many students that have shown up to 23% of the population were reading books (2011, USA). People wish they could read more. Children read almost 25% more books last year, in UK and Ireland studies. Social media trends such as the BookTok community on TikTok helped children engage with books. But this reading is short lived, it's not knowledge based, enjoyment and comprehension is on the decline.
Knowledge is not about necessarily knowing in our Deen, but it is about being. It about being somebody. It is about a transformative reality through which we can reach Allāh. Amongst the company we can have in the pursuit of knowledge is the Company of Allāh through His Words. The Company of the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions (may Allāh be pleased with them all) through ahādīth. We can take the company of the Friends of Allāh (Awliyā') and the Pious (Sāliheen) through their books. We can travel to meet the People of Allāh, observe them, learn from them and try to adopt what we can from the best of what we witness. This is all part of seeking knowledge.
Why reading books will help you memorise better
Reading books have many benefits including:
- Reducing stress: “Reading can even relax your body by lowering your heart rate and easing the tension in your muscles. A 2009 study at the University of Sussex found that reading can reduce stress by up to 68%.”
- Understand things better: Researchers at The New School in New York City have found evidence that literary fiction “improves a reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling.” Another study “drew a strong connection between reading fiction and better performance on widely used empathy and social acumen tests.” We’re all better off when when understand what others are experiencing.
- Improving concentration and focus: Reading also improves concentration and decreases stress levels. Reading requires sustained attention, which can help improve concentration and the ability to focus.
However, regular reading is good for the memory.
- Reading stimulates and exercises the brain. It accelerates the formation of new connections and neurons, and strengthens neuron connections inside the brain, making it easier to remember and retain information.
- Working memory, which is the ability to store information while simultaneously carrying out processing operations, is a well-established predictor of individual variation in reading comprehension performance in both adults and children.
- Regular reading can help slow the process of memory and brain function decline that comes with age. Leisure reading, in particular, has been found to strengthen memory skills in older adults.
- Simply reading something out loud is the easiest way to boost your long-term memory. This is why we also recite and memorise the Qur'ān out loud. It helps.
So reading has so many benefits.
Make a routine of reading books and learning
We must revive the culture of reading, writing, researching, and learning. Especially as students of the Qur'ān - you ought to be those that engage with the Qur'ān. Those that improve your memory through reading. Reading books will get you away from the harms of social media, and will allow you to improve in many ways you won't realise is possible.
I've wrote this short piece today as a reminder of yet another simple way our memory can become better. It's a method that is also important for us all.
I hope you come to realise the importance of it.
If you're a young reader, think about your current habits with screen time, social media, video, and gaming. How wonderful would it be if you spent time reading about others lives, what they experienced, and what you can learn. How wonderful would it be to sit in the company of the pious through their words? How wonderful would it be to find growth?
Reflect.
Take action.
May Allāh grant blessing.
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