Why Have Muslims Stopped Reading?

<<Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from a clinging form. Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught man what he did not know.>> [Qur'an 96:1-5]

These were the first verses revealed to the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam. They indicate the profound nature of deep and meaningful reading (as opposed to superficial reading). But sadly we Muslims today are the furthest from this type of reading.

Why is this the case?

“The reader must come armed , in a serious state of intellectual readiness. This is not easy because he comes to the text alone. In reading, one's responses are isolated, one's intellect thrown back on its own resources. To be confronted by the cold abstractions of printed sentences is to look upon language bare, without the assistance of either beauty or community. Thus, reading is by its nature a serious business. It is also, of course, an essentially rational activity.” - Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves To Death

"Reading is by its nature a serious business" says Postman. He also says "People of a television culture need “plain language” both aurally and visually, and will even go so far as to require it in some circumstances by law." This gives a clue. If this was the case in the early 80s with the "television culture" we can imagine how it is now with the television plus sms, twitter and facebook culture.

There is only one way out of this. Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi, one of the foremost scholars and thinkers of the Western world today, will be discussing the problems and the solutions in great detail in the seminar coming up in London and Online Worldwide, InshaAllah.

Cambridge Islamic Sciences Seminars London Presents
Recreation, Leisure & Entertainment
The Islamic Perspective

By Shaykh Dr Mohammad Akram Nadwi (Oxford)

A full-day seminar on the concepts of recreation and leisure in Islam and the Islamic view on modern day phenomena such as music, entertainment, television, movies, games, sports, “weekends”, holidays, shopping, fashion, socialising and celebrations.

When: Saturday 14th December 2013     Time: 9.30AM - 6PM

Venue: Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

Online: Worldwide - Live & Recorded Access

This Seminar Covers:

• The meaning and purpose of recreation & leisure in the modern world
• The meaning and purpose of recreation & leisure in Islam
• The value of time
• The need for rest and relaxation
• Prophetic advice on recreation & leisure
• Recreation & leisure at the time of the Prophet (SAW) and companions
• The history and evolution of “Islamic Entertainment”
• The status of “Islamic Entertainment” today
• Advice on recreation & leisure for men, women and children

Features: Course notes, crèche/childcare, refreshments, free parking

Special Offer: Early Bird Ticket & Student Ticket

Registration: http://courses.meoc.org.uk

Previous Posts

Hard Talk on Recreation, Leisure & Entertainement

Amusing Ourselves To Death

Recreation, Leisure and Entertainment - The Islamic Perspective