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Eid Pledge-3: Eradicate illiteracy amongst the Muslim masses
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In the month of Ramadan the first words of revelation started with the most profound proclamation “Iqra” (read) and it descended on an unlettered man of Makkah who was in the depth of meditation and soul searching. God chose his messenger from the noblest of the Arab tribes with uncorrupted mind and intellect, unblemished character and supremely benevolent personality. He chose to convey the entire message of Islam with one single word – READ. In the most incredible away He made enlightenment synonymous faith, and rooted it to attainment of peace and salvation.
God could have chosen any other words to form the first commandment but he chose “read’ instead, thus, declaring the end of days of ignorance, superstition and other irrational mumbo-jumbo. Enlightenment through revelation became the fundamental prerequisite to Godliness. In these five verses God made the most profound declaration that you cannot find God if you fail to affectively use the rationale and intellect of your brain and heart.
Unfortunately those of us who claim to be the true faithful vanguards of this supreme revelation contribute to more illiteracy in the world today than any other people. The illiteracy rate in the Muslim world is extremely alarming. Quran is the envy of those who detest Islam; even the ardent atheist gets awestruck by the content, style and coherence of the Quran. Yet those who claim to be the followers of the Quran have fallen woefully behind.
Most of those who claim to follow the Quran in today’s world are hardly or adequately literate and those who are literate vast majority of them miserably fail to understand the meaning of the Quran. This dichotomy has made the Muslims a laughing stock of the world today. The same Quran inspired earlier generations of Muslims so profoundly that they became the pioneers of math, physics, medicine, astronomy, philosophy, sociology etc. They led the world. Why do we see so much backwardness, ill education and illiteracy amongst the Muslims today?
I know the political upheaval in the Muslim world can be blamed for this pitiful state but while I understand the challenges, such a rotten depth of illiteracy cannot be excused. No matter how despotic the political situation may have been, generations of Muslims should not have been left in such a state of darkness and ignorance. I am afraid there are no excuses for this despicable state. I would like to see this reversed and a systematic approach is adopted to enlighten the Muslim masses.
In that cave in the depth of darkness and in the middle of Arabia Ramadan was the moment of enlightenment, yet millions of Muslims fast every Ramadan but no such seismic shift towards enlightenment is visible amongst the Muslim masses. I would like to see this change urgently. The true spirit of Ramadan must be reinvigorated within the hearts and minds of the Muslims so they too can become the inventors and innovators of science and technology and sociology and philosophy. We must eradicate the curse of illiteracy from all parts of the world in general but the Muslim world in particular.
Illiteracy is debilitating and soul destroying. It reduces a human being to a meager existence; nothing substantial is gained or offered. Such a state of existence is tantamount to living like animals. Life’s full potential can only be unleashed when the shackles of ignorance is permanently destroyed. No nations can be spiritually or economically prosperous unless they are able to overcome their knowledge deficit. Muslims today are one of the least educated people on this earth. This is must be undone immediately.
Let this Ramadan be a reminder of the original enlightenment avalanche that swept the world and brought out of the depth of darkness to enlightenment. Let us take a pledge to focus our work to eradicating illiteracy from the world. In this Eid I pledge to make education the most important priority for my works and campaigns. May God fill our hearts with His light, our brains with the knowledge of His revelation and our actions the true embodiment of enlightenment.
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About Ajmal-Masroor
Ajmal Masroor is an Author, Broadcaster, Relationship Counsellor , Politician and Imam based in London, UK. His facebook profile can be followed https://www.facebook.com/AjmalMasroor
This Blog is made by his Fan and all writings are collected from his Facebook page which is Public.