Prophet Mohammad (s) won hearts by displaying humble character, courteous actions, and generous teachings and the number of followers amounts to surpass two billion globally till date and are growing in leaps and bounds.
His mission started with the first revelation consisting of five verses emphasizing Iqra meaning Read. When he responded to the Angel Gabriel (a) that he was unlettered, he was commanded to repeat verse by verse after him as part of the rote learning.
In fact the summary of Quran is re-read in every prayer.
The American writer Alvin Toffler once quoted “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore (aka Moore’s Law) shared his idea that every two years technology changes. We all do feel and embrace these changes as and when we encounter them in real-life.
The best thing that we can do on a Sunday morning is to learn, read/understand & try to implement the divine commandments of Allah.
Some of the parents drive long distances as far as Cheltenham, Melbourne, Victoria in Australia to drop and pickup later their children to the Islamic Weekend School that imparts religious knowledge for three hours.
As a teacher of Theology and member of the Muslim community, I have observed the following changes:
1. Missing an opportunity to learn the tips to success.
2. Unnecessary expenses over fuel.
3. Wastage of time.
4. Stress & fatigue built up during the trip.
5. Emission of green gases.
The parents can utilize their precious time by reading the Quran thus fulfilling the mission of “Iqra “ by establishing compliance with the first commandment and adhering to the sunnah by way of recital of the Hadith.
In my humble proposition if the administrative bodies of the Islamic Councils, Masjid Committees, members of the community etc agree to rent/allocate a small waiting lounge for visitors as part of a pilot project to cohort the Islamic library with foldable furniture in any corner of their community halls, masjids, makeshift tents to lay the foundations for fountains of Thawaab Al-Jariyah that can be reaped by the generations and their souls by:
(a) Earning solace to their hearts by way of Dhikr/remembrance of Allah.
(b) Challenging their intellectual quotient by pondering the challenges posed by the Author of Qur’an.
(c) Formulating their lifeways in applied sense of spirituality commanded by Divine principles.
(d) Participating in projects of integrity, charity and nobility.
(e) Revisiting the golden remnants of resilience lying in the Islamic Museums, mesmerizing our ancestral legacies loaned to the civilizations archived in the annals of history via the Islamic Library of Australia, doing value additions to the Ummah by sharing and caring through the windows of information technologies evident in Australasian Muslim Times AMUST.
Mashaallah! that’s an incredible idea – both to increase knowledge in this dunya and gain a ton of deeds for akhirah just through a small action !!