08/07/2026
Do You Remember How To Read?
Something is happening in our world, and I'm concerned we're not paying enough attention to it.
Roughly 1 in 4 American adults—ages 16 to 65—struggle with basic literacy. That number grew 9% between 2017 and 2023. But that's just the US. The trend is global.
More troubling: major technology companies are digitizing every book in existence, and in the process, destroying the physical sources themselves.
This isn't just a problem for society. It's a crisis for Muslims.
Why? Because the Qur'ān opens with a command: "Read." Iqra'. For over 1,400 years, Muslims understood this. We led the world in learning, scholarship, and intellectual pursuit. Reading was sacred—an act of devotion, of drawing closer to Allah.
But somewhere along the way, we abandoned that path.
Here's what happens when we read:
- We internalize knowledge. Not just facts (information), but understanding—the ability to interpret, reason, and apply what we learn.
- We transform ourselves.
- Our light grows brighter.
When we stop reading, something inside us dies. That's not melodrama. That's transformation.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ asked Abdullah ibn Masud—a memorizer of the Qur'ān—to recite it to him. When Abdullah asked why (since revelation came directly to the Prophet), the answer was profound: "Because I love to hear it recited by someone else."
The Prophet was teaching us something essential: You must read it. You must pursue knowledge. You must process this with your heart.
Reading is not passive consumption. It's sacred work.
So I'm asking: Have we become a generation of receivers instead of readers? Consumers of information instead of seekers of knowledge?
And more importantly—will we reclaim what we've lost?
You can watch this khuṭbah live here:
What Happens To Us When We Read (and Don't!)?When we read we acqu...
