Last two months, on the 23rd of April, World Book Day was celebrated globally. The annual celebration had been designated by UNESCO since 1995, inspired by the Catalonian custom el dia del llibre, a festival when lovers and their beloved exchange books as gifts. (Half the yearly sales of books in Catalonia are made on this day with over 400,000 sold.)
The aforementioned date was chosen because co-incidentally, it marks the anniversary of the date of death of many eminent Western writers such as Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, El Inca Garcilaso and Josep Pla; the date also marks the birth of Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Halldór Laxness. As once mentioned by Dr Johnson, “a chief glory of every people arises from its authors.”
In Malaysia, the latest official information we have on the reading habits of the nation is via data collected in 2005. The National Library’s Reading Profile study, gathered in collaboration with the Statistics Department, surveyed some 60,441 Malaysians.
Among its significant findings was that reading was not the favourite pastime of Malaysians; most prefer to watch television and videos (surfing the internet then was not as popular as it is now, I guess). Considering that reading is integral to a culture of learning, such a finding does not reflect well on our system of values and virtues.
Borrowing Qur’anic terminology, reading is reflected by the term qira’ah as it involves “a perusal and thorough study” leading to “an in-depth investigation, examination and exploration.” The paramount element in man’s system of thought, the philosophical and logical induction, is hence referred to as istiqra’.
The conception of reading as illustrated by the worldview of Islam is reflected in the very first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad, wherein, as mentioned by commentators, there is a complete orchestral harmony of the terms used to indicate read, teach, pen, knowledge, and proclaim.
Emerson once remarked that “the profit of books is according to the sensibility of the reader, as the profoundest thought or passion is discovered by the profoundest mind and heart.” In Islam, in order to escape from the trap of the dead pages of a book, such a sensibility of a profound heart was couched in the framework of adab.
To escape from pagan Meccan idolatry, prior to his prophecy the Prophet Muhammad passionately devoted himself to contemplation (tahannuth) of the lessons the universe had to teach him. Nevertheless, being illiterate in worldly letters, he was filled with perplexity when the very first revelation commanded him to read, or iqra’.
What was the object for the Prophet to read? He said in a narration that it referred to a certain text in the hands of the Archangel Gabriel; hence, it may be said that the object to read was the Divine Message, the Book of God, which is a sublime Book as it is Divine Words on exalted themes (al-Kitab al-‘Aziz).
By exalted themes, we are referring to the issues surrounding who God is, the reality of creation, the relation between them, and the right way of life to salvation. Against those who feel that they need not listen to divine revelation, the Qur’an throws this challenge: “Do they think that the hidden reality of all that exists (al-Ghayb) is within their grasp, so that they can write it down?” (al-Tur, 52:41; al-Qalam, 68:47).
As the Source of Islam, the guidance offered by the Qur’an has been taught unfailingly, interpreted and clarified in various great and enduring voluminous works throughout the history of the Islamic civilization.
In order to excite and motivate a greater propensity for the reading habit, IKIM will be taking the initiative to organize a Seminar on the Great Books of the Islamic Civilization, on the 12th and 13th of August 2008. The Seminar aims to introduce great works in the universal sense, the Islamic civilization as well as Malay culture, the cognitive aspects pioneered by those great works in their respective fields, and their contributions in the advancement of the Muslim community as well as World Civilization be it in spiritual terms or otherwise, be it economics, politics, education, ethics, law, medicine, comparative religion, philosophy, or literature.
Book lovers and lovers of wisdom are invited to register as participants. A brochure and registration form may be downloaded at www.ikim.gov.my or by contacting Ms Sarina Othman (Programme Manager) at 03-62046320/321/322/323 (tel) or 03-62046201/62014189 (fax) or [email protected] (email).