Reasons to Read

Spirited across the seven seas, traversing through a multitude of terrains and lands, voyaging on journeys of discovery of people, places and possibilties…these are the experiences of our parallel lives as we exist in the universe of reading. Remarkably every new page read, is a new experience lived. And so throughout time reading has served its purpose well.

Yet, the overwhelming technologically advanced era that we currently live in assists us greatly in denying our children and ourselves, this simple yet purposeful pleasure of reading. But its never too late to retrieve what may have been lost; its never too late to navigate the ocean of books and…READ!

Passing on our passion for books and nurturing the love for reading in our children, can only reap for them and us wonderful results. Personally, my love affair with books began at the tender age of three when my mother made me a member of the local library. Such a love was developed, that I secretly nurtured a yearning of working in the library, just to have constant access to books and naturally a favourite saying of mines has come to be, “If I am ever stranded, I hope it is in a bookstore.” Infact I cannot thank my mother enough for widening my horizons and giving me what I call ‘a key to the world’. And that’s exactly what this article entails, conveying why we and our children need this key, sharing some…reasons to read.

Being blessed as Muslims with the greatest example of the Noble Prophet sallallahualaiwassallam, our first source of inspiration undoubtedly always commences with him. Have you not found it intriguing that the very first words revealed to him from ALLAH was, “IQRAA/READ!”? Not merely an invitation but a command to read. Yet we understand that our beloved Prophet sallallahualaiwassallam was unlettered, for in Makkah at that time there were approximately only seventeen people who could read and write. These facts make the first revelation even more impressive as it, unequivocally emphasises the importance of reading. Furthermore Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam himself perpetually accentuated the value of reading, not only through his words but through his ways too. This was vividly apparent in the ransom he set for the captives of Badr: to teach ten Muslim children to read and write, SubhanALLAH.

Besides reading being a direct route of attaining knowledge to procure a successful Dunya and Aakhirah, perhaps you would enjoy a bit more substantial research, besides the obvious ones we are all generally aware of. Well here are, but a few of thousands, of reasons to read…

Romantic types like to portray books as flights of fancy offering up imaginative escapes from everyday drudgeries of work, school, and the like. But literature, no matter the medium, holds some pretty amazing, scientifically analyzed perks. Find out what reading does for you…

“Enhances the senses
Merely reading a word reflecting a color or a scent immediately fires up the corresponding section of the brain, which empathizes with written experiences as if they actually happened to the audience.

Enables lifelong learning
In correlation with the previous perk, sensual stimulation makes it easier for aging brains to keep absorbing and processing new information over time.

Allows for better skill retention
Avid readers enjoy a heightened ability to retain their cognitive skills over their peers who simply prefer other media, as indicated by an article in Neurology. It serves as something of a “shield” against mental decay, allowing the body to continue through the motions even when facing temporary or permanent challenges.

Improves creativity
When educators at Obafemi Awolowo University incorporated education-themed comics and cartoons into primary school classrooms, they noted that the welding of pictures to words in a manner different than the usual picture books proved unexpectedly beneficial.

Better verbal abilities
On the whole, readers tend to display more adroit verbal skills than those who are not as fond of books, though it must be noted that this doesn’t inherently render them better communicators. Still, they do tend to sport higher vocabularies.

Increases one’s stores of knowledge
Anne E. Cunningham and Keith E. Stanovich’s “What Reading Does for the Mind” also noted that heavy readers tend to display greater knowledge of how things work and who or what people were.

Higher test scores
Some students obviously don’t perform well on tests despite their prodigious abilities, but in general, findings (such as those offered by the National Endowment for the Arts) show a link between pleasure reading and better scores.

Reduced stress levels
According to a 2009 University of Sussex study, picking up a book could be one of the most effective strategies for calming down when life grows too overwhelming — great for both mental and physiological reasons. The University of Minnesota built on these findings and recommends reading some form of literature for at least half an hour every day for optimum relaxation.

Improves critical thinking
Fully engaged reading sessions — not just skimming, in other words — actively engage the sections of the brain responsible for thinking critically about more than just texts.

Better reasoning
Along with bolstering critical thinking skills, the authors of “Reading and Reasoning” in Reading Teacher noted that literary intake also positively influences logic and reasoning.

Confidence-building
Improved literacy means improved self-esteem, particularly when it involves preschool and primary school students whose grades will swell as a result, although high schoolers, university students, and adults are certainly not immune to this mental health perk. Set realistic reading goals and work toward them for an easy, painless (and stress-free) way to kick up the spirits when confidence starts wavering.

Increases brain flexibility
Brain flexibility is how the essential organ stratifies itself, delegates tasks, and compensates for damages, and Carnegie Mellon researchers believe reading might serve as a particularly excellent way to encourage this.

Improved memory
The physiology of reading itself contributes to better memory and recall, specifically the part involving bilateral eye movement.

Builds relationships between parents and children
Kids and parents who read aloud together enjoy tighter bonds than those who do not, which is essential to encouraging the healthiest possible psychological profile. Along with the cognitive perks, these sessions build trust and anxiety-soothing comfort needed to nurture positive behavior and outlooks.

Better listening skills
Listening skills improve reading, and reading improves listening skills, particularly when one speaks words out loud instead of silently.

An easier time concentrating
Once again, any bookish types hoping to claim the full benefit of this cognitive phenomenon gain it via close reading and analysis, not skimming, speed reading, and skipping. Because the activity is far from passive, it challenges the mind to focus, focus, focus: which certainly carries over into other areas of life!” (Sources: http://www.edudem.com)

Here’s hoping that I have given you adequate reasons to start reading and to keep on reading! Leaving you with some food for thought, a READ SA’s motivational saying states, “You are what you read, so if you read nothing…”

My article extracted from for the SA based, print magazine- The Muslim Woman, February 2013