Read!
It was the first command of Allah to believers.
We were commanded to read The Book of Allah.
The Quran and The Universe.
We were told to read ourselves and everything around us.
As Yunus Emre famously said,
“Wisdom comes from knowing wisdom.
Wisdom means knowing oneself.
If you do not know yourself,
what is the point of reading books?”
I loved reading this Turkish poem when I was a teenager, even though I didn’t fully understand it at the time. Now, as I learn more about how the human body and mind work, and how our thoughts and words shape our reality, I am in awe of the poem’s wisdom. It’s true that knowledge is understanding ourselves.
The more I read the more I understand myself. The more I understand myself the more I realize that change starts within. We attract good things with positive thoughts and words, as we call negativity and disaster with what’s inside us.
When we turn inwards, read our programming, declutter, and nurture our soul, we shine so bright that everything around us benefits. When we rise, we take everything around us higher with ourselves.
Therefore, changing the world is an illusion. Reading and knowing ourselves, constantly growing for the best version is our greatest service to ourselves and humanity, as a light in this dark universe. This is how reading and knowing ourselves change the world. This is the true wisdom that will make a difference.
Let’s read what our Creator commanded and created.
Let’s read our book reflecting on every creature around us.
‘’Read with the Name of your Lord Who created [ everything ], He created man from a clot of blood. Read, and your Lord is the most gracious, who imparted knowledge by means of the Pen. He taught man what he did not know.’
Surah Al-’Alaq
