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Techniques to Develop a Habit of Reading

December 15, 2010 Abu Productive
As Muslims, we cannot underestimate the importance of reading, especially when the first word revealed to our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was Read! Yet, whenever the topic of reading comes up, although we recognize its importance we always excuse ourselves with reminders of how busy we are, or assume that reading is a waste of time compared to the other chores we need to perform during the day. I was recently reminded about the importance of reading in a self-development book which encourages its readers to read extensively into many topics in order to widen their horizons. You can evidently see the difference between someone who reads and someone who doesnt read, at least in the vocabulary they use, never mind the ideas and creative thinking that book lovers tend to have. As Productive Muslims, we should exercise two types of reading: Islamic reading (Quran, Hadeeth, Islamic books) General reading If I were to ask any Muslim today, which category is more important, they would say that Islamic reading is more important than general reading. I would agree and it would be hard for anyone to argue otherwise. But I would also argue that general reading is important depending on the intention you make. If I were to read a book on marketing skills, and my intention is to improve my business, make more profits, and be able to give more Zakah and support my family better, wont that be considered beneficial? Plus, wouldnt I be rewarded for such reading? If I were to read the latest industry journal so that I am acutely aware of whats happening in the industry and attempt to stay on top of it all, and my intention is to better the Ummah by being a leader in this industry instead of a follower, isnt that something great? One may argue, that after reading the Quran, the Prophetic ahadeeth, and other Islamic books there is no need to read any further. And I would agree with that; this is the Sacred Knowledge that one should know and continue to explore and if we truly and sincerely attempt to understand the Quran, we will find wisdom within it which suffices all the books in the world! Although its important to note that there is a case for reading extensively into numerous topics that interest you, ranging from reading widely into materials relating to your University degree or reading your industrys journal, to biographies of men and women who achieved great missions regardless of their circumstances and self-help books that cultivate self-development or any other habits/traits in us that need to be developed. We should read, read, read and constantly read in order to apply good knowledge to our lives. My advice is to be selective in reading. Whilst Islamic reading should be a priority over any type of reading, dont forget to read extensively and be open minded about other topics. You will surely notice yourself develop! Now, the question begs itself: how should we read? Or more specifically, how should we develop a reading habit so that we constantly read, both Islamic reading and general reading? Below are some tips to help you along the way: 1. If you havent yet developed a daily habit of reading Quran and Islamic knowledge, begin by developing this habit first. I advise you to set yourself 10 minutes after Fajr in your first week

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How to develop a Habit of Reading

into this exercise and read 5 minutes of Quran plus 5 minutes of Islamic knowledge or Hadeeth. Do this daily! The key is to do it after Fajr Salah, as it will truly set your day straight. After one week, add 10 minutes to your time. So now youre reading 10 minutes of Quran and 10 minutes of Islamic knowledge plus hadeeth.In the third week, do this for half an hour and read 20 minutes of Quran and 10 minutes of Islamic knowledge plus hadeeth and now just stick to that! 30 minutes, no more! You might say, I can do more. Id say go ahead, but for our purposes, its important you develop a habit thats consistent rather than attempting more than you can chew and then forgetting about the whole exercise. Consistency will develop through deriving more beneficial lessons from the books you read. 2. Similarly, we should develop a reading habit for general knowledge. Again, begin with 10 minutes per day on any beneficial book you want to read. It is highly advised that you read before you sleep as it relaxes and stimulates your mind at the same time. Do this for a week and stick to it! No matter how tired you are, just read for 10 minutes. In the following week, extend your bed-time reading to 20 minutes, then follow that by 30 minutes, and thats it. Stick to that programme and be consistent. After working on the above exercise for a month, you can take a step further. For Islamic knowledge, try to develop a habit of constantly reading something of Islamic knowledge after every prayer. Or between 2 Salah times, for example between Maghreb and Isha. This is where you can dig deeper into the reading and perhaps memorize or use your time to study Islam. Similarly, for general reading, after a month of the above exercise include some reading time at work during lunch break. What you read can be related to your work (such as: FT, industry magazines, competitor work etc) and leave your bed-time reading to self-development books, biographies, and books which inspire and motivate. I hope that sets us all up to continually pursue reading in our lives so that it becomes an integral part of our development. When ProductiveMuslim.com first launched, we had a books page in which I posted a recommended book to read on a weekly basis. Ive had to remove it for various reasons, but inshaAllah well post book reviews regularly, so do check the website often, and hopefully the ProductiveMuslim reading reviews will give you some guidance on beneficial books to read inshaAllah. If you have ideas, tips, books you want to share, or anything to add, get in touch with us!

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22 thoughts on Techniques to Develop a Habit of Reading

April 3, 2009 at 8:45 am Salam, Mashallah you have offered a great insight. Indeed reading anything beneficial is obligatory on a Muslim. As Muslims we are instructed to "Seek Knowledge". And.the first thing that Allah created was the Pen. I think that is symbolic for writing and reading of knowledge. They go hand in hand to spread knowledge which is the only "cure" for ignorance. Peace Koorosh

Koorosh Vahabi

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April 20, 2009 at 10:19 pm mashaAllah, excellent piece and may Allah (swt) reward you and excell you in excellence both in this world and the next! ameen! truly inspiring and an instant pick-me-up for those downer days i will be re-reading this to inspire and uplift me!

turBo

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December 16, 2010 at 8:08 am BarrakAllahu fik, wasalam. I wish a blessing day of Ashoura to all your team. Hayet from France!!

Hayet

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December 17, 2010 at 9:29 am Excellent article, very well thought-out and laid-out. Jazakallah khayran for making a clear connection between Islamic reading and general reading, many people do not see this connection and tend to focus solely on Islamic reading which is absolutely fantastic but I feel that general reading strengthens your overall mental agility. I am currently reading a non-Islamic book on memory and concentration to help improve my Quran memorisation abilities and achieve better concentration whilst reading. Your article therefore came at the right time to remove all elements of doubt in doing this. Well done and may Allah reward you for your efforts.

Kamalgiwa

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April 11, 2011 at 11:16 pm salams brother, just wanted to ask you what is the name of the book you are reading on memory and concentration?

Sadequr Rohman

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December 19, 2010 at 4:40 pm gazag Allah 5ayran , Put Please can you add some article about the reading Techniques and Speed Reading And how to read effeciently technical book There is Tons of Advices for these topics , But i prefer you Simple approach to deliver the information Regards Ibrahim

Ibrhaa

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December 26, 2010 at 10:42 am May Allah Bless You Brother. Very good advice. Salam

Abu Nuha

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December 26, 2010 at 8:42 pm great Article :D thanks for it , really useful

Husien Adel Arnous

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December 29, 2010 at 11:11 pm Thanks for the article. It is very interessant .

Falfoula88

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December 29, 2010 at 11:11 pm Thanks for the article. It is very interessant .

Falfoula88

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February 1, 2011 at 5:58 pm Speed reading tip 1 when reading on paper/book keep a pencil with you and apply a marker on the left side of the line that you are currently reading. The marker helps your eye look for the next line, which you have not read, this has saved me a lot of time 2 keep the tip of the pencil under the word you are currently reading. 3 in every sentence there are words that make up the actual meaning of the sentence. make it a habit to underline these words, while you read. I cleared my CISSP exam after only 4 months reading. The usual reading time recommended for reading for this exam is 6 months. I hope Inshallah other readers will benefit from these techniques. Saquib

Saquibfarooq

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March 3, 2011 at 9:49 pm jazakom allah khay , wbarak allah fikom

How to develop a Habit of Reading

shaymae

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May 18, 2011 at 1:54 am Great article, MashaAllah. Would be great if you write a follow up article on Speed Reading.

MJ

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August 19, 2011 at 2:18 am JaxakAllah Brother.. Brothers Please Write Word Allahs A Capital.

Muhammad Ibrahim

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March 3, 2012 at 10:41 pm Zhazakallah! Very usefull article.

Orazbekov Sayatbek

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Series: 21 March 10, 2012 at 6:52 pm ProductiveMuslim Hobbies [...] Muslims today just dont read. I wrote an article a while back called Part 1 Reply

Developing a Habit of Reading urging the Ummah of Iqraa (read) to start reading, and not just read once, but read quality [...]

April 14, 2012 at 2:39 am Love the methods of linking QURANIC / Islamic reading and general reading.

Nasreenebrahim

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July 25, 2012 at 6:43 am One of the best articles i have read , May Allah bless you! Do suggest what books to read for self development for us. Your simplicity and clarity of thoughts were great. Regards R

Rushda S

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February 18, 2013 at 8:37 am May Allah accept from you.

Alkalaam

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March 4, 2013 at 10:30 pm assalamualaikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu! good effort brother May Allah help you in this world and here after for free Islamic books visit my blog ISLAMIC BOOKS HUB

sherazaliraj

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March 25, 2013 at 6:43 pm Whenever I turn to personal development/self help reading I remember this verse Say, If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement. (18:109)

Meena Laila Syed

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August 28, 2013 at 5:19 am

How to develop a Habit of Reading

Zakir Hussain Shaik

no words in English to express my feelings. allahuakbar. brother please write some articles, which will benefit our Muslim students.

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