Humans read codes such as words or numbers that the eye sees in their own language.

Imagine a street in your mind… Think about the service area of the advertisement placed on the buildings next to the streets, the name of the company it belongs to, or its message. Think about the license plates of the cars you see, with two letters and three numbers or three letters and two numbers… Think about the shop signs hanging outside, explaining the scope of the profession carried out inside… Think about the headline of the newspaper on the table, the breaking news displayed in subtitles on the television…

How much do we read during the day?

Perhaps you have never looked at it this way. In fact, when evaluated from this perspective, some of us may even say, “I read so much.” Now we will ask whether we really read a lot in this situation, or whether we look a lot. Do we read because we look, or do we look in order to read?

If we read because we look, then visually impaired people would never be able to finish a book and would be doomed to be associated with ignorance. Yet, while there are scholars who cannot see, there are many ignorant people who can see. Reading by looking can be considered a convenience or an advantage, but it cannot be said to be a prerequisite for reading.

When we consider looking in order to read, we see that it carries great meaning for those who know how to look. Looking in order to read does not only carry meaning for this person; the person who looks in order to read not only derives meaning from reading, but also gains access to information that they can apply to their life according to their own capacity. This is where the sincerity of the person who looks in order to read comes into play. In fact, reading to understand, not just to look, brings sincerity along with meaning. Because even if what is read is full of elements that meet the reader’s needs, the information to be transferred to life is measured by sincerity. The more sincerity there is, the more applicable information there will be. The more a person applies the information to their life, the more desire arises; the more desire there is, the more happiness and prosperity is achieved. What comes from information read without sincerity?

Then, rather than application, it becomes material ready for sale or presentation. Information that is of no benefit to the person is not the seller’s either. This is similar to goods purchased with commercial logic. Those who pay the price receive it. Even if it is not sold, because it has been put up for sale, that information is not theirs. And the person themselves is no longer associated with it. Yet information does not need to be sold. Everything is doomed to diminish when shared, but only information multiplies when shared. Therefore, it does not need to be sold. When knowledge that does not need to be sold is put up for sale, its meaning dies; what this knowledge needs is to be shared, and we are the ones who need it. For this reason, those who put their knowledge up for sale should not be treated as scholars. A scholar does not sell his knowledge; if he does, he is not a scholar. Because a scholar is a person who carries a sense of responsibility, acts on what he knows, and shares it with those who need it.

Meaning that arises from looking does not become a truth accepted as valid for humans unless it is embodied in life. The integration of reading with life not only gives meaning to looking, but also enables looking with understanding. In this context, the Qur’an tells us how understanding is achieved.

ALLAH (c.c.) says:

Indeed, in this (the Quran) there is a lesson for those who have hearts or who are present and listen.[303]

For example, if someone asks, “Is it possible for a person to not understand a book they have memorized?”, the answer would be, “If they have memorized it, how could they not understand it? Of course, they have understood it.” Logically, the answer is correct. If asked, “If they memorize the meaning they should derive from the book they read but cannot derive that meaning themselves, are they still considered to have understood it?”, the natural answer this time would be “no.” Because information that is only memorized and not understood has no meaning. Notice that in both examples, memorized information is involved. Sometimes, even if a person memorizes a book, they do not understand it. For this reason, reading must be inextricably linked to understanding. Memorization, reading, or spending time on something has no meaning if it is not understood.

When viewed from an Islamic perspective, there are hafiz and scholars (!) who have memorized the verses of the Quran but are unaware of its message. These people act on the assumption that they “understand” because they have memorized the Quran, and they convey information from the book. Those who listen to this information and accept what is said as true are exposed to misinformation, and these faithful people, who strive to put what they have learned into practice, are doomed to disaster. This is truly a great loss for truly faithful people. These are the benefits and harms of reading versus understanding, and looking versus seeing, for the individual and society. If you ask, “How can we understand who is telling the truth without taking these people’s memorization as a basis?”, the Holy Quran answers as follows.

ALLAH (swt) says:

Indeed, man is in loss. Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, and advise one another to truth and advise one another to patience. [304]

Yes. Truly, man is in loss. To avoid being in loss, the Qur’an introduces the methodology of performing righteous deeds and, along with this, advising truth and patience[305] as a system. It indicates that I should not consider people knowledgeable when they memorize things, but when they apply what they know to their lives as righteous deeds and advise truth and patience in their speech. These verses go beyond identifying the possessor of true knowledge; they contain the fundamental elements for the prosperity and advancement of societies and clearly provide us with the formula for reforming society. It states that society can only be reformed by those among us who perform righteous deeds and advocate for truth and patience. It also provides the prescription for all humanity to escape from the current distress they face as individuals, families, and societies. The world’s social decay, the collapse of morality, violence, unrest, and the individual pursuit of an unhappy life… The basis of all this is the failure to implement this system: righteous deeds + truth + patience.

The most dangerous creature on earth is the ignorant human being. Because in order to fulfill their purpose of creation, humans must know and recognize their Lord, avoid what is forbidden, and organize their lives according to what is lawful. Anything can be expected from a person who does not practice this. For this reason, the first commandment given to our Prophet (s.a.v.), who was awaited for centuries, was IKRA (READ). Although Allah (c.c.) knew best that our Prophet could not read or write, it is quite thought-provoking that the first verse that came was “Read.”

The most important thing to understand here is the importance of reading. Because the verses came through an illiterate Prophet to warn all of humanity. While this message, given to humanity by the Creator through His appointed angel, continues with “Look at what you were created for,” it is reported that people who forgot why they were created and rebelled against the Creator did not obey the command to “read.” And afterwards, as if to indicate to whom gratitude should be given, it is conveyed who it is that informs man of what he does not know and teaches him to write with a pen. Because apart from what is conveyed and taught to him, man is nothing. Allah (swt) knows best.

ALLAH (swt) says:

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Read! In the name of your Creator. He created man from an embryo[306]. Read! Your Lord is the most generous, who taught man what he did not know, teaching him with the pen (writing).[307]

Allah first spoke to humanity through these verses, conveyed through a man who was constantly watched over during centuries of patience in the face of disbelief, oppression, mercilessness, and injustice, summarizing the reason for humanity’s state of heedlessness. “Read!”, but not to look good to others; not to gain position or fame; not to attain knowledge that is kept separate from the knowledgeable, but “in the name of your Lord who created…” Read…

Contemplating this message, which summarizes what needs to be done, leads us to the following conclusions.

“Read; those who are of the People of the Book did not read. Do not be like them…” says the Qur’an, summarizing the reasons for the deviation of past nations.

ALLAH (swt) says:

Among them are some who are unlettered and do not know the Book. All they know is hearsay. They only conjecture and speculate. [308]

“Read; if you do not, you will take those who appear knowledgeable (those who are far from righteous deeds but have a lot of memorization) as gods…” says another meaning…

ALLAH (swt) says:

They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and also the son of Mary. Yet they were commanded to worship none but One God. There is no god but Him. He is far above what they associate with Him.[309]

“If you do not read, you may accept the mistakes of those who say ‘I have read’ as correct; you may think that following them is the same as following Allah…” he may be saying.

ALLAH (c.c.) says:

Know well that pure religion belongs to Allah alone. Those who abandon Him and take other friends say, “We worship them only to bring us closer to Allah.” Surely Allah will judge between them concerning the things they differ over. Surely Allah does not guide the liars and the ungrateful.[310]

He also warns: “Read, lest you become ignorant and begin to distort the words and meaning of the Quran like the followers of previous religions…”

ALLAH (swt) says:

Some Jews twist words from their proper places and bend their tongues, harboring hatred and resentment toward the religion: “We hear and disobey. Hear, O deaf one, and ‘Raina,’ shepherd us, watch over us.” If they had said, “We have heard and obeyed; hear us and watch over us,” it would have been better and more correct for them. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief. Thus, they do not believe, except for a few of them. [311]

The answer to the question, “Where did we go wrong as humans?” is IKRA.

Imagine you have purchased a new electronic device. Naturally, it is meant to make your life easier. There are two ways to understand how this device works: First, consult someone who uses this device, obtain technical information, and put it into practice through trial and error; second, read the user manual included in the box. If you choose the first option, you can achieve your goal and make the device fit for its intended purpose, but you will acquire information that facilitates your use of the device’s main features in a shortcut way, rather than information suitable for the device’s construction. Why? Because the answer you get from the person you ask is actually an answer obtained to operate the device and does not provide accurate information. The user manual provides the most appropriate information to enable you to use a device provided to you to its full potential. The manual contains the necessary technical and hardware information, introduction and usage information, consumer presentation of the device’s features, and many detailed and sufficient explanations written in a clear and concise manner. However, information you receive from others and believe to be correct does not go beyond what the person telling you knows. In other words, acting on that information does not lead to absolute truths about the device, but rather to the depth of understanding of the person telling you. The device, with its right and wrong aspects, is left to the understanding of the questioner. Whatever that person understands, and to whatever extent, will now be your truth. The situation Muslims find themselves in today is no different from that of the owner of this device who lives far from the user manual.

Actions taken with the mentality of “if so-and-so says it, it must be true,” without referring to the user manual and relying on someone else’s understanding, leaving the submission that should be offered to Allah to the ignorance of someone who is needy and lacking in knowledge, have become commonplace. There are even those who say, “Who are we to understand the manual?” or “It is a book that only those between us and the owner of the manual can understand.” These words represent the lowest level of unconsciousness and the highest level of ignorance. So you tried to read it and couldn’t understand the book, is that it?

Imagine that a village has been struck by an infectious disease and is suffering greatly. Imagine that, despite all this suffering, they have the medicine manufactured for the disease in their homes but do not use it. What do you think is the reason why the villagers, despite suffering terribly from this disease, do not use the medicine to cure themselves? There are two possibilities: Either they do not know that the medicine in their homes was produced for this disease, or they do not believe it will cure them. There is no other possibility. When so many people are afflicted with the same disease at the same time, when the necessary medicine is readily available in each of their homes, and when they themselves know this, there can be no other explanation for these people not using this medicine. This is exactly the situation of Muslims today.

The villagers in the example are the Islamic ummah, the infectious diseases are their ignorance, and the medicine is the Qur’an. If Muslims around the world live poor, humiliated, ignorant, and apathetic lives, yet still do not use the Quran in their homes, then either they do not believe that the Quran provides healing, or they do not know that it provides healing. Although it is clear that such people cannot be called Muslims due to this lack of faith, we prefer to accept it as ignorance. As we have stated in all our explanations, it is this ignorance that has brought us to this state.

Muslims are now nourished by the values of the modern mindset, shaping their lives according to those values and solving their problems within that understanding. Does this religion not have a book, a Prophet? Has sufficient information about the solution to any issue not been presented to the ummah? … Has anyone ever looked into it? If someone were to appear before their Lord after a lifetime spent with such an idea, what excuse could they possibly offer for this situation? We are wasting it, wasting it. We are wasting our values, our beliefs, our families, and our income. Let us learn the words of Allah (swt) directly from Him, setting aside a little time on a regular basis. Let us strive to bring what we have learned into our lives. Then life will find its meaning in a different way. For, as Hz. Ali (ra) said: “There is no good in worship performed without understanding and in recitation performed without thought.”

We will adapt all the rules that should be in any user manual to our religion with the aim of better understanding the Quran, our guide. To this end, we will divide the Quran into sections like a user manual to show that it can be understood directly, and we will try to explain what to use and how to use it with the verses.

[303] Surah Kaf, Verse 37

[304] Surah Asr, Verses 2–3

[305] Methodology, method, search for method

[306] Fertilized egg

[307] Surah Alak, Verses 1–5

[308] Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 78

[309] Surah At-Tawbah, Verse 31

[310] Surah Az-Zumar, Verse 3

[311] Surah An-Nisa, Verse 46