Challenges – The Message International

This paper seeks to delineate major da‘wah challenges, both internal and external, the ummah faces today and how to respond to these modern challenges from a proper Islamic perspective. This author believes that each challenge comes with huge prospects and opportunities for advancement of the da‘wah work.

The Internal Challenges

The internal challenges, for convenience of discussion, can be associated with the following strategic issues.

Internal Challenge #1: Disunity

The ummah spans over 57 sovereign Muslim states. Their rulers and elites all face towards the same Ka‘bah in prayer but they fail miserably in establishing a unified policy on strategic goals in regards to social, political, economic, legal, educational, and cultural issues. How to create unity or at least move toward unity remains a core da‘wah issue and challenge. The responsibility for disunity, while in part caused by external forces, must be placed squarely upon our own shoulders. It is only common sense to expect other geopolitical players to use economic, political, and cultural, and even military means to protect their own national interests, and at times this involves intentional or collateral harm to, or exploitation of, Muslims. Ultimately, the campaign to unify Muslims must center on our own internal dynamics, resources, and shared goals.

Internal Challenge #2: Ghuluw

The second internal challenge that da‘wah faces is a global rise in ghuluw in the ummah. Ghuluw can be defined as exaggerating any part of Islam beyond its actual specified limits or, likewise, downplaying any part of Islam below its actual specified limits. Unfortunately some da‘wah workers focus on particular aspects of Islam – religious, legal, social, political, or economic – while some equally important teachings of Islam skip their attention. Islam provides necessary instructions in all aspects of human life. Therefore, a call toward Islam implies following Allah’s instructions not only in one or another or some particular aspects of life but in all affairs and all aspects of religious, legal, social, economic, and political matters. It is a call for a holistic and comprehensive change. It is a call to serving Allah alone and becoming His true ‘abd or obedient servant in the totality of one’s existence. In brief, da‘wah is the adoption of, or return to, the straight path, and the righteousness that entails, in all spheres and affairs of life.

Excessiveness or ghuluw is also manifested in considering one’s maslak or madhhab as the only authentic interpretation of Islamic injunctions, and to look down upon others as if they are misguided. This attitude is totally in contradiction to, and in negation of, the methodology followed in the fiqhi matters by the Prophet’s Companions which was duly approved by the Prophet himself (peace be on him). Some idealists assume that if they succeed in ascending to political power and declare establishment of khilifah, the economic exploitation, political corruption, social decay, and moral decadence will automatically cease and attitudes and behaviors of the people shall spontaneously change. This political idealism is also a form of ghuluw in the sense of overlooking the practical reality of the human condition with its weaknesses and its propensity for self-delusion, and the corresponding challenge of bringing about personal and societal transformation which can only be established through a gradual and progressive process.

Some spiritualists or mystics, on the other hand, claim to utilize a means of coming closer to Allah through contemplation, dhikr, and strict self-discipline, with some choosing to withdraw entirely from involvement in worldly life. The Prophetic Sunnah on the contrary provides us with a holistic model which takes care of the total needs of a human being. We do not have any evidence in the Prophetic Sunnah for being given to excessive meditation or for living a life of withdrawal from family and society and other worldly affairs; rather we find the Prophet (peace be on him) strongly denouncing such a life of withdrawal.

Internal Challenge #3:

The Islamic knowledge deficit

The third major internal challenge facing da‘wah today is an educational one. The key to progress and excellence lies in a knowledge-based society that engenders a fair and equitable economy and a just and ethical state. A dynamic commitment to and knowledge of Qur’an and sunnah must be deeply embedded in the social fabric but this requires that accurate and authentic Islamic knowledge be disseminated amongst the Muslim masses. This does not exist today and this deficiency is a handicap that must be fixed.

Internal Challenge #4:

Methodology

The fourth internal challenge that da‘wah faces has to do with methodology. Some of those who engage in daw’ah activities do so when afforded time and opportunity outside the constraints of their job or career. This would be fine if those individuals understood that Islam does not bifurcate life into “religious” and “worldly” activities. Therefore, the behavioral and ethical requirements of Muslim life and da’wah in particular are the same whether one is in the workplace, engaged in street da’wah, or part of a professional and organized da’wah effort. The Qur’an and the Sunnah establish a holistic approach to life wherein one’s profession and mission do not belong to different realms.

Another dimension to this challenge relates to the misunderstanding of da‘wah as an invitation or call to Muslims only. Under the influence of this mindset some very sincere and devout du‘at travel thousands of miles to talk to fellow Muslims, while da‘wah to non-Muslims remains outside the scope of their interest or concern.

The objective and means of Islamic da‘wah can be summed up in three points:

Knowledge of the truth (al-haqq) and a proper working knowledge of Islam.

Preparedness of the da’iyah through the building of his/her own Islamic character, devotion to purification of the heart, and ability to communicate the truth and convey the message of Islam in an effective way (i.e., with confidence, humbleness, conviction, and heartfulness).

Taking into full account the cultural mindset of the target demographic so as to best address their needs and provide the most relevant information that potentially might open their hearts and minds to the truth.

The External Challenges

There are several external challenges facing Islamic da‘wah. The first and foremost of these external challenges is the globalization of economy, education, society, and culture. Not many da‘wah workers are fully aware of the far-reaching effects of globalization on contemporary society. Islamic da‘wah by its very nature is a comprehensive da‘wah. It calls for vision, point of reference, and a paradigm of its own in economic, political, social, educational, and cultural realms. In all human activities it is a matter of inviting towards what is ethically good (khayr) and warning about what is ethically bad or evil (munkar). The impact of global media on the Muslim family and society is becoming visible even in very conservative homes. Untold numbers of Muslim youth are hooked on facebook. Putting a ban on it is no solution. The youth demonstrate a genuine yearning to share their ideas, feelings, and aspirations with others throughout the world. It is the challenge for Muslim scholars, parents, teachers, and activists to draw up and share with our Muslim youth a code of ethics and guidelines for Islamically appropriate behavior and written word expression when engaging in social media.

The western policy planners in the post cold-war era have put Islam and Muslims in the place which was earlier reserved for the Marxist threat. This scenario is further worsened by the western misperception of Islam as a faith which inherently subscribes to violence, extremism, and anti-democracy tendencies,though history bears witness to the opposite. The fact is that Muslims who are struggling to free their own lands from occupiers, imperialists, and/or corporate-globalist exploiters are labeled “terrorist” by Western policymakers and media.

The perception of Islam and the Muslims as extremist, fundamentalist, and terrorist needs to be corrected by Muslim scholars and academics who understand the mindset of the West. They must also expose the falsity of the claim that Islam is unfair to women. Issues such as law of inheritance, status of women as legal witness, the political role of women, polygamy, and other gender related issues need to be addressed in a knowledgeable, sincere, and non-apologetic manner. The role of women in the family, economy, education, political life, and da’wah needs to be elaborated and disseminated.

The strategy of da‘wah has to be proactive and not reactive. Modern challenges to da‘wah are both methodological and phenomenological. The so-called age of globalization and modernity has its own peculiar challenges. A successful da‘wah strategy cannot be developed for our contemporary world and its circumstances, let alone for the future, without taking the internal as well as the external challenges in full consideration in a realistic and comprehensive manner. Finally, serving Allah through serving humanity needs to become the rallying cry of da‘wah movements and their advocates and activists.

Da‘wah or calling people towards submission to none but the Creator is one of the major themes of the Qur’an. A Muslim, male or female, is visualized by the Qur’an as a da‘iyah whose behavior, speech, and interactions with others convey the Islamic message and invite people towards belief in, submission to, and serving of the Creator. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) is designated by the Qur’an as the last messenger, calling people toward all that is good and warning about the consequences of rejecting the truth. The Muslim ummah is commissioned to play a proactive role in creating peace, justice, balance, moderation, and fairness within the Muslim community (ummah) as well as in the human society at large. In fact, the terminology, ummatan wasaat, which the Qur’an uses to describe a distinguishing feature of the Muslim ummah, conveys a characterization of the ummah as one of moderation, balance, and the middle way. The Qur’an, accordingly, strongly condemns an excessive or exaggerated attitude in any aspect of life, and considers extremism of any sort to be misguided.This paper seeks to delineate major da‘wah challenges, both internal and external, the ummah faces today and how to respond to these modern challenges from a proper Islamic perspective. This author believes that each challenge comes with huge prospects and opportunities for advancement of the da‘wah work.The Internal ChallengesThe internal challenges, for convenience of discussion, can be associated with the following strategic issues.
Internal Challenge #1: DisunityThe ummah spans over 57 sovereign Muslim states. Their rulers and elites all face towards the same Ka‘bah in prayer but they fail miserably in establishing a unified policy on strategic goals in regards to social, political, economic, legal, educational, and cultural issues. How to create unity or at least move toward unity remains a core da‘wah issue and challenge. The responsibility for disunity, while in part caused by external forces, must be placed squarely upon our own shoulders. It is only common sense to expect other geopolitical players to use economic, political, and cultural, and even military means to protect their own national interests, and at times this involves intentional or collateral harm to, or exploitation of, Muslims. Ultimately, the campaign to unify Muslims must center on our own internal dynamics, resources, and shared goals.
Internal Challenge #2: GhuluwThe second internal challenge that da‘wah faces is a global rise in ghuluw in the ummah. Ghuluw can be defined as exaggerating any part of Islam beyond its actual specified limits or, likewise, downplaying any part of Islam below its actual specified limits. Unfortunately some da‘wah workers focus on particular aspects of Islam – religious, legal, social, political, or economic – while some equally important teachings of Islam skip their attention. Islam provides necessary instructions in all aspects of human life. Therefore, a call toward Islam implies following Allah’s instructions not only in one or another or some particular aspects of life but in all affairs and all aspects of religious, legal, social, economic, and political matters. It is a call for a holistic and comprehensive change. It is a call to serving Allah alone and becoming His true ‘abd or obedient servant in the totality of one’s existence. In brief, da‘wah is the adoption of, or return to, the straight path, and the righteousness that entails, in all spheres and affairs of life.Excessiveness or ghuluw is also manifested in considering one’s maslak or madhhab as the only authentic interpretation of Islamic injunctions, and to look down upon others as if they are misguided. This attitude is totally in contradiction to, and in negation of, the methodology followed in the fiqhi matters by the Prophet’s Companions which was duly approved by the Prophet himself (peace be on him). Some idealists assume that if they succeed in ascending to political power and declare establishment of khilifah, the economic exploitation, political corruption, social decay, and moral decadence will automatically cease and attitudes and behaviors of the people shall spontaneously change. This political idealism is also a form of ghuluw in the sense of overlooking the practical reality of the human condition with its weaknesses and its propensity for self-delusion, and the corresponding challenge of bringing about personal and societal transformation which can only be established through a gradual and progressive process. Some spiritualists or mystics, on the other hand, claim to utilize a means of coming closer to Allah through contemplation, dhikr, and strict self-discipline, with some choosing to withdraw entirely from involvement in worldly life. The Prophetic Sunnah on the contrary provides us with a holistic model which takes care of the total needs of a human being. We do not have any evidence in the Prophetic Sunnah for being given to excessive meditation or for living a life of withdrawal from family and society and other worldly affairs; rather we find the Prophet (peace be on him) strongly denouncing such a life of withdrawal.
Internal Challenge #3: The Islamic knowledge deficitThe third major internal challenge facing da‘wah today is an educational one. The key to progress and excellence lies in a knowledge-based society that engenders a fair and equitable economy and a just and ethical state. A dynamic commitment to and knowledge of Qur’an and sunnah must be deeply embedded in the social fabric but this requires that accurate and authentic Islamic knowledge be disseminated amongst the Muslim masses. This does not exist today and this deficiency is a handicap that must be fixed.Internal Challenge #4: MethodologyThe fourth internal challenge that da‘wah faces has to do with methodology. Some of those who engage in daw’ah activities do so when afforded time and opportunity outside the constraints of their job or career. This would be fine if those individuals understood that Islam does not bifurcate life into “religious” and “worldly” activities. Therefore, the behavioral and ethical requirements of Muslim life and da’wah in particular are the same whether one is in the workplace, engaged in street da’wah, or part of a professional and organized da’wah effort. The Qur’an and the Sunnah establish a holistic approach to life wherein one’s profession and mission do not belong to different realms.Another dimension to this challenge relates to the misunderstanding of da‘wah as an invitation or call to Muslims only. Under the influence of this mindset some very sincere and devout du‘at travel thousands of miles to talk to fellow Muslims, while da‘wah to non-Muslims remains outside the scope of their interest or concern. The objective and means of Islamic da‘wah can be summed up in three points: Knowledge of the truth (al-haqq) and a proper working knowledge of Islam.Preparedness of the da’iyah through the building of his/her own Islamic character, devotion to purification of the heart, and ability to communicate the truth and convey the message of Islam in an effective way (i.e., with confidence, humbleness, conviction, and heartfulness). Taking into full account the cultural mindset of the target demographic so as to best address their needs and provide the most relevant information that potentially might open their hearts and minds to the truth.
The External Challenges There are several external challenges facing Islamic da‘wah. The first and foremost of these external challenges is the globalization of economy, education, society, and culture. Not many da‘wah workers are fully aware of the far-reaching effects of globalization on contemporary society. Islamic da‘wah by its very nature is a comprehensive da‘wah. It calls for vision, point of reference, and a paradigm of its own in economic, political, social, educational, and cultural realms. In all human activities it is a matter of inviting towards what is ethically good (khayr) and warning about what is ethically bad or evil (munkar). The impact of global media on the Muslim family and society is becoming visible even in very conservative homes. Untold numbers of Muslim youth are hooked on facebook. Putting a ban on it is no solution. The youth demonstrate a genuine yearning to share their ideas, feelings, and aspirations with others throughout the world. It is the challenge for Muslim scholars, parents, teachers, and activists to draw up and share with our Muslim youth a code of ethics and guidelines for Islamically appropriate behavior and written word expression when engaging in social media. The western policy planners in the post cold-war era have put Islam and Muslims in the place which was earlier reserved for the Marxist threat. This scenario is further worsened by the western misperception of Islam as a faith which inherently subscribes to violence, extremism, and anti-democracy tendencies,though history bears witness to the opposite. The fact is that Muslims who are struggling to free their own lands from occupiers, imperialists, and/or corporate-globalist exploiters are labeled “terrorist” by Western policymakers and media.The perception of Islam and the Muslims as extremist, fundamentalist, and terrorist needs to be corrected by Muslim scholars and academics who understand the mindset of the West. They must also expose the falsity of the claim that Islam is unfair to women. Issues such as law of inheritance, status of women as legal witness, the political role of women, polygamy, and other gender related issues need to be addressed in a knowledgeable, sincere, and non-apologetic manner. The role of women in the family, economy, education, political life, and da’wah needs to be elaborated and disseminated. The strategy of da‘wah has to be proactive and not reactive. Modern challenges to da‘wah are both methodological and phenomenological. The so-called age of globalization and modernity has its own peculiar challenges. A successful da‘wah strategy cannot be developed for our contemporary world and its circumstances, let alone for the future, without taking the internal as well as the external challenges in full consideration in a realistic and comprehensive manner. Finally, serving Allah through serving humanity needs to become the rallying cry of da‘wah movements and their advocates and activists.

Living in an Illiterate World

Before reading the rest of this article, take a moment and try a few simple exercises.

Imagine for a few minutes not being able to read or write at all. Imagine not being able to read in English, Arabic, or any other language. Now try to imagine how that would change your world.

You know what books are, you have seen newspapers, street signs, and the things written on TV, but imagine as part of this exercise that you never learned to understand any of this. You have seen other people reading and writing, but you never learned since you never had the chance or opportunity to.

Whenever you need anything read or written you will have to ask someone to read it for you, to write it for you. Sometimes it’s someone you know, maybe a younger relative who went to school, but most of the time it might just be a stranger you asked for help.

Now try to imagine holding this magazine and not being able to read it? What would it be like? How would you look at this differently? Would you just look through the pictures? Would you even open it at all or would you just look at the cover and leave it be since you know there probably isn’t much you can do with it anyway?

Now take it another step further. What would the rest of your life be like? As a parent, imagine your child is sick and you have a number of medicine bottles and pills but since you cannot read, you do not know which medicine to use or how much to give to your child. The instructions are written on the sides of the bottles, but they are just meaningless scribbles to you. What would you do?
Imagine trying to understand your finances now. You can tell the different bills apart, since the different bills for singles, fives, hundreds etc. might be different sizes and colors (as is the case in many countries like Pakistan). This helps you get by to count the money when you buy milk, but how do you record your transactions? What options do you have? Try to remember everything? What about phone numbers?

Try to imagine what job you would be able to have. Since you cannot read or write, any job involving technology is most likely out of the picture. In fact, most well-paying jobs will be out of your scope, and you will be restricted to jobs that are hard labor or simple tasks that are extremely repetitive, such as working in factories.

The bottom line is that without the ability to read and write, without being educated, you will hardly ever come close to the full potential you can have. This applies as an individual, and it applies as a society.

Status of Education What’s the Bad News?

Having spent some time in Pakistan’s education system, I would like to review what the status of the educated, or more accurately, the uneducated is there and in the other countries that make up the Indian subcontinent.

Across the board, there is a dire need for the education system in the different countries to be improved. Here are some basic statistics.

According to the United Nations Development Programme Report in 2009, in Pakistan, only 54.2% of the population is projected to be counted as literate. This number should be taken with a large grain of salt because it includes anyone who has basic reading skills without any formal education. In the same year, only 4.0% of Pakistanis pursued higher education in 2008.

According to the report, Pakistan ranked 163 out of 180 countries. In India, according to the same report, in 2009, the literacy rate was 66%, ranking 149 on the list. It currently has the largest illiterate population in the world. In 2001, Bihar had the lowest literacy rate at 47% and six Indian states account for about 70% of all illiterates in India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Bangladesh, ranked 165th, has a literacy rate of 53.5%, which is the lowest in South Asia. According to one study, there was a 15.5% primary school teacher absence rate. Across all the three countries mentioned above, there are some similarities as well. Women are almost always less educated then men except for a few specific instances. Illiteracy is also much more widespread in the rural areas as opposed to the cities. It is not uncommon to find entire villages where not a single person can read or write. This reflects long-term negligence towards education that has spanned generations.

How Did it Get So Bad?

Before you can make sense of where you are now, it always helps to understand how you actually got there and what else is involved. The current education crisis in South Asia is no different.

Historically, South Asia was an academic super power and there are plenty examples of its advanced understanding in a wide set of diverse disciplines such as medicine, architecture, poetry, philosophy, etc. However, once the British colonized the region, things started to change for the worse. Over the decades that followed, being educated became a privileged commodity that most people did not get to enjoy. Since there was no unified policy on promoting education, the entire education system fractured and now more than fifty years after independence, we are seeing its haunting effects throughout the entire region.

Another factor that also needs to be considered in today’s status quo is the extreme poverty in the region. According to a recent BBC article on the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), which was developed by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with UN support, eight Indian states account for more poor people than the 26 poorest African countries combined. This is more than the 410 million poor in the poorest African countries. Nearly a third of the people in Pakistan and thirty six percent of the people in Bangladesh live below poverty line.

These hard economic numbers translate into families having to make difficult decisions on whether they can even afford to send their children to school. Oftentimes, children will end up working jobs to provide some money for the family. Sending the same child to school will not only incur an expense for school uniforms, books, and other school materials, but the family will also lose income as well, so it’s a double hit on the family’s finances.

A good example to tie these factors together can be seen in the coexistence of parallel education systems with better education options available to those who can afford it. For example, in Pakistan, you will have the government sponsored system of Metric (10th grade) and FSc (12th grade). But if you want a more “prestigious” education, then you will opt for O’Levels (10th grade) and A Levels (12th grade) that is hosted by the London University via the British Council or a similar program with Cambridge University. These programs are obviously more expensive as well, keeping it out of reach for the general public. The government run programs are often Urdu based, and the other curriculums are English based, making language another barrier between the programs. These barriers in education have far-reaching social ramifications once the students have graduated and enter the job market.

Other Factors Involved

The most important one is that the level of government support over the years has been severely lacking. Pakistan as a percentage of its GDP spends only 2.9% on education. India started with less then 1%, and it has been increasing over the years. In 2002, the Indian government spent a little of 4% of the GDP. The ongoing geopolitical tensions in South Asia have diverted precious resources away from social development programs such as education.

Corruption and feudalism are also large factors that prevent the proper resources from getting allocated to education. Feudal landlords control all the villages on their property and force the residents to spend their time working the land instead of building a sustainable independent future.

The net result of all this is a poor economy, which leads to a poor job market. For the few who do become educated, it’s difficult to find a decent paying job in the country. The only other alternative is to look for jobs elsewhere, in the Middle East or even further resulting in a “brain drain” of the region. For any region to develop, it needs to attract bright minds and not let them slip away.

What is Missing from an Islamic Education Perspective?

Regarding Pakistan and Bangladesh, which are Muslim countries, I think there is a strong need to merge the Islamic teachings with the mainstream education systems. Currently, Islamic studies are taught in the contemporary schools that do not teach Islam in a pragmatic or practical way. In general, the curriculums are a mixture of history, basic values, rituals, and memorization of the Quran, which do not build a strong foundation. On the other side, there are also madrasahs (religious schools), which focus heavily on religious teachings and are not equipped to deliver a complete education for creating professionals.

I think it is critical for the education system to incorporate a wider set of Islamic teachings to incorporate more pragmatic and practical teachings of Islam. Topics such as the basics of the Arabic language, the Islamic way of thinking, Usul ul Fiqh, and Tafseer will provide a strong foundation for discourse in the society by empowering the public with a better understanding of how to apply Islamic principles in everyday life.

Currently, there is a wide gap in these societies between the Islamic scholars and the general public. One of the most important causes is the lack of understanding of the Arabic language. Without the language, people are automatically alienated from the Quran itself to a large degree because they cannot comprehend it at any level. This also causes them to rely solely on other individuals for their interpretations of what the Islamic texts say regarding a particular topic. By understanding the Arabic language and the basics of Tafseer, the people can feel a much stronger connection to Islam and its message.

The next issue is that people have no idea how to understand a fatwa that has been issued. It is viewed more as a divine ruling similar to the ruling a clergyman rather than a legal judgment that is eligible to be studied. The concept of understanding the daleel (proof) of an opinion is almost unheard of outside of those who consciously study Fiqh. This foundation of concepts will automatically lead to a more meaningful dialog between all the different opinions by building a common framework for this discourse.

It will be with this unified approach that we will see new scholars who are also scientists emerge similar to those we see in our Islamic history, such as Ibn Seena. It was not by mistake that the brightest minds in the society were religious and scientific authorities. These scholars were not inhibited by their Islamic understandings; rather, it motivated them and pushed them to strive for excellence in all areas of academia.

What is the Good News?

With all that’s mentioned about how desperate the illiteracy situation is, there has been some significant progress that has been made. Since independence, Pakistan has almost been increasing its literacy rate at ten percent every ten years. The government has recently made it its mission to raise the literacy to 85% by 2015 in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals set for Pakistan, and it is planning to start spending about 7% of the GDP (as opposed to 2.9%) on education.

Bangladesh has recently undergone a tremendous change that has resulted in significant strides for the better. The government has mandated a compulsory primary education for all students and free education for girls until the 10th grade.

India has also made amazing progress given all the challenges it faces. Since its independence, the literacy rate has grown from 18.33% to 66% in 2009. This is especially encouraging when taking into account the population grew in the same time period from 361 million to over 1,028 million.

Sri Lanka has not been mentioned in this article so far for good reason; the literacy rate was 90.8% in 2009, making it the 94th country, the best of all the South Asian countries, and possibly all of Asia. According to the Ministry of Statistics, today, there are approximately 9,830 public schools serving close to 4,030,000 students all around the island.

What Can We Do to Help?

Despite the recent improvements mentioned above, the situation is still very desperate for the majority of illiterate people in South Asia. Given the scale of the issue, there is plenty of opportunity for all different types of organizations to help. Outside of the government’s efforts to boost the literacy rate, there are a number of charity and non-government organizations that are focusing on different parts of the problem.

Helping Hands (www.hhrd.org) is a global humanitarian relief and development organization with education related projects in Pakistan. Between 2005 and 2006, they established 100 schools in the Punjab alone. In NWFP, they have helped establish 26 schools and five in Sindh. They have also worked with other NGO’s such as Tameer-e-Millat (www.educatepakistan.com) which has established 453 community schools throughout the country.

At a personal level, there is plenty that we can contribute as well. We can donate our time, money, and find creative ways to help (such as writing an article in the Message magazine to raise awareness on the issue). The cost of educating a child in South Asia is less than 20 dollars a month. When compared to the cost of educating a child in America, especially an Islamic school, it’s just a fraction of it.

One proposal I would like to suggest is everyone, especially if you have personal ties to a country where the literacy rate is low, should sponsor at least one child or school. Educating one child or building one school that can educate an entire community will have life changing consequences on the student’s lives. This effort will also be counted as Sadaaqa Jariyah, which will continue to add to the good deeds of the person who has donated. There are only three things that will continue to benefit a person after his/her death, and this will be included as one of them Inshallah.

In the end, I would just like to remind us all to appreciate the blessings of Allah that we can even read at all, and make dua for those who cannot. Education can transform a person’s life completely, changing it for the better for not only him or herself but for the coming generations as well. May Allah make it easy for all us as an ummah to achieve our full potential. Ameen.

Tag: Challenges

Dawah: The Contemporary Challenges