Share your thoughts with our readers: Email your contribution, no less than 300 words, to [email protected] One virus I would like students to acquire is the reading virus. Iqra or read was the first word revealed in the Qur'an, stating the importance of reading to gain knowledge. All people, including students, must set aside some time everyday to read about the latest developments on topics which are, directly or indirectly, related to their education. An equal amount of time must also be spent to read about other topics to increase general knowledge. With the advent of e-libraries and many free quality books available on the internet, book lovers must take advantage of this resources. The older generations never had such an opportunity open to them. My strategy is to read the books of experts in the field that I would like to know more about. To know about current affairs and how and why things happen around the world is extremely vital nowadays. A war or economic crisis in one country may likely affect other countries as well. There are many free online newspapers and business magazines which everyone can read for free. There was a time in the past when the Arabs were the leaders in many fields such as engineering, medicine, education, astrology, warfare etc. The libraries that they established were full of books. It is unfortunate that many of these libraries were destroyed by invaders. If we need to rebuild and increase knowledge, visiting the library should be a regular routine for all of us. I find Islamic books written by the Darussalam publication to be full of useful information. As they say “knowledge is power”. The dual language system (Mother tongue and English language) must be introduced in all schools. Stories of the Islamic leaders, their lives, their achievements and nature, among others, must be told to children from early childhood. Then, they must be encouraged to read daily. If possible, everyone must start to develop a small library at home. In India, almost every place has libraries where anyone can borrow books. In my readings, I was extremely astonished to find out that their were books about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which were published even before the Prophet (peace be upon him). Reading circles, an initiative taken by the Faculty of Engineering at King AbdulAziz University, is very useful to encourage students to read more. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is also gaining popularity. Education is a continuous process. There is a lot to read, learn and train for all of us. Books on techniques of time management and money management can be very useful for everyone.
Irfan Ahmed, Jeddah — The author is an engineering faculty member at the King Abdul Aziz University
