In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Assalamu ʿalaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
Building individuals and making them righteous, effective leaders and reformers in this life is one of the most important goals of Islam. Allah has sent us divine guidance through the Prophet Muḥammad (pbuh) and the revelation of the Holy Qurʾan, which contains the best methodologies for education and reform. In following this guidance, Muslims can rise to the Qurʾanic call to be “the best of nations” and serve as role models in benefitting humankind.
The first revelation to our Prophet (pbuh) came in the form of a divine command related to the concept of education: “Read, in the name of your Lord who created . . . Who taught by the pen.” With this verse, Allah established a foundational ethos of continuous learning which prepared the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers for what was to come: establishing a virtuous and just society, whose contributions to humanity are still alive today throughout the world. In addition, Allah sent the angel Gabriel every year during Ramadan to read and study the Qurʾan with the Prophet (pbuh), nurturing his faith through learning and mentorship. The Prophet’s (pbuh) experiences and the revelation he was given served as a constant training ground for fulfilling his mission of conveying the message of Islam, purifying the hearts of his followers, and mentoring them to be global ambassadors of righteousness.