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The importance of literacy and learning couldnt be more evident in any culture than it is in the Islamic culture. The first word of the first verse to ever descend on the prophet was Read. This was a clear message to the world of how important it is to learn, to not be ignorant, to take their life in their own hands and not be passive to the teachings and dictations of others. It also made it very clear is Islam is a religion meant for those full of wonder and that there was no room for ignorance in Islam.

How it was demonstrated: 1. Many of the Quranic verses that followed the first one had instructed Muslims to seek knowledge. One example of that is Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. AlMujdila - 11 The importance of knowledge has also been the focus of many Hadeeths (the recorded sayings of Mohammed ~pbuh~) with one example being ... 2. During the early times of the message of Islam, when prisoners of war were captured their families were asked to pay a ransom that would be used to pay blood money for the families whove lost their loved ones during the course of battle. Those who had no one to pay their ransom, however, were given the option to free themselves in exchange for teaching some of the members of the Islamic state how to read and write. This is a clear sign of how important literacy was to Islam. 3. Around the same times of the early Islamic period, the majority of Muslims who immigrated to Madinah had left all their fortune and belongings behind while fleeing from the Qurashits (the people of Mekkah). As such many of them were not able to pay dowry money in order to get married. As an alternative the prophet encouraged people to wed their daughters in exchange for them being taught Quran and how to read and write. This is a tradition that is still being followed by some Muslims even today.

Second stage: 1. By orders of the 2nd Khalifah Omar Bin Alkhatab, Quranic verses were collected in a single book and copies were made to be sent all around the Islamic State. It would then be translated and used as bases for scientific research in all the fields. 2. The Masjid became an educational center where all topics were being taught from Quranic studies to scientific streams. This was the first version of schools.

Second stage: 1. During the periods of the Amawy and Abasy rules over of the Islamic Empire, the movement of collection and translation of written works reached its peak. Scientists and writers were encouraged to translate written works from other languages, regardless of the discipline they dealt with, and were rewarded on that by the weight of their finished work in gold. 2. Universities and libraries were built all across the Islamic Empire and became the destination of scholars from all corners of earth regardless of their faith or background. 3. Soon after the translation movement, Muslim scholars started to write their own books drawing from Quranic studies and building on written works that theyve already translated. They embarked on a journey of scientific discovery that resulted in thousands of inventions that changed the face of the scientific community and civilization as a whole. Just like with translation works, the works of these authors were also rewarded by their weight in gold.