The Reminder is a word used to describe the Quran and other religious texts that have been transmitted by God throughout human history via his messengers.
This is something I didn’t really know until more recently or until I was continually reading the Quran and it would show up over and over. God would repeatedly say this is only a Reminder to the whole world. What does he mean by that? A reminder by human account is something for us to remember about an event or something we already knew of. Often we have reminders for calendar events, payments, etc. But Allah is using this in the context of a message he is relaying to us about ourselves.
Allah is saying remember why you are here. This life is not for play or amusement. It has a purpose. I grew up as a Muslim. I was born into the religion of Islam. Islam is a way of life. It’s God’s way of life. But this is not really something you understand when you are young. It’s only now that I’ve started to grasp what this means. The Reminder is something we are all in need of. Even those of us who thought we understood what this life was for. We forget. All of us forget.
The Reminder is not just something you read. It is something you embody. It is a part of you. Like internal programming. When the words start to resonate and trigger that internal programming you realise how much of life has become disillusioned by the makings of exploitation, slavery, power, money and status. For eons people have become distracted and men have tried to become Gods. It is all a lie. It is all falsehood. So what is the truth? The Reminder is the truth. It is the guide, it is the map, it is the light. It is what we need to hold on to in the darkness. But we have forgotten that. Now screens light our way. Now technology has become our God. Now we worship our desires not Allah. We need to rectify this.
Technology is not inherently bad but how we use it matters.
As AI, LLMs and all the related technologies take off we will see a new heightened form of addiction to screens, even moreso than before. But we will also uncover an opportunity to spread the message of Islam and the Reminder much further than before.
It was the use of the internet, the use of technology, the use of YouTube that brought me back to Islam. What helped my re-education.
We have the ability to harness the Reminder and bring it to more people in need. Whether that be an app, an api, an llm or something else. These things are merely tools and we need to learn to use them effectively. With that in mind the Reminder is an app and api for the Quran, Hadith and Names of Allah. It is my way to embody the message and bring out Islam in a digital age. My hope is, God willing, it will be of benefit to at least a few people.