- Nia W.
- Wednesday, December 22, 2021
Would it surprise you to learn that the first university in the world was created by a Muslim woman? Well it's true, her name was Fatima Al- Fihri.
Born in the year of 800 AD Fatima Al-Fihri was raised to have a passion for learning. Her father Mohammad Bnou Abdullah Al-Fihri an educated merchant. Made it a point to teach his children Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and Hadith (Verified stories and saying from the life of Prophet Muhammad), instilling a passion for learning in his daughter at an early age.
Later on her family moved from their hometown of Qayrawan, Tunisia to Fez, Morocco. It was here that she established the first university in 859 AD. After her father and husband passed away she used the money she inherited to benefit her community. She created and funded education programs for the youth in Fez. In 859 she established the world's first university Al Quaraouiyine mosque, named after her hometown in Tunisia.
This university predates Al Azhar by nearly 100 years and the University of Bologna by nearly 200 years. The university's main focus when first created was Islamic theology and law. But over time it expanded to include philosophy, poetry, grammar, geography, science, and mathematics. All courses were open to various age groups, social classes, and faiths for the cost of nothing.
The University was so famed that it attracted many people from across the globe and produced many well known scholars and philosophers. One renowned philosopher Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) whose works encompass a wide range of subjects including medicine, philosophy, astronomy, metaphysics and much more. His work was so ahead of it's time that it is still used today among many people of science and students alike. Al Quaraouyine's influence was so grand that it impacted the Western classical philosophy and theology. Many of the practices started in Al Quaraouyine are still used today. For example such as reading a subject and obtaining degrees, inaugural lectures, tassels, and academic robes.
Today Al Quaraouyine University is still in operation and contains the world's oldest library. It is amazing how one Muslim woman who was so committed to learning and teaching, had the fortitude to create and establish an institution that promoted education during a time when most European societies were still in the Dark ages. The world of education has Fatima Al- Fihri to thank for her many contributions that are still prevalent today.
Cited Sources:
“Fatima Al-Fihri: Founder of the World’s First University.” Manchester University Press, 8 Mar. 2018, manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/blog/2018/03/08/fatima-al-fihri-founder-worlds-first-university/.
“Fatima Al-Fihri.” TeachMideast, 27 Mar. 2021, teachmideast.org/articles/fatima-al-fihri.
“Ibn Rushd - Biography, Facts and Pictures.” Famousscientists.org, 2010, www.famousscientists.org/ibn-rushd/.