I am writing this column from Morocco. My recent visit to Morocco was particularly significant because it gave me the opportunity to visit the world’s first and oldest university Al-Qarawiyyin. Muslims should take pride in the fact that the world’s first and oldest university is not Oxford, Harvard, or Yale, but Al-Qarawiyyin University, located in the city of Fez, Morocco. It was founded in 859 CE, approximately 1,200 years ago. According to Guinness Book of World Records and UNESCO, Al-Qarawiyyin is the world’s oldest educational institution and the first educational institution to award degrees that has continued to operate continuously since it was founded.
The story behind founding of Al-Qarawiyyin University is also fascinating. The university was founded by Fatima al-Fihri and her sister, Maryam al-Fihri, daughters of the rich merchant Muhammad al-Fihri. After their father’s death, they inherited a considerable fortune. Instead of using their wealth for personal or material purposes, they decided to establish a mosque and an adjoining educational institution. At that time, Fez was known as a center of learning. The al-Fihri family had migrated to Fez from the Tunisian city of Qarawiyyin, which is why the mosque and educational institution were named “Al-Qarawiyyin.” Initially, the institution was dedicated to religious education and Qur’an memorization. Over time, however, subjects such as Arabic grammar, music, Sufism, medicine, and astronomy were added to its curriculum. In 1947, the institution was incorporated into the state education system. In 1957, alongside religious studies, secular subjects such as physics, chemistry, and foreign languages were introduced. After becoming part of the state university system in 1965, it was formally known as the University of Al-Qarawiyyin.
The university offers education in Islamic fiqah, Islamic history, law, fiqah Maliki, Classical Arabic, English, and French. It has produced many renowned scholars, philosophers, and scientists, including Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Rushd, Al-Idrisi, and Abu Imran al-Fasi. Besides Muslims, Pope Sylvester II and other non-Muslims scholars also studied there. The teaching method at the university remains highly traditional. Students sit in a circle around their teacher, known as a Sheikh, who conducts the lesson. A large number of male and female students study at Al-Qarawiyyin, including students from different countries. During the visit I was told that the impression that only male students study at Al-Qarawiyyin is incorrect; a large number of female students are also enrolled. The university has more than 1,000 teachers and around 8,000 male and female students, including a significant number of international students, for whom hostel facilities are also available. The management of the university told me that they would be very pleased if Pakistani students also came to Al-Qarawiyyin to pursue their education.
I also learned for the first time about the claim that the tradition of students wearing gowns at graduation ceremonies originated at this university. According to this account, the graduation gown and the cap worn on the head have their roots in Arab dress and culture, and the tradition was later adopted in Europe and eventually around the world for graduation ceremonies. I also had the opportunity to see the chamber where the renowned Sufi scholar Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli, wrote his famous book Dala’il al-Khayrat. The Sufi has a large number of devotees in Pakistan as well. Al-Qarawiyyin University is regarded as one of the oldest and most historic universities in the Islamic world, while Egypt’s Al-Azhar University was established in 975 CE. According to the chronology commonly cited about these institutions, Oxford University was established in Europe around 200 years after Al-Qarawiyyin, Cambridge approximately 300 years later, and Harvard around 800 years later. At the conclusion of my visit to Al-Qarawiyyin University, the university administration presented me with a special shield bearing an image of the university. It was certainly an honor for me.
On my return to Rabat after a visit to the university, I was reflecting on the fact that Muslims have the distinction of having world’s first university established in a Muslim country by a Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihri demonstrated that true greatness does not lie merely in accumulating wealth, but in investing it in something whose benefits continue even after one has left this world.
