THE FIRST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD WAS FOUNDED BY MUSLIMS

The world’s oldest university that is still used for instruction today is in a Muslim country. It was founded in 859, centuries before similar ones in Europe.

The emergence and spread of Islam resulted in this new religion becoming dominant over society. Besides a person’s daily acts of worship, a necessity arose to obey certain principles in every stage of life—from state administration to the courts, from the marketplace to the grave. This is the reason for the importance that the religion of Islam gives to knowledge. The ancients expressed this with the saying, “Where there is knowledge, there is religion. Where there is no knowledge, there is no religion.”

Mosque Tradition

The Prophet Muhammad (peace bu upon him) made his teachings in the mosque in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. This is the first academy in Islamic history. Around seventy of the noble companions who were bachelors, called Ashab al-Suffah, would stay permanently in Masjid al-Nabawi (the  Prophet’s Mosque) and never leave the Prophet’s side. They would record (or memorize) the verses of the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet and later convey them to those who were not present. 

The Ashab al-Suffah played the most important role in the spread of Islam to distant lands and its transmission to the next generations. The teachers who were sent to different tribes were chosen from among them. They both knew the Qur’anic verses by heart and were also fully trained in the religious sciences.

In the Islamic world, higher education was conducted in accordance with the medieval tradition, together with religious and literary sciences, in mosques and sometimes in the houses of scholars. From the 3rd century Hijri (9th century CE), separate madrasas began to be founded next to mosques. Because of the memory of the earlier name “jamiʿ” (meaning “gathering place, large mosque”), these were also called jamiʿ (“congregational institutions”). 

In Europe, the Latin equivalent universitatis is used for this. Universities were divided into complexes. The word “college” is derived from “külliye.” In each, a different science was taught. In the madrasas there were amphitheaters called iwan, conference halls and classrooms, rooms and lodgings for the professors, a mosque, library, hospital, student rooms, a bath and a dining hall. Madrasas did not belong to the state; they were charitable foundations administered by trustees.

The Jami' al-Qarawiyyin (the University of al-Qarawiyyin), founded in the city of Fez in Morocco in 859, is the world’s oldest university still in operation today. It was founded by a wealthy Arab woman named Fatima al-Fihri. 

The University of Cordoba, which had been operating in al-Andalus since the year 786, was also Europe’s oldest university. Pope Sylvester II (999–1003), of French origin, graduated from there. The universities of Kairouan in 726 and al-Zaytuna in 732 were founded in Tunisia. These were followed in 972 by al-Azhar University in Cairo. All of these, in accordance with the early Islamic tradition, operated as part of a large mosque complex.

Universities Separate from Mosques

The establishment of universities independent from mosques dates to the 11th century. These universities, whose founding was initiated by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk, were called the Nizamiyya Madrasas. The first was founded in Baghdad in 1067; branches were opened in cities such as Isfahan, Rayy, Nishapur, Merv, Balkh, Herat, Basra, Mosul and Amul, and famous scholars such as Imam al-Ghazali taught in them. 

These were followed by the Nuriyya Madrasas founded in Damascus by the Seljuk atabeg Nur al-Din Zangi. These madrasas, the first of which opened in 1168, later spread through Damascus and Egypt and became the model for Ottoman madrasas.

In this period, apart from the Hijaz, cities such as Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Kairouan, Cordoba, Rayy, Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat, Tabriz, Istanbul, Kazan and Delhi were cultural centers. Famous scholars gathered in these places; powerful madrasas and libraries full of valuable books were established; the writing and publication of books increased extensively. 

Those who wanted to deepen their knowledge flocked to these cities; most would return to their homelands with the intention of teaching the knowledge they had acquired. In the Islamic world, even in the simplest villages, deep scholars could be found who taught lessons, issued legal rulings, and when necessary adjudicated lawsuits.

Europe’s Firsts

Europe’s first known university is the University of Bologna, founded in 1088. The University of Paris, founded in the middle of the 12th century, in its early years provided instruction in very primitive conditions, outdoors, on straw spread on the ground when the season was winter, and received its first building in 1215. Oxford (1167) and Cambridge (1318), founded by English students expelled from Paris, and the universities of Pavia in Italy (1361) and Heidelberg in Germany (1386), are the first institutions of higher learning in Christian Europe. 

Their establishments are much later than their counterparts in the Islamic world. The influence of Muslim universities on Europe can still be seen today particularly in the academic ranking system, attire, names and the architecture of university buildings. 

Those who have visited old madrasas in Turkestan know: a two-story stone building with four walls around a courtyard; in the courtyard a garden with a pool; downstairs classrooms, administrative offices, teachers’ rooms, dining hall and mosque; upstairs student rooms... In old European universities such as Oxford, this architecture is always encountered. Only, at the entrance, the mosque is naturally replaced by a chapel. 

Institutions of higher education in the Islamic world were called "jamī" or "jamī" (concentrator), in keeping with the "jamī" tradition. Universitatis is the equivalent. Jamī'as were divided into kulliyes (collages). "Baccalaureate" comes from the Arabic word "bi-hakkı'r-rivāye." meaning "with the right to teach." 

Even the caps worn there are taken from the headgear of Muslim scholars known as the tailassan.  The tailassan is a garment worn over the head, with both sides draped over the shoulders. It resembles today's hooded overcoats. It was a garment favored by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions because it was considered a form of polite clothing and protected the eyes from looking around and distracting themselves from unnecessary things. The tailassan spread from the Hijaz to the Maghreb, and from there to Andalusia. It is still worn in Morocco and Algeria. From there, it spread to Europe, where it became very popular. It is still worn by monks. When wearing a turban, the ends of the turban would hang to the side or back. This was called a tailassan.