The Prophet Muhammad said
"it is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek education," and
under his influence, the Arabs were encouraged to pursue knowledge for its own
sake. Fulfilling the duty to pursue knowledge gave Muslims a head-start in
education. Among the early elementary educational institutions were the mosque
schools which were founded by the Prophet himself; he sat in the mosque
surrounded by a halqa (circle) of listeners, intent on his instructions.
Muhammad also sent teachers to the various tribes to instruct their members in
the Qur'an.
The formal pursuit of knowledge had existed in one form or
another since the time of the Greeks. The Arabs translated and preserved not only
the teachings of the Greeks but those of the Indians and the Persians as well.
More importantly, they used these basic teachings as a starting point from
which to launch a mass revolution in education beginning during the Abbasid
dynasty (750-1258 A.D.).
During the Abbasid period, thousands of mosque schools were
established throughout the Arab empire and the subjects of study were increased
to include hadith (the science of tradition), fiqh
(jurisprudence), philology, poetry, rhetoric and others. In tenth century Baghdad alone there were
an estimated 3,000 mosques. Fourteenth century Alexandria had some 12,000 mosques, all of
which played an important role in education.
In the mosque school, the teacher sat on a cushion and
leaned against a column or wall as his students sat around him listening and
taking notes. Only Muslims were allowed to attend the Qur'an or hadith
sessions, but non-Muslims could attend all other subjects. There was no age
limit, nor were there any restrictions on women attending classes.
Historians such as Ibn Khallikan reported that women also
taught classes in which men took lessons. Few Westerners recognize the extent
to which Arab women contributed to the social, economic and political life of
the empire. Arab women excelled in medicine, mysticism, poetry, teaching, and
oratory and even took active roles in military conflicts. Current
misconceptions are based on false stereotypes of Arab life and culture
popularized by some journalists and "Orientalists."
In the mosque schools, rich and poor alike attended classes
freely. Classes were held at specific times and announced in advance by the
teacher. Students could attend several classes a day, sometimes traveling from
one mosque to another. Teachers were respected by their students and there were
formal, if unwritten, rules of behavi. Laughing, talking, joking or
disrespectful behavior of any kind were not permitted.
Different teachers used various methods of instruction. Some
preferred to teach from a text first and then to answer questions. Others
allowed student assistants to read or elaborate upon the instructor's theories
while the teachers themselves remained available to comment or answer
questions. Still others taught without the benefit of texts.
In 1066 A.D., Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier, founded the Nizamiyya
Madrasa in Baghdad
which became the forerunner of secondary/college level education in the Arab
empire. Madrasas had existed long before Nizam al-Mulk, but his
contribution was the popularization of this type of school. The madrasa
gave rise to various universities in the Arab empire and become the prototype
of several early European universities. Founded in 969 A.D., Al-Azhar University
in Cairo preceded other universities in Europe by two centuries. Today it attracts students from
all over the world.
The madrasas, which literally mean "places for
learning," were the beginning of departmentalized schools where education
was available to all. The madrasas even provided student dormitories. Each
madrasa, depending on its location, had a specific curriculum. The
subjects taught were the religious sciences (e.g., the study of the Qur'an,
hadith, jurisprudence and grammar) and the intellectual sciences (e.g.,
mathematics, astronomy, music and physics). As these schools began to attract
distinguished teachers and specialists from all corners of the Arab empire, the
number of disciplines increased. Teachers received substantial salaries and
scholarships and pensions were available for students. Funds for operation of
the madrasas came from both the government and private contributions.
Since the government placed an important role in promoting these institutions,
the subject matter, choice of teachers and allocation of funds were closely
supervised and regulated.
The development of the madrasa evolved from the
various elementary and secondary schools which were prevalent in the Abbasid
empire: the mosque schools and other traditional institutions; maktabat,
or libraries, which originated in the pre--Islamic Arab world; tutoring houses,
palace schools; halqa, discussion groups in the homes of Muslim
scholars; and the library salons in the palaces of wealthy men and courtiers
who were patrons of learning and scholarship. In addition, there were the majalis
or meetings which were presided over by learned men at various social
institutions and private homes. The majalis covered a wide range of
topics and subjects. In the current revivals of traditional Islam, many of
these "old" institutions and customs are being resuscitated.
Traveling to other cities to seek knowledge under the
direction of different masters was a common practice in the early centuries of
Islam. From Kurasan to Egypt,
to West Africa and Spain,
and from the northern provinces
to those in the south, students and teachers journeyed to attend classes and
discuss social, political, religious, philosophical and scientific matters. The
custom was later popularized in Europe during
the Renaissance.
Academies began to emerge in the eighth century, serving as
centers for the translation of earlier works and for innovative research. Each
academy provided rooms for classes, meetings and readings. The Bayt al-Hikma
for the Caliph al-Ma'mum (813-833 A.D.) and the Dar al-'Ilm of Cairo founded by al-Hakim
(966-1021 A.D.) are the most notable. Books were collected from all over the
world to create monumental libraries that housed volumes on medicine,
philosophy, mathematics, science, alchemy, logic, astronomy and many other
subjects.
Along with the introduction of paper and textbooks in the
eighth century came the antecedent of "teacher certification." An
instructor would give his permission (ijazah) to competent students to
teach from one or all of his textbooks. Because of this practice, an individual
could have an ijazah to teach a subject although he might be a student
in another class. Consequently, the distinction between teacher and student was
often minimized.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, as Arab influence
spread to Spain, Sicily and the rest of Europe,
Europeans became increasingly aware of Arab advancements in many fields,
especially education and science. Books were translated from Arabic into Latin
and, later, to vernacular language. European schools which had long limited
learning to the "seven liberal arts" began to expand their curricula.
For some five hundred years, Arab learning and scholarship
played a major role in the development of education in the West. The Arabs
brought with them well-developed techniques in translation and research and
opened new vistas in areas of medicine, the physical sciences and mathematics.
Application of empiricism in all fields of study was rapidly incorporated into
the learning system of those who became familiar with Arab methodology.
Long before the popularization of the phrase "transfer
of technology," a term used to describe advanced expertise which developed
nations offer to Third World countries, the
Arabs shared their accumulated knowledge and institutions with the rest of the
world.
31/5/2008, 5:54 pm