Editing Madrasa (section)

== Education in historical madrasas ==
{{See also|Education in Islam}}{{Arab culture}}

===Elementary education===
{{Main|Kuttab}}
[[File:Qaytbay sabil-kuttab 2.jpg|thumb|The Sabil-Kuttab of Sultan Qaytbay in Cairo, built in the 15th century. The bottom floor contained a ''[[Sebil (fountain)|sabil]]'' and the top floor held a [[kuttab]]]]
In the medieval Islamic world, an elementary school (for children or for those learning to read) was known as a '<nowiki/>'''kuttāb'''' or ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}''. Their exact origin is uncertain, but they appear to have been already widespread in the early Abbasid period (8th-9th centuries) and may have played an early role in socializing new ethnic and demographic groups into the Islamic religion during the first few centuries after the [[Spread of Islam|Arab-Muslim conquests]] of the region.<ref name=":05">{{Cite book|last1=Landau|first1=J.M.|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|last2=Makdisi|first2=G.|last3=Rahman|first3=Munibur|last4=Hillenbrand|first4=R.|publisher=Brill|year=2012|chapter=Kuttāb}}</ref> Like madrasas (which referred to higher education), a {{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}} was often attached to an endowed mosque.<ref name=":05" /> In the 11th century, the famous Persian [[Early Islamic philosophy|Islamic philosopher]] and teacher [[Avicenna|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Ibn Sīnā}}]] (known as ''Avicenna'' in the West), in one of his books, wrote a chapter about the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' entitled "The Role of the Teacher in the Training and Upbringing of Children", as a guide to teachers working at ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' schools. He wrote that children can learn better if taught in [[Class (education)|classes]] instead of individual [[Tuition payments|tuition]] from private [[tutor]]s, and he gave a number of reasons for why this is the case, citing the value of competition and [[emulation (observational learning)|emulation]] among pupils, as well as the usefulness of group discussions and [[debate]]s. {{transliteration|ar|ALA|Ibn Sīnā}} described the curriculum of a ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' school in some detail, describing the curricula for two stages of education in a ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' school.<ref name="Asimov">{{citation|title=The Age of Achievement: Vol 4|last=M. S. Asimov|first=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|year=1999|isbn=81-208-1596-3|pages=33–4}}</ref>

====Primary education====
[[File:Classroom of Madrasa Taleemul Islam, Soofiya Masjid, Ahmadabad, Bhopal.jpg|thumb|Muslim children at a maktab in [[Bhopal]], India]]
{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Ibn Sīnā}} wrote that children should be sent to a ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' school from the age of 6 and be taught primary education until they reach the age of 14. During which time, he wrote, they should be taught the Qur'an, [[Islamic metaphysics]], Arabic, [[Islamic literature|literature]], [[Islamic ethics]], and manual skills (which could refer to a variety of practical skills).<ref name="Asimov" />

====Secondary education====
{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Ibn Sīnā}} refers to the secondary education stage of ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|maktab}}'' schooling as a period of specialisation when pupils should begin to acquire manual skills, regardless of their social status. He writes that children after the age of 14 should be allowed to choose and specialise in subjects they have an interest in, whether it was reading, manual skills, literature, preaching, [[Islamic medicine|medicine]], [[Islamic mathematics|geometry]], [[Islamic economics in the world|trade and commerce]], [[Inventions in medieval Islam|craftsmanship]], or any other subject or profession they would be interested in pursuing for a future career. He wrote that this was a transitional stage and that there needs to be flexibility regarding the age in which pupils graduate, as the student's emotional development and chosen subjects need to be taken into account.<ref>{{citation|title=The Age of Achievement: Vol 4|last=M. S. Asimov|first=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1999|isbn=81-208-1596-3|pages=34–5}}</ref>

===Higher education===
{{See also|Ijazah}}
[[File:Ivan Bilibin 182.jpg|thumb|Courtyard of the Al-Azhar Mosque and University in [[Cairo]], Egypt]][[File:Die Gartenlaube (1869) b 509.jpg|thumb|An illustration of an "Arab university in Cairo" from 1869's [[Die Gartenlaube|Die Gartenlaube Journal]]]]During its formative period, the term ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|madrasah}}'' referred to a higher education institution, whose curriculum initially included only the "religious sciences", whilst [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]] and the [[Islamic science|secular sciences]] were often excluded.<ref name="Huff">Toby E. Huff (2003), ''The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West'', [[Cambridge University Press]], pp. 77–8</ref> The curriculum slowly began to diversify, with many later madrasas teaching both the religious and the "secular sciences",<ref>{{citation|title=The Age of Achievement: Vol 4|last=M. S. Asimov|first=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1999|isbn=81-208-1596-3|page=37}}</ref> such as [[Logic in Islamic philosophy|logic]], [[Islamic mathematics|mathematics]] and [[Islamic philosophy|philosophy]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition — Brill|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2|access-date=2020-08-30|website=referenceworks.brillonline.com|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809194355/https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2|url-status=live}}</ref> Some madrasas further extended their curriculum to [[Early Muslim sociology|history]], [[politics]], [[Islamic ethics|ethics]], [[Islamic music|music]], [[metaphysics]], [[Islamic medicine|medicine]], [[Islamic astronomy|astronomy]] and [[Alchemy and chemistry in Islam|chemistry]].<ref>{{citation|title=From Jami'ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue|first=Syed Farid|last=Alatas|journal=Current Sociology|volume=54|issue=1|pages=112–132 [122]|doi=10.1177/0011392106058837|year=2006|s2cid=144509355|quote=The main subjects taught were Quranic exegesis, theology, jurisprudence and the principles of jurisprudence, grammar and syntax, the Traditions of Muhammad(''ḥadīth''), logic and, sometimes, philosophy and mathematics. In addition to the above, other subjects such as literary studies, history, politics, ethics, music, metaphysics, medicine, astronomy and chemistry were also taught.|url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439|access-date=2019-06-29|archive-date=2017-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923024727/https://zenodo.org/record/29439/files/6.1From_Jamiah_to_University.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/EncyclopediaOfIslamAndTheMuslimWorld_411|title=Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim world|pages=419|language=en}}</ref> The curriculum of a {{transliteration|ar|ALA|madrasah}} was usually set by its founder, but most generally taught both the religious sciences and the physical sciences. Madrasas were established throughout the Islamic world, examples being the ninth century [[University of al-Qarawiyyin]], the tenth century [[al-Azhar University]] (the most famous), the eleventh century [[Nizamiyyah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Niẓāmīyah}}]], as well as 75 madrasas in Cairo, 51 in [[Damascus]] and up to 44 in [[Aleppo]] between 1155 and 1260.<ref name=":18" /> Institutions of learning were established in the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]] cities of [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], [[Seville]], [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], [[Granada]], [[Murcia]], [[Almería]], [[Valencia, Spain|Valencia]] and [[Cádiz]] during the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]].<ref name=":18">{{Citation|contribution=education|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2008|contribution-url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179408/education|access-date=2008-09-30|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.]]|title-link=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=2008-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007070937/http://britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179408/education|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Dubious|date=March 2023|reason=This statement seems at odds with other detailed scholarly references, and the cited source (Britannica) is very vague on Andalusi institutions. Some of the examples being referred to here are most likely later madrasas founded well after the Umayyad period. More specialized sources should be cited for more detail and clarity.}}

In the Ottoman Empire during the early modern period, "Madaris were divided into lower and specialised levels, which reveals that there was a sense of elevation in school. Students who studied in the specialised schools after completing courses in the lower levels became known as ''danişmends''."<ref name = "Ottoman"/>

Mosques were more than a place of worship as they were also utilized as an area to host community transactions of business. It was the center of most of a city's social and cultural life. Along with this came trades of information and teachings. As the mosque was a starting ground for religious discourse in the Islamic world, these ''madrasas'' became more common. In this context, a madrasa would be referred to as a localized area or center within the mosque for studies and teachings relating the Quran. Among the first advanced topics featured at a ''madrasa'' was [[sharia|Islamic law]]. There was a premium fee required to study Islamic law, which was sometimes fronted by state or private subsidiaries.<ref name=":17">{{Cite journal|last=Garcia|first=Michelle|date=February 25, 2013|title=Medieval Higher Education: Islamic and Western Academics|url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2224276|journal=SSRN|pages=1–74|doi=10.2139/ssrn.2224276 |s2cid=142242807 |access-date=November 23, 2021|archive-date=January 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115132436/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2224276|url-status=live}}</ref> The topics of this higher education also expanded larger than the Islamic time and area. Arab translations of Greco-Roman classical texts were often examined for mathematical and grammatical discourse. Since the focus of theology and legal study was utmost, specified law schools began their own development. On the theological side however, these remained mainly at the general ''madrasa'' since it was more common and easier for the lower-level students to approach. The requirement of competent teachers to keep a madrasa up and running was also important. It was not uncommon for these scholars to be involved in multiple fields such as [[Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi|Abd al-Latif]] who was an expert in medicine, grammar, linguistics, law, alchemy, and philosophy. The choice of freedom in inquiry was also important. Muslim higher education at ''madrasas'' offered not only mastery in specified fields but also a more generalized, broader option.<ref name=":17" />

In [[Islam in South Asia|Muslim India]], the ''madrasa'' started off as providing higher education similarly to other parts of the Islamic world. The primary function for these institutions was to train and prepare workers for bureaucratic work as well as the judicial system. The curriculum generally consisted of logic, philosophy, law, history, politics, and particularly religious sciences, later incorporating more of mathematics, astronomy, geography, and medicine. ''Madrasas'' were often subsidized and founded by states or private individuals, and well-qualified teachers filled in the role for professors. Foundations of Islamic higher education in India is tied to the establishment of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] in 1206 which set a basis of importance for Muslim education. Under control of the Delhi Sultanate, two early important madrasas were founded. The first was the Mu’zziyya named after Muḥammad Ghuri of the Ghorid Dynasty and his title of Muʿizz al-Dīn and founded by Sultan Iltutmish.<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal|last1=Pederson|first1=J|last2=Rahman|first2=Munibur|last3=Hillenbrand|first3=R|date=March 30, 2009|title=Madrasa|journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam|volume=5|pages=1123–1189}}</ref> The other ''madrasa'' was the Nāṣiriyya, named after Nāṣir al-Dīn Maḥmūd and built by Balban. These two ''madrasas'' bear importance as a starting point for higher education for Muslim India. [[Babur]] of the [[Mughal Empire]] founded a ''madrasa'' in Delhi which he specifically included the subjects of mathematics, astronomy, and geography besides the standard subjects of law, history, secular and religious sciences.<ref name=":16" /> Although little is known about the management and inner workings of these places of Islamic higher education, religious studies bore the focus amongst most other subjects, particularly the rational sciences such as mathematics, logic, medicine, and astronomy. Although some tried to emphasize these subjects more, it is doubtful that every ''madrasa'' made this effort.

While "{{transliteration|ar|ALA|madrasah}}" can now refer to any type of school, the term ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|madrasah}}'' was originally used to refer more specifically to a medieval Islamic centre of learning, mainly teaching [[Sharia|Islamic law]] and [[Islamic theology|theology]], usually affiliated with a mosque, and funded by an early charitable trust known as ''waqf''.<ref name="Alatas">{{citation|title=From Jamiʻah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue|first=Syed Farid|last=Alatas|journal=Current Sociology|volume=54|issue=1|pages=112–132|doi=10.1177/0011392106058837|year=2006|s2cid=144509355|url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439|access-date=2019-06-29|archive-date=2017-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923024727/https://zenodo.org/record/29439/files/6.1From_Jamiah_to_University.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Law school====
{{See also|Sharia|Fiqh}}

Madrasas were largely centred on the study of ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|fiqh}}'' (Islamic jurisprudence). The ''[[Ijazah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzat al-tadrīs wa-al-iftāʼ}}]]'' ("licence to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Islamic [[legal education]] system had its origins in the ninth century after the formation of the ''[[madhhab|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|madhāhib}}]]'' (schools of jurisprudence). George Makdisi considers the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzah}}'' to be the origin of the European doctorate.<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism">{{citation|last=Makdisi|first=George|title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=109|issue=2|date=April–June 1989|pages=175–182 [176]|doi=10.2307/604423|publisher=American Oriental Society|jstor=604423}}</ref> However, in an earlier article, he considered the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzah}}'' to be of "fundamental difference" to the medieval doctorate, since the former was awarded by an individual teacher-scholar not obliged to follow any formal criteria, whereas the latter was conferred on the student by the collective authority of the faculty.<ref name="Makdisi Madrasa and University 260">George Makdisi: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", ''Studia Islamica'', No. 32 (1970), pp. 255-264 (260)</ref> To obtain an ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzah}}'', a student "had to study in a guild school of law, usually four years for the basic undergraduate course" and ten or more years for a [[Postgraduate education|post-graduate]] course. The "doctorate was obtained after an oral examination to determine the originality of the candidate's theses", and to test the student's "ability to defend them against all objections, in disputations set up for the purpose." These were scholarly exercises practised throughout the student's "career as a graduate student of law." After students completed their post-graduate education, they were awarded ''ijaza''s giving them the status of ''[[faqih|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|faqīh}}]]'' 'scholar of jurisprudence', ''[[mufti|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|muftī}}]]'' 'scholar competent in issuing [[fatwā]]s', and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|mudarris}}'' 'teacher'.<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism"/>

[[File:Bruner-Dvorak, Rudolf - Bosna, medresa 2 (ca 1906).jpg|thumb|right|[[Bosniaks|Bosnian]] Madrasa, c. 1906]]
The Arabic term ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzat al-tadrīs}}'' was awarded to [[Ulema|Islamic scholars]] who were qualified to teach. According to Makdisi, the Latin title ''licentia docendi'' 'licence to teach' in the European university may have been a translation of the Arabic,<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism"/> but the underlying concept was very different.<ref name="Makdisi Madrasa and University 260"/> A significant difference between the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzat al-tadrīs}}'' and the ''licentia docendi'' was that the former was awarded by the individual scholar-teacher, while the latter was awarded by the chief official of the university, who represented the collective faculty, rather than the individual scholar-teacher.<ref>Toby Huff, ''Rise of Early Modern Science'' 2nd. ed. p. 78-79; 136, 155.</ref>

Much of the study in the {{transliteration|ar|ALA|madrasah}} college centred on examining whether certain opinions of law were orthodox. This scholarly process of "determining orthodoxy began with a question which the Muslim layman, called in that capacity ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|mustaftī}}'', presented to a [[Jurist|jurisconsult]], called ''[[mufti]]'', soliciting from him a response, called ''[[fatwa]]'', a [[legal opinion]] (the [[Sharia|religious law of Islam]] covers [[Civil law (common law)|civil]] as well as [[Religious law|religious matters]]). The ''mufti'' (professor of legal opinions) took this question, studied it, researched it intensively in the sacred scriptures, in order to find a solution to it. This process of scholarly research was called ''[[ijtihad|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijtihād}}]]'', literally, the exertion of one's efforts to the utmost limit."<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism"/>

====Medical school====
{{See also|Bimaristan}}

Though [[Islamic medicine]] was most often taught at the [[bimaristan]] teaching hospitals, there were also several [[medical school|medical madrasas]] dedicated to the teaching of medicine. For example, of the 155 madrasa colleges in 15th century Damascus, three of them were medical schools.<ref>{{citation|last=Gibb|first=H. A. R.|contribution=The University in the Arab-Moslem World|editor-last=Bradby|editor-first=Edward|title=The University Outside Europe: Essays on the Development of University|pages=281–298 [281]|year=1970|publisher=Ayer Publishing|isbn=978-0-8369-1548-8}}</ref>

Toby Huff argues that no medical degrees were granted to students, as there was no faculty that could issue them, and that therefore, no system of examination and certification developed in the Islamic tradition like that of medieval Europe.<ref>Toby Huff, Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West, 2nd ed., Cambridge 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-52994-8}}, p. 191-193</ref> However, the historians Andrew C. Miller, Nigel J. Shanks and Dawshe Al-Kalai point out that, during this era, physician licensure became mandatory in the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].<ref name="Miller">{{cite journal |url=http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/99/12/615.short |first=Andrew C |last=Miller |title=Jundi-Shapur, bimaristans, and the rise of academic medical centres |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |doi=10.1177/014107680609901208 |date=December 2006 |volume=99 |number=12 |pages=615–617 |pmid=17139063 |pmc=1676324 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201153053/http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/99/12/615.short |archive-date=2013-02-01 }}</ref><ref name=Shanks/> In 931 AD, Caliph [[Al-Muqtadir]] learned of the death of one of his subjects as a result of a physician's error.<ref name="Shanks">{{cite journal|author=Nigel J. Shanks, Dawshe Al-Kalai|title=Arabian medicine in the Middle Ages|journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine|date=January 1984|volume=77|pages=60–65|pmc=1439563|pmid=6366229|issue=1|doi=10.1177/014107688407700115 }}</ref> He immediately ordered his [[muhtasib]] [[Sinan ibn Thabit]] to examine and prevent doctors from practicing until they passed an examination.<ref name=Shanks/><ref name=Miller/> From this time on, licensing exams were required and only qualified physicians were allowed to practice medicine. The study of Medicine and many other sciences that took place in Madrasas made large contributions to western societies in later years.<ref name=Shanks/><ref name=Miller/>

In the Early Modern Period in the Ottoman Empire, "Suleyman I added new curriculums ['sic'] to the Ottoman medreses of which one was medicine, which alongside studying of the {{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḥadīth}} was given highest rank."<ref name = "Ottoman"/>

====Madrasa and university====<!--note: "Islamic university," "Jāmiʿah," and "Jamiah" redirect here. Repair if section title is changed-->
:''Note: The word ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'' ({{langx|ar|جامعة}}) simply means 'university'. For more information, see [[Islamic university]] (disambiguation).''
Scholars like [[Arnold H. Green]] and [[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]] have argued that, starting in the tenth century, some [[Islamic Golden Age|medieval Islamic]] madrasas indeed became [[universities]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Arnold H. Green|title=The History of Libraries in the Arab World: A Diffusionist Model|journal=Libraries & the Cultural Record|volume=23|issue=4|page=459|author-link=Arnold H. Green}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Hossein Nasr|title=Traditional Islam in the modern world|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|page=125|author-link=Hossein Nasr}}</ref> However, scholars like [[George Makdisi]], Toby Huff and Norman Daniel<ref>Toby Huff, ''Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West'', 2nd ed., Cambridge 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-52994-8}}, p. 179-185</ref><ref name="NDaniel1">{{cite journal | title = Review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi" | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | year = 1984 | first = Norman | last = Daniel | volume = 104 | issue = 3 | pages = 586–8| jstor = 601679 | quote = The first section, typology of institutions and the law of waqf, is crucial to the main thesis, since the college is defined in terms of the charitable trust, or endowment, as in Europe: it is admitted that the university, defined as a corporation, has no Islamic parallel. | doi=10.2307/601679}}</ref> argue that the European [[medieval university]] has no parallel in the medieval Islamic world.<ref>George Makdisi: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", ''Studia Islamica'', No. 32 (1970), pp. 255-264 (264): {{blockquote|Thus the university, as a form of social organisation, was peculiar to medieval Europe. Later, it was exported to all parts of the world, including the Muslim East; and it has remained with us down to the present day. But back in the middle ages, outside of Europe, there was nothing anything quite like it anywhere.}}</ref><ref name = huff334979>Toby Huff, ''Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West'', 2nd ed., Cambridge 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-52994-8}}, p. 133-139, 149-159, 179-189</ref> Darleen Pryds questions this view, pointing out that madrasas and European universities in the Mediterranean region shared similar foundations by princely patrons and were intended to provide loyal administrators to further the rulers' agenda.<ref>{{Citation | last = Pryds | first = Darleen | editor-last = Courtenay | editor-first = William J. | editor2-last = Miethke | editor2-first = Jürgen | editor3-last = Priest | editor3-first = David B. | year = 2000 | title = Universities and Schooling in Medieval Society | chapter = ''Studia'' as Royal Offices: Mediterranean Universities of Medieval Europe | series = Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance | volume = 10 | publisher = Brill | location = Leiden | pages = 83–99 | isbn = 90-04-11351-7 | issn = 0926-6070}}</ref> Some other scholars regard the university as uniquely European in origin and characteristics.<ref>Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. XIX–XX</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Nuria Sanz, Sjur Bergan|title=The heritage of European universities, Volume 548|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M09rKWhN3soC&q=arab-oriental|publisher=[[Council of Europe]]|page=121|isbn=9789287161215|date=2006-01-01|access-date=2020-10-27|archive-date=2023-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115132432/https://books.google.com/books?id=M09rKWhN3soC&q=arab-oriental|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde: [https://books.google.com/books?id=5Z1VBEbF0HAC ''A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115132432/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Z1VBEbF0HAC&printsec=frontcover |date=2023-01-15 }}, Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. 47-55</ref><ref name="Lexikon des Mittelalters: Doctor, doctoratus">{{Citation | last = Verger | first = J. | contribution = Doctor, doctoratus | title = Lexikon des Mittelalters | volume = 3 | at=cols. 1155–1156 | publisher = J.B. Metzler | place = Stuttgart | year = 1999| title-link = Lexikon des Mittelalters }}</ref><ref name= "Lexikon des Mittelalters: Licentia">{{Citation | last = Verger | first = J. | contribution = Licentia | title = Lexikon des Mittelalters | volume = 5 | at=cols. 1957–1958 | publisher = J.B. Metzler | place = Stuttgart | year = 1999| title-link = Lexikon des Mittelalters }}</ref>

[[University of al-Qarawiyyin|Al-Qarawīyīn University]] in [[Fez, Morocco|Fez]], present-day [[Morocco]] is recognised by many historians as the oldest degree-granting university in the world, having been founded in 859 as a mosque by [[Fatima al-Fihri]].<ref name="founding-2">{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |author-link=John L. Esposito |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-512559-2 |page=328 }}</ref><ref name="Kettani">Kettani, M. Ali. ''Engineering Education in the Arab World''. Middle East Journal, 1974, 28(4):441.</ref><ref>''Civilization: The West and the Rest'' by Niall Ferguson, Publisher: Allen Lane 2011 - {{ISBN|978-1-84614-273-4}}</ref> While the madrasa college could also issue degrees at all levels, the ''jāmiʻah''s (such as al-Qarawīyīn and [[al-Azhar University]]) differed in the sense that they were larger institutions, more universal in terms of their complete source of studies, had individual faculties for different subjects, and could house a number of mosques, madrasas, and other institutions within them.<ref name="Alatas" /> Such an institution has thus been described as an "Islamic university".<ref>{{citation|author=Edmund Burke|title=Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity|journal=[[Journal of World History]]|volume=20|issue=2|date=June 2009|publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]]|doi=10.1353/jwh.0.0045|pages=165–186 [180–3]|s2cid=143484233}}</ref>
[[File:Al Azhar Mosque.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Azhar Mosque]] and [[Al-Azhar University|University]] in [[Cairo]]]]
Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in 975 by the Ismaʻīlī Shīʻī [[Fatimid dynasty]] as a ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'', had individual [[Faculty (division)|faculties]]<ref>{{citation|title=A History of Christian-Muslim Relations|first=Hugh|last=Goddard|year=2000|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=0-7486-1009-X|page=99}}</ref> for a theological [[seminary]], [[Sharia|Islamic law]] and [[Fiqh|jurisprudence]], [[Arabic grammar]], [[Islamic astronomy]], [[early Islamic philosophy]] and [[logic in Islamic philosophy]].<ref name="Alatas-123">{{citation|title=From Jamiʻah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue|first=Syed Farid|last=Alatas|journal=Current Sociology|volume=54|issue=1|pages=112–132 [123]|doi=10.1177/0011392106058837|year=2006|s2cid=144509355|quote=One such ''jamiʻ'' was that of al-Azhar in Cairo. This was established during the last quarter of the tenth century by the Fatimids to teach the principles of jurisprudence, grammar, philosophy, logic and astronomy. [...] It is here that we may find the origins of the modern universitas.|url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439|access-date=2019-06-29|archive-date=2017-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923024727/https://zenodo.org/record/29439/files/6.1From_Jamiah_to_University.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the second half of the 19th century in Egypt, Muslim Egyptians began to attend secular schools, and a movement arose in the late 19th to the early 20th century to ''modernize'' al-Azhar.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Campo|first=Juan Eduardo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC&q=In+the+second+half+of+the+19th+century+%EF%BB%BF+in+Egypt%2C+Muslim+Egyptians+began+to+attend+secu-%EF%BB%BF+lar+schools%2C+and+a+movement+arose+in+the+late+19th+%EF%BB%BF+to+the+early+20th+century+to+modernize+al-Azhar.|title=Encyclopedia of Islam|date=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2696-8|pages=447|language=en|access-date=2021-05-04|archive-date=2022-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408191250/https://books.google.com/books?id=OZbyz_Hr-eIC&q=In+the+second+half+of+the+19th+century+%EF%BB%BF+in+Egypt%2C+Muslim+Egyptians+began+to+attend+secu-%EF%BB%BF+lar+schools%2C+and+a+movement+arose+in+the+late+19th+%EF%BB%BF+to+the+early+20th+century+to+modernize+al-Azhar.|url-status=live}}</ref> The postgraduate doctorate in law was only obtained after "an oral examination to determine the originality of the candidate's theses", and to test the student's "ability to defend them against all objections, in disputations set up for the purpose."<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism" /> [[Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (medieval writer)|‘Abd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī]] also delivered lectures on [[Islamic medicine]] at al-Azhar, while [[Maimonides]] delivered lectures on medicine and astronomy there during the time of [[Saladin]].<ref>{{citation|title=Muqarnas, Volume 13|first=Gulru|last=Necipogulu|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=1996|isbn=90-04-10633-2|page=56}}</ref> Another early ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'' was the [[Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad|Niẓāmīyah of Baghdād]] (founded 1091), which has been called the "largest university of the Medieval world."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://metapress.com/|title=Metapress - Discover More|date=24 June 2016|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-date=25 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425064723/http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=c3ht013txp686v71&size=largest|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mustansiriya University]], established by the [[Abbasid|ʻAbbāsid]] [[caliph]] [[Al-Mustansir (Baghdad)|al-Mustanṣir]] in 1227,<ref name=":9" /> in addition to teaching the religious subjects, offered courses dealing with philosophy, mathematics and the [[natural science]]s. Madrasas by the 11th century had buildings and full time working educators. These educators were provided with places to live inside the madrasas. The institutions by this time occumulated a wide spread of attendance among the population. The attraction of the educational institution was that it provided free education for everyone in attendance.  Furthermore, sciences at madrasas were indeed taught, and much of the material was from well-known scholars of the sciences such as [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]], who was the “most famous and most successful” editor of the Shi’i law, kalam philosophy which include mathematic works and astrology.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=80}}

However, the classification of madrasas as "universities" is disputed on the question of understanding of each institution on its own terms. In madrasas, the ''[[Ijazah|ijāzahs]]'' were only issued in one field, the Islamic religious law of [[sharia|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|sharīʻah}}]], and in no other field of learning.<ref>{{citation|last=Makdisi|first=George|title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=109|issue=2|date=April–June 1989|pages=175–182 [176]|doi=10.2307/604423|publisher=American Oriental Society|jstor=604423}}: {{blockquote|There was no other doctorate in any other field, no license to teach a field, except that of the religious law. To obtain a doctorate, one had to study in a guild school of law.}}</ref> Other academic subjects, including the natural sciences, philosophy and literary studies, were only treated "ancillary" to the study of the Sharia.<ref>{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|volume=5|pages=1123–1154|article=Madrasa|last1=Pedersen|first1=J.|first2=G.|last2=Makdisi|last3=Rahman|first3=Munibur|last4=Hillenbrand|first4=Robert}} {{blockquote|Madrasa,...in mediaeval usage, essentially a college of law in which the other Islamic sciences, including literary and philosophical ones, were ancillary subjects only.}}</ref> For example, at least in Sunni madrasas, astronomy was only studied (if at all) to supply religious needs, like the time for prayer.<ref name="Lessnoff">{{Citation| last=Lessnoff| first=Michael| editor-last=Malešević| editor-first=Siniša| editor2-last=Haugaard| editor2-first=Mark| chapter=Islam, Modernity and Science |title=Ernest Gellner and contemporary social thought|year=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge |isbn= 978-0-521-70941-5 |page=196}}</ref> This is why [[Ptolemaic astronomy]] was considered adequate, and is still taught in some modern day madrasas.<ref name="Lessnoff" /> The Islamic law undergraduate degree from al-Azhar, the most prestigious madrasa, was traditionally granted without final examinations, but on the basis of the students' attentive attendance to courses.<ref>Jomier, J. "al- Azhar (al-Ḏj̲āmiʿ al-Azhar)." Encyclopædia of Islam, Second Edition. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2010 {{blockquote|There was no examination at the end of the course of study. Many of the students were well advanced in years. Those who left al-Azhar obtained an idjāza or licence to teach; this was a certificate given by the teacher under whom the student had followed courses, testifying to the student's diligence and proficiency.}}</ref> In contrast to the medieval doctorate which was granted by the collective authority of the faculty, the Islamic degree was not granted by the teacher to the pupil based on any formal criteria, but remained a "personal matter, the sole prerogative of the person bestowing it; no one could force him to give one".<ref>George Makdisi: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", ''Studia Islamica'', No. 32 (1970), pp. 255-264 (260): {{blockquote|Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the two systems is embodied in their systems of certification; namely, in medieval Europe, the ''licentia docendi'', or license to teach; in medieval Islam, the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzah}}'', or authorization. In Europe, the license to teach was a license to teach a certain field of knowledge. It was conferred by the licensed masters acting as a corporation, with the consent of a Church authority, in Paris, by the Chancellor of the Cathedral Chapter... Certification in the Muslim East remained a personal matter between the master and the student. The master conferred it on an individual for a particular work, or works. Qualification, in the strict sense of the word, was supposed to be a criterion, but it was at the full discretion of the master, since, if he chose, he could give an ijaza to children hardly able to read, or even to unborn children. This was surely an abuse of the system... but no official system was involved. The ijaza was a personal matter, the sole prerogative of the person bestowing it; no one could force him to give one.}}</ref>

Although there is a sort of validity to what was just mentioned in this section, more specifically in the previous paragraph, other sources also convey that an emphasis on the teaching of sciences in madrasas, and the licensing of ''[[Ijazah|ijāzahs]]'' to those who proved satisfactory in the knowledge of their specific scientific field of study, were indeed conducted. It is historically inaccurate to definitively mention that all forms of science were studied solely for the advancement/supplication of religious needs. This can be evident when one further examines the specific fields of secular sciences that have achieved an established position in madrasa curriculum. Such fields included the sciences of mathematics, medicine and pharmacology, natural philosophy, divination, magic, and alchemy (The last three being clumped up into one set of coursework).{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=77-111}} To support the claims mentioned earlier in this section, it has been noted that ''[[Ijazah|ijāzahs]]'' are not issued to these sciences as much as they are to religious studies, yet at the same time, there is no evidence fully supporting that none were given to these subjects. Clear examples of the issuing of such ''[[Ijazah|ijāzahs]]'' can be seen in numerous manuscripts, or more specifically, in [[Al-Sakhawi|Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi's]] multiple collections of manuscript titles and biographies. Further evidence of this was illustrated by [[al-Sakhawi]]. He mentioned that in places like Syria and Egypt, it has been suggested that public performances of knowledge, which its conduction was required for one to finally receive their ''[[Ijazah|ijāzah]],'' included mathematics in its content.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=69}} There are plenty of other examples of the issuance of [[Ijazah|''ijazahs'']] for scientific subjects. [[Abu'l-Hasan ibn Ali al-Qalasadi|Ali b. Muhammad al-Qalasadi]], a prominent mathematician in his day, was mentioned to be responsible for giving his students an ''[[Ijazah|ijāzah]]'' to teach his mathematical treatise on the dust letters.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=138}} [[Ibn al-Nafis]] gave an ''[[ijazah]]'' to his student al-Quff for proving sufficient in knowledge of his commentary on the medical book, ''[[On the Nature of Man]]''.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=161}} In addition, a copy of a commentary on [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq|Hunayn b. Ishaq's]], ''Problems of Medicine for Students,'' managed to show that one of its readers had sufficient knowledge in the medical text, ''Synopses of the Alexandrians.'' Later on in this commentary, an ''[[ijazah]]'', issued by a physician from Damascus, was present to confirm that one was indeed issued here for said student.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=251}} [[Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi]] was a student of [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] who was considered to be a proficient polymath, astronomer, philosopher, and physician who issued an ''[[ijazah]]'' to Najm al-Milla wa-l-Din M. b. M. b. Abi Bakr al-Tabrizi. This license was very extensive, allowing him to teach religious, philosophical, and even medical texts like [[Avicenna|Ibn Sina's]] first book in his ''[[The Canon of Medicine|Canon of Medicine]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Brack|first=Jonathan|date=2019|title=A Mongol Mahdi in Medieval Anatolia: Rebellion, Reform, and Divine Right in the Post-Mongol Islamic World|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=139|issue=3|pages=611–630|doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.3.0611|jstor=10.7817/jameroriesoci.139.3.0611|s2cid=211662842|doi-access=free}}</ref> These are just a few select/historical examples of the issuance of ''[[ijazah]]s'' for scientific subjects, thereby proving that such licenses were indeed issued along with those regarding religious studies. There are many more examples of this that are not listed on this page, but can easily be found. When taking this evidence into account, one may then reasonably assume that the presence, teaching, and licensing of certain sciences in madrasas has been historically underrepresented.{{sfn|Brentjes|2018|p=77-111}} This information, along with some of what is discussed in the following sections/paragraphs on this page, may now hopefully help one in identifying whether or not madrasas can indeed be classified as "Universities". However, arguments for why they should not be classified as such will later be proposed as well.

Medievalist specialists who define the university as a legally autonomous corporation disagree with the term "university" for the Islamic madrasas and ''jāmi‘ah''s because the [[medieval university]] (from Latin ''universitas'') was structurally different, being a legally autonomous corporation rather than a ''[[waqf]]'' institution like the madrasa and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}''.<ref>Toby Huff, ''Rise of early modern science'' 2nd ed. (Cambridge University, 2003) p. 149.</ref> Despite the many similarities, medieval specialists have coined the term "Islamic college" for madrasa and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|jāmiʻah}}'' to differentiate them from the legally autonomous corporations that the medieval European universities were. In a sense, the madrasa resembles a [[university college]] in that it has most of the features of a university, but lacks the corporate element. Toby Huff summarises the difference as follows: {{blockquote|From a structural and legal point of view, the madrasa and the university were contrasting types. Whereas the madrasa was a pious endowment under the law of religious and charitable foundations (waqf), the universities of Europe were legally autonomous corporate entities that had many legal rights and privileges. These included the capacity to make their own internal rules and regulations, the right to buy and sell property, to have legal representation in various forums, to make contracts, to sue and be sued."<ref>{{cite book|first =Toby|last = Huff|title = Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West|edition = 2nd |location = Cambridge|date = 2003|page =179}}</ref>}}

As Muslim institutions of higher learning, the madrasa had the legal designation of [[waqf]]. In central and eastern Islamic lands, the view that the madrasa, as a charitable endowment, will remain under the control of the donor (and their descendant), resulted in a "spurt" of establishment of madrasas in the 11th and 12th centuries. However, in Western Islamic lands, where the [[Maliki]] views prohibited donors from controlling their endowment, madrasas were not as popular. Unlike the [[corporate]] designation of Western institutions of higher learning, the waqf designation seemed to have led to the exclusion of non-orthodox religious subjects such a philosophy and natural science from the curricula.<ref>C. E. Bosworth: Untitled review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi", ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland'', No. 2 (1983), pp. 304-305</ref> The madrasa of al-Qarawīyīn, one of the two surviving madrasas that predate the founding of the earliest [[medieval universities]] and are thus claimed to be the "first universities" by some authors, has acquired official university status as late as 1947.<ref>Kevin Shillington: "Encyclopedia of African history", Vol. 1, New York: Taylor & Francis Group, 2005, {{ISBN|1-57958-245-1}}, p. 1025</ref> The other, al-Azhar, did acquire this status in name and essence only in the course of numerous reforms during the 19th and 20th century, notably the one of 1961 which introduced non-religious subjects to its curriculum, such as economics, engineering, medicine, and agriculture.<ref>Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob. "al-Azhar, modern period. 1. From madrasa to university" Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson. Brill, 2010, retrieved 20/03/2010</ref> Many medieval universities were run for centuries as Christian [[cathedral school]]s or [[monastic school]]s prior to their formal establishment as ''universitas scholarium''; evidence of these immediate forerunners of the university dates back to the sixth century AD,<ref>Riché, Pierre (1978): "Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century", Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, {{ISBN|0-87249-376-8}}, pp. 126-7, 282-98</ref> thus well preceding the earliest madrasas. George Makdisi, who has published most extensively on the topic<ref name=":0"/> concludes in his comparison between the two institutions: {{blockquote|Thus the university, as a form of social organization, was peculiar to medieval Europe. Later, it was exported to all parts of the world, including the Muslim East; and it has remained with us down to the present day. But back in the middle ages, outside of Europe, there was nothing anything quite like it anywhere.<ref name="Makdisi Madrasa and University 264">George Makdisi: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", ''Studia Islamica'', No. 32 (1970), pp. 255-264 (264)</ref>|author=|title=|source=}}

Nevertheless, Makdisi has asserted that the European university borrowed many of its features from the Islamic madrasa, including the concepts of a degree and doctorate.<ref name="Makdisi Scholasticism" /> Makdisi and Hugh Goddard have also highlighted other terms and concepts now used in modern universities which most likely have Islamic origins, including "the fact that we still talk of professors holding the 'chairman' of their subject" being based on the "traditional Islamic pattern of teaching where the professor sits on a chair and the students sit around him", the term '[[Study circle|academic circles]]' being derived from the way in which Islamic students "sat in a circle around their professor", and terms such as "having '[[fellow]]s', '[[Reading education|reading]]' a subject, and obtaining 'degrees', can all be traced back" to the Islamic concepts of ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|aṣḥāb}}'' ('[[Sahaba|companions]], as of Muhammad'), ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|qirāʼah}}'' ('reading aloud the Qur'an') and ''[[ijazah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijāzah}}]]'' ('licence [to teach]') respectively. Makdisi has listed eighteen such parallels in terminology which can be traced back to their roots in Islamic education. Some of the practices now common in modern universities which Makdisi and Goddard trace back to an Islamic root include "practices such as delivering inaugural lectures, wearing academic robes, obtaining doctorates by defending a thesis, and even the idea of [[academic freedom]] are also modelled on Islamic custom."<ref name="RelationsHughGoddard1">{{citation|title=A History of Christian-Muslim Relations|first=Hugh|last=Goddard|year=2000|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=0-7486-1009-X|page=100|oclc=237514956}}</ref> The Islamic scholarly system of ''[[fatwa|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|fatwá}}]]'' and ''[[ijma|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ijmāʻ}}]]'', meaning [[opinion]] and [[Consensus (disambiguation)|consensus]] respectively, formed the basis of the "scholarly system the West has practised in university scholarship from the Middle Ages down to the present day."<ref name="G-Makdisi">{{citation|last=Makdisi|first=George|title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=109|issue=2|date=April–June 1989|pages=175–182 [175–77]|doi=10.2307/604423|publisher=American Oriental Society|jstor=604423}}</ref> According to Makdisi and Goddard, "the idea of academic freedom" in universities was also "modelled on Islamic custom" as practised in the medieval Madrasa system from the ninth century. Islamic influence was "certainly discernible in the foundation of the first deliberately planned university" in Europe, the [[University of Naples Federico II]] founded by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]] in 1224.<ref name="RelationsHughGoddard1" />

However, all of these facets of medieval university life are considered by other scholars to be independent medieval European developments with no necessary Islamic influence.<ref>Cf. [[Lexikon des Mittelalters]], J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, individual entries on: Baccalarius; Collegium; Disputatio; Grade, universitäre; Magister universitatis, Professor; Rector; Studia humanitatis; Universität</ref> Norman Daniel criticizes Makdisi for overstating his case by simply resting on "the accumulation of close parallels" while failing to point to convincing channels of transmission between the Muslim and Christian world.<ref name="Daniel 1984, 586f.">Norman Daniel: Review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 104, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1984), pp. 586-588 (586f.)</ref> Daniel also points out that the Arab equivalent of the Latin disputation, the ''taliqa'', was reserved for the ruler's court, not the madrasa, and that the actual differences between Islamic [[fiqh]] and medieval European [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] were profound.<ref name="Daniel 1984, 586f." /> The taliqa only reached Islamic Spain, the only likely point of transmission, after the establishment of the first medieval universities.<ref name="Daniel 1984, 586f." /> Moroever, there is no Latin translation of the taliqa and, most importantly, no evidence of Latin scholars ever showing awareness of Arab influence on the Latin method of disputation, something they would have certainly found noteworthy.<ref name="Daniel 1984, 586f." /> Rather, it was the medieval reception of the Greek [[Organon]] which set the scholastic [[sic et non]] in motion.<ref name="Daniel 1984, 587" /> Daniel concludes that resemblances in method had more to with the two religions having "common problems: to reconcile the conflicting statements of their own authorities, and to safeguard the data of revelation from the impact of [[Greek philosophy]]"; thus Christian scholasticism and similar Arab concepts should be viewed in terms of a parallel occurrence, not of the transmission of ideas from one to the other,<ref name="Daniel 1984, 587">Norman Daniel: Review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi", Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 104, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1984), pp. 586-588 (587)</ref> a view shared by Hugh Kennedy.<ref>Hugh Kennedy: ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'', Third Series, Vol. 2, No. 2 (1992), pp. 272-273 (272): {{blockquote|It is more likely that the undeniable similarities sprang from similar circumstances. Both cultural traditions had sacred writings which needed to be examined, both had systems of law that looked back to ancient precedent, neither culture knew printing (which meant that dictation and verbal communication were so important).}}</ref> Toby Huff, in a discussion of Makdisi's hypothesis, argues:{{blockquote|It remains the case that no equivalent of the bachelor's degree, the licentia docendi, or higher degrees ever emerged in the medieval or early modern Islamic madrasas.<ref>Toby Huff, ''Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West'', 2nd ed., Cambridge 2003, {{ISBN|0-521-52994-8}}, p. 155</ref>}}

[[George Saliba]] criticized Huff's views regarding the legal autonomy of European universities and limited curriculum of Madrasahs, demonstrating that there were many Madrasahs dedicated to the teaching of non-religious subjects and arguing that Madrasahs generally had greater legal autonomy than medieval European universities. According to Saliba, Madrasahs "were fully protected from interference in their curriculum by the [[Waqf|very endowments]] that established them in the first place." Examples include the Dakhwariyya madrasah in [[Damascus]], which was [[Medicine in medieval Islam|dedicated to medicine]], a subject also taught at [[Bimaristan|Islamic hospitals]]; the Madrasah established by Kamal al-Din Ibn Man`a (d. 1242) in [[Mosul]] which taught astronomy, [[Islamic music|music]], and the [[Old Testament|Old]] the [[New Testament]]s; [[Ulugh Beg]]'s Madrasah in [[Samarqand]] which taught [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|astronomy]]; and [[Shia Islam|Shi`i]] madrasahs in [[Iran]] which taught astronomy along with religious studies. According to Saliba:<ref>{{citation|author=George Saliba|title=Flying Goats And Other Obsessions: A Response to Toby Huff's Reply|journal=Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies|volume=4|issue=2|year=2002|url=http://baheyeldin.com/history/george-saliba-2.html|access-date=2010-04-02|author-link=George Saliba|archive-date=2009-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091231213711/http://baheyeldin.com/history/george-saliba-2.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|As I noted in my original article, students in the medieval Islamic world, who had the full freedom to chose their teacher and the subjects that they would study together, could not have been worse off than today’s students, who are required to pursue a specific curriculum that is usually designed to promote the ideas of their elders and preserve tradition, rather than introduce them to innovative ideas that challenge ‘received texts.’ Moreover, if Professor Huff had looked more carefully at the European institutions that produced science, he would have found that they were mainly academies and royal courts protected by individual potentates and not the universities that he wishes to promote. But neither universities nor courts were beyond the reach of the [[Inquisition]], which is another point that he seems to neglect.}}

===Female education===
{{See also|Women in Islam|Women's literary salons and societies in the Arab world|List of female Muslim scholars}}
Prior to the 12th century, women accounted for less than one percent of the world's Islamic scholars. However, [[al-Sakhawi]] and [[Mohammad Akram Nadwi]] have since found evidence of over 8,000 female scholars since the 15th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nadwi|first=Mohammad Akram|title=al-Muhaddithat|date=2013|publisher=Oxford: Interface Publications}}</ref> al-Sakhawi devotes an entire volume of his 12-volume [[biographical dictionary]] ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|al-Ḍawʾ al-lāmiʻ}}'' to female scholars, giving information on 1,075 of them.<ref>{{citation|title=Women in Iran from the Rise of Islam to 1800|last=Guity Nashat|first=Lois Beck|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|year=2003|isbn=0-252-07121-2|page=69}}</ref> More recently, the scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi, currently a researcher from the [[Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies]], has written 40 volumes on the [[muhaddith|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|muḥaddithāt}}]] (the women scholars of hadith), and found at least 8,000 of them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25wwlnEssay.t.html|title=A Secret History|date=25 February 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=16 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316104624/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25wwlnEssay.t.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Haildhar Madrasah.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Jamiatul Arabia Haildhar Madrasa]] was the first female ''[[qawmi madrasa]]'' in [[Bangladesh]].]]

From around 750, during the [[Abbasid Caliphate]], women "became renowned for their brains as well as their beauty".<ref>Doreen Insgrams (1983), ''The Awakened: Women in Iraq'', p. 22, Third World Centre for Research and Publishing Ltd., Lebanon</ref> In particular, many well known women of the time were trained from childhood in [[Arabic music|music]], dancing and [[Arabic poetry|poetry]]. Mahbuba was one of these. Another female (albeit probably fictional) figure to be remembered for her achievements was [[Tawaddud]], "a slave girl who was said to have been bought at great cost by [[Harun al-Rashid|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Hārūn al-Rashīd}}]] because she had passed her examinations by the most eminent [[Ulema|scholars]] in [[Astronomy in medieval Islam|astronomy]], [[Medicine in medieval Islam|medicine]], [[Sharia|law]], [[Early Islamic philosophy|philosophy]], [[Islamic music|music]], [[Muslim history|history]], [[Arabic grammar]], [[Arabic literature|literature]], [[Islamic theology|theology]] and [[chess]]".<ref>Doreen Insgrams (1983), ''The Awakened: Women in Iraq'', p. 23, Third World Centre for Research and Publishing Ltd., Lebanon</ref> Moreover, among the most prominent feminine figures was Shuhda who was known as "the Scholar" or "the Pride of Women" during the 12th century in [[Baghdad]]. Despite the recognition of women's aptitudes during the Abbasid dynasty, all these came to an end in [[Iraq]] with the [[Battle of Baghdad (1258)|sack of Baghdad]] in 1258.<ref>Anthony Nutting, ''The Arabs''. (Hollis and Carter, 1964), p. 196</ref>

According to the [[Sunni]] scholar [[Ibn Asakir|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|Ibn ʻAsākir}}]] in the 12th century, there were opportunities for [[female education]] in the [[Islamic Golden Age|medieval Islamic world]], writing that women could study, earn ''[[ijazah]]s'' ([[academic degree]]s), and qualify as [[Ulema|scholars]] and teachers. This was especially the case for learned and scholarly families, who wanted to ensure the highest possible education for both their sons and daughters.<ref>{{citation|title=Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World|first=James E.|last=Lindsay|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=0-313-32270-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/196 196 & 198]|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/196}}</ref> Ibn ʻAsakir had himself studied under 80 different female teachers in his time. Female education in the Islamic world was inspired by [[Muhammad's wives]], such as [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah]], a successful businesswoman, and 'A'isha, a strong leader and interpreter of the Prophet's actions. According to a hadith attributed both to Muhammad and 'A'isha, the women of Medina were praiseworthy because of their desire for religious knowledge: Although female madrasas did exist before the 1970s large strides were made is regards to female education. After the 1970s a large increase in total female madrasas took place expanded very rapidly across the region.<ref>{{citation|title=Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World|first=James E.|last=Lindsay|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=0-313-32270-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/196 196]|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/196}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=ibn al-Hajjaj|first1=Muslim|title=Sahih Muslim|url=https://sunnah.com/muslim/3/72|access-date=11 November 2017|archive-date=29 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129144841/https://sunnah.com/muslim/3/72|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|How splendid were the women of the ''ansar''; shame did not prevent them from becoming learned in the faith.}}

While it was not common for women to enroll as students in formal [[Class (education)|classes]], it was common for women to attend informal lectures and study sessions at mosques, madrasas and other public places. While there were no legal restrictions on female education, some men did not approve of this practice, such as Muhammad ibn al-Hajj (d. 1336) who was appalled at the behaviour of some women who informally [[Academic audit|audited]] lectures in his time:<ref name="Lindsay">{{citation|title=Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World|first=James E.|last=Lindsay|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=0-313-32270-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/198 198]|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/198}}</ref>

{{blockquote|[Consider] what some women do when people gather with a shaykh to hear [the recitation of] books. At that point women come, too, to hear the readings; the men sit in one place, the women facing them. It even happens at such times that some of the women are carried away by the situation; one will stand up, and sit down, and shout in a loud voice. [Moreover,] her ''awra'' will appear; in her house, their exposure would be forbidden — how can it be allowed in a mosque, in the presence of men?}}

The term ''[[Awrah|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʻawrah}}]]'' is often translated as 'that which is indecent', which usually meant the exposure of anything other than a woman's face and hands, although scholarly interpretations of the ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ʻawrah}}'' and [[hijab|{{transliteration|ar|ALA|ḥijāb}}]] have always tended to vary, with some more or less strict than others.<ref name="Lindsay" />[[File:Atik Valide Mosque 5832.jpg|thumb|The ''medrese'' of the [[Atik Valide Mosque]], part of a ''[[külliye]]'' sponsored by [[Nurbanu Sultan]] (wife of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultan [[Selim II]]) and designed by imperial architect [[Mimar Sinan]] in 1571]]Women played an important role in the foundations of many Islamic educational institutions, such as [[Fatima al-Fihri]]'s founding of the [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|al-Qarawiyyin]] mosque in 859, which later developed into a madrasa. The role of female patrons was also evident during the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] in the 12th and 13th centuries, when 160 mosques and madrasas were established in Damascus, 26 of which were funded by women through the ''waqf'' (charitable trust) system. Half of all the royal patrons for these institutions were also women.<ref>{{citation|title=Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World|first=James E.|last=Lindsay|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=0-313-32270-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/197 197]|url=https://archive.org/details/dailylifeinmedie00lind/page/197}}</ref> Royal women were also major patrons of culture and architecture in the Ottoman Empire, founding many ''külliye''s (religious and charitable complexes) that included madrasas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Necipoğlu|first=Gülru|url=|title=The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-253-9|pages=268–368 and elsewhere|orig-year=2005}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Thys-Senocak|first=Lucienne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffNADgAAQBAJ|title=Ottoman Women Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan|date=2017-03-02|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-91315-7|language=en|access-date=2021-11-18|archive-date=2022-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408191250/https://books.google.com/books?id=ffNADgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 20th century in Indonesia, madrasas founded by women played an important role in increasing educational standards in the country. In November 1923, [[Rahmah el Yunusiyah]] opened a school located in Padang Panjang  called {{lang|id|Diniyah School Putri}} or {{transliteration|ar|Madrasah Diniyah Li al-Banat}}.<ref name="Munawaroh 2002">{{cite book |last1=Munawaroh |first1=Unaidatul |title=Ulama perempuan Indonesia |date=2002 |publisher=Gramedia Pustaka Utama |isbn=9789796866441 |editor1-last=Burhanuddin |editor1-first=Jajat |pages=1–38 |language=id |chapter=Rahmah el-Yunusiah: Pelopor Pendidikan Perempuan}}</ref><ref name="tirto bio">{{cite news |last1=Raditya |first1=Iswara |title=Rahmah El Yunusiyah Memperjuangkan Kesetaraan Muslimah |language=id |work=tirto.id |url=https://tirto.id/rahmah-el-yunusiyah-memperjuangkan-kesetaraan-muslimah-cE52 |url-status=live |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216000837/https://tirto.id/rahmah-el-yunusiyah-memperjuangkan-kesetaraan-muslimah-cE52 |archive-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> This school is generally thought to be the first Muslim religious school in the country for young girls.<ref name="Munawaroh 2002" /><ref name="Seno 2010 63">{{cite book |last1=Seno |first1=Seno |url=http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/12765/ |title=Peran kaum mudo dalam pembaharuan pendidikan Islam di Minangkabau 1803-1942 |date=2010 |publisher=BPSNT Padang Press |isbn=978-602-8742-16-0 |location=Padang |page=63 |language=en |access-date=2022-07-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701151157/http://repositori.kemdikbud.go.id/12765/ |archive-date=2022-07-01 |url-status=live}}</ref> El Yunusiyah, a deeply religious woman, believed that Islam demanded a central role for women and women's education.<ref name="Jejak Islam bio">{{cite news |date=24 January 2020 |title=Rahmah el Yunusiyyah Pejuang Pendidikan Kaum Wanita |work=Jejak Islam untuk Bangsa |url=https://jejakislam.net/rahmah-el-yunusiyyah-pejuang-pendidikan-kaum-wanita/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516003054/https://jejakislam.net/rahmah-el-yunusiyyah-pejuang-pendidikan-kaum-wanita/ |archive-date=16 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Doorn-Harder |first1=Nelly van |url=https://archive.org/details/womenshapingisla0000door/page/172/mode/2up?q=Yunusiyah |title=Women shaping Islam : Indonesian women reading the Qurʼan |date=2006 |isbn=9780252030772 |location=Urbana |page=173}}</ref> The school gained considerable popularity and by the end of the 1930s had as many as five hundred students.<ref name="tirto bio"/><ref name="Johns 1989">{{cite book |last1=Johns |first1=A. H. |title=The Religious traditions of Asia |date=1989 |publisher=Macmillan Pub. Co. |isbn=9780028972114 |editor1-last=Kitagawa |editor1-first=Joseph M. |location=New York |page=175 |language=en |chapter=7. Islam in Southeast Asia |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/religioustraditi00kita/page/175/mode/1up?q=Yunusiyah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Srimulyani |first=Eka |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/34531 |title=Women from Traditional Islamic Educational Institutions in Indonesia : Negotiating Public Spaces |date=2012 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |hdl=20.500.12657/34531 |isbn=978-90-8964-421-3 |language=English |access-date=2022-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323050823/https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/34531 |archive-date=2022-03-23 |url-status=live}}</ref> The scholar Audrey Kahin calls ''Diniyah Putri'' "one of the most successful and influential of the schools for women" in pre-independence Indonesia.<ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Kahin |first=Audrey |title=Historical Dictionary of Indonesia |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |year=2015 |isbn=9780810874565 |pages=505}}</ref>

While madrasas continue to play a pivotal role in the education of many, including young girls, there are still some cultural norms that find their way into the hallways and classrooms of these institutions.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Borker|first=Hem|date=2021-06-01|title=Inside a Residential Girls' Madrasa in India|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/714346|journal=Current Anthropology|volume=62|issue=3|pages=363–372|doi=10.1086/714346|s2cid=234864708|issn=0011-3204|access-date=2021-11-22|archive-date=2021-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122045445/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/714346|url-status=live}}</ref> In article from 2021, [[Hem Borker]], a professor at [[Jamia Millia Islamia]], had the opportunity to travel to India and see the daily life of girls at a residential madrasa. In these madrasas in Northern India, young girls have the ability to receive an education, however, many of the practices within these institutions can be seen as very restrictive or at least by Western standards. Many madrasas that enroll girls act as "purdah institutions." In Persian, purdah translates to curtain or cover. With respect to these madrasas in Northern India, a purdah institution is an institution in which there are several guidelines female students must adhere to as a way to cover themselves both physically and culturally, These restrictions are based on the students' gender and create a segregation of sorts. Girls are expected to wear veils over their faces and cover their entire bodies as a means of dressing modestly by cultural standards. In addition to the clothes that these girls wear, the physical building itself also adheres to the ideals of a purdah institution. Classrooms and hallways are separated by gender in order to prevent fraternization. Within many of these madrasas, even the windows are lined with metal grills in order to prevent students from looking to the outside as well as to prevent people on the outside to look inward. In addition to the physical layout of the building, there are a series of rules female students must adhere to. Some of these rules include girls must lower their head and their voice when addressing their male counterparts. As they pass windows, even with barriers blocking most of their view to the outside and blocking the view of those on the outside, they are expected to lower their gaze. Going back to the idea of clothing, they must wear a [[niqāb]] in order to go outside. Within a cultural context, these rules are very appropriate. In addition to teaching specific subject academic content, institutions such as these purdah madrasas are also incorporating appropriate cultural and societal behavior outside the walls of the building.