EDUCATION IN ISLAMIC HISTORY

Institutions of Islamic Education:

The Kuttab Libraries,

Schools. & the Nizamya School

Mosques Circles
Observatories

Majalis al- Adab Hospitals

Bookshops

1- The Kuttab 1.
The child education began at home as long the father can teach him any thing. The first school was the Kuttab: What is a Kuttab? Kuttab is an adjunct of the mosque ( a separate place beside the mosque). Sometime the mosque itself functioned as Kuttab, when no adjunct available. Kuttab can be considered as an elementary school. The teacher in the elementary school called, muallim

The curriculum in the Kuttab. 2

What subjects learned pupils in the Kuttab? Koran learning was the center of the curriculum, It was used even as text book to teach the principles of reading and writing. A special interest was given to the writing poetry Penmanship Other subjects were : Arabic grammar, stories about the prophet, Hadith, the elementary principles of arithmetic, and Poetry, but not of erotic characters. This memorizing of texts was the best way to show your learning abilities.???????. How Koran created and developed the educational process by Muslims ? ???? ( discussion)

Girls Education in the Kuttab.3

Girls were welcome to all the religious instruction in the lower grades. It was thought, Girls mind were not capable to go further. In fact there was no special desire to guide them further along the flowery and thorny path of knowledge. Knowledge Acquisition for girls was not, after all, the center of a womans sphere. There is however a lot of women who achieved higher grade in Education.

The Muaddib and the private Education. 4.

Children of wealthy people had private tutors muaddib . Subjects taught were: religion, polite literature, history, eloquence, fiqh and the art of versification. subjects and methods of the education, or the ideal of education can be ascertained from the instructions given by Al-Rasheed to the tutors of his son Al-Amin.

Al-Rasheed instructions. 5.
Be not strict to the extent of stifling his faculties or lenient to the point of making him enjoy idleness and accustom himself thereto. Straighten him as much as you can through kindness and gentleness, but fail not to resort to force and severity should he not respond.

Means of Teaching. 6
The rod was considered a necessary part of a teacher's equipment. The Caliph himself, as shown, approved the use of the rod on his children . In his chapter on the parental management of children in Risalat al-Siyasah, Ibn-Sina speaks of "seeking the aid of the hand " as a valuable auxiliary of the educator's art . This however was limited to the elementary school.

Position of the Muallims in the Society. 1

The teacher in the elementary school called Muallim In general they were highly respected in the society as they teach Koran, the holy book. "I am the slave of him who taught me even one letter"

Position of the Muallims in the Society. 2

In some circles, in particular the judges circles Fuqahaa Muallims were not respected enough. A judge under al-Ma'mun went so far and refused to admit teachers' testimonies as satisfactory evidence in court. A whole body of anecdotes in Arabic literature developed round the teacher as a dunce . " More fooling than a teacher of an elementary school"

3- Mosques Circles.
Mosques in almost all Moslem towns served as important educational centers , when a visitor came to a new city he could make his way to the congregational mosque confident that he could attend lectures on hadith Al-Maqdisi, a travelling geographer, tells us about many circles (sing.halqah) or assemblies (sing,majlis) he found in Palestine, Syria, Egypt and Faris. He saw students centering upon faqihs, Koran readers littrateurs in the mosques. The Imam al-Shafii presided at such a halqah at the mosque of "Amr at al-Fustat ,where he taught various subjects every morning till his death. Not only religious but linguistic and poetical subjects were treated in these assemblies. Every Moslem had a free admission to such lectures in the mosques, which remained until the eleventh century the extension school of Islam .

4- Majalis al-adab.
Majalis Al-Adab are Literary Salons appeared in aristocracy and cultured society. These gatherings begun to appear early under the "Ab-basids . In the presence of several early caliphs poetical contests, religious debates and literary conferences were often held. We owe a few surviving works to such debates.

5- Libraries 1.
Meaning and functions of libraries ??????? Prevalence of libraries throughout the Islamic world. Public libraries: Mosques libraries: Mosques functioned as repositories for books through libraries gifts and bequests. Mosque libraries became especially rich in religious literature. Bayt al-Hikma, founded by al-Mamun. Dar al-Hikma in Cairo, founded by the Fatimid, Library of Cordova, founded by the Umayyad in al-Andalus. (khizanat al-kutub) in Shiraz founded by the Buwayhid Sultan Adud-alDawlah. Home of books" In al-Rayy, All these libraries had thousands of manuscripts listed in several volume catalogues

Libraries 2
Private Libraries : Libraries established by dignitaries or men of wealth as semi-public institutions. Library of the historian al_Khatib al-Baghdadi (I002-7I), he willed his books " as a waqf [mortmain] for the Moslems", but they were housed in the home of a friend of his . Al-Mawsil library, built by one of its citizens, where students were even supplied with free paper. Al-Basrah library whose founder granted stipends for scholars working in it.

Usage of Libraries.3
Libraries were used as meeting-places for scientific discussion and debate. Scholars and men of standing had no difficulty in finding access to public as well as to private collections. Yaqut al-Hamawi spent three years collecting material for his geographical dictionary from the Libraries of MARW AND Khwarizm , whence he fled in 1220 at the approach of the Mongol hordes of. who committed all those libraries to the flames . Discuss the act of Chingiz khan ???

Bayt al Hikma House of wisdom

The first prominent institution for higher learning in Islam. Founded first by the caliph Harun Al Rashid under the name Khizanat al Hikma then developed by the caliph al-Mamun (830) in Baghdad as Bayt al- Hikma. ?? It has rendered valuable service by translating philosophical and scientific words into Arabic, and it exerted a considerable influence on the development of Islamic science and thought. Missions were sent to the Byzantine to collect manuscripts. Bayt al-Hikma was an academy included a staff of eminent scientists and translators, as well as copyists and binders, and among its members were such famous men as the Banu Musa brotheres, Hunain Ibn Ishaq, and thabit b. Qurraa. Attached to Bayt al-Hikma two astronomical observatories, one in Baghdad and the other in Damascus.

Other big libraries in islamic world

Dar Al-Hikma In Cairo House of wisdom), Built by the Fatimids ( ruled 297-567/ 9091171) Library of Cordova ( in Spain) Built by the Umayyad. Beside other libraries in den big mosques.

Task of Bayt al- Hikmah and other libraries.

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6.

7.

Translations into Arabic ?? public library. public place for open discussions. Academy for teaching different fields of knowledge? A research institution. Had an observatory connected with it for Astronomy Science. Many famous Islamic scholar learned and taught in Bayt- al-Hikma. Etc.

Bookshops warraq-shops

6-Bookshops warraq-shops
The bookshops functioned as a commercial and educational agency. They appeared early under the Abbasids . Al-Ya'qubi asserts that in his time (89I) the capital boasted over a hundred book-dealers congregated in one street . The book-sellers themselves were often calligraphers, copyists and literati who used their shops not only as stores and ateliers but as centers for literary discussion The famous one among the book-seller was Ibn Al-Nadim (995) also called AL-WARRAQ ( STATIONER) . Ibn Al-Nadim become famous through his book " Alfihrist" .It is a scholarly and remarkable work. It is a bibliographical book on different sciences developed to that time. Online activity: a presentation about Ibn Al-Nadim and his book.

The Observatories:
The observatory was a scientific institution in itself, carrying out both research and teaching. ( practical learning) Muslim Observatories in Baghdad, Damscus, Cairo, Maraga, Samarkand and Istanbul has been developed over the years and gradually have became major scientific institutions in which many scientists collaborated with each other in observations and research. The observatory of Maragh where Nasir al-din al-Tusi in Tus worked, the observatory of Ulugh Beg in Samarkand, and Taqi al-Din in Istanbul represented further developments, and in them Islamic observatories reached their peak. The last two served as model for the early European observatories.

Hospitals
Hospital were established under the patronage of the caliphs. Its duty was to care for the sick and to provide medical education and training. Considerable funds were assigned to them and rich libraries were provided. Medical schools at these hospital attracted the best physicians as professors and granted their pupils, on the completion of teaching and practical work and after passing an examination, the igaza which allow them to
practice.

2- The Ni miyah School. 1

The first real academy in Islam which made provision for the physical needs of its students and become a model for later institutions of higher learning. The Ni miyah, was founded in Baghdad in 1065-7 (5th Higara century). It is attributed to Ni malMulk, the enlightened Persian vizir of the Salj q sultans Alp Arsln and malikshh. Nizam Al-Mulk was one of the greatest patron of higher education in Islam.

The Ni miyah School. 2

Besides the Nizamiyah of Baghdad the Saljuq vizir established several other seminaries in Naysabur and other towns of empire . The Nizamiyah type of madrasah spread over Khurasan, alIraq and Syria . Founding a madrasah was always considered a meritorious act in Islam. This explains the large number of such institutions reported by travelers. Ibn-Jubayr counted in Baghdad about thirty schools, in Damascus ,which then enjoyed its golden age under Salah-alDin ,about twenty .in al-Mawsil ,six or more, and in Hims only one

Curriculum in Ni miyah. 3
The Ni miyah was consecrated as a theological seminary (madrasah) , particulary for the study of the Shfi'i rite and the Ashari thought. Beside that special attention was given to the science of tradition. It was the basis of the curriculum, and memory work was especially stressed. In all this higher institutions of theology Koran and old poetry formed the backbone of the study of the humanities ( ilm al-adab).

Ni miyah, a School & boarding house. 4

The students boarded in this academy and many of them held endowed scholarships. Certain details of its organization have been copied by the early universities of Europe.

Appointments in Ni miyah. 5
The Ni miyah was a theological institution recognized by the state . An appointed lecturer (mudarris) needs a confirmation from the caliph. The lecturer had under him two or more repetiteurs ( sing. Muid, repeater ) whose duty consisted in reading over the lecture after class and explaining it to the less-gifted students. Ways of Teaching: Ibn-Jubayr , an Arabic traveler , attended a lecture delivered after the mid-afternoon prayers by the ranking professor. The lecturer stood on a platform while the students sat on stools and plied him with written and oral questions till evening prayer.

Eminent teachers of the Ni miyah

Among the eminent teachers of the Ni miyah was the famous al-Gazali who wrote Ihya Ulum ad-Deen and Bah-al-Din, Salah-al-Dins (Saladins) biographer.

Students online Activity:

a short Biography of al- Gazali.

End of Al- Ni miyah

Al- Ni miyah survived the catastrophe that befell the capital at its capture by Hulagu on 1258 , as it survived the later invasions by the Tartars, and was finally merged with its younger sister, al-Mustansiriyah, about two years after timur Lang (Tamerlane) captured Baghdad in 1393

Al-Mustansiriyah School

The ijazah Certificate

The Ijazah is a recognized certificate given to those student who satisfactorily passed the prescribed course of study. Ijahzah allows its holder to teach in that field for what the Ijazah has been given. In his treatise on pedagogy al-Zarnuji , who wrote in 1203, devotes a section to the high regard in which a student should hold the profession of teaching . Al-Zarnuji's is the best known of some two score Arabia treatises on education, most of which have survived in manuscript form. The existing of Islamic writing on Education proves the development level of the education In Islam. (Activity) Present a short biography of al-Zarnuji ?