Madrasas
B.R.
Embedded Files
top-image 1- a drawing of what madrasa education might have looked like in the Middle ages
bottom-image 2- the outside of a madrasa, modern day
Early History
Early History
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Madrasas were a style of organized higher education that incorporated elements of Islam into its teachings. In an unofficial sense, madrasas emerged in the Islamic Empire in the 9th century. One of the most prominent examples being in the residence of Sayyidna Zaid bin Arkam (Hossain). This type of educational gathering was revolutionary at the time, educating many on the teachings of Muhammad and Islamic principles. Before this, when education forms were even more limited, the prophet Muhammad opened a second mosque in Medina in the northeastern part of Masjid-e-Nababi, which served as an educational center, educating similarly to later madrasa. These early education centers were the foundation of the first official degree granting Muslim university which was established by the Muslim princess Fatima Al-Fihri and her sister Mariam in 859 CE. The madrasa Jamiat al-Qarawyn in Fas, Morocco is often thought of as the first university though it can also be argued that University of Al-Karaouine was the first which was also established in the same year as the former.
image 4 top- a image showing the Ben Youssef Madrasa in modern day
image 5 bottom-an image showing modern madrasas from another angle
image 3- people teaching early education in a mosque, early Islamic education from the middle ages.
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image 6 depicts a gathering of a Muslim community outside of a building
Image 7- above- depicts a scene in which a man is teaching to a group of men
Image 8- right- the inside of a madrasa, showing off the architecture of the time
Life In Madrasas
Life In Madrasas
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The emergence of madrasas increased the literacy rate of the population within the empire and the broadening of academic studies and increased ideas and innovations. Madrasas provided a space of higher education and academic cooperation, a space that was focused on the study of Islamic history, principles, and laws, some madrasas even teaching many other secular subjects like mathematics, astronomy, and calligraphy. Madrasas also had many positive effects on the economy of the Islamic Empire, a correlation is shown between economic prosperity of an individual and the amount of education they have received (Hanna). The concept of higher, madrasa inspired education was not unique to the Islamic Empire. Many other cultures and civilizations took the idea of higher education and adapted the concept to fit their society, an example of this is European universities which developed in the 11th century. Madrasa, while benefiting society in many ways, also had negative effects for the people of the Islamic Empire. Academic stratification, which appeared following the implementation of madrasas into Islamic society, is the divide between those with an education and those without one. Since madrasas education was a sought after commodity in an employee, those with an education received better, higher paying jobs, creating not only an academic divide but also greatened the already present economic one (UNSECO).
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