Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You in any way, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know. Ameen.

Education is one aspect of the da'wah approach that was emphasized by the Prophet s.a.w. in spreading Islam. However, at the time of the Prophet s.a.w. schools were yet to be establish officially as they are today. 

Here are seven educational locations ever used by the Prophet s.a.w. both when in Mecca and after migrating to Medina. 

1. Darul Arqam 

About three years Prophet s.a.w. preached secretly from mouth to mouth in Mecca, until finally the number of people who converted to Islam had reached thirty people. Seeing this, Prophet s.a.w. took the initiative to galvanize the faith and Islam of his friends in a special place. 

The house belonging to al Arqam bin Abil Arqam was chosen, which is located at the foot of the Shafa hill, near the Grand Mosque. However, this place was kept secret so as not to be known by the polytheists at that time. 

The location is more strategic, which is very close to the Grand Mosque, it made it easier for Muslims to worship at the mosque. 

2. The House of Prophet s.a.w. 

At first the security situation in Mecca was very dangerous for Muslims. However, after the conversion of Umar bin al Khattab r.a. the situation changed. The place of study which was originally at Al-Arqam's house has now moved to the Prophet's house. 

More and more people embraced Islam. They came to the house of Prophet s.a.w. to recite and study the Qur'an and its explanations. 

3. As-Suffah 

After moving to Medina, the first initiative done by Prophet s.a.w. was to build a mosque. One of the rooms of the mosque was used specifically to teach Islam. This special room is known as As Suffah, which also functions as a shelter for students (friends) who are poor, so they were called ahlus suffah. 

4. Darul Qurra 

Al Qurra is the plural form of the word al reciter.  Linguistically means people who read. As for what is meant by al-Qurra, these are people who teach recitation of the Qur'an. 

Darul Qurra which was used as a place of Islamic education during the time of Prophet s.a.w. it was originally a house owned by Makhramah bin Naufal. 

5. Al-Kuttab 

Al Kuttab is the mufrad (singular) form, the plural is Katatib, which means a place to study. At the time of Prophet s.a.w. it was known that there exist many kuttab. Usually this kuttab is used specifically for learning children. 

As Abdullah bin Masud confessed that he and Zaid bin Thabit learned as many as seventy surahs of the Qur'an in Kuttab directly from Prophet s.a.w. at that time, Zaid bin Thabit still had tufts of hair. This description of one with tuft of hair indicates the description of a small child. 

6. Mosque 

In the early days of Islam in Medina, there were already nine mosques including the Nabawi mosque. In addition to praying, these mosques are generally used as places of study. 

7. House of the Companions of the Prophet s.a.w. 

Apart from the places above, the houses of the Companions of the Prophet s.a.w. It is also used as a place for teaching and learning activities.  When Prophet s.a.w. received the arrival of guests from around Medina, they were placed in the homes of the Companions. Besides staying overnight, they also studied the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w. from the homeowners. 

Wallahu'alam.