Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praises is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds - The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompose. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path - the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked (Your) anger or of
those who are astray. Ameen.
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UNIVERSITY OF AL-QARAWIYYIN
Did you know the oldest university in the world is an Islamic university? Did you know the oldest university in the world was built on a wakaf land?
As a matter of fact, the oldest university in the world is an Islamic university located in Fez, Morocco known as University of Al-Qarawiyyin. This fact is acknowledged by both the Guinness World Records as well as Unesco. What more amazing is that University of Al-Qarawiyyin was built on a wakaf land of Fatima Al-Fihri, a daughter of a wealthy merchant named Mohammed
Al-Fihri.
Fatima Al-Fihri was born in Tunisia. She migrated with her father and sister from Qayrawan in Tunisia to Fez, Morocco. Upon the death of her father, Fatima inherited a large fortune. In the year 859, she invested this wealth in founding a mosque and educational institution for the benefit of her local community who had welcomed her family. Gradually, the establishment blossomed
into University of Al-Qarawiyyin, named after Fatima's birthplace, Qayrawan in Tunisia.
In the beginning, the educational institution focused on religious instruction and Qur'an memorization, but later expanded into Arabic grammar, music, Sufism, medicine and astronomy.
However, it was not until 1947 that the school was integrated into the state education system.
In 1957, physics, chemistry and foreign languages were introduced.
In 1963, University of Al-Qarawiyyin joined the modern state university system.
It's libray is home to numbers of precious manuscripts including historic copies of the Qur'an.
Nevertheless, with the establishment of university of Al-Qarawiyyin, it reminds us of two important points.
Firstly, it is not Oxford or Cambridge that first set the stage for university learning, but a mosque's educational institution that, over 1,000 years ago, set those gears in motion.
Secondly, with University of Al-Qarawiyyin still in operation to this day, it serves as a living proof of how a piece of wakaf land can benefit the community tremendously for countless period of time.
