The oldest known doctor of medicine degree was awarded to a Moroccan in Fez.The latter studied at the Univesity of al-Qarawiyyin and was the disciple of prestigious Muslim scientists, including Al Baytar and Annabati.
Known as the oldest existing and continually operating higher educational institution in the world, the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez gave the certificate to Abdellah Ben Saleh Al Koutami in 1207. VI) argues that the al-Qarawiyyin Ijaza is the First Available and Documented MD Certificate Delivered in the World. It also referred to Islams medical sciences progress from cupping therapy (hijama) to all the research and works authored by scientists in all aspects of medicines, plant, and herbal sciences, before attributing some of the criteria to Al Koutami. The degree attested that Al Koutami had the needed expertise and knowledge to practice medicine, veterinary and pharmacy and described him as an honest man with good reputation and no history of criminality or disloyalty. Quoting medieval culture professor George Makdisi, the doctor argued that the Ijazat attadris was a sort of qualification or doctorate degree. Among the subjects taught at the university, alongside the Quran and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), are grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine, mathematics as well as astronomy. I wish to be emailed whenever a new comment is added to this article. Values Of Al Quaraouiyine University In The World Full As WellIn addition to being Muslim, prospective students of the Qarawiyyin are required to have memorized the Quran in full as well as several other shorter medieval Islamic texts on grammar and Maliki law, and in general to have a very good command of Classical Arabic. It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It was incorporated into Moroccos modern state university system in 1963 and was officially renamed University of Al Quaraouiyine two years later. The mosque building itself is also a significant complex of historical Moroccan and Islamic architecture encompassing elements from many different periods of Moroccan history. Teaching is still delivered in the traditional methods. Students are seated in a semi-circle ( halqa ) around a sheikh who prompts them to read certain texts, asks them questions, and explains difficult points to them. ![]() Women were first admitted to the institution in the 1940s. Fatima and her sister Mariam, both of whom were well educated, inherited a large amount of money from their father. Fatima vowed to spend her entire inheritance on the construction of a mosque suitable for her community. Similarly, her sister Mariam is also reputed to have founded the Al-Andalusiyyin Mosque the same year. This inscription, carved onto cedar wood panels and written in a Kufic script very similar to foundation inscriptions in 9th-century Tunisia, was found on a wall above the probable site of the mosques original mihrab (prior to the buildings later expansions). The inscription, recorded and deciphered by Gaston Deverdun, proclaims the foundation of this mosque ( Arabic: ) by Dawud ibn Idris (a son of Idris II who governed this region of Morocco at the time) in Dhu al-Qadah 263 AH (July-August of 877 CE ). Deverdun suggested the inscription may have come from another unidentified mosque and was moved here at a later period (probably 15th or 16th century) when the veneration of the Idrisids was resurgent in Fes and such relics would have held enough religious significance to be reused in this way. However, Chafik Benchekroun argued more recently that a more likely explanation is that this inscription is the original foundation inscription of the Qarawiyyin Mosque itself and that it might have been covered up in the 12th century just before the arrival of the Almohads in the city. Based on this evidence and on the many doubts about Ibn Abi Zars narrative, he argues that Fatima al-Fihri is quite possibly a legendary figure rather than a historical one. At some point the khutba (Friday sermon) was transferred from the Shurafa Mosque of Idris II (today the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II ) to the Qarawiyyin Mosque, thus granting it the status of Friday mosque (the communitys main mosque). This transfer happened either in 919-18 or in 933, both dates which correspond to brief periods of Fatimid domination over the city, which suggests that the transfer may have occurred on Fatimid initiative. In any case, the mosque and its learning institution continued to enjoy the respect of political elites, with the mosque itself being significantly expanded by the Almoravids and repeatedly embellished under subsequent dynasties. Tradition was established that all the other mosques of Fes based the timing of their call to prayer ( adhan ) according to that of the Qarawiyyin. Many scholars consider that the Qarawiyyins high point as an intellectual and scholarly center was in the 13th-14th centuries, when the curriculum was at its broadest and its prestige had reached new heights after centuries of expansion and elite patronage. Among the subjects taught around this period or shortly after were traditional religious subjects such as the Quran and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) as well as other sciences like grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine, mathematics, astronomy and geography. By contrast, some subjects like alchemy chemistry ( al-kimiya ) were never officially taught as they were considered too unorthodox. The Al-Attarine Madrasa (founded in 1323), just north of the Qarawiyyin Mosque Starting in the late 13th century, and especially in the 14th century, the Marinid dynasty was responsible for constructing a number of formal madrasas in the areas around the Qarawiyyins main building. The first of these was the Saffarin Madrasa in 1271, followed by the al-Attarine in 1323 and the Mesbahiya Madrasa in 1346. ![]() These madrasas taught their own courses and sometimes became well-known institutions in their own right, but they usually had much narrower curriculums or specializations. One of their most important functions seems to have been to provide housing for students from other towns and cities many of them poor who needed a place to stay while studying at the Qarawiyyin. Thus, these buildings acted as complimentary or auxiliary institutions to the Qarawiyyin itself, which remained the center of intellectual life in the city. The madrasa has produced numerous scholars who have strongly influenced the intellectual and academic history of the Muslim world. Among these are Ibn Rushayd al-Sabti (d. Mohammed Ibn al-Hajj al-Abdari al-Fasi (d. Abu Imran al-Fasi (d. Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, and Leo Africanus, a renowned traveler and writer. The strength of its teaching stagnated and its curriculum decreased in range and scope, becoming focused on traditional Islamic sciences and Arabic linguistic studies. Even some traditional Islamic specializations like tafsir ( Quranic exegesis ) were progressively neglected or abandoned. In 1788-89, the Alaouite sultan Muhammad ibn Abdallah introduced reforms which regulated the institutions program, but which also imposed stricter limits and excluded logic, philosophy, and the more radical Sufi texts from the curriculum. Other subjects also disappeared over time, such as astronomy and medicine. In 1845 Sultan Abd ar-Rahman carried out further reforms, but its unclear if this had any significant effect in the long-term. Between 1830 and 1906 the number of faculty decreased from 425 to 266 (of which, among the latter, only 101 were still teaching). The Qarawiyyin also played a role in the Moroccan nationalist movement and in protests against the French colonial regime. Values Of Al Quaraouiyine University In The World Professional Training OfModern curricula and textbooks were introduced and the professional training of the teachers improved. Following the reforms, al-Qarawiyyin was officially renamed University of Al Quaraouiyine in 1965. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. July 2020 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ). Teaching is delivered in the traditional method, in which students are seated in a semi-circle ( halqa ) around a sheikh, who prompts them to read sections of a particular text, asks them questions on particular points of grammar, law, or interpretation, and explains difficult points. Students from all over Morocco and Islamic West Africa attend the Qarawiyyin, although a few might come from as far afield as Muslim Central Asia. Even Spanish Muslim converts frequently attend the institution, largely attracted by the fact that the sheikhs of the Qarawiyyin, and Islamic scholarship in Morocco in general, are heirs to the rich religious and scholarly heritage of Muslim al-Andalus.
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