List of Islamic seminaries

University of Al Quaraouiyine in Fes, the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records.^[1][2]

The Registan and its three madrasahs. From left to right: Ulugh Beg Madrasah, Tilya-Kori Madrasah and Sher-Dor Madrasah.

This is a list of Islamic seminaries throughout history, including the operational, historical, defunct or converted ones. This list includes mainly madrasa in the Western context, which refers to the specific type of religious school or college for the study of the Islamic religion and Islamic educations, though this may not be the only subject studied. It also includes sectarian or regional variants which have distinct characteristics and traditions, though serves the identical purposes as seminary, namely Hawza of Shi'a Islam, Nezamiyeh in the medieval Persia, Darul Uloom which has roots in South Asia, Qawmi in Bangladesh, pesantren in Indonesia, and pondok in Malaysia and Southern Thailand. This list does not include institutions which are not religious seminaries, but have an Islamic identity or charter, or devoted to sciences and arts usually associated with Islamic culture and history, namely Islamic University.

List of Islamic seminaries

The listings are in alphabetical order by country.

List of oldest Islamic seminaries

Year	Current Location	Name	Other notes
859	Fes, Morocco	University of Al Quaraouiyine	Founded by Fatima al-Fihri, originally as a mosque. In addition to a place for worship, the mosque soon developed into a place for religious instruction and political discussion, gradually extending its education to a broad range of subjects, particularly the natural sciences. Al-Karaouine played, in medieval times, a leading role in the cultural exchange and transfer of knowledge between Muslims and Europeans. Pioneer scholars such as Ibn Maimun (Maimonides), (1135–1204), Al-Idrissi (d.1166 AD), Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240 AD), Ibn Khaldun (1332-1395 AD), Ibn al-Khatib, Al-Bitruji (Alpetragius), Ibn Hirzihim, and Al-Wazzan were all connected with the university either as students or lecturers. Among Christian scholars visiting Al-Karaouine were the Belgian Nicolas Cleynaerts and the Dutchman Golius. Among the subjects taught, alongside the Qur'an and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), are grammar, rhetoric, logic, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, history, geography and music. It is considered the oldest university in the world by some scholars,[4][5] and the oldest continuously-operating degree-granting institution in the world by the Guinness Book Of Records,[6] although some dispute this claim.[7]
970-972	Cairo, Egypt	Al-Azhar University	Founded by the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt, this university served as a center for Arabic literature and Sunni Islamic learning. The college (Jami'ah) had faculties in Islamic law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Astronomy, Islamic philosophy, and Logic. The Al-Azhar is considered by some as the world's second oldest surviving degree-granting institute. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, Al-Azhar was a religious university, a madrasa and center of higher learning.[8] In the 1950s, Al-Azhar underwent significant change, with new regulations and reform resulting in an expanded role.[9] In 1961 it became a modern university when many modern secular faculties were added, such as medicine, engineering and agriculture.
1065	Isfahan, Iran	Nizamiyya	Nizamiyya: This series of universities was established by Khwaja Nizam al-Mulk in the eleventh century in what is now present-day Iran. The most celebrated of all the Nizamiyya schools is Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad, established in 1065 in Dhu'l Qa'da and that remains operational in Isfahan. But, this was just one of many Nizamiyyah schools — others were located in Nishapur, Amul, Mosul, Herat, Damascus, and Basra. The Nizamiyya schools served as a model for future universities in the region, and al-Mulk often is seen as responsible for a new era of brilliance which caused his schools to eclipse all other contemporary learning institutions.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Islamic schools.

• List of Islamic universities and colleges
• List of Islamic educational institutions

References