Fatima al-Fihri

Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya (Arabic: فاطمة بنت محمد الفهرية القرشية‎) was an Arab woman who is credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin mosque in 859 CE in Fez, Morocco, from which developed the oldest existing continually operating madrasa in the world. In 1963, the madrasa became the University of al-Qarawiyyin.[1] She is also known as "Umm al-Banayn". Al-Fihri died around 880 AD.

Fatima al-Fihri (Al-Fihriya)
فاطمة بنت محمد الفهرية القرشية‎
Bornc. 800
Kairouan, Abbasid Caliphate
Diedc. 880
Fes, Idrisid dynasty
Known forFinancing of the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque

She is first mentioned by Ibn Abi Zar (d. between 1310 and 1320) in The Garden of Pages (Rawd al-Qirtas) as founding the congregational mosque, although the madrasa is not mentioned.[2] Since she was first mentioned many centuries after her death, her story has been hard to substantiate.[3]

Early life
Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University

Fatima was born around 800 AD in the town of Kairouan, in present-day Tunisia. She is of Arab Qurayshi descent, hence the name "al-Qurashiyya", 'the Qurayshi one'. Her family was part of a large migration to Fes from Kairouan. Although her family did not start out wealthy, her father, Mohammed al-Fihri, became a successful merchant.[4]

She and her sister Maryam were well-educated and studied the Islamic jurisprudence Fiqh and the Hadith, or the records of Prophet Muhammed.[1] Both went on to found mosques in Fes: Fatima founded Al-Qarawiyyin and Maryam founded Al-Andalus.[5]

Little is known about her personal life, except for what was recorded by 14th century historian Ibn Abi-Zaraa’. This is largely due to the fact that the Al-Qarawiyyin library suffered a large fire in 1323. Al-Fihri was married, but both her husband and father died shortly after the wedding. Her father left his wealth to both Fatima and her sister, his only children.

Building Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque

Fatima used the money she inherited from her father to purchase a mosque that was built around 845 AD under the supervision of King Yahya ibn Muhammad. She then rebuilt it and bought the surrounding land, doubling its size.

The construction project was supervised by Fatima herself. Although the mosque’s architecture is extravagant, Fatima made a point to build it modestly. As Tunisian historian Hassan Hosni Abdelwahab noted in his book Famous Tunisian Women:

“She committed to only using the land she had purchased. She dug deep into the land, unearthing yellow sand, plaster, and stone to use, so as not to draw suspicion from others [for using too many resources].”[6]

The mosque took 18 years to construct.[5] According to Moroccan historian Abdelhadi Tazi, Al-Fihri fasted until the project’s completion. When it was finished, she went inside and prayed to God, thanking him for his blessings.[7] She named it after the immigrants from her hometown of Kairouan.

Al-Qarawiyyin still stands near Al-Andalus, the mosque that Fatima’s sister Maryam built.

The Al-Qarawiyyin Madrasa

The earliest sources mention founding of the mosque of Al-Qarawiyyin, but do not an associated madrasa.[8] The earliest mentions to halaqat (circles) for learning and teaching may not have been until the 10th or the 12th Century.[9][10] The historian Abdelhadi Tazi indicated the earliest evidence of teaching at al-Qarawiyyin in 1121.[11] Moroccan historian Mohammed Al-Manouni believes that it was during the reign of the Almoravids (1040–1147) that the madrasa was added to the mosque. [12] Other historians such as Alfred Bel[13] and Évariste Lévi-Provençal[14] date the beginning of the madrasa and teaching to the Marinid period, although Bel affirms that it was the religious and intellectual heart of the Maghreb since the Idrissid era.[15] Students were male, but traditionally it has been said that “facilities were at times provided for interested women to listen to the discourse while accommodated in a special gallery (riwaq) overlooking the scholars’ circle.”[16]

It has been referred to as the oldest continually operating madrasa in the world and became a university in 1963, and is sometimes referred to as the world's oldest university, by being the first institution to award degrees indicative of different levels of study. The courses offered include Islamic Studies, mathematics, grammar, and medicine.[4]

The library in Al-Qarawiyyin is considered the oldest in the world.[4] Recently it was renovated by Canadian-Moroccan architect Aziza Chaouni and reopened to the public in May 2016.[17] The library's collection of over 4000 manuscripts includes a 9th-century Qur'an and the earliest collection of hadiths.[18][4]

References
  1. Kenney, Jeffrey T.; Moosa, Ebrahim (2013-08-15). Islam in the Modern World. Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 9781135007959.
  2. ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh Ibn Abī Zarʻ al-Fāsī (1964). Rawd Al-Qirtas. Valencia [Impreso por J. Nácher].
  3. "Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fes: Brainchild of a Muslim Woman". Inside Arabia. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  4. "Meet Fatima al-Fihri: The founder of the world's first Library". January 26, 2017.
  5. Kahera, Akel; Abdulmalik, Latif; Anz, Craig (2009-10-26). Design Criteria for Mosques and Islamic Centres. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 9781136441271.
  6. "كتاب - شهيرات التونسيات". k-tb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  7. التحرير, هيئة (2019-04-09). "فاطمة الفهرية أم البنين مؤسسة أول جامعة في العالم". Ejadidanews.com - الجديدة نيوز (in Arabic). Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  8. ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh Ibn Abī Zarʻ al-Fāsī (1964). Rawd Al-Qirtas. Valencia [Impreso por J. Nácher].
  9. "Al-Qarawiyyin University in Fes: Brainchild of a Muslim Woman". Inside Arabia. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  10. Tibawi, A. L. (Summer 1980). "Reviewed Work: Jami' al-Qarawiyyin: al-Masjid wa'l-Jami'ah bi Madinat Fas (Mausu'ah li-Tarikhiha al-Mi'mari wa'l-Fikri). Al Qaraouiyyine: la Mosquée-Université de Fès (histoire architecturale et intellectuelle) by Abdul-Hadi at-Tazi". Arab Studies Quarterly. 2 (3): 286-288.
  11. Tazi, Abdelhadi (1972). Jami' al-Qarawiyyin: al-Masjid wa'l-Jami'ah bi Madinat Fas (Mausu'ah li-Tarikhiha al-Mi'mari wa'l-Fikri). Al Qaraouiyyine: la Mosquée-Université de Fès (histoire architecturale et intellectuelle). Beirut: Dar al Kitab ab Lubnani. p. 112.
  12. Deverdun, Gaston (1971). Encyclopédie de l'Islam volume IV. Leyde/Paris: E.J.Brill/Maisonneuve & Larose.
  13. Al-Jaznaï,, Zahrat al-Âs; Bel, Alfred (1923). "Publications de la faculté des lettres d'Alger, fascicule 59": 85. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  14. Les historiens des Chorfa; essai sur la littérature historique et biographique au Maroc du XVIe au XXe siècle. Paris,: Maisonneuve & Larose. 2001. ISBN 9782706815072.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  15. Al-Jaznaï,, Zahrat al-Âs; Bel, Alfred (1923). "Publications de la faculté des lettres d'Alger, fascicule 59": 7. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  16. Tibawi, A. L. (Summer 1980). "Reviewed Work: Jami' al-Qarawiyyin: al-Masjid wa'l-Jami'ah bi Madinat Fas (Mausu'ah li-Tarikhiha al-Mi'mari wa'l-Fikri). Al Qaraouiyyine: la Mosquée-Université de Fès (histoire architecturale et intellectuelle) by Abdul-Hadi at-Tazi". Arab Studies Quarterly. 2 (3): 286-288.
  17. Shaheen, Kareem (2016-09-19). "World's oldest library reopens in Fez: 'You can hurt us, but you can't hurt the books'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-30.
  18. Daisy Carrington. "This 1,157-year-old library gets a facelift". CNN. Retrieved 2017-05-30.

Further reading
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