Module 072 · Knowledge Intelligence
The World’s Oldest
Universities
229 years before Bologna. 237 before Oxford. Morocco’s claim to the oldest continuously operating university in the world.
001 — The Institutions
Three Institutions
Al-Qarawiyyin
Fez Medina, Morocco
857–859 CE (Ramadan 245 AH)
Fatima al-Fihri (c. 800–880 CE) — daughter of wealthy Tunisian merchant Mohammed al-Fihri, who migrated from Kairouan to Fez
Guinness World Record: oldest existing, continually operating educational institution. UNESCO World Heritage (as part of Medina of Fez, 1981). Incorporated into modern state university system 1963. Five campuses today: Fez (×2), Marrakech, Agadir, Tetouan
Founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri, who used her entire inheritance to build a place of worship and learning for the Qayrawaniyyin community. Her sister Mariam built the Al-Andalus Mosque across the river. Construction took ~2 years. Fatima fasted daily throughout construction. The institution evolved from mosque to madrasa to university over centuries. At its zenith (13th–14th C, under the Marinids), hundreds of students attended, supported by dozens of surrounding madrasas. The library once held 30,000+ volumes. Subjects expanded from Quran, hadith, and fiqh to include mathematics, astronomy, medicine, grammar, logic, and philosophy. The ijazah system (licence to teach a subject after demonstrating mastery) prefigured the modern degree. Non-Muslims attended — Maimonides, Gerbert d'Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II). Today concentrates on Islamic sciences, Maliki law, and Classical Arabic.
Founded by a woman 229 years before Bologna and 237 years before Oxford
002 — The Scholars
Who Studied Here
Maimonides (Ibn Maymun)
1135–1204
Jewish philosophy & theology
One of the most prolific Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. Compiled the thirteen principles of the Jewish faith. Fled Andalusia with his family, lived in Fez c. 1160. His exposure to Islamic philosophy at Al-Qarawiyyin deeply influenced his major works.
Studied at Al-Qarawiyyin under Abdul Arab Ibn Muwashah
Ibn Khaldun
1332–1395
History, sociology, economics
Author of the Muqaddimah — considered a foundational work of sociology and historiography. The original manuscript of Al-'Ibar, gifted by the author in 1396, is still housed in the Al-Qarawiyyin library.
Studied and taught at Al-Qarawiyyin
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
1126–1198
Philosophy, medicine, Islamic law
The great Aristotelian commentator. His interpretations of Aristotle reached Europe through Latin translations and shaped medieval Scholasticism. A copy of his Al-Bayan Wa-al-Tahsil dating from 1320 remains in the library.
Taught and studied at Al-Qarawiyyin
Gerbert d'Aurillac (Pope Sylvester II)
946–1003
Mathematics, astronomy
Credited with introducing Arabic numerals and the concept of zero to Europe. Pope from 999–1003.
Claimed by 19th-C orientalist Krestovitch to have studied at Al-Qarawiyyin in the 10th C
Leo Africanus (Hassan al-Wazzan)
c. 1494–c. 1554
Geography, diplomacy
Andalusi-born diplomat and geographer. His "Description of Africa" (1550) was the primary European source on Africa for centuries. Captured by pirates, converted to Christianity under Pope Leo X's patronage, then likely returned to Islam in Tunisia.
Studied at Al-Qarawiyyin
Al-Idrisi
c. 1100–1165
Cartography, geography
Creator of the Tabula Rogeriana (1154) — one of the most detailed medieval world maps. Used by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama. Commissioned by Roger II of Sicily.
Settled in Fez for considerable time — likely studied or worked at Al-Qarawiyyin
Muhammad Ibn al-Hajj al-Abdari
d. 1336
Maliki jurisprudence
Leading scholar of the Maliki school of Islamic thought. Author of Al-Madkhal. Taught at Al-Qarawiyyin during the golden age of the Marinid period.
Leading Al-Qarawiyyin scholar
Aziza Chaouni
Contemporary
Architecture, conservation
Toronto-based Moroccan-Canadian architect who restored the Al-Qarawiyyin library. Added solar panels, humidity control, a manuscript conservation laboratory, and a gutter system. Secured 4,000+ ancient manuscripts for future generations.
Architect of the 2016 Al-Qarawiyyin library restoration
Founded by a woman. In 859. On the other side of the world from Oxford.
003 — The Library
The
Collection
4,000+ manuscripts preserved — one of the oldest libraries in the world, in continual use since 859 CE
Volumes from the Muwatta of Imam Malik inscribed on gazelle parchment — among the oldest Islamic legal manuscripts extant
A 9th-century Quran in Kufic calligraphy on leather — among the oldest Quran manuscripts in Morocco
The original copy of Ibn Khaldun's Al-'Ibar (including the Muqaddimah), gifted by the author himself in 1396
004 — The Debate
University or Madrasa?
Oldest continuously operating educational institution
Guinness World Records and UNESCO recognise Al-Qarawiyyin as "the oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world." Founded 859 CE. Teaching has occurred continuously since.
Many scholars argue that Al-Qarawiyyin was effectively a madrasa (Islamic college) until WWII, not a "university" in the European sense. The modern concept of a university — with faculties, autonomous governance, degree-granting structures — is a distinctly European innovation (Bologna, 1088).
Mosque vs. university
Mosques in the Islamic world were always multi-functional: worship, education, political discussion, social gathering. The distinction between "mosque" and "university" is a Western categorisation that doesn't map onto Islamic educational traditions.
A foundation inscription discovered on-site dates to 877 CE and credits Dawud ibn Idris, not Fatima al-Fihri. Historian Chafik Benchekroun argues Fatima may be a figure. Contested.
Degree system (ijazah)
Al-Qarawiyyin pioneered the ijazah — a licence granted after demonstrating mastery of a subject. This system prefigured the modern degree and was adopted across the Islamic world centuries before European equivalents.
The ijazah was granted by individual scholars to individual students, not by an institution. It lacked the corporate, institutional character of European university degrees (Bologna's legal studium, Oxford's papal charter).
The Encyclopædia Britannica position
Britannica dates Al-Qarawiyyin's foundation to 859 and generally considers that "universities" existed outside Europe before the European model.
UNESCO itself describes Bologna (1088) as the "oldest university of the Western world" — implicitly acknowledging a different tradition.
005 — Comparison
The Field
University of Al-Qarawiyyin
Fez, Morocco
Oldest existing, continually operating educational institution (Guinness, UNESCO)
Al-Azhar University
Cairo, Egypt
Oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. Founded as Fatimid mosque-university
University of Bologna
Bologna, Italy
Oldest university in the Western world (UNESCO). Model for the European university system
University of Oxford
Oxford, England
Oldest university in the English-speaking world. Teaching since at least 1096, expanded 1167
University of Paris (Sorbonne)
Paris, France
Charter 1150, reorganised by Robert de Sorbon 1257. Model for northern European universities
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, England
Founded by Oxford scholars who fled after disputes. Second-oldest English-speaking university
006 — Chronology
Timeline
Fatima al-Fihri born in Kairouan (modern Tunisia). Her father Mohammed al-Fihri is a successful merchant
The al-Fihri family migrates from Kairouan to Fez — then capital of the Idrisid dynasty
Mohammed al-Fihri dies. Fatima and her sister Mariam inherit a substantial fortune
Fatima founds the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. Mariam founds the Al-Andalus Mosque. Fatima fasts daily throughout construction
Fatima al-Fihri dies. She is known as "Umm al-Banayn" — Mother of Boys — for taking students under her wing
Al-Qarawiyyin designated as Fez's official Friday Mosque. The mu'azzin of Al-Qarawiyyin is the first in Fez to call from the minaret — all others wait for his call
Almoravid Emir Ali ibn Yusuf extends the mosque from 18 to 21 aisles (3,000+ m²). Andalusian architects brought in
Maimonides arrives in Fez. Studies at Al-Qarawiyyin. Islamic philosophy shapes his major works
Marinid golden age. Dozens of madrasas built around Al-Qarawiyyin to house overflow students. Library exceeds 30,000 volumes
Fire ravages the Al-Qarawiyyin library. Most original manuscripts destroyed. Ibn Abi Zar writes Rawd al-Qirtas, preserving institutional history
Marinid Sultan Abu al-Hasan founds the first Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech
Ibn Khaldun gifts his original manuscript of Al-'Ibar (including the Muqaddimah) to the Al-Qarawiyyin library
Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib rebuilds Ben Youssef Madrasa entirely. 130 rooms, 900 students. Largest in the Maghreb
French Protectorate begins. French administration reforms Al-Qarawiyyin: calendars, teacher salaries, schedules. Curriculum unchanged
Al-Qarawiyyin begins admitting female students. During colonial period, the university serves as centre of resistance and financial independence
Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech closes as an active school
Al-Qarawiyyin incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system by royal decree
General studies moved to new Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University. Al-Qarawiyyin retains Islamic sciences focus
King Hassan II resumes traditional Islamic education at Al-Qarawiyyin after nearly 30-year hiatus
Aziza Chaouni completes Al-Qarawiyyin library restoration. Solar panels, humidity control, conservation lab. 4,000+ manuscripts secured
Ben Youssef Madrasa reopens after 2018–2022 restoration
Key Numbers
CE — the year Fatima al-Fihri completed the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. 229 years before Bologna (1088), 237 before Oxford (c. 1096)
Volumes held in the Al-Qarawiyyin library at its zenith during the Marinid period (13th–14th C)
Students housed at Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakech at its peak — the largest Islamic college in the Maghreb
Keys held by 4 different officials to open the copper library door — a medieval security protocol for priceless manuscripts
Year Al-Qarawiyyin was incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system. Over 1,100 years after its founding
Campuses today: Fez (Islamic education + Sharia), Marrakech (Arabic Language), Agadir (Sharia), Tetouan (Theology & Philosophy)
Sources
Oldest higher-learning institution, oldest university. Entry for University of al-Qarawiyyin
Medina of Fez (1981). Description references Al-Qarawiyyin as "oldest university in the world"
Fatima Al-Fihri and Al-Qarawiyyin University (2025). Sikeena Karmali Ahmed
Eleven Centuries in the University of Al-Qarawiyyin. Indian University Press, 1960. Comprehensive PhD thesis
Rawd al-Qirtas (The Garden of Paper). 14th-century chronicle — primary historical source on Al-Qarawiyyin's founding
Argued that a 877 CE foundation inscription may be the original — and that Fatima al-Fihri may be rather than historical
University of al-Qarawiyyin. Ben Youssef Madrasa. Comparative data on Bologna, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris