When you picture the world’s oldest university, your mind might drift to the colonnaded quadrangles of Oxford or the ancient lecture halls of Bologna. While these are venerable and storied institutions, the true cradle of continuous higher learning lies not in Europe, but nestled within the bustling, labyrinthine medina of Fez, Morocco. This is the home of the University of al-Qarawiyyin, a center for knowledge founded in 859 AD—a full two centuries before Bologna—by a remarkable woman named Fatima al-Fihri.

To understand al-Qarawiyyin is to journey back to the Islamic Golden Age, a time of extraordinary cultural, scientific, and intellectual flourishing. The story of its founding is as inspiring as its legacy is vast.

A Pious Vision: The Founding by Fatima al-Fihri

The university’s origin is inseparable from its founder, Fatima al-Fihri. She was not a queen or a noble, but the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Mohammed al-Fihri. Her family had emigrated in the early 9th century from Kairouan (in modern-day Tunisia) to Fez, a thriving imperial city and a new home for thousands of Arab migrants. After her father, husband, and brother passed away, Fatima and her sister, Mariam, inherited a considerable fortune.

Deeply devout and community-minded, the sisters resolved to use their wealth to serve their city. While Mariam oversaw the construction of the grand al-Andalus Mosque, Fatima embarked on an even more ambitious project. She purchased a large piece of land and began the construction of a new neighborhood mosque, large enough to accommodate Fez’s growing Muslim population. To honor her family’s origins, she named it the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque—”the Mosque of the Kairouanese.”

Historical accounts, steeped in pious tradition, claim that Fatima personally supervised the construction and fasted from the first day of building in 859 AD until its completion over two years later. Her vision was not merely for a place of prayer, but for a hub of community and learning—a madrasa—that would be attached to the mosque itself. It was this educational component, born from an act of faith, that would blossom into the world’s first university.

From Madrasa to a Beacon of Knowledge

Initially, the curriculum at al-Qarawiyyin focused on religious instruction, particularly the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, Quranic studies, and Arabic grammar. However, as its reputation grew, so did the breadth of its scholarship. Under the patronage of powerful medieval Moroccan dynasties like the Almoravids and Almohads, al-Qarawiyyin expanded its mosque, built libraries, and attracted the greatest minds of the age.

The curriculum evolved to become a comprehensive intellectual ecosystem. Students could engage in a stunning variety of subjects, forming a bridge between the classical and the modern world:

• Theology and Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh): The foundational core of the curriculum.
• Rhetoric, Logic, and Grammar: The essential tools for rigorous debate and textual analysis.
• Mathematics and Astronomy: Crucial for calculating prayer times, the direction of Mecca, and for navigation.
• Medicine: Medical texts from Greek and Islamic scholars were studied and advanced.
• History and Geography: Mapping the known world and understanding its peoples.
• Chemistry (Alchemy): Exploring the nature of material substances.

Unlike the later European model, learning at al-Qarawiyyin was less structured. Students would gather in a semi-circle (halqa) around a sheikh, or scholar, who would lecture from the base of one of the mosque’s many pillars. Mastery of a subject or a specific book was certified not with a formal diploma, but with an ijazah—a license from the sheikh attesting to the student’s competence to teach and transmit that knowledge to others.

An International Crossroads of Scholars

Al-Qarawiyyin was not an isolated Moroccan institution; it was a cosmopolitan nexus of intellectual exchange. It drew students and scholars from across North Africa, the Middle East, and even Europe, becoming a vital conduit for the flow of ideas.

Its list of alumni and associates reads like a who’s who of medieval thought:

• Ibn Khaldun: The 14th-century pioneer of sociology, historiography, and economics, is believed to have taught and studied at al-Qarawiyyin.
• Leo Africanus (al-Hasan al-Wazzan): The famed diplomat and author whose work Description of Africa introduced the continent to early modern Europe, was educated at Fez.
• Maimonides: The preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and physician is said to have spent time studying at al-Qarawiyyin during his stay in Fez in the 12th century.
• Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II): This 10th-century scholar is credited with introducing Arabic numerals and the concept of zero to the rest of Europe. Historical sources suggest he encountered these revolutionary ideas through a visit to centers of learning like al-Qarawiyyin.

Perhaps one of its most enduring physical legacies is its library. Founded by a sultan in 1349, it stands today as one of the world’s oldest, housing priceless manuscripts. Among its treasures is a 9th-century Quran written in elegant Kufic script on camel parchment, and the original manuscript of Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah.

The Debate: Oldest University?

Is al-Qarawiyyin truly the world’s oldest university? The answer depends on your definition. Both UNESCO and the Guinness World Records recognize it as the “oldest existing, and continually operating educational institution in the world.”

The debate arises from the term “university.” The European model, exemplified by Bologna (c. 1088), was a secular corporation of students and masters that awarded specific, named degrees (e.g., baccalaureus, magister, doctor). Al-Qarawiyyin, by contrast, grew organically from a mosque, awarded licenses (ijazahs) rather than degrees, and was not a legally autonomous entity. It was not until 1963 that it was fully integrated into Morocco’s modern state university system and began issuing degrees in the contemporary sense.

But to dismiss al-Qarawiyyin on this semantic technicality is to miss the point. It was, for centuries, the highest-level, most organized, and most comprehensive center of advanced learning in the Mediterranean world. It provided a structured, post-secondary education to thousands, preserving ancient knowledge and generating new discoveries long before its European counterparts. It is, without question, a progenitor of the modern university concept.

A Living Legacy

Today, the University of al-Qarawiyyin is a modern institution with faculties across Morocco. Yet its historic heart still beats in the Fez medina. The mosque remains an active place of worship, its courtyards echoing with more than a millennium of prayer and intellectual pursuit. The library, recently restored, is open to the public, offering a breathtaking glimpse into its scholarly past.

The story of al-gQarawiyyin is a powerful reminder that history is more complex and globally interconnected than we often assume. It began with the vision of one woman, who used her inheritance not for personal luxury, but to plant a seed of knowledge. That seed grew into a mighty tree that sheltered scholars of all backgrounds, illuminated a continent, and continues to bear fruit over 1,160 years later.