The Birth of Al-Azhar
When Jawhar al-Siqilli planned for the construction of al-Qahira, he drew plans to construct a new large mosque intended to be the centre of prayers for his master al-Mu'iz and his Maghrebite followers. This mosque was first known as Jami' al-Qahira (The mosque of Cairo). It had one minaret and occupied half the area occupied by the present day al-Azhar mosque. The name, Jami' al-Qahira, remained for most of the Fatimid rule of Egypt. It is not known when the name was changed to al-Azhar and even historians differ to the cause of calling it al-Azhar. While some historians attribute the name to the remembrance to Fatima al-Zahra' [RAA] (the prophet's [PBUH] daughter), others mention that the mosque was built amidst a number of palaces known as al-Qusur al-Zahira and that the name Azhar was drawn from that name.
Since its establishment al-Azhar was the mosque in which main Friday prayers was conducted, and inhabitants of other nearby towns, Misr (al-Askar and al-Fustat combined) and al-Qatai', had to flock every Friday to al-Qahira to attend the Friday prayers and listen to the Khutba (The ritual mass addressing preceding the prayers) of the Fatimid Caliph.
The form of the Adhan (The call for prayers) and Khutba in al-Azhar, during the Fatimid era, followed the Shiite model. The mosque remained the official mosque of the Fatimid state for fourty years until the construction of Jami' al-Hakim (al-Hakim's mosque) during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah. al-Azhar was also the centre of several celebrations of the Fatimids like the celebration of the prophet's [PBUH] birthday.
Al-Azhar Becomes a University
As soon as the al-Azhar was built, al-Mu'iz instructed
his friend Ali ibn al-Nu'man to make a halaqa (a tutoring circle) for
teaching the Ismaili-Shiite jurisprudence. Ali ibn al-Nu'man belonged to a
Maghrebite family who followed the same beliefs of their Fatimid masters. His
father wrote a book in Ismaili jurisprudence known as al-Ikhtisar . It
was this book that started the Azharite education. The first halaqa took
place in 975.
This halaqa was followed by others, which were headed by Ali ibn
al-Nu'man's brothers. So al-Nu'man's family formed the intellectual elite of
the Fatimids and became the first teachers in al-Azhar. The halaqas in
al-Azhar were paralleled by others that were present in Egypt before the
Fatimid rule. These included halaqas in the mosques of Amr ibn al-As and
ibn-Tulun.
In the year 998, al-Azhar moved a further step in becoming an Islamic
university. The Fatimid caliph al-`Azeez Billah approved a proposal by his
trusted minister Ya'qub ibn Kils to organize the Azharite education. He
proposed to allocate a number of regular teachers to the education process in
al-Azhar. The future teachers were to be educated by ibn-Kils personally and
this system was to be the nucleous of the Azharite academic education.
Furthermore these teachers would follow an organized curriculum and they would
recieve regular payments from the Fatimid government.
The education in al-Azhar concentrated on the Ismaili-Shiite beliefs, but
eventually Arabic grammar, literature and history were included. The historian
al-Makrizi states that in the early years of the Fatimid rule, the sectarian
education was so strict in al-Azhar that the ownership of a book authored by a
Sunni scholar was severly punished. This tradition eased when the Fatimids
built another mosque whose school took the lead of Ismaili-Shiite teachings
from al-Azhar. This school was Dar al-Hikma .
Al-Azhar And Dar al-Hikma
In the year 1005 AD, the sixth Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi
Amr Allah ordered the construction of another mosque in his own name (Jami'
al-Hakim) along with a school called Dar al-Hikma. It was this school which
took the lead from al-Azhar (or Jami' al-Qahira as it was called in that time)
in propagating the Ismaili-Shiite teachings.
The main purpose of building Dar al-Hikma in addition to al-Azhar was to
instruct the secret beliefs of the heretic sect to selected students, whereas
al-Azhar was meant for public education. Nevertheless Dar al-Hikma had a wide
scope of sciences that was taught in its halaqas . These sciences
included Arabic language, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine and
astrology.
The establishment of Dar al-Hikma lowered the sectarian tone of Azharite
education, and non-Ismaili books became tolerated. At the same time the
Ismaili-Shiite teaching in al-Azhar became limited to some Shii jurispudence,
whereas the extreme forms of Ismailism was transferred to Dar al-Hikma.
The secretive exteremist teachings that were taught in Dar al-Hikma leaked
out of the school and its role in converting students to its beliefs leaked and
was met by a revolt in the Cairean population. The Fatimids at one time had to
close the school and then reopened it after cancelling its secretive courses.
In the years when Dar al-Hikma emerged over al-Azhar as the centre of Fatimid
education, several prominent figures who visited Egypt were educated in it.
These include the Persian poet and traveller Naser-i-Khusru who had his
Ismaili education in Dar al-Hikma and Hassan-i-Sabbah the founder of the
Hashashin order in Persia.
Since its establishment al-Azhar was the mosque in which main Friday prayers was conducted, and inhabitants of other nearby towns, Misr (al-Askar and al-Fustat combined) and al-Qatai', had to flock every Friday to al-Qahira to attend the Friday prayers and listen to the Khutba (The ritual mass addressing preceding the prayers) of the Fatimid Caliph.
The form of the Adhan (The call for prayers) and Khutba in al-Azhar, during the Fatimid era, followed the Shiite model. The mosque remained the official mosque of the Fatimid state for fourty years until the construction of Jami' al-Hakim (al-Hakim's mosque) during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi Amr Allah. al-Azhar was also the centre of several celebrations of the Fatimids like the celebration of the prophet's [PBUH] birthday.
Al-Azhar Becomes a University
As soon as the al-Azhar was built, al-Mu'iz instructed
his friend Ali ibn al-Nu'man to make a halaqa (a tutoring circle) for
teaching the Ismaili-Shiite jurisprudence. Ali ibn al-Nu'man belonged to a
Maghrebite family who followed the same beliefs of their Fatimid masters. His
father wrote a book in Ismaili jurisprudence known as al-Ikhtisar . It
was this book that started the Azharite education. The first halaqa took
place in 975.
This halaqa was followed by others, which were headed by Ali ibn
al-Nu'man's brothers. So al-Nu'man's family formed the intellectual elite of
the Fatimids and became the first teachers in al-Azhar. The halaqas in
al-Azhar were paralleled by others that were present in Egypt before the
Fatimid rule. These included halaqas in the mosques of Amr ibn al-As and
ibn-Tulun.
In the year 998, al-Azhar moved a further step in becoming an Islamic
university. The Fatimid caliph al-`Azeez Billah approved a proposal by his
trusted minister Ya'qub ibn Kils to organize the Azharite education. He
proposed to allocate a number of regular teachers to the education process in
al-Azhar. The future teachers were to be educated by ibn-Kils personally and
this system was to be the nucleous of the Azharite academic education.
Furthermore these teachers would follow an organized curriculum and they would
recieve regular payments from the Fatimid government.
The education in al-Azhar concentrated on the Ismaili-Shiite beliefs, but
eventually Arabic grammar, literature and history were included. The historian
al-Makrizi states that in the early years of the Fatimid rule, the sectarian
education was so strict in al-Azhar that the ownership of a book authored by a
Sunni scholar was severly punished. This tradition eased when the Fatimids
built another mosque whose school took the lead of Ismaili-Shiite teachings
from al-Azhar. This school was Dar al-Hikma .
Al-Azhar And Dar al-Hikma
In the year 1005 AD, the sixth Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi
Amr Allah ordered the construction of another mosque in his own name (Jami'
al-Hakim) along with a school called Dar al-Hikma. It was this school which
took the lead from al-Azhar (or Jami' al-Qahira as it was called in that time)
in propagating the Ismaili-Shiite teachings.
The main purpose of building Dar al-Hikma in addition to al-Azhar was to
instruct the secret beliefs of the heretic sect to selected students, whereas
al-Azhar was meant for public education. Nevertheless Dar al-Hikma had a wide
scope of sciences that was taught in its halaqas . These sciences
included Arabic language, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, medicine and
astrology.
The establishment of Dar al-Hikma lowered the sectarian tone of Azharite
education, and non-Ismaili books became tolerated. At the same time the
Ismaili-Shiite teaching in al-Azhar became limited to some Shii jurispudence,
whereas the extreme forms of Ismailism was transferred to Dar al-Hikma.
The secretive exteremist teachings that were taught in Dar al-Hikma leaked
out of the school and its role in converting students to its beliefs leaked and
was met by a revolt in the Cairean population. The Fatimids at one time had to
close the school and then reopened it after cancelling its secretive courses.
In the years when Dar al-Hikma emerged over al-Azhar as the centre of Fatimid
education, several prominent figures who visited Egypt were educated in it.
These include the Persian poet and traveller Naser-i-Khusru who had his
Ismaili education in Dar al-Hikma and Hassan-i-Sabbah the founder of the
Hashashin order in Persia.
