Islamic Educational Institutions Can the Heritage Be Sustained?

Abstract

Historical Background
By way of background, I shall give a brief summary of Islamic educational
institutions. First, according to Shalaby, the institution where the
Qur’an, Hadith (sayings and deeds related to the Prophet Muhammad),
Arabic grammar, stories of the prophets, reading, and writing were
taught is the maktub (elementary school). This maktub is different from
the Dar al-Arqam (see previous article), where the early Muslims
received their “quality” of training (educational framework of thinking
and practicing). Bashier describes the Dar al-Arqam as “a sort of school
out of which the best cadres of nascent Islam graduated.” It is my contention
that the Dar al-Arqam was more a nmjh (i.e., a place where discussion,
teaching, and learning activities took place) Moreover, according
to Makdisi the maktab became known as
the institution of learning where elementary education took place
and the studies which led to the level of higher education, such as
specialization in law.
For him, the maktab was recognized as an elementary school where
“khan, calligraphy or writing, . . . [was] taught, as well as the Koran, the
creed (i‘tiqad) and poetry.” This claim is supported by Tibawi who
asserts that “teachers . . . receive[d] pupils in special places possibly a
room in a house . . . for instruction . . . known as [m]aktab or [kuttab,
both derived from the Arabic root ‘to write This idea of the maktab as
having been an elementary school is vindicated by the fact that pupils
entered the school at ages seven to ten, and were placed under the care
of the mu‘allim (the most common term used to designate the teacher of
pupils at elementary level). according to Makdisi, studies of the maktab
led to study in a “masjid-college or madrasa and to the halqat of the
Second, after the arrival of the Prophet (May the peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) in Madinah, the first mosque in Islam (Masjid
Quba) was erected. The mosque became the major institution in Islam
for the dissemination of Islamic education, and its importance cannot be
denied. It was used as a political and cultural center, a court of justice, an
educational institution, and above all a place of worship. For this reason,
the mosque is considered the “first institution of learning.” ...