Returned from Morocco yesterday, enriched & exhilarated. For me the stand out was my visit to the world's oldest university founded by a woman.
In the heart of Fes stands the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University , founded in 859 CE by Fatima al-Fihri, a visionary Muslim woman whose devotion to faith and learning transformed her inheritance into a legacy of light. Born in Kairouan, Tunisia, and later settling in Morocco, Fatima used her wealth to build a mosque and madrasa that grew into the worldโs oldest continuously operating university, now recognized by UNESCO.
Under her guidance, Al-Qarawiyyin became a hub of global scholarship , welcoming thinkers like Ibn Khaldun and Maimonides, and influencing European universities centuries later. Her sister Mariam built the nearby Al-Andalus Mosque, and together, they embodied the Islamic ideal of sadaqah jariyah -a charity that continues to benefit generations.
At the heart of Islam lies the command to seek knowledge - โRecite in the name of your Lord who createdโฆ Who taught by the penโ (Qurโan 96:1โ5). This divine imperative was never gendered; it calls every believer, male and female, to learn, reflect, and grow. Fatimaโs madrasa welcomed both men and women, reminding us that barriers to learning are cultural, not Quranic.
In a world where womenโs access to education is still contested, Fatima al-Fihriโs story shines as both a rebuke and a beacon & is a proof that Islamโs foundation rests on โilm (knowledge), compassion, and equality.
More than 1,100 years later, Al-Qarawiyyin remains active , housing one of the worldโs oldest libraries and symbolizing the eternal bond between faith and intellect.
Let Fatimaโs legacy inspire us today: to invest in knowledge, to uplift others, and to remember that an educated woman doesnโt just elevate herself, she illuminates the world.
And it was the first university because it was the first to issue degrees.
#FatimaAlFihri #AlQarawiyyin #Fes #WomenInIslam #IslamicHeritage #KnowledgeIsLight #FaithAndLearning