Centuries ago, a woman, Fatima Al-Fihri, took the step of giving the world what it’ll enjoy and enlighten itself for ages and in fact, forever. Today across the world and schools, research, learning, and teaching is made easier because of the presence of library in many institutions with many having no idea how it came about.
Unpopular as it may seem, the first library in the world was founded by a woman who decided to use her wealth for the community and not just herself, family or even friends. With her mass wealth, the woman would have used it for luxury or something else, but the love of education made her give to the people of the community what no one could and can still take from them – education.
Biography of Fatima Al-Fihri
Fatima, one of the two daughters of Mohammed Al Fihri, hails from Qayrawan (a small town in Tunisia), Fatima Al-Fihri was born in c. 800 in Kairouan, Abbasid Caliphate which was in the modern day Iraq. She would later migrate with her family to Fez, a city in Morocco around the 9th century with the sole aim of expanding their family business.
While growing up, Fatima and her sister Mariam had tiptop quality education which made them very interested in education. Because of this, she would go on to dedicate her life to ensuring that others get a good education.
When the family moved to Morocco, Fatima also settled and got married, but later lost her husband. Fatima’s father also passed away, leaving his children with vast wealth. With so much wealth that they inherited from their father, the sisters invested the wealth to the growth and development of their community and the world by establishing a mosque and a higher learning institution in Morocco in 885 AD which is recognized today to be the hallmark of higher education; the first and now oldest university in the world.
The World’s First University
While the building of the University withal Mosque (known as Al-Qarawiyyin, named after her hometown) was ongoing, Fatima fasted and prayed for the progress of the University and supervised the whole process of construction. The building, big enough to take more than 20,000 people, had several classes, prayer hall, courtyard and library. When the building was finished, people from all over Morocco, mostly under 30, began studying there.
The university, at first, was directed towards studying Islam and the Qur’an but later extended to studying music, astronomy, medicine, and other courses. Added to its success was its ability to graduate and offer degrees to its students. Presently, people travel from all over Africa and beyond to study at the Al-Qarawiyyin University as she did herself.
The World’s First Library
The university had one of the world’s oldest libraries in the world. The library has over 4 thousand ancient books and manuscripts. It also has one of the oldest Qur’ans of the 9th century in its original form. The library after a while had some infrastructural problems at some point and had to be shut down for restructuring before it was re-opened to scholars and researchers and subsequently to the public.
The library has become a mark and a tool for growth and development to the world today. It is helping not only students but also different people to have knowledge on the past, what is happening around them and see other people’s ideas on how to better lives; it also assists them with resources and tools for more knowledge. It is no doubt that Fatima Al-Fihri has given the world one of its best tools, which has not only sharpened it but also helped to hasten development. There are many words that come to mind when we remember the noble deeds of Al-Fihri; patient, generous, determined, intelligent, courageous, dynamic, and many more. But it cannot fully compare to her infinite deeds to humanity. The valiant works of Fatima Al-Fihri cannot be overemphasized and celebrated.
See Also: Seun Osewa: Everything You Need To Know About Nairaland Founder
Even after Fatima’s death in 880, the Al-Qarawiyyin University of over 1,000 years still holds is sublime prestige all over the world. It is acknowledged by the Guinness World Record as well as UNESCO as the first and oldest university and library in the world. It has taught many religious and academic scholars celebrated in the world today such as Ibn Khaldun, a great scholar of sociology, Pope Sylvester 11, famous for originating Arabic numbers, Muhammad al-Idrisi, a famous astronomer and many more scholars.
The university and the library have not only changed our world of today to a better place through learning and teaching but have been able to open doors for many who have taken the route to learning and a lot who will. Many institutions were able to surface are going the same path Fatima did, and for that alone, her name will not be forgotten in time. When the names of great men and women of all times are called, Fatima Al-Fihri’s name should be mentioned as well for she was able to do justice to humanity through charity like Mother Theresa, a leader as Lincoln, a lover of education like Comenius. She indeed walked on the sands of time and left her footprints for generations and more generations to see. Despite a part of history, her works are still enjoyed by the present and will still be enjoyed by the future.
