All Topics  
Ijazah

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ijazah
 
 
  Topics Ijazah Topic Home

An ijazah is a certificate used primarily by Muslims to indicate that one has been authorized by a higher authority to transmit a certain subject or text of Islamic knowledge
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
. This usually implies that the student has learned this knowledge through face-to-face interactions "at the feet" of the teacher.

In a paper titled Traditionalism in Islam: An Essay in Interpretation, Harvard professor William A.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ijazah'
Start a new discussion about 'Ijazah'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


An ijazah is a certificate used primarily by Muslims to indicate that one has been authorized by a higher authority to transmit a certain subject or text of Islamic knowledge
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
. This usually implies that the student has learned this knowledge through face-to-face interactions "at the feet" of the teacher.

In a paper titled Traditionalism in Islam: An Essay in Interpretation, Harvard professor William A. Graham explains the ijazah system as follows:

Origins of academic degree

The Ijazah qualification appeared from the 9th century and is considered to be the first academic degree
Academic degree

A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as University, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study....
. The first higher education
Higher education

Higher education refers to a level of education that is provided by university, vocational university, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, Institute of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as Vocational school, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic degrees or professional certifications....
 institutions to award an Ijazah in the 9th century, namely the Madrasah
Madrasah

File:Registan_-_Sherdor_madrasa.jpgMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of school, whether secular or religious . It is variously Arabic transliteration as madrasah, madarasaa, medresa, madrassa, madraza, madarsa, etc....
, Jami`ah and Bimaristan
Bimaristan

Bimaristan is a middle Persian and Persian language word meaning hospital, with Bimar- from Pahlavi of vimar or vemar, meaning "sick" plus -stan as location and place suffix....
 institutions, are thus considered the first college
College

File:Government college for Women Dhoke Kala Khan.JPGCollege is a term most often used today to denote an education institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of collegialitys, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals....
s, universities
University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education....
 and medical school
Medical school

A medical school is a tertiary educational institution?or part of such an institution?that teaches medicine.In addition to a medical degree program, some medical schools offer programs leading to a Master's Degree, Doctor of Philosophy , or other post-secondary education....
s respectively. The University of Al Karaouine
University of Al Karaouine

The University of Al-Karaouine or Al-Qarawiyyin is a university located in Fes, Morocco. Founded in 859, as a religous school, the university is one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world....
 in Fez, Morocco is thus recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records
Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized...
 as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its founding in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri
Fatima al-fihri

Fatima al-Fihri was the daughter of Mohammed al-Fihri, with whom she migrated to Fes%2C_Morocco, Morocco from Qairawan, located in present-day Tunisia....
.

The origins of the doctorate
Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession ....
 in particular dates back to the ijazat attadris wa 'l-ifttd ("license to teach and issue legal opinions") in the medieval Islamic legal
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
 education system
Madrasah

File:Registan_-_Sherdor_madrasa.jpgMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of school, whether secular or religious . It is variously Arabic transliteration as madrasah, madarasaa, medresa, madrassa, madraza, madarsa, etc....
, which was equivalent to the Doctor of Laws
Doctor of Laws

Doctor of Laws is a doctorate-level academic degree in law. What follows is a country-by-country analysis of earned doctorates in law, which are the most analogous to the concept of the LL.D....
 qualification and was developed during the 9th century after the formation of the Madh'hab legal schools. To obtain a doctorate, a student "had to study in a guild
Guild

File:Windsorguildhall.jpgA guild is an association of artisan in a particular trade. The earliest guilds were formed as confraternities of workers....
 school of law
Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education....
, usually four years for the basic undergraduate
Undergraduate education

Undergraduate education is education taken prior to gaining a first degree, hence in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is known as undergraduate, while students of higher degrees are...
 course" and at least ten years for a post-graduate
Postgraduate education

Postgraduate education involves studying for Academic degree or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree is required, and is normally considered to be part of tertiary or higher education....
 course. The "doctorate was obtained after an oral examination
Test (student assessment)

A test or an examination is an assessment, often administered on paper or on the Computer-adaptive testing, intended to measure the test-takers' or respondents' knowledge, skills, aptitudes, or classification in many other topics ....
 to determine the originality of the candidate's theses," and to test the student's "ability to defend them against all objections, in disputation
Disputation

In the scholasticism system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences....
s set up for the purpose" which were scholarly exercises practiced throughout the student's "career as a graduate student of law
Legal education

Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end, either related to law or business....
." After students completed their post-graduate education, they were awarded doctorates giving them the status of faqih
Faqih

A Faqih is an expert in fiqh, or, Islamic jurisprudence.A faqih is an expert in Islamic Law, and as such the word Faqih can literally be generally translated as Jurist....
 (meaning "master of law"), mufti
Mufti

A mufti is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . A muftiat or diyanet is a council of muftis....
 (meaning "professor of legal opinions
Fatwa

A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
") and mudarris (meaning "teacher"), which were later translated into Latin as magister
Magister (degree)

Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education....
, professor
Professor

The meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the Academic department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual....
 and doctor
Doctor (title)

Doctor means teacher in Latin language. The word is originally an agentive noun of the verb docere . It has been used continuously as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the university....
 respectively.

See also


External links