Educational Tradition of Ijāzah in Islamic History with Reference to Persian Milieu

Abstract

From the earliest periods of Islamic history and civilization, the educational system was originally religious in nature. It began with the mosque as its centre, from which other educational institutions such as the maktab, the bayt al-hikmah, the majālis, the dār al-‛ulūm, and the madāris gradually developed. In addition, from the vast fields of medicine, astronomy and the devotional sciences emerges the advent of hospitals, observatories, and the zāwiyah within Sūfī fraternities. In the aforementioned educational institutions, students were trained in different fields of Islamic studies that systematically includes both transmitted and applied subjects by their professors. Moreover, they were able to select their professors as they wished. When they had completed their studies, according to a certain level of proficiency to the professor’s satisfaction, they would traditionally be accorded a ‘licence to teach’, a so-called ijāzah, either by one professor or by more than one. It is this ijāzah tradition which has a long history in Muslim education, which deserved special attention where the Persian milieu were part of this tradition right from the beginning; and in some places until the present day. Ijāzah tradition played a very significant role not only among Muslims but also among other religions; therefore, this article studies this unique educational tradition with special reference to Persian milieu. Keywords: Education, ijāzah, Islamic civilization, Islamic history, Persian milieu