The Role of Schools in Islamic Society

Abstract

Education in Arabia before IslamThere are at least three opinions concerning the status of education onthe Arabian peninsula prior to the advent of Islam. The first opinionassumes that the Arabs were an illiterate people, void of any knowledgeof science or any other indicator of educational progress. It maintainsargue that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), towhom the Qur’an was revealed, was himself illiterate, thus reflecting hissociety’s educational state; and that those living in the pre-IslamicArabian peninsula were steeped in ignorance and controlled by myths,superstitions, and the worship of idols.’The second opinion concerning the days of ignorance (the pre-Islamicperiod Ijuhiliyyuh]) concentrates on the extent to which the Arabsacquired knowledge of those sciences that were necessary for their dailylives. For example, Mustafa Mutawali discusses the study of astronomyas an aid to traveling, the study of weather conditions (meteorology), andthe study of traditional healing in medicine.2 The pre-Islamic Arabs alsostudied the science of tracking, genealogy, and poetry. While this line ofhistorical research does not necessarily contradict the first, the issue isone of emphasis, with Mutawali and others demonstrating that the pre-Islamic Arabs were not totally void of knowledge.The third opinion focuses on the knowledge acquired by the upper strataof pre-Islamic Arab society. A very small minority of upper class individualswere well versed in the skills of reading, writing, mathematics,and business administration. Some scholars have asserted that only 17 ...