Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt is one of the

oldest universities in the world. It is connected to

the masjid in Cairo named to honour Fatima Az-

Zahraa (may Allah be pleased with her), the

daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and

blessings of Allah be on him) from whom the

Fatimid Dynasty claimed descent. Studies began

at Al-Azhar in the month of Ramadan 975 CE.

The university (Jami’ah) had faculties in Islamic

law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Islamic

astronomy, Islamic philosophy, and logic. In the

12th century, following the overthrow of the Shia

Fatimid dynasty, Salahuddin Ayyubi converted

Al-Azhar to a Shafi’ite Sunni center of learning.

References: ClassicalIslam.com by graduate of

Darul-Uloom London, Wikipedia