Introduction:

Seeking knowledge has been an integral part of the Islamic

tradition. The early years of Koranic revelations to the Prophet
were embedded in the oral tradition. Similar to the verses of good
poetry, revelations of the Koran inspired the people of rabia and
they memori!ed the verses. "owever, as Islam e#panded and it
became necessary to preserve this vast knowledge, these verses
were written down and compiled into various chapters. This
compilation became to be the book of Islam, the Koran.
$rom early on, Islam emphasi!ed two types of knowledge,
revealed and earthly %i.e., revealed knowledge that comes
straight from &od and earthly knowledge that is to be discovered
by human beings themselves. Islam considers both to be of vital
importance and directs its followers, both men and women, to go
and seek knowledge'. $or (uslims, the Koran is the perfect word
of &od, sacred and therefore cannot be changed. It should be
memori!ed from start to )nish. *nce a person has memori!ed it,
he+she must re,ect on these verses and have a detailed
understanding of its meaning and interpretation over the lifetime.
person who has mastered it would carry the knowledge of Islam
in his+her heart and spread the word to the ones who encounter
him+her. ccording to Islam, seeking earthly knowledge is also
important because earthly knowledge compliments the
knowledge revealed by &od in the Koran and helps (uslims to live
productive and good lives in this world.
The )rst known (adrassa is said to have been established in
'--. / by the $atimid caliphs in 0gypt. This (adrassa taught the
minority Shi1ite version of Islam. It had all the ingredients of an
educational institution. It had a library, teachers for di2erent
sub3ects were appointed and students who were admitted were
provided with ink, pens and papers free of charge. n interesting
fact about this (adrassa is that a catalogue of inventory of this
(adrassa prepared in '-4. revealed that it had 5.-- volumes on
di2erent sub3ects, including astronomy, architecture and
philosophy6. 7hen the Sunni (uslims con8uered 0gypt, they
revamped the Shi1ite version of Islam in this (adrassa and
replaced it with the Sunni version, destroyed the books and
manuscripts that seemed contrary to their version of Islam and
preserved the volumes that related to the earthly knowledge.
huge number of books were taken to 9aghdad where a Sel3uk
:i!ier called ;i!am<ul<(ulk "assan 9in l<Tusi, established the
)rst organi!ed (adrassa in '-5=.
>riticisms
The 9/11 attack on the US and other recent attacks have resulted in non-Muslims
indicting Islam as a violent religion. The Qur'an's teachings on matters of ar and !eace
have "ecome to!ics of heated discussion in recent #ears. $n the one hand% some critics
claim that certain verses of the Qur'an sanction militar# action against un"elievers as a
hole "oth during the lifetime of Muhammad and after. The Qur'an sa#s% &'ight in the
name of #our religion ith those ho fight against #ou.& $n the other hand% other
scholars argue that such verses of the Qur'an are inter!reted out of conte(t% and argue
that hen the verses are read in conte(t it clearl# a!!ears that the Qur'an !rohi"its
aggression% and allos fighting onl# in self-defense.