An Ijazah, meaning “authorization,” “permission,” or “license” in Arabic, is a document that grants its holder the right to teach a particular text or subject. The issuer of the Ijazah is typically someone who already possesses the required knowledge and authority. The transmission of Islamic religious knowledge is often associated with Ijazah. Although originally, an Ijazah required first-hand oral instruction from the issuer, this requirement has been relaxed over time. Ijazahs typically include a chain of authorized transmitters going back to the original author and are often accompanied by texts of hadith, fiqh, and tafsir. However, they can also be found in mystical, historical, philological, and literary works. While the Ijazah is most commonly associated with Sunni Islam, the concept can also be found in the Hadith traditions of Twelver Shia.
According to George Makdisi, who was a professor of oriental studies, the Ijazah could have been the original source of the university academic degree and the doctorate. This view is shared by other scholars, including Alfred Guillaume, who was a professor of Arabic, Syed Farid al-Attas, who was a professor of Sociology, and Devin J. Stewart, who was a professor of Middle Eastern Studies. However, some scholars, such as Toby Huff, do not support Makdisi’s theory. Devin J. Stewart also points out that there is a difference in the granting authority between the Ijazah and the university degree. The Ijazah is typically granted by an individual professor, while a corporate entity is responsible for awarding university degrees.
The Idea of Ijazah
In the early development of Hadith scholarship, a fundamental “journey in search of knowledge” system was established. This involved traveling to specific authorities, known as shaykhs, particularly the most renowned and experienced scholars of the time. Students would listen to the shaykhs’ hadiths directly from their mouths and obtain their permission or “ijazah” to transmit those hadiths in the shaykhs’ names. This personal certification system of ijazah was not limited to Hadith but applied to the transmission of texts in general. The certification of a text through ijazah reflects the oral, in-person, teacher-to-student transmission of the text, which validates the written version. A formal written ijazah issued by the teacher includes an “isnad,” which is the chain of transmission going back to the Prophet through Companions, a respected later shaykh, or the author of a specific book. The isnad of a manuscript, whether long or short, ideally reflects the teacher’s ijazah.
History of Ijazah
As per the Lexikon des Mittelalters and A History of the University in Europe, the roots of the European doctorate can be traced back to the early days of Christian Bible teaching in late antiquity, which evolved into high medieval teaching. There is no correlation suggested between the ijazah and the doctorate under this view. On the other hand, George Makdisi posits that the ijazah was an academic degree or doctorate issued in medieval madrasahs, similar to the one that later appeared in European medieval universities. Devin J. Stewart also draws a parallel between the two but notes a difference in the granting authority. In the 1930s, Alfred Guillaume proposed the theory of an Islamic origin of the degree, citing the ijazah as a precursor to the licentiadocendi, which Syed Farid al-Attas supports.
In a 1970 study, Makdisi initially believed that the Christian doctorate of the medieval university was the most distinct element from the Islamic ijazah certification. However, in 1989, he asserted that the ijāzah al-tadrīswa al-iftā’ (license to teach and issue legal opinions) in the medieval Islamic legal education system was the origin of the Christian medieval doctorate (licentiadocendi). Makdisi suggests that the ijazah had an influence on the magisterium of the Christian Church. He stated that to obtain a doctorate, a student had to study in a guild school of law for at least four years for the basic undergraduate course and ten years for a post-graduate course. Students were awarded doctorates after an oral examination to determine the originality of the candidate’s theses and their ability to defend them against objections in disputations set up for the purpose. Upon completing their post-graduate education, students were awarded the status of faqih (meaning “master of law”), mufti (meaning “professor of legal opinions”), and mudarris (meaning “teacher”), which were later translated into Latin as magister, professor, and doctor, respectively.
Ijazatattadris were granted by madrasas in various subjects, including Sharia Law, mathematics, astrology, medicine, pharmacology, and philosophy. Although Sharia Law was the primary focus of most madrasas, other fields such as medicine saw significant advancements, including the invention of the first hospital and the discovery of pulmonary blood flow. The prestigious Al-Azhar University granted Islamic law degrees based on attendance rather than final exams, while postgraduate doctorates required an oral examination. Makdisi suggested that the granting of degrees was similar to that of the early University of Bologna, where degrees were initially granted by professors and limited to law before expanding to other subjects. However, Norman Daniel criticized Makdisi’s work, arguing that there was no historical evidence for a transmission between the two education systems and pointing out a lack of evidence for schools in Arab settlements of France and mainland Italy. Toby Huff also argued that the Islamic madrasahs did not have an equivalent to the bachelor’s or doctorate degrees due to the lack of a unified curriculum.
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