Islamic Educational Spaces: Architecture of Madrasah and Muslim Educational Institutions

Abstract

Mosque (both as masjid or jami’) is recognized as the first Muslim educational space for formal and informal learnings, for children and adult alike. Although the mosque remained as one of the primary centers of Islamic studies in various disciplines to this day, the Muslim cities from the Middle Ages onward have witnessed the emergence of specific institutions for Islamic education. Kuttābs or maktabs were primary education institutions often small scale but, in some instances, housed in a specific building consisted of a large, domed, unadorned hall in which all the pupils sat cross-legged on mattresses in a rough semicircle, usually next to low desks. Such buildings were generally erected by philanthropists and informed by the traditional architecture in form and structure. The first turn in formation of a specific Islamic higher education space was the majid-khan complex in which hujrahs (dormitories) and madras (study spaces) were built adjacent to the mosques. Madrasah buildings were formed in eastern lands of the Muslim World inspired by Khurāsāni vernecular architecture. With the selection of Isfahan as the capital of Ṣafavīd in 1722, the city was labeled Dār al-‘Ilm (The House of Knowledge) and reached fame in the Islamic world for its educational institutions. Among other achievements, Isfahan is credited for the innovation and design of an Islamic educational space. Isfahani architects utilized classic Persian architecture with its internal garden, formerly used extensively in Persian style mosques, to madrasah buildings. The model spread later to most of the Muslim world as the classic model of madrasah building.

The design of the madrasahs like any other architectural structure of the Islamic world was informed by Islamic rules and principles and reflects the social, political, and economic values of the Muslim society. Despite the diversity of the architectural typologies among various Islamic societies, such principles have resulted in formation of common spatial qualities in Islamic educational spaces.

This chapter provides a cross-disciplinary review of the architectural foundations of the Islamic institutions of education. Through a review of various models of madrasah architecture in different historical eras, the chapter provides an account on the development, taxonomy, and common characteristics of Islamic educational spaces in various parts of the Muslim world.