One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University by M.O. Yuksel

In the ninth century, Fatima al-Fihri was a little girl with a deep love of learning and a big dream. While a small child, she wanted to learn about the world around her. At this time, while boys attended school, girls such as Fatima were educated at home by tutors. So, she studied the Qur'an and worked on her math problems. Her faith taught her that knowledge was very important. As a result, Fatima had a dream to build a school for all students.

Then one day, war came to her town, and Fatima and her family had to flee to Fez, Morocco. Still Fatima continued to hold on to her dream to build a school one day, to continue her education. Life carried on, with Fatima accompanying her father to work at the souq. Eventually, Fatima grew up and got married. Her family prospered and became wealthy. But then her father and her husband both died.

With the fortune left to her by her father and her husband, Fatima began to consider how best to use this money. She decided to build a school where students from all over the world, including the poor and refugees could live and study for free. This school would teach many subjects including history, geometry and poetry and offer degrees.

Fatima drew up plans for the school and during its construction, she fasted to show her "passion, gratitude, and faith." She was involved in every aspect of the construction including the type of stone used, the mosaics on the walls and even the carvings on the ceiling. She named the school, al-Qarawiyyin, the name of her hometown in Tunisia. It was a school, a mosque and a library. 

Soon students began arriving and Fatima was thrilled. Her school, still open today, has taught students for over a thousand years.

Discussion

One Wish offers young readers the story of Fatima al-Fihri who fulfilled a life-long dream to create a school open to all students, including girls.

Fatima al-Fihri was born in Kairouan, Tunisia, into the family of a merchant, Mohamed al-Fihri. Her parents valued the education of girls. Fatima, her sister Miriam and father emigrated to Morocco along with many Tunisians during this century. It is possible that the violence that erupted over the un-Islamic taxes by the ruling government at the time, led to Fatima's family and many others to flee Tunisia. In Fes, Tunisia, Fatima's father became wealthy through hard work. When she came into significant wealth after the death of her father, she was able to move forward with her dream of creating a special school open to all students, from any country. 

Fes was a relatively new town, and as the population grew rapidly there were not enough schools. With their new wealth both Fatima and her sister founded mosques. Fatima's original school consisted of a mosque, library and a large number of classrooms but soon grew in size and prestige. The students were all boys but there was a means for girls to listen to teachers. The subjects offered for study included astronomy, languages and natural sciences. It was founded in 859 A.D. and eventually became the University of al-Qarawiyyin, - the first degree-granting educational institute in the world.  Fatima herself studied there and it is believed that Pope Sylvester II was also a student.

Its library is considered one of the oldest in the world with over four thousand manuscripts. It was recently renovated, the update designed by Canadian-Moroccan architect, Aziza Chaouni. You can see Fatima's original diploma - presented on a wooden board.

One Wish captures the essential facts as we know them of Fatima al-Fihir's life and her contributions. Although little historical information is available on Fatima's early life, Yuksel has presented her story with a focus on Fatima's dream of establishing a school, her love of learning and the belief that education should be available to all, including girls. Fatima and her sister Miriam could have used their newly acquired wealth in other ways, but their generosity ensured the education of many people down through the centuries. Her story is illustrated in the richly coloured panels created by artist Mariam Quraishi who used gouache and watercolor on Arches hot pressed paper. 

The author offers more biographical information about Fatima at the back of the book in the form of an Author's Note. There is also more information on The University of Al-Qarawiyyin.

Book Details:

One Wish: Fatima al-Fihri and the World's Oldest University by M.O. Yuksel
New York: HarperCollins Publishers      2022