Intellectual life and education

The civilization of nations is measured by the culture they have, the thought they produced, and the art they created, and the Asiris of Jerash had something of that, by the contributions they made to spreading the Islamic religion in their countries during the appearance of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and by the contributions they made in fighting polytheism and its people, and by the contributions they made to the

Islamic conquests inside and outside the Arabian Peninsula, and their participation was not only in the military aspects, but they had great deeds in Social, commercial, intellectual and cultural aspects.

Some of them immigrated to other countries and cities and influenced and influenced their customs and traditions, food and drink, clothing and adornment. As for their influence on scientific, intellectual and cultural life, this goes back to the days when some of them welcomed the Islamic religion during the era of the Beloved Chosen One, may God bless him and grant him peace, when he lived among the Quraysh during the period of the Meccan call.

Early historical sources mention to us that some of the Jarshites converted to Islam during that period, including Damad al-Azdi, al-Sard bin Abdullah al-Azdi and others. They were among the elite of their people in their country and were proficient in some sciences and knowledge, like Damad, who had Knowledge in medical science.

The greatest evidence of this is the position of the residents of Jerash on the wars of apostasy that appeared during the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.

The Rightly Guided Caliph Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq, as only a small number of them participated in the apostasy, but the vast majority remained adherent to Islamic law, and this only happens with the presence of a good Islamic soil, scholars, jurists, and men of knowledge who explain to the people what they were ignorant of, and warn them of the danger of apostasy in which the hypocrites or those whose faith was not established in their hearts participated.

The country of Asir was known for a number of intellectual centers that were believed to be of scientific importance and cultural contribution, at different times in the history of these urban environments.

Perhaps this appropriate alertness with which the cultural cities were known came from the availability of reasons for recovery there, especially political and social, and the impact of trade routes and pilgrimage on them, as these reasons together contributed to building this intellectual and scientific life.

This is what the history of intellectual and literary development over these recent centuries has been consistent with, as is witnessed in its continuous scientific life.

The many scientific families that we have known in the modern era did not come out of nowhere, but rather are connected to a previous scientific life, in addition to the abundance of manuscripts of the Qur’an preserved in private libraries, or endowment in mosques, not to mention the spread and abundance of Shafi’i manuscripts, as well as inherited manuscript sermons.

The Asir country was not devoid of some local notables and princes who brought scholars and jurists closer together, and worked to encourage them to fight vice and strive to educate the people and give them jurisprudence in matters of their religion. During the era of the Umayyad state and the Abbasid state until the era of the Ottoman Empire, Asir Region lived in the shadow.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the withdrawal of its governor from Asir Region and the handing over of power to its local princes, the region began to live outside the shadow and was plagued by unrest, wars and strife. Knowledge and learning in the region was represented by the jurists and scholars preaching and guiding people in the markets and in the mosques. Sometimes there was someone who would teach the boys in his village or place of residence.

The place of education might be in the home of the jurist and teacher, or in one of the inhabited houses in the village. The place designated for education was given many names, the most famous of which were: a book, and its plural is a book, or a school, or a teacher, or a school, or other names that indicate that it is a place of reading and teaching.

The man of jurisprudence who teaches those who meet in this headquarters is also called by many names, including: the jurist, the volunteer, the sheikh, the teacher, the grandfather, the teacher, or the uncle, and these terms differ from one place to another according to the environment in which such activities occur.

Among the mosques that were full of teaching circles in the Asir Region during this period were the Jami’ Mosque in Rijal Almaa, which was a platform for learning and a habitat for those who sought it, and the Tabbab and Al-Saqqa Mosques, which were filled with teaching and fatwa councils.

When the school day ended, the students sang: Praise be to God who praises Thank you so much, it cannot be counted A teacher taught us something short We received it in Surah and gathered together Until we read the same as he read May God forgive us and our teacher The learner is in his hands And to our parents with his parents And Al-Fatiha, O listeners Amen, Lord of the worlds After it came under

Saudi rule, security was established, and crime was cut off by establishing borders on bandits, and by God’s law over them.

The state’s efforts were directed toward reforming and rebuilding what had been destroyed in the Asiri community during those eras that it passed through, and the process of education in the region began.

A number of judges who occupied the judiciary in the late forties and during the fifties of the fourteenth century, namely: Sheikh Muhammad bin Ismail, Sheikh Faisal Al Mubarak, Sheikh Sulaiman bin Jamhour, and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Thumairi, in addition to Friday sermons, gave a special lesson session to students of knowledge, and some of them held it in his home, such as Ibn

Jamhour, who used to give them a daily lesson after the afternoon prayer, and entice them to attend by giving them a financial reward.

Some of them held it in the mosque, and sometimes in the form of weekly sermons in the markets and places where people gathered. The matter continued in this manner, with the expansion of daily and multiple lesson sessions throughout the week.

The state created a school ((Kitab)) in the Baghdadi style to teach reading, writing, recitation of the Holy Qur’an, and some arithmetic, as was prevalent in the Arabian Peninsula at that time, consisting of Nasser bin Faraj from Rijal Almaa, and Abdul Rahman Al-Mutawa from Hijaz Asir, and the doorman Abdullah Al-Saqqa.

During the year 1354 AH, the Director of Abha Police, Talaat Bey Wafa, carried out great volunteer work outside the scope of his work and far from his specialty as police director, convincing professors Nasser bin Faraj and Abdul Rahman Al-Mutawa to expand teaching and increase its subjects by increasing the number of teachers. He was able to convince the educated state employees in finance, Mr.

Yunus bin Hamad, the accountant in finance, and his son Madani bin Yunus, who are from Medina, and Muhammad Saleh Salama, who is from Mecca.

And Suleiman Rajab, an employee in finance, and Ahmed Obaid, the director of the radio station, and notary public Abha Abdullah Badib, who is from Mecca. They responded to the invitation of the police director, Talaat Bey Wafa, by volunteering without financial compensation to give study materials at the school in addition to their work. Then Talaat Bey Wafa continued his good efforts to transform the book into a regular school.

He contacted the General Director of Education in Mecca, Mr.

Muhammad Taher Al-Dabbagh, and was able to persuade him to open a regular primary school to replace the book. After the approval of the Public Prosecutor in Mecca at that time, Prince Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rahim Al-Ahdal, Abdul Malik Al-Tarabulsi, and Muhammad Ismail Al-Abi were nominated, and Talaat Bey Wafa brought them to Abha in a car belonging to the Ministry. Finance, and after their arrival in Abha in the month of Shawwal 1355 AH.

A blessed group graduated from this school, which was called the Princely School, which was called the Saudi School. They were able to acquire administrative capabilities and experience in financial affairs and other matters through practicing various different jobs.

They contributed to teaching and occupying various positions in the interests and administrations of the state, such as the emirate’s apparatus, the offices of the court, the police, passports, and civil and financial affairs.

They had outstanding efforts, all of which were sincerity and dedication to the service of their country. Education spread, and awareness, science, knowledge, and culture entered with it into every home in the Asir Region. The Al-Aziziyah School, the Al-Faisaliah School, and the Muhammadiyah School were opened, in addition to the Saudi School.

The Scientific Institute, the Teachers’ Institute in Abha, the Primary Teachers’ Institute in Bishah, the Primary Teachers’ Institute in Al Namas, and a secondary middle school were also opened in Abha.

Then the state expanded the establishment of schools in the region until it reached sixty-three schools, in addition to night schools in some schools to combat illiteracy. At the beginning of the first five-year plan, the number of schools in its three stages, primary, intermediate, and secondary for boys and girls, did not exceed 179 schools.

With the state’s support and continued interest in the education sector and through successive five-year plans, the number of schools reached 1,308 schools, in addition to many private schools established by the private sector.

In the beginning, there was no room for technical education or university education in Asir Region, but now there are technical and health colleges, technical institutes, and training centers, in addition to many institutes and training centers established by the private sector.

In the year 1396 AH, a branch of the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University was established, with two faculties of the Arabic language, Sharia, and fundamentals of religion, and it included several specializations.

In the year 1403 AH, the branch of King Saud University was opened, which began with the College of Education, then the College of Medicine was opened, then King Khalid University was established and the branches of the two universities were added to it.

In the field of girls’ education, the number of schools in the basic stages in 1390 AH was 35 schools, and now the number of schools has become 11,010 schools and a number of colleges with eleven specializations, including a college for health sciences. The development in education was not limited to the numerical aspect, but rather to the qualitative aspect.

Modern educational buildings replaced the old buildings, and instead of simple and modest equipment, the stages of education for boys and girls were equipped with the latest technologies, methods, laboratories, computers, libraries, and activity halls, to complete human development, an integrated development that keeps pace with the times.