The Teaching Method of Abu Abdallah al-Sharif al-Tilimsani in the 8th Hijri / 14th Century CE — His Career and His Scholarly and Educational Positions

Abstract

The purpose of this text is to document the method of teaching which was employed by Abu Abdallah al Sharif al-Tilimsani during the 8th Hijri Century as well as describe his academic employment and standing within the context of Zayyanid controlled Tlemcen. Tlemcen had attained a great intellectual flourishing, and Abu Abdallah al-Sharif al-Tilimsani came from a great lineage of scholars and studied with some of the greatest scholars in the Zayyanid sphere including Tlemcen, Tunis, and Fez, thereby allowing him to master all of the transmitted and rational sciences available at that time. Abu Abdallah al-Sharif provided evidence of his admirable qualities as a scholar through his humility, patience, and respect for the scholarly community and, although he was still near-to the political authority, he showed no evidence of flattering it. Abu Abdallah al-Sharif al-Tilimsani's method for teaching included using dialogue as a means of having his students learn through encouraging them and they had a great deal of freedom in their learning, where he focused on creating strong scholarly personalities among his students rather than on overwhelming his students with excessive writing assignments. In addition, he placed great emphasis on conducting research, debating, and developing the capabilities of his students. The many years of influence which Abu Abdallah al-Sharif al-Tilimsani has had upon his students demonstrate how effective and successful Abu Abdallah al-Sharif al-Tilimsani's method of teaching was with respect to disseminating knowledge and creating intellectually capable individuals.