The Somali Quran school

In the harsh realities of rural life—defined by tending livestock, cultivating crops, and the constant search for pasture and water—the luckiest family might find a way to send one of their children to school. They either enrol the child in a malcaamad, a traditional Quranic school, or, if they are fortunate, send them to relatives in the city to attend both madrasa (modern Quranic school) and regular school.

Quranic teachers are often few and far between in rural areas. On the rare occasion that one is found, it is usually a wandering teacher who has settled within the community, or one who arrives in response to local demand. Once a teacher is secured, they begin to establish a teaching centre. This is simpler than one might think. Unlike in the cities, it doesn’t require foreign aid or NGO support to build or refurbish a site. Lessons might be conducted under a large, shaded tree (waab), or the community might build a dergad—a simple structure made from wood and mud—or, more rarely, a jiingad, a metal shack. 

With the teacher in place and the centre set up, each family begins to decide which of their children will be spared from the daily struggles of life to attend the Quranic school. This is not a difficult decision. Parents instinctively know which child has the potential for success in education, based on their ability to grasp new concepts. The unwritten criteria are that the child should be young, intelligent, and usually male. Young, because it is believed that older children have lost their ability to learn due to their “outgrown tongues,” meaning their capacity to absorb new information has diminished over time. Male, because traditionally there were fewer opportunities for women to become sheikha or religious scholars. To be fair, this was not due to hatred or disregard for females, but rather the absence of equal opportunities for women to become sheikha in the future. 

The learning materials were not fancy items that constantly required money to buy or replace. Instead of books, students used a loox—a flat wooden board, often cut from kidi—and instead of pens, they carved small sticks from ergeyg. These were dipped into homemade ink made from ground charcoal diluted with water, thickened with either half a spoon of sugar or the sap of Aloe Vera (sab) to help it adhere to the loox when written upon. Interestingly, the small amount of sugar added to the ink made it sweet. As a result, students not only used their pens to write, but also licked them occasionally. This habit led to an amusing yet well-known consequence: their stool would turn black. It became a common way to identify Quranic students, and there was even a popular saying about their distinctive condition.  

When students are admitted to the Quranic school, parents pay a small sum of money called fadhiisin as an admission fee. On the first day, the students arrive with their loox, pen, and ink—no uniform is needed. Then the teaching begins. The Quran is not taught until the students have mastered the spelling of its words. This is one area where traditional Quranic schools outshine modern ones. In the traditional setting, students are given ample time to learn the proper spelling of Quranic words before they even begin reading the Quran. This foundation allows them to start the Quran with confidence and fluency, enabling them to finish it in a shorter period than students in modern Quranic schools. The spelling of the Quran is taught in Somali, which helps students grasp it more easily. 

In the traditional Quranic school, there is a belief that the Quran is best attained through three essential attributes: a scholarly teacher (macallin qaari ah), a student with a loud voice (arday qeylo dheer), and a pen with a broad writing edge (qalin farweyn). The scholarly teacher possesses the skill and precision to teach the Quran accurately. The student’s loud voice allows the teacher to immediately detect errors or mispronunciations. The broad-edged pen ensures clear writing, reducing the chance of misreading or confusion. 

Another key factor in the success of a Quranic teaching centre is teacher retention. Since teachers often come from distant places or other communities, they may leave at any time if they do not feel comfortable in their new environment or if a better opportunity arises elsewhere. To address this, the elders of the community may sometimes offer the teacher one of their daughters in marriage, ensuring he becomes fully integrated into the community. This gesture of hospitality helps ensure the teacher remains and continues to educate the children.

Despite the simplicity of life in the traditional Quranic school, there was one painful aspect of the experience that everyone associated with it: discipline. If students made a simple mistake or failed to prepare for the day’s lesson, they faced severe punishment—often involving a heavy strike with a wooden stick. This form of discipline was, to some extent, accepted even by the parents. Historically, it was understood that parents had given the teacher permission to discipline their children, provided no bones were broken. The phrase “strike as much as you wish, but do not break their bones” encapsulated this unspoken agreement. To both the teacher and the parents, this was not seen as cruelty, but rather the only method they knew to correct misbehaviour. 

When a student successfully completes a juz (a section of the Quran), their family hosts a celebration known as bunayn. The event honours the child’s achievement and includes prayers for their continued success in the next chapters. The teacher and fellow students gather at the child's home, where they are treated to a special meal—usually lunch—and given popcorn and sweaters brought from a nearby town. After the meal and a little rest, a family elder requests the teacher to offer prayers for the child and the household. The teacher then begins a chanting supplication, saying caloosha ayaa ducaysa, meaning “a full stomach prays better than words.”

Upon the completion of the entire Quran, the teacher is traditionally compensated with livestock—typically a mature she-camel (qaalin geel ah). Monetary compensation is minimal, aside from the fadhiisin admission fee and a modest monthly contribution (around $1 per child) to cover the teacher’s basic needs. Both the teacher and the students hold a deeply respected status within the community. Whenever there is a religious gathering or a difficult situation in the community, they are often called upon. It is widely believed that the prayers of Quranic students are more readily accepted than those of others, hence the saying: Qalin Qoyan—recognition of their spiritual significance.