Question: how were muslim states governed in the early middle ages

title: Islamic Golden Age
text: The University of Al Karaouine , founded in 859 AD , is arguably the world 's oldest degree - granting university . The Al - Azhar University was another early university . Islamic `` universities '' of the Middle Ages were in fact madrasas , centers for the study of religious texts and law . Only after the Arabs came in contact with the institutions of higher learning of the Christian Greek Roman Empire during their conquests did the madrasas begin to teach other subjects as well - but the only degree granted remained that of expert in religious law : `` There was no other ' doctorate ' in any other field , no license to teach a field except that of the religious law '' . The madrasa is one of the relics of the Fatimid caliphate . The Fatimids traced their descent to Muhammad 's daughter Fatimah and named the institution using a variant of her honorific title Al - Zahra ( the brilliant ) . Organized instruction in the Al - Azhar Mosque began in 978 .