However, the classification of madaris as "universities" is disputed on the question of understanding of each institution on its own terms. In madaris, the ijazahs were only issued in one field, the Islamic religious law of shariah, and in no other field of learning. Other academic subjects, including the natural sciences, philosophy and literary studies, were only treated "ancillary" to the study of the Sharia. For example, a natural science like astronomy was only studied (if at all) to supply religious needs, like the time for prayer. This is why Ptolemaic astronomy was considered adequate, and is still taught in some modern day madaris. The Islamic law undergraduate degree from al-Azhar, the most prestigious madrasa, was traditionally granted without final examinations, but on the basis of the students' attentive attendance to courses. In contrast to the medieval doctorate which was granted by the collective authority of the faculty, the Islamic degree was not granted by the teacher to the pupil based on any formal criteria, but remained a "personal matter, the sole prerogative of the person bestowing it; no one could force him to give one".
What was the purpose of studying natural sciences in madaris?
supply religious needs

The First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule, broke out in 1987, with waves of uncoordinated demonstrations and violence occurring in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Over the following six years, the Intifada became more organised and included economic and cultural measures aimed at disrupting the Israeli occupation. More than a thousand people were killed in the violence. During the 1991 Gulf War, the PLO supported Saddam Hussein and Iraqi Scud missile attacks against Israel. Despite public outrage, Israel heeded US calls to refrain from hitting back and did not participate in that war.
How many people were killed in the violence?
More than a thousand people

According to Jan Nattier, the term Mahayana "Great Vehicle" was originally even an honorary synonym for Bodhisattvayana "Bodhisattva Vehicle." The Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra, an early and important Mahayana text, contains a simple and brief definition for the term bodhisattva: "Because he has enlightenment as his aim, a bodhisattva-mahasattva is so called."
The Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra is an important text of what type?
Mahayana