The Relevance of Arabic Ijaza System to Academic Certification in Nigerian Islamic Higher Education

The ijaza, or licence to transmit knowledge, is the foundational certification system of classical Islamic scholarship, operating through chains of authoritative transmission that link contemporary scholars directly to the Prophet Muhammad through named intermediaries. This study examines the relevance of the Arabic ijaza system to contemporary academic certification practices in Nigerian Islamic higher education, exploring whether and how the ijaza tradition coexists with modern degree certification in Islamic studies departments. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research investigates the ijaza practices of three Islamic higher education institutions in Kano, Sokoto, and Zaria, collecting data through in-depth interviews with 15 senior scholars who hold ijazas and also hold academic positions, as well as with 10 institutional administrators. Document analysis of certification records and correspondence provides supporting evidence. The study finds that the ijaza system remains active and prestigious within traditional scholarly circles and is often pursued by academically credentialled scholars as a marker of classical scholarly authority, supplementing rather than replacing formal degree certification. Tensions between the two systems arise primarily around academic staff hiring criteria and curriculum content decisions. Recommendations address the formal recognition of relevant ijaza credentials within Nigerian university academic credit frameworks. Keywords: Ijaza, academic certification, Islamic higher education, Arabic scholarship, knowledge transmission.