Al-Qabisi

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Qabisi was born blind or severely visually impaired in Kairouan, yet possessed an astonishing intellectual memory, studying hadith, logic, and jurisprudence under the greatest masters of North Africa and Cairo before assuming the senior scholarly chair in Kairouan.

His landmark work, *Al-Risalah al-Mufassilah li-Ahwal al-Mu'allimin wa Ahkam al-Mu'allimin wa al-Muta'allimin*, established revolutionary pedagogical principles, forbidding excessive corporal punishment, urging playful breaks for children, and advocating for the literacy of young girls. His pedagogical guidelines shaped Islamic schooling for centuries.