Short answer
Yes. Islam does not require any particular kind of school. What it requires is that children learn their faith and are prepared for life, and parents may do this at home. Homeschooling is permissible, and can be very good, where the law allows it and parents can teach well and give children good company.
Teaching a child the knowledge of faith and worship that every Muslim needs is fard on the guardian, and worldly education that the child will need is part of good upbringing. The means, school or home, is mubah and chosen for the child's benefit.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said every one of you is a shepherd and responsible for his flock, and the Quran tells believers to protect their families from the Fire. Children in the early Muslim centuries learned at home, at the mosque and in small circles with teachers. Formal schools came later. The four schools agree there is no single required setting; the duty is the education itself.
Reasons Muslim families homeschool:
- Protecting young children from harmful content or bullying.
- Fitting in Quran memorisation, Arabic and prayer at their times.
- Teaching at the child's own pace.
- No good Islamic school nearby.
Make sure of these:
- The law: homeschooling is legal in many countries with conditions such as registration or tests, and banned or restricted in others. Follow the rules where you live.
- Real learning: maths, reading, science and a trade or skill. A child who cannot earn later becomes a burden, which Islam does not want.
- Good company: co-ops, mosque classes, sport and family visits, so the child learns to live with people.
- Parents' capacity: if teaching at home leaves a parent exhausted or the child unhappy, a different route may serve them better.
Homeschooling is a means, not an act of worship in itself. A child in a good school with strong teaching at home can thrive too. See mixed schools, Catholic schools and school and hifz.
The evidence
Quran, Surah At-Tahrim 66:6
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًۭا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَٰٓئِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌۭ شِدَادٌۭ لَّا يَعْصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ ﴿٦﴾
O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
Parents are responsible for their children's guidance.
Sahih al-Bukhari 893
Sahih... كلكم راع وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته ...
"Every one of you is a shepherd, and every one of you is responsible for his flock."
Parents choose the means of education and answer for it.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar, Kitab al-Salah, opening section. The guardian must teach the child the obligations of faith and prayer.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Muqaddima, on the kinds of knowledge. Which knowledge is fard on every person and which is fard kifayah.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.