muslim
contribution
to
science
philosphy &
arts
by Huma Ahmad
In the modern world Islam is seen as
many things, but rarely
is it viewed as a source
of inspiration and enlightenment.
Though it is a force
of enlightenment and it is not only verses of
the Quran that testify
to that fact, but also the great body of
scholarship produced
during the Middle Ages. While Europe was in the
midst of darkness, it
was the Muslims, spurred on by the light of
their new Deen who picked
up the torch of scholarship and
science. It was
the Muslims who preserved the knowledge of
antiquity, elaborated
upon it, and finally, passed it on to Europe.
Although every peoples earn what they do and pass on, it is
important for us to
learn about and appreciate the
contributions of the
Islamic civilization by the early Muslims.
Colonialism, the institution
of the Western educational model, along
with Eurocentrism often
portrays Islam as backwards, incompatible
with science and technology
and anti-educational. Muslim school
children never learn
of their glorious past and often the only thing
passed on to them is
the inferiority complex of the generation before
them. From the
past we can learn from our mistakes and use the
analysis of those
great examples before us as role models to enrich
us in the future.
In the seventh century A.D., the prophet Muhammad (SAW) was
sent to the people of
Arabia. Within a decade of his death
the Muslims had conquered
all of the Arabian peninsula. Within a
century, Islam had spread
from Al-Andalus in Spain to the borders of
China. Islam unified
science, theology, and philosophy. Muslims were
commanded to study,
seek knowledge, and learn and benefit from
others' experiences
by Allah (SWT) in the holy Quran and by the
prophet Muhammad (SAW)
in the Sunnah. It was this that inspired the
Muslims to great heights
in sciences, medicine, mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry,
philosophy, art and architecture.
Muslim scholars began obtaining Greek treatises and started
their study and translation
into Arabic a few centuries after
the Hijrah (622 A.D.)
They critically analyzed, collated , corrected
and supplemented substantially
the Greek science and philosophy.
After this period began
what is known as the Golden Age
of Islam, which lasted
for over two centuries. It is here we find
many of the great scientists
of Islam who literally left behind
hundreds and thousands
of books on the various branches of science.
Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina, universally known
as Avicinna (980-1037),
alone wrote 246 books, including
Kitab-al Shifa (The
Book of Healing) consisting of 20 volumes and Al-
Qanun fit Tibb (The
Canons of Medicine) . The Qanun was the chief
guide for medical science
in the West from the twelfth to the
seventeenth century.
Dr. William Osler, who wrote The Evolution of
Modern Science,
remarks "The Qanun has remained a medical Bible for
a longer period than
any other work". Containing over
a million words, it
surveyed the entire medical knowledge available
from ancient and Muslim
sources, and including his own original
contributions.
Ibn Sina's original contributions included such advances
such as recognition
of the contagious nature of phtisis and
tuberculosis; distribution
of diseases by water and soil and the
interaction between
psychology and health. Also, the book described
over 760 drugs and became
the most authentic of its era. Ibn Sina
was also the first to
describe meningitis and made rich contributions
to anatomy, gynaecology
and child health.
This interest in medicine went back to the time of
the Prophet (SAW), who
once said that there
existed a cure for every
disease. With this spirit there were
hospitals and clinics
built all over the Muslim world, the earliest
built in 707 by Caliph
Walid ibn Abd a-Malik in Damascus.
Muslims made many advances
such as the idea of circulation of
blood and quarantine
and the foundation of the first apothecary shops
and the earliest school
of pharmacy.
Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a philosopher and physician made advances
in Medicine, Physics,
Mathematics, Astronomy Veterinary
Science, and Ophthalmology.
He was the head of the famous school of
translators founded
by Caliph Mamun at Baghdad and wrote the first
systematic text book
on opthamology.
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925 AD) , known
as Rhazes, was one of
the most prolific Muslim doctors and
probably second only
to Ibn Sina in his accomplishments. He was born
at Ray, Iran and became
a student of Hunayn ibn Ishaq and later a
student of Ali ibn Rabban.
He wrote over 200 books, including Kitab
al-Mansuri, ten volumes
on Greek medicine, and al-Hawi, an
encyclopedia of medicine
in 20 volumes. In al-Hawi, he
included each medical
subject's information available from Greek and
Arab sources and then
added his own remarks based on his experience
and views. He
classified substances as vegetable, animal or mineral
while other alchemists
divided them into "bodies", "souls" and
"spirits".
Al-Razi was first placed in charge of the first Royal
Hospital at Ray, from
where he soon moved to a similar
position in Baghdad
where he remained the head of its famous
Muqtadari Hospital for
a long time. He found a treatment for kidney
and bladder stones,
and explained the nature of various infectious
diseases. He also conducted
research on smallpox and
measles and was the
first to introduce the use of alcohol for medical
purposes. A unique
feature to his medical system was
that he greatly favored
cure through correct and regulated food
intake. This was
combined with his emphasis on the influence of
psychological factors
on health. He also tried proposed remedies
first on animals in
order to evaluate their effects and side
effects. He was
also an expert surgeon and the first to use opium
for anesthesia.
Another great physician who soon followed was al-Razi was
Abul Qasim al-Zahrawi
(963-1013 AD) who is known as Albucasis
to the West. A
famous surgeon in his time, at the court of Caliph
al- Hakam II , students
and patients flocked to him from the Muslim
world and Europe.
He wrote the medical encyclopedia al-Tasrif li man
ajaz an-il-talif, which
contained 30 sections of surgical knowledge
and illustrations of
200 surgical instruments, most of which he
designed himself. The
Encyclopedia was not only a standard for
physicians, but even
five centuries later it was being used as the
standard textbook on
surgery in universities in Europe.
He also performed many
delicate operations such as Cesareans and was
also the first to use
silk thread for stitching wounds.
Al-Idrisi was born in Cordova, Spain in 1099. His major
contribution was in
medicinal plants which he described in
many books, such as
Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat al-Nabatat. He
collected plans and
data not reported earlier and added this to the
subject of botany.
From him a large number of new drugs from plants
with their evaluations
became available to medical practitioners.
Al-Idrisi also made
original contributions to topography, as related
to economics, physical
factors and cultural aspects. He wrote
geographical encyclopedias,
the largest called Rawd-Unnas wa Nuzhalat
Nafs (Pleasure of Men
and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi
also wrote on the subjects
of fauna, zoology and threapeutical
aspects. His work
was soon translated into Latin and his books on
geography especially
remained popular in the east and west for
several centuries.
Working in the field of botany as well was abu Muhammad Ibn
al-Baitar, also from
Spain. He was one of the greatest
scientists of Muslim
Spain and one of the greatest botanists and
pharmacists of the Middle
Ages. He went on many traveling
expeditions to collect
plants as far as Africa and Asia Minor. He
wrote Kitab al-Jami
al-Adiwaya al-Mufrada, one of the greatest
botanical compilations
dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic The
encyclopedia was made
of over 1,400 items, many of which were not
known before.
The book referred to the works of 150 authors, mostly
Arabic and quoted about
20 early Greek scientists. It was translated
into Latin and published
as late as 1758.
Ibn al-Baitars works were characterized by observation,
analysis and classification
and exerted a profound influence
on Eastern as well as
Western botany and medicine. Even though many
of his works were translated
and published late in the western
languages, many earlier
scientists had studied various parts of the
book and made several
references to it.
At the same time as these advances in medicine were being
made, the Muslims produced
some of the most outstanding
Mathematicians.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, born in 780 A.D.,
was the founder of modern
Algebra. He developed sine, cosine and
trigonometrical tables,
which were later translated to the West. His
book on algebra Hisab
al-Jabr waal-Muqabalah (The Calculation of
Integration and Equation)
was used until the 16th century as the
principal textbook of
European universities. In it he
writes that given an
equation, collecting the unknowns in one side of
the equation is called
al-Jabr and collecting the knowns in the other
side of the equation
is called al- Mukabalah. He also described six
basic types of equations:
nx=m , x^2=nx , x^2=m , m+x^2 =nx, m+nx
+x^2 and x^2=m+nx.
He also solved the particular equation
x^2+21=10x using geometrical
arguments.
Al-Khawarizmi also helped introduce Arabic numerals, the
decimal position system,
and the concept of zero. Algebra
and Algorithm are in
fact corruption's of his work and name.
Interestingly, this
first every book on algebra included many
examples from the Islamic
inheritance laws and how they could be
solved using algebra.
Under al-Mamun the caliph of the time, he with
some others were the
first to map the globe.
In the field of Algebra the Muslims continued with Thabit Ibn
Qurra's more general
equations solved by geometrical
arguments. In
901, Abu Kamil, called "the Egyptian calculator", did
some work on algebra
in which he established rules for manipulating
algebraic expressions.
He also proved various laws such as
ax*bx-abx^2, a(bx)=(ab)x
and (10-x)(10-x)=100+x^2-20x (Mirza, p124).
Around 1000, Abu Bakr
Al-Karaji, in his book The Marvelous discussed
higher order equations
such as fourth and fifth order equations,
combing geometry and
arithmetic. Al-Samawal
established the power
law x^nx^n=x^(m+n) in 1180 in his work The
Shining which is just
one of his 85 books. He also worked on
performing multiplication
of algebraic expressions involving terms
with different powers
and division of polynomials. Abu
Yunus proved the famous
identity cos(a)cos(b)={cos(a+b)+cos(a-b)}/2
and used spherical trigonometry
to set formulas to computer prayer
times. Al-Biruni
also used spherical trigonometry to find the
direction of Mecca or
any other city on the globe.
Another outstanding mathematician was Ghiyath al-Din al
Kashani of the late
fourteenth century. He worked on the
theory of numbers and
techniques of computations. In 1424, he
computed a value of
2pi to sixteen decimal digits of accuracy using
an approximation of
the circle by 805306368 side polygon. One of his
most important works
was Miftah elHussab or The Calculators' Key, in
it he described an algorithm
for finding the fifth root of any
number. The book
was used in Persian schools until the seventeenth
century. Later
in his life he moved to Samarkand at the request of
the then ruler to help
direct a new scientific school and observatory
and conduct research
with other scholars of the time. Kashani also
wrote on how to approximate
sin(1) by solving a cubic equation
accurately.
Umar Khayyam known to the west as only a poet actually also
was an excellent mathematician.
He criticized Euclid's
theorems, evolved a
methodology for the solution of third degree
equations, and did research
in the field of binomials and their
coefficients.
Abu Wafa Muhammad al-Buzanji was born in Buzjan, Nishapur in
940 A. D. He became
a great mathematician and astronomer at
Baghdad and died in
997 A.D. Al-Buzanji's main contribution lies in
several branches of
mathematics, in geometry and trigonometry
especially. In
geometry he contributed to a solution of geometrical
problems with opening
of the compass, construction of a square
equivalent to other
squares, regular polyhedra, construction of
regular hectagon taking
for its side of the equilateral triangle
inscribed in the same
circle, constructions of parabola by points and
geometrical solution
of the equations x4=a and x4+ax3=b.
Al-Buzanji's contribution to the development of trigonometry
was also extensive.
He was the first to show the generality
of the sine theorem
relative to spherical triangles. He developed a
new method of constructing
sine tables, the value of sin 30` being
correct to the eight
decimal place. He also developed relations for
sine(a+b) and the formula:
2 sin2 (a/2) = 1 -cos a and sin a = 2 sin
(a/2) cos (a/2).
In addition he studied tangent and
calculated tables for
them. He introduced the secant and cosecant
for the first time.
He wrote a large number of books on mathematics
and other subjects,
most of which have been lost or exist in modified
forms. He also
wrote rich commentaries on Euclid, Diophanatos and
al-Khwarizmi.
A sizable part of today's trigonometry can be traced
back to him.
Abu Abdullah al-Battani (862-929 A.D.) was a son of a
scientist and also a
famous astronomer, mathematician and
astrologer. He
is often considered one of the greatest astronomists
of Islam. His
career of 42 years included a number of important
discoveries, including
the accurate determination of the solar year
as 365 days, 5 hours,
46 minutes, and 24 seconds, which is very close
to modern estimates.
He also determined with accuracy
the obliquity of the
ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true
and mean orbit of the
sun. He proved that in contrast to Ptolemy,
the variation of the
apparent angular diameter of the sun and the
possibility of annular
eclipses. His observations of lunar and solar
eclipses were used by
Dunthorne in 1749 to determine the secular
acceleration of motion
of the moon.
In mathematics, al-Battani was the first to replace the use
of Greekchords by sines
and the first to develop the concept
of cotangent and furnished
their table in degrees. He wrote a number
of books on astronomy
and trigonometry. His most famous book was his
astronomical treatise
with tables which was translated into Latin in
the 12th century, called
De Sceinta Stellerum De numeris Stellerum et
Motibus. This
was extremely influential in Europe until the
Renaissance, with translations
available in several languages.
His original discoveries
in both astronomy and
trigonometry were of
great consequence in the development of those
sciences.
In the related field of Physics, Abu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman
al-Khazini studied mechanics
and hydrostats and wrote books
on physics and astronomy.
Al-Biruni, a geographer, chronologist,
mathematician, astronomer,
was also a physicist. His Elements of
Astrology remained a
textbook for centuries and he also wrote on
specific gravity, and
developed formulas to determine absolute and
specific weights of
all objects.
Abu al-Hassan al Haitham (965-1039 AD) was one of the most
eminent physicists,
whose contribution to optics and the
scientific method were
great. Originally from Basra, he went to
Egypt where he was asked
to find ways of controlling the flood of the
Nile. Being unsuccessful
in this, he feigned madness until the death
of Caliph al-Hakim.
He also traveled to Spain and during this time
also had time for his
scientific pursuits. He wrote treatises such
as Kital al-Manzir on
light, worked with mirrors and lenses,
reflection, refraction,
and magnifying and burning glasses.
He discussed the propagation
of light and colors, optic
illusions and opposed
the view of Euclid and Ptolemy that the eye
sent out visual rays.
From studying motion, he discovered the
principle of inertia.
He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that
objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes.
According to Haitham,
the rays originated in the object of vision
and not in the eye.
Through this kind of extensive research on
optics, he has been
considered the father of modern Optics. Roger
Bacon and all medieval
Western writers on optics based their work
largely on his Opticae
Thesaurus and it even influenced Leonardo da
Vinci, Johann Kepler
and Newton.. Haitham also studied
the phenomena of sunrise
and sunset and explained rainbows through
the principle of reflection.
He was known for the
earliest use of the
camera obscura as well.
Al-Kindi (d. 873 AD) considered the first philosopher of the
Arabs, also contributed
to Physics , Optics, reflection of
light, specific weights,
tides and metallurgy.
Muslims also made discoveries in Chemistry by discovering
many new substances
such as potash, nitrate of silver,
corrosive sublimate
and nitrate and sulfuric acid as well as
improving methods for
evaporation, filtration, sublimation,
calcination, melting,
distillation, and crystallization.
Jabir, otherwise known
as the father of Arab alchemy
contributed in the fields
of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Al-Asma'i (740-882 AD) was a philologist who contributed to
Zoology, Botany and
Animal Husbandry. Other
Muslim botanists described
plants in detail, medicinal herbs,
physiology of plants
and wrote books on horses, camels, sheep, birds,
the history of bees
and locusts, the effect of climate on the
behavior of animals
and men. Also working on the subject
of Botany, Suri al-
Dimashqi researched plants around Damascus and
Lebanon at different
stages of growth.
In the field of geography, Ibn Majid invented the compass.
The Muslims traversed
the Indian, Atlantic and
Pacific Ocean as well
as sailing around the African continent, in
their trading with India,
Iran and Greece. They wrote such books as
Akhbar al-Hind (Reports
on India), Akhbar al-Sin (Reports on China)
and Ajib al-Hind (Curiosities
of India). Sulaiman
Al-Makri wrote of his
travels in Al-budat and other books. Abu
al-Hasan al-Masudi,
a historian and scientist, traveled the world
journeying from Persia,
Central Asia, India, the Near East,
Madagascar and the China
Sea. He wrote his encyclopedic volume on
his travels which included
history, cosmology and geography.
Al-Biruni was the first known writer to identify certain
geological facts, such
as the formation of sedimentary rocks
and the great geological
changes that happened in the past. He was
also the founder of
geodesy and wrote and improved upon the methods
of measuring longitudes,
latitudes, heights of mountains and the
diameter of the earth.
He also wrote on biological evolution.
Of the many scientists in the field of astronomy, Al-Sufi
helped build a famous
observatory under the Buwayh sultan
Sharaf-al-Dawlah.
He prepared charts of the heavens with magnitudes
and was the first to
mark the nebula of Andromeda in his atlas.
Al-Zarqali from al-Andalus
invented the astrolabe and
measured the rate of
motion. He also constructed
astronomical instruments
and built a water clock.
Jabir ibn Aflah was a Spanish Arab who criticized Ptolemy's
heliocentric theory
of planetary motion. He designed the
first portable celestial
sphere to explain and measure the movements
of celestial objects
and led the way for spherical trigonometry.
Al-Bitruji developed
a new theory of stellar movements.
Names of many constellations,
words like zenith and
nadir and even names
of craters of the moon all go back to the works
of Muslim scholars of
this time.
We can see that these Islamic sciences had a great impact
upon both the Western
world and also the two major
civilizations east of
the Islamic world, India and China. Without
the Islamic scientists
and their work, the development of science in
these civilizations
would have been different. Between
the eleventh and thirteenth
centuries the major works of Islamic
scientists were translated
into Latin in Spain, Sicily and Italy.
Muslim scientists like
Ibn Sina and al-Razi became household names in
the West. Islamic
medicine led the way for European medicine.
In the field of mathematics the works of al-Khwarazmi and
others were taught in
the Western universities for centuries.
Astronomical tables
written in the West were based
upon the work of Muslims
before them. Treatises on algebra that were
written were mostly
based on the work of Khayyam. Works in chemistry
written in Latin used
an extensive Arabic vocabulary because there
was no Latin vocabulary
in this field.
Many of these scientists were also great philosophers, such
as Ibn Sina and al-Razi.
Ibn Sina initially began studying
logic, from there he
studied physics and metaphysics and was the
first to develop a complete
philosophical system in Arabic.
Ibn Sina's philosophical
encyclopedia Kitab al- Shifa was a
monumental work, embodying
a vast field of knowledge from philosophy
to science. He
classified the entire field as follows: theoretical
knowledge; physics,
mathematics, and metaphysics; ethics, economics
and politics.
His philosophy synthesized Aristotelian tradition,
Neoplatonic influences
and Muslim theology. Besides al-Shifa his
well-known treatises
in philosophy are al-Najat and Isharat.
Al-Razi's contribution as a philosopher was also well known.
The basic elements in
his philosophical system were the
Creator, the spirit,
matter, space and time. He discussed their
characteristics in detail
and his concepts of space and time as
constituting a continuum.
His philosophical views were, however,
criticized by a number
of other Muslim scholars of the era.
During the time of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) the Muslims
built a library which
contained both originals and
translations of almost
any then known scientific work in Sanskrit,
Persian and Greek. His
son, Caliph al-Mamun continued the tradition
of philosophy and science
and established in Baghdad his Bayt
al-Hikmah (House of
Wisdom), a library and academy.
Here the objective was
to collect all scientific works, translate
them into Arabic and
copy and bind them into books to preserve them.
No doubt much of the
knowledge of the Greeks and others was preserved
in this way.
The greatest figure in Islamic philosophy is held to be Imam
al-Ghazali, who was
a jurist, theologian, philosopher and
mystic. Born in
1058 in Khorasan, he came to have a high standard of
scholarship in religion
and philosophy a