By Babatunde Jose
There is no such thing as Islamic science – for science is the most universal of human activities. But the means to facilitating scientific advances have always been dictated by culture, political will and economic wealth. What is only now becoming clear (to many in the west) is that during the dark ages of medieval Europe, incredible scientific advances were made in the Muslim world.
Geniuses in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus and Cordoba (in Spain) took on the scholarly works of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, India and China, developing what we would call “modern” science. New disciplines emerged as well as major advances in medicine, astronomy, engineering and agriculture.
What the medieval scientists of the Muslim world articulated so brilliantly is that science is universal, the common language of the human race.
The mathematical sciences as practiced in the Islamic world during the apogee of Islamic civilization consisted of mathematics, algebra, and geometry as well as mathematical geography, astronomy and optics.
Muslims derived their theory of numbers (‘ilm al-a‘dad) in arithmetic from translations of the Greeks’ sources. Moreover, they acquired numerals from India (Hindu) and possibly China and made their use widespread. Mohammad Bin Ahmed in the tenth century invented the concept of zero or sifr. Thus the zero with the numerals made it possible for the simple expressions for numbers to have infinite values, thereby helping solve particular problems.
Muslims built mathematical models using the decimal system, expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols, and each symbol accorded the value of position as well as absolute value. Many creative methods of doing multiplications were developed.
The word algebra comes from the title of a Persian mathematician’s famous 9th century treatise “Kitab al-Jabr Wa l-Mugabala” which translates roughly as “The Book of Reasoning and Balancing.” Built on the roots of Greek and Hindu systems, the new algebraic order was a unifying system for rational numbers, irrational numbers and geometrical magnitudes. The same mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, was also the first to introduce the concept of raising a number to a power.
Another famous contributor to this field was Umar Khayyam, who studied cubic equations and algebra came to be regarded as a science in its own right. Thus the Muslims not only developed the methods of solving quadratic equations they also produced tables containing sine, cosine, cotangent and other trigonometric values.
Al-Battani (d.929) systematically developed trigonometry and extended it to spherical trigonometry, with important consequences for astronomy, geography and exploration beyond the known world, thus making the construction of better maps and the reconceptualisation of the structure of the planet Earth.
The book, On the Measurements of Planes and Spherical Figures, written on Archimedean problems by the three sons of Musa bin Shakir in the ninth century became known in the West through the translation by Gerard of Cremona.
Al-Khwarizmi was one of the first scholars to produce a detailed astronomical table (zij). This astronomical table provided the means of calculating the positions of the stars and planets. Al-Farghani, in the ninth century wrote a detailed account of Ptolemy’s Almagest and his book was used throughout Europe and central Asia for the next 700 years.
Muslim philosophers and astronomers had inherited the Ptolemaic planetary system that hypothesised the principle of uniform circular motion allowing the planets to move in epicycles. However, Muslim astronomers eventually came to reject this theory in that the epicyclic movement violated the principle of uniformity of motion.
In the thirteenth century, Al-Tusi, a Persian astronomer put forward his concept known as the “Tusi Couple”, a hypothetical model of “epicyclic motion that involves a combination of motions each of which was uniform with respect to its own center”(Turner).
This model was applied by Ibn al-Shatir to the motions of the heavenly bodies in the fourteenth century. Ibn al-Shatir’s formulations were the beginnings of verifying theoretical astronomy through systematic observations. Ibn al-Shatir’s theory of lunar motion was very similar to that attributed to Copernicus some 150 years later (Sabra, 2002).
Muslim scholars worked in all major branches of astronomy: theoretical and computational planetary astronomy, spherical astronomy and time keeping, instrumentation, and folk astronomy.
Around the year 1,000, the celebrated doctor Al Zahrawi published a 1,500 page Illustrated Encyclopedia of Surgery that was used in Europe as a medical reference for the next 500 years. Among his many inventions, Zahrawi discovered the use of dissolving catgut to stitch wounds. He also reportedly performed the first caesarean operation and created the first pair of forceps.
Now the Western world’s drink du jour, coffee, our good old morning brew, was first prepared in Yemen around the 9th century after its journey across the strait from Ethiopia. In its earliest days, coffee helped Sufis stay up during late nights of devotion. Later brought to Cairo by a group of students, the coffee buzz soon caught on around the empire. By the 13th century it reached Turkey, but not until the 16th century did the beans start boiling in Europe, brought to Italy by a Venetian trader.
“Abbas ibn Firnas was the first person to make a real attempt to construct a flying machine and fly.” In the 9th century he designed a winged apparatus, roughly resembling a bird costume. In his most famous trial near Cordoba in Spain, Firnas flew upward for a few moments, before falling to the ground and partially breaking his back. His designs would undoubtedly have been an inspiration for famed Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci’s hundreds of years later.
The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, founded in 859 CE by Fatima al-Fihri, is recognized by Guinness World Records and UNESCO as the world’s oldest continuously operating, degree-granting university, evolving from a mosque into a leading Islamic educational center.
“Many of the most important advances in the study of optics come from the Muslim world.” Around the year 1000 Ibn al-Haytham (965-1041) proved that humans see objects by light reflecting off of them and entering the eye, dismissing Euclid and Ptolemy’s theories that light was emitted from the eye itself. This great Muslim physicist also discovered the camera obscura phenomenon, which explains how the eye sees images upright due to the connection between the optic nerve and the brain. This is what would produce the ubiquitous ‘pin-hole camera.
According to Hassani, the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) popularized the use of the first toothbrush in around 600. Using a twig from the Meswak tree, he cleaned his teeth and freshened his breath. Substances similar to Meswak are used in modern toothpaste.
Many of the basics of modern automatics were first put to use in the Muslim world, including the revolutionary crank-connecting rod system. By converting rotary motion to linear motion, the crank enables the lifting of heavy objects with relative ease. This technology, discovered by Al-Jazari in the 12th century, exploded across the globe, leading to everything from the bicycle to the internal combustion engine.
“Hospitals as we know them today, with wards and teaching centers, come from 9th century Egypt.” The first such medical center was the Ahmad ibn Tulun Hospital, founded in 872 in Cairo. Tulun hospital provided free care for anyone who needed it — a policy based on the Muslim tradition of caring for all who are sick. From Cairo, such hospitals spread around the Muslim world.
Muslim scientists and inventors, including Arabs, Persians, and Turks, were probably hundreds of years ahead of their counterparts in the European Middle Ages. They drew influence from Aristotelian philosophy and Neo-Platonists, as well as Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, and others. The Muslims made innumerable discoveries and wrote countless books about medicine, surgery, physics, chemistry, philosophy, astrology, geometry and various other fields.
Abu Nasr Al-Farabi (872–950) also known as Alpharabius, an Arab scientist and philosopher is considered as one of the preeminent thinkers of the medieval era.
Al-Battani (858–929). Arab mathematician, scientists and astronomer who improved existing values for the length of the year and of the seasons.
Ibn Sina (980–1037) also known as Avicenna, Persian philosopher and scientist known for his contributions to Aristotelian philosophy and medicine.
Ibn Battuta (1304–1369) also known as Shams ad–Din. Arab traveler and scholar who wrote one of the most famous travel books in history, the Rihlah.
Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi (780–850) also known as Algoritmi or Algaurizin. His works introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concepts of algebra into European mathematics.
Thabit ibn Qurra (826–901) Also known as Thebit. Arab mathematician, physician and astronomer; who was the first reformer of the Ptolemaic system and the founder of statics.
Abu Bakr Al-Razi (865–925) also known as Rhazes. Persian alchemist and philosopher, who was one of the greatest physicians in history.
Jabir Ibn Haiyan (722–804) also known as Geber. The father of Arab chemistry known for his highly influential works on alchemy and metallurgy.
Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi (801–873). Arab philosopher and scientist, who is known as the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers.
Ibn Zuhr (1091–1161) Also known as Avenzoar. Arab physician and surgeon, known for his influential book Al-Taisir Fil-Mudawat Wal-Tadbeer (Book of Simplification Concerning Therapeutics and Diet).
Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) was a groundbreaking Arab historian and philosopher, best known for his work “Muqaddimah,” which laid the foundations for modern historiography and sociology.
Ibn Al-Baitar (1197–1248) Arab scientist, botanist and physician who systematically recorded the discoveries made by Islamic physicians in the Middle Ages.
We could go on and on, but suffice to say that no people have the monopoly of knowledge, particularly where science and mathematics are concerned. Credits must always be given where it is due.
“O Allah, increase me in knowledge and understanding. O Revealer of secrets, O Knower of the unseen and hidden matters, remove the veils from the faces of knowledge and questions so that I may see their reality. Protect me from mistakes or misguidance. You are the One who grants success in all matters, and You are the All-Knowing of the unseen. O Allah, grant me the understanding of the Prophets, the memory of the Messengers, and the inspiration of the close angels, by the honor of our master Muhammad (SAW), the leader of the first and the last. May Allah send His blessings upon our master Muhammad (SAW), his family, and all his companions. Aaaameee
Barka Juma’at and a happy weekend, as we prepare earnestly for the month of Ramadan.
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