Muslims Contribution to the World of Sience
Astronomy
Muslims have always had a special
interest in astronomy. The moon and the Sun are of vital importance in the
daily life of every Muslims. by the moon, Muslims determine the beginning and
the end of the months in their lunar calendar. By the sun the Muslims calculate
the times for prayer and fasting. It is also by means of astronomy that Muslims
can determine the precise direction of the Qiblah, to face the Ka’bah in
Makkah, during prayer.
The most precise solar calendar,
superior to the Julian, is the Jilali, devised under the supervision of Umar
Khayyam.
The
Quran contains many references to astronomy:
- "And it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming." [Noble Quran 21:33]
These
references, and the injunctions to learn, inspired the early Muslim scholars to
study the heavens. They integrated the earlier works of the Indians, Persians
and Greeks into a new synthesis.
Ptolemy's
Almagest (the title as we know it today is actually Arabic) was translated,
studied and criticized. Many new stars were discovered, as we see in their
Arabic names - Algol, Deneb, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran. Astronomical tables
were compiled, among them the Toledan tables, which were used by Copernicus,
Tycho Brahe and Kepler. Also compiled were almanacs - another Arabic term.
Other terms from Arabic are zenith, nadir, Aledo, azimuth.
Muslim
astronomers were the first to establish observatories, like the one built at
Mugharah by Hulagu, the son of Genghis Khan, in Persia, and they invented
instruments such as the quadrant and astrolabe, which led to advances not only
in astronomy but in oceanic navigation, contributing to the European age of
exploration.
Geography
Muslim
scholars paid great attention to geography. In fact, the Muslims' great concern
for geography originated with their religion.
The
Quran encourages people to travel throughout the earth to see God's signs and
patterns everywhere. Islam also requires each Muslim to have at least enough
knowledge of geography to know the direction of the Qiblah (the position of the
Ka'bah in Makkah) in order to pray five times a day.
Muslims
were also used to taking long journeys to conduct trade as well as to make the
Hajj and spread their religion. The far-flung Islamic empire enabled
scholar-explorers to compile large amounts of geographical and climatic
information from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Among
the most famous names in the field of geography, even in the West, are Ibn Khaldun and Ibn Batuta, renowned
for their written accounts of their extensive explorations.
In
1166, Al-Idrisi, the well-known
Muslim scholar who served the Sicilian court, produced very accurate maps,
including a world map with all the continents and their mountains, rivers and
famous cities. Al-Muqdishi was the first geographer to produce accurate maps in
color.
Spain
was ruled by Muslims under the banner of Islam for over 700 years. By the 15th
century of the Gregorian calendar the ruler-ship of Islam had been seated in
Spain and Muslims had established centers of learning which commanded respect
all over the known world at that time. There were no "Dark Ages" such
the rest of Europe experienced for the Muslims in Spain and those who lived
there with them. In January of 1492 Muslim Spain capitulated to Catholic Rome
under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. By July of the same year, Muslims were
instrumental in helping navigate Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean South of
Florida.
It
was, moreover, with the help of Muslim navigators and their inventions that Magellan
was able to traverse the Cape of Good Hope, and Da Gamma and Columbus had
Muslim navigators on board their ships.
Humanity
Seeking
knowledge is obligatory in Islam for every Muslim, man and woman. The main
sources of Islam, the Quran and the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad's traditions),
encourage Muslims to seek knowledge and be scholars, since this is the best way
for people to know Allah (God), to appreciate His wondrous creations and be
thankful for them.
Muslims
have always been eager to seek knowledge, both religious and secular, and
within a few years of Muhammad's mission, a great civilization sprang up and
flourished. The outcome is shown in the spread of Islamic universities;
Al-Zaytunah in Tunis, and Al-Azhar in Cairo go back more than 1,000 years and
are the oldest existing universities in the world. Indeed, they were the models
for the first European universities, such as Bologna, Heidelberg, and the
Sorbonne. Even the familiar academic cap and gown originated at Al-Azhar
University.
Muslims
made great advances in many different fields, such as geography, physics,
chemistry, mathematics, medicine, pharmacology, architecture, linguistics and
astronomy. Algebra and the Arabic numerals were introduced to the world by
Muslim scholars. The astrolabe, the quadrant, and other navigational devices
and maps were developed by Muslim scholars and played an important role in
world progress, most notably in Europe's age of exploration.
Muslim
scholars studied the ancient civilizations from Greece and Rome to China and
India. The works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid and others were translated into
Arabic. Muslim scholars and scientists then added their own creative ideas,
discoveries and inventions, and finally transmitted this new knowledge to
Europe, leading directly to the Renaissance. Many scientific and medical
treatises, having been translated into Latin, were standard text and reference
books as late as the 17th and 18th centuries.
Mathematics
Muslim
mathematicians excelled in geometry, as can be seen in their graphic arts, and
it was the great Al-Biruni (who excelled also in the fields of natural history,
even geology and mineralogy) who established trigonometry as a distinct branch
of mathematics. Other Muslim mathematicians made significant progress in number
theory.
It
is interesting to note that Islam so strongly urges mankind to study and
explore the universe. For example, the Noble Quran states:
- "We (Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the horizons/universe and in yourselves until you are convinced that the revelation is the truth." [Noble Quran 41:53]
This
invitation to explore and search made Muslims interested in astronomy,
mathematics, chemistry, and the other sciences, and they had a very clear and
firm understanding of the correspondences among geometry, mathematics, and
astronomy.
The
Muslims invented the symbol for zero (The word "cipher" comes from
Arabic sifr), and they organized the numbers into the decimal system - base 10.
Additionally, they invented the symbol to express an unknown quantity, i.e.
variables like x.
The
first great Muslim mathematician, Al-Khawarizmi,
invented the subject of algebra (al-Jabr), which was further developed by
others, most notably Umar Khayyam.
Al-Khawarizmi's work, in Latin translation, brought the Arabic numerals
along with the mathematics to Europe, through Spain. The word "algorithm" is derived from
his name.
Medicine
In
Islam, the human body is a source of appreciation, as it is created by Almighty
Allah (God). How it functions, how to keep it clean and safe, how to prevent
diseases from attacking it or cure those diseases, have been important issues
for Muslims.
Ibn Sina (d. 1037), better known to the
West as Avicenna, was perhaps the greatest physician until the modern era. His
famous book, Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb,
remained a standard textbook even in Europe, for over 700 years. Ibn Sina's
work is still studied and built upon in the East.
Prophet
Muhammad himself urged people to "take medicines for your diseases",
as people at that time were reluctant to do so. He also said,
"God
created no illness, except that He has established for it a cure, except for
old age. When the antidote is applied, the patient will recover with the
permission of God."
Since
the religion did not forbid it, Muslim scholars used human cadavers to study
anatomy and physiology and to help their students understand how the body
functions. This empirical study enabled surgery to develop very quickly.
Al-Razi,
known in the West as Rhazes, the famous physician and scientist, (d. 932) was
one of the greatest physicians in the world in the Middle Ages. He stressed
empirical observation and clinical medicine and was unrivalled as a
diagnostician. He also wrote a treatise on hygiene in hospitals. Abul-Qasim Az-Zahrawi was a very famous
surgeon in the eleventh century, known in Europe for his work, Concession
(Kitab al-Tasrif).
Other
significant contributions were made in pharmacology, such as Ibn Sina's Kitab al-Shifa' (Book of
Healing), and in public health. Every major city in the Islamic world had a
number of excellent hospitals, some of them teaching hospitals, and many of
them were specialized for particular diseases, including mental and emotional.
The Ottomans were particularly noted for their building of hospitals and for
the high level of hygiene practiced in them.
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