Islam's Contribution To Science
Islam's Contribution To
Science
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 Muslim. 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 Qur'an contains
many references to astronomy.
"The heavens and the earth were ordered rightly, and were made subservient to man, including the sun, the moon, the stars, and day and night. Every heavenly body moves in an orbit assigned to it by God and never digresses, making the universe an orderly cosmos whose life and existence, diminution and expansion, are totally determined by the Creator." [Qur'an 30:22]
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 is 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, albedo, 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.
GeographyMuslim scholars paid
great attention to geography. In fact, the Muslims' great concern
for geography originated with their religion. The Qur'an
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.
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 Gama and
Columbus had Muslim navigators on board their ships.
HumanitySeeking knowledge is
obligatory in Islam for every Muslim, man and woman. The main
sources of Islam, the Qur'an 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 were
therefore 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 civilations 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
Rennaissance. 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(i)It is interesting to
note that Islam so strongly urges mankind to study and explore
the universe. For example, the Holy Qur'an 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." [Qur'an, 14:53]
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 unkown 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.
Muslim mathematicians
excelled also 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.
MedicineIn 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.
Prophe 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 civilations 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
Rennaissance. 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(ii)It is interesting to
note that Islam so strongly urges mankind to study and explore
the universe. For example, the Holy Qur'an states:
"We (Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the hoical medicine and was inrivalled as a diagnostician. He also wrote a treatise on hygeine in hospitals. Khalaf Abul-Qasim Al-Zahrawi was a very famous surgeon in the eleventh century, known in Europe for his work, Concessio (Kitab al-Tasrif).
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.
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 hygeine practiced
in them.
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