Muslims Contribution to science
Here you can read a breif
information about Muslims & Science in the past ..
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.
Geography:
Muslim 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.
Humanity:
Seeking 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 Renaissance. Many scientific and medical treatises, having been
translated into Latin, were standard **** and reference books as late as the
17th and 18th centuries.
Mathematics:
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 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.
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.
• 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.
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, but
established for it a cure, except for old age. When the antidote is applied,
the patient will recover with the permission of God."
This was strong motivation to
encourage Muslim scientists to explore, develop, and apply empirical laws. Much
attention was given to medicine and public health care. The first hospital was
built in Baghdad in 706 AC. The Muslims also used camel caravans as mobile
hospitals, which moved from place to place.
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 unrivaled as a diagnostician. He also wrote a
treatise on hygiene 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 ****book 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 hygiene practiced in them.
Definition:
The word ISLAM has a two-fold
meaning: peace, and submission to God. This submission requires a fully
conscious and willing effort to submit to the one Almighty God. One must
consciously and conscientiously give oneself to the service of Allah. This
means to act on what Allah enjoins all of us to do (in the Qur'an) and what His
beloved Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) encouraged us to do in his Sunnah (his
lifestyle and sayings personifying the Qur'an).
Once we humble ourselves, rid
ourselves of our egoism and submit totally to Allah, and to Him exclusively, in
faith and in action, we will surely feel peace in our hearts. Establishing peace
in our hearts will bring about peace in our external conduct as well.
Islam is careful to remind us that
it not a religion to be paid mere lip service; rather it is an all-encompassing
way of life that must be practiced continuously for it to be Islam. The Muslim
must practice the five pillars of the religion: the declaration of faith in the
oneness of Allah and the prophet hood of Muhammad (pbuh), prayer, fasting the
month of Ramadan, alms-tax, and the pilgrimage to Makkah; and believe in the
six articles of faith: belief in God, the Holy Books, the prophets, the angels,
the Day of Judgment and God's decree, whether for good or ill.
There are other injunctions and
commandments which concern virtually all facets of one's personal, family and
civic life. These include such matters as diet, clothing, personal hygiene,
interpersonal relations, business ethics, responsibilities towards parents,
spouse and children, marriage, divorce and inheritance, civil and criminal law,
fighting in defense of Islam, relations with non-Muslims, and so much more.
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