Chemistry
Chemistry as a science is unquestionably the invention of the Muslims. It is one of the sciences in which Muslims have made the greatest contribution and developed it to such a high degree of perfection that they were considered authorities in this science until the end of the 17th century A. D. Jabir and Zakariya Razi have the distinction of being the greatest chemists the mediaeval times produced. Writing in his illuminating History of the -Arabs, Philip K. Hitti acknowledges the greatness of Arabs in this branch of science when he says, “After materia medica, astronomy and mathematics, the Arabs made their greatest scientific contribution in chemistry. In the study of chemistry and other physical sciences, the Arabs introduced the objective experiment, a decided improvement over the hazy speculation of Greeks. Accurate in the observation of phenomena and diligent in the accumulation of facts, the Arabs nevertheless found it difficult to project proper hypotheses.”
Physics
The Holy Quran had awakened a spirit of enquiry among the Arabs which was instrumental in their splendid achievements in the field of science, and according to a western critic led them to realize that “science could not be advanced by mere speculation; its only sure progress lay in the practical interrogation of nature. The essential characteristics of their method are experiment and observation. In their writings on Mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, etc., the solution of the problem is always obtained by performing an experiment, or by an instrumental observation. It was this that made them the originator of chemistry, that led them to the invention of all kinds of apparatus for distillation, sublimation, fusion and filtration; that in astronomy caused them to appeal to divided instrument, as quadrant and astrolabe; in chemistry to employ the balance the theory of which they were perfectly familiar with; to construct tables of specific gravities and astronomical tables, that produced their great improvements in geometry and trigonometry.”
The Muslims developed physics to a high degree and produced such eminent physicist as Kindi, Jahiz, Banu Musa, Beruni, Razi and Abdur Rahman Ibn Nasr.
Inventions
Abul Hasan is distinguished as the inventor of the Telescope, which he described to be a “Tube, to the extremities of which were attached diopters”.
The Pendulum was invented by Ibn Yunus, a genius in science who lived in the reign of Aziz Billah and Hakim bi-Amr-illah, the Fatimid monarchs of Egypt. The invention of the Pendulum led to the measurement of time by its oscillations. His outstanding work Sijul Akbar al-Hakimi, named after his celebrated patron Hakim bi-Amr-illah, was acknowledged to be the masterpiece on the subject replacing the work of Ptolemy. It was translated into Persian by Omar Khayyam in 1079.
The first watch was made by Kutbi, a renowned watch-maker of his time. During the Abbasid reign the use of a watch became quite common and the famous Harun-ar-Rashid once dispatched a watch as a gift to his celebrated contemporary, the French Emperor Charlemagne. At that time a watch was considered a novel thing in Europe and was regarded as an object of wonder. Mustansariya, the well-known university of Baghdad had a unique clock with a dial blue like the sky and a sun which continually moved over its surface denoting the time. Maulana Shibli, the famous Urdu litterateur, has described a watch of Damascus in the following words: “The watch was kept in the door of a wall. It contained copper plates and twelve doors. There was an Eagle (Bat) standing in the 1st and the last plate. At the end of each hour, these two eagles lay down on the copper plates and hence a sound was produced to show the time. At twelve all the doors were closed. This system was being repeated continuously”. The construction of water clocks was also common in Islamic Countries. “The Arabs were skilful in the construction of clepsydras and water clocks with automata,” says a European writer.
The invention of Mariners Compass, which revolutionized sea borne commerce and oceanic shipping and enabled the Arabs to roam over the stormy seas in quest of new lands and additional markets for their commodities, is essentially a contribution of the Muslims to the world of science. Knowledge about the properties of the needle can no doubt be traced to Chinese sources, but putting it into working shape, in the form of a mariners’ compass, was the achievement of Muslim scientists. The compass was probably invented for the purpose of finding out the Qibla for Prayers.
Mir Fatehullah Khan is known to history as the inventor of gun and gunpowder. The presumption that gunpowder was first made by the Chinese does not stand the test of historical research. Writing in his book Arab Civilization, the author says that “gunpowder was a great invention of the Arabs who were already using guns”. Guns were used by Arabs in 1340 A.D. in the defense of Al-Bahsur, when Franzdol besieged it. The statement of Dr. Leabon about the invention of gunpowder by the Arabs is further corroborated by Mr. Scott in his well-known work, History of the Moorish Empire in Spain.
It has been acknowledged by Joseph Hell in his book, Arab Civilization that the distinction of inventing photography goes to Ibn al-Hashem, who is not only credited with its invention but also its development. Muhammad Musa, a great scholar of geography, has the unique distinction of being the inventor of an instrument by which the earth could be measured. He also invented the “Astrolabe”. These novel instruments invented by him have been preserved in the Museum of Madrid (Spain).
Arithmetic
Arabs were the founders of every day arithmetic and taught the use of ciphers to the world.
Musa al-Khwarizmi (780–850 A.D.) a native of Khwarizm, who lived in the reign of Mamun-ar-Rashid, was one of the greatest mathematicians of all times. He composed the oldest Islamic works on arithmetic and algebra which were the principal source of knowledge on the subject for a fairly long time. George Sarton pays glowing tribute to this outstanding Muslim mathematician and considers him “one of the greatest scientists of his race and the greatest of his time”.’ He systematized Greek and Hindu mathematical knowledge and profoundly influenced mathematical thought during mediaeval times. He championed the use of Hindu numerals and has the distinction of being the author of the oldest Arabic work on arithmetic known as Kitab-ul Jama wat Tafriq. The original version of this work has disappeared but its Latin translation Trattati a” Arithmetic edited by Bon Compagni in 1157 at Rome is still in existence.
Algebra
Is a word derived from the Arabic source Al-Jabar and is the product of Arabic genius.
Al-Khwarizmi the celebrated mathematician is also the author of Hisab Al-Jabr Wal Muqabla, an outstanding work on algebra which contains analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations. Khwarizmi has the distinction of being one of the founders of algebra who developed this branch of science to an exceptionally high degree. He also gives geometric solutions of quadratic equations, e.g., x2+10x=39 an equation which was repeated by later mathematicians. Robert Chester was the first to translate this book into Latin in 1145 A. D. which introduced Algebra into Europe. Later on this book was translated by Gerard of Cremona also. The Algebra written by Al-Khwarizmi is lucid and well-arranged. After dealing with equations of the second degree, the learned mathematician discussed algebraic multiplications and divisions. Writing in The Legacy of Islam Carra De Vaux says, “In the 18th century Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, an algebraist of considerable importance says he owed a great deal to the Arabs.”‘ He travelled in Egypt, Syria, Greece and Sicily and learned the Arabic methods there, recognized it to be superior to the method of Pythagoras and composed a libber Abaci in 15 chapters, the rest of which deals with algebraic calculations. Leonardo enumerates the six cases of the quadratic equations just as Al-Khwarizmi gives them. The translation by Robert Chester of Khwarizmi’s algebra marks the beginning of the era of the introduction and advancement of this branch of science in Europe. “The importance of Robert’s Latin translation of Khwarizmi’s algebra”, says a modern orientalist, “can hardly be exaggerated because it marked the beginning of European Algebra.”
MEDICAL SCIENCE
It has been established by modern historical research that the earliest human civilization dates back to about 7,000 years. Egypt and Babylon were the first countries to feel the impact of civilization, which was disseminated through various other countries including Assyria, China, India, Persia and Phoenicia, ultimately reaching Greece where it found the most congenial atmosphere for its adequate development. Romans inherited their knowledge from such eminent Greek intellectuals as Socrates and Plato, Aristotle and Pericles, Demosthenes and Sophocles. The downfall of the Roman Empire caused intellectual stagnation and the storm of barbarism which swept over the world presented the greatest threat to cultural progress, which would have been in danger of total extinction, had it not been saved by the timely intervention of the Arabs. “The Arabs” says Humboldt, “were admirably situated to act the part of mediators, and to influence the nations from the Eupharates to the Guadalquivir and Mid-Africa. Their unexampled intellectual activity marks a distinct epoch in the history of the world.”‘
The golden era of Muslims’ achievement in the field of scientific and philosophical research, began in 900 A. D. and lasted for two centuries. The physicians and scientists of the Islamic world having stood on the firm foundation of Greek science began to rely upon their own resources and to develop from within.
Jabir known as the father of Arabic alchemy was a mystic and was known as ‘Ceber’ in mediaeval Latin literature. He was closely attached to the family of the Barmekides, the ministerial dynasty of the Abbasid Caliphate. He had founded a laboratory at Kufa, whose ruins were discovered 200 years later. Sir Thomas Arnold pays eloquent tribute to this great Muslim scientist when he says, “At the very dawn stands the figure of a Muslim whose shadow lies athwart the science of the Middle Ages in the orient as in the Occident.”
Transmission to the West
The Muslims were the pioneers of sciences and arts during mediaeval times and formed the necessary link between the ancients and the moderns. Their light of learning dispelled the gloom that had enveloped Europe. Moorish Spain was the main source from which the scientific knowledge of the Muslims and their great achievements were transmitted to France, Germany and England. The Spanish universities of Cordova, Seville and Granada were thronged with Christian and Jewish students who learnt science from the Muslim scientists and who then popularized them in their native lands. Another source for the transmission of Muslim scientific knowledge was Sicily, where during the reign of Muslim kings and even afterwards a large number of scientific works were translated from Arabic into Latin. The most prominent translators who translated Muslims works from Arabic into European languages were Gerard of Cremona, Adelard of Bath, Roger Bacon and Robert Chester.
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