ISLAM AND SCIENCE A WORKSHOP ORGANIZED BY THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF LITTLE ROCK Presenters: Sheikh Sayyed Kamran Iqbal Saeed Khan Ahsan Shahid
MUSLIMS CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE, ASTRONOMY AND MEDICINE Kamran Iqbal Professor of Systems Engineering University of Arkansas at Little Rock kxiqbal@ualr.edu
The Glorious Islamic Civilization There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins And this civilization was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive The civilization I am talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Sulayman the Magnificent. - Carleton Fiorina, CEO Hewlett-Packard, 2001
Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists Thinkers, and Artists By Michael Morgan A history of scholars like Ibn Al-Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Tusi, Al-Khwarizmi, and Omar Khayyam, towering figures who revolutionized the mathematics, astronomy, and medicine of their time and paved the way for Newton, Copernicus, and many others.
Islamic Expansion in the Seventh Century After the death of Muhammad pbuh in 632 CE, Islamic empire rapidly expanded from conquests: Byzantine Syria, Armenia and Palestine (634-639) Sassanid Iraq and Persia (633-642) Egypt and North Africa (639-665) Transoxiana and Khorasan (662-709) Sindh and Indus valley (664-712) Visigothic Iberia (711-720) Caucasus and Asia Minor (711-750) Second Siege of Constantinople (717-718)
Islamic Centers of Learning Medina under the Prophet pbuh and Caliphs (622-685) and later Damascus under Umayyad Caliphate (685-750) and later Baghdad under Abbasid Caliphate (751-1258) Cordoba in Muslim Spain (756-1010) Cairo under Fatmid rule (969-1171) Ghazni under Ghaznavid dynasty (975-1187) Isfahan and Nishapur under Seljuk dynasty (1037-1157) and later under Khwarizemid empire (1157-1220) Fez under Almoravids and Almohads (1061-1250) Samarkand under Timurid dynasty (1370-1509) Timbuktu under Mali Empire (1324-1468)
Bayt al-hikmah in Baghdad Caliph Al-Mansur (d. 775) who built Baghdad also founded a palace library, modeled after the Sassanid Imperial Library Later, Abbasid caliphs, Al-Harun (d. 809) and Al-Mamun (d. 833), established the Bayt Al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad, which included an observatory, a hospital, and a library Early Muslim scientists at Bayt Al-Hikmah included mathematician Mohamed b. Musa Al-Khwarizmi, engineers-inventors Banu Musa brothers, Nestorian physician Hunayn b. Ishaq, and astronomerphilosopher Yaqub b. Ishaq al-kindi
Islamic Intellectual Tradition It was the intellectual explosion created at the time of Harun and Mamun that propelled science into the forefront of knowledge and made Islamic civilization the beacon of learning for five hundred years. The work done by the translation schools of Baghdad made possible the later works of the physician al Razi (d. 925), historian al Masudi (d. 956), the physician Abu Ali Sina (d. 1037), the physicist al Hazen (d.1039), the historian al Baruni (d. 1051), the mathematician Omar Khayyam (d.1132) and the philosopher Ibn Rushd (d.1198). - from www.islamstory.com
Abu Musa Jabir b. Al-Haiyan (Geber) Jabir b. Haiyan (721-815) was a chemist, physicist, mathematician and astronomer in the court of Harun Al-Rashid and Jabir is considered to be the father of alchemy and chemistry; he popularized the empirical method, invented over twenty laboratory equipments; discovered nitric and hydrochloric acids Jabir wrote over 200 books; his Kitab al-kimya (Book of Alchemy), translated in 1144 CE, became standard text for European alchemists Scientists delight not in abundance of material; they rejoice in the excellence of their experimental work Al-Haiyan
Muhammad b. Musa Al-Khwarizmi (Algoritmi) Al-Khwarizmi (780-850) was a Persian mathematician and astronomer who worked at the court of Al-Mamun Al Khwarizmi is best known for the recurring method of solving mathematical problems, used even today and called algorithms His book On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals (825 CE) introduced the decimal number system to the Western world His book The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing (830 CE) initiated the new field of algebra; his books were used as texts in Europe and Muslim world till 16 th century
Yaqub b. Ishaq Al-Kindi (Alkindus) Al-Kindi (801-873 CE) was an Arab philosopher, mathematician, and scientist who worked in Baghdad Al-Kindi wrote some 260 books on geometry, medicine, philosophy, logic, mathematics, pharmacology, and physics He was a pioneer in cryptography and crypto-analysis, music theory and music therapy, fragrant oils and perfumes, environmentalism and pollution; and discussed space-time and relativity Al-Kindi was considered by the Italian Renaissance scholar Gerolamo Cardano to be one of the twelve greatest minds of the Middle Ages
Muhammad b. Zakariya Al-Razi (Rhazes) Al-Razi (865-925) was a Persian physician and chemist from Ray, who wrote over 200 books and articles in various fields of science Al-Razi was the first physician to distinguish smallpox and measles; he was also a pioneer of neurosurgery and ophthalmology He discovered alcohol, was first to produce acids such as sulfuric acid, made leading contributions in inorganic and organic chemistry According to George Sarton, Al-Razi was the greatest physician of Islam and the Medieval Ages. His works remained up to the 17th century the indisputable authority of medicine. Andreas Vesalius wrote his doctoral thesis on Al-Razi
Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) Al-Zhahravi (938-1015) practiced, and taught medicine and surgery in Cordoba, in Muslim Spain where he was a court physician to the Andalusian Caliph Al-Hakim II Al-Zhahrawi is known as father of modern surgery; he devised over 200 new surgical instruments such as forceps, scalpels, curettes, retractors, spoons, sounds, hooks, rods and specula He wrote Methods of Medicine, an encyclopedia in 30 volumes that includes sections on surgery, medicine, orthopedics, ophthalmology, pharmacology, nutrition etc.; after the fall of Cordoba in 1010 the book remained hidden for 100 year until discovered and translated into Latin in the 12th century; for the next five centuries Methods of Medicine was the primary source for European medical knowledge
Muhammad b. Jabir Al-Batani (Albategnius) Al-Batani (858-929) came was from Harran, Turkey and worked in ar-raqqah and Damascus, Syria As an astronomer, he cataloged 489 stars, produced astronomical tables, discovered precession of equinoxes, and improved estimates of inclination of Earth s axis; he calculated the length of the year to be 365 days 5 hours 48 min 24 sec His astronomical tables (zij) were thrice translated into Latin, and may have influenced great European astronomers like Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler; Copernicus has quoted Al-Batani 23 times in his book, and a lunar crater is named after him
Abu Ali Ibn Al-Haytham (Alhazen) Ibn Al-Haytham (969-1039), originally from Basra, Iraq, but spent the better part of his life in Cairo, Egypt Alhazen is regarded as the "father of modern optics ; he described light as a series of particles traveling in straight line at finite speed Alhazen s achievements include pioneering advances in physics and mathematics; he developed the concept of momentum, enunciated Fermat s principle of least time, described the attraction between masses, and was aware of the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity; he was the first to state Wilson's theorem in number theory, and formulated the Lambert quadrilateral
Abu Rayhan Muhammad b. Ahmad Al-Biruni Al-Biruni (973-1048) from Uzbekistan was the scientific advisor to Sultan Mahmud of the Ghaznavid dynasty He was a master mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, geologist, and anthropologist; he compiled 146 known scientific works; his mineral density measurement served as standard for 700 years Biruni pioneered experimental methods in astronomy; he calculated eccentricity of sun s orbit; he estimated earth radius to be 6339.6 km, only 16.8 km less than the modern value of 6,356.7 km George Sarton described Biruni as "one of the very greatest scientists of Islam, and, all considered, one of the greatest of all times"
Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Ibn Sina (980-1037) from Bukhara, Uzbekistan was a child prodigy, who memorized Quran at 10, started study of medicine at 13, and was a practicing physician at 16 He listed causes of disease, wrote rules of clinical trials, cataloged the uses of 700 drugs, and was a pioneer in clinical pharmacology Ibn Sina wrote over 450 recorded works; the most famous being The Book of Healing, and Canon of Medicine, that served as standard medical text in European universities from 12 th till 18 th century George Sarton, author of The History of Science, has described Ibn Sina as "one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history
Omar Khayyam Omar Khayyam (1048-1130) from Nishapur, Iran was a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, physician, and poet As mathematician, Khayyam explained binomial series and worked out the geometric method for solving cubic equations by intersecting a hyperbola with a circle As astronomer, he demonstrated the rotation of earth on its axis and measured the length of the solar year as 365.24219858156 days, which is correct to fifth decimal place His famous work as poet is his philosophical thoughts Rubaiyat, partly translated into English by Edward FitzGerald
Abu Al-Iz b. Ismail Al-Jazari Al-Jazari (1136-1206) was a prominent inventor, mechanical engineer, craftsman, and artist from Diyarbakir in Kurdistan, who designed hydropower driven water supply system to supply water to mosques and hospitals in 13th century Damascus Al-Jazari s outstanding book on engineering, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, described fifty mechanical devices in six categories, illustrated by miniature paintings; his engineering inventions include cam shaft, crank shaft, segmental gear, suction pumps, automatic machines, water clocks, and a musical robot band According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Renaissance inventor Leonardo da Vinci may have been influenced by the classical automata of Al- Jazari
Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi Al-Tusi (1201-1274) from Khorasan was Persian mathematician, astronomer, scientist, and writer Al-Tusi made very accurate tables of planetary movements; his model for the planetary system was the most advanced of his time After the fall of Baghdad in 1258, Al-Tusi convinced Hulegu to build Maragheh observatory in Hulegu s capital in Samarkand, Azerbaijan He invented a geometrical technique called a Tusi-couple, which generated linear motion from the sum of two circular motions, and was later used by Cupernicus in his planetary model
Ala Al-Din Ibn al-shatir Ibn al-shatir (1304 1375) was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and engineer who worked as time keeper at the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, Syria He was first to introduce empirical methods in astronomy In his astronomical treatise, The Final Quest Concerning the Rectification of Principles, he drastically reformed the Ptolemaic models of the Sun, Moon, and planets; Ibn al-shatir s theory of solar, lunar, and planetary motion was very similar, except for a shift from geocentric to heliocentric model, to that attributed some 150 years later to Copernicus
Abu Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Nafis Ibn Al-Nafis (1213-1288) grew up in Damascus, Syria; he moved to Cairo in 1236 where he later became the head of Al-Mansuri hospital When only 29 years old, he published his most famous work, the Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna's Canon, which contained pioneering anatomical discoveries, most importantly the pulmonary and coronary circulations He later compiled The Comprehensive Book on Medicine, which included notes for 300 volumes, 80 of which were published in his lifetime; his books were translated in Italy in 1547, and may have helped William Harvey (who studied at University of Padua) to explain his theories of blood circulation
1001 Inventions http://www.1001inventions.com/1001inventions 1001 Inventions is a global educational initiative that promotes awareness of a thousand years of scientific and cultural achievements from Muslim civilization from the 7th century onwards, and how those contributions helped build the foundations of our modern world. 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzde9dcx7wk
Resources Credit for visuals: Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) Other references: http://en.islamstory.com/muslim-scholars/ http://www.famousmuslims.com/scientists.htm http://www.grouporigin.com/clients/qatarfoundation/ http://www.wilbourhall.org/ http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198203/science.the.islamic.l egacy-science.in.al-andalus.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/inventions_in_medieval_islam