by Aminuddin Ahmad

In 1990, Aminuddin Ahmad, a student from Malaysia at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, posted this research paper to soc.religion.islam. It was written for a Linguistics course but covers a subject of deep importance: the Islamic world's role in preserving and advancing the sciences during the centuries Europe calls the Dark Ages. Ahmad writes not only as a student but as a Muslim and as someone from a country he expects will become "the next Japan" — a voice both scholarly and proud. The paper covers mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy, naming figures whose names live on in our vocabulary: algorithm, algebra, sine, azimuth, nadir, zenith.

What makes the paper notable beyond its content is its occasion. Ahmad explicitly distributes it freely — "feel free to distribute in any way provided that NOTHING is changed" — a gesture of intellectual generosity that anticipates the spirit of the open web. Preserved here as a document of early Islamic internet presence and of cross-cultural scholarly pride.

ISLAMIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE

Mathematics

The Islamic empire in the early 6th centuries were the inheritors of the scientific tradition of late antiquity. They preserved it, elaborated it, and finally, passed it to Europe. At this early date, the Islamic dynasty of the Umayyads evinced an interest in science. It was the century that were, for Europeans, the Dark Ages, were, for Muslim scholars, centuries of philosophical and scientific discovery and development. The Arabs at the time not only assimilated the ancient wisdom of Persia, and the classical heritage of Greece, but adapted their own distinctive needs and ways of thinking.

The Islamic ability to reconcile monotheism and science proves to be a first time in human thought that theology, philosophy, and science were finally harmonized in a unified whole. Thus their contribution was "one of the first magnitude, considering its effect upon scientific and philosophic thought and upon the theology of later times." One of the reasons for such development of science is probably due to God's commandment to explore the laws of nature. The idea is to admire all creations for its complexity — to cherish the creator for the ingenuity. Possibly holding to this belief, Islam's contributions to science had covered many roots of thought including mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philosophy.

Islam's redound to encourage into thinking was accessed by two other ancient cultures — the Persian and the Indians. They became part of the Islamic heritage in the field of mathematics. About the year 600 A.H. — during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad — an Indian Muslim mathematician developed the symbol "cipher" or zero and the system of placed notation. This invention, first mentioned in a Syriac text written in 662 AD, revolutionized the study of mathematics and made possible the great achievements of Muslim mathematicians.

Mathematical vocabulary such as "algebra" and "algorithm" are actually borrowings from Arabic words, that were later translated into Latin. It was a Muslim mathematician who formulated the trigonometric function explicitly. The word "sine" was actually the direct translation of the arabic word "jayb." An English mathematician Robert of Chester, who flourished in the middle of the twelfth century, was the first to use sinus equivalent to this Arabic jayb in its trigonometrical sense. Al-Khwarizmi composed the oldest book on mathematics, known only in translation. He presented more than 800 examples of the calculation of integration and equation, later anticipated by Neo-Babylonians. "As in trigonometry so in Algebra Muslims must be considered as the founders of this science whose very name reflects its origin... al-Khwarizmi... firmly established this branch of mathematics." They introduced it with the Arabic numerals into Europe and taught Westerners the most convenient convention of arithmetic concept. "The zero and Arabic numerals lie behind the science of calculation as we know it today."

In the first half of the ninth century, exponent numerals including the zero is used in preference to letters by al-Khwarizmi. In the second half of the ninth century, the Muslims of Spain developed numerals slightly different in shape, huruf al-ghubar (letters of dust), originally used in conjunction with a type of sand abacus. Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa, who was taught by a Muslim master, published a work which remained a landmark in the introduction of the Arabic numerals.

Astronomy

Early in the ninth century, mathematical calculations stimulated the craving for answers to celestial motion. This curiosity introduces a new field of thought, called astronomy. One most important application of astronomy is the timekeeping for the time of the five daily prayers. These are defined according to the position of the sun moving from east to west. The earliest known tables for such purpose are dated from the tenth century.

The magnificent sundial that ibn al-Shatir constructed in the year 1371/72 to adorn the main minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus displays the time of day relative to sunrise, midday, and sunset and relative to the afternoon prayer. There are also special curves for times relative to daybreak and nightfall. Thus the sundial effectively measures time with respect to each of the five daily prayers.

An individual by the name of Ibn al-Sarraj devised a series of astrolabes, quadrants, trigonometric grids and other instruments which are innovative to the extreme. "I consider Ibn al-Sarraj's astrolabe, which is universal from five different aspects, to be the most sophisticated astrolabe from the Near East and Europe..."

Al-Khwarizmi applied his findings to astronomy, composing the oldest planetary tables, or the zij. His work serves as a reference text and was rendered into Latin in the twelfth century by Gerard of Cremona. Among the first regular astronomical observatory towers constructed was in Jundaysabur, south west of Persia. Being the Caliph's astronomer, they constructed a systematic chart of celestial movements, and also verified the fundamental elements of the Almagest. The astronomers of al-Mamun, the Abbasid Caliph, made many original observations. One of the most outstanding is the measurement of the meridian near Mosul. "The object is to determine the size of the earth and its circumference on the assumption that the earth was round."

In Spain, astronomical studies were cultivated after the middle of the tenth century. Abu-al-Qasim Maslamah al-Majriti, the earliest Spanish Muslim astronomer, edited and corrected the zij of al-Khwarizmi. Al-Zarqali, known as Arzachel in the Latin West, the foremost astronomical observer of his age, devised the safihah, a type of astrolabe, that proved the motion of solar apogee with reference to the stars. Al-Bitruji, known as Alpetragius, developed a new theory of stellar movement.

Arab astronomers left the sky immortal traces of their findings. Not only are most of the star-names in European languages of Arabic origin, but a number of technical terms such as "azimuth" (al-sumut), "nadir" (nazir), and "zenith" (al-samt) are of Arabic etymology. This testifies the rich legacy of Islam to Christian Europe.

Medicine

The first of the Arabians, the rival indeed of Galen, was the Persian Ibn Sina, better known as Avicenna. He was given the title "the Prince of Medicine." His most celebrated work is Al-Qanun Fil-Tibb or "the Canon of Medicine." He could recite the Qur'an by heart when he was ten years old, and by twelve he had disputed in law and logic. "When I found a difficulty," he says, "I referred to my notes and prayed to the creator." His book classifies efficient causes and symptoms of diseases. He said that diseases are caused by the imbalance of the four elementary qualities of hot, wet, cold and dry in the body. His book also discusses conservation of health: separate sections on pediatric, adult, and geriatric regimen. Avicenna provides twenty-one chapters on ailments distinctive to each major organ of the body, arranged from head to toe.

The "Black Death," in the middle of the fourteenth century, ravaged Europe while the Christians stood helpless. Ibn-al-Khatib, a physician of Granada, composed a treatise in defence of the contagion theory and said:

"To those who say, 'How can we admit the possibility of infection while the religious law denies it?' we reply that the existence of contagion is established by experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The fact of contagion becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he who establishes contact with afflicted gets the disease, whereas he who is not in contact remains safe, and how transmission through garments, vessels and earrings..."

The circulation of blood and the idea of quarantine came from an empirical indication of contagion, discovered by Ibn al-Nafis. Ibn Juljul of Cordoba, in 943, compiled a book of special treaties on drugs found in al-Andalus, the Iberian Peninsula. Ibn-Masawayh wrote the oldest systematic treatise on ophthalmology, the earliest existing text book of the discipline. In the curative use of drugs, some amazing advances were made by the Muslims. They established the first apothecary shops, and founded the earliest school of pharmacy.

Philosophy

Avicenna is himself a philosopher. He is the first of the Arabic language who created a philosophical system which is complete and whole. From his initial study of logic, he turned to the study of physics, and metaphysics entirely on his own. By the age of eighteen, he had mastered logic, physics and mathematics. His major philosophical treatise is Kitab al-Shifa or the Book of Healing, known in Latin as Sufficientia. It is an encyclopedia of Islamic-Greek learning in the eleventh century, ranging from logic to mathematics.

Another great patron of philosophy and science in the history of Islam is Caliph Al-Mamun. Son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he encouraged disputes in court on logical, legal, and grammatical questions. He established in Baghdad his famous Bayt al-Hikmah (house of wisdom), a combination library and academy — an important educational institution of its era. This library contained books on all subjects: literature, Islamic sciences, natural sciences, logic, philosophy, and many other subjects.

The greatest figure in the history of Islamic philosophy is Imam al-Ghazali — jurist, theologian, philosopher and mystic. He said that the "Fiqh" is the daily bread of the believing soul, while doctrine is only as valuable as a medicine for the sick. He resolved to search for a "certain knowledge" upon which the object known is not open to doubt at all. Al-Ghazali affirmed an agnosticism about the ultimate and absolute nature of God. This need for religious certainty impelled al-Ghazali to mysticism, and led him back to the discovery of the Qur'anic conception of God.

The first genuine philosopher to write in Arabic was al-Kindi. He was a man of extraordinary erudition: geographer, historian, physician, chemist, optician and music theorist. His influence was felt mainly through his work in Mathematics, Geography and Medicine.

Conclusion

The intellectual history of the Arabs and the development of philosophy and science in the Near East virtually begins with the rise of Islam. Islam not only provided the Arabs with a bold world-view, but thrust them onto the cultural stage of the ancient world and set before them its scientific and cultural treasures. To the Muslim scholars whose work is shown, the Qur'an is the source of all knowledge — the revelation of God.

Many hints were given in the Quran as proof of the All-Knowing: "Verily God Knows the secrets of the Heavens And earth: and God sees well all That ye do." Some of the hints that were mentioned include: "Do not the unbeliever see that the heavens and earth Were joined together (as one Unit of Creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water Every living thing. Will they not believe?" Such hints enhanced human curiosity and fueled the quest for knowledge. As the roots of knowledge were established, the branches and leaves flourished into today's advanced technology. Such roots must never be forgotten, for as without a solid foundation, no pillars can be built and lived on.

Colophon

Written by Aminuddin Ahmad, Department of Linguistics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, for Linguistics 118. Posted to soc.religion.islam on May 28, 1990, with the author's note: "I find that this paper is important since our source and root of knowledge and technology was never given enough credit." Distributed with the author's permission: "Feel free to distribute in any way provided that NOTHING is changed."

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: [email protected].

🌲