Science in the Medieval Islamic World - Essay Example

Science in the Medieval Islamic World Islamic religion began with Prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century in Mecca. The word “Islam” originates from an Arabic word meaning “submission to God”. The Islamic calendar begins in 622 AD – the year which Prophet Muhammad made a special journey to Mecca from Medina. The medieval Islam was characterized by scientific discoveries and inventions. The Golden Age of Medieval Islam is believed to have spanned from 750 AD to 1050 AD. Islam put great emphasis on the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Yasin and Jani stated that Islam greatly emphasized on knowledge acquisition and dissemination than any other human activities. Knowledge occupies “a dominant position in Islamic doctrine”.1 Farudi discusses individuals who excelled in both scholarly as well as pious fields. These individuals include Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, and Al-Biruni who despite having great knowledge in religious texts also excelled in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, geography, chemistry, and physics. 2 Science made great strides in the Golden Age of Islam compared to the Dark Ages in Europe when scientific knowledge languished. The contribution of Muslim science was the one that made renaissance occur in Europe in the preceding period. The Umayyad Dynasty is the one that set the stage for what came to be labeled as the Islamic Golden Age. The Umayyad Dynasty was in power in the period 661 to 750. Mu’awiya took over power after the death of Ali.3 Mu’awiya was an Umayyad, who used both force and persuasion to expand the empire. This set a pattern for the years that followed. During this period, many non-Arabs were converted to Arabs and brought into the Islamic faith. The 14 Umayyad rulers were the ones who played the greatest role in the expansion of the Islamic state. Under the Umayyad’s rule, the Islamic state expanded to the lands across Northern Africa, the Indus Valley (Pakistan), Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. These happenings/events are the ones that laid the foundation for Islamic Golden Age. The Abbasid Dynasty took over power from the Umayyad Dynasty and the years of Abbasid Dynasty (750 to 1258) are considered to be golden in many ways.4 These years were characterized by great discoveries and advancements in arts and sciences. There was also a great expansion in trade and the Islamic community expanded. Nevertheless, the period was characterized by plenty of unrest originating from Shi’a people in North Africa who were revolting against the Abbasid rule. In ninth century, the Abbasids faced a lot of problems from different quarters, and this greatly hampered their ability to rule effectively. The weakness that was inherent in Abbasids was highlighted by the disastrous civil war that broke out between two brothers, al-Amin and al-Ma’mum. The Golden Age ended in 1258 through the crush of Baghdad by the Mongols. “The Mongol army swooped in from the north.”5 Baghdad was the capital city of the Abbasids. In the Golden Age of Islam, the Quran appeared to have established a relationship between man and nature. This inspired Muslim scholars to study natural phenomena as a way of understanding God. Therefore, the scientific study has its roots in the Quran. Great libraries and centers of learning were established in both East and West. The most celebrated libraries and centers of learning were established in ninth-century in Abbasid Baghdad which was considered to be the center for translation as well as for specialized scholarly studies and investigations. In the tenth-century centers for higher learning were established in Cairo and Baghdad. These centers drew visiting scholars as well as students from all regions of Islam. Cairo’s al-Azhar which was founded in the tenth-century is the world’s oldest university. 6 The first science academy was established at Cordoba in the tenth century followed by another establishment in Toledo. Cosmology which is the study of history and workings of the universe evolved from the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians who believed that the cosmos was a box, with earth at the bottom. Quran promoted cosmological studies. 7 All Muslim scholars and scientists were guided by the teachings of Islamic Revelation. During the Golden Age of Islam, less concrete and more mystical cosmic concepts were developed. For example, Muslim astronomers made efforts to reconcile Ptolemy’s model of the cosmos with mathematical equivalents that described a cosmos more in accord with what they were coming to perceive as the actual movements of the heavenly bodies. This marks one of the greatest Muslim contributions to scientific knowledge. Intellectual centers were set up by the Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad and the Fatimids at Cairo. These are the places that produced the first Islamic mathematician-philosophers. The Islamic mathematicians criticized prior ideas, formulations and details that were found to be inaccurate, inconsistent or erroneous. They translated and revised the existing formulas and calculations and came up with new ones. Turner observes that it is the Muslim mathematicians who transformed the nature of numbers and streamlined some mathematical disciplines developing a new branch of mathematics. 8 Muslim scientists in the Golden Age of Islam developed quantitative, empirical, and experimental approaches to scientific inquiry. They can be assumed to be the ones who provided the platform for modern science. In the field of medicine, two Muslim were notably the most influential in the study of medicine. Ibn Sina developed medicines to treat various disease using hot baths, herbs, and even surgery.9 He later wrote a book, The Canon of Medicine which was widely used in medical schools throughout Europe until the modern medicine was invented. He also wrote 99 other books. Al-Razi created the means for clinical observations of mental diseases. Ibn An-Nafis advanced the theory of blood circulation between the heart’s compartments and the lungs, and of pulmonary circulation or lesser circulation. These are few examples of many Medieval Muslim contributions in medical invention. Islamic science of the Golden Age was characterized by experiments. Islamic scientists and scholars in the Golden Age of Islam were mostly interested in the applied sciences, constructing apparatus, testing theories through observations, and analyzing results through mathematic calculations. These processes are the ones that made Islamic scientists achieve feats that other non-Muslims could only dream about. Muslim scientific inventions and discoveries improved the quality of life of the society. For example, the invention of navigation aids such as geographical maps helped travelers reach their destinations easily. Their medical inventions helped to heal a wide range of diseases. Other equipments that were invented by the Muslim scientists include street lamps, waste disposal equipments, ethanol, and more than 200 surgical instruments. They also laid the foundation for mathematic calculations. In the ninth century, mathematician and astronomer Muhammad b. Musa al-Khwarazami wrote algebra. Islam had interest in number theory, considered numbers to be real things, explored the magic of squares and relationships between numbers and letters. Turner considers these activities to be the ones that “gave Islamic mathematics an arcane and mystical edge, which extended into such areas as alchemy and magic” (Turner 46). Muslims approached their everyday problems with mathematical solutions, and this increased the scope and complexity of Islamic mathematics. From Islamic mathematics, the arithmetic of daily life was realized, and it became essential in the calculation of taxes to the division of personal estates. However, this was done in accordance to the laws set forth in the Quran. The Muslim scholars disseminated knowledge and encouraged people to pursue knowledge thus improving their lives. Astronomical discoveries helped traders to navigate their journeys. These scientists developed new and improved the existing instruments for observation such as quadrant, sextant, observation tube, and the astrolabe. The observation tube was influential in the creation of the telescope. The astronomers who made greatest contributions in this field include Al-Farghani and Al-Tusi. Some of their books influenced the works of European astronomers such as Galileo and Copernicus. The Sasanians also made an impact on Islamic civilization extending to the great works of Muslims. ‘The Sasanian architectural legacy consists of building techniques and architectural forms” 10 The Islamic Calendar is one of the important things in the Muslim world, and these astronomers contributed greatly towards helping the Muslim society to determine prayer times through observing the sun and the moon. Many thinkers and scholars of late medieval Europe were greatly influenced by the scientific ideas from the Golden Age of Islam. For example, the elements of Platonic and Aristotelian thoughts were filtered through Muslim interpretations and emendations. The Medieval Islam contributed to the clarification of intellectual legacy of the past. It put the intellectual legacy of the past in workable order, and then enriched it with significant innovation. 11 Medieval Islam triumphed over the classical Greek and other Eastern and Western philosophies. Their triumph brought about the discovery and development of scientific experimental method. It was an exquisite harmony among Allah, technology, nature, man, and society. Bibliography Cohn, Jessica. The Medieval Islamic World: Conflict and Conquest. California: Teacher Created Materials, 2012. Farudi, Yasmeen . Contributions of Islamic Scholars to the Scientific Enterprise. International Education Journal 7, no. 4 (2006): 391-399. Meri, Josef. Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2013. Turner, Howard. Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction. Texas: University of Texas Press, 2000. Yasin, Raudlotul. Islamic Education: The Philosophy, Aim, and Main Features. International Journal of Education and Research 1, no. 10 (2013): 1-18. Read More