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{{About|the history of science in the Islamic civilization between the 8th and 16th centuries|information on science in the context of Islam|Islam and science}} |
{{About|the history of science in the Islamic civilization between the 8th and 16th centuries|information on science in the context of Islam|Islam and science}} |
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{{Disputed|date=June 2008}} |
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{{History of science sidebar}} |
{{History of science sidebar}} |
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'''Science in medieval Islam''', also known as '''Islamic''' or '''Arabic science''', is a term used in the [[history of science]] to refer to the [[science]] developed in the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]] prior to the [[Modern history|modern era]], particularly during what is known as the [[Islamic Golden Age]] (dated variously between the 7th and 15th centuries). In the course of the expansion of the Islamic world, Muslim scholars encountered the science, mathematics, and medicine of antiquity through the works of [[Aristotle]], [[Archimedes]], [[Galen]], [[Ptolemy]], [[Euclid]], and others. These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring of science during the Medieval period. They were [[Transmission of the Classics|translated]] into [[Arabic language|Arabic]], the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of this period; scientists within the Islamic civilization were of diverse ethnicity (a great portion were [[Persian people|Persians]]<ref>Joseph A. Schumpeter, Historian of Economics: Selected Papers from the History of Economics Society Conference, 1994, y Laurence S. Moss, Joseph Alois Schumpeter, History of Economics Society. Conference, Published by Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0-415-13353-X, p.64. |
'''Science in medieval Islam''', also known as '''Islamic''' or '''Arabic science''', is a term used in the [[history of science]] to refer to the [[science]] developed in the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]] prior to the [[Modern history|modern era]], particularly during what is known as the [[Islamic Golden Age]] (dated variously between the 7th and 15th centuries). In the course of the expansion of the Islamic world, Muslim scholars encountered the science, mathematics, and medicine of antiquity through the works of [[Aristotle]], [[Archimedes]], [[Galen]], [[Ptolemy]], [[Euclid]], and others. These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring of science during the Medieval period. They were [[Transmission of the Classics|translated]] into [[Arabic language|Arabic]], the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of this period; scientists within the Islamic civilization were of diverse ethnicity (a great portion were [[Persian people|Persians]]<ref>Joseph A. Schumpeter, Historian of Economics: Selected Papers from the History of Economics Society Conference, 1994, y Laurence S. Moss, Joseph Alois Schumpeter, History of Economics Society. Conference, Published by Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0-415-13353-X, p.64.</ref><ref name=Franz>[[Ibn Khaldun]], Franz Rosenthal, N. J. Dawood (1967), ''The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History'', p. 430, [[Princeton University Press]], ISBN 0-691-01754-9.</ref> and [[Arab]]s,<ref name=Franz/> in addition to [[Berber people|Berbers]], [[Moors]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turks]]) and diverse religious backgrounds (mostly Muslims,<ref name=Turner>Howard R. Turner (1997), ''Science in Medieval Islam'', p. 270 (book cover, last page), [[University of Texas Press]], ISBN 0-292-78149-0</ref><ref>Hogendijk, Jan P. (January 1999), [http://www.math.uu.nl/people/hogend/Islamath.html ''Bibliography of Mathematics in Medieval Islamic Civilization'']</ref><ref>{{Cite book|author=[[A. I. Sabra]] |contribution=Greek Science in Medieval Islam |editor1-last=Ragep |editor1-first=F. J. |editor2-last=Ragep |editor2-first=Sally P. |editor3-last=Livesey |editor3-first=Steven John |year=1996 |title=Tradition, Transmission, Transformation: Proceedings of Two Conferences on Pre-modern Science held at the University of Oklahoma |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=9004091262 |pages=20|ref=harv |postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> in addition to many [[Christian]]s and [[Jew]]s,<ref>Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam, 1987, page 6</ref><ref>Salah Zaimeche (2003), Introduction to Muslim Science.</blockquote></ref> as well as [[Sabians]], [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] and the [[Irreligion|irreligious]]).<ref>Hogendijk 1989</ref><ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''[[What Went Wrong]]? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response''</ref> |
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Many of the scientists under Islam have nothing Muslim about them. Thus, some of Islam earliest and most prominent scientists at the Abbasid court, Ishaq Ibn Hunayn and Hunayn Ibn Ishaq were Nestorian Christians. Thabit Ibn Qurrah, the astronomer, was a Sabean. The Baktishtu family who held most prominent positions in the court in the ninth century were Christians, too. So were the historian-physician Abul Faraj; Ali Ibn Ridwan, the Egyptian, who was the al-Hakem’s Doctor; Ibn Djazla of Baghdad and Isa Ibn Ali, another famed physicist; and so on. Yaqut al-Hamawi, one of Islam’s greatest geographer-historian, was of Greek antecedents, and so was Al-Khazin (the champion author of the Balance of Wisdom). The Jews had the most glorious pages of their civilisation under Islam, too. To name just a couple, Maimonides (philosopher-physicist) was Salah Eddin Al-Ayyubi’s doctor, and Hasdai Ibn Shaprut, followed by his sons, held some of the most prominent positions in terms of learning and power in Muslim Spain. The Ben-Tibbon family were the ones who played a most prominent role in scattering Islamic learning in all provinces other than Spain (such as the South of France). Nearly all Muslim envoys to Christian powers were Jews; and about all Muslim trade was in the hands of the Jews, too.</blockquote></ref> as well as [[Sabians]], [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] and the [[Irreligion|irreligious]]).<ref>Hogendijk 1989</ref><ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''[[What Went Wrong]]? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response'': |
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{{quote|"There have been many civilizations in human history, almost all of which were local, in the sense that they were defined by a region and an ethnic group. This applied to all the ancient civilizations of the Middle East — [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Babylon]], [[Persia]]; to the great civilizations of Asia — [[History of India|India]], [[History of China|China]]; and to the civilizations of [[Pre-Columbian|Pre-Columbian America]]. There are two exceptions: [[Christendom]] and Islam. These are two civilizations defined by religion, in which religion is the primary defining force, not, as in India or China, a secondary aspect among others of an essentially regional and ethnically defined civilization. Here, again, another word of explanation is necessary."}} |
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{{quote|"In English we use the word “[[Islam]]” with two distinct meanings, and the distinction is often blurred and lost and gives rise to considerable confusion. In the one sense, Islam is the counterpart of Christianity; that is to say, a religion in the strict sense of the word: a system of belief and worship. In the other sense, Islam is the counterpart of [[Christendom]]; that is to say, a civilization shaped and defined by a religion, but containing many elements apart from and even hostile to that religion, yet arising within that civilization."}} |
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==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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===Views of historians and scholars=== |
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There are several different views on Islamic science among historians of science. The traditionalist view, as exemplified by [[Bertrand Russell]],<ref>[[Bertrand Russell]] (1945), ''[[History of Western Philosophy (Russell)|History of Western Philosophy]]'', book 2, part 2, chapter X</ref> holds that Islamic science, while admirable in many technical ways, lacked the intellectual energy required for innovation and was chiefly important as a preserver of ancient knowledge and transmitter to [[medieval Europe]]. The revisionist view, as exemplified by [[Abdus Salam]],<ref>[[Abdus Salam]], H. R. Dalafi, Mohamed Hassan (1994). ''Renaissance of Sciences in Islamic Countries'', p. 162. [[World Scientific]], ISBN 9971-5-0713-7.</ref> [[George Saliba]]<ref name=Saliba-1994>{{Harv|Saliba|1994|pp=245, 250, 256-257}}</ref> and John M. Hobson<ref>{{Harv|Hobson|2004|p=178}}</ref> holds that a '''Muslim scientific revolution''' occurred during the [[Middle Ages]],<ref>Abid Ullah Jan (2006), ''After Fascism: Muslims and the struggle for self-determination'', "Islam, the West, and the Question of Dominance", Pragmatic Publishings, ISBN 978-0-9733687-5-8.</ref><ref>Salah Zaimeche (2003), [http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Introduction_to_Muslim%20Science.pdf An Introduction to Muslim Science], FSTC.</ref> an expression with which scholars such as [[Donald Routledge Hill]] and [[Ahmad Y Hassan]] express the view that Islam was the driving force behind the Muslim achievements,<ref>[[Ahmad Y Hassan]] and [[Donald Routledge Hill]] (1986), ''Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History'', p. 282, [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref> while [[Robert Briffault]] even sees Islamic science as the foundation of modern science.<ref name=Briffault>[[Robert Briffault]] (1928). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 191. G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.</ref> The most prominent view in recent scholarship, however, as exemplified by Toby E. Huff,<ref name=Huff>{{Harv|Huff|2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Saliba|first=George|author-link=George Saliba|title=Seeking the Origins of Modern Science? Review of Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West|url=http://www.riifs.org/review_articles/review_v1no2_sliba.htm|journal=Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies|volume=1|issue=2|date=Autumn 1999|accessdate=2008-04-10|ref=harv}}</ref> [[Will Durant]],<ref name=Durant>[[Will Durant]] (1980). ''The Age of Faith ([[The Story of Civilization]], Volume 4)'', p. 162-186. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-01200-2.</ref> [[Fielding H. Garrison]],<ref name=Garrison>[[Fielding H. Garrison]], ''An Introduction to the History of Medicine: with Medical Chronology, Suggestions for Study and Biblographic Data'', p. 86</ref> [[Muhammad Iqbal]],<ref name=Iqbal>[[Muhammad Iqbal]] (1934, 1999). ''[[The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam]]''. Kazi Publications. ISBN 0-686-18482-3.</ref> [[Hossein Nasr]] and [[Bernard Lewis]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=End the Biggest Educational and Intellectual Blunder in History: A $100,000 Challenge to Our Top Educational Leaders|first=Norman W.|last=Edmund|publisher=Scientific Method Publishing|year=2005|isbn=0963286668|page=447}}</ref> holds that [[List of Muslim scientists|Muslim scientists]] did help in laying the foundations for an [[experiment]]al science with their contributions to the [[scientific method]] and their [[empirical]], experimental and [[Quantitative property|quantitative]] approach to scientific [[inquiry]], but that their work cannot be considered a [[Scientific Revolution]],<ref name=Huff/> like that which occurred in [[early modern Europe]] and led to the emergence of modern science,<ref>Thomas Kuhn, ''The Copernican Revolution'', (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1957), p. 142.</ref><ref>Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800.</ref> with the exception of [[Ibn al-Haytham]]'s ''[[Book of Optics]]'' which is widely considered a revolution in the fields of [[optics]] and [[visual perception]].<ref name=Hogendijk/><ref name=Hatfield/><ref>{{Cite journal|journal=The Medieval History Journal|volume=9|issue=1|pages=89–98|year=2006|doi=10.1177/097194580500900105|title=The Gaze in Ibn al-Haytham|first=Gérard|last=Simon|ref=harv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Burning Instruments: From Diocles to Ibn Sahl|first=Hélèna|last=Bellosta|journal=Arabic Sciences and Philosophy|year=2002|volume=12|pages=285–303|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|doi=10.1017/S095742390200214X|ref=harv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Portraits of Science: A Polymath in the 10th Century|first=Roshdi|last=Rashed|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|date=2 August 2002|volume=297|issue=5582|page=773|doi=10.1126/science.1074591|pmid=12161634|ref=harv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lindberg |first=David C. |year=1967 |title=Alhazen's Theory of Vision and Its Reception in the West |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=321–341 [332] |doi=10.1086/350266 |ref=harv }}</ref> |
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===Historiography of Islamic science=== |
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===Rise=== |
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{{See|Islamic Golden Age}} |
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During the early [[Muslim conquests]], the Muslim [[Rashidun army]], led primarily by [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], conquered the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] [[Persian Empire]] and more than half of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Roman Empire]], establishing the [[caliphate]] across the [[Middle East]], [[Central Asia]], and [[North Africa]], followed by further expansions across the northwestern [[Indian subcontinent]], [[History of Islam in southern Italy|southern Italy]] and the [[Iberian Peninsula]]. As a result, the Islamic governments inherited the knowledge and skills of the ancient [[History of the Middle East|Middle East]], of [[History of Greece|Greece]], of [[Persian Empire|Persia]] and of [[History of India|India]].<ref>[[Bernard Lewis]], ''[[What Went Wrong]]?''</ref> |
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The art of [[papermaking]] was obtained from two [[China|Chinese]] prisoners at the [[Battle of Talas]] (751), from where it was taken to [[Samarkand]] and [[Baghdad]]. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques using [[linen]] rags instead of [[mulberry]] bark. |
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Most notable [[List of Arab scientists and scholars|Arab scientists]] and [[List of Iranian scientists and scholars|Iranian scientists]] lived and practiced during the Islamic Golden Age, though not all scientists in Islamic civilization were [[Arab]] or [[Muslim]]. Some argue that the term "Arab-Islamic" does not appreciate the rich diversity of eastern scholars who have contributed to science in that era.<ref>Behrooz Broumand, The contribution of Iranian scientists to world civilization, Archives of Iranian Medicine 2006; 9 (3): 288–290</ref> |
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During the Islamic Golden Age, Muslim scholars made significant advances in [[science]], [[mathematics]], [[medicine]], [[astronomy]], [[engineering]], and many other fields. During this time, [[early Islamic philosophy]] developed and was often pivotal in scientific debates — key figures were usually scientists and philosophers. |
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The number of important and original Arabic works written on the mathematical sciences is much larger than the combined total of [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] works on the mathematical sciences.<ref>N. M. Swerdlow (1993). "Montucla's Legacy: The History of the Exact Sciences", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''54''' (2), p. 299-328 [320].</ref> |
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===Scientific institutions=== |
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{{See|Madrasah|Bimaristan|Islamic astronomy}} |
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A number of important institutions previously unknown in the ancient world have their origins in the medieval Islamic world, with the most notable examples being: the [[public hospital]] (which replaced [[healing temple]]s and [[sleep temple]]s)<ref name=Barrett/> and [[psychiatric hospital]],<ref>[[Ibrahim B. Syed]] PhD, "Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times", ''Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine'', 2002 (2), p. 2-9 [7-8].</ref> the [[public library]], the [[academic degree]]-granting [[university]], the astronomical [[observatory]] as a [[research institute]]<ref name=Barrett>[[Peter Barrett]] (2004), ''Science and Theology Since Copernicus: The Search for Understanding'', p. 18, [[Continuum International Publishing Group]], ISBN 0-567-08969-X.</ref> (as opposed to a private [[observation post]] as was the case in ancient times),<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Micheau|first=Francoise|contribution=The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East|pages=992–3|ref=harv}}, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=985–1007}}</ref> and the [[trust law|trust]] ([[Waqf]]).<ref>{{Harv|Gaudiosi|1988}}</ref><ref>{{Harv|Hudson|2003|p=32}}</ref> |
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The first universities which issued [[diploma]]s were the [[Bimaristan]] medical university-hospitals of the medieval Islamic world, where medical diplomas were issued to students of [[Islamic medicine]] who were qualified to be practicing [[Doctor of Medicine|doctors of medicine]] from the 9th century. Sir [[John Bagot Glubb]] wrote:<ref>[[John Bagot Glubb]] ([[cf.]] [http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/quote2.html Quotations on Islamic Civilization])</ref> |
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{{quote|"By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in Baghdad. The first free [[public hospital]] was opened in Baghdad during the [[Caliphate]] of [[Harun al-Rashid|Haroon-ar-Rashid]]. As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to [[Medical school|medical students]] and issued [[diploma]]s to those who were considered qualified to practice. The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from [[Al-Andalus|Spain]] and the [[Maghrib]] to [[History of Iran|Persia]]."}} |
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The [[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]] recognizes the [[University of Al Karaouine]] in [[Fez, Morocco]] as the oldest university in the world with its founding in 859.<ref>''The Guinness Book Of Records'', Published 1998, ISBN 0-553-57895-2, P.242</ref> [[Al-Azhar University]], founded in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]] in the 10th century, offered a variety of [[academic degree]]s, including [[postgraduate degree]]s, and is often considered the first full-fledged university. |
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A number of distinct features of the modern library were introduced in the Islamic world, where libraries not only served as a collection of manuscripts as was the case in ancient libraries, but also as a public library, a centre for the instruction and spread of sciences and ideas, a place for meetings and discussions, and sometimes as a [[lodging]] for scholars or [[boarding school]] for pupils.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} The concept of the [[library catalog]] was also introduced in medieval Islamic libraries, where books were organized into specific [[genre]]s and categories.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Micheau|first=Francoise|contribution=The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East|pages=988–991|ref=harv}} in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=985–1007}}</ref> |
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A large number of Muslim [[polymath]]s or "universal geniuses", scholars who contributed to many different fields of knowledge were active during the Islamic Golden Age. Muslim polymaths were known as "Hakeems" and they had a wide breadth of knowledge in many different fields of religious and secular learning, comparable to the later "Renaissance Men", such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], of the European [[Renaissance]] period. Polymath scholars were so common during the Islamic Golden Age that it was rare to find a scholar who specialized in any single field at the time.<ref name=Alavi>Karima Alavi, |
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[http://ccas.georgetown.edu/files/CCAS_Tapestry_of_Travel_lores.pdf Tapestry of Travel], Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, [[Georgetown University]].</ref> Notable Muslim polymaths included [[al-Biruni]], [[al-Jahiz]], [[al-Kindi]], Abu Bakr Muhammad [[al-Razi]], [[Ibn Sina]], [[al-Idrisi]], [[Ibn Bajja]], [[Ibn Zuhr]], [[Ibn Tufayl]], [[Ibn Rushd]], [[al-Suyuti]]<ref name=Sardar>{{Cite book|first=Ziauddin|last=Sardar|author-link=Ziauddin Sardar|year=1998|contribution=Science in Islamic philosophy|title=Islamic Philosophy|publisher=[[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]|url=http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H016.htm|accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref> [[Jābir ibn Hayyān]], [[al-Khwarizmi]], the [[Banū Mūsā]], [[Abbas Ibn Firnas]], [[al-Farabi]], [[al-Masudi]], [[al-Muqaddasi]], [[Alhacen]], [[Omar Khayyám]], [[al-Ghazali]], [[al-Khazini]], [[Avempace]], [[al-Jazari]], [[Ibn al-Nafis]], [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]], [[Ibn al-Shatir]], [[Ibn Khaldun]], and [[Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf|Taqi al-Din]], among many others.<ref name=Alavi/> |
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===Decline=== |
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{{See also|Islamic Golden Age#Causes of decline|l1=Islamic Golden Age: Causes of decline}} |
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Islamic science and the numbers of Islamic scientists were traditionally believed to have begun declining from the 12th or 13th centuries. It was believed that, though the Islamic civilization would still produce scientists, that they became the exception, rather than the rule (see [[List of Islamic scholars]]). Recent scholarship, however, has come to question this traditional picture of decline, pointing to continued astronomical activity as a sign of a continuing and creative scientific tradition through to the 16th century, of which the work of [[Ibn al-Shatir]] (1304–1375) in Damascus is considered the most noteworthy example.<ref>{{Harv|Saliba|1994|p=vii}}: {{quote|"The main thesis, for which this collection of articles came be used as evidence, is the one claiming that the period often called a period of decline in Islamic intellectual history was, scientifically speaking from the point of view of astronomy, a very productive period in which astronomical thories of the highest order were produced."}}</ref><ref>David A. King, "The Astronomy of the Mamluks", ''Isis'', 74 (1983):531-555</ref> This was also the case for other areas of Islamic science, such as [[medicine]], exemplified by the works of [[Ibn al-Nafis]] and [[Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu]], and the [[social sciences]], exemplified by [[Ibn Khaldun]]'s ''[[Muqaddimah]]'' (1370), which itself points out that science was declining in [[Iraq]], [[Al-Andalus]] and [[Maghreb]], but continuing to flourish in [[Persia]], [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]].<ref name=Hassan>[[Ahmad Y Hassan]], [http://www.history-science-technology.com/Articles/articles%208.htm Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the Sixteenth Century]</ref> |
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One reason given for the scientific decline was when the orthodox [[Ash'ari]] school of theology challenged the more rational [[Mu'tazili]] school of theology, with [[al-Ghazali]]'s ''[[The Incoherence of the Philosophers]]'' (''Tahafut al-falasifa'') being the most notable example. This interpretation was introduced by the Hungarian [[oriental studies|Orientalist]] [[Ignaz Goldziher]], who believed that there was an intrinsic antagonism between Islamic orthodoxy and the Greek-influenced traditions of science.<ref>Ignaz Goldziher, ''Stellung der alten islamischen Orthodoxie zu den antiken Wissenschaften''(1915)</ref> Recent scholarship has questioned this traditional view, however, with a number of scholars pointing out that the Ash'ari school supported science but were only opposed to speculative philosophy and that some of the greatest Muslim scientists such as [[Alhazen]], [[Biruni]], Ibn al-Nafis and Ibn Khaldun were themselves followers of the Ash'ari school.<ref name=Sardar/><ref name=Hassan/> Emilie Savage-Smith also pointed out that Al-Ghazali's positive views towards medicine, particularly [[anatomy]], were a source of encouragement for the increased use of [[dissection]] by Muslim physicians (such as [[Ibn Zuhr|Avenzoar]] and Ibn al-Nafis) in the 12th and 13th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal|first=Emilie|last=Savage-Smith|title=Attitudes Toward Dissection in Medieval Islam|journal=Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences|year=1995|volume=50|issue=1|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|pages=67–110|doi=10.1093/jhmas/50.1.67|pmid=7876530|ref=harv}}</ref> |
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Other reasons for the decline of Islamic science include conflicts between the [[Sunni]] and [[Shia]] Muslims, and invasions by [[Crusades|Crusaders]] and [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] on Islamic lands between the 11th and 13th centuries, especially the [[Mongol Empire|Mongol invasions]] of the 13th century. The Mongols destroyed Muslim libraries, observatories, hospitals, and universities, culminating in the [[Battle of Baghdad (1258)|destruction of Baghdad]], the [[Abbasid]] capital and intellectual centre, in 1258, which is traditionally understood to have marked an end to the [[Islamic Golden Age]].<ref>Erica Fraser. [http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/learning/conclusion.html The Islamic World to 1600], [[University of Calgary]].</ref> |
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From the 13th century, some traditionalist Muslims believed that the Crusades and Mongol invasions may have been a divine punishment from God against Muslims deviating from the [[Sunnah]], a view that was held even by the famous polymath Ibn al-Nafis.<ref>Nahyan A. G. Fancy (2006), "Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (d. 1288)", p. 49 & 59, ''Electronic Theses and Dissertations'', [[University of Notre Dame]].[http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-11292006-152615]</ref> Such traditionalist views as well as numerous wars and conflicts at the time are believed to have created a climate which made Islamic science less successful than before. However, Y. Ziedan has pointed out that the sack of Baghdad in 1258 was followed by intense scientific activity across [[Damascus]] and [[Cairo]], as many Muslim scholars wrote huge encyclopedias (including an 80-volume medical encyclopedia by Ibn al-Nafis) in an attempt to preserve the scientific heritage of the Islamic world and cope with the loss of Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Contributions of Ibn Al-Nafis to the progress of medicine and urology: A study and translations from his medical works|last=Abdel-Halim|first=R. E.|journal=Saudi Medical Journal|year=2008|volume=29|issue=1|pages=13–22 [15–6]|ref=harv}}</ref> |
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Another reason given for the decline of Islamic science is the disruption to the cycle of equity based on Ibn Khaldun's famous model of [[Asabiyyah]] (the rise and fall of [[civilization]]s), which points to the decline being mainly due to political and economic factors rather than religious factors.<ref name=Hassan/> With the fall of [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]] in 1492, the scientific and technological initiative had long been assumed by the Europeans who laid the foundations for Europe's [[Renaissance]] and [[Scientific Revolution]].<ref name=Grant>[[Edward Grant]] (1996), ''The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages: Their Religious, Institutional, and Intellectual Contexts'', Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref> |
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===Influence on European science=== |
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{{Main|Islamic contributions to Medieval Europe}} |
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{{See|Latin translations of the 12th century}} |
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Medieval European scholars who were active in advancing scientific understanding in Europe often borrowed from or relied upon Muslim works, especially in [[Al-Andalus|Islamic Spain]] and [[History of Islam in southern Italy|Sicily]]. These scholars translated scientific and philosophical texts from [[Arabic language|Arabic]] into [[Latin]]. |
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One of the most productive translators in Spain was [[Gerard of Cremona]], who translated 87 books from Arabic to Latin,<ref name=Zaimeche/> |
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including [[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī]]'s ''[[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing|On Algebra and Almucabala]]'', [[Jabir ibn Aflah]]'s ''Elementa astronomica'',<ref name=Katz/> |
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[[al-Kindi]]'s ''On Optics'', [[Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī]]'s ''On Elements of Astronomy on the Celestial Motions'', [[al-Farabi]]'s ''On the Classification of the Sciences'',<ref>For a list of Gerard of Cremona's translations see: Edward Grant (1974) ''A Source Book in Medieval Science'', (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr.), pp. 35-8 or Charles Burnett, "The Coherence of the Arabic-Latin Translation Program in Toledo in the Twelfth Century," ''Science in Context'', 14 (2001): at 249-288, at pp. 275-281.</ref> |
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the [[Alchemy (Islam)|chemical]] and [[Islamic medicine|medical]] works of [[Rhazes|Razi]],<ref name=Bieber/> |
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the works of [[Thabit ibn Qurra]] and [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]],<ref>D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 6.</ref> |
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and the works of [[Arzachel]], [[Jabir ibn Aflah]], the [[Banū Mūsā]], [[Abū Kāmil Shujā ibn Aslam]], [[Abu al-Qasim]], and [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (including the ''[[Book of Optics]]'').<ref name=Zaimeche/> |
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Other Arabic works translated into Latin during the 12th century include the works of [[Muhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī]] and [[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī]] (including ''[[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing]]''),<ref name=Katz/> |
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the works of [[Abu al-Qasim]] (including the ''[[al-Tasrif]]''),<ref name=Zaimeche/><ref name=Campbell-3>D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 3.</ref> |
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[[Muhammad al-Fazari]]'s ''Great Sindhind'' (based on the ''[[Surya Siddhanta]]'' and the works of [[Brahmagupta]]),<ref>G. G. Joseph, ''The Crest of the Peacock'', p. 306.</ref> |
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the works of [[Rhazes|Razi]] and [[Avicenna]] (including ''[[The Book of Healing]]'' and ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]''),<ref>M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 444-6, 451</ref> |
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the works of [[Averroes]],<ref name=Campbell-3/> |
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the works of [[Thabit ibn Qurra]], [[al-Farabi]], [[Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī]], [[Hunayn ibn Ishaq]], and his nephew Hubaysh ibn al-Hasan,<ref>D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 4-5.</ref> |
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the works of [[al-Kindi]], [[Abraham bar Hiyya]]'s ''Liber embadorum'', Ibn Sarabi's ([[Serapion the Younger|Serapion Junior]]) ''De Simplicibus'',<ref name=Campbell-3/> |
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the works of [[Qusta ibn Luqa]],<ref>D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 5.</ref> |
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the works of [[Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti]], [[Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi]], and [[al-Ghazali]],<ref name=Zaimeche>Salah Zaimeche (2003). [http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Main%20-%20Aspects%20of%20the%20Islamic%20Influence1.pdf Aspects of the Islamic Influence on Science and Learning in the Christian West], p. 10. Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation.</ref> |
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the works of [[Nur Ed-Din Al Betrugi]], including ''On the Motions of the Heavens'',<ref name=Bieber/><ref>[http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/m/michael_sco.shtml ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexicon'']</ref> |
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[[Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi]]'s medical encyclopedia, ''The Complete Book of the Medical Art'',<ref name=Bieber>Jerome B. Bieber. [http://inst.santafe.cc.fl.us/~jbieber/HS/trans2.htm Medieval Translation Table 2: Arabic Sources], [[Santa Fe Community College (Florida)|Santa Fe Community College]].</ref> |
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[[Abu Mashar]]'s ''Introduction to Astrology'',<ref>Charles Burnett, ed. ''Adelard of Bath, Conversations with His Nephew,'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. xi.</ref> |
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the works of [[Maimonides]], Ibn Zezla (Byngezla), [[Masawaiyh]], [[Serapion]], al-Qifti, and Albe'thar.<ref>D. Campbell, ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages'', p. 4.</ref> |
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[[Abū Kāmil Shujā ibn Aslam]]'s ''Algebra'',<ref name=Katz>V. J. Katz, ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction'', p. 291.</ref> |
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the [[Alchemy (Islam)|chemical]] works of [[Jābir ibn Hayyān]], and the ''De Proprietatibus Elementorum'', an Arabic work on [[geology]] written by a [[pseudo-Aristotle]].<ref name=Bieber/> By the beginning of the 13th century, [[Mark of Toledo]] translated the [[Qur'an]] and various [[Islamic medicine|medical works]].<ref>M.-T. d'Alverny, "Translations and Translators," pp. 429, 455</ref> |
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[[Fibonacci]] presented the first complete European account of the [[Hindu-Arabic numeral system]] from [[Arabic numerals|Arabic sources]] in his ''[[Liber Abaci]]'' (1202).<ref name=Bieber/> [[Al-Khazini]]'s ''[[Zij]] as-Sanjari'' was translated into [[Greek language|Greek]] by [[Gregory Choniades]] in the 13th century and was studied in the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>David Pingree (1964), "Gregory Chioniades and Palaeologan Astronomy", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'' '''18''', p. 135-160.</ref> The astronomical corrections to the [[Ptolemaic model]] made by [[al-Battani]] and [[Averroes]] and the non-Ptolemaic models produced by [[Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi]] (Urdi lemma), [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] ([[Tusi-couple]]) and [[Ibn al-Shatir]] were later adapted into the [[Copernican heliocentrism|Copernican heliocentric]] model. [[Al-Kindi]]'s (Alkindus) law of [[Terrestrial planet|terrestrial]] [[Gravitation|gravity]] influenced [[Robert Hooke]]'s law of [[Astronomical object|celestial]] gravity, which in turn inspired [[Newton's law of universal gravitation]]. [[Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]]'s ''Ta'rikh al-Hind'' and ''Kitab al-qanun al-Mas’udi'' were translated into Latin as ''Indica'' and ''Canon Mas’udicus'' respectively. [[Ibn al-Nafis]]' ''Commentary on Compound Drugs'' was translated into [[Latin]] by Andrea Alpago (died 1522), who may have also translated Ibn al-Nafis' ''Commentary on Anatomy in the Canon of Avicenna'', which first described [[pulmonary circulation]] and [[coronary circulation]], and which may have had an influence on [[Michael Servetus]], [[Realdo Colombo]] and [[William Harvey]].<ref>[http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/arabic/mon4.html Anatomy and Physiology], Islamic Medical Manuscripts, [[United States National Library of Medicine]].</ref> Translations of the algebraic and geometrical works of [[Ibn al-Haytham]], [[Omar Khayyám]] and [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] were later influential in the development of [[non-Euclidean geometry]] in Europe from the 17th century.<ref>D. S. Kasir (1931). ''The Algebra of Omar Khayyam'', p. 6-7. [[Columbia University Press|Teacher's College Press]], [[Columbia University]], [[New York]].</ref><ref>Boris A. Rosenfeld and Adolf P. Youschkevitch (1996), "Geometry", p. 469, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=447–494}}</ref> [[Ibn Tufail]]'s ''[[Hayy ibn Yaqdhan]]'' was translated into Latin by [[Edward Pococke]] in 1671 and into English by [[Simon Ockley]] in 1708 and became "one of the most important books that heralded the [[Scientific Revolution]]."<ref>Samar Attar, ''The Vital Roots of European Enlightenment: Ibn Tufayl's Influence on Modern Western Thought'', Lexington Books, ISBN 0-7391-1989-3.</ref> [[Ibn al-Baitar]]'s ''Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada'' also had an influence on European [[botany]] after it was translated into Latin in 1758.<ref name=McNeil/> |
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==Scientific method== |
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Muslim scientists placed a greater emphasis on experimentation than previous [[ancient civilization]]s (for example, [[Greek philosophy]] placed a greater emphasis on [[rationality]] rather than [[empiricism]]),<ref name=Briffault/><ref name=Durant/> which partly arose from the emphasis on empirical [[observation]] found in the [[Qur'an and Sunnah]],<ref name=Ahmad/><ref>{{quote|"Observe nature and reflect over it."|[[Qur'an]]}} ([[cf.]] C. A. Qadir (1990), ''Philosophy and Science in the lslumic World'', [[Routledge]], London) <br /> ([[cf.]] Bettany, Laurence (1995), "Ibn al-Haytham: an answer to multicultural science teaching?", ''Physics Education'' '''30''': 247-252 [247])</ref><ref>{{cite quran|17|36|quote=You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.}}</ref><ref>{{cite quran|2|164|quote=Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the benefit of mankind; in the rain which Allah Sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth - (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise.}}</ref> and the rigorous [[historical method]]s established in the [[science of hadith]].<ref name=Ahmad>Ahmad, I. A. (June 3, 2002), [http://images.agustianwar.multiply.com/attachment/0/RxbYbQoKCr4AAD@kzFY1/IslamicCalendar-A-Case-Study.pdf The Rise and Fall of Islamic Science: The Calendar as a Case Study], ''Faith and Reason: Convergence and Complementarity'', [[Al Akhawayn University]]. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.</ref> In addition, there was greater emphasis on combining theory with practice in the Islamic world, where it was common for those studying the sciences to be artisans as well, something that was "considered an aberration in the ancient world",<ref name=Lindberg/> thus Islamic experts in the sciences were usually expert makers of instruments that would enhance their powers of observation and calculation.<ref name=Lindberg>{{Cite book|title=Science in the Middle Ages|author=[[David C. Lindberg]]|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1980|isbn=0226482332|page=21|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> Muslim scientists thus combined precise observation, [[Scientific control|controlled experiment]] and careful records<ref name=Durant/> with a new<ref name=Briffault/> approach to scientific [[inquiry]] which led to the development of the [[scientific method]].<ref name=Gorini>Rosanna Gorini (2003). "Al-Haytham the Man of Experience. First Steps in the Science of Vision", ''International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine''. Institute of Neurosciences, Laboratory of Psychobiology and Psychopharmacology, Rome, Italy.</ref> In particular, the empirical observations and experiments of [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhacen) in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021) is seen as the beginning of the modern scientific method, which he first introduced to [[optics]] and [[psychology]]. Rosanna Gorini writes: |
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{{quote|"According to the majority of the [[historian]]s al-Haytham was the pioneer of the modern scientific method. With his book he changed the meaning of the term optics and established experiments as the norm of proof in the field. His investigations are based not on abstract theories, but on experimental evidences and his experiments were systematic and repeatable."<ref name=Gorini/>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}}} |
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Other early experimental methods were developed by [[Jābir ibn Hayyān]] (for [[chemistry]]), [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]] (for [[history]] and the [[science of hadith]]),<ref name=Ahmad/> [[Al-Kindi]] (for the [[Earth science]]s),<ref name=Plinio/> [[Avicenna]] (for [[medicine]]), [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] (for [[astronomy]] and [[mechanics]]),<ref name=Biruni>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Biruni|title=Al-Biruni}}</ref> [[Ibn Zuhr]] (for [[surgery]])<ref name=Rabie/> and [[Ibn Khaldun]] (for the [[social sciences]]).<ref name=Franz/> The most important development of the scientific method, the use of experimentation and quantification to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, was introduced by Muslim scientists. |
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Ibn al-Haytham, a pioneer of modern [[optics]],<ref>R. L. Verma "Al-Hazen: father of modern optics", ''Al-Arabi'', 8 (1969): 12–13.</ref> used the scientific method to obtain the results in his ''[[Book of Optics]]''. In particular, he combined observations, experiments and rational arguments to show that his modern intromission theory of [[visual perception|vision]], where [[Ray (optics)|rays]] of light are emitted from objects rather than from the eyes, is scientifically correct, and that the ancient [[Emission theory (vision)|emission theory of vision]] supported by [[Ptolemy]] and [[Euclid]] (where the eyes emit rays of light), and the ancient intromission theory supported by [[Aristotle]] (where objects emit physical particles to the eyes), were both wrong.<ref>[[D. C. Lindberg]], ''Theories of Vision from al-Kindi to Kepler'', (Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1976), pp. 60–67.</ref><ref>[[Nader El-Bizri]], 'A Philosophical Perspective on Alhazen's ''Optics''', ''Arabic Sciences and Philosophy'' ([[Cambridge University Press]]), Vol.15 (2005), pp. 189-218.</ref> It is known that [[Roger Bacon]] was familiar with Ibn al-Haytham's work and built his optical theories on it; the same with [[Witelo]]. Ibn al-Haytham is featured on the 10,000 Iraqi dinar note. |
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Ibn al-Haytham developed rigorous experimental methods of controlled [[Test method|scientific testing]] in order to verify theoretical [[Hypothesis|hypotheses]] and substantiate [[Inductive reasoning|inductive]] [[conjecture]]s.<ref name=Bizri/> Ibn al-Haytham's scientific method was similar to the modern scientific method in that it consisted of the following procedures:<ref>Bradley Steffens (2006). ''Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist'', Morgan Reynolds Publishing, ISBN 1-59935-024-6. ([[cf.]] Bradley Steffens, "Who Was the First Scientist?", ''Ezine Articles''.)</ref> |
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# [[Observation]] |
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# Statement of [[problem]] |
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# Formulation of [[hypothesis]] |
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# Testing of hypothesis using [[experiment]]ation |
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# Analysis of experimental [[result]]s |
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# Interpretation of [[data]] and formulation of [[logical consequence|conclusion]] |
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# [[Publication]] of findings |
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The development of the scientific method is considered{{By whom|date=April 2010}} to be fundamental to [[science|modern science]] and some — especially [[Philosophy of science|philosophers of science]] and practicing scientists — consider earlier inquiries into nature to be ''pre-scientific''. Some consider Ibn al-Haytham to be the "first [[scientist]]" for this reason.<ref>Bradley Steffens (2006). ''Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist'', Morgan Reynolds Publishing, ISBN 1-59935-024-6.</ref> |
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In ''The Model of the Motions'', Ibn al-Haytham also describes an early version of [[Occam's razor]], where he employs only minimal hypotheses regarding the properties that characterize astronomical motions, as he attempts to eliminate from his planetary model the [[cosmology|cosmological]] hypotheses that cannot be observed from [[Earth]].<ref>Roshdi Rashed (2007). "The Celestial Kinematics of Ibn al-Haytham", ''Arabic Sciences and Philosophy'' '''17''', p. 7-55 [35-36]. [[Cambridge University Press]].</ref> |
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[[Robert Briffault]] wrote in ''The Making of Humanity'': |
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{{quote|"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The ancient world was, as we saw, pre- scientific. The astronomy and mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatized in Greek culture. The Greeks systematized, generalized and theorized, but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation, experimental inquiry, were altogether alien to the Greek temperament. [...] What we call science arose in Europe as a result of a new spirit of inquiry, of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs."<ref name=Briffault/>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}}} |
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{{quote|Science is the most momentous contribution of [[Arab world|Arab civilization]] to the [[modern world]], but its fruits were slow in ripening. Not until long after [[Moors|Moorish]] culture had sunk back into darkness did the giant to which it had given birth, rise in his might. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European life."<ref>[[Robert Briffault]] (1928). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 202. G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.</ref>}} |
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[[George Sarton]] wrote in the ''Introduction to the History of Science'': |
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{{quote|"The main, as well as the least obvious, achievement of the Middle Ages was the creation of the experimental spirit and this was primarily due to the Muslims down to the 12th century."<ref name=Salam>[[Abdus Salam]] (1984), "Islam and Science". In C. H. Lai (1987), ''Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays of Abdus Salam'', 2nd ed., World Scientific, Singapore, p. 179-213.</ref>}} |
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[[Oliver Joseph Lodge]] wrote in the ''Pioneers of Science'': |
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{{quote|"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The [[Dark Ages|dark ages]] come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in [[Arab Empire|Arabia]]."<ref>[[Oliver Joseph Lodge]], ''Pioneers of Science'', p. 9.</ref>}} |
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[[Muhammad Iqbal]] wrote in ''[[The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam]]'': |
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{{quote|"Thus the experimental method, reason and observation introduced by the Arabs were responsible for the rapid advancement of science during the medieval times."<ref name=Iqbal/>{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}}} |
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===Peer review=== |
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The first documented description of a [[peer review]] process is found in the ''Ethics of the Physician'' written by Ishaq bin Ali al-Rahwi (854–931) of al-Raha, [[Syria]], who describes the first [[medical peer review]] process. His work, as well as later Arabic medical manuals, states that a visiting physician must always make duplicate notes of a patient's condition on every visit. When the patient was cured or had died, the notes of the physician were examined by a local medical council of other physicians, who would [[review]] the practising physician's notes to decide whether his or her performance met the required standards of medical care. If their reviews were negative, the practicing physician could face a [[lawsuit]] from a maltreated patient.<ref>Ray Spier (2002), "The history of the peer-review process", ''Trends in Biotechnology'' '''20''' (8), p. 357-358 [357].</ref> |
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==Applied sciences== |
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{{Main|Inventions in the Muslim world|Muslim Agricultural Revolution|Timeline of Muslim scientists and engineers}} |
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[[Fielding H. Garrison]] wrote in the ''History of Medicine'': |
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{{quote|"The [[Saracen]]s themselves were the originators not only of [[algebra]], [[chemistry]], and [[geology]], but of many of the so-called improvements or refinements of civilization, such as [[Street light|street lamps]], [[window]]-[[Paned window|panes]], [[firework]], [[string instrument|stringed instruments]], [[cultivation|cultivated]] [[fruit]]s, [[perfume]]s, [[spice]]s, etc..."<ref name=Garrison/>}} |
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In the [[applied science]]s, a significant number of inventions and technologies were produced by medieval Muslim scientists and engineers such as [[Abbas Ibn Firnas]], [[Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf|Taqi al-Din]], and particularly [[al-Jazari]], who is considered a pioneer in modern engineering.<ref>[http://www.mtestudios.com/news_100_years.htm 1000 Years of Knowledge Rediscovered at Ibn Battuta Mall], MTE Studios.</ref> Some of the inventions believed to have come from the medieval Islamic world include the [[Computer programming|programmable]] [[automaton]],<ref>Teun Koetsier (2001), "On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators", ''Mechanism and Machine theory'' '''36''': 590-591</ref> [[coffee]], the [[soap bar]], [[shampoo]], [[liquefaction]], [[crystallisation]], [[purification]], [[oxidisation]], [[evaporation]], [[filtration]], [[Distilled beverage|distilled]] [[alcohol]], [[uric acid]], [[nitric acid]], [[alembic]], the [[crankshaft]], the [[valve]], [[quilting]], the [[scalpel]], surgical [[catgut]], the [[windmill]], [[inoculation]], the [[fountain pen]], [[cryptanalysis]], [[Frequency analysis (cryptanalysis)|frequency analysis]], the three-course [[meal]], [[stained glass]] and [[Fused quartz|quartz glass]], [[Persian carpet]], [[explosive]] [[rocket]]s and [[incendiary device]]s<ref name=Vallely/> |
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===Agricultural sciences=== |
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{{Main|Arab Agricultural Revolution}} |
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During the [[Arab Agricultural Revolution]], Muslim scientists made significant advances in [[botany]] and laid the foundations of [[agricultural science]]. Muslim botanists and [[agriculturist]]s demonstrated advanced [[agronomy|agronomical]], agrotechnical and [[economic]] knowledge in areas such as [[meteorology]], [[climatology]], [[hydrology]], and soil occupation. They also demonstrated agricultural knowledge in areas such as [[Pedology (soil study)|pedology]], agricultural [[ecology]], [[irrigation]], preparation of soil, [[planting]], spreading of [[manure]], [[sowing]], cutting [[tree]]s, [[grafting]], [[pruning]], [[prophylaxis]], [[phytotherapy]], the care and improvement of [[Plant tissue culture|cultures]] and plants, and the harvest and storage of crops.<ref>Toufic Fahd (1996), "Botany and agriculture", p. 849, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=813–852}}</ref> |
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[[Al-Dinawari]] (828-896) is considered the founder of Arabic botany for his ''Book of Plants'', in which he described at least 637 plants and discussed [[plant evolution]] from its birth to its death, describing the phases of [[plant growth]] and the production of flowers and fruit.<ref name=Fahd-815>{{Cite journal|last=Fahd|first=Toufic|contribution=Botany and agriculture|pages=815|ref=harv}}, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996}}</ref> |
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In the 13th century, the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]]-[[Arab]]ian [[biologist]] Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati developed an early [[scientific method]] for botany, introducing [[empirical]] and [[experiment]]al techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous [[materia medica]], and separating unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and [[observation]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Toby |last=Huff |year=2003 |title=The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West |page=218 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0521529948 |pages=813–852}}</ref> His student [[Ibn al-Baitar]] published the ''Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada'', which is considered one of the greatest botanical compilations in history, and was a botanical authority for centuries. It contains details on at least 1,400 different plants, foods, and drugs, 300 of which were original discoveries. His work was also influential in Europe after it was translated into [[Latin]] in 1758.<ref name=McNeil>Russell McNeil, [http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/baitart.htm Ibn al-Baitar], [[Malaspina University-College]].</ref><ref>Diane Boulanger (2002), "The Islamic Contribution to Science, Mathematics and Technology", ''OISE Papers'', in ''STSE Education'', Vol. 3.</ref> |
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===Medicine=== |
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{{Main|Islamic medicine}} {{See|Ophthalmology in medieval Islam|Bimaristan}} |
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Muslim [[physician]]s made many significant advances and contributions to [[medicine]], including [[anatomy]], [[ophthalmology]], [[pathology]], the [[pharmaceutical sciences]] (including [[pharmacy]] and [[pharmacology]]), [[physiology]], and [[surgery]]. Muslim physicians set up dedicated [[hospital]]s, which later spread to Europe during the [[Crusade]]s, inspired by the hospitals in the Middle East.<ref name=Sarton>[[George Sarton]], ''Introduction to the History of Science''.<br />([[cf.]]</ref> |
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[[Al-Kindi]] wrote ''[[De Gradibus]]'', in which he first demonstrated the application of [[quantification]] and mathematics to medicine, particularly in the field of pharmacology. This includes the development of a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of [[drug]]s, and a system that would allow a doctor to determine in advance the most critical days of a patient's illness.<ref>Felix Klein-Frank (2001), ''Al-Kindi'', in [[Oliver Leaman]] and [[Hossein Nasr]], ''History of Islamic Philosophy'', p. 172. [[Routledge]], London.</ref> [[Rhazes|Razi]] (Rhazes) (865-925), a pioneer of [[pediatrics]],<ref>David W. Tschanz, PhD (2003), "Arab Roots of European Medicine", ''Heart Views'' '''4''' (2).</ref> recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various [[disease]]s. His ''Comprehensive Book of Medicine'', which introduced [[measles]] and [[smallpox]], was very influential in Europe. He also introduced [[urinalysis]] and [[stool test]]s.<ref>Rafik Berjak and Muzaffar Iqbal, "Ibn Sina — Al-Biruni correspondence", ''Islam & Science'', December 2003.</ref> |
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[[Abu al-Qasim]] (Abulcasis), considered a pioneer of modern [[surgery]],<ref>A. Martin-Araguz, C. Bustamante-Martinez, Ajo V. Fernandez-Armayor, J. M. Moreno-Martinez (2002). "Neuroscience in al-Andalus and its influence on medieval scholastic medicine", ''Revista de neurología'' '''34''' (9), p. 877-892.</ref> wrote the ''[[Al-Tasrif]]'' (1000), a 30-volume medical [[encyclopedia]] which was taught at Muslim and European [[medical school]]s until the 17th century. He invented numerous [[surgical instruments]], including the first instruments unique to women,<ref name=Saad>Bashar Saad, Hassan Azaizeh, Omar Said (October 2005). "Tradition and Perspectives of Arab Herbal Medicine: A Review", ''Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine'' '''2''' (4), p. 475-479 [476]. [[Oxford University Press]].</ref> as well as the surgical uses of [[catgut]] and [[forceps]], the [[Ligature (medicine)|ligature]], [[surgical needle]], [[scalpel]], [[curette]], [[Retractor (medical)|retractor]], surgical spoon, [[Sound (medical instrument)|sound]], surgical hook, surgical rod, and [[Speculum (medical)|specula]],{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} bone saw,<ref name=Vallely/>{{Dubious|date=June 2010}} and [[plaster]].<ref name="milligazette.com">Zafarul-Islam Khan, [http://milligazette.com/Archives/15-1-2000/Art5.htm At The Threshhold Of A New Millennium – II], ''The Milli Gazette''.</ref> In 1021, [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhacen) made important advances in [[eye surgery]], as he studied and correctly explained the process of sight and [[visual perception]] for the first time in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021).<ref name=Saad/> |
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[[Avicenna]], who was a pioneer of [[experimental medicine]] and was also an influential thinker and medical scholar,<ref name=Sarton/> wrote ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'' (1025) and ''[[The Book of Healing]]'' (1027), which remained standard textbooks in both Muslim and European [[University|universities]] until at least the 17th century. Avicenna's contributions include the discovery of the contagious nature of [[infectious disease]]s, the introduction of [[quarantine]] to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of [[experimental medicine]],<ref>{{Cite journal|journal=European Review|year=2008|volume=16|pages=219–27|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|title=Islamic Pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Theories and Substances|first=Danielle|last=Jacquart|doi=10.1017/S1062798708000215|ref=harv}}</ref> [[evidence-based medicine]], [[clinical trial]]s,<ref>David W. Tschanz, MSPH, PhD (August 2003). "Arab Roots of European Medicine", ''Heart Views'' '''4''' (2).</ref> |
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[[randomized controlled trial]]s,<ref>Jonathan D. Eldredge (2003), "The Randomised Controlled Trial design: unrecognized opportunities for health sciences librarianship", ''Health Information and Libraries Journal'' '''20''', p. 34–44 [36].</ref><ref>Bernard S. Bloom, Aurelia Retbi, Sandrine Dahan, Egon Jonsson (2000), "Evaluation Of Randomized Controlled Trials On Complementary And Alternative Medicine", ''International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care'' '''16''' (1), p. 13–21 [19].</ref> |
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[[efficacy]] tests,<ref>D. Craig Brater and Walter J. Daly (2000), "Clinical pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Principles that presage the 21st century", ''Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics'' '''67''' (5), p. 447-450 [449].</ref><ref>Walter J. Daly and D. Craig Brater (2000), "Medieval contributions to the search for truth in clinical medicine", ''Perspectives in Biology and Medicine'' '''43''' (4), p. 530–540 [536], [[Johns Hopkins University Press]].</ref> |
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and [[clinical pharmacology]],<ref>D. Craig Brater and Walter J. Daly (2000), "Clinical pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Principles that presage the 21st century", ''Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics'' '''67''' (5), p. 447-450 [448].</ref> |
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the importance of dietetics and the influence of climate and environment on health,<ref>[http://www.unani.com/avicenna%20story%203.htm The Canon of Medicine], The American Institute of Unani Medicine, 2003.</ref> the distinction of [[mediastinitis]] from [[pleurisy]], the contagious nature of [[phthisis]] and [[tuberculosis]], the distribution of [[disease]]s by water and soil, and the first careful descriptions of skin troubles, [[sexually transmitted disease]]s, [[perversion]]s, and [[Nervous system|nervous]] [[ailment]]s,<ref name=Sarton/> as well the use of ice to treat fevers, and the separation of [[medicine]] from [[pharmacology]], which was important to the development of the [[pharmaceutical sciences]].<ref name=Saad/> |
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[[Ibn Zuhr]] (Avenzoar) is considered a pioneer of [[experiment]]al surgery,<ref>Rabie E. Abdel-Halim (2006), "Contributions of Muhadhdhab Al-Deen Al-Baghdadi to the progress of medicine and urology", ''Saudi Medical Journal'' '''27''' (11): 1631-1641.</ref> for introducing the experimental method into surgery in the 12th century, as he was the first to employ [[animal testing]] in order to experiment with surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.<ref name=Rabie>Rabie E. Abdel-Halim (2005), "Contributions of Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) to the progress of surgery: A study and translations from his book Al-Taisir", ''Saudi Medical Journal 2005; Vol. 26 (9): 1333-1339''.</ref> He also performed the first [[dissection]]s and postmortem [[Autopsy|autopsies]] on both humans as well as animals.<ref>[http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Islamic+medicine Islamic medicine], ''[[Hutchinson Encyclopedia]]''.</ref> |
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In 1242, [[Ibn al-Nafis]], considered a pioneer of [[Cardiovascular physiology|circulatory physiology]],<ref>Chairman's Reflections (2004), "Traditional Medicine Among Gulf Arabs, Part II: Blood-letting", ''Heart Views'' '''5''' (2), p. 74-85 [80].</ref> was the first to describe [[pulmonary circulation]] and [[coronary circulation]],<ref>Husain F. Nagamia (2003), "Ibn al-Nafīs: A Biographical Sketch of the Discoverer of Pulmonary and Coronary Circulation", ''Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine'' '''1''', p. 22–28.</ref> which form the basis of the [[circulatory system]], for which he is considered one of the greatest [[physiologists]] in the Middle Ages.<ref>[[George Sarton]] ([[cf.]] Dr. Paul Ghalioungui (1982), "The West denies Ibn Al Nafis's contribution to the discovery of the circulation", ''Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis'', Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait) <br /> ([[cf.]] [http://www.islamset.com/isc/nafis/drpaul.html The West denies Ibn Al Nafis's contribution to the discovery of the circulation], ''Encyclopedia of Islamic World'')</ref> He also described the earliest concept of [[metabolism]],<ref>Dr. Abu Shadi Al-Roubi (1982), "Ibn Al-Nafis as a philosopher", ''Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis'', Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait ([[cf.]] [http://www.islamset.com/isc/nafis/drroubi.html Ibn al-Nafis As a Philosopher], ''Encyclopedia of Islamic World'').</ref> and developed new systems of [[physiology]] and [[psychology]] to replace the [[Avicenna|Avicennian]] and [[Galen]]ic systems, while discrediting many of their erroneous theories on the [[humorism|four humours]], [[Pulse|pulsation]],<ref>Nahyan A. G. Fancy (2006), "[http://etd.nd.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-11292006-152615 Pulmonary Transit and Bodily Resurrection: The Interaction of Medicine, Philosophy and Religion in the Works of Ibn al-Nafīs (died 1288)]", Ph.D. Dissertation, [[University of Notre Dame]], pp. 3 & 6.</ref> [[bone]]s, [[muscle]]s, [[intestine]]s, [[Sensory system|sensory organs]], [[Bile|bilious]] [[Canal (anatomy)|canals]], [[esophagus]], [[stomach]], etc.<ref>Dr. Sulaiman Oataya (1982), "Ibn ul Nafis has dissected the human body", ''Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis'', Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait ([[cf.]] [http://www.islamset.com/isc/nafis/index.html Ibn ul-Nafis has Dissected the Human Body], ''Encyclopedia of Islamic World'').</ref> Ibn al-Lubudi (1210–1267) rejected the theory of four [[Humorism|humours]] supported by [[Galen]] and [[Hippocrates]], discovered that the [[body]] and its preservation depend exclusively upon [[blood]], rejected Galen's idea that women can produce [[sperm]], and discovered that the movement of [[arteries]] are not dependent upon the movement of the heart, that the heart is the first organ to form in a [[fetus]]' body (rather than the brain as claimed by Hippocrates), and that the bones forming the skull can grow into [[tumor]]s.<ref>L. Leclerc (1876), ''Histoire de la medecine Arabe'', vol. 2, p. 161, [[Paris]]. <br /> ([[cf.]] Salah Zaimeche, [http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=497 The Scholars of Aleppo: Al Mahassin, Al Urdi, Al-Lubudi, Al-Halabi], Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation)</ref> |
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The ''Tashrih al-badan'' (''Anatomy of the body'') of [[Mansur ibn Ilyas]] (c. 1390) contained comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, [[Nervous system|nervous]] and [[circulatory system]]s.<ref>{{Harv|Turner|1997|pp=136–138}}</ref> During the [[Black Death]] [[bubonic plague]] in 14th century [[al-Andalus]], Ibn Khatima and Ibn al-Khatib hypothesized that infectious diseases are caused by "contagious entities" which enter the human body.<ref>Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D. (2002). "Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times", ''Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine'' '''2''', p. 2-9.</ref> Other medical innovations first introduced by Muslim physicians include the discovery of the [[immune system]], the use of [[animal testing]], and the combination of medicine with other [[science]]s (including [[agriculture]], [[botany]], [[chemistry]], and [[pharmacology]]),<ref name=Saad/> as well as the invention of the [[Injection (medicine)|injection]] [[syringe]] by Ammar ibn Ali al-Mawsili in 9th century [[Iraq]], the first [[Pharmacy|drugstore]]s in [[Baghdad]] (754), the distinction between medicine and pharmacy by the 12th century, and the discovery of at least 2,000 medicinal and [[chemical substance]]s.<ref>Information taken from the abstract of {{Cite journal| issn = 0350-199X | volume = 51 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 47–50 | last = Hadzović | first = S | title = [Pharmacy and the great contribution of Arab-Islamic science to its development] (Article in Croatian) | journal = Medicinski arhiv | year = 1997 | pmid = 9324574 | ref = harv}}</ref> |
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==Formal sciences== |
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===Logic=== |
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{{Main|Logic in Islamic philosophy}} |
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Islamic logic not only included the study of formal patterns of [[inference]] and their validity but also elements of the philosophy of language and elements of [[epistemology]] and [[metaphysics]]. Due to disputes with [[Arabic grammar]]ians, Islamic philosophers were very interested in working out the relationship between logic and language, and they devoted much discussion to the question of the subject matter and aims of logic in relation to reasoning and speech. In the area of formal logical analysis, they elaborated upon the theory of terms, [[proposition]]s and [[syllogism]]s. They considered the syllogism to be the form to which all rational argumentation could be reduced, and they regarded syllogistic theory as the focal point of logic. Even [[poetics]] was considered as a syllogistic art in some fashion by many major Islamic logicians. |
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Important developments made by Muslim logicians included the development of "[[Logic in Islamic philosophy#Avicennian logic|Avicennian logic]]" as a replacement of Aristotelian logic. [[Avicenna]]'s system of logic was responsible for the introduction of [[hypothetical syllogism]],<ref name=Goodman>Lenn Evan Goodman (2003), ''Islamic Humanism'', p. 155, [[Oxford University Press]], ISBN 0-19-513580-6.</ref> [[Temporal logic|temporal]] [[modal logic]],<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-65928 History of logic: Arabic logic], ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''.</ref><ref>Dr. Lotfollah Nabavi, [http://public.ut.ac.ir/html/fac/lit/articles.html Sohrevardi's Theory of Decisive Necessity and kripke's QSS System], ''Journal of Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences''.</ref> and [[Inductive reasoning|inductive logic]].<ref>[http://www.islamherald.com/asp/explore/science/science_muslim_scientists.asp Science and Muslim Scientists], Islam Herald.</ref><ref>Wael B. Hallaq (1993), ''Ibn Taymiyya Against the Greek Logicians'', p. 48. [[Oxford University Press]], ISBN 0-19-824043-0.</ref> Other important developments in Islamic philosophy include the development of a strict [[scientific citation|science of citation]], the [[isnad]] or "backing", and the development of a [[scientific method|scientific method of open inquiry]] to disprove claims, the [[ijtihad]], which could be generally applied to many types of questions. From the 12th century, despite the logical sophistication of [[al-Ghazali]], the rise of the [[Ash'ari|Asharite]] school in the late Middle Ages slowly limited original work on logic in the Islamic world, though it did continue into the 15th century. |
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===Mathematics=== |
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{{Main|Islamic mathematics}} |
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[[File:Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi.jpg|thumb|right|[[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī|Al-Khwarizmi]], a pioneer of [[algebra]] and [[algorithm]]s.]] |
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John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson wrote in the ''[[MacTutor History of Mathematics archive]]'': |
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{{quote|"Recent research paints a new picture of the debt that we owe to Islamic [[mathematics]]. Certainly many of the ideas which were previously thought to have been brilliant new conceptions due to European mathematicians of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are now known to have been developed by Persian/Islamic mathematicians around four centuries earlier."<ref>John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson (1999). [http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Arabic_mathematics.html Arabic mathematics: forgotten brilliance?] ''[[MacTutor History of Mathematics archive]]''.</ref>}} |
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[[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī|Al-Khwarizmi]] (780-850) ('''born in Iran''') , from whose name the word [[algorithm]] derives, contributed significantly to [[algebra]], which is named after his book, ''[[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing|Kitab al-Jabr]]'', the first book on [[elementary algebra]].<ref>{{Harv|Eglash|1999|p=61}}</ref> He also introduced what is now known as [[Arabic numerals]], which originally came from [[Indian mathematics|India]], though Muslim mathematicians did make several refinements to the number system, such as the introduction of [[Decimal separator|decimal point]] notation. [[Al-Kindi]] (801-873) was a pioneer in [[cryptanalysis]] and [[cryptology]]. He gave the first known recorded explanations of [[cryptanalysis]] and [[Frequency analysis (cryptanalysis)|frequency analysis]] in ''A Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages''.<ref>Simon Singh, ''The Code Book'', p. 14-20.</ref> |
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The first known [[Mathematical proof|proof]] by [[mathematical induction]] appears in a book written by [[Al-Karaji]] around 1000 AD, who used it to prove the [[binomial theorem]], [[Pascal's triangle]], and the sum of [[integral]] [[Cube (algebra)|cubes]].<ref>Victor J. Katz (1998). ''History of Mathematics: An Introduction'', p. 255-259. [[Addison-Wesley]]. ISBN 0-321-01618-1.</ref> The [[historian]] of mathematics, F. Woepcke,<ref>F. Woepcke (1853). ''Extrait du Fakhri, traité d'Algèbre par Abou Bekr Mohammed Ben Alhacan Alkarkhi''. [[Paris]].</ref> praised Al-Karaji for being "the first who introduced the [[theory]] of [[algebra]]ic [[calculus]]." [[Ibn al-Haytham]] was the first mathematician to derive the formula for the sum of the [[fourth power]]s, and using the method of induction, he developed a method for determining the general formula for the sum of any integral [[Exponentiation|powers]], which was fundamental to the development of integral calculus.<ref>Victor J. Katz (1995). "Ideas of Calculus in Islam and India", ''Mathematics Magazine'' '''68''' (3), p. 163-174.</ref> The 11th century [[Persian literature|poet]]-mathematician [[Omar Khayyám]] was the first to find general [[geometry|geometric]] solutions of [[cubic equation]]s and laid the foundations for the development of [[analytic geometry]], [[algebraic geometry]] and [[non-Euclidean geometry]]. [[Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi]] (1135–1213) found algebraic and [[Numerical analysis|numerical]] solutions to cubic equations and was the first to discover the [[derivative]] of [[Cubic function|cubic polynomials]], an important result in differential calculus.<ref>J. L. Berggren (1990). "Innovation and Tradition in Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi's Muadalat", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'' '''110''' (2), p. 304-309.</ref> |
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Other achievements of Muslim mathematicians include the invention of [[spherical trigonometry]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Syed |first=M. H. |title=Islam and Science |year=2005 |publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. |isbn=8-1261-1345-6 |pages=71}}</ref> the discovery of all the [[trigonometric function]]s besides sine and cosine, early inquiry which aided the development of [[analytic geometry]] by [[Ibn al-Haytham]], the first refutations of [[Euclidean geometry]] and the [[parallel postulate]] by [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]], the first attempt at a [[non-Euclidean geometry]] by Sadr al-Din, the development of [[Mathematical notation|symbolic algebra]] by [[Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī]],<ref>{{MacTutor Biography|id=Al-Qalasadi|title=Abu'l Hasan ibn Ali al Qalasadi}}</ref> and numerous other advances in algebra, [[arithmetic]], calculus, [[cryptography]], [[geometry]], [[number theory]] and [[trigonometry]]. |
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==Natural sciences== |
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===Astrology=== |
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{{Main|Islamic astrology}} |
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Islamic astrology, in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''ilm al-nujum'' is the study of the heavens by early [[Muslim]]s. In early Arabic sources, ''ilm al-nujum'' was used to refer to both [[astronomy]] and [[astrology]]. In [[medieval]] sources, however, a clear distinction was made between ''ilm al-nujum'' (science of the stars) or ''ilm al-falak'' (science of the celestial orbs), referring to astrology, and'' ilm al-haya'' (science of the figure of the heavens), referring to astronomy. Both fields were rooted in Greek, [[Persian Empire|Persian]], and [[Indian subcontinent|Indian]] traditions. Despite consistent critiques of astrology by scientists and religious scholars, astrological prognostications required a fair amount of exact scientific knowledge and thus gave partial incentive for the study and development of astronomy. |
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The study of astrology was also refuted by several Muslim writers, including [[al-Farabi]], [[Ibn al-Haytham]], [[Avicenna]], [[al-Biruni]] and [[Averroes]]. Their reasons for refuting astrology were both due to the methods used by astrologers being [[conjectural]] rather than [[empirical]] and also due to the views of astrologers conflicting with orthodox Islam.<ref>{{Harv|Saliba|1994|pp=60 & 67-69}}</ref> |
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===Astronomy=== |
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{{Main|Astronomy in medieval Islam}} |
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{{See also|List of Muslim astronomers|List of Arabic star names|Maragheh observatory|Ulugh Beg Observatory|Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din}} |
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[[File:Al-Tusi Nasir.jpeg|thumb|right|150px|[[Nasir al-Din Tusi]] was a [[polymath]] who resolved significant problems in the [[Geocentric model|Ptolemaic system]] with the [[Tusi-couple]], which played an important role in [[Copernican heliocentrism]].]] |
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In [[astronomy]], the works of [[Egyptian astronomy|Egyptian]]/[[Greek astronomy|Greek]] astronomer [[Ptolemy]], particularly the ''[[Almagest]]'', and the [[Indian astronomy|Indian]] work of [[Brahmagupta]], were significantly refined over the years by [[Muslim]] astronomers. The astronomical tables of [[Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī|Al-Khwarizmi]] and of [[Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti]] served as important sources of information for [[Latin]] European thinkers rediscovering the works of astronomy, where extensive interest in astrology was discouraged. |
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An important contribution by Islamic astronomers was their much greater emphasis on [[observational science]] and [[observational astronomy]]. Their work was based largely on actual observations of the heavens, far more so than the earlier Greek tradition which relied heavily upon abstract calculation.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Astronomical Manuscripts of Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī|author=Ute Ballay|journal=[[Arabica (journal)|Arabica]]|volume=37|issue=3|date=November 1990|pages=389–392 [389]|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4057148|accessdate=2010-03-29|doi=10.1163/157005890X00050|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> This led to the emergence of the first astronomical [[Observatory|observatories]], in the sense of modern scientific [[research institute]]s, in the [[Muslim world]] by the early 9th century.<ref name=Kennedy-1962/><ref name = "Micheau-992-3">{{Cite journal|last=Micheau|first=Francoise|contribution=The Scientific Institutions in the Medieval Near East|pages=992–3|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}, in {{Harv|Rashed|Morelon|1996|pp=985–1007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Nas |first=Peter J |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Urban Symbolism |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1993 |month= |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers |location= |language= |isbn=9-0040-9855-0 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=350 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= }}</ref> Accurate [[Zij]] catalogues were at the [[Astronomy in medieval Islam#Observatories|Islamic observatories]], which were the first specialized astronomical institutions with their own scientific staff,<ref name=Kennedy-1962/> director, astronomical program,<ref name = "Micheau-992-3"/> large astronomical instruments, and building where astronomical [[research]] and observations are carried out. These Islamic observatories were also the first to employ enormously large [[Astronomy in medieval Islam#Instruments|astronomical instruments]] in order to greatly improve the accuracy of observations.<ref name=Kennedy-1962>{{Cite journal|last=Kennedy |first=Edward S. |year=1962 |title=Review: ''The Observatory in Islam and Its Place in the General History of the Observatory'' by Aydin Sayili |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=237–239 |doi=10.1086/349558 |ref=harv |postscript=<!--None--> }}</ref> |
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In the 10th century, [[Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi]] (Azophi) carried out observations on the [[star]]s and described their positions, [[apparent magnitude|magnitude]]s, brightness, and colour, and drawings for each constellation in his ''[[Book of Fixed Stars]]''. He also gave the first descriptions and pictures of "A Little Cloud" now known as the [[Andromeda Galaxy]]. He mentions it as lying before the mouth of a Big Fish, an Arabic [[constellation]]. This "cloud" was apparently commonly known to the [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]] astronomers, very probably before [[905]] AD.<ref name="NSOG">{{Cite book|last= Kepple |first= George Robert |coauthors= Glen W. Sanner |title= The Night Sky Observer's Guide, Volume 1 |publisher= Willmann-Bell, Inc. |year= 1998 |isbn= 0-943396-58-1 |pages=18 }}</ref> The first recorded mention of the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]] was also given by al-Sufi.<ref name="obspm">{{Cite web| title=Observatoire de Paris (Abd-al-Rahman Al Sufi) | url=http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/Bios/alsufi.html | accessdate=2007-04-19 }}</ref><ref name="obspm2">{{Cite web| title=Observatoire de Paris (LMC) | url=http://messier.obspm.fr/xtra/ngc/lmc.html | accessdate=2007-04-19 }}</ref> |
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In the 11th century, Muslim astronomers began questioning the [[Ptolemaic system]], beginning with [[Ibn al-Haytham]], and they were the first to conduct elaborate [[experiment]]s related to astronomical phenomena, beginning with the introduction of the [[scientific method|experimental method]] into astronomy by [[Abu Rayhan Biruni]] and Ibn al-Haytham.<ref name=Toomer>{{Cite journal|first=G. J.|last=Toomer|title=Review: ''Ibn al-Haythams Weg zur Physik'' by Matthias Schramm|journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]]|volume=55|issue=4|date=December 1964|pages=463–465 [463–4]|doi=10.1086/349914|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> Many of them made changes and corrections to the Ptolemaic model and proposed alternative non-Ptolemaic models within a [[geocentrism|geocentric]] framework. In particular, the corrections and critiques of [[al-Battani]], [[Ibn al-Haytham]], and [[Averroes]], and the non-Ptolemaic models of the [[Maragheh observatory|Maragha astronomers]], [[Nasir al-Din al-Tusi]] ([[Tusi-couple]]), [[Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi]] (Urdi lemma), and [[Ibn al-Shatir]], were later adapted into the [[Copernican heliocentrism|heliocentric Copernican model]],<ref>M. Gill (2005). [http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00005502&channel=university%20ave Was Muslim Astronomy the Harbinger of Copernicanism?]</ref><ref>Richard Covington (May–June 2007). "Rediscovering Arabic science", ''[[Saudi Aramco World]]'', p. 2-16.</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=April 2010}} and that [[Copernicus]]' arguments for the [[Earth's rotation]] were similar to those of al-Tusi and [[Ali Qushji]].<ref name=Ragep/> Some have referred to the achievements of the Maragha school as a "Maragha Revolution", "Maragha School Revolution", or "Scientific Revolution before the Renaissance".<ref name=Saliba-1994/> |
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Other contributions from Muslim astronomers include [[Biruni]] speculating that the [[Milky Way]] [[galaxy]] is a collection of numerous [[Nebula|nebulous]] [[star]]s, the development of a planetary model without any [[Deferent and epicycle|epicycles]] by [[Ibn Bajjah]] (Avempace),<ref>Bernard R. Goldstein (March 1972). "Theory and Observation in Medieval Astronomy", ''Isis'' '''63''' (1), p. 39-47 [40-41].</ref> the development of universal [[astrolabe]]s,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Krebs |first=Robert E. |title=Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance |year=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-3133-2433-6 |pages=196}}</ref> the invention of numerous other astronomical instruments, continuation of inquiry into the motion of the planets, [[Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir]]'s discovery that the [[Astronomical object|heavenly bodies]] and [[celestial spheres]] are subject to the same [[physical law]]s as [[Earth]],<ref name=Saliba>[[George Saliba]] (1994). "Early Arabic Critique of Ptolemaic Cosmology: A Ninth-Century Text on the Motion of the Celestial Spheres", ''Journal for the History of Astronomy'' '''25''', p. 115-141 [116].</ref> |
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the first elaborate [[experiment]]s related to astronomical phenomena, |
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the use of exacting [[empirical]] observations and experimental techniques,<ref>Toby Huff, ''The Rise of Early Modern Science'', p. 326. [[Cambridge University Press]], ISBN 0-521-52994-8.</ref> |
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the discovery that the [[celestial spheres]] are not [[solid]] and that the heavens are less dense than the air by Ibn al-Haytham,<ref>Edward Rosen (1985), "The Dissolution of the Solid Celestial Spheres", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''46''' (1), p. 13-31 [19-20, 21].</ref> |
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the separation of [[natural philosophy]] from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham<ref name="Roshdi Rashed 2007 p. 7-55">Roshdi Rashed (2007). "The Celestial Kinematics of Ibn al-Haytham", ''Arabic Sciences and Philosophy'' '''17''', p. 7-55. [[Cambridge University Press]].</ref> and Qushji,<ref name=Ragep/> |
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the rejection of the Ptolemaic model on empirical rather than [[philosophical]] grounds by Ibn al-Shatir,<ref name=Saliba-1994/> |
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and the first empirical [[observation]]al evidence of the [[Earth's rotation]] by al-Tusi and al-Qushji.<ref name=Ragep>F. Jamil Ragep (2001), "Tusi and Copernicus: The Earth's Motion in Context", ''Science in Context'' '''14''' (1-2), p. 145–163. [[Cambridge University Press]].</ref> Several Muslim astronomers also discussed the possibility of a [[heliocentrism|heliocentric]] model with [[ellipse|elliptical]] orbits,<ref>Seyyed [[Hossein Nasr]] (1964), ''An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines,'' (Cambridge: Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press), p. 135-136</ref> such as [[Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi]], [[Ibn al-Haytham]], [[Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]], [[al-Sijzi]], [[Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī]], and [[Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi]].<ref>A. Baker and L. Chapter (2002), "Part 4: The Sciences". In M. M. Sharif, "A History of Muslim Philosophy", ''Philosophia Islamica''.</ref> |
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In the 12th century, [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi]] criticized the idea of the [[Geocentric model|Earth's centrality]] within the [[universe]], and instead argued that there are more than "a thousand thousand [[world]]s (''alfa alfi 'awalim'') beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has."<ref name=Setia>{{Cite journal|title=Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi on Physics and the Nature of the Physical World: A Preliminary Survey|author=Adi Setia|journal=Islam & Science|volume=2|year=2004|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QYQ/is_2_2/ai_n9532826/|accessdate=2010-03-02|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> The first empirical [[observation]]al evidence of the Earth's rotation was given by [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] in the 13th century and by [[Ali Qushji]] in the 15th century, followed by [[Al-Birjandi]] who developed an early hypothesis on "circular [[inertia]]" by the early 16th century.<ref name="Ragep"/> [[Natural philosophy]] (particularly [[Aristotelian physics]]) was separated from astronomy by [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) in the 11th century, by Ibn al-Shatir in the 14th century,<ref name="Roshdi Rashed 2007 p. 7-55"/> and Qushji in the 15th century, leading to the development of an independent [[Astrophysics|astronomical physics]].<ref name=Ragep/> |
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===Chemistry=== |
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{{Main|Alchemy and chemistry in Islam}} |
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{{See|Inventions in the Islamic world}} |
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[[File:Jabir ibn Hayyan.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jābir ibn Hayyān]] (Geber) was a [[polymath]] who is considered a pioneer of [[chemistry]] and [[perfume]]ry.]] |
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The 9th century [[chemist]], [[Jābir ibn Hayyān]] (Geber), is considered a pioneer of [[chemistry]],<ref name=Vallely>Paul Vallely, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20060311/ai_n16147544 How Islamic Inventors Changed the World], ''[[The Independent]]'', 11 March 2006.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|first=Zygmunt S.|last=Derewenda|year=2007|title=On wine, chirality and crystallography|journal=Acta Crystallographica Section A: Foundations of Crystallography|volume=64|pages=246–258 [247]|doi=10.1107/S0108767307054293|pmid=18156689|issue=Pt 1|ref=harv}}</ref><ref>John Warren (2005). "War and the Cultural Heritage of Iraq: a sadly mismanaged affair", ''Third World Quarterly'', Volume 26, Issue 4 & 5, p. 815-830.</ref> for introducing an early [[experiment]]al method for chemistry, as well as the [[alembic]], [[still]], [[retort]], pure [[distillation]], [[liquefaction]], [[crystallisation]], [[purification]], [[oxidisation]], [[evaporation]], and [[filtration]].<ref name=Vallely/> |
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[[Al-Kindi]] was the first to refute the study of traditional [[alchemy]] and the theory of the [[Philosopher's stone|transmutation of metals]],<ref>Felix Klein-Frank (2001), "Al-Kindi", in [[Oliver Leaman]] & [[Hossein Nasr]], ''History of Islamic Philosophy'', p. 174. London: [[Routledge]].</ref> followed by [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]],<ref>Michael E. Marmura (1965). "''An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Conceptions of Nature and Methods Used for Its Study by the Ikhwan Al-Safa'an, Al-Biruni, and Ibn Sina'' by Seyyed [[Hossein Nasr]]", ''Speculum'' '''40''' (4), p. 744-746.</ref> [[Avicenna]],<ref>[[Robert Briffault]] (1938). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 196-197.</ref> and [[Ibn Khaldun]]. Avicenna also invented [[steam distillation]] and produced the first [[essential oil]]s, which led to the development of [[aromatherapy]]. [[Rhazes|Razi]] first distilled [[petroleum]], invented [[kerosene]] and [[kerosene lamp]]s, [[soap bar]]s and modern recipes for [[soap]], and [[antiseptic]]s. In his ''Doubts about Galen'', al-Razi was also the first to prove both [[Aristotle]]'s theory of [[classical element]]s and [[Galen]]'s theory of [[humorism]] wrong using an experimental method.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} In the 13th century, [[Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī]] stated a version of the law of [[conservation of mass]], noting that a body of [[matter]] is able to change, but is not able to disappear.<ref>Farid Alakbarov (Summer 2001). [http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/92_folder/92_articles/92_tusi.html A 13th-Century Darwin? Tusi's Views on Evolution], ''Azerbaijan International'' '''9''' (2).</ref> |
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[[Will Durant]] wrote in ''[[The Story of Civilization]] IV: The Age of Faith'': |
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{{quote|"Chemistry as a science was almost created by the [[Muslim|Moslems]]; for in this field, where the [[Greeks]] (so far as we know) were confined to industrial experience and vague [[hypothesis]], the [[Saracen]]s introduced precise [[observation]], [[Scientific control|controlled experiment]], and careful records. They invented and named the [[alembic]] (al-anbiq), chemically analyzed innumerable [[Chemical substance|substances]], composed [[Lapidary|lapidaries]], distinguished [[alkali]]s and [[acid]]s, investigated their affinities, studied and manufactured hundreds of drugs. Alchemy, which the Moslems inherited from Egypt, contributed to chemistry by a thousand incidental discoveries, and by its method, which was the most scientific of all medieval operations."<ref name=Durant/>}} |
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[[George Sarton]] wrote in the ''Introduction to the History of Science'': |
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{{quote|"We find in his (Jabir, Geber) writings remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research, a theory on the [[geology|geologic]] formation of [[metal]]s (the six metals differ essentially because of different proportions of [[sulfur|sulphur]] and [[mercury (element)|mercury]] in them); preparation of various substances (e.g., basic [[Cerussite|lead carbonatic]], [[arsenic]] and [[antimony]] from their [[Sulfide|sulphides]])."}} |
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===Earth sciences=== |
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{{Main|Islamic geography}} |
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{{See|Muslim Agricultural Revolution}} |
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[[File:Al-Biruni Afghan stamp.jpg|thumb|right|[[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] was a [[polymath]] who is considered a pioneer in [[Indology]], [[anthropology]], [[geodesy]] and [[geology]].]] |
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Muslim scientists made a number of contributions to the [[Earth science]]s. [[Alkindus]] was the first to introduce [[experiment]]ation into the Earth sciences.<ref name=Plinio>Plinio Prioreschi, "Al-Kindi, A Precursor Of The Scientific Revolution", ''Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine'', 2002 (2): 17-19.</ref> [[Biruni]] is considered a pioneer of [[geodesy]] for his important contributions to the field,<ref name=Ahmed/><ref name="Mowlana"/> along with his significant contributions to [[geography]] and [[geology]]. |
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Among his writings on geology, Biruni wrote the following on the [[geology of India]]: |
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{{quote|"But if you see the soil of India with your own eyes and meditate on its nature, if you consider the rounded stones found in earth however deeply you dig, stones that are huge near the mountains and where the rivers have a violent current: stones that are of smaller size at a greater distance from the mountains and where the streams flow more slowly: stones that appear pulverised in the shape of sand where the streams begin to stagnate near their mouths and near the sea - if you consider all this you can scarcely help thinking that India was once a sea, which by degrees has been filled up by the alluvium of the streams."<ref>[[Abdus Salam|A. Salam]] (1984), "Islam and Science". In C. H. Lai (1987), ''Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays of Abdus Salam'', 2nd ed., World Scientific, Singapore, p. 179-213.</ref>}} |
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John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson write in the ''[[MacTutor History of Mathematics archive]]'': |
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{{quote|"Important contributions to geodesy and geography were also made by al-Biruni. He introduced techniques to measure the earth and distances on it using [[triangulation]]. He found the [[radius]] of the earth to be 6339.6 km, a value not obtained in the [[Western world|West]] until the 16th century. His ''Masudic canon'' contains a table giving the coordinates of six hundred places, almost all of which he had direct knowledge."<ref name=Biruni/>}} |
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[[George Sarton]] wrote in the ''Introduction to the History of Science'': |
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{{quote|"We find in his (Jabir, Geber) writings remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research, a theory on the [[geology|geologic]] formation of [[metal]]s (the six metals differ essentially because of different proportions of [[sulfur|sulphur]] and [[mercury (element)|mercury]] in them)..."{{Page needed|date=September 2010}}}} |
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In [[geology]], [[Avicenna]] hypothesized on two causes of [[mountain]]s in ''[[The Book of Healing]]'' (1027) and developed the [[law of superposition]] and concept of [[Uniformitarianism (science)|uniformitarianism]].<ref>Toulmin, S. and Goodfield, J. (1965), ''The Ancestry of science: The Discovery of Time'', Hutchinson & Co., London, p. 64 ([[cf.]] [http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=319 Contribution of Ibn Sina to the development of Earth Sciences])</ref><ref name=Hassani>{{Cite web|author=Munim M. Al-Rawi and [[Salim Al-Hassani]]|title=The Contribution of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) to the development of Earth sciences|publisher=FSTC|url=http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/ibnsina.pdf|format=PDF|month=November | year=2002|accessdate=2008-07-01}}</ref> In [[cartography]], the [[Piri Reis map]] drawn by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] cartographer [[Piri Reis]] in 1513, was one of the earliest [[world map]]s to include the [[Americas]], and perhaps the first to include [[Antarctica]]. His map of the world was considered the most accurate in the 16th century. |
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The earliest known treatises dealing with [[environmentalism]] and [[environmental science]], especially [[pollution]], were Arabic treatises written by [[al-Kindi]], [[al-Razi]], [[Ibn Al-Jazzar]], [[al-Tamimi]], [[al-Masihi]], [[Avicenna]], [[Ali ibn Ridwan]], [[Abd-el-latif]], and [[Ibn al-Nafis]]. Their works covered a number of subjects related to pollution such as [[air pollution]], [[water pollution]], [[soil contamination]], [[municipal solid waste]] mishandling, and [[environmental impact assessment]]s of certain localities.<ref>L. Gari (2002), "Arabic Treatises on Environmental Pollution up to the End of the Thirteenth Century", ''Environment and History'' '''8''' (4), pp. 475-488.</ref> [[Córdoba, Spain|Cordoba]], [[al-Andalus]] also had the first [[waste container]]s and [[waste disposal]] facilities for [[litter]] collection.<ref>S. P. Scott (1904), ''History of the Moorish Empire in Europe'', 3 vols, J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and London. <br /> F. B. Artz (1980), ''The Mind of the Middle Ages'', Third edition revised, [[University of Chicago Press]], pp 148-50. <br /> ([[cf.]] [http://www.1001inventions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=441 References], 1001 Inventions)</ref> |
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===Physics=== |
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{{Main|Islamic physics}} |
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{{See|Book of Optics}} |
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[[File:Ibn Sahl manuscript.jpg|thumb|A page of [[Ibn Sahl]]'s manuscript showing his discovery of the law of [[refraction]] ([[Snell's law]]).]] |
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In the [[optics]] field of [[physics]], [[Ibn Sahl]] (c. 940-1000), a mathematician and physicist connected with the court of [[Baghdad]], wrote a treatise ''On Burning Mirrors and Lenses'' in 984 in which he set out his understanding of how [[curved mirror]]s and [[lens (optics)|lenses]] bend and focus [[light]]. Ibn Sahl is now credited with first discovering the law of [[refraction]], usually called [[Snell's law]].<ref>K. B. Wolf, "Geometry and dynamics in refracting systems", ''European Journal of Physics'' '''16''', p. 14-20, 1995.</ref><ref name=rashed90>R. Rashed, "A pioneer in anaclastics: Ibn Sahl on burning mirrors and lenses", ''[[Isis (journal)|Isis]]'' '''81''', p. 464–491, 1990.</ref> He used this law to work out the shapes of lenses that focus light with no geometric aberrations, known as [[anaclastic lens]]es. |
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[[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) (965-1039), who is considered a pioneer of [[optics]] and the [[scientific method]], developed a broad theory of [[light]] and [[optics]] in his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' which explained [[Visual perception|vision]], using [[geometry]] and [[anatomy]], and stated that each point on an illuminated area or object radiates light rays in every direction, but that only one ray from each point, which strikes the eye perpendicularly, can be seen. The other rays strike at different angles and are not seen. He used the example of the [[camera obscura]] and [[pinhole camera]], which produces an inverted image, to support his argument. This contradicted Ptolemy's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes. Alhacen held light rays to be streams of minute particles that travelled at a [[Speed of light|finite speed]]. He improved accurately described the [[History of optics|refraction of light]], and discovered the laws of [[refraction]]. He dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like [[shadow]]s, [[eclipse]]s, and the [[rainbow]]. He also attempted to explain [[binocular vision]] and the [[moon illusion]]. Through these extensive researches on optics, he is considered a pioneer of modern [[optics]]. His ''[[Book of Optics]]'' was later translated into Latin, and has been ranked as one of the most influential books in the [[history of physics]],<ref>H. Salih, M. Al-Amri, M. El Gomati (2005). "The Miracle of Light", ''A World of Science'' '''3''' (3). [[UNESCO]].</ref> for initiating a [[Scientific Revolution|revolution]] in [[optics]]<ref name=Hogendijk>{{Cite book|last1=Sabra|first1=A. I.|author1-link=A. I. Sabra|last2=Hogendijk|first2=J. P.|title=The Enterprise of Science in Islam: New Perspectives|pages=85–118|publisher=[[MIT Press]]|isbn=0262194821|year=2003}}</ref> and [[visual perception]].<ref name=Hatfield>{{Cite book|last=Hatfield |first=Gary |contribution=Was the Scientific Revolution Really a Revolution in Science? |editor1-last=Ragep |editor1-first=F. J. |editor2-last=Ragep |editor2-first=Sally P. |editor3-last=Livesey |editor3-first=Steven John |year=1996 |title=Tradition, Transmission, Transformation: Proceedings of Two Conferences on Pre-modern Science held at the University of Oklahoma |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=9004091262 |pages=500}}</ref> |
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[[Avicenna]] (980-1037) agreed that the [[speed of light]] is finite, as he "observed that if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by a luminous source, the speed of light must be finite."<ref>[[George Sarton]], ''Introduction to the History of Science'', Vol. 1, p. 710.</ref> [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] (973-1048) also agreed that light has a finite speed, and he was the first to discover that the speed of light is much faster than the [[speed of sound]].<ref name=Biruni/> [[Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi]] (1236–1311) and [[Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī]] (1260–1320) gave the first correct explanations for the [[rainbow]] phenomenon.<ref>{{MacTutor|id=Al-Farisi|title=Al-Farisi}}</ref> |
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In [[mechanics]], [[Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir]] (800-873) of the [[Banū Mūsā]] hypothesized that [[Astronomical object|heavenly bodies]] and [[celestial spheres]] were subject to the same [[Physical law|laws of physics]] as [[Earth]].<ref name=Saliba/> [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] (973-1048), and later [[al-Khazini]], developed [[experiment]]al [[scientific method]]s for mechanics, especially the fields of [[statics]] and [[Analytical dynamics|dynamics]], particularly for determining [[specific weight]]s, such as those based on the theory of [[Weighing scale#Balance|balances]] and [[Weighing scale|weighing]]. Muslim physicists were influential in the process of combined the fields of [[hydrostatics]] with dynamics to give birth to [[hydrodynamics]]. They applied the mathematical theories of [[ratio]]s and [[infinitesimal]] techniques, and introduced [[algebra]]ic and fine [[calculation]] techniques into the field of statics. They also generalized the concept of the [[centre of gravity]] and applied it to [[Three-dimensional space|three-dimensional]] bodies and founded the theory of the [[wiktionary:ponderable|ponderable]] [[lever]].<ref>Mariam Rozhanskaya and I. S. Levinova (1996), "Statics", p. 642, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=614–642}}: {{quote|"Using a whole body of mathematical methods (not only those inherited from the antique theory of ratios and infinitesimal techniques, but also the methods of the contemporary algebra and fine calculation techniques), Arabic scientists raised statics to a new, higher level. The classical results of Archimedes in the theory of the centre of gravity were generalized and applied to three-dimensional bodies, the theory of ponderable lever was founded and the 'science of gravity' was created and later further developed in medieval Europe. The phenomena of statics were studied by using the dynamic approach so that two trends - statics and dynamics - turned out to be inter-related within a single science, mechanics. The combination of the dynamic approach with Archimedean hydrostatics gave birth to a direction in science which may be called medieval hydrodynamics. [...] Numerous fine experimental methods were developed for determining the specific weight, which were based, in particular, on the theory of balances and weighing. The classical works of al-Biruni and al-Khazini can by right be considered as the beginning of the application of experimental methods in [[medieval science]]."}}</ref> Al-Biruni also theorized that [[acceleration]] is connected with non-uniform motion.<ref name=Biruni/> |
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In mechanics, [[Ibn al-Haytham]] discussed the theory of [[Gravitation|attraction]] between [[mass]]es, and he stated that the heavenly bodies "were accountable to the [[Physical law|laws of physics]]".<ref>Duhem, Pierre (1908, 1969). ''To Save the Phenomena: An Essay on the Idea of Physical theory from Plato to Galileo'', p. 28. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.</ref> Ibn al-Haytham also enunciated the law of [[inertia]] when he stated that a body moves [[perpetual motion|perpetually]] unless an external force stops it or changes its direction of motion.<ref name=Bizri>Dr. [[Nader El-Bizri]], "Ibn al-Haytham or Alhazen", in Josef W. Meri (2006), ''Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopaedia'', Vol. II, p. 343-345, [[Routledge]], New York, London.</ref> He also developed the concept of [[momentum]],<ref>Seyyed [[Hossein Nasr]], "The achievements of Ibn Sina in the field of science and his contributions to its philosophy", ''Islam & Science'', December 2003.</ref> though he did not quantify this concept mathematically. [[Avicenna]] (980-1037) developed the concept of [[momentum]], when attempting to provide a quantitive relation between the [[weight]] and [[velocity]] of a moving body.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Islamic intellectual tradition in Persia|author=[[Seyyed Hossein Nasr]] & Mehdi Amin Razavi|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1996|isbn=0700703144|page=72|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> His theory of motion also resembled the concept of [[inertia]] in [[classical mechanics]].<ref name=Sayili>A. Sayili (1987), "Ibn Sīnā and Buridan on the Motion of the Projectile", ''Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences'' '''500''' (1), p. 477–482</ref> |
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In 1121, [[al-Khazini]], in ''The Book of the Balance of Wisdom'', proposed that the [[gravity]] and [[gravitational potential energy]] of a body varies depending on its distance from the centre of the Earth.<ref>Mariam Rozhanskaya and I. S. Levinova (1996), "Statics", p. 621, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=614–642}}</ref> [[Ibn Bajjah|Avempace]] (d. 1138) argued that there is always a [[Reaction (physics)|reaction]] force for every force exerted,<ref>[[Shlomo Pines]] (1964), "La dynamique d’Ibn Bajja", in ''Mélanges Alexandre Koyré'', I, 442-468 [462, 468], Paris |
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<br />([[cf.]] Abel B. Franco (October 2003), "Avempace, Projectile Motion, and Impetus Theory", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''64''' (4): 521-546 [543])</ref> though he did not refer to the reaction force as being equal to the exerted force.<ref>Abel B. Franco (October 2003), "Avempace, Projectile Motion, and Impetus Theory", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''64''' (4):521-546 [543])</ref> His theory of motion had an important influence on later physicists like [[Galileo Galilei]].<ref>Ernest A. Moody (1951). "Galileo and Avempace: The Dynamics of the Leaning Tower Experiment (I)", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''12''' (2): 163-193 [.</ref> [[Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi]] (1080–1165) wrote a critique of [[Aristotelian physics]] entitled ''al-Mu'tabar'', where he negated [[Aristotle]]'s idea that a constant [[force]] produces uniform motion, as he theorized that a force applied continuously produces [[acceleration]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=[[Shlomo Pines]] |title=Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī , Hibat Allah | encyclopedia = [[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]] |volume=1 |pages=26–28 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |year=1970 |isbn=0684101149}} |
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<br />([[cf.]] Abel B. Franco (October 2003). "Avempace, Projectile Motion, and Impetus Theory", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''64''' (4), p. 521-546 [528].)</ref> He also described acceleration as the rate of change of [[velocity]].<ref>A. C. Crombie, ''Augustine to Galileo 2'', p. 67.</ref> [[Averroes]] (1126–1198) defined and measured [[force]] as "the rate at which [[Mechanical work|work]] is done in changing the [[Kinetic energy|kinetic]] condition of a material [[Physical body|body]]"<ref>Ernest A. Moody (June 1951). "Galileo and Avempace: The Dynamics of the Leaning Tower Experiment (II)", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''12''' (3), p. 375-422 [375].</ref> and correctly argued "that the effect and measure of force is change in the kinetic condition of a materially [[Friction|resistant]] [[mass]]."<ref>Ernest A. Moody (June 1951). "Galileo and Avempace: The Dynamics of the Leaning Tower Experiment (II)", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''12''' (3), p. 375-422 [380].</ref> In the early 16th century, [[al-Birjandi]] developed a hypothesis similar to "circular inertia."<ref name=Ragep/> The Muslim developments in mechanics laid many of the foundations for the later development of [[classical mechanics]] in early modern Europe.<ref>Mariam Rozhanskaya and I. S. Levinova (1996), "Statics", p. 642, in {{Harv|Morelon|Rashed|1996|pp=614–642}}: {{quote|"Arabic statics was an essential link in the progress of world science. It played an important part in the prehistory of classical mechanics in medieval Europe. Without it classical mechanics proper could probably not have been created."}}</ref> |
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===Zoology=== |
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{{See|Islamic medicine|Early Islamic philosophy}} |
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The first Muslim biologist to develop a theory on evolution was [[al-Jahiz]] (781-869). He wrote on the effects of the environment on the likelihood of an animal to survive, and he first described the [[The Origin of Species#Struggle for existence, natural selection, and divergence|struggle for existence]].<ref>Conway Zirkle (1941). Natural Selection before the "Origin of Species", ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' '''84''' (1), p. 71-123.</ref><ref>Mehmet Bayrakdar (Third Quarter, 1983). "Al-Jahiz And the Rise of Biological Evolutionism", ''The Islamic Quarterly''. [[London]].</ref> Al-Jahiz was also the first to discuss [[food chain]]s,<ref>Frank N. Egerton, "A History of the Ecological Sciences, Part 6: Arabic Language Science - Origins and Zoological", ''Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America'', April 2002: 142-146 [143]</ref> |
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and was also an early adherent of [[environmental determinism]], arguing that the environment can determine the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of a certain community and that the origins of different [[human skin color]]s is the result of the environment.<ref>Lawrence I. Conrad (1982), "Taun and Waba: Conceptions of Plague and Pestilence in Early Islam", ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'' '''25''' (3), pp. 268-307 [278].</ref> |
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[[Ibn al-Haytham]] wrote a book in which he argued for [[evolutionism]] (although not natural selection), and numerous other Islamic scholars and scientists, such as [[Ibn Miskawayh]], the [[Brethren of Purity]], [[al-Khazini]], [[Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]], [[Nasir al-Din Tusi]], and [[Ibn Khaldun]], discussed and developed these ideas. Translated into Latin, these works began to appear in the West after the [[Renaissance]] and appear to have had an impact on Western science. |
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[[Ibn Miskawayh]]'s ''al-Fawz al-Asghar'' and the [[Brethren of Purity]]'s ''[[Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity]]'' (''The Epistles of Ikhwan al-Safa'') expressed evolutionary ideas on how species evolved from [[matter]], into [[vapor]], and then water, then minerals, then plants, then animals, then apes, and then humans. These works were known in Europe and likely had an influence on [[Darwinism]].<ref name=Hamidullah>[[Muhammad Hamidullah]] and Afzal Iqbal (1993), ''The Emergence of Islam: Lectures on the Development of Islamic World-view, Intellectual Tradition and Polity'', p. 143-144. Islamic Research Institute, Islamabad.</ref>{{Dubious|date=June 2010}} |
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==Social sciences== |
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{{Main|Islamic sociology|Early Muslim sociology}} |
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{{See|Islamic economics in the world|Historiography of early Islam}} |
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===Sociology and Anthropology=== |
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[[File:Ibn Khaldoun.jpg|thumb|[[Ibn Khaldun]], considered a forerunner of several [[social sciences]] such as [[demography]], [[economics]], [[sociology]], [[historiography]], [[cultural history]] and the [[philosophy of history]].]] |
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Significant contributions were made to the [[social sciences]] in the Islamic civilization. [[Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī]] (973-1048) has been described as "the first [[anthropology|anthropologist]]".<ref name=Ahmed>Akbar S. Ahmed (1984). "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist", ''RAIN'' '''60''', p. 9-10.</ref> He wrote detailed comparative studies on the [[anthropology]] of peoples, religions and cultures in the [[Middle East]], [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] and [[South Asia]]. Biruni's anthropology of religion was only possible for a scholar deeply immersed in the lore of other nations.<ref>J. T. Walbridge (1998). "Explaining Away the Greek Gods in Islam", ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' '''59''' (3), p. 389-403.</ref> |
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Biruni has also been praised by several scholars for his [[Islam]]ic anthropology.<ref>Richard Tapper (1995). "Islamic Anthropology" and the "Anthropology of Islam", ''Anthropological Quarterly'' '''68''' (3), Anthropological Analysis and Islamic Texts, p. 185-193.</ref> Biruni is also considered a pioneer of [[Indology]].<ref name="milligazette.com"/> [[Al-Saghani]] (died 990) wrote some of the earliest comments on the [[history of science]], which included a comparison between the more theoretical approach of the "ancients" (including the [[ancient Egypt]]ians, [[Babylonia]]ns, [[Greeks]] and [[History of India|Indians]]) to that of the more [[experiment]]al approach of the "modern scholars" (the Muslim scientists of his time).<ref>[[Franz Rosenthal]] (1950). "Al-Asturlabi and as-Samaw'al on Scientific Progress", ''Osiris'' '''9''', p. 555-564 [559].</ref> [[Al-Muqaddasi]] (b. 945) also made contributions to the social sciences. |
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[[Ibn Khaldun]] (1332–1406) is considered a forerunner of several [[social sciences]]<ref>Akbar Ahmed (2002). "Ibn Khaldun’s Understanding of Civilizations and the Dilemmas of Islam and the West Today", ''Middle East Journal'' '''56''' (1), p. 25.</ref> such as [[demography]],<ref name=Mowlana>H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", ''Cooperation South Journal'' '''1'''.</ref> [[cultural history]],<ref>Mohamad Abdalla (Summer 2007). "Ibn Khaldun on the Fate of Islamic Science after the 11th Century", ''Islam & Science'' '''5''' (1), p. 61-70.</ref> [[historiography]],<ref>Salahuddin Ahmed (1999). ''A Dictionary of Muslim Names''. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1-85065-356-9.</ref> the [[philosophy of history]],<ref name=Akhtar>Dr. S. W. Akhtar (1997). "The Islamic Concept of Knowledge", ''Al-Tawhid: A Quarterly Journal of Islamic Thought & Culture'' '''12''' (3).</ref> [[sociology]],<ref name=Mowlana/><ref name=Akhtar/> and [[economics]].<ref>I. M. Oweiss (1988), "Ibn Khaldun, the Father of Economics", ''Arab Civilization: Challenges and Responses'', [[New York University Press]], ISBN 0-88706-698-4.</ref><ref>Jean David C. Boulakia (1971), "Ibn Khaldun: A Fourteenth-Century Economist", ''The Journal of Political Economy'' '''79''' (5): 1105-1118.</ref> He is best known for his ''[[Muqaddimah]]'' ([[Latin]]ized as ''Prolegomenon''). Some of the ideas he introduced in the ''Muqaddimah'' include [[social philosophy]], [[social conflict]] theories, [[Structural cohesion|social cohesion]], [[social capital]], [[social network]]s, [[dialectic]]s, the [[Laffer curve]], the [[historical method]], [[systemic bias]], the rise and fall of [[civilization]]s, [[feedback]] loops, [[systems theory]], and [[corporate social responsibility]]. He also introduced the scientific method into the social sciences.<ref name=Franz>[[Ibn Khaldun]], Franz Rosenthal, N. J. Dawood (1967), ''The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History'', p. x, [[Princeton University Press]], ISBN 0-691-01754-9.</ref> |
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[[Franz Rosenthal]] wrote in the ''History of Muslim Historiography'': |
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{{quote|"Muslim [[historiography]] has at all times been united by the closest ties with the general development of scholarship in Islam, and the position of historical knowledge in MusIim education has exercised a decisive influence upon the intellectual level of historicai writing....The Muslims achieved a definite advance beyond previous historical writing in the [[sociology|sociological]] understanding of history and the systematisation of historiography. The development of modern historical writing seems to have gained considerably in speed and substance through the utilization of a Muslim Literature which enabled western historians, from the seventeenth century on, to see a large section of the world through foreign eyes. The Muslim historiography helped indirectly and modestly to shape present day historical thinking."<ref>[http://members.tripod.com/~salems2/historiography.htm Historiography]. The Islamic Scholar.</ref>}} |
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===Psychology=== |
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{{Main|Islamic psychology}} |
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"Islamic [[psychology]]"<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Health and Illness from an Islamic Perspective|first=Majed A.|last=Ashy|journal=Journal of Religion and Health|volume=38|issue=3|date=Fall 1999|pages=241–57|doi=10.1023/A:1022984718794|ref=harv}}</ref> or ''Ilm-al Nafsiat''<ref name=Amber-358/> refers to the study of the ''[[Nafs]]'' ("[[Self (philosophy)|self]]" or "[[Psyche (psychology)|psyche]]")<ref name=Talib/> in the Islamic world and encompassed a "broad range of topics including the ''[[qalb]]'' (heart), the ''[[ruh]]'' (spirit), the ''[['Aql|aql]]'' (intellect) and ''irada'' ([[Will (philosophy)|will]])."<ref name=Amber-358>Amber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists", ''Journal of Religion and Health'' '''43''' (4): 357-377 [358]</ref> [[Al-Kindi]] (Alkindus) was the first to experiment with [[music therapy]],<ref name=Saoud>{{Cite web|url=http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Music2.pdf |title=The Arab Contribution to the Music of the Western World |accessdate=2007-01-12 |format=PDF |author=Saoud, R}}</ref> and [[Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari]] was the first to practice '''al-‘ilaj al-nafs'' ("[[psychotherapy]]").<ref name=Amber>Amber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists", ''Journal of Religion and Health'' '''43''' (4): 357-377 [361-363]</ref> The concepts of ''al-tibb al-ruhani'' ("[[mental health|spiritual health]]") and "mental hygiene" were introduced by [[Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi]],<ref name=Talib>Nurdeen Deuraseh and Mansor Abu Talib (2005), "Mental health in Islamic medical tradition", ''The International Medical Journal'' '''4''' (2), p. 76-79.</ref> who was "probably the first [[Cognitive psychology|cognitive]] and [[Medical psychology|medical psychologist]] to clearly differentiate between [[neuroses]] and [[psychoses]], to classify neurotic disorders, and to show in detail how rational and spiritual [[Cognitive therapy|cognitive therapies]] can be used to treat each one of his classified disorders."<ref name=Amber/> [[Al-Razi]] (Rhazes) made significant advances in [[psychiatry]] in his landmark texts ''El-Mansuri'' and ''Al-Hawi'', which presented definitions, symptoms and treatments for [[mental illnesses]] and problems related to mental health. He also ran the [[psychiatric ward]] of a [[Baghdad]] hospital. Such institutions could not exist in Europe at the time because of fear of [[demonic possession]]s.<ref name=Syed>Ibrahim B. Syed PhD, "Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times", ''Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine'', 2002 (2), p. 2-9 [7].</ref> |
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[[Al-Farabi]] wrote the first treatises on [[social psychology]] and dealt with [[consciousness]] studies.<ref name=Amber/> In [[al-Andalus]], [[Abulcasis]] pioneered [[neurosurgery]], while [[Ibn Zuhr]] (Avenzoar) gave the first accurate descriptions on [[neurological]] disorders and contributed to modern [[neuropharmacology]], and [[Averroes]] suggested the existence of [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref>Martin-Araguz, A.; Bustamante-Martinez, C.; Fernandez-Armayor, Ajo V.; Moreno-Martinez, J. M. (2002). "Neuroscience in al-Andalus and its influence on medieval scholastic medicine", ''Revista de neurología'' '''34''' (9), p. 877-892.</ref> [[Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi]] discussed "the relationship between certain psychological events to the physiological changes in the body",<ref name=Talib/> while [[Avicenna]] anticipated the [[word association]] test,<ref name=Syed/> discussed [[neuropsychiatry]] in ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'',<ref>S Safavi-Abbasi, LBC Brasiliense, RK Workman (2007), "The fate of medical knowledge and the neurosciences during the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Empire", ''Neurosurgical Focus'' '''23''' (1), E13, p. 3.</ref> and described the first [[thought experiment]]s on [[self-awareness]] and [[self-consciousness]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nasr|first=Seyyed Hossein|authorlink=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|coauthors=[[Oliver Leaman]]|title=History of Islamic Philosophy|pages=315 & 1022–1023|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|isbn=0415131596}}</ref> |
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Sudanese psychologist Omar Khaleefa has argued that [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (Alhazen) should be considered "the founder of [[experimental psychology]]",<ref name=Khaleefa>Omar Khaleefa (Summer 1999). "Who Is the Founder of Psychophysics and Experimental Psychology?", ''American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences'' '''16''' (2).</ref> for his experimental work on the psychology of [[visual perception]] in the ''[[Book of Optics]]''.<ref name=Steffens/> He was the first [[scientist]] to argue that vision occurs in the brain, rather than the eyes and pointed out that personal experience has an effect on what people see and how they see, and that vision and perception are subjective.<ref name=Steffens>Bradley Steffens (2006). ''Ibn al-Haytham: First Scientist'', Chapter 5. Morgan Reynolds Publishing. ISBN 1-59935-024-6.</ref> His investigations and experiments on psychology and visual perception included sensation, variations in [[sensitivity]], sensation of [[touch]], [[perception]] of colours, perception of [[darkness]], an early attempt to explain the [[moon illusion]], and [[binocular vision]].<ref name=Khaleefa/> [[Biruni]] was also a pioneer of [[experimental psychology]], as he was the first to [[empirical]]ly describe the concept of [[reaction time]].<ref>[[Muhammad Iqbal]], ''[[The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam]]'', "The Spirit of Muslim Culture" ([[cf.]] [http://www.allamaiqbal.com/works/prose/english/reconstruction] and [http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/MI_RRTI/chapter_05.htm])</ref> Khaleefa has similarly claimed that Al-Haytham should be considered the "founder of [[psychophysics]]", an important precursor of psychology developed in the 1830s, but these claims have not stood up to scrutiny.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aaen-Stockdale|first=Craig|year=2008|title=Ibn al-Haytham and psychophysics |journal=Perception |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=636–638 |doi=10.1068/p5940 |pmid=18546671|ref=harv|postscript=<!--None-->}}</ref> |
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==Historiography of Islamic science== |
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{{See also|Islam and science|Historiography of early Islam|Early Muslim sociology}} |
{{See also|Islam and science|Historiography of early Islam|Early Muslim sociology}} |
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Some historians of science, however, question the value of drawing boundaries that label the sciences, and the scientists who practice them, in specific cultural, civilizational, or linguistic terms. Consider the case of [[Nasir al-Din Tusi]] (1201–1274), who invented his mathematical theorem, the [[Tusi-couple|Tusi Couple]], while he was director of [[Maragheh]] observatory. Tusi's patron and founder of the observatory was the non-Muslim [[Mongol]] conqueror of Baghdad, [[Hulagu Khan]]. The Tusi-couple "was first encountered in an Arabic text, written by a man who spoke Persian at home, and used that theorem, like many other astronomers who followed him and were all working in the "Arabic/Islamic" world, in order to reform classical Greek astronomy, and then have his theorem in turn be translated into Byzantine Greek towards the beginning of the 14th century, only to be used later by Copernicus and others in Latin texts of Renaissance Europe."<ref>[[George Saliba]] (1999). [http://www.columbia.edu/%7Egas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?]</ref> |
Some historians of science, however, question the value of drawing boundaries that label the sciences, and the scientists who practice them, in specific cultural, civilizational, or linguistic terms. Consider the case of [[Nasir al-Din Tusi]] (1201–1274), who invented his mathematical theorem, the [[Tusi-couple|Tusi Couple]], while he was director of [[Maragheh]] observatory. Tusi's patron and founder of the observatory was the non-Muslim [[Mongol]] conqueror of Baghdad, [[Hulagu Khan]]. The Tusi-couple "was first encountered in an Arabic text, written by a man who spoke Persian at home, and used that theorem, like many other astronomers who followed him and were all working in the "Arabic/Islamic" world, in order to reform classical Greek astronomy, and then have his theorem in turn be translated into Byzantine Greek towards the beginning of the 14th century, only to be used later by Copernicus and others in Latin texts of Renaissance Europe."<ref>[[George Saliba]] (1999). [http://www.columbia.edu/%7Egas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?]</ref> |
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===Views of historians and scholars=== |
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There are several different views on Islamic science among historians of science. The traditionalist view, as exemplified by [[Bertrand Russell]],<ref>[[Bertrand Russell]] (1945), ''[[History of Western Philosophy (Russell)|History of Western Philosophy]]'', book 2, part 2, chapter X</ref> holds that Islamic science, while admirable in many technical ways, lacked the intellectual energy required for innovation and was chiefly important as a preserver of ancient knowledge and transmitter to [[medieval Europe]]. The revisionist view, as exemplified by [[Abdus Salam]],<ref>[[Abdus Salam]], H. R. Dalafi, Mohamed Hassan (1994). ''Renaissance of Sciences in Islamic Countries'', p. 162. [[World Scientific]], ISBN 9971-5-0713-7.</ref> [[George Saliba]]<ref name=Saliba-1994>{{Harv|Saliba|1994|pp=245, 250, 256-257}}</ref> and John M. Hobson<ref>{{Harv|Hobson|2004|p=178}}</ref> holds that a Muslim scientific revolution occurred during the [[Middle Ages]],<ref>Abid Ullah Jan (2006), ''After Fascism: Muslims and the struggle for self-determination'', "Islam, the West, and the Question of Dominance", Pragmatic Publishings, ISBN 978-0-9733687-5-8.</ref><ref>Salah Zaimeche (2003), [http://www.muslimheritage.com/uploads/Introduction_to_Muslim%20Science.pdf An Introduction to Muslim Science], FSTC.</ref> an expression with which scholars such as [[Donald Routledge Hill]] and [[Ahmad Y Hassan]] express the view that Islam was the driving force behind the Muslim achievements,<ref>[[Ahmad Y Hassan]] and [[Donald Routledge Hill]] (1986), ''Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History'', p. 282, [[Cambridge University Press]]</ref> while [[Robert Briffault]] even sees Islamic science as the foundation of modern science.<ref name=Briffault>[[Robert Briffault]] (1928). ''The Making of Humanity'', p. 191. G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.</ref> The most prominent view in recent scholarship, however, as exemplified by Toby E. Huff,<ref name=Huff>{{Harv|Huff|2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Saliba|first=George|author-link=George Saliba|title=Seeking the Origins of Modern Science? Review of Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West|url=http://www.riifs.org/review_articles/review_v1no2_sliba.htm|journal=Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies|volume=1|issue=2|date=Autumn 1999|accessdate=2008-04-10|ref=harv}}</ref> [[Will Durant]],<ref name=Durant>[[Will Durant]] (1980). ''The Age of Faith ([[The Story of Civilization]], Volume 4)'', p. 162-186. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-01200-2.</ref> [[Fielding H. Garrison]],<ref name=Garrison>[[Fielding H. Garrison]], ''An Introduction to the History of Medicine: with Medical Chronology, Suggestions for Study and Biblographic Data'', p. 86</ref> [[Muhammad Iqbal]],<ref name=Iqbal>[[Muhammad Iqbal]] (1934, 1999). ''[[The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam]]''. Kazi Publications. ISBN 0-686-18482-3.</ref> [[Hossein Nasr]] and [[Bernard Lewis]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=End the Biggest Educational and Intellectual Blunder in History: A $100,000 Challenge to Our Top Educational Leaders|first=Norman W.|last=Edmund|publisher=Scientific Method Publishing|year=2005|isbn=0963286668|page=447}}</ref> holds that [[List of Muslim scientists|Muslim scientists]] did help in laying the foundations for an [[experiment]]al science with their contributions to the [[scientific method]] and their [[empirical]], experimental and [[Quantitative property|quantitative]] approach to scientific [[inquiry]], but that their work cannot be considered a [[Scientific Revolution]],<ref name=Huff/> like that which occurred in [[early modern Europe]] and led to the emergence of modern science.<ref>Thomas Kuhn, ''The Copernican Revolution'', (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1957), p. 142.</ref><ref>Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800.</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* Campbell, Donald (2001). ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages''. [[Routledge]]. (Reprint of the London, 1926 edition). ISBN 0-415-23188-4. |
* Campbell, Donald (2001). ''Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages''. [[Routledge]]. (Reprint of the London, 1926 edition). ISBN 0-415-23188-4. |
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* d'Alverny, Marie-Thérèse. "Translations and Translators", in Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable, eds., ''Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century'', p. 421-462. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1982. |
* d'Alverny, Marie-Thérèse. "Translations and Translators", in Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable, eds., ''Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century'', p. 421-462. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1982. |
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* {{Cite book|last=Eglash |first=Ron |year=1999 |title=African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=0-8135-2614-0 |ref=harv |postscript=<!--None-->}} |
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* {{Cite journal |
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|last=Gaudiosi |
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|first=Monica M. |
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|title=The Influence of the Islamic Law of Waqf on the Development of the Trust in England: The Case of Merton College |
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|journal=[[University of Pennsylvania Law Review]] |
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|volume=136 |
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|issue=4 |
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|date=April 1988 |
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|pages=1231–1261 |
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|doi=10.2307/3312162 |
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|url=http://jstor.org/stable/3312162 |
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|ref=harv |
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|postscript=<!--None--> |
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}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Hobson |first=John M. |author-link=John Hobson |title=The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0521547245}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Hobson |first=John M. |author-link=John Hobson |title=The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0521547245}} |
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* {{Cite book |
* {{Cite book |
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* Katz, Victor J. (1998). ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction''. [[Addison Wesley]]. ISBN 0-321-01618-1. |
* Katz, Victor J. (1998). ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction''. [[Addison Wesley]]. ISBN 0-321-01618-1. |
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* {{Cite book|last=Levere |first=Trevor Harvey |title=Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8018-6610-3}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Levere |first=Trevor Harvey |title=Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8018-6610-3}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Mintz |first=Sidney W. |title=Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History |year=1986 |publisher=Penguin (Non-Classics) | edition=Reprint |isbn=978-0140092332}} |
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* {{Cite book|last1=Morelon |first1=Régis |last2=Rashed |first2=Roshdi |year=1996 |title=[[Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science]] |volume=3 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0415124107 |ref=harv |postscript=<!--None-->}} |
* {{Cite book|last1=Morelon |first1=Régis |last2=Rashed |first2=Roshdi |year=1996 |title=[[Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science]] |volume=3 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0415124107 |ref=harv |postscript=<!--None-->}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Phillips |first=William D. |authorlink=William D. Phillips |coauthors=Carla Rahn Phillips, Jr. Phillips |title=The Worlds of Christopher Columbus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992|isbn=0-521-44652-X}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Phillips |first=William D. |authorlink=William D. Phillips |coauthors=Carla Rahn Phillips, Jr. Phillips |title=The Worlds of Christopher Columbus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992|isbn=0-521-44652-X}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|title=Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study|year=1976|publisher=Kazi Publications|isbn=1567443125}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|title=Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study|year=1976|publisher=Kazi Publications|isbn=1567443125}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|title=Science & Civilization in Islam|year=2003|edition=2nd|publisher=Islamic Texts Society|isbn=1903682401}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Seyyed Hossein Nasr|title=Science & Civilization in Islam|year=2003|edition=2nd|publisher=Islamic Texts Society|isbn=1903682401}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''1''': Quranwissenschaften, Hadit, Geschichte, Fiqh, Dogmatik, Mystik|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004041532}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''2''': Poesie. Bis CA. 430 H|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004031316}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''3''': Medizin-Pharmazie Zoologie-Tierheilkunde|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004031316}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''4''': Alchimie-Chemie Botanik-Agrikultur|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004020098}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''5''': Mathematik|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004041532}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''6''': Astronomie|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004058788}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''7''': Astrologie-Meteorologie Und Verwandtes|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004061592}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''8''': Lexikographie. Bis CA. 430 H|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004068678}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''9''': Grammatik. Bis CA. 430 H|year=1997|language=German|publisher=Brill|isbn=9004072616}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''X''': Mathematische Geographie und Kartographie im Islam und ihr Fortleben im Abendland. Historische Darstellung. Teil 1|year=2000|language=German|location=Frankfurt am Main}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''XI''': Mathematische Geographie und Kartographie im Islam und ihr Fortleben im Abendland. Historische Darstellung. Teil 2|year=2000|language=German|location=Frankfurt am Main}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Sezgin|first=Fuat|title=Geschichte Des Arabischen Schrifttums '''XII''': Mathematische Geographie und Kartographie im Islam und ihr Fortleben im Abendland. Historische Darstellung. Teil 3|year=2000|language=German|location=Frankfurt am Main}} |
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* {{Cite book|last=Suter|first=Heinrich|title=Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke|series=Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematischen Wissenschaften Mit Einschluss Ihrer Anwendungen, X Heft|location=Leipzig|year=1900}} |
* {{Cite book|last=Suter|first=Heinrich|title=Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke|series=Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematischen Wissenschaften Mit Einschluss Ihrer Anwendungen, X Heft|location=Leipzig|year=1900}} |
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{{Refend}} |
{{Refend}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://www.aina.org/books/hgsptta.htm "How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs"] by De Lacy O'Leary |
* [http://www.aina.org/books/hgsptta.htm "How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs"] by De Lacy O'Leary |
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* Richard Covington, [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/rediscovering.arabic.science.htm Rediscovering Arabic Science], ''[[Saudi Aramco World]]'', May–June 2007 {{Verify credibility|date=April 2010}} |
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* {{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html|title=Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?|first=George|last=Saliba|authorlink=George Saliba}} |
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~gas1/project/visions/case1/sci.1.html|title=Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?|first=George|last=Saliba|authorlink=George Saliba}} |
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* Habibi, Golareh. [http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=574 Review article], ''Science Creative Quarterly''. |
* Habibi, Golareh. [http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=574 Review article], ''Science Creative Quarterly''. |
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* [http://www.classicalislam.com/pages/history/heroes.htm An interactive guide to Muslim scientists whose multi-disciplinary contributions sparked the flame of learning and productivity] |
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* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/woi_knowledge.html Islam, Knowledge, and Science] |
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/woi_knowledge.html Islam, Knowledge, and Science] |
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* [http://www.history-science-technology.com/ History of Science and Technology in Islam] |
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* [http://www.cyberistan.org/ Islamic Civilization] |
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* [http://www.smi.uib.no/paj/Stenberg.html The Islamization of science or the marginalization of Islam] |
* [http://www.smi.uib.no/paj/Stenberg.html The Islamization of science or the marginalization of Islam] |
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* [http://www.1001inventions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=309 1001inventions] |
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* [http://www.science-islam.net/sommaire.php3?lang=en Science and religion in Islam] |
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* Keith L. Moore, {{YouTube|id=Rb0uZefwQnc|title=The Developing Human}} |
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{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}} |
{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}} |
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Revision as of 01:17, 4 October 2010
Template:History of science sidebar Science in medieval Islam, also known as Islamic or Arabic science, is a term used in the history of science to refer to the science developed in the Islamic world prior to the modern era, particularly during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age (dated variously between the 7th and 15th centuries). In the course of the expansion of the Islamic world, Muslim scholars encountered the science, mathematics, and medicine of antiquity through the works of Aristotle, Archimedes, Galen, Ptolemy, Euclid, and others. These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring of science during the Medieval period. They were translated into Arabic, the lingua franca of this period; scientists within the Islamic civilization were of diverse ethnicity (a great portion were Persians[1][2] and Arabs,[2] in addition to Berbers, Moors and Turks) and diverse religious backgrounds (mostly Muslims,[3][4][5] in addition to many Christians and Jews,[6][7] as well as Sabians, Zoroastrians and the irreligious).[8][9]
Overview
Historiography of Islamic science
The history of science in the Islamic world, like all history, is filled with questions of interpretation. Historians of science generally consider that the study of Islamic science, like all history, must be seen within the particular circumstances of time and place. A. I. Sabra opened a recent overview of Arabic science by noting, "I trust no one would wish to contest the proposition that all of history is local history ... and the history of science is no exception."[10]
Some scholars avoid such local historical approaches and seek to identify essential relations between Islam and science that apply at all times and places. The Pakistani physicist, Pervez Hoodbhoy, portrayed "religious fanaticism to be the dominant relation of religion and science in Islam". Sociologist Toby Huff claimed that Islam lacked the "rationalist view of man and nature" that became dominant in Europe. The Persian philosopher and historian of science, Seyyed Hossein Nasr saw a more positive connection in "an Islamic science that was spiritual and antisecular" which "point[ed] the way to a new 'Islamic science' that would avoid the dehumanizing and despiritualizing mistakes of Western science."[11][12]
Nasr identified a distinctly Muslim approach to science, flowing from Islamic monotheism and the related theological prohibition against portraying graven images. In science, this is reflected in a philosophical disinterest in describing individual material objects, their properties and characteristics and instead a concern with the ideal, the Platonic form, which exists in matter as an expression of the will of the Creator. Thus one can "see why mathematics was to make such a strong appeal to the Muslim: its abstract nature furnished the bridge that Muslims were seeking between multiplicity and unity."[13]
Some historians of science, however, question the value of drawing boundaries that label the sciences, and the scientists who practice them, in specific cultural, civilizational, or linguistic terms. Consider the case of Nasir al-Din Tusi (1201–1274), who invented his mathematical theorem, the Tusi Couple, while he was director of Maragheh observatory. Tusi's patron and founder of the observatory was the non-Muslim Mongol conqueror of Baghdad, Hulagu Khan. The Tusi-couple "was first encountered in an Arabic text, written by a man who spoke Persian at home, and used that theorem, like many other astronomers who followed him and were all working in the "Arabic/Islamic" world, in order to reform classical Greek astronomy, and then have his theorem in turn be translated into Byzantine Greek towards the beginning of the 14th century, only to be used later by Copernicus and others in Latin texts of Renaissance Europe."[14]
Views of historians and scholars
There are several different views on Islamic science among historians of science. The traditionalist view, as exemplified by Bertrand Russell,[15] holds that Islamic science, while admirable in many technical ways, lacked the intellectual energy required for innovation and was chiefly important as a preserver of ancient knowledge and transmitter to medieval Europe. The revisionist view, as exemplified by Abdus Salam,[16] George Saliba[17] and John M. Hobson[18] holds that a Muslim scientific revolution occurred during the Middle Ages,[19][20] an expression with which scholars such as Donald Routledge Hill and Ahmad Y Hassan express the view that Islam was the driving force behind the Muslim achievements,[21] while Robert Briffault even sees Islamic science as the foundation of modern science.[22] The most prominent view in recent scholarship, however, as exemplified by Toby E. Huff,[23][24] Will Durant,[25] Fielding H. Garrison,[26] Muhammad Iqbal,[27] Hossein Nasr and Bernard Lewis,[28] holds that Muslim scientists did help in laying the foundations for an experimental science with their contributions to the scientific method and their empirical, experimental and quantitative approach to scientific inquiry, but that their work cannot be considered a Scientific Revolution,[23] like that which occurred in early modern Europe and led to the emergence of modern science.[29][30]
See also
- Timeline of Islamic science and technology
- List of Muslim scientists
- Islamic Golden Age
- Islamic studies
- Latin translations of the 12th century
- Scholasticism
- Qur'an and science
Notes
- ^ Joseph A. Schumpeter, Historian of Economics: Selected Papers from the History of Economics Society Conference, 1994, y Laurence S. Moss, Joseph Alois Schumpeter, History of Economics Society. Conference, Published by Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0-415-13353-X, p.64.
- ^ a b Ibn Khaldun, Franz Rosenthal, N. J. Dawood (1967), The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History, p. 430, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-01754-9.
- ^ Howard R. Turner (1997), Science in Medieval Islam, p. 270 (book cover, last page), University of Texas Press, ISBN 0-292-78149-0
- ^ Hogendijk, Jan P. (January 1999), Bibliography of Mathematics in Medieval Islamic Civilization
- ^ A. I. Sabra (1996). "Greek Science in Medieval Islam". In Ragep, F. J.; Ragep, Sally P.; Livesey, Steven John (eds.). Tradition, Transmission, Transformation: Proceedings of Two Conferences on Pre-modern Science held at the University of Oklahoma. Brill Publishers. p. 20. ISBN 9004091262.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam, 1987, page 6
- ^ Salah Zaimeche (2003), Introduction to Muslim Science.
- ^ Hogendijk 1989
- ^ Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response
- ^ A. I. Sabra, Situating Arab Science: Locality versus Essence," Isis, 87(1996):654-70; reprinted in Michael H. Shank, ed., The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages," (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 2000), pp. 215-231.
- ^ F. Jamil Ragep, "Freeing Astronomy from Philosophy: An Aspect of Islamic Influence on Science," Osiris, topical issue on Science in Theistic Contexts: Cognitive Dimensions, n.s. 16(2001):49-50, note 3
- ^ Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (1968). "The Principles of Islam". Science and Civilization in Islam. Harvard University Press. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Science and Civilization in Islam.
- ^ George Saliba (1999). Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?
- ^ Bertrand Russell (1945), History of Western Philosophy, book 2, part 2, chapter X
- ^ Abdus Salam, H. R. Dalafi, Mohamed Hassan (1994). Renaissance of Sciences in Islamic Countries, p. 162. World Scientific, ISBN 9971-5-0713-7.
- ^ (Saliba 1994, pp. 245, 250, 256–257)
- ^ (Hobson 2004, p. 178)
- ^ Abid Ullah Jan (2006), After Fascism: Muslims and the struggle for self-determination, "Islam, the West, and the Question of Dominance", Pragmatic Publishings, ISBN 978-0-9733687-5-8.
- ^ Salah Zaimeche (2003), An Introduction to Muslim Science, FSTC.
- ^ Ahmad Y Hassan and Donald Routledge Hill (1986), Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History, p. 282, Cambridge University Press
- ^ Robert Briffault (1928). The Making of Humanity, p. 191. G. Allen & Unwin Ltd.
- ^ a b (Huff 2003)
- ^ Saliba, George (Autumn 1999). "Seeking the Origins of Modern Science? Review of Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West". Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies. 1 (2). Retrieved 2008-04-10.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Will Durant (1980). The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, Volume 4), p. 162-186. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-01200-2.
- ^ Fielding H. Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine: with Medical Chronology, Suggestions for Study and Biblographic Data, p. 86
- ^ Muhammad Iqbal (1934, 1999). The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Kazi Publications. ISBN 0-686-18482-3.
- ^ Edmund, Norman W. (2005). End the Biggest Educational and Intellectual Blunder in History: A $100,000 Challenge to Our Top Educational Leaders. Scientific Method Publishing. p. 447. ISBN 0963286668.
- ^ Thomas Kuhn, The Copernican Revolution, (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1957), p. 142.
- ^ Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800.
References
- Campbell, Donald (2001). Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on the Middle Ages. Routledge. (Reprint of the London, 1926 edition). ISBN 0-415-23188-4.
- d'Alverny, Marie-Thérèse. "Translations and Translators", in Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable, eds., Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century, p. 421-462. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Pr., 1982.
- Hobson, John M. (2004). The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521547245.
- Hudson, A. (2003). Equity and Trusts (3rd ed.). London: Cavendish Publishing. ISBN 1-85941-729-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Huff, Toby E. (2003). "The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52994-8.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Joseph, George G. (2000). The Crest of the Peacock. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00659-8.
- Katz, Victor J. (1998). A History of Mathematics: An Introduction. Addison Wesley. ISBN 0-321-01618-1.
- Levere, Trevor Harvey (2001). Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6610-3.
- Morelon, Régis; Rashed, Roshdi (1996). Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. Vol. 3. Routledge. ISBN 0415124107.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Phillips, William D. (1992). The Worlds of Christopher Columbus. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-44652-X.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Saliba, George (1994). A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam. New York University Press. ISBN 0814780237.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Turner, Howard R. (1997). Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction. University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292781490.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
Further reading
- Deen, S M (2007). Science Under Islam: Rise, Decline, Revival. LULU. ISBN 978-1-84799-942-9. More information at [1]
- Daffa, Ali Abdullah al-; Stroyls, J.J. (1984). Studies in the exact sciences in medieval Islam. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0471903205.
- Nader El-Bizri, 'A Philosophical Perspective on Alhazen's Optics', Arabic Sciences and Philosophy (Cambridge University Press), Vol. 15 (2005), pp. 189–218.
- Nader El-Bizri, 'In Defence of the Sovereignty of Philosophy: al-Baghdadi's Critique of Ibn al-Haytham's Geometrisation of Place', Arabic Sciences and Philosophy (Cambridge University Press), Vol. 17 (2007), pp. 57–80.
- Hogendijk, Jan P. (2003). The Enterprise of Science in Islam: New Perspectives. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-19482-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) Reviewed by Robert G. Morrison at [2] - Hogendijk, Jan P.; Berggren, J. L. (1989). "Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam by J. Lennart Berggren". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 109 (4): 697–698. doi:10.2307/604119.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)) - Hill, Donald Routledge, Islamic Science And Engineering, Edinburgh University Press (1993), ISBN 0-7486-0455-3
- Huff, Toby E. (1993, 2nd edition 2003), The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52994-8. Reviewed by George Saliba at Seeking the Origins of Modern Science?
- Huff, Toby E. (2000), "Science and Metaphysics in the Three Religions of the Books", Intellectual Discourse 8 (2): 173-198.
- Kennedy, Edward S. (1970). "The Arabic Heritage in the Exact Sciences". Al-Abhath. 23: 327–344.
{{cite journal}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Kennedy, Edward S. (1983). Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0815660677.
- Morelon, Régis; Rashed, Roshdi (1996). Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. Vol. 2–3. Routledge. ISBN 0415020638.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Saliba, George (2007). Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance. The MIT Press. ISBN 0262195577.
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr (1976). Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study. Kazi Publications. ISBN 1567443125.
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2003). Science & Civilization in Islam (2nd ed.). Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 1903682401.
- Suter, Heinrich (1900). Die Mathematiker und Astronomen der Araber und ihre Werke. Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematischen Wissenschaften Mit Einschluss Ihrer Anwendungen, X Heft. Leipzig.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
External links
- "How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs" by De Lacy O'Leary
- Saliba, George. "Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?".
- Habibi, Golareh. Review article, Science Creative Quarterly.
- Islam, Knowledge, and Science
- The Islamization of science or the marginalization of Islam
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