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WWTBAM1423: Question 7 & Answers
admin
04/26/02 at 03:15:55
[slm] welcome madinans and all contestants to question 7e7en :)  well what can i say it's almost over. you guys did great... i don't think there's a question out there that i could come up with that one of you couldn't answer!!! subhanallah... i hope this thirst for knowledge and the different topics covered helped interest you all in learning more about the different aspects of islam.... so now here it is... what you all have been waiting for...   Q7  : [color=purple] List 10 (ten) original achievements/inventions/advancements/contributions Muslims past or present have added to the fields of natural sciences (ie biology, chemistry, physics, etc), social sciences (psychology, sociology, philosophy, etc), arts (architecture, calligraphy, etc) or civilization in general. (Try to stick to the one's that are well established!!) [/color] Since this is the last question and last week's question was late, answers may be submitted until Sunday May 5th Midnight Eastern Standard Time. May Allah be with you and may you all be mu'mineen.... ob1 regis 8)
05/09/02 at 22:40:58
admin

Re: WWTBAM: Question 7e7en
admin
05/05/02 at 02:22:57
Just a reminder that you have one more day for this!!!!!  :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X

Question 7 Answers!!!!
admin
05/09/02 at 22:26:33
Abu_Atheek Contribution to Chemistry by Ibn Hayyan (Geber) Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan, the alchemist Geber of the Middle Ages, is generally known as the father of chemistry. The precise date of his birth is the subject of some discussion, but it is established that he practised medicine and alchemy in Kufa around 776 C.E. In his early days, he practised medicine and was under the patronage of the Barmaki Vizir during the Abbssid Caliphate of Haroon al-Rashid. He shared some of the effects of the downfall of the Barmakis and was placed under house arrest in Kufa, where he died in 803 C.E. Jabir's major contribution was in the field of chemistry. He introduced experimental investigation into alchemy, which rapidly changed its character into modern chemistry. His contribution of fundamental importance to chemistry includes perfection of scientific techniques such as crystalization, distillation, calcination, sublimation and evaporation and development of several instruments for the same.   Perhaps Jabir's major practical achievement was the discovery of mineral and others acids, which he prepared for the first time in his alembic (Anbique).   Based on their properties, he has described three distinct types of substances. First, spirits i.e. those which vaporise on heating, like camphor, arsenic and ammonium chloride; secondly, metals, for example, gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, and thirdly, the category of compounds which can be converted into powders. He thus paved the way for such later classification as metals, non-metals and volatile substances. Although known as an alchemist, he did not seem to have seriously pursued the preparation of noble metals as an alchemist; instead he devoted his effort to the development of basic chemical methods and study of mechanisms of chemical reactions in themselves and thus helped evolve chemistry as a science from the legends of alchemy.   A large number of books are included in his corpus. His books on chemistry, including his Kitab-al-Kimya, and Kitab al-Sab'een were translated into Latin and various European languages. These translations were popular in Europe for several centuries and have influenced the evolution of modern chemistry.   His various breakthroughs e.g., preparation of acids for the first time, notably nitric, hydrochloric, citric and tartaric acids, and emphasis on systematic experimentation are outstanding and it is on the basis of such work that he can justly be regarded as the father of modern chemistry. In the words of Max Mayerhaff, the development of chemistry in Europe can be traced directly to Jabir Ibn Haiyan. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/HAIYAN.html More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/haiyan.html Contribution to Mathematics by al-Khawarizmi (Algorizm) Abu Abdullah Mohammad Ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi was born at Khawarizm (Kheva), south of Aral sea. Very little is known about his early life, except for the fact that his parents had migrated to a place south of Baghdad. The exact dates of his birth and death are also not known, but it is established that he flourished under Al- Mamun at Baghdad through 813-833 and probably died around 840 C.E. Khawarizmi was a mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He was perhaps one of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived, as, in fact, he was the founder of several branches and basic concepts of mathematics. In the words of Phillip Hitti, he influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other medieval writer. His work on algebra was outstanding, as he not only initiated the subject in a systematic form but he also developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations, which established him as the founder of Algebra. The very name Algebra has been derived from his famous book Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah. His arithmetic synthesised Greek and Hindu knowledge and also contained his own contribution of fundamental importance to mathematics and science. Thus, he explained the use of zero, a numeral of fundamental importance developed by the Arabs. Similarly, he developed the decimal system so that the overall system of numerals, 'algorithm' or 'algorizm' is named after him. In addition to introducting the Indian system of numerals (now generally known as Arabic numerals), he developed at length several arithmetical procedures, including operations on fractions.   Several of his books were translated into Latin in the early 12th century. In fact, his book on arithmetic, Kitab al-Jam'a wal- Tafreeq bil Hisab al-Hindi, was lost in Arabic but survived in a Latin translation. His book on algebra, Al-Maqala fi Hisab-al Jabr wa-al- Muqabilah, was also translated into Latin in the 12th century, and it was this translation which introduced this new science to the West "completely unknown till then".   Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/KHAWARIZ.html More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/khawariz.html Contribution to Medicine by al-Razi (Rhazes) Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (864-930 C.E.) was born at Ray, Iran. Initially, he was interested in music but later on he learnt medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry and philosophy from a student of Hunayn Ibn Ishaq, who was well versed in the ancient Greek, Persian and Indian systems of medicine and other subjects. He also studied under Ali Ibn Rabban. The practical experience gained at the well-known Muqtadari Hospital helped him in his chosen profession of medicine.   Razi was a Hakim, an alchemist and a philosopher. In medicine, his contribution was so significant that it can only be compared to that of Ibn Sina. Some of his works in medicine e.g. Kitab al- Mansoori, Al-Hawi, Kitab al-Mulooki and Kitab al-Judari wa al- Hasabah earned everlasting fame. Kitab al-Mansoori, which was translated into Latin in the 15th century C.E., comprised ten volumes and dealt exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine. Some of its volumes were published separately in Europe. His al-Judari wal Hasabah was the first treatise on smallpox and chicken-pox, and is largely based on Razi's original contribution: It was translated into various European languages. Through this treatise he became the first to draw clear comparisons between smallpox and chicken-pox. Al-Hawi was the largest medical encyclopaedia composed by then. It contained on each medical subject all important information that was available from Greek and Arab sources, and this was concluded by him by giving his own remarks based on his experience and views. A special feature of his medical system was that he greatly favoured cure through correct and regulated food. This was combined with his emphasis on the influence of psychological factors on health. He also tried proposed remedies first on animals in order to evaluate in their effects and side effects.   He was a prolific author, who has left monumental treatises on numerous subjects. He has more than 200 outstanding scientific contributions to his credit, out of which about half deal with medicine and 21 concern alchemy. A number of his books, including Jami-fi-al-Tib, Mansoori, al-Hawi, Kitab al-Jadari wa al-Hasabah, al-Malooki, Maqalah fi al- Hasat fi Kuli wa al-Mathana, Kitab al-Qalb, Kitab al-Mafasil, Kitab-al- 'Ilaj al-Ghoraba, Bar al-Sa'ah, and al-Taqseem wa al-Takhsir, have been published in various European languages. About 40 of his manuscripts are still extant in the museums and libraries of Iran, Paris, Britain, Rampur, and Bankipur. His contribution has greatly influenced the development of science, in general, and medicine, in particular. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/RAZI.html More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/razi.html Contribution to Medicine by Abu Al-Qasim El Zahrawi (Albucasis) - father of surgery Almost a thousand years ago at a time when Spain (Andulesia) was part of the Islamic empire, there lived near the capital city of Cordoba one of the great, but now largely forgotten, pioneers of surgery. He was known as El Zahrawi, though in European languages his name is written in over a dozen different ways: Abulcases, Albucasis, Bulcasis, Bulcasim, Bulcari, Alzahawi, Ezzahrawi, Zahravius, Alcarani, Alsarani, Aicaravi, Alcaravius, Alsahrawi etc. El Zahrawi is believed to have been born in the city of El-Zahra, six miles northwest of Cordoba, sometime between 936 and 940. It was here that he lived, studied, taught and practised medicine and surgery until shortly before his death in about 1013, two years after the sacking of El-Zahra. It is clear from El Zahrawi's life history and from his writings that he devoted his entire life and genius to the advancement of medicine as a whole and surgery in particular. El Zahrawi wrote a medical encyclopaedia spanning 30 volumes which included sections on surgery, medicine, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, pharmacology, nutrition etc. This book was known as At-Tasrif and contained data that El Zahrawi had accumulated during a career that spanned almost 50 years of training, teaching and practice.   At-Tasrif was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century and alongside Avicenna's Canon, played a major role as a medical text in the universities of Europe from the 12th to the 17th century AD. Two of El Zahrawi's treatises deserve special mention. Firstly his 28th treatise, known in Latin as Liber servitoris de preeparatione medicinarum simplicium, describes chemical preparations, tablet making, filtering of extracts and related pharmaceutical techniques. This treatise was printed in Venice in 1471 by Nicolaus Jensen. Perhaps the most importance treatise is the one on surgery. This monumental work was the first in Arabic to treat surgery independently and in detail. It included many pictures of surgical instruments, most invented by El Zahrawi himself, and explanations of their use. El Zahrawi was the first medical author to provide illustrations of instruments used in surgery. There are approximately 200 such drawings ranging from a tongue depressor and a tooth extractor to a catheter and an elaborate obstetric device.   The variety of operations covered is amazing. In this treatise El Zahrawi discussed cauterisation, bloodletting, midwifery and obstetrics and the treatment of wounds. He described the exposure and division of the temporal artery to relieve certain types of headaches, diversion of urine into the rectum, reduction mammoplasty for excessively large breasts and the extraction of cataracts. He wrote extensively about injuries to bones and joints, even mentioning fractures of the nasal bones and of the vertebrae. In fact 'Kocher's method' for reducing a dislocated shoulder was described in At-Tasrif long before Kocher was born!   Once At-Tasrif was translated into Latin in the 12th century, El Zahrawi had a tremendous influence on surgery in the West. The French surgeon Guy de Chauliac in his 'Great Surgery', completed in about 1363, quoted At-Tasrif over 200 times. El Zahrawi was described by Pietro Argallata (died 1423) as "without doubt the chief of all surgeons". Jaques Delechamps (1513-158 <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/cool.gif> , another French surgeon, made extensive use of At-Tasrif in his elaborate commentary, confirming the great prestige of El Zahrawi throughout the Middle Ages and up to the Renaissance. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/el_zahrawi/ More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/zahravi.html Contribution to Medicine by Ibn Sina (Avicenna) Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was born in  980 C.E. in the village of Afshana near Bukhara which today is located in the far south of Russia. His father, Abdullah, an adherent of the Ismaili sect, was from Balkh and his mother from a village near Bukhara.   In any age Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, would have been a giant among giants. He displayed exceptional intellectual prowess as a child and at the age of ten was already proficient in the Qur'an and the Arabic classics. He turned his attention to Medicine at the age of 17 years and found it, in his own words, "not difficult". By the age of 18 he had built up a reputation as a physician and was summoned to attend the Samani ruler Nuh ibn Mansur (reigned  976-997 C.E.), who, in gratitude for Ibn Sina's services, allowed him to make free use of the royal library, which contained many rare and even unique books.   Among his scientific works, the leading two are the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing), a philosophical encyclopaedia based upon Aristotelian traditions and the al-Qanun al-Tibb which represents the final categorisation of Greco-Arabian thoughts on Medicine. The Qanun is, of course, by far the largest, most famous and most important of Ibn Sina's works. The work contains about one million words and like most Arabic books, is elaborately divided and subdivided. The main division is into five books, of which the first deals with general principles; the second with simple drugs arranged alphabetically; the third with diseases of particular organs and members of the body from the head to the foot; the fourth with diseases which though local in their inception spread to other parts of the body, such as fevers and the fifth with compound medicines. The Qanun distinguishes mediastinitis from pleurisy and recognises the contagious nature of phthisis (tuberculosis of the lung) and the spread of disease by water and soil. It gives a scientific diagnosis of ankylostomiasis and attributes the condition to an intestinal worm. The Qanun points out the importance of dietetics, the influence of climate and environment on health and the surgical use of oral anaesthetics. Ibn Sina advised surgeons to treat cancer in its earliest stages, ensuring the removal of all the diseased tissue. The Qanun's materia medica considers some 760 drugs, with comments on their application and effectiveness. He recommended the testing of a new drug on animals and humans prior to general use. The Arabic text of  the Qanun was published in Rome in 1593 and was therefore one of the earliest Arabic books to see print. It was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century. This 'Canon', with its encyclopaedic content, its systematic arrangement and philosophical plan, soon worked its way into a position of pre-eminence in the medical literature of the age displacing the works of Galen, al-Razi and al-Majusi, and becoming the text book for medical education in the schools of Europe. In the last 30 years of the 15th century it passed through 15 Latin editions and one Hebrew. In recent years, a partial translation into English was made. From the 12th-17th century, the Qanun served as the chief guide to Medical Science in the West and is said to have influenced Leonardo da Vinci. In the words of Dr. William Osler, the Qanun has remained "a medical bible for a longer time than any other work". An impressive monument to the life and works of the man who became known as the 'doctor of doctors' still stands outside Bukhara museum and his portrait hangs in the Hall of the Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/ibn_sina/ More from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/sina.html

Question 7 Answers!!!
admin
05/09/02 at 22:27:25
Contribution to Physics by Ibn al-Haitham (Alhazen) Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding. Known in the West as Alhazen, Ibn al-Haitham was born in 965 C.E. in Basrah, and was educated in Basrah and Baghdad.   He made a thorough examination of the passage of light through various media and discovered the laws of refraction. He also carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent colours. His book Kitab-al-Manadhir was translated into Latin in the Middle Ages, as also his book dealing with the colours of sunset. He dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like shadows, eclipses, the rainbow, and speculated on the physical nature of light. He is the first to describe accurately the various parts of the eye and give a scientific explanation of the process of vision. He also attempted to explain binocular vision, and gave a correct explanation of the apparent increase in size of the sun and the moon when near the horizon. He is known for the earliest use of the camera obscura. He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye. Through these extensive researches on optics, he has been considered as the father of modern Optics. The Latin translation of his main work, Kitab-al-Manadhir, exerted a great influence upon Western science e.g. on the work of Roger Bacon and Kepler. It brought about a great progress in experimental methods. His research in catoptrics centred on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration. He made the important observation that the ratio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not remain constant and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His catoptrics contain the important problem known as Alhazen's problem. It comprises drawing lines from two points in the plane of a circle meeting at a point on the circumference and making equal angles with the normal at that point. This leads to an equation of the fourth degree. In his book Mizan al-Hikmah Ibn al-Haitham has discussed the density of the atmosphere and `eveloped a relation between it and the height. He also studied atmospheric refraction.   In his writing, one can see a clear development of the scientific methods as developed and applied by the Muslims and comprising the systematic observation of physical phenomena and their linking together into a scientific theory. This was a major breakthrough in scientific methodology, as distinct from guess and gesture, and placed scientific pursuits on a sound foundation comprising systematic relationship between observation, hypothesis and verification. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/HAITHAM.html More from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/haitham.html Contribution to Philosophy by al-Ghazali (Algazel) Abu Hamid Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-Tusi al-Shafi'i al-Ghazali was born in 1058 C.E. in Khorasan, Iran. His father died while he was still very young but he had the opportunity of getting education in the prevalent curriculum at Nishapur and Baghdad. Soon he acquired a high standard of scholarship in religion and philosophy and was honoured by his appointment as a Professor at the Nizamiyah University of Baghdad, which was recognised as one of the most reputed institutions of learning in the golden era of Muslim history. After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic. This was a process (period) of mystical transformation. Later, he resumed his teaching duties, but again left these. An era of solitary life, devoted to contemplation and writing then ensued, which led to the authorship of a number of everlasting books. He died in 1128 C.E. at Baghdad. Ghazali's major contribution lies in religion, philosophy and sufism. A number of Muslim philosophers had been following and developing several viewpoints of Greek philosophy, including the Neoplatonic philosophy, and this was leading to conflict with several Islamic teachings. On the other hand, the movement of sufism was assuming such excessive proportions as to avoid observance of obligatory prayers and duties of Islam. Based on his unquestionable scholarship and personal mystical experience, Ghazali sought to rectify these trends, both in philosophy and sufism. In philosophy, Ghazali upheld the approach of mathematics and exact sciences as essentially correct. However, he adopted the techniques of Aristotelian logic and the Neoplatonic procedures and employed these very tools to lay bare the flaws and lacunae of the then prevalent Neoplatonic philosophy and to diminish the negative influences of Aristotelianism and excessive rationalism. In contrast to some of the Muslim philosophers, e.g., Farabi, he portrayed the inability of reason to comprehend the absolute and the infinite. Reason could not transcend the finite and was limited to the observation of the relative.   In religion, particularly mysticism, he cleansed the approach of sufism of its excesses and reestablished the authority of the orthodox religion. Yet, he stressed the importance of genuine sufism, which he maintained was the path to attain the absolute truth. He was a prolific writer. His immortal books include Tuhafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), Ihya al-'Ulum al-Islamia (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), "The Beginning of Guidance and his Autobiography", "Deliverance from Error".   Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/GHAZALI.html More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/ghazali.html Contribution to Engineering by  Badi' al-Zaman Isma'il ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari (1150-1200 C.E.) Engineer, inventor. His prescient Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices gives detailed descriptions and drawings of clocks, irrigation machines, fountains, automata, and other technologies. Story from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/notable-muslims.htm The present day “Mechanics” was called during the Abbassid period “Almul Hieal” meaning “the science of ingenuity” . Many people were interested in this science, and the Muslim Arabs were gifted in it. The most noted persons in this field, were the three sons of Musa the scientists: Abu Jaffar Mohamed, the eldest, Ahmed and Hassan the youngest of them. To them were attributed many scientific works and inventions in the field of mechanics. Their contributions were inherited by those who succeeded them, one of whom was Badeal Zaman Abdul Aziz bin Ismael bin El Razzaz Al Jazari, to whom we owe much of our knowledge about the inventions of our Arab forefathers in the scientific field. In his book, many of copies of which are still available in various libraries and museums of the world, he told us about chronometers and clocks and their manufacturing, musical instruments, water extraction from deep wells and many other things together with drawings and sketches explaining how they are made. Story from: http://www.uruklink.net/hikma/eaddr9.htm A short history of feedback controllers   The history of regulators is a long one. At least a few of the milestones of its history should be mentioned here.The first notion of a feedback system can be found in Greece at about 270 BC. Ktesibios invents a float regulator to stabilize the water level in a tank of a water clock. In the period 800 through 1200 Arab engineers like Al-Jazari, the brothers Musa and Ibn al-Sa'ati made the next step. They invented the on/off control, still very important. Story from: http://www.few.vu.nl/diensten/electronica/products/analog_controller-nl. html The Arabian , al-Jazari, made some ingenious improvements to the 11 light-clock". A treatise written in 1206 describes his invention which consisted of a length of candle designed to burn for 13 hours. In the candle body of wax, 13 marbles were imbedded at equal intervals. At the end of the first hour one of the marbles, released by the melting wax, landed on a device which cut the candle wick and so put out the light indicating the passing of one more hour of time. http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/secthree/time/beg.html Water Raising Machines At an early stage Muslim engineers were exploring new methods for increasing the effectiveness of water raising machines. Al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din both described water-raising machines that show an awareness of the need to develop machines with a greater output than these traditional ones. Al-Jazari was responsible for the design of five machines in the thirteenth century C.E. His first two machines were modifications of the shaduf. The machines used a flume-beam: instead of a pole, an open channel is connected to a scoop, which has its spout elongated into a flume. The scoop dips into the water and when the beam rises the water runs back through the channel and discharges into the irrigation system. The machines were animal powered as in the saqiya. Al-Jazari's third machine was a development of the saqiya in which water power replaced animal power. Flowing water turned a water wheel which via a system of perpendicular gears caused a chain of pots to raise the water. One such machine was located on the River Yazid in Damascus (13th century) and is thought to have supplied the needs of a nearby hospital. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/water/ Contribution to Botany by Ibn al-Baitar Abu Muhammad Abdallah Ibn Ahmad Ibn al-Baitar Dhiya al-Din al-Malaqi was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and was the greatest botanist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages. He was born in the Spanish city of Malaqa (Malaga) towards the end of the 12th century. He learned botany from Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, a learned botanist, with whom he started collecting plants in and around Spain. In 1219 he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and travelled along the northern coast of Africa as far as Asia Minor. The exact modes of his travel (whether by land or sea) are not known, but the major stations he visited include Bugia, Qastantunia (Constantinople), Tunis, Tripoli, Barqa and Adalia. After 1224 he entered the service of al-Kamil, the Egyptian Governor, and was appointed chief herbalist. In 1227 al-Kamil extended his domination to Damascus, and Ibn al-Baitar accompanied him there which provided him an opportunity to collect plants in Syria. His researches on plants extended over a vast area, including Arabia and Palestine, which he either visited or managed to collect plants from stations located there. He died in Damascus in 1248. Ibn Baitar's major contribution, Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al- Mufrada, is one of the greatest botanical compilations dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic. It enjoyed a high status among botanists up to the 16th century and is a systematic work that embodies earlier works, with due criticism, and adds a great part of original contribution. The encyclopaedia comprises some 1,400 different items, largely medicinal plants and vegetables, of which about 200 plants were not known earlier. The book refers to the work of some 150 authors mostly Arabic, and it also quotes about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated into Latin and published in 1758. His second monumental treatise Kitab al-Mlughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada is an encyclopaedia of medicine. The drugs are listed in accordance with their therapeutical value. Thus, its 20 different chapters deal with the plants bearing significance to diseases of head, ear, eye, etc. Besides Arabic, Baitar has given Greek and Latin names of the plants, thus facilitating transfer of knowledge. Ibn Baitar's contributions are characterised by observation, analysis and classification and have exerted a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western botany and medicine. Though the Jami was translated/published late in the western languages as mentioned above, yet many scientists had earlier studied various parts of the book and made several references to it.   Story from: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/baitart.htm More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/andalus1.html#baitar Contribution to Sociology and History by Ibn Khaldun Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mohammad (1332 - 1395 C.E.) is generally known as Ibn Khaldun after a remote ancestor. His parents, originally Yemenite Arabs, had settled in Spain, but after the fall of Seville, had migrated to Tunisia. He was born in Tunisia in 1332 C.E., where he received his early education and where, still in his teens, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Sultan Barquq. His thirst for advanced knowledge and a better academic setting soon made him leave this service and migrate to Fez. This was followed by a long period of unrest marked by contemporary political rivalries affecting his career. This turbulent period also included a three year refuge in a small village Qalat Ibn Salama in Algeria, which provided him with the opportunity to write Muqaddimah, the first volume of his world history that won him an immortal place among historians, sociologists and philosophers.   Ibn Khaldun's chief contribution lies in philosophy of history and sociology. He sought to write a world history preambled by a first volume aimed at an analysis of historical events. This volume, commonly known as Muqaddimah or 'Prolegomena', was based on Ibn Khaldun's unique approach and original contribution and became a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The chief concern of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. In this context, he analysed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group-feelings, al-'Asabiyya, give rise to the ascent of a new civilisation and political power and how, later on, its diffusion into a more general civilization invites the advent of a still new 'Asabiyya in its pristine form. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of rise and fall in human civilization, and analysed factors contributing to it. His contribution to history is marked by the fact that, unlike most earlier writers interpreting history largely in a political context, he emphasised environmental, sociological, psychological and economic factors governing the apparent events. This revolutionised the science of history and also laid the foundation of Umraniyat (Sociology). Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy of history, sociology, political science and education has remained paramount ever since his life. His books have been translated into many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired subsequent development of these sciences. For instance, Prof. Gum Ploughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship to Machiavelli's The Prince written a century later, as the former bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and psychological factors. Story from: http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/KHALDUN.html More details from: http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/khaldun.html

Re: WWTBAM: Question 7e7en
admin
05/09/02 at 22:29:54
Dawn Oh, can I answer this one?  I know I didn't participate in the other ones (don't know enough yet), so I'm not officially competing, but I am somewhat of a history of Math fan.  So, let me give you some of the more well known Muslim mathematicians, with a couple of my favorites tossed in, and what they did, in what I hope is chronological order.  (A really good page on biographies of mathematicians can be found at www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/BiogIndex.html .) 1. Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi (Algorizm) -- one of the fathers of algebra and inventor of the algorithm (and my favorite.)  A founder of several branches and basic concepts of mathematics, he is also famous as an astronomer and geographer.  If even half of what is thought to be true of him is really factual, Al-Khwarizmi influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other medieval writer. He is recognized as a founder of Algebra, as he not only initiated the subject in a systematic form but also developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations.  However, he was not the first to use mathematical symbols (the ubiquitous "x" and "y" from high school algebra) -- that came later.  His treatment of the topic was entirely with words.   (The name Algebra derives from his famous book Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah.) He developed detailed trigonometric tables containing the sine functions, which were later extrapolated to tangent functions. He also developed the calculus of two errors, which led him to the concept of differentiation, and refined the geometric representation of conic sections.  He adopted the use of zero, a numeral of fundamental importance, leading up to the so-called arithmetic of positions and the decimal system. His pioneering work on the system of numerals is well known as "Algorithm," or "Algorizm." In addition to introducing the Arabic numerals, he developed several arithmetical procedures, including operations on fractions.  (Quite a guy, huh!) 2, 3, 4: the Banu Musa:  These are three brothers who worked together (it is nearly impossible to determine which did what -- perhaps an early version of the Bernoulli family?) and they were, like Khwarizmi above, among the first group of mathematicians to begin to continue with the mathematical developments begun by the ancient Greeks.  They were important, not only for their study of Greek mathematics, but for their own extensions.  They were the first to consider area and volume as numbers (the greeks thought only of ratios) and the first to apply the terminology of arithmetic to the operations of geometry. They also made contributions to astronomy. 5. Al-Battani:  He introduced the use of trigonometric ratios as used today. He was the first to replace the use of Greek chords by sines and he developed the concept of cotangent, furnishin their tables in degrees.  (He was more famous as an astronomer, however, and his work had a large influence on such notable scientists as Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Copernicus.) 6. Al-Karaji: He is seen by many as the first to totally free algebra from geometrical operations to instead use arithmetical operations, which are at the core of today's algebra.  He was the first to define the monomials (x, x2, x3, ... ,  1/x, 1/x2, 1/x3 , ...) and to give the rules for their multiplication.  He even started a school of algebra that flourished for several hundred years. 7. Al-Haytham (known in the West as Alhazen):  He developed analytical geometry by connecting up geometry and algebra.  He also made contributions to number theory in his work with perfect numbers and with problems involving congruences using what is now called Wilson's theorem (if p is prime then 1 + (p - 1)! is divisible by p.). He is, however, most revered as the Father of Optics. 8. Al-Biruni:  He was a pioneer in the study of angles and trigonometry. He worked on shadows and chords of circles, developing a method for the trisection of an angle. He also elaborated on the principle of position and discussed the Indian numerals.  (He was, however, most famous as an astronomer and for accurately calculating the Earth's circumference.) 9. Khayyam:  His major Mathematical contributions were in Algebra. His book "Maqalat fi al-Jabr wa al-Muqabila" on Algebra greatly advanced the field. He classified many algebraic equations based on their complexity and recognized thirteen different forms of cubic equations. He developed a geometrical approach to solving equations, involving an ingenious selection of proper conics, and solved cubic equations by intersecting a parabola with a circle. He was the first to develop the binomial theorem and determine binomial coefficients and he developed the binomial expansion for the case when the exponent is a positive integer. He extended Euclid's work, giving a new definition of ratios, which allowed for ratio multiplication.  (He was also a famous poet!) 10. Nasir Al-Tusi:  He was the first to treat trigonometry as a separate discipline in its own right within mathematics.  He pioneered spherical trigonometry, including six fundamental formulas for the solution of spherical right-angled triangles. He also wrote on binomial coefficients, which Pascal later introduced, and published on non-Euclidean geometry.   (He was also famous as an astronomer and a philosopher.) 11. Al-Farisi:  He was a "second generation" Al-Tusi student and he is best know for writing the first mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow!  He also made important contributions to number theory with his work on the so-called "amicable numbers".   12. I know I have a couple more than ten, but  I wanted to find a modern Muslim mathematician that was well known. Unfortunately, I struck out here.  So, sticking to the sciences, with Chemistry, how about Egyptian-born American chemist, Ahmed H. Zewail, the winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for imaging chemical interactions on an atomic scale.  He was born in 1946 and is a professor at Cal Tech. ********************************************* Taalibatul_ilm <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/salam.gif> Masha' Allah, it was a nice question.  I would put more than 10, but am afraid you would take off points   <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/smiley.gif> 1. Mathematics: Algebra was invented by Jaabir bin Hayaan. Al-Khwarizmi the celebrated mathematician is also the author ofHisab Al-Jabr Wal Muqabla, an outstanding work on algebra which contains analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations. Khwarizmi has the distinction of being one of the founders of algebra who developed this branch of science to an exceptionally high degree. Arabic numerals including zero were the greatest contributions made by the Arabs to the mathematical science. 2. Astrolabe: Muhammad Musa, a great scholar of geography, has the unique distinction of being the inventor of an instrument by which the earth could be measured. He also invented the "Astrolabe". 3. Chemistry as a science is unquestionably the invention of the Muslims. It is one of the sciences in which Muslims have made the greatest contribution and developed it to such a high degree of perfection that they were considered authorities in this science until the end of the 17th century A. D. Jabir and Zakariya Razi have the distinction of being the greatest chemists the mediaeval times produced 4. Abul Hasan is distinguished as the inventor of the Telescope, which he described to be a ?Tube, to the extremities of which were attached diopters". 5. The Pendulum was invented by Ibn Yunus, a genius in science who lived in the reign of Aziz Billah and Hakim bi-Amr-illah, the Fatimid monarchs of Egypt. The invention of the Pendulum led to the measurement of time by its oscillations. 6. Philosophy: Al-Kindi (d'.873 A.D.), who is the greatest philosopher of the Arab race is known as the " Philosopher of the Arabs". He translated and wrote commentaries on a number of works by Aristotle. Being a natural philosopher he elaborately discussed the doctrine of soul and intelligence. The divine intelligence is the cause of the existence of the world. According to him, the world as a whole is the work of an extremely active cause, the divine intelligence, whose activity is transmitted in manyways from above to the world. Between God and the world of bodies is the world of soul, which created the world of Heavenly spheres, In so far as the human soul is cdmbined with the body, it is dependent on the influence of heavenly bodies, but in its spiritual origin and being it is free. Both immortality and freedom could be attained in the world of intelligence. It was in. De Intellectu, the Latin translation of Al-Kindi's philosophical work, tha2. the 'West discovered for the first time the doctrine of intelligence. 7. Architecture: Indo-Pakistan The Indo-Pakistan Sub-continent possesses some of the finest architectural monuments in the East. The Mughal period is particularly noted for its fine architecture and Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid of Delhi, the Red Fort and the marble palaces of agra and Delhi is known as one of the greatest builders in history. Jehangir was fond of paintings while Shah Jahan was fond of buildings-hence what Jahangir achieved on paper, Shah Jahan achieved in brick and mortar. The Taj Mahal, built of white marble, employing 20 thousand men for 22 years and costing 30 crores of rupees is undoubtedly the finest building in the world. Of all the splendid architectural monuments built by Muslims in different parts of the world, Spain possesses some of the grandest. If India can boast of her Taj, Persia of the great Mosque of Isfahan, Baghdad of its majestic palaces, Cairo of its mosque Ibn Tulun, Moorish Spain may claim an outstanding place for her Alhambra and the grand mosque of Cordova which are considered the marvels of architecture. 8. Astronomy: Khwarizmi has written a valuable treatise on astronomy and has compiled his own Tables (zij) which, after two centuries was revised by Spanish atronomer Majriti (011007) and was translated into Latin by Adelard of Bath. This formed the basis of later astronomical pursuits both in the East and the West and rephaced all earlier tables of Greek and Indian astronomers. This table was also adopted in China. 9. Medicine: Al-Razi <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/sad.gif> Latin Rhazes 865--925 A.D.) was born at Rayy (Persia) in 865 A. D. "Rhazes" says Max Meyerhof, "was undoubtedly the greatest physician of the Islamic world and one of the great physicians of all time."' In his young age he practised as an alchemist but later he devoted himself exclusively to the development of medical science both in theory and practice. He wrote Kitab Al-Mansuri (called Liber Almartsoris in Latin) a 10 volume treatise dealing with Greek medicine which was published in several editions. According to an European writer, "His erudition was all embracing and his scientific output remarkable, amounting to more than 200 books, half of which are medical.' His outstanding work, Al-Judari-wal-Hasbah a book dealing with smallpox and measles is one of the most authentic books on the subject even to the present day. 10. Industry: The. Abbasid Caliphate provided the most congenial atmosphere for the intellectual, cultural and industrial developments of the Muslims.Harun and Mamun were the greatest patrons of arts and sciences during mediaeval times. Mutasim is particularly known for the interest he exhibited in the industrial enterprises of his empire. He had many industrial- projects executed during his lifetime and a large number of factories were established in Iraq. Manufactures of every kind were encouraged and fostered. The glass and soap made in the factories of Basrah were famous throughout the world. During the reign of Mutasim Billah, a large number of factories sprang up round about Baghdad and in other important cities of Iraq. The paper industry particularly received much impetus, and in important paper factories, skilled workmen from Egypt were employed. Persia was noted for her gold and embroidery work, which was carried on in all the big cities. High class fabrics including satin brocade, silk and carpets were manufactured in Islamic domains and were in great demand all over the world. Kufa was famous for its silk and silk handkerchiefs known as kuffiyeh. Khuzistan (ancient Susiana) produced superfine cloth. **********************************

Re: WWTBAM: Question 7e7en
admin
05/09/02 at 22:30:56
eleanor Jabir Ibn Hayyan (Geber)  who flourished in Kufa about 776 A.D. is known as the father of modern chemistry and along with Zakariya Razi, stands as the greatest name in the annals of chemical science during mediaeval times. He got his education from Omayyad Prince Khalid Ibn Yazid Ibn Muawiyah and the celebrated Imam Jafar al-Sadiq. He worked on the assumption that metals like lead, tin and iron could be transformed into gold by mixing certain chemical substances. It is said that he manufactured a large quantity of gold with the help of that mysterious substance and two centuries later, when a street was rebuilt in Kufa a large piece of gold was unearthed from his laboratory. He laid great emphasis on the importance of experimentation in his research and hence he made great headway in chemical science, Abu Yusuf Ibn Ishaq, known as al-Kindi was born at Kufa in the middle of the 9th century and flourished in Baghdad. He is the most dominating and one of the greatest Muslim scholars of physics. Over and above this, he was an astrologer, philosopher, alchemist, optician and musical theorist. He wrote more than 265 books, the majority of which have been lost. Most of his works which survived are in Latin having been translated by Gerard of Cremona. Of these fifteen are on meteorology, several on specific weight, on tides, on optics and on reflection of light, and eight are on music. His optics influenced Roger Bacon. He wrote several books on iron and steel to be used for weapons. He applied mathematics not only to physics, but also to medicine. He was therefore regarded by Cardon, a philosopher of the Renaissance, "as one of the 12 subtlest minds."   Al-Damiri , who died in 1405 in Cairo and who was influenced by Al-Jahiz is the greatest Arab zoologist. His book Hayat Haywarz (Life of animal) is the most important Muslim work in zoology. It is an encyclopaedia on animal life containing a mine of information on the subject. It contains the history of animals and preceded Buffon by 700 years The Cordovan physician, Al-Ghafiqi (D. 1165) was a renowned botanist, who collected plants in Spain and Africa, and described them most accurately. According to G. Sarton he was "the greatest expert of his time on simples. His description of plants was the most precise ever made in Islam; he gave the names of each in Arabic, Latin and Berber".l His outstanding work Al Adwiyah al Mufradah dealing with simples was later appropriated by Ibn Baytar."   HAMDULLAH: (1436 - 1520) The great master of calligraphy Sheikh Hamdullah was born in Amasya in 840 H. He founded his own individual school of calligraphy and was generally known as "Kible-t?l Kuttab" (paragon) of Turkish calligraphersSheikh Hamdullah developed the Thuluth and Naskhi scripts, which have survived with very little change to the present day, from the Muhakkak and Tevki scripts, which up to that time had been written in the style of Yakut. He devoted his whole life to the art of calligraphy, producing forty-seven Qur'ans and innumerable En'ams, Evrads and Cuz. Topkapi Saray Museum contains two exquisite copies of the Qur'an. This great master of calligraphy died in 926 H. and was buried in the cemetery of Karacaahmet The Crusade itself was long and exhausting, and, despite the obvious, though at times impulsive, military genius of Richard I the Lion-Heart, it achieved almost nothing. Therein lies the greatest-but often unrecognized--achievement of Saladin. With tired and unwilling feudal levies, committed to fight only a limited season each year, his indomitable will enabled him to fight the greatest champions of Christendom to a draw. The crusaders retained little more than a precarious foothold on the Levantine coast, and when King Richard set sail from the Orient in October 1192, the battle was over.   Mr. Shabazz (Malcom X) developed a new image in the Muslim world. He, in turn, also provided greater visibility to orthodox Islam in the United States. Although orthodox Islam was know to many African-Americans who embraced Islam because of Mr. Shabazz?s teachings and lectures, one could argue that the transformation of Malcolm X into a veritable orthodox Muslim leader created the atmosphere for the development of the various African-American Muslim groups. Three of these groups that have embraced Mr. Shabazz as a brother and a hero of orthodox Islam in America are the Darul Islam Movement, the Islamic Brotherhood, Inc., and the Islamic Party of North America.   M. Pickthall : He was born William Pickthall in 1875 in London, to an Anglican clergyman, and spent his formative years in rural Suffolk. He was contemporary of Winston Churchill at Harrow, the famous private school. During intervals from living a sedentary life in Suffolk, Pickthall traveled extensively in the Arab world and Turkey. In 1917, Pickthall reverted to Islam and soon became a leader among the emerging group of British Muslims.   In 1919, Pickthall worked for the London-based Islamic Information Bureau that among other things published the weekly Muslim Outlook. After completing his last novel the Early Hours in 1920, he departed for his new assignment in India to serve as the editor of the Bombay Chronicle. Pickthall devoted considerable interest in the independent Islamic empire of India that was gradually eroded through a string of British conspiracies. In 1927, Pickthall took over as the editor of Islamic Culture, a new quarterly journal published under the patronage of the Nizam of Hydrabad. He gave eight lectures on several aspects of Islamic civilization at the invitation of The Committee of "Madras Lectures on Islam" in Madras, India. His lectures were published under the title "The Cultural Side of Islam" in 1961 by S.M. Ashraf Publishers, Lahore. For an abridged version of his fifth lecture, point your browser to Tolerance in Islam.   The mission of 'translating' the Qur'an had preoccupied Pickthall's mind since he reverted to Islam. He saw that there was an obligation for all Muslims to know the Qur'an intimately. In 1930, Pickthall published The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (A. A. Knopf, New York). Pickthall maintained that the Qur'an being the word of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala) could not be translated.   ALI IBN RABBAN AL-TABARI (838-870 A.D.) This accomplished Hakim was the tutor of the unparalleled physician Zakariya al-Razi. Luck favoured the disciple more than the teacher in terms of celebrity. As compared to Razi people know very little about his teacher Ali. Ali Bin Rabban's surname was Abu al-Hasan, the full name being Abu al-Hasan Ali Bin Sahl Rabban al-Tabari. Born in 838 A.D. his father Sahl hailed from a respectable Jew family. The nobility and sympathy inherent in his very nature soon endeared him to his countrymen so much so that they used to call him Rabban which implies "my leader". Professionally Sahl was an extremely successful physician. He had command over the art of calligraphy too. Besides he had a deep insight into the disciplines of Astronomy, Philosophy, Mathematics and Literature. Some complicated articles of Batlemus's book al-Mijasti came to be resolved by way of Sahl's scholarly expertise, translators preceding him had failed to solve the mystery. Ali received his education in the disciplines of Medical science and calligraphy from his able father Sahl and attained perfection in these fields. He had also mastered Syriac and Greek languages to a high degree of proficiency. Ali hailed from a Israelite family. Since he had embraced Islam, he is classified amongst Muslirn Scholars. This family belonged to Tabristan's famous city Marv. The fame acquired by Ali Bin Rabban did not simply account for the reason that a physician of the stature of Zakariya al-Razi was amongst his disciple. In fact the main cause behind his exalta- tion lies in his world-renowned treatise Firdous al-Hikmat. Spread over seven parts, Firdous al-Hikmat is the first ever Medical encyclopaedia which incorporates all the branches of medical science in its folds. This work has been published in this century (20th century) only. Prior to this publication only five of his manuscripts were to be found scattered in libraries the world over The first medical formulary to be written in Arabic was by al-Aqrabadhin tly Sabur bin Sahl (d. 869). In it, he gave medical recipes stating the methods and techniques of compounding these remedies; their pharmacological actions; the dosages given of each; and the means of administration. The formulas are organized in accordance to the types of preparations into which they fit, - whether tablets, powders, ointments, electuaries or syrups. Each class of pharmaceutical preparation is presented along with a variety of recipes made in a specific form; they vary, however, in the ingredients used, their recommended applications, and therapeutic effects. Sabur's formulary-type compendium is unique in its organization and purposely written as a guidebook for pharmacists, whether for use in their own private drugstores or in hospital pharmacies. As such, it is the first true medical formulary Sister Jannah for the incredible achievement of getting the Madinat up and running and successful and beloved Regis for a very enjoyable and interesting and beneficial (Subhan Allah!) WWTBAM..... here's to the next one Insha Allah   <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/bebzi.gif> ************************ siddiqui assalam alikum The most contribution of Islam and Muslims to the world is the the concept of Allah SubHana Wa Ta`ala ,Tauheed ,nabuwwat of prophet muhammad <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/saw.gif>  the way of life.......... the other contributions of muslims are as follows 1) Jabir Ibn Haiyan, the alchemist Geber of the Middle Ages, is generally known as the father of chemistry. He introduced experimental investigation into alchemy, which rapidly changed its character into modern chemistry, but his fame rests on over 100 monumental treatises, of which 22 relate to chemistry and alchemy. His contribution of fundamental importance to chemistry includes perfection of scientific techniques such as crystalization, distillation, calcination, sublimation and evaporation and development of several instruments for the same.. 2) Abu Abdullah Mohammad Ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi was born at Khawarizm (Kheva), south of Aral sea. Khawarizmi was a mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He was perhaps one of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived, as, in fact, he was the founder of several branches and basic concepts of mathematics. In the words of Phillip Hitti, he influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other medieval writer. His work on algebra was outstanding, as he not only initiated the subject in a systematic form but he also developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations, which established him as the founder of Algebra. The very name Algebra has been derived from his famous book Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah. 3) Abu Yousuf Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi was born at Kufa around 800 C.E. In mathematics, he wrote four books on the number system and laid the foundation of a large part of modern arithmetic. No doubt the Arabic system of numerals was largely developed by al- Khawarizmi, but al-Kindi also made rich contributions to it. He also contributed to spherical geometry to assist him in astronomical studies. In chemistry, he opposed the idea that base metals can be converted to precious metals. In contrast to prevailing alchemical views, he was emphatic that chemical reactions cannot bring about the transformation of elements. In physics, he made rich contributions to geometrical optics and wrote a book on it. This book later on provided guidance and inspiration to such eminent scientists as Roger Bacon. In medicine, his chief contribution comprises the fact that he was the first to systematically determine the doses to be adminis- tered of all the drugs known at his time. This resolved the conflic- ting views prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in writing recipes. 4) Thabit Ibn Qurra Ibn Marwan al-Sabi al-Harrani was born in the year 836 C.E. at Harran (present Turkey).and was instrumental in extending the concept of traditional geometry to geometrical algebra and proposed several theories that led to the development of non-Euclidean geometry, spherical trigonometry, integral calculus and real numbers. He criticised a number of theorems of Euclid's elements and proposed important improvements. He applied arithmetical terminology to geometrical quantities, and studied several aspects of conic sections, notably those of parabola and ellipse. A number of his computations aimed at determining the surfaces and volumes of different types of bodies and constitute, in fact, the processes of integral calculus, as developed later. 5) Abu Abdallah Muhammad Ibn Jabir Ibn Sinan al-Battani al-Harrani was born around 858 C.E. in Harran Battani was a famous astronomer, mathematician and astrologer. He has been held as one of the greatest astronomists of Islam. His well-known discovery is the remarkably accurate determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, which is very close to the latest estimates. He found that the longitude of the sun's apogee had increased by 168 , 47' since Ptolemy. This implied the important discovery of the motion of the solar apsides and of a slow variation in the equation of time. He did not believe in the trapidation of the equinoxes, although Copernicus held it. 6) Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathir al-Farghani, born in Farghana, Transoxiana, was one of the most distinguished astronomers in the service of al-Mamun and his successors. He wrote "Elements of Astronomy" (Kitab fi al-Harakat al-Samawiya wa Jawami Ilm al-Nujum i.e. the book on celestial motion and thorough science of the stars), which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and exerted great influence upon European astronomy before Regiomontanus. He accepted Ptolemy's theory and value of the precession, but thought that it affected not only the stars but also the planets. He determined the diameter of the earth to be 6,500 miles, and found the greatest distances and also the diameters of the planets. 7) Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina was born in 980 C.E. at Afshana near BukharaHe was the most famous physician, philosopher, encyclopaedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time. His major contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the "Canon" in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb is an immense encyclo- paedia of medicine extending over a million words. It surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources.   <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/cool.gif> El Zahrawi   Albucasis) - father of surgery   is believed to have been born in the city of El-Zahra, six miles northwest of Cordoba, sometime between 936 and 940. El Zahrawi wrote a medical encyclopaedia spanning 30 volumes which included sections on surgery, medicine, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, pharmacology, nutrition etc. This book was known as At-Tasrif and contained data that El Zahrawi had accumulated during a career that spanned almost 50 years of training, teaching and practice. He apparently travelled very little but had wide experience in treating accident victims and war casualties. 9) Ibn Battuta the great traveller was the only medieval traveller who is known to have visited the lands of every Muslim ruler of his time. He also travelled in Ceylon (present Sri Lanka), China and Byzantium and South Russia. The mere extent of his travels is estimated at no less than 75,000 miles, a figure which is not likely to have been surpassed before the age of steam 10)Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding. Known in the West as Alhazen, Ibn al-Haitham was born in 965 C.E. in BasrahHe dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like shadows, eclipses, the rainbow, and speculated on the physical nature of light. He is the first to describe accurately the various parts of the eye and give a scientific explanation of the process of vision. He also attempted to explain binocular vision, and gave a correct explanation of the apparent increase in size of the sun and the moon when near the horizon. He is known for the earliest use of the camera obscura. He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye. Through these extensive researches on optics, he has been considered as the father of modern Optics. The Latin translation of his main work, Kitab-al-Manadhir, exerted a great influence upon Western science e.g. on the work of Roger Bacon and Kepler. It brought about a great progress in experimental methods. His research in catoptrics centred on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration. He made the important observation that the ratio between the angle of incidence and refraction does not remain constant and investigated the magnifying power of a lens. His catoptrics contain the important problem known as Alhazen's problem. It comprises drawing lines from two points in the plane of a circle meeting at a point on the circumference and making equal angles with the norrnal at that point. This leads to an equation of the fourth degree.   ********************************** Noera As salaamu alaikum, Ok, so here are 10 contributions Muslims have made to the world. WWTBAM is over?   <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/sad.gif> Wasalaam, Noera  <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/undecided.gif> 1.  Muslim astronomers during the reign of Mamun (the Abbasid period) calculated the circumference of the earth.  This was while Europeans were still considering whether the earth was flat. 2.  The first astronomical observatory was built by the Muslims in Seville, Spain.  With the fall of Muslim power in Spain, the Christians turned it into a belfry because they didn't know what else to do with it.   <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/smiley.gif> 3.  Muslims were the first to establish hospitals, dispensaries and medical schools in the world. 4.  Muslim mathematicians gave us algebra and the concept of the zero (sipher).   5.  Abu Ali al-Hasan (Alhazen) made a tremendous contribution to optics and how the eye functions. 6.  It is through the commentaries of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) that the west came to know Aristotle. 7.  Abul Hasan invented the telescope. 8.  The first watch was made by Kutbi.   9.  Muslim Arab chemists were the first to manufacture soap. 10. The first windmill was also made by a Muslim.   Source:  http://members.tripod.com/~salems2/muslim_contribution_to_the_world.html ********************************************************

Re: WWTBAM: Question 7e7en
admin
05/09/02 at 22:31:55
Maliha <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/salam.gif> I thought the easiest way to approach this question would be to list 10 prominent figures in Islamic History and each of their original contribution.   1) Jabir Ibn Haiyan: Generally known as the father of Chemistry: Jabir's (Geber's) major contribution was in the field of Chemistry. He is famous for writing more than one hundred monumental treatises, of which twenty-two deal with chemistry and alchemy.   Jabir was a pioneer in the development of a number of applied chemical processes. His contributions include the development of steel, preparation of various metals, prevention of rusting, lettering in gold, use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, dyeing of cloth and tanning of leather, varnishing of waterproof cloth, identification of paints and greases. In addition, he developed aqua regia to dissolve gold.   Jabir's experimental ideas paved the way for now commonly known classification of substances as metals, nonmetals and volatile substances. He discussed three distinct types of substances based on their properties: a) spirits, i.e., those which vaporize on heating, like camphor, arsenic and ammonium chloride, b) metals, e.g., gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, and c) compounds that can be converted into powders.   2) Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi: Al-Khwarizmi was one of the greatest mathematicians ever lived. He was the founder of several branches and basic concepts of mathematics. He is also famous as an astronomer and geographer. Al-Khwarizmi influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other medieval writer. He is recognized as the founder of Algebra, as he not only initiated the subject in a systematic form but also developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations. The name Algebra is derived from his famous book Al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabilah. The influence of Al-Khwarizmi on the growth of mathematics, astronomy and geography is well established in history. His approach was systematic and logical, and not only did he bring together the then prevailing knowledge on various branches of science but also enriched it through his original contributions. He synthesized Greek and Hindu knowledge and also contained his own contribution of fundamental importance to mathematics and science. He adopted the use of zero, a numeral of fundamental importance, leading up to the so-called arithmetic of positions and the decimal system. His pioneering work on the system of numerals is well known as "Algorithm," or "Algorizm." In addition to introducing the Arabic numerals, he developed several arithmetical procedures, including operations on fractions.   3) Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi : Al-Kindi was the first physician who systematically determined the dosage for most drugs. It greatly helped in the development of dosage standards (prescription) for patients. In the field of Chemistry, Al-Kindi argued that base metals cannot be converted to precious metals and that chemical reactions cannot produce transformation of basic elements. He made important contributions to the Arabic system of numerals. In addition, he contributed to spherical geometry while assisting al-Khwarizmi in astronomical studies. Al-Kindi's original work provided the foundation for modern arithmetic. He also made original contributions to geometrical optics, a special field of Physics, and wrote a book on it. Several centuries later, Al-Kindi's work inspired Roger Bacon He was popularly known as the 'Philosopher of the Arabs' in the Middle Ages. Cardano considered Al-Kindi as one of the twelve greatest minds of the Middle Ages. He is among a small group of Muslim scientists who made original contributions in many fields. Al-Kindi was a philosopher, astronomer, physician, mathematician, physicist, and geographer. He also was an expert in music.   4) Abu Nasr Mohammad Ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi : . He was best known as the "Second Teacher" (al-Mou'allim al-Thani), Aristotle being the First. Al-Frabi's major contribution is in logic, philosophy, and sociology. In addition, he contributed immensely to Mathematics, science, medicine, and music. He was also an Encyclopedist. Al-Farabi's great contribution in logic was that he made the study of logic systematic by dividing the subject into two categories: Takhayyul (idea) and Thubut (proof). He attempted to reconcile Platonism and Aristotelism with theology and wrote commentaries on physics, logic, and meteorology. Al-Farabi held the belief that philosophy and Islam are in harmony. He proved the existence of the void in his contribution to Physics. His book Kitab al-Ihsa al-'Ulum presents fundamental principles and classification of sciences from a fresh perspective.   5) 'Abd al-Rahman Al-Sufi: known in the West as Azophi, was one of the two most outstanding practical astronomers of the Middle Ages. Al-Sufi was the first astronomer to describe the 'nebulosity' of the nebula in Andromeda in his book of constellations (atlas of heavens). He named the southern group of stars al-Baqar al-Abyad or the 'White Bull' after receiving reports from Arab navigators in the Malay Archipelago. We now know this group of stars as Nubecula Major (the greater Magellanic Cloud).   Al-Sufi prepared charts of the heavens from his own observations and carefully adjudged their magnitudes. His book 'Kitab al-Kawatib al-Thabit al-Musawwar' was a masterpiece on stellar astronomy. It is available in the original Arabic and in French translation by Schjellerup. Kitab al-Kawatib is considered important even now for the study of proper motions and long period variables. In it he included theta Eridani among the 13 brightest stars then known. Ulugh Beg, the grandson of Timur (Tamerlane), in 1437 found it to be of the first magnitude in his list of fixed stars. Edmond Halley in his voyage to St. Helena at the beginning of the Eighteenth century saw it as a star of the third magnitude.   6) Ibn Al-Haitham,:known in the West as Alhazen, is considered as the father of modern Optics. Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-Haitham was one of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding. Al-Haitham was the first to describe accurately the various parts of the eye and gave a scientific explanation of the process of vision. He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that the eye sends out visual rays to the object of the vision; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye. He also attempted to explain binocular vision, and gave a correct explanation of the apparent increase in size of the sun and the moon when near the horizon. He is known for the earliest use of the Camera obscura. Through these extensive researches on optics, he has been considered as the father of modern Optics.   7) Ibn Sina:  known in the West by the name of Avicenna, was the most famous physician, philosopher, encyclopedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time. His major contribution to medical science was his famous book al-Qanun, known as the "Canon" in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb (the Canons of Medicine) is an immense encyclopedia of medicine extending over a million words. It reviewed the medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources. Due to its systematic approach, formal perfection as well as its intrinsic value, the Qanun superceded Razi's (Rhazes') Hawi, Ali ibn Abbas's Maliki, and even the works of Galen, and remained supreme for six centuries. Ibn Sina not only synthesized the available knowledge, but he also made many original contributions. The Qanun (pronounced Qanoon) deals with general medicines, drugs (seven hundred sixty), diseases affecting all parts of the body from head to foot, specially pathology and pharmacopoia. It was recognized as the most authentic materia medica. Among his original contributions are such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, distribution of diseases by water and soil, and interaction between psychology and health. He was the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and child health. Also, he was the first physician who suggested the treatment for lachrymal fistula and introduced medical probe for the channel <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/cool.gif> Omar Al-Khayyam : was an outstanding mathematician and astronomer. He was also well known as a poet, philosopher, and physician. In the "History of Western Philosophy", Bertrand Russell remarks that Omar Khayyam was the only man known to him who was both a poet and a mathematician. Omar Khayyam reformed the solar calendar in 1079 C.E. His work on Algebra was highly valued throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. In the West, he is best known for his poetic work ?Rubaiyat? (quatrains) which was translated by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859. His full name was Ghiyath al-Din Abul Fateh Omar Ibn Ibrahim al-Khayyam. Al-Khayyam made major contributions in Mathematics, particularly in Algebra. His book ?Maqalat fi al-Jabr wa al-Muqabila? on Algebra provided great advancement in the field. He classified many algebraic equations based on their complexity and recognized thirteen different forms of cubic equation. Omar Khayyam developed a geometrical approach to solving equations, which involved an ingenious selection of proper conics. He solved cubic equations by intersecting a parabola with a circle. Omar Khayyam was the first to develop the binomial theorem and determine binomial coefficients. He developed the binomial expansion for the case when the exponent is a positive integer. Omar Khayyam refers in his Algebra book to another work on what we now know as Pascal's triangle. This work is now lost. He extended Euclid's work giving a new definition of ratios and included the multiplication of ratios. He contributed to the theory of parallel lines Omar Al-Khayyam is famous for another work which he contributed when he worked for Saljuq Sultan, Malikshah Jalal al-Din. He was asked to develop an accurate solar calendar to be used for revenue collections and various administrative matters. To accomplish this task, Omar Khayyam began his work at the new observatory at Ray in 1074 C.E. His calendar ?Al-Tarikh-al-Jalali? is superior to the Gregorian calendar and is accurate to within one day in 3770 years. Specifically, he measured the length of the year as 365.24219858156 days. It shows that he recognized the importance of accuracy by giving his result to eleven decimal places. As a comparison, the length of the year in our time is 365.242190 days. This number changes slightly in the sixth decimal place, e.g., in the nineteenth century it was 365.242196 days.   9) Al-Ghazali: is most famous for his contributions in philosophy, religion and Sufism. In philosophy, Al-Ghazali upheld the approach of mathematics and exact sciences as essentially correct. However, he adopted the techniques of Aristotelian logic and the Neoplatonic procedures and employed these very tools to lay bare the flaws and lacunas of the then prevalent Neoplatonic philosophy and to diminish the negative influences of Aristotelianism and excessive rationalism. In contrast to some of the Muslim philosophers, e.g., Farabi, he portrayed the inability of reason to comprehend the absolute and the infinite. Reason could not transcend the finite and was limited to the observation of the relative. Also, several Muslim philosophers had held that the universe was finite in space but infinite in time. Ghazali argued that an infinite time was related to an infinite space. With his clarity of thought and force of argument, he was able to create a balance between religion and reason, and identified their respective spheres as being the infinite and the finite, respectively.   In religion, particularly mysticism, he cleansed the approach of sufism of its excesses and reestablished the authority of the orthodox religion. Yet, he stressed the importance of genuine sufism, which he maintained was the path to attain the absolute truth.   Al-Ghazali's influence was deep and everlasting. He is one of the greatest theologians of Islam. His theological doctrines penetrated Europe, influenced Jewish and Christian Scholasticism and several of his arguments seem to have been adopted by St. Thomas Aquinas in order to similarly reestablish the authority of orthodox Christian religion in the West. So forceful was his argument in the favor of religion that he was accused of damaging the cause of philosophy and, in the Muslim Spain, Ibn Rushd (Averroes) wrote a rejoinder to his Tuhafut. 10) Ibn Khaldun: is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology and Sciences of History. Ibn Khaldun is most famous for his book 'Muqaddimah' (Introduction). It is a masterpiece in literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The main theme of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. He analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, al-'Asabiyya, produce the ascent of a new civilization and political power. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of the rise and fall in human civilization, and analyzed factors contributing to it.   Ibn Khaldun's revolutionary views have attracted the attention of Muslim scholars as well as many Western thinkers. In his study of history, Ibn Khaldun was a pioneer in subjecting historical reports to the two basic criteria of reason and social and physical laws. He pointed out the following four essential points in the study and analysis of historical reports: (1) relating events to each other through cause and effect, (2) drawing analogy between past and present, (3) taking into consideration the effect of the environment, and (4) taking into consideration the effect of inherited and economic conditions.   Ibn Khaldun's pioneered the critical study of history. He provided an analytical study of human civilization, its beginning, factors contributing to its development and the causes of decline. Thus, he founded a new science: the science of social development or sociology, as we call it today. Ibn Khaldun writes, "I have written on history a book in which I discussed the causes and effects of the development of states and civilizations, and I followed in arranging the material of the book an unfamiliar method, and I followed in writing it a strange and innovative way." By selecting his particular method of analysis, he created two new sciences: Historiology and Sociology simultaneously.   Ibn Khaldun's influence on the subject of history, philosophy of history, sociology, political science and education has remained paramount down to our times. He is also recognized as the leader in the art of autobiography, a renovator in the fields of education and educational psychology and in Arabic writing stylistics. His books have been translated into many languages, both in the East and the West, and have inspired subsequent development of these sciences. Prof. Gum Ploughs and Kolosio consider Muqaddimah as superior in scholarship to Machiavelli's The Prince written a century later, as the former bases the diagnosis more on cultural, sociological, economic and psychological factors.   Excerpts from http://cyberistan.org/islamic/ ************************************************************* Abu Hamza Mohammad Ibn Mussa Ibn Al-Khwaarizimi's work Al Gebr Wa'l Maakalala (Calculation by Symbols) introduced algebra to humanity. 2.  Al-Batani was the first to use in his works the expressions 'sine' and cosine.'   3.  The treatise in optics by Hassan Ali Haitan (Alhasen) (964 - 1039) was an event of primary importance in the field of physics.  M. Charles ( Apercu historique des methodes en geometrie) contends that it was the "beginning of the modern science of optics." 4.  Abu Bakr Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (Rhases): The body of medical knowledge published by this man under the title of Havi (The Chaste Life), as well as his other book entitled Mansuri after Khalifa Al-Mansur to whom it was dedicated, remained for several hundred years the most highly eteemed and widely used of medical manuals. 5.  Abu Ali Al Hussein Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was without a doubt the greatest of pioneers in the field of medicine.  His Canun Fi'l Tib (Percepts of Medicine) was published in Arabic in Rome in 1593.  It appeared in an edition of five volumes dealing respectively with physiology, hygiene, pathology, therapeutics, and materia medica.  For 600 years (12th Century to 17th Century) this masterly work served as the basis of medical studies in all French and Italian universities.   6.  The contributions of Abul Walid Mohammad Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in the field of philosophy are astounding and too detailed to list here.  Averroism is an entire field in philosophy whose name is coined after the name of Ibn Rushd.  He is known, also, as the Great Commentator of Aristotle, because he explained and extended many of his ideas.   7.  Muslim contributions to Persian poetry were huge, and has won the admiration of the entire world.  Goethe once said about the Persian poets, "Throughout five centuries the Persians had only seven poets whom they regarded as real masters, but even amongst those they rejected there were better ones than I!"  These seven main figures of Persian literature are: Firdausi, Jalaal Al-Din Al-Rumi, Sa'di, Anwari, Hafiz, Nizami and Jaami (Djami). 8.  Ernest Renan has this to say about the Muslim contribution to Geography in his book Melange d'Histoire et de Voyages : "Their passion for travel is one of the most striking traits of the Arab character, and one fo those which have helped them to make their deepest mark on the history of civilization.  Up to the time of the great impetus in Spanish and Portugese navigation, in the 15th and 16th Century, no people had contributed as much as the Arabs to broadening man's conception of the universe and to giving him an exact idea of the planet on which he lives, which is the prerequisite of all real progress."  Some famous contributors to this field include Ibn Haykal Al Bairuni, Idrissi and Ibn Batuta, etc.  "For 350 years, European cartographers did nothing but copy the treatise of Idrissi on geography, with negligible variations," said L.A. Sedillot in his Histoire des Arabes. 9.  History: Ibn Khaldun!!!  1332 - 1406.  Those who criticize Islamic civilization, who see it only the pale reflection of Hellenic culture adn deny it any originality, are forced to recognize that we owe a philogophy of history - the first ever to be written - to the genius of Ibn Khaldun.  "Before him, no writer, neither Arab nor European, had ever had a view of history at one and the same time so comprehensive and so philosophical.  The general opinion of all of Ibn Khaldun's critics is that he was the greatest historian that Islam ever produced and one of the greatest of all times   (J.C. Reister, in his work La Civilisation Arabe )."  Long before modern sociologists, before Comte, Vico, Marx and Spengler, he applied himself to the evolution of human society and tried to give a rational explanation of the progress of history.  He wrote a history of the world comprising of three books, with an introduction, and an autobiography.  The first book together with the introductino forms a separate part which is called the Prolegomena (Al-Muqaddama).  This part constitues in itself an imperishable monument, and to it the author owes his world-wise renown. 10.  Architecture.  A few examples are Al-Hambra, Al-Kazar of Seville, The Great Mosque of Cordove (whose influence is evident in Notre Dame de Puy), The Taj Mahal, The Blue Mosque (Istanbul), etc.   Wallaahu ta'aala a'lam. Most of this comes from the booklet Muslim Contribution to Civilization, written by Haidar Bammate.   Jazaaki Allahu Khairan katheeran for hosting this competition once again.  May Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala) bless you and may you continue to be a source of motivation for the people who come in contact with you. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh ******************************************************** salik <http://www.jannah.org/board/images/salam.gif> 1. Purified Alcohol Numerous Muslim chemists produced medicinal-grade alcohol through distillation as early as the 10th century and manufactured on a large scale the first distillation devices for use in chemistry. They used alcohol as a solvent and antiseptic.   2.Inhalation anesthesia   Az-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhr, among other Muslim surgeons, performed hundreds of surgeries under inhalation anesthesia with the use of narcotic-soaked sponges which were placed over the face.   3. Antiseptic Muslim physicians and surgeons were applying purified alcohol to wounds as an antiseptic agent. Surgeons in Islamic Spain utilized special methods for maintaining antisepsis prior to and during surgery. They also originated specific protocols for maintaining hygiene during the post-operative period. Their success rate was so high that dignitaries throughout Europe came to Cordova, Spain, to be treated at what was comparably the "Mayo Clinic" of the Middle Ages.   4. Use of drugs in the treatment of specific diseases   Ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-Kindi, Ibn Rushd, az-Zahrawi, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Baytar, Ibn al-Jazzar, Ibn Juljul, Ibn al-Quff, Ibn an-Nafs, al-Biruni, Ibn Sahl and hundreds of other Muslim physicians mastered the science of drug therapy for the treatment of specific symptoms and diseases. In fact, this concept was entirely their invention. The word "drug" is derived from Arabic. Their use of practical experience and careful observation was extensive.   5. Circulatory system In the 10th century, Islam's ar-Razi wrote an in-depth treatise on the venous system, accurately describing the function of the veins and their valves. Ibn an-Nafs and Ibn al-Quff (13th century) provided full documentation that the blood circulates and correctly described the physiology of the heart and the function of its valves 300 years before Harvey. William Harvey was a graduate of Italy's famous Padua University at a time when the majority of its curriculum was based upon Ibn Sina's and ar-Razi's textbooks.   6. Ethnography(Classification of races) Muslim scholars of the 9th through 14th centuries invented the science of ethnography. A number of Muslim geographers classified the races, writing detailed explanations of their unique cultural habits and physical appearances. They wrote thousands of pages on this subject. Blumenbach's works were insignificant in comparison.   7. Glass lenses for improving vision Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented eyeglasses during the 9th century, and they were manufactured and sold throughout Spain for over two centuries.   8. Algebraic symbols   Muslim mathematicians, the inventors of algebra, introduced the concept of using letters for unknown variables in equations as early as the 9th century A.D. Through this system, they solved a variety of complex equations, including quadratic and cubic equations. They used symbols to develop and perfect the binomial theorem.   9. Trigonometry Trigonometry remained largely a theoretical science among the Greeks. It was developed to a level of modern perfection by Muslim scholars, although the weight of the credit must be given to al-Battani. The words describing the basic functions of this science, sine, cosine and tangent, are all derived from Arabic terms.   10. Optics(study of lenses, light and prisms) In the 1lth century al-Haytham determined virtually everything that Newton advanced regarding optics centuries prior and is regarded by numerous authorities as the "founder of optics. " There is little doubt that Newton was influenced by him. Al-Haytham was the most quoted physicist of the Middle Ages. His works were utilized and quoted by a greater number of European scholars during the 16th and 17th centuries than those of Newton and Galileo combined.   11. Man in flight   Ibn Firnas of Islamic Spain invented, constructed and tested a flying machine in the 800's A.D. Roger Bacon learned of flying machines from Arabic references to Ibn Firnas' machine. The latter's invention antedates Bacon by 500 years and Da Vinci by some 700 years. 12. Glass mirrors   Glass mirrors were in use in Islamic Spain as early as the 11th century. The Venetians learned of the art of fine glass production from Syrian artisans during the 9th and 10th centuries. 13. Pendulum   The pendulum was discovered by Ibn Yunus al-Masri during the 10th century, who was the first to study and document its oscillatory motion. Its value for use in clocks was introduced by Muslim physicists during the 15th century.   ********************************************************

Re: WWTBAM1423: Question 7 & Answers
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05/09/02 at 22:49:21
Noor Taken from http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/. Ten pioneering muslims and their major achievements/contributions: Chemistry: JABIR IBN HAIYAN (Geber) :His contribution of fundamental importance to chemistry includes perfection of scientific techniques such as crystallization, distillation, calcination, sublimation and evaporation and development of several instruments for conducting these experiments. Jabir's major practical achievement was the discovery of minerals and acids, which he prepared for the first time in his alembic (Anbique. Jabir was a pioneer in the development of a number of applied chemical processes. His contributions include the development of steel, preparation of various metals, prevention of rusting, lettering in gold, use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, dyeing of cloth and tanning of leather, varnishing of waterproof cloth, identification of paints and greases. In addition, he developed aqua regia to dissolve gold. Jabir's experimental ideas paved the way for now commonly known classification of substances as metals, nonmetals and volatile substances.   Zoology:Abu 'Uthman 'Amr ibn Bahr al-Basri Al-Jahiz :His most famous book 'Kitab al-Hayawan' (Book of Animals) is an encyclopedia of seven large volumes. Kitab al-Hayawan contains an amazing array of scientific information that was not to be fully developed until the first half of the twentieth century. Al-Jahiz discusses his observation in detail on the social organization of ants, animal communication and psychology, and the effects of diet and climate. He described how ants store and preserve grain in their nests during the rainy season. He suggested an ingenious way of expelling mosquitoes and flies from a room based on his observation that some insects are responsive to light. Al-Jahiz expounded on the degree of intelligence of animal species and insects. He also observed that certain parasites adapt to the color of their host, and expounded on the effects of diet and climate not only on men but also on animals and plants.   Mathematics:THABIT IBN QURRAH (THEBIT) : Thabit was a pioneer in extending the concept of traditional geometry to geometrical algebra and proposed theories that led to the development of non-Euclidean geometry, spherical trigonometry, integral calculus and real numbers. He used arithmetic terminology to study several aspects of conic sections (parabola and ellipse). His algorithm for computing the surface area and volume of solids is in fact what we came to know later as the integral calculus.   Astronomy:ABU ABDULLAH AL-BATTANI (ALBATEGNIUS) He has been recognized as the greatest astronomer of his time and one of the greatest of the Middle Ages. He proved the possibility of annular eclipses of the sun and determined with greater accuracy the obliquity of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the ecliptic, the length of the tropical year and the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun." His remarkably accurate calculation of the solar year as 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds is very close to the latest estimates. He found that the longitude of the Sun's apogee had increased by 16o 47' since Ptolemy. It inferred the important discovery of the motion of solar apsides and of a slow variation in the equation of time. He did not believe in the trepidation of the equinoxes, although Copernicus, several centuries later, held that erroneous notion.   Medicine:ABU ALI AL-HUSSAIN IBN ABDALLAH IBN SINA (Avicenna :Among his original contributions are such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, distribution of diseases by water and soil, and interaction between psychology and health. He was the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and child health. Also, he was the first physician who suggested the treatment for lachrymal fistula and introduced medical probe for the channel.   Sociology:ABU AL-HASAN AL-MAWARDI (ALBOACEN) Al-Mawardi formulated the principles of political science. His books deal with duties of the Caliphs, the chief minister, the cabinet, and the responsibility of and relationship between the government and citizens. He has discussed the affairs of state in both peace and war.   Sociology:IBN KHALDUN :Ibn Khaldun is universally recognized as the founder and father of Sociology and Sciences of History. He is best known for his famous 'Muqaddimah. The main theme of this monumental work was to identify psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history. He analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, al-'Asabiyya, produce the ascent of a new civilization and political power. He identified an almost rhythmic repetition of the rise and fall in human civilization, and analyzed factors contributing to it.   MedicineABU MARWAN ABD AL-MALIK IBN ZUHR (Avenzoar) Ibn Zuhr made several breakthroughs as a physician. He was the first to test different medicines on animals before administering them to humans. Also, he was the first to describe in detail scabies, the itch mite, and is thus regarded as the first parasitologist. He was also the first to give a full description of the operation of tracheotomy and practiced direct feeding through the gullet in those cases where normal feeding was not possible. As a clinician, he provided clinical descriptions of intestinal phthisis, inflammation of the middle ear, peri carditis, and mediastinal tumors among others.   AstronomyABU RAIHAN MUHAMMAD AL-BIRUNI He discovered seven different ways of finding the direction of the north and south, and discovered mathematical techniques to determine exactly the beginnings of the season. He also wrote about the sun and its movements and the eclipse. In addition, he invented few astronomical instruments. Many centuries before the rest of the world, Al-Biruni discussed that the earth rotated on its axis and made accurate calculations of latitude and longitude. These observations are contained in his book "Al-Athar Al-Baqia." He wrote a treatise on timekeeping in 1000 C.E.   Poetry:Omar Khayyam :Apart from being a scientist, Khayyam was also a well-known poet. In this capacity, he has become more popularly known in the Western world since 1839, when Edward Fitzgerald published an English translation of his Rubaiyat (quatrains). This has since become one of the most popular classics of world literature.
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