Muslim Scientists and Thinkers

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MUSLIM SCIENTISTS AND THINKERS

Syed Aslam

Second edition 2010

Cover Statue of Ibn Rushd Cordoba, Spain

ISBN 978-1-61584-980-2

Printed in India Lok-Hit Offset Shah-e-Alam Ahmedabad Gujarat

Dedicated to Ibn Rushd and other Scientists and Thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ...... VI Foreword ...... VII Introduction ...... 1 1 Concept of Knowledge in Islam ...... 8 2 Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan...... 25 3 Al-Jahiz abu Uthman Ibn Bahar ...... 31 4 Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi...... 35 5 Abu Yaqoub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi ...... 40 6 Muhammad bin Zakaria Razi ...... 45 7 Jabir ibn Sinan al-Batani...... 51 8 Abu Nasar Mohammad ibn al-Farabi...... 55 9 Abu Wafa ibn Ismail al-Buzjani ...... 61 10 Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham ...... 66 11 Abu Rayhan ibn al-Biruni ...... 71 12 Ali al-Hussain ibn Sina ...... 77 13 Abu Qasim ibn al-Zahrawi ...... 83

iv 14 Omar Khayyam ...... 88 15 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali ...... 93 16 Abu Marwan Malik ibn Zuhr ...... 101 17 Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Bajjah ...... 106 18 Muhammad ibn al-Idrisi ...... 111 19 Abdul Rahman al- Khazini ...... 116 20 Abu al-Walid ibn Rushd ...... 121 21 Abu al-Iz ibn al-Jazari ...... 130 22 Ali ibn al-Baitar ...... 135 23 Nasir al-Din al-Tusi ...... 139 24 Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi ...... 145 25 Ala al-Din ibn al-Nafis ...... 151 26 Abd al-Rahman ibn Khaldun ...... 157 27 Jamshid al-Kashi ...... 163 28 Taqi al-Din ...... 168 29 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan ...... 173 30 Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal ...... 179 Reference ...... 185 Index ...... 191

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

am thankful to Dr. Abdul Rahman Nakadar for his I encouragement and suggestion to write articles for The Muslim Observer on the subject of Muslim Scientists and Thinkers. Writing articles for the paper eventually led to this book. I am obliged to my cousin Dr. Syed Husain Majid for correcting the manuscript. Thanks to Dr. Habib Akhter Zuberi, Mr. Jameel Ahmad and his wife Dr. Ghazala Barni for suggestions and reading the manuscript. Many thanks to Dr. Mohammad Alhaj Hussein of Saudi Arabia for his encouragement and putting the articles published in The Muslim Observer on his web site. I want to thank my sons Faiz, Amir and especially to my daughter Shazia for reading the drafts of this book. I am thankful to my brother-in-law Syed Wasim Sajjad Jafry and Dr. Syed Sabahuddin Taj for encouragement and help. Thanks also to my nephew Rizwan Jafry (Shad) for help and various suggestions. Last, but not the least, I am grateful to my wife Shahnaz Aslam for her encouragement and cooperation.

FOREWORD

eople in the West are led to believe that their P intellectual roots are embedded in Greek and Roman civilizations. After more than a thousand years as the story goes, they suddenly awoke from the deep slumber of Dark Ages to their Greco-Roman roots. They do not remember which civilization gave the blueprint and the intellectual contributions which led to their Renaissance and finally to the Industrial Revolution. Instead, the scientific, philosophical, and intellectual contribution of the Islamic civilization are relegated to mere footnotes, not worth mentioning in the pages of a standard text book on Western Civilization. Syed Aslam's writing reminds the readers how the Muslim scientists and thinkers gave to the Western world new research and ideas in the field of mathematics chemistry, physics, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, geography and technology. The Europeans had lost all the great work of ancient Greece as if it

vii never existed, it was the translation of their work in Arabic and rich commentary by the Muslim thinkers, and philosophers brought it to life again. Without the help of these works the European Renaissance would not have been possible. He also traces history why the Islamic civilization lost its dominance in these fields and became weak, poor and illiterate nation. Syed Aslam starts his book with the chapter title “Concept of Knowledge in Islam” in which he has tried to emphasize through Qur'an and Hadith the importance of both secular and religious education. He then selected thirty prominent Muslim scientists and thinkers whose contributions became the source of enlightenment for the humanity. Their achievements and a short account appeared as articles in The Muslim Observer which received enthusiastic and encouraging responses from readers. I hope our young students will get inspiration from the contributions of these great men and become the leading torch bearer of the modern science to usher in the true Islamic Renaissance. I am pleased and honored to write a foreword for Syed Aslam's book 'Muslim Scientists and Thinkers' .

Dr. Abdul Rahman Nakadar CEO and Publisher: The Muslim Observer

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INTRODUCTION

n the year 2006 CE Pope Benedict XVI delivered a I speech in Germany in which he quoted a fourteenth century Christian emperor: ‘show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and that you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached’. It is certain that the Pope believed what he quoted in his speech. I can understand the emperor’s frustration, who was losing his land and kingdom to the Muslims . But how could a modern Pope, a man of the most enlightened age of the Western world, har- bor such a notion? If the Pope had turned a few pages of the medieval history, he would have received the correct answer to his inquiry. Trace the history of Catholic Church and you will find that they tolerated no rival. Church issued a decree that anybody caught concealing the book propagating rival teaching other than what was preached by the Catholic Church would be declared a heretic and put to death and indeed they did it by the thousands.1 The great

1 work of ancient Greece were condemned as pagan and their temples, and revered oracles silenced forever. The scholars of classical Greek and Nestorius Christians were forced into exile and with them European society lost all the great work of philosophy, mathematics and science as if they never existed.2 Thanks to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his Islamic civilization which preserved it, translated it into Arabic, added their own and delivered it to the Europeans through Arabic translation to Latin at the beginning of Renaissance. The Catholic Church in its relentless effort to maintain absolute power over the destiny of common man of Europe controlled even the secular knowledge. Education and learning became the domain of clergy and the Church tightly controlled every aspect of the society. In 479 CE, when the Catholic Church became the sole authority after the fall of Western Roman Em- pire, the office of Papacy instituted the most oppressive and irrational system the human civilization had ever seen.3 As a result of this, the Christian world hardly produced any philosophers, thinkers or scientists for more than a thousand years and plunged Eu- rope into the Dark Ages. The oppressive policy of the Church continued well into the 17th century in some parts of Europe especially Italy, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. The execution of Giordano Bruno, a famous Italian philosopher and astronomer, by burning him alive on the stake for propagating the

2 heliocentric theory of earth ( Earth rotating around the sun) and the Inquisition and house arrest of Galileo are glaring examples of intolerance of the institution of Papacy. It is due to this reason that the Jews were persecuted in Europe for centuries and hundreds of thousands of Muslims, Jews and even Arab Christians were butchered after the fall of Jerusalem during the Crusade. Probably it was a remnant of the same intolerance which raised its ugly head during the second world war and led to the genocide of six millions Jews. While Europe was plunged into Dark Ages of religious intolerance and narrow-mindedness, the Islamic civilization was flourishing and acted as a beacon of light for the human civilization. After the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in 632 CE Islam spread throughout the Middle East and elsewhere like a wild fire and in a matter of fifty years it stretched from Morocco to the border of China. You simply cannot convert such a vast population by means of sword rather than by the noble principles such as justice, tolerance and freedom of speech. Though we had some despotic rulers, but by and large they followed the path showed by Prophet Muhammad and embarked upon a golden age of the human civilization which lasted for eight centuries. The Muslim cities of Baghdad, Cairo, Bukhara and the Spanish city of Cordoba under Muslim rule became centers of learning and higher education in the field of

3 philosophy, science and medicine. The Islamic civilization produced brilliant scientists, astronomers, physicians and thinkers. The Muslim rule of Spain brought the age of enlightenment and learning to that country too. Though Cordoba never surpassed Bagh- dad, nevertheless it achieved second-to-none promi- nence in its own right. The Muslim rulers of Spain brought the fruit of knowledge and technology from the Islamic civilization to cities like Cordoba, Toledo and Seville. The flow of knowledge in science and humanities came to European Christendom through Spain like flood. Thousands of books were translated from Arabic to Latin which provided the foundation for the European Renaissance. Muslim rulers established institutions of learning in Spain which became the models on which Oxford and Cambridge were based.4 By the end of the fifteenth century the Muslim rule of Spain ended, replaced by the Christian king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. What the Christian ruler did to the fellow Muslims and Jews of Spain? You guessed it. Death, destruction, forced conversion and expulsion of both communities. The forced mass exodus created such a colossal suffering that even the Spanish chroniclers, who had no sympathy with these peoples expressed their shock and dismay. The horror of Span- ish Inquisition continued till every Muslim and every Jew were expelled from the country.5 This was how the

4 Christian rulers and the Catholic Church treated the people who brought prosperity, knowledge, wisdom and technology to their land during the Dark Ages of Europe. What the Europeans would have done in the field of Chemistry without Jabir (Giber), in mathematics without Arabic numerals and Algebra introduced by Khwarizmi, trigonometry, log table and other mathematical problems without Al-Biruni, Omar Khayyam, al-Battani and Abul Wafa (to name a few), in optics without al-Haytham, and in astronomy without al- Batani, al-Biruni, al-Tusi and many others, in medicine without al-Razi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Zuhr and al- Zahrawi. In philosophy without Al-Kindi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and Ibn Khaldun and in technology without al-Jazari and Taqi al-Din? These are just a few names out of many Muslim scientists and thinkers. The purpose of writing this book is to introduce and highlight the contributions of some Muslim scientists and thinkers on individual basis. In spite of tremendous contribution made by Muslim scientists and thinkers to the modern civilization, the high school history books or even undergraduate world history is noticeably neglectful of the contribution of Islamic Civilization. Many educated Muslims know about Copernicus, Galileo, Newton and many other European scientists and thinkers but they do not know much about Muslim scientists and thinkers.

5 Recently after nine eleven the trend has changed and many American and English writers are publishing books on this subject. Mark Graham's book; How Islam created the modern world. Lost History by Michael Morgan. What Islam did for us by Tim Wallace-Murphy and God’s Crucible by David Lewis are the most recent publications. The abstract of the speech delivered by Carly Fiorina CEO of Hewlett-Packard in September 2001 in Min- neapolis Minnesota tells it all. There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world, it was able to create a continental super- state that stretched from ocean to ocean and from northern climates to tropics and deserts. Within its dominion lived hundreds of millions of people, of different creeds and ethnic origins. And this civilization was driven more than anything, by inventions. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created the algebra and algorithms that would enable the building of computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease. Its astronomers looked into the heavens, named the stars, and paved the way for space travel and exploration. When other nations were afraid of ideas, this civilization thrived on them, and kept them alive. When censor threatened to wipe out knowledge from past

6 civilizations, this civilization kept the knowledge alive, and passed it on to others. While modern Western civilization shares many of these traits, the civilization I’m talking about was that of Islamic world. Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist without the contributions of Muslim chemists, mathematicians, astronomers, geologists and physicians.

CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE IN ISLAM

his book is about the Muslim thinkers and T scientists who acquired knowledge from others and added to it their own. Therefore, it would be quite appropriate to discuss the concept of knowledge in Islam. Muslims, during their period of stagnation and decline, confined themselves to Islamic theology: Qur'an and Hadith (Sayings of the Prophet) as the only obligatory and praiseworthy source of knowledge, an attitude which is generally attributed to Ibn Hanbal, al- Ash'ari and al-Ghazali. In this chapter I shall try to prove through Qur'an and Hadith that this concept is totally wrong and un-Islamic. Many Qur'anic verses and hundreds of Hadith encourage Muslims to acquire all types of knowledge from any corner of the earth. Let us see what Qur'an says about knowledge or Ilm.

8 The Islamic revelation started with the word Iqra 'read'. No other religion has given as much importance to acquiring knowledge 'Ilm' as Qur'an. The word Ilm has been mentioned in Qur'an in more than hundred verses. Various Qur'anic verses have emphasized and urged the believers to seek all kinds of knowledge. The Qur'an encourages the believers to exercise God- given intellect again and again. Even the principles of scientific induction can be found in Qur'an with importance of observation in arriving at certain conclusion. The Qur'an says: The learned among His servants fear God most (32:38). The angels and those learned men who stand on justice bear testimony that there is no deity but He (3:18). Those who are believers among you and the learned, God will increase their rank.(58:12). It is clear from these verses that the rank of the learned is very high. The Qur'an says; I have sent to them a book with knowledge. I explained in it a guide and a mercy to all who believe (7:52). Say: travel around the world, then behold how Allah originated creation, then he produces a later creation: for Allah has power over all things (29:20). In the last verse Qur'an is encouraging the believers to go out and explore nature to see and decipher what Allah has created and learn from it. Beside various Qur'anic verses emphasizing the importance of knowledge, many authentic Hadith encourage Muslims to gain all kinds of knowledge from any cor-

9 ner of the world. The Prophet said: To seek knowledge is a duty for every Muslim and Muslimah, The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr. He said: An hour's contemplation and study of God's creation is better than a year of adoration. Any person who seeks knowledge does not die, and seek knowledge from the cradle to grave. Whosoever reveres the learned, revere me. The first thing Allah created was reason and He has not created anything better than reason. (Muslim & Bukhari) The prophet said: He who leaves his home in search of knowledge, walks on the path of Allah. He said; Ac- quire knowledge. It enables the possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lightens up the path to Heaven. It is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude. It guides to happiness, it sustains in adversity. It is an ornament among friends, and an armor against the enemies. The Prophet said; The learned and the warriors are nearest to the rank of prophet hood. The learned have been sent for which the Prophet were sent. They are the guides to the people and the warriors wage war in the path of God. He said: I shall intercede on the Res- urrection Day for the learned and then the martyrs.(Muslim & Bukhari) These quotations from Hadith are pointing out that the rank of the learned is next to that of the Prophets and higher than that of the martyrs.

10 It is quite obvious from the Hadith the importance of acquiring knowledge for Muslims. Neither the Qur'an nor the Prophet ever contemplated the existence of an ignorant Muslim. It is also evident that there is no dis- tinction between secular education and religious education which this famous Hadith confirms:Seek knowledge though it be in China.6 Clearly, one would not go to China to learn about Qur'an and Hadith. What our Prophet meant, was to seek technical or scientific knowledge even if you had to travel a long distance, like going to China. The battle of Badr was the turning point in the Islamic history, when a number of Makkans who had violently opposed the Prophet were taken prisoner. After the victory, the Prophet announced that any person who could teach the children can scape the punishment of death. Many prisoners accepted the Prophet's generous offer and started the job of teaching the children.80 Obviously those non-Muslim prisoners must have imparted the secular knowledge to their students. This incident clearly shows the importance of acquiring knowledge even from your former tormentor. There is a strong impulse in every human being to seek knowledge and Islam strongly supports it. Observation, inductive reasoning and experimentation in the study of natural phenomena are encouraged. There is a fundamental curiosity in every human being to learn more about nature and discover the truth.

11 Search for truth is the essence of Islam and, therefore, pursuit of scientific knowledge strengthens the faith of the believer. The quest of knowledge, creativity and innovation has a sanction in the Qur'an and is strongly supported by the Prophet himself. Therefore, it must be pursued vigorously with full dedication. The prophet's main prayer was 'O God increase me in my knowledge' and 'O God may I see things as they are'. Islam brought all knowledge into the religious sphere, for the true religion includes the whole sphere of man's activity. You do not have to be a genius to understand this logic. How can you defend the Ummah without manufacturing the modern weapons that your enemy possesses? How can you build a civilization without the knowledge of different branches of engineering? How can you treat your sick without the knowledge of medicine and means to administer it? It is abundantly clear that you simply can't survive without the knowledge of different branches of science, technology and secular knowledge. The secular education is as important as the religious education, knowledge can't be separated or compartmentalized, it is your life line. All the prayers and Dua will not get you anywhere, for the Qur'an says; Verily Allah will not change the condition of the people until they change themselves(13,11). There is a tradition of the Prophet (pbuh) narrated by Ali ibn Abi Talib: Once Gabriel came to Adam, he

12 brought with him faith, morality and reason or aql and asked him to choose one of the three. Adam chose reason, the others were told by Gabriel to return to heaven. This indicates how comprehensive are the notions of intellect and knowledge in Islam, and how deeply related they are to faith and to the moral life. It is not surprising that early Muslims understood the message of Islam and taught all kind knowledge in the Madrasah or Masjid. Lectures on chemistry, physics, medicine and astronomy used to be given in the Masjid, for the Masjid was the University of Islam in its earlier stage. The Muslims set out on their search for knowledge in the name of God, at a time when Christians were destroying all learning of the ancient Greece and others in the name of Christ. They burned the library of Alexandria and killed many philosophers because learning for them was a paganistic idea.7 They celebrated the reign of Christ by the sacrifice of heretics. St. Cyril, who was the head of Alexandrian congregations did not like Hypatia, the beautiful daughter of Theon, the mathematician, who not only distinguished herself by her expositions of the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle, but also by her comments on the writings of Apollonius and others . Each day people came to listen to her lecture on various subjects. One day as Hypatia came out of her academy, she was assaulted by Cyril's mob, stripped

13 naked in the street, dragged into a church, where she was killed by the dagger of the priest. The corpse was cut to pieces, the flesh was scraped from the bones and the remnants thrown into a fire(415CE) St. Cyril was never questioned for this crime. The fate of Hypatia was a warning to all who would cultivate profane knowledge.8 The Western Roman Emperors had succumbed to bar- barism. The Eastern Roman Emperor kept their library and entertained some learned men; but only within their palace walls. The Khalifa al-Ma'mun waged the war on the Christian Emperor of Constantinople for the sole purpose of obtaining certain ancient books as well as some men qualified in ancient knowledge.9 Al- Ma'mun expanded the House of Wisdom his father Harun al-Rashid had established in 790 CE. The House of Wisdom translated all the Greek, Sanskrit and Pahlavi (the language of pre-Islamic Persia) books into Arabic and became the unrivaled center of learning for humanities and sciences. The tremendous effort by the Islamic civilization to translate the various works of philosophy and sciences of antiquity and to understand and digest them in its own terms and according to its own world view was a great achievement. Most of the important philosophical and scientific works of Aristotle, Plato, Pythagorean school, and the major works of Greek astronomy, mathematics and medicine were all rendered into Arabic. As a re-

14 sult, Arabic became the most important scientific language of the world for many centuries and the reposi- tory of much of the wisdom and sciences of antiquity. The Islamic civilization did not translate the scientific and philosophical works of other civilizations out of fear of political or economic domination by others but because the structure of Islam itself is based upon the primacy of knowledge. Nor did they consider these forms of knowledge as un-Islamic as long as they confirmed the doctrine of Islam, Oneness of God 'Tawhid'. Once these sciences and philosophies confirmed the principle of Oneness of God, the Muslims considered them as their own. They made them part of their world view and began to cultivate the sciences based on what they had translated, analyzed, assimilated; and they rejected what was not in conformity with the Islamic theology. The theory of knowledge from the Islamic perspective is not just a theory of epistemology. It combines knowledge, insight, and social action as its ingredients. Islamic theology never encouraged the notion that only religious education was praiseworthy and the empirical sciences are useless or blameworthy. The trend against philosophy and science started well in the in the ninth century by Imam Ibn Hanbal (d 855 CE) and al-Ash'ari (d 936 CE). Imam Hanbal de- nounced learning and science and waged a holy war against rationalism, so much so that the streets of

15 Baghdad sometimes became the scene of rioting and bloodshed.10 Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari was a strong opponent of Mu'tazili school of thought who supported 'Ijtihad' (Innovation) and rationalism. He also strongly supported the ideology of Imam Hanbal. Not many Muslims at that time accepted them as a hero and saint and this is the reason why the Islamic golden ages of science and philosophy extended another three hundred years. In the eleventh century al-Ghazali (d 1111 CE) appeared at the scene who gave rationalism and free thinking the final blow. He divided knowledge into three categories; praiseworthy, permissible and blameworthy which he has discussed in his book Ihya Ulum-id-Din11. All learning connected to religion is praiseworthy but any other learning when mixed with other than religion, sometime becomes blameworthy. Learning medicine and mathematics he said are permissible and declared it as Farze kefayah, not Ferze ayin (Compulsory obligation). If a man in a town or a locality acquires such knowledge the whole community gets absolved from the sin (Farze kefayah). His position on the subject of acquiring knowledge fluctuated with time. In his book al- Mustasfa which he wrote towards the end of his life, stated that arithmetic and geometry are pure rational sciences and as such not recommended for study. They fluctuate be-

16 tween false and true knowledge that yield no practical application. He saw no usefulness in the study of physics and said some part of the subject contradicted the Shariah (Islamic Laws) and thus useless or blameworthy.12 As we can see al-Ghazali was very cautious in dealing with mathematics and exact science. During his time every student used to study all branches of knowledge both religious and non-religious. He was afraid that a student might be deceived by the accuracy of mathematics and exact science and then generalize and consider all subject including philosophy and metaphysics of the Muslim philosophers like al-Kindi, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina and others to be accurate, which he had so vehemently apposed. Thus al-Ghazali set the epistemological course of Islamic thought, both in metaphysics and in education. After al-Ghazali science and learning and rationalist attitude towards ancient Greek philosophy came under bitter attack by the religious orthodoxy. A century later Ibn Rushd (d 1298 CE) an Andalusian thinker and philosopher made a counter argument against al- Ghazali's idea but could not succeed. By the end of 12th century anti-rationalist and Ash'arite school of thought had completely routed the Mu'tazili influence and rationalism from Islamic thought. The ancient knowledge, Ulum-al-awa'il (knowledge of antiquity) were equated with heresy. Many orthodox scholars re-

17 ferred the knowledge of antiquity by new name, Ulim- ul-mahjura (repudiate sciences). The prominent among them was Hanbalite Ibn Taymiya (d 1328 CE). He argued that knowledge only can be derived from Qur'an and Sunnah, (The way of life of the Prophet) everything else is useless or no science at all, even though it might look like science.13 Later on semi-literate clerics became the tool of kings and rulers who wanted to keep common Muslims in the darkness of ignorance, so that they would not be able to oppose unjust rulers. This attitude resulted in the condemnation of not only empirical science but also the metaphysics, which resulted in the decline of Muslims in politics, sociology and technology. A large segments of Muslim society, both the common man and many clerics suffer from this malady. This unhealthy and anti-knowledge attitude gave birth to some movements which considered elementary books of theology as sufficient for a Muslim, and discour- aged the assimilation or dissemination of empirical knowledge as leading to weakening of faith. This is exactly what is happening in Pakistan now, the Mul- lahs in the province of Baluchistan and NW Frontier are saying that mathematics and science weakens the faith and are burning secular schools especially the girls schools. In our own sub-continent when the British government tried to introduce the modern education throughout In-

18 dia in 1835 CE, the Ullamah were very hostile to this idea. About eight thousand of them signed a petition requesting the government to exempt the Muslims from modern education. For a long time Muslim parents preferred to keep their children at home or send them to local Madrasah81. On the other hand the Hindus welcomed it and requested for more of it. The Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan is a politico-religious party and Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen is a sister organization which operates in many Arab countries. Their view on science and technology is as dim as some of the orthodox Muslim thinkers of 12th and 14th century. Maryam Jameelah, the articulate spokesperson of Ja- maat-e-Islami Pakistan, expressed her view about science and technology like this: “All modernist ideology are characterized by man worship. Man worship often appears under the guise of science. Modernists are convinced that the progress in scientific knowledge will eventually confer upon them the power of Divini- ty.”14 She further says: “science and technology are totally dependent upon the set of ideals and values cherished by its members. If the roots of the tree are rotten then the tree is rotten, therefore all its fruits are rotten.”15 Mrs Jameelah should understand that a rotten tree can't produce even a rotten fruit. I am sure she and her fellow Jamaaeytis must be enjoying the fruit of modern technology like cell phones, cars, air conditioners and many other inventions of modern

19 technology, yet she is condemning it. In her or the Jamaat-e-Islami's view it is not necessary to study science and technology because of the constant progress and change in evil and Godless nature of science. She laments that modernity brings nothing but corruption of the soul and says: “In Islamic society, innovation and change were never upheld as intrinsic values. The ideal of Islamic culture was not mechanical evolutionary progress but the permanent, immutable, transcendental, divinely revealed moral, theological and spiritual values of the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet”.16 Maulana Maudoodi, the influential Islamic thinker of Pakistan strongly criticizes western science. In his opinion all science subjects should be completely Is- lamized and redefined. Patronized by the Maulana, The Institute of Public Studies in Islamabad set up a task force to redefine science in 1991.The IPS recommended host of changes in the science books. For example if we say that heat causes change in a substance, then it gives the impression that the heat is the real cause of change rather than Allah. In the same way it is un-Islamic to teach that burning hydrogen in the presence of oxygen automatically produces water. The Islamic way should be like this; when atom of hydrogen approach atom of oxygen,then by the will of Allah water is produced.17 Why not apply the same logic to the dropping of the

20 Atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in second world war, where thousands of people died in an instant by heat and radiation. According to the above logic it is not the heat and radiation that killed thousands of people rather it was the Will of Allah (Who is kind and merciful) and his intervention that caused the death of thousands of people. In other words the Americans who dropped the bombs are free of any blame. I am wondering if this kind of logic and Islamized science should be taught to our school children? There are a number of lunatics in the scientific community of Pakistan who are highly placed and are senior research scientist in Defense Science & Technolo- gy Organization. One of them Dr. Safdar Jang Rajput is totally obsessed with Jinns and their composition. He thinks Jinns are made of methane and other hydrocarbons. Dr B Mahmood senior director of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission recommended that Jinns, being fiery creatures, ought to be tapped as a free source of energy to solve the energy problem of Pakistan. They arranged seminars and Scientific Miracles Conference, where they expressed their bizarre idea.18 Some of the conferences were sponsored by the Government of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. When the government of some of the major Muslim countries propagate this kind of bizarre science, then what is the future of science in the

21 Muslim world? Some highly qualified Muslims are totally against the scientific and technical knowledge. Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasar, a well known scholar of history of Is- lamic science, insists that the Arabic word Ilm only refers to the knowledge of God. He thinks that modern science is a cancer which is destroying the fundamentals of the Islamic faith.19 Ahmad H. Sakr president of the Foundation for Islamic Knowledge is a well known educator of America. He received his PhD from University of Illinois and has authored numerous books on Islamic subjects. A Muslim student asked him whether they should cele- brate their accomplishment when they graduate from an American schools? He replies back in his Book of Inquiries volume II; “The teaching in American schools are secular. When children graduate from such institutions, they acquire scientific and technical knowledge. However , they have nothing to do with the religion of Allah. Therefore, there is no need for any party. However, some Muslim parents started making parties for their children; they try to mimic the Western culture”.20 I think acquiring scientific and technical knowledge has everything to do with the religion of Islam, which I have discussed earlier in this chapter. This kind of mindset against knowledge in the field of science has brought the Muslim Ummah to the brink of colossal disaster.

22 Muslims constitute close to 22% of the world population. The total GDP of all Muslim countries combined are only two trillion dollars which is three percent of the of the world GDP and half of GDP of Japan. All 57 Muslim countries have about 5000 colleges and universities, where as India alone has more than 8000 and USA close to 6000. Twenty two percent of the world population generates less than one percent of scientific research papers. We are the people who can't govern ourselves, feed ourselves, treat our sick and have little knowledge to manufacture the things for our defense and daily use. We became so weak that we could not control our own destiny and were colonized by the Europeans. When they left us, they diced and sliced our land so that we could never recover again. They created a Jewish state in the heart of Muslim land and we could not stop it. That tiny state (Israel) of six million people with the help of technology is terrorizing and insulting 1.5 billion Muslims. All this happened because of ignorance of true religion of Islam and the anti- knowledge attitude propagated by ignorant and orthodox Muslim Ulemah. For a millennium we are producing students from our Islamic institutions (Madrasah) who are of little use for the society and can hardly make a living from the knowledge they have acquired. They are cramming our holy book, Qur'an, without understanding its spirit

23 or its meaning. The graduates of such institutions generally have a tunnel vision to the extent that they have become fanatics. One Haqqani Madrasah of Peshawar, Pakistan, boasted that Mullah Omar of Afghanistan was the product of their institution. I think it is not a matter of pride but a matter of disgrace that their institution produced such a narrow-minded person who could not understand the meaning of tolerance, history and heritage and dynamited a two thousand years old statue of Buddha against the hew and cry of the world, which was totally un-Islamic. Now the same Taliban groups are producing the suicide bombers who are killing indiscriminately the innocent people of Pakistan even inside a Masjid. Many Muslim scientists and thinkers contributed richly to human civilization by their bold and free inquiry in various areas of knowledge even at the risk of being condemned as heretics. True and firm believers in Islamic creed, like al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, and in recent times Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and even Allama Iqbal were not spared from Fatwas (Edicts) of Kufr (Disbeliever) by the Mullahs who were hostile to the principle of Ijtihad (Innovation) research and free thinking. If we ever want to extricate our selves from this sad plight, we have to change the incorrect concept about knowledge in Islam propagated by orthodox and ignorant Ulemah of Islam.

ABU MUSA JABIR IBN HAYYAN

721 – 815

bu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan known in Europe as A Geber was born in Tus, Iran in 721 CE during the rule of Umayyad Khalifa. His father Hayyan al Azdi was a pharmacist who supported the Abbasid revolt against the Umayyad. The Abbasid sent him to

25 Tus, Iran to gather support for their cause. He was eventually caught by ruling Khalifa and was executed. So his family moved from Tus to Yemen,where Jabir grew up. He went back to Kufa, Iraq after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty, where he lived and received his education. In Kufa he became the student of Imam Jafer al-Sadiq. After completing his education he started his career as physician under the patronage of Vizier of Khalifa Harun al Rashid. His connection to the Vizier later on cost him dearly when the Vizier fell from grace of the Khalifa. In 803 CE he was arrested and spent the rest of his life under house arrest, till he died in year 815 CE. Jabir's interest in alchemy was probably inspired by his teacher Jafer al Sadiq. He was a deeply religious man, and repeatedly emphasized in his works that alchemy is possible only by subjugating oneself completely to the will of God and becoming a literal instrument of Allah on earth, since the manipulation of reality is possible only for Allah. In his treatise Book of Stones he prescribes long and elaborate sequences of specific prayers that must be performed without error alone in the desert before one can even consider alchemical experimentations. Jabir ibn Hayyan is widely considered as the father of Chemistry, but he was also an astronomer, pharmacist, physician, philosopher and engineer. His works in the science of chemistry are as important as those of eigh-

26 teenth century scientists like Priestly and Lavoisier.21 He is credited for the discovery of nineteen different substances which we call element in modern chemistry. He was the first person to introduce the experimental method in chemistry. Jabir perfected the use of various chemical processes used in modern chemistry laboratory, such as distillation, crystallization and sublimation etc. Using some of those methods he produced concentrated acetic acid from vinegar. He syn- thesized hydrochloric acid by heating salt and sulfuric acid and nitric acid by heating saltpeter with sulfuric acid.22 By mixing hydrochloric acid with nitric acid he invented a supper acid called aqua regia which could dissolve even gold. He also isolated citric acid from lemon and tartaric acid from the residue left after wine making. The discoveries of these acids especially aqua regia helped chemists to extract and purify gold and other metals for the next thousand years. This can be considered as a land- mark achievement in the field of chemistry more than a thousand years ago. Jabir divided the substance into three categories:the first group he called Spirits substance which vaporize on heating like sulfur, ammonium chloride, camphor and arsenic etc. The second group he called Metals like copper, silver, gold, iron and lead etc. The third group he called Non-malleables like rocks, charcoal. The categorizations of substance finally lead to divide the elements into the modern classification of elements

27 like metals and non-metals. Jabir applied his chemical knowledge to the improve- ment of many manufacturing processes, such as making steel and other metals, preventing rust, engraving gold, dyeing and waterproofing cloth, tanning leather, and the chemical analysis of pigments and other substances. He developed the use of manganese dioxide in glass making, to counteract the green tinge produced by iron -- a process that is still used today. He noted that boiling wine released a flammable vapor, thus paving the way to Al-Razi's discovery of ethanol. According to The Cultural Atlas of Islam by Ismail al- Faruqi 23 Jabir invented a kind of paper that resisted fire, and an ink that could be read at night. He invented an additive which, when applied to an iron surface, in- hibited rust and when applied to a textile, would make it water repellent. Several instruments which he designed a thousand years ago are still being used in modern chemical laboratory such as retort, pipette and test tube. Jabir bin Hayyan defined chemical combination as union of the elements together in small particles too small for the naked eyes to see without loss of their characteristics. This concept was not very far from idea of John Dalton (d 1844) about the atoms, the En- glish chemist and physicist who discovered it ten centuries later. Jabir’s works seem to have been deliberately written in highly esoteric code so that only those who had been

28 initiated into his alchemical school could understand them. It is therefore difficult at best for the modern reader to discern which aspects of Jabir's work are to be read as symbolic and what is to be taken literally. Because of his writing, which sometime became incomprehensible, the term gibberish is believed to have evolved in Europe. To Aristotelian physics, Jabir added the four properties of hotness, coldness, dryness, and moistness. Each Aristotelian element was characterized by these qualities: Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry, water cold and moist, and air hot and moist. Jabir also made important contributions to medicine, astronomy and other sciences, too numerous to mention here. The writings of Jabir Ibn Hayyan can be divided into several categories. The 112 books dedicated to vizier of Khalifa Harun al-Rashid include the Arabic version of the Emerald Tablet, an ancient work that is the foundation of the 'spiritual' alchemy. In the middle Ages it was translated into Latin and widely used among Euro- pean alchemists. The seventy books, most of which were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages includes the Kitab al-Zuhra (Book of Venus) and the Kitab al-Ahjar (Book of Stones). Ten books deal on rectification, containing descriptions of alchemists such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The books on balance describes his famous theory of the balance in nature. One of his books Chemical Composition re-

29 mained the authoritative textbook in the European universities until the eighteenth century. Several technical terms introduced by Jabir, such as alkali has become part of scientific vocabulary. This man was one of the greatest geniuses ever born, but we Muslims have totally ignored him. On the other hand the Europeans translated his work into their languages and five hundred books and essays can be found in the national libraries of France, Germany and UK. William Durant notes that Jaber's writing and inventions strongly stimulated the development of modern chemistry in Europe. 24

AL-JAHIZ ABU UTHMAN IBN BAHAR 776 - 868

l-Jahiz was born in Basra in 776 CE to a poor A family which is believed to be of Abyssinian descent. He was author of Arabic literature, biology, zoology, Islamic philosophy and Mu'tazili theology. His father died when al-Jahiz was a baby. Despite the family's poverty, al-Jahiz's mother was able to send her son to the local Qur'anic school. He received his nickname, Jahiz, (Jahiz: projected cornea) because he had bulging eyes.

31 Life in Basra provided al-Jahiz with many learning op- portunities even after he left school. Basra was the home of Mu'tazili sect of the Muslim school of thought, and al-Jahiz listened to scholars at the local mosque, informally learning from some of the greatest thinkers of the time. His mastery of the Arabic language and unusual intelligence won his admittance to Mu'tazili school of thinkers. Al-Jahiz achieved some fame and moved to Baghdad, where he continued to work as an advisor to the Khalifa. He suffered ill health in his later part of life and moved to Basra where he died in December of 868 CE. Al-Jahiz was the author of many books; Kitab al- Hayawan (The book of Animals) is one of his famous works. It is an encyclopedia of seven volumes of poetic descriptions of varieties of animals. Though, it is by no means a book of zoology, but it has description of a very keen observation of animals and insects. He was the first person who studied the influence of the environment on animals and developed an early theory of evolution. Al-Jahiz considered the effects of the environment on the likelihood of an animal to survive, and thus he became the first person to describe the struggle for existence. His idea on the struggle for existence is not very different from Darwin’s idea on this subject. In the 'Book of Animals' he has summarized it like this25. Animals engage in a struggle for existence; for re-

32 sources, to avoid being eaten and to breed. Environ- mental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to offspring. The above statement is so wonderfully close to the modern theory of evolution which was proposed more than a thousand years before Darwin. Indeed it seems that Darwin took al-Jahiz idea as a base and formulated the theory of evolution in a more scientific way in the context of nineteenth century scientific knowledge. Al-Jahiz gave the idea of food chain. He said: all life depend on each other, even the hunting animal can become part of the food chain which he argued keeps a balance in the nature and maintains a proper ratio between the animals. He made an attempt to classify the animals in a linear series. He arranged them in groups having marked similarity and then subgroups. He thus sowed the seed of scientific classification of animals. He was also an early adherent of environmental deter- minism and explained how the environment can affect the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of a certain area of the world. He used his theories on natural selection and environmental factor to explain the origins of different human skin colors, particularly black skin, which he believed to be the result of the heat and humidity.

33 Al Jahiz is considered to be one of the most renowned and stylish writers of the Arabic literature. He is credited for establishing the rule of Arabic prose writing by collecting previously written anecdotes and giving his own instruction on the proper use of language and the importance of eloquence. He was really a naturalist, a satirist, a humorist, a theologian and a philosopher. He is believed to have written 350 books during his life span from all walks of knowledge and wisdom of his time. Most of his books have been lost. Only thirty have survived. His book: Kitab al Bayan wa al Tabyin which literally means (Eloquence and Demonstration), is one of his famous works, in which he approached various subjects, such as rhetorical speeches, sectarian leaders and princes. Al-Jahiz was a great man who proved that being dirt poor is no hindrance to seek higher education, even more than twelve centuries ago. His book Kitab al Hayawan had great influence on Muslim and European scientists like Lamark and Darwin. He should be a role model for every student.

MUHAMMAD IBN MUSA AL-KHWARIZMI

780 - 850

uhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born in M 780 CE at a place called Khwarizm which is a part of present day Khiva, Uzbekistan. Like many other thinkers and scientists of his time he also moved to Baghdad which was the center of learning of science and philosophy in the Middle Ages. He studied the sciences and mathematics at House of

35 Wisdom established by Khalifa Ma’mun, which included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. He worked and lived in Baghdad where he died in the year 850 CE. Al-Khwarizmi developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics and for this reason he is called the grandfather of computer science by some people. The words "algorithm" came from Latin corruptions of his name from al-Khwarizmi to Algoritmi. He also made major contributions to the fields of algebra, trigonometry, astronomy, geography and cartography. His systematic and logical approach to solving linear and quadratic equations gave shape to the discipline of algebra, a word that is derived from the name of his book on this subject; Hisab al-jabr wa al-muqabala ( Calculation by Completion and Balancing). For this reason he is called father of algebra.26 It will be interesting to see what al-Khwarizmi wanted to say about the purpose of his book in his own words. He says: “What is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, partition, lawsuits, and trade, and in all their dealings with one another, or where the measuring of lands, the digging of canals, geometrical computations, and other objects of various sorts and kinds are concerned”. This does not sound like the contents of an algebra text, and indeed only the first part of the book has a

36 discussion of what we would today recognize as algebra. However it is important to realize that the book was intended to be highly practical, and that algebra was introduced to solve real life problems that were part of everyday life in the Islamic world at that time. Al-Khwarizmi continues his study of algebra by exam- ining how the laws of arithmetic extend to his algebraic objects. For example he showed how to multiply out expressions such as (a + bx) (c + dx). Though it looks elementary, now, yet one can see a remarkable depth and novelty in these calculations done more than eleven centuries ago. The next part of al-Khwarizmi’s Algebra consists of applications and worked examples. He then goes on to look at rules for finding the area of figures such as the circle, and also finding the volume of solids such as the sphere, cone, and pyramid. While major contributions of al-Khwarizmi were the result of original research, he also did a lot to synthe- size the existing knowledge in these fields from Greek, Indian, and other sources. He was also responsible for the use of Arabic numerals in mathematics which originated in India but later introduced to the Arab world and finally to Europe. His treatise on Hindu-Arabic numerals Ketab al-Jam wal tafriq hisab al Hind was translated in Latin as Algoritmi de numero Indorum and in English as Al-Khwarizmi on the Hindu Art of Reckoning. Unfortunately the Arabic version is lost. The work describes the Indian system of numerals

37 based on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 0. The first use of zero as a place holder in positional base notation was explained by al-Khwarizmi in his work. When translation of his book came into the hands of Europeans, they wrote a song for it and it reads like this: Here begins the Algorismus, The new art is called Algorismus, in which out of this twice five figures (1 to 9 & 0) we derive such benefit. This numeral system did not become very poplar in Europe till the fifteenth century mainly because of Church's resistance to this new idea. Methods for arithmetical calculation and a method to find square roots is also described in this book. The decimal system was a fairly recent arrival from India, but it was al-Khwarizmi who expounded on it systematically and introduced it to Middle East and to the world at large.27 Al-Khwarizmi did important work in astronomy. His book Zij al-Sindhind contains many important astronomical calculations, covering calendars, calculating true positions of the sun, moon and planets, tables of sine and tangents, spherical astronomy, parallax and eclipse calculations, and visibility of the moon. Al- though his astronomical work is based on that of the Indian astronomers, he must have been influenced by Ptolemy's work also. Al-Khwarizmi systematized and corrected Ptolemy's

38 research in geography, using his own original findings. He supervised the work of 70 geographers to create a map of the then known world. In his book Kitab surat al ard (The Image of Earth) he presented the latitudes and longitudes for 2400 localities including the big cities of Asia and Africa and located them on map he created.28 He also wrote books on mechanical devices like the clock, sundial, Jewish calendar, construction of astrolabes and a book of history. There is no doubt that al-Khwarizmi was one of the most brilliant Muslim scientists of his time and according to G. Sarton author of History of Science: one of the greatest mathematician of all times. When his work became known in Europe through Latin and English translations, it made an indelible mark on the development of science and mathematics in Europe. His algebra book introduced that discipline to Europe and became the standard mathematical text at European universities until the 16th century. A crater on the far side of the moon is named after him.

ABU YAQOUB BIN ISHAQ AL KINDI 801 – 873

l-Kindi also known in West as Alkindus was A born in Kufa, Iraq in the year 801 CE to a family of the Kinda tribe. His father was the governor of Kufa, where he received his preliminary education and went to complete his studies in Baghdad. Here he was patronized by the Abbasid Khalifa al- Ma’mun who appointed him to work in The House of Wisdom, a recently established center for learning. When al- Ma'mun died, his brother, al-Mu'tasim became Khalifa

40 who appointed him as a tutor to his son. Al-Kindi died in Baghdad in 873 CE during the reign of Khalifa al Mutamid. Al-Kindi was a philosopher, astronomer, chemist, mathematician musician, physician, physicist and a pioneer in cryptography. He was a master of many different areas of thought, although he would eventually be eclipsed by names such as al Biruni and ibn Sina, he is still regarded to be one of the first great Islamic philosophers and scientists of his time. The Italian Renaissance scholar Geralomo Cardano (d 1575) considered him one of the twelve greatest minds of the Middle Ages. He authored two hundred and sixty books, contributing heavily to geometry, medicine, philosophy, logic and physics. His influence in the fields of physics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and music were far-reaching and lasted for several centuries. His greatest contribution to the development of early Islamic philosophy was his effort to make Greek and Hellenistic thought both accessible and acceptable to Muslim intelligentsia.29 Al-Kindi carried out this mission from the House of Wisdom, an institute of translation and learning patronized by the Abbasid Khalifa in Baghdad. He and the people of House of Wisdom translated many important texts, which have become standard Arabic philosophical vocabulary. His work later produced philosophers like Al-Farabi and Ibn

41 Sina. He believed revelation was a superior source of knowledge compared to reason because it revealed matters of faith that reason could not uncover. As stated before al-Kindi was a genius who contributed to many branches of science. In the field of mathematics al-Kindi authored a number of important mathematical subjects including arithmetic, geometry, the Indian numbers, the harmony of numbers, lines and multiplication with numbers, relative quantities, measuring proportion and time, and numerical procedures and cancellation. He also wrote four volumes, on the use of the Indian numerals (Ketab fi Isti'mal al-'Adad al-Hindi) which contributed greatly to propagate the Indian system of numeration in the Middle East and the West. In geometry, among other works, he wrote on the theory of parallels and two works on optics. As an advanced chemist, al-Kindi was the first to oppose the practice of alchemy; he debunked the myth that simple base metals could be transformed into precious metals such as gold or silver. The isolation of ethanol (alcohol) as a relatively pure compound was first achieved by al-Kindi. He was the first to describe the production of pure alcohol from the distillation of wine. 30 Al-Kindi was very much ahead of his time, unlike classical mechanists such as Galileo, Descartes and Isaac Newton who considered time, space and motion to be absolute, while al-Kindi suggests that all these

42 properties are relative to each other and not independent or absolute. This can be considered as early concept of Theory of Relativity which was developed by Albert Einstein in twentieth century. Al-Kindi is credited for developing the frequency analysis method where variation in the frequency of the occurrence of letters could be analyzed to break ci- phers. Recently a detailed text has been discovered in the archives of Ottoman Empire in Istanbul with title Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages. This manuscript covers methods of cryptanalysis and statistical analysis of letters and letter combinations in Arabic. Thus he was the first person who pioneered the science of cryptology and cryptanalysis.31 Al-Kindi demonstrated the application of mathematics in quantification of medicine, particularly in the field of pharmacology. He developed a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of a drug. He wrote thirty volumes on the subject of medicine and pharmacology. Al-Kindi had great interest in scents and perfume products and performed extensive research and experiment in this field. He extracted perfumes from many plants and their flowers and compounded them to produce a variety of perfume products. Many of the plant products he extracted were very useful in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. He is considered as a pioneer and father of the science of perfumery. Al-Kindi realized the therapeutic value of music and

43 tried to cure a quadriplegic boy with musical therapy. He was the first great theoretician of music in the Is- lamic world. He published fifteen treatises on theory of music, proposed adding a fifth string to the 'ud and discussed the cosmological connotations of music. He surpassed the achievement of the Greek musicians.32 Al-Kindi is credited with being the first real Muslim philosopher who understood the Greek philosophy and incorporated it to the Islamic philosophy; he does appear to have borrowed ideas from other Hellenistic schools as well. He makes many references to Aristotle in his writings, but these are often unwittingly re-interpreted in a Neo-Platonic framework. He was influenced by the Mu'tazili school of theology. During his life, al-Kindi was fortunate to enjoy the patronage of the pro-Mu'tazili Khalifa like al-Ma'mun and al-Mu'- tasim, which meant he could carry out his philosophical speculations with relative ease. This would change significantly towards the end of his life when the new Khalifa supported the traditionalists, and initiated persecution of various unorthodox schools of thought, including the philosophers. On the recommendation of orthodox Ulemah he ordered the confiscation of al- Kindi's personal library. But that was not enough. The old respected philosopher received fifty lashes in public for his work on philosophy. He never recovered from the ordeal of public flogging. He was the first major scholar to fall victim to Islamic orthodoxy.

MUHAMMAD BIN ZAKARIA RAZI

841 - 925

uhammad bin Zakaria Razi also known in M Europe as Rhazes was born at Rayy, Iran close to the city of Tehran, in the year 841 CE. He mastered a wide range of subjects, including science, philosophy, music, poetry, and logic. His interest in medicine started in his thirties when he stopped the study of alchemy. He received his education in medicine from a well known physician Ali ibn Rabban al-Tabari. He mastered the skill of medicine and

45 quickly surpassed his teacher. Served as a chief physician in the city hospital of Rayy and after sometime he moved to Baghdad where he also held the post of Director of the hospital. After the death of Khalifa al-Muktafi he returned to Rayy where he spent most of his time teaching and writing books. He lived a long life and died at Rayy in the year 925 CE. He rejected all forms of dogma as fanaticism, and argued that religious fanaticism breeds hatred and war. He believed that the knowledge of science is a continual process which is based on the accumulation of knowledge both past and present. Razi is regarded as Islam’s greatest physician and one of the most original thinkers. He was a prolific writer who wrote some 230 books half of which dealt with medicine, 21 on chemistry and the rest on physics, mathematics and astronomy. His books on the Diseases of Children was so authentic and original that he is regarded as the Father of Pediatrics.33 Razi was the first to identify hay fever and its cause. His work on kidney stones is still considered a classic. In addition, he was instrumental in the introduction of mercurial ointments to medical practice. Razi was a strong proponent of experimental medicine and the beneficial uses of previously tested drugs. After serving as a hospital director in Baghdad for sometime he returned to his home town Rayy Iran, where he continued his writing. His first major work is divided in ten parts and

46 is called Kittab al Mansuri. He discussed in his book, various subjects such as diets and drugs, and its effects on the human body and mental health. Useful knowledge about childcare, obstetrics, ophthalmology, skin disease, general hygiene and hygiene of mouth can be found in those treatises. He was the first scientist of his time to shed light on the effect of the environment on health, and the first person to write a treatise on smallpox and measles, and as such he gave the concept of epidemiology. By his brilliant demonstration and by clinical observation he proved that these two diseases are quite different from each other. He thus provided a valid guidelines for the treatment of both diseases. Razi's most outstanding work was a medical encyclopedia consisting of twenty-five books called Kittab al Hawi. He spent a good part of his life collecting data from the patients he examined and tried to find a pat- tern for a particular disease. He summarized all the medical knowledge of his time, and his own experi- ences and observations to complete the medical encyclopedia, which is by any account, a tremendous work in the field of medicine. He also emphasized the need for physicians to pay careful attention to the patient's medical history which proved very useful in treating a disease properly. Razi's work proved to be a gold mine for future physicians . His book Kittab al Hawi was translated in

47 Latin and became one of the standard medical reference works in the universities of Europe. A portion of his work were used in European medical schools well into the 19th century. In this work, Razi listed medical theories for each disease and its treatment from Indian, Persian, and Arabic medicines and then he added the current ideas and his own observations and opinions. He advocated simple remedies, including dietary supplements, and warned against the dangers of harsh medicines. Razi developed several chemical instruments that re- main in use to this day. Perfected methods of distillation and extraction which have led to his discovery of sulfuric acid by dry distillation of vitriol and alcohol from wine. These discoveries paved the way for other Muslim alchemists to gain further knowledge in this field. Razi was familiar with a wide range of chemi- cals, which he used in his medical work. Like many physicians of his time, he was also actively interested in alchemy. In one of his books on alchemy named Kitab al-Asrar, he provides a great deal of practical advice on chemical manipulations and its preparation. Tried to classify all known substances, dividing them basically into animal, mineral, and vegetable categories which finally led to the classification of substance into organic and inorganic compounds. Razi's views sometimes got him into political trouble, and on several occasions he was forced to leave his

48 native city. Medical care in those days was a luxury available mainly to wealthy and noble families but Razi treated poor patients at no charge out of compas- sion. Being one of the brilliant physicians of his time he acquired a lot of wealth but died as a pauper because he distributed all his fortune among the less fortunate people. Razi criticized Galen a Greek physician for Four Humors theory and Aristotle’s theory of four elements. His own alchemical experiments suggested other qualities of matter such as salinity, oiliness and inflammability etc, which could not be explained by the traditional four elements theory (fire, water, earth and air). Razi was a free thinking Islamic philosopher whose idea on metaphysics was based on ancient Greek philosophy. He believed that God does not create something out of nothing but rather arranges the universe out of pre-existing matters and universal laws. In his Philosophical biography he asserts that there is life after death, full of happiness and that man should not self-indulge, should pursue knowledge, use his intellect and apply justice to all. Razi was way ahead of his time and is considered as one of the leading figures in the history of Islamic thought because of his outspoken and anti authoritari- an views on religion, politics, and science. The writer George Sarton says in his introduction to the History

49 of Science that Razi was the greatest physician of Is- lam and the Middle Ages. In 1970 World Health Or- ganization paid tribute to him by stating that his work on smallpox and measles and his essay on infectious diseases are the first scientific treatise on this subject.

JABIR IBN SINAN AL-BATTANI 853 - 929 abir ibn Sinan al- Battani also known in Europe as J Albatenius was born in 853 CE at Battan, a province of Harran, which is now a part of Turkey. His family had been members of the Sabian sect, a religious sect of star worshipers from Harran. Being worshipers of the stars meant that the Sabians had a strong motivation for the study of astronomy and they produced many outstanding astronomers and mathematicians. Al-Battani himself was not a believer in the Sabian religion. He was a good Muslim. He was skilled in making astronomical instruments which he

51 learned from his father who himself was a well-known scientist. He made remarkably accurate astronomical observations at Raqqah, Syria and he worked also in Damascus where he died in the year 929 CE.. Al-Battani was one of the famous astronomers and a pioneer in geometry, trigonometry, theoretical and practical astronomy. He is famous for his remarkably accurate calculations of the length of the solar year, which he gave as 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 24 sec- onds. This value is astonishingly close to the present value and is considered as one of greatest achievements in astronomy for all ages. He also determined many astronomical coefficients with great accuracy. He calculated 54.5" per year for the precession of the equinoxes and obtained the value of 23o35' for the inclination of the earth axis. He found out that the longitude of the sun’s apogee has increased by 16 Degree since Ptolemy's time. These numbers which he calculated more than thousand years ago are still good to this day.34 Rather than using geometrical methods as Ptolemy had done, al-Battani used trigonometric methods which were an important advancement in the field of astronomy. Al-Battani showed that the farthest distance of the Sun from the Earth varies and as a result annular eclipses of the Sun are possible as well as total eclipses. He made several amendments to Ptolemy's work and recalculated orbits of the moon and other

52 planets - proposed a new and ingenious method to determine the visibility of new moon. In 1749 the astronomer Dunthorne used al-Battani’s excellent observation of the lunar and solar eclipses to determine the angular acceleration of the motion of the moon. He used a uniform rate of precession in his tables choos- ing not to adopt the theory of trepidation, where as on the contrary, Copernicus held this erroneous notion till the sixteenth century. Al-Battani was the author of many books on astronomy and trigonometry. His most famous book is Kitab al Zij which has a set of astronomical treatise, tables and a catalog of 479 stars. This book was translated into Latin in the year 1116 CE as De motu stellarum (On the Motion of the Star). His work in astronomy influenced European scientists like Kepler, Galileo and Copernicus. In his book De Revolutionibus Coelestium Copernicus has mentioned the name of al-Battani to express his indebtedness. His book has been translated in almost all of the European languages. Al-Battani's brilliant introduction of the trigonometric ratio in mathematical calculation formed the basis of modern trigonometry. He replaced the use of chords used by the Greeks for the measurement of angles with the Sine of the arc with clear understanding of its superiority. He developed the concept of Cotangent and furnished their tables in degrees and deduced a number of trigonometric relationship like tan a = sin a

53 /cos a and solved the equation sinx = a cosx discovering a new formula. He provided a very ingenuous solution for some problems of spherical trigonometry using the method of orthographic projection. There is no doubt that al-Battani was one of the greatest astronomer and mathematician of all time. His accurate calculations for the lengths of the solar year, his time predictions for the new moon, his calculation of inclination of the earth axis, his prediction of lunar and solar eclipses, his work on the phenomenon of parallax and the introduction of trigonometric ratio in mathematics brought the science of astronomy into the space age. The Albatenius crater on the moon was named after him and in the fictional series Star Trek, a starship is named USS Al-Battani.

ABU NASAR IBN AL-FARABI 872 - 890

bu Nasar Mohammad ibn Al-Farabi also known A in Europe as Alpharabis was born in Wasij, the province of Farab in Turkestan in 872 CE . His father, belonged to a noble family of Persian origin. He received his early education at Farab, Bukhara and higher education at Baghdad, where he studied logic, philosophy, music, mathematics, sciences and many other languages. He was a pupil of the great translator

55 and interpreter of Greek philosophy, Abu Bishr Matta of Baghdad. He traveled to Ciro, Damascus, Harran and finally to Aleppo. Here he became part of the literary circle in the court of Saif al-Daula Hamdani the ruler of Syria. The king offered him the position of a Judgeship which he accepted, but later on he took teaching and writing as his main profession. Close to the end of his life al-Farabi left the city he was teaching and wandered on his own in the countryside to reflect and to write. It was probably his desire to reform his society that inclined him towards Sufism. His travels brought him to Egypt and finally to Damascus where he died in year 890 CE. Al-Farabi was a great Muslim philosopher, who also made considerable contributions to logic music, psychology, sociology, mathematics and medicine. He was a prolific writer and as such he authored more than one hundred books and commentaries. He was the first Muslim thinker to develop a non-Aristotelian logic which he divided in two categories first the 'Idea' and second the 'proof' . In his treatise, 'The Virtuous City', he has discussed in great detail the social psychology of the masses. It is the best source for al-Farabi's political philosophy, while this work embraces Platonic themes, it is in no way an Arabic clone of Plato's Re- public. Here he lays down in Platonic fashion the qualities necessary for the rulers. He identifies four different types of corrupt city: these are the ignorant

56 city, the dissolute city , the turncoat city and the stray- ing city His ideal virtuous city is that which whole- heartedly embraces the pursuit of goodness and happiness and where the virtues will clearly abound. The heart of al-Farabi's political philosophy is the concept of happiness. The virtuous society, according him, is a society in which people cooperate to gain happiness. Al-Farabi authored two voluminous books concerning knowledge and intellect, Categories of Science and Epistle on Intellect. The first work illustrates neatly al-Farabi's beliefs both about what can be learned and the range of that knowledge. He divides his work into five major chapters: namely, science of language, science of logic, mathematical science, metaphysics and political science and concludes with a sermon on the importance of acquiring knowledge. It is the second book which provides perhaps the most useful key to al-Farabi's complex theories about the intellect. In this work he divides 'intellect into six major categories in an attempt to elaborate the various meanings of the Arabic word 'aql. The first intellect is discernment; the individual who acts for the good of the people is characterized by this faculty. The second intellect is that which has been identified with common sense and the third is natural perception. The fourth may be characterized as 'conscience' which is a quality whereby good might be distinguished from evil .The fifth intellect is both the most difficult and the most

57 important. It could be of four types, potential intellect, actual intellect, acquired intellect and active intellect. The sixth and last of the major intellects is Divine Rea- son or God himself, the source of all intellectual energy and power. Al-Farabi undertook the meticulous study of ancient philosophy, particularly of Plato and Aristotle, absorb- ing the components of Platonic and neo-Platonic philosophy, which he integrated into his own Islamic philosophy, whose chief source was the Qur’an and the various sciences derived from it. He tried to understand the ideas of Plato and Aristotle to express in his book: The gathering of the ideas of the two philosophers. The main aim of this work was to revive and reinvent the neo-Aristotelian tradition of Alexandria. It seems he succeeded and was honored by title of 'The Second Master of Philosophy' (Aristotle being the first). He wrote rich commentaries on Aristotle's logic and physics. His synthesis of philosophy and Sufism paved the way for Ibn Sina to develop his philosophical thoughts. Al-Farabi loved music and wrote a book on it, entitled: The Book of Music. He invented a number of musical instruments and his pure Arabian tone system is still used in the Arabian music. He has discussed the therapeutic effect of music on the soul in his treatise. In physics he carried out the first experiment concerning the existence of vacuum. He concluded that air's vol-

58 ume can expand to fill the available space.36 Al-Farabi represents a turning-point in the history of Islamic philosophical thought, since he was the first Muslim thinker to use universal reason in his philosophy. He lived in a historical period during which the central Khelafat was falling apart into small independent states. He was very concerned to restore the unity of Islamic thought through logic within the Islamic culture. He made the political science the core of his philosophy basing on the system of rules which govern the nature. He believed that the aim of knowledge was the knowledge of God, his attributes and his laws permitting human beings to achieve highest level of wisdom and intellect. Education is one of the most important social phenomena in al-Farabi's philosophical system. It is concerned with the human soul and makes sure that the individual is prepared from an early age to become a member of society, to achieve his own level of perfection. Indeed, the whole activity of education, in his view, is the acquisition of values, knowledge and practical skills by the individual. The goal of education is to lead the individual to perfection since the human being was created for this purpose, and the goal of humanity's existence in this world is to attain happiness, which is the highest perfection—the absolute good.37 Al-Farabi's concept of essence and existence provided a base for the elaborated metaphysics of Ibn Sina and

59 thence of Thomas Aquinas. The comparisons between the tenfold hierarchy of intellection produced by al- Farabi and similar hierarchy espoused by Ibn Sina, each of which give a key role to the Tenth Intellect, shows that in matters of emanation and hierarchy Ibn Sina owes a considerable intellectual debt to his predecessor. Al-Farabi influenced many other thinkers including four major Muslim thinkers born after him.

ABUL WAFA IBN ISMAIL BUZGANI

940 - 998 bul Wafa Ibn Ismail al-Buzjani was born in A Buzjan, Iran in 940 C.E. He received his early education at Neshapur and finally moved to Baghdad where he studied mathematics and astronomy. Adud al Dawlah was the ruling Khalifa of Baghdad who was a great patron of science and arts. Impressed by the scholarship in mathematics and astronomy, Abul Wafa was hired as a distinguished

61 scientist in the court of the Khalifa. Other outstanding mathematician such as al-Quhi and al-Sijzi also worked with him. He lived in Baghdad till his death in 998 CE. Abul Wafa was a great mathematician, his main contribution lies in several branches of mathematics, especially geometry and trigonometry. In geometry his contribution comprises solution of geometrical problems with opening of the compass; construction of a square equivalent to other squares; regular polyhedra; construction of regular hectagon taking for its side half the side of the equilateral triangle inscribed in the same circle; constructions of parabola by points and geometrical solution of the equations: x4= a and x4 + ax3 = b Abul Wafa's contribution to the development of trigonometry was extensive.35 He was the first to show the generality of the sine theorem relative to spherical triangles. He developed a new method of constructing sine tables, the value of sin 30o being correct to the eighth decimal place. He also developed relations for sine (a+b) and other formula: sin(a+b) = sin(a)cos(b) + cos(a)sin(b), sin(2a) = 2sin(a)cos(a) In addition, he made a special study of the tangent and calculated a table of tangents. He introduced the secant and cosecant for the first time, knew the relations between the trigonometric lines, which are now used to

62 define them, and undertook extensive studies on con- ics. A sizable part of modern trigonometry can be traced to him. He wrote a large number of books in one of his book Kitab fi ma yahtaj ilayh al-kuttab wa'l-ummal min 'ilm al-hisab (Book on what Is necessary from the science of arithmetic for businessmen) he describes its function in the introduction of his book, he wrote: 'Weather you are an experienced or novice subordinate or chief of, arithmetic needs, you have to know, the art of civil servants, the employment of land taxes and all kinds of business needed in administrations, proportions, multiplication, division, measurements, land taxes, distribution, exchange and all other practices used by various categories of men for doing business and which are useful to them in their daily life. It is interesting that during this period there were two types of arithmetic books written, those using Indian symbols and those of finger-reckoning type. Abul Wafa's text is of this second type with no numerals; all the numbers are written in words and all calculations are performed mentally. In one of Abul Wafa's treatise which has been studied in detail, a reference to negative number have been found. It seems very interesting because for the first time a negative numbers have been used in medieval

63 Arabic mathematics. Abul Wafa wrote books for practical use,like a book on those geometric constructions which are necessary for a craftsman. The book consists of thirteen chapters and is considered for design and testing of drafting instruments, the construction of right angles, approximate angle trisections, constructions of parabolas, regular polygons. He developed methods of inscribing them in a given circle. Another interesting aspect of this particular work of Abul Wafa is that he tries where possible to solve his problems with ruler and compass constructions. When this is not possible he uses approximate methods. There are a whole collection of problems which he solves using a ruler and fixed compass, that is one where the angle between the legs of the compass is fixed. He wrote other books on mathematics and other subjects, His contribution includes Kitab 'Ilm al-Hisab, a 'Practical Book of Arithmetic', al-Kitab al-Kamil,the 'Complete Book of Mathematics', Kitab al-Handsa applied geometry. Apart from this, he wrote rich commentaries on Euclid, Diophantus and Khwarizmi, the inventor of Algebra. Abul Wafa provided an invaluable contribution to scientific knowledge by translating ancient works of Euclid (d 250 BC.) and Diophantus of Alexandria (d

64 284 CE) into Arabic. These writings greatly influenced scholarship in Europe in the field of Mathematics where many of the Greek originals had been lost. Abul Wafa was the first astronomer to build a wall quadrant to observe the stars. The instrument quadrant was six meter long and a stone sextant 18 meter wide. He is best known for the first use of the tan function and compiling tables of sines and tangents at 15' inter- vals. This work was done as part of an investigation into the orbit of the Moon, written down in his book Theories of the Moon. His work on lunar theory required the development of new trigonometric methods, and thus he gets a lot of credit which was possible because of his calculation of tangent and cotangent tables. He also created the secant and cosecant functions, and employed a new means of calculating sine tables, as an aid to astronomical observation. Abul Wafa was a versatile and a genius mathematician who made original contributions in the field of mathematics. The Abul Wafa crater on moon and a small planet discovered by a Russian astronomer are named after him in his honor.

ABU ALI HASAN IBN AL-HAYTHAM 965 - 1039

bu Ali Hasan ibn al-Haytham also known in the A West as Alhazen, was born in Basra, Iraq in the year 965 CE and received his education in Baghdad. Khalifa Hakim summoned him to Egypt to work on a project to control the flood of the river Nile. After doing some field work he informed the Khalifa about the impracticality of the project. The mercurial Khalifa became mad at his assessment of the project

66 and put him under house arrest for ten years. It is said that during this period he did a lot of work in optics, physics and mathematics. He became a free man when the Khalifa died in 1021 CE. He traveled to Spain and other places but came back to Cairo, Egypt where he died in year 1039 CE. Al-Haytham was a polymath who made significant contributions to the principles of optics as well as to astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, ophthalmology, philosophy, physics and theology. He is considered as the first scientist, a pioneer of the modern scientific method and the originator of experimental science, especially Physics.38 He was the author of more than two hundred books on wide range of subjects. Most of his works are lost but about sixty five of his precious work have survived in which 25 is on mathematics, 20 on astronomy, 14 on optics, and five on different science subjects. He is also considered to be the founder of experimental psychology for his experimental approach to the psychology of visual perception. Al-Haytham is regarded as the father of optics for his extensive contribution to this field. In the book of optics; Kitab al Manazir he explained the modern intro- mission theory of vision, other experiments on optics, included experiments on lenses, mirrors, refraction, reflection, and the dispersion of light. He discovered the laws of refraction and carried out the first experi-

67 ment on dispersing the light into seven constituent colors by passing the light through a prism. This was re- discovered six centuries later by Isaac Newton who claimed all the credit for this magnificent discovery. He speculated on the finite speed of light and its elec- tromagnetic aspects. He argued that rays of light are streams of energy particles traveling in straight lines, an idea so close to the modern concept of propagation of light. He invented the artificial lenses and conducted many experiments with them. His research in optics laid the foundation of telescopic astronomy as well as the later development of microscope. Al-Haytham was the first scientist who accurately explained how the eye functions, its process of vision through the lenses and the binocular vision. His book on Optics has been ranked alongside Isaac Newton's book Principia Mathematica as one of the most important books in the history of physics. Al-Haytham described the pinhole camera and invented the camera obscure, a precursor of the modern camera.39 He discovered Fermat's principle of least time, the law of inertia and gave the concept of momentum which was very close to the Newton’s Laws of Motion. He also gave an idea that masses attract each other and was aware of the magnitude of acceleration due to gravity. He discovered that the heavenly bodies were accountable to the laws of physics and presented the earliest reform of the Ptolemaic model including

68 Planetary hypotheses and optics, pointing out various contradictions in his work. Al-Haytham pioneered analytical geometry and the first theorems on non-Euclidean geometry, formulated and solved Alhazen's problem geometrically, developed and proved the earliest general formula for in- finitesimal and integral calculus using mathematical induction. Al-Haytham’s contributions to geometry and number theory went well beyond the Archimedean tradition. He also worked on analytical geometry and the beginnings of the link between algebra and geometry. Subsequently, this work led to pure mathematics and the harmonious fusion of algebra and geometry which was used by Rene Descartes in geometric analysis and by Newton in the integral calculus. Al-Haytham discussed in his book Mizan al-Hikmah the density of the atmosphere and developed a relation between it and the altitude. He also discussed about the atmospheric refraction and explained why the sun and the moon apparently seem increased in size near the horizon. Al-Haytham developed rigorous experimental methods of controlled scientific testing in order to verify theoretical hypotheses and substantiate inductive conjectures. His scientific method was very similar to the modern scientific method. He attributed his scientific experiment to his faith in Islam, because he argued that Qur’an placed a very strong emphasis on

69 empiricism (Seek knowledge by observation). He believed that truth and knowledge is the only way of attaining closeness to God. His book on optics and other subjects has been translated into Latin and other European languages by the twelfth and thirteenth century. His work remained unsurpassed for nearly 600 years until the time of Keplar. Al-Haytham is regarded as a pioneer of Phenomenolo- gy a branch of philosophy. He articulated a relationship between the physical and observable world to that of intuition and mental functions. He linked the knowledge and perception to the domain of science and religion which led to a philosophy of existence. His thought on phenomenology was not developed further until the 19th century. There is no doubt that al- Haytham was one of the versatile universal geniuses of the Middle Ages, but it is sad to say none of his work survived in the original Arabic text. His monumental treatise on optics and other subjects survived only through its Latin translation. We Muslims have long neglected him and have not paid any attention to these gems amongst us. The Alhazen crater on the Moon and the asteroid 59239 are named in his honor by the West.

ABU RAYHAN AL-BIRUNI 973 - 1048

bu Rayhan al-Biruni was born in Kath, A Uzbekistan in 973 CE a region adjoining the Aral sea. He began his studies at a very young age under the famous mathematician Abu Nasr Mansur. In 1017 CE Sultan Mahmud Ghazni extended his kingdom to Kath area and he took al Biruni with him to his capital. Later on Mahmud ventured into the

71 northern part of India and al- Biruni went with him to India. He lived there for thirteen years where he managed to learn Sanskrit from the pundits and translated several Sanskrit text into Arabic. He also wrote several treatise devoted to Indian astronomy, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and religion. Mahmud died in 1030 CE and was succeeded by his son Masud who treated al-Biruni with great respect, now al-Biruni was free to travel any where he wanted. He moved back to Ghazni, Afghanistan and died in the year 1048 CE at the age of 75 after spending 40 years gathering and adding knowledge. Al-Biruni was one of the greatest geniuses ever born. He was a physicist, an anthropologist, an astronomer a historian, a geographer, a geodesist, a geologist, a mathematician, a physician, a philosopher a scholar and a traveler, who contributed greatly to all of these fields. Along with Jabir and al-Haytham, al-Biruni was one of the earliest leading exponents of the experimental scientific method. He was responsible for introducing the experimental method into mechanics, and study of astronomical phenomena. 21 Al-Biruni mathematical contributions were immense which include: theoretical and practical arithmetic, summation of series, combinatorial analysis, the rule of three, irrational numbers, ratio theory and method of solving algebraic equations. He also did original work on Archimede's theorems, trisection of the angle, conic

72 sections, stereographic projection, trigonometry, the sine theorem and solving spherical triangles. Al-Biruni is regarded as the father of geodesy and made numerous contribution to earth science, cartography, geography and geology. He introduced techniques to measure the distances on earth using triangulation. He solved complex geodesic equation and accurately calculated the circumference of the earth which is very close to the present value. His calculated value of earth’s radius is 6339 km, which differs from the modern value only by 16 km. This value was not obtained by the Europeans until the middle of 16th century. While he was very young he accurately calculated the latitude of various places. After studying soil of India he came to the conclusion that Indus valley must be considered as an ancient sea basin filled with alluvial soil, which is a fact. Al-Biruni was the first to conduct experiment related to astronomy, though most people would think that it was Galileo or Copernicus. At a time when people believed in the geocentric theory (earth as the center of the universe) he clearly knew, 600 years before Galileo, that earth rotates on its axis on daily basis and moves yearly around the sun. He argued that heliocentric model of the earth fits very well with his astronomical parameters.34 He made a scientific explanation of why the sun never sets in the North or South Pole at certain months of year. His famous diagram

73 showing different phases of moon clearly indicates the moon revolving around earth and the earth revolving around the sun. Al-Biruni invented a Three Point Ob- servation method which was used by Copernicus to calculate the eccentricity of earth’s orbit around the sun. He discussed the gravity of the earth by saying that everything is attracted toward the center of the earth which we now know, is true.

Drawn by Al-Biruni showing different phases of moon Al-Biruni started experimental methods in mechanics, specially in the determination of the specific weights. He was the first to realize that acceleration is connected to non-uniform motion. Al-Biruni gave the precise method to determine the specific gravity of a substance which is still in use to this day. He accurately deter-

74 mined the specific gravity of eighteen gemstones. Dis- covered the finite nature of matter, and gave the idea that it may change forms but the total mass remained the same.40 This law of conservation of mass was re- discovered by Lavoisier seven century later. Al-Biruni was the first to discover that the speed of light is finite and that it is far greater than the speed of sound. He was a pioneer in experimental psychology as he was the first to describe the concept of reaction time.41 At the age of 27 al-Biruni wrote many books which includes one book on decimal system, two books on history, one on astrolabe and four about astrology. As he matured he authored many books and treaties: Kitab al-Hind gives a graphic account of the historical and social condition of India. His famous book Oanun al- Masudi discusses several theories of astronomy, trigonometry, solar, lunar, planetary motions and relative topics. In another well-known book al-Athar al- Baqia, he has discussed the rotation of the earth and has given correct values of latitudes and longitudes of various places. He also wrote the Kitab-al-Saidana, which is an extensive medical encyclopedia that combines the then existing Arabic knowledge on medicine with the Indian medicine. His book the Kitab-al- Jamahir deals with the properties of various precious stones. Al-Biruni was contemporary to ibn Sina and they knew each other. He later engaged in a written debate

75 with ibn Sina regarding Aristotelian natural philosophy the Peripatetic school of thought. He discussed with him eighteen questions about the natural philosophy in which ten were criticisms of Aristotle’s reasons for denying the existence of gravity in the celestial spheres, innate property of the heavenly bodies etc. The other eight questions were on different topics of science. This is regarded as the highly intellectual dis- course between the two intellectual giants of the Mid- dle Ages. In linguistics he could read and write at least five different languages: namely; Persian, Arabic Greek, Hebrew, and Sanskrit and could understand Syriac, Hindi and Latin. There is no doubt that al- Biruni was the greatest universal scientist of all times.

ALI AL- HUSSAIN IBN SINA 980 – 1037

li al-Hussain Ibn Sina also known in the West as A Avicenna was born at Afshaneh near Bukhara in 980 CE. He received his early education in Bukhara, and by the age of ten he became Hafize Qur'an. At the age of seventeen he was well versed in Greek and Muslim philosophy, medicine and various other science subjects. At this young age he became famous and treated the king of Bukhara from a serious illness. On his recovery the King wished to reward

77 him, but the young physician only desired permission to use his uniquely stocked library. Ibn Sina at the age of twenty- one was already an established physician and political administrator, the professions he continued to practice in the courts of various Iranian rulers. On his father's death, he left Bukhara and traveled to Jurjan where the Amir of the city welcomed him. There he met his famous contemporary Abu Rayhan al-Biruni. Later he moved to Rayy and then to Hamadan where he wrote his famous book Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb. He continued traveling and finally, he returned to Hamadan, Iran where he died in 1037 CE. Ibn Sina is regarded as the father of early modern medicine, besides he was a philosopher, a mathematician, an astronomer, a chemist, a physicist, a theologian, a statesman and a poet. For one thousand years he remained one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in the history of human civilization. It is said that his achievements were greater than those of Galileo, Copernicus, and Newton combined. He wrote 450 treatises in which 240 treatises have survived. Most of the treatises deal with philosophy and science subjects but forty of them concentrate on medicine. His book 'The Canon of Medicine' was a standard medical text in the European universities up until the 19th century. He developed a medical system that combined his own personal experience with that of Islamic, Greek, Persian and Indian medicine. His

78 major contribution to medical science was his famous book with the author's original contribution. His important original contribution includes such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis which was disputed by the Europeans but turned out to be true. He discussed how the spread of diseases propagated due to contamination of water. He introduced the idea of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases. In addition to describing pharmacological methods, the book described 760 drugs and became the most authentic materia medica of the era. The principles he laid out for testing the effectiveness of new drugs is still the basis of modern clinical pharmacology.42 He was also the first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and child health. He observed the effect of mind on the body and wrote a great deal on psychology and neuropsychiatry. In his book he described numerous conditions of the brain, namely nightmare, epilepsy, insomnia, stroke and paralysis. Ibn Sina as a chemist was one of the first to refute the transmutation of substance after al-Kindi. He invented the process of steam distillation to produce the essen- tial oil and as such he is regarded as a pioneer of aromatherapy.43 Four of his work on the refutation of alchemy were translated in Latin, which influenced the medieval chemists. He was the first scientist to use an air thermometer to measure the temperature. He

79 provided a sophisticated explanation for the formation of rainbows. The rainbow he said is formed by the dispersion of sunlight by the fine particles of rain water, the dark cloud he thought is just a screen for the rainbow to appear which we now know is true. Ibn Sina also contributed to mathematics, physics, music and other fields. He made several astronomical observations, and devised a contrivance similar to the vernier to increase the precision of instrumental read- ings. In physics his contribution comprised the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanical. He developed an elaborate theory of motion which was consistent with the concept of inertia as given by Newton in his first law of motion and he also gave the concept of momentum. He made the important observation that if the perception of light is due to the emis- sion of some sort of particles by the luminous source and said that the speed of light must be finite. In his book Miyar al aql he has tried to describe and illustrate simple machines like a pulley, lever and wedge and then analyzed the combination of these simple machines. His philosophical encyclopedia Kitab al-Shifa is a monumental work, embodying a vast field of knowledge from philosophy to science. He classified the entire field as follows: theoretical knowledge: physics, mathematics and metaphysics; and practical knowledge: ethics, economics and politics. He wrote exten-

80 sively on the subject of logic, ethics and metaphysics connected to Islamic philosophy. His successful recon- ciliation with Aristotelian philosophy with that of Is- lamic philosophy eventually gave birth to a new Ibn Sinic philosophy which became the leading school of Islamic philosophy. When his work reached Europe through Latin translation it made a huge impact on the thoughts of many philosophers including Thomas Aquinas. His work related to metaphysics initiated a full-fledged inquiry on the question of being in which he said there is difference between essence and existence.44 He then argued that existence must be due to the effect of causation. His famous book Floating Man deals with the thought experiment to demonstrate human self-awareness. He believed that God communicates the truth through human active intellect. Ibn Sina was a devout Muslim and he struggled to reconcile the rational philosophy with Islamic theology and tried to prove the existence of God and His creation of the world scientifically and through reason and logic. Ibn-Sina developed his own system of logic, known as Avicennian logic replacing the Aristotelian logic.45 He also developed an early theory of hypothetical syllo- gism which formed the basis of risk factor analysis. In his book Al-Burhan (On demonstration) he discussed the philosophy of science which included the issues like scientific method, method of examination, experi-

81 mentation and method of induction. His idea and philosophy as we can see lead to the modern method of scientific inquiry. He was an accomplished poet and wrote poems both in Arabic and Persian. Ibn Sina was a legendary figure in the field of medicine, science and philosophy. George Sarton the author of the History of Science describes him as one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in the history of human civilization.

ABU QASIM IBN AL-ZAHRAWI 993 - 1064

bu Qasim ibn al-Zahrawi also known in West as A Abulcasis was born in the town of al-Zahra, close to the city of Cordoba, Spain in the year 993CE. His ancestors were Ansar Arab who settled in Spain in the eighth century. He lived most of his life in Cordoba where he received his education. After completing his education he taught and practiced medicine and surgery in Cordoba and became the physician of Khalifa al-Hakim II. He died at Cordoba in the year

83 1064 CE. The street where he lived is named after him ( Calle Abulcasis) and his house has been preserved by the Spanish Government in his honor. Al-Zahrawi is considered as the father of modern surgery, besides being a physician and surgeon he had interest in chemistry and cosmetology. His thirty volume encyclopedia of medical practices Kitab al-Tasrif is considered as his greatest contribution in the field of medicine and surgery. The encyclopedia included a large section on surgery and also covered medical topics such as pharmacology, ophthalmology, nutrition, dentistry and childbirth.46 Al-Zahrawi emphasized the importance of a good doctor-patient relationship and took great care to ensure the safety of his patients and win their trust irrespective of their social status. His clinical methods showed foresight and promoted the close observation of the patients . He warned against dubious practices adopted by some physicians for purposes of material gain and warned against deviation from medical ethics. He also cautioned against quacks who claimed surgical skills they did not possess. His treatise contains many original observations of great interest in the field of medicine. He placed a great importance on the causes and symptoms of diseases.

84 Two volumes of his treatise are very important, which deal with materia medica like weight, measures and drug substitution. In the area of pharmacology and therapeutics, he discussed about cardiac drugs, emet- ics, laxatives, cosmetology etc. In other treatise he describes the preparations of medicine by the extraction from different kinds of herbs, tablet making, chemical preparation of medicine and other related pharmaceuti- cal techniques which included sublimation and distillation. The most important treatise is the one which deals with surgery and surgical instruments. This monumental work was unique of its kind, in which al-Zahrawi provided illustrations of the instruments used in surgery. He invented all the instruments himself, two hundred of them, and explained their use. The instruments included tooth extractors, tong depressors, catheters and an elaborate obstetric device to name a few.47,48 He discussed a variety of operations which included cauteri- zation, bloodletting, midwifery, obstetrics and the treatment of wounds. He described the exposure and division of the temporal artery to relieve certain types of headaches, and the extraction of cataracts from the eyes. He wrote extensively about injuries of bones and joints, fractures of the nasal bones, and the vertebrae. In fact 'Kocher's method' for fixing a dislocated shoul- der was explained by al-Zahrawi long before Kocher was even born. He outlined the use of caustics in

85 surgery, fully described tonsillectomy and tracheotomy operations he had performed. He explained how to use a hook to extract a polyp from the nose, how to use a bulb syringe he had invented for giving enemas to children, how to use a metallic bladder syringe and specu- lum to extract bladder stones. He discussed the problem of non-aligned teeth and found a way to rectify the defect. He also developed a technique of replacing the defective teeth by the artificial teeth. Al-Zahrawi was the first to describe the Welcher position in obstetrics, first to describe dental arches, first to explain the hereditary circumstances surrounding hemophilia, first to write about ectopic pregnancy and first to use forceps which he invented for the delivery of babies and removal of dead fetus.47 Al-Zahrawi invented surgical needle and described its use. He used catgut ( cord made from intestines of sheep ) for the first time for internal stitching which is still used in modern surgery. Catgut is the only natural substance capable of dissolving and acceptable to the human body.21 There is no doubt that al-Zahrawi was one of the rare geniuses in the field of medicine and surgery in the Middle Ages. His treatise was translated into Latin in the 12th century and became the standard book in the universities of Europe for five hundred years. His book was the primary

86 source of medical knowledge of surgery for the physicians of Europe and thus made huge influence on them in the practice of surgery. A fourteenth century French surgeon Guy de Chauliac quoted Al-Tasrif over 200 times in his book; The great Surgery. Pietro Argallata a fifteenth century European surgeon says about al- Zahrawi like this: "without doubt he was the chief of all surgeons". Jaques Delechamps another French surgeon of sixteenth century made extensive use of his treatise in his elaborate commentary, confirming the tremendous contributions of al-Zahrawi in the field of surgery.

OMAR KHAYYAM 1048 – 1131

mar Khayyam was born at Nishapur, the capital O of Khurasan in the year 1048 CE. Little is known of Omar's early life. The epithet Khayyam signifies "tent-maker." It is possible that Omar or his father, Ibrahim might have been a tent maker. Omar was educated at his native town, where he studied under the celebrated teacher, the Iman Mowaffak. The Vizier Nizam al-Mulk granted Omar a pension, which enabled him to devote himself to learning and

88 research, especially in the field of mathematics and astronomy. He lived at various places but finally came back to Nishapur where he died in the year 1131CE. Omar Khayyam is known as a famous poet, but he was also an outstanding mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and was skilled in medicine and music. He had wide range of interest and wrote many books on different subjects. His work consists of two books on physics, four on mathematics, five on philosophy and one each on astronomy, , music and climatology. In 1070 CE he moved to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, one of the oldest cities of Central Asia. There Khayyam was supported by a prominent jurist of Samarkand, and this allowed him to write his most famous algebra work, Treatise on Demonstration of Problems of Algebra. The treatise contained a complete classification of cubic equations with geometric solutions found by means of intersecting conic sections.49 This kind of approach had been used by earlier writers such as al-Mahani and al-Khazin, but it was Khayyam who provided a generalized extension to all cubic with positive real roots as well as negative real roots. He discovered the binomial expansion for solving quadratic equation which is in use even to this day. He proved that a cubic equation can have more than one solution and demonstrated its existence. In his Treatise he worked on triangular array of binomial coefficients known as Pascsl’s triangle. He wrote a

89 book on the Euclid’s famous parallel postulate, though al-Haytham and others had also criticized it, but his attempt was distinctly much advanced, which eventually led to the development of non-Euclidean geometry. He also had other notable work in geometry, specifically on the theory of proportions. Malic Shah invited Khayyam to set up an observatory at Esfahan Iran, with other leading astronomers of the time. For 18 years Khayyam led the scientists and produced work of outstanding quality. It was a period of peace during which the political situation allowed Khayyam the opportunity to devote himself entirely to his scholarly work. During this time, Khayyam led work on compiling astronomical tables and also contributed to calendar reform. Khayyam measured the length of the year as 365.242198 which is amazingly accurate compared to the present value which is 365.242190 days. He completed the Persian calendar which is also known as Jalali calendar after the Sul- tan’s name. His calendaric measurement was more accurate than the Gregorian calendar adopted in Europe four century later. 50 Omar Khayyam demonstrated to the prestigious scholars of the time including Imam Ghazali that the universe is not moving around the earth, rather it is the earth which is revolving on its axis. He also elaborated that the stars are stationary objects in space and since the earth revolves on its axis it brings different constel-

90 lations throughout the night and day. He was a strong supporter of Heliocentric Theory. In 1092 political events ended Khayyam's period of peaceful existence. Funding to run the Observatory ceased and he also came under attack from the orthodox Muslims who felt that Khayyam's questioning mind did not conform to the faith. Despite being out of favor on all sides, Khayyam remained at the court and tried to regain favor. He wrote a work in which he described former rulers of Iran as men of great honor who had supported public works, science and scholarship. Another empire rose in 1118CE, this time with Merv, Turkmenistan as its capital. The Shah invited him to his newly created center of learning in Merv where Khayyam wrote further works on mathematics. In the West Omar's reputation as a poet has overshad- owed his achievements as a mathematician. His poems were made popular by Edward Fitz Gerald, who translated his Rubaiyat (quatrains) from the original Persian to English in the year 1859 CE, which gave Khayyam a permanent place among major English poets. He wrote thousands of Rubaiyat, the major themes of his Rubaiyat are the fragility of human life. The pleasures of Paradise do not give any comfort to the poet; enjoy life, don’t be afraid, God is kind and merciful was his message. His reference to intoxication, love and women in his poem has made some religious people uneasy. Some Iranians argue that those poems could

91 be interpreted metaphorically, referring to spiritual or romantic intoxication. He is the most well read poet and his poems have been translated in almost all world languages including Chinese and Japanese. There is no doubt Omar Khayyam was one of the greatest free thinkers and a great mathematician of all times. Though he fulfilled the obligation of performing the Hajj, he seems to have no interest in any religious sects, because he saw strife and hatred among them which was not part of his character. He objected to the notion that every event and phenomenon are the result of divine intervention. He supported the view that laws of nature can explain all the phenomena of the universe. A lunar crater is named after him, many books, novels and commentaries have been written on his life and his poetry.

ABU HAMID AL-GHAZALI 1058 - 1111

bu Hamid al-Ghazali also known in the West as A Algazel was born at Tus, Iran in the year 1058 CE. His father died while he was very young. He received his early education at Tus and at the age of fourteen he went to Gurgan. Here he studied Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence) and after seven years he finally moved to the city of Nishapur and became the student of famous Asharite Muslim scholar Abu Maali Juwayni. He soon acquired a high standard of scholar-

93 ship in religion, philosophy and Fiqh. The vizier of Seljuq Sultan impressed by his scholarship appointed him as a Professor at the Nizamiyah University of Baghdad, which was the most reputed institution of learning at that time. After a few years, however, he gave up his academic pursuits and worldly interests and became a wandering ascetic and passed through a spiritual crisis. After spending some time in Jerusalem, Makkah and Madinah he came back to Tus and spent several years in seclusion. He finally ended his seclusion, opened a Sufi oriented school (Khankah) and started teaching and lecturing. He remained in Tus until his death in December of 1111 CE. Among the Muslim theologians al- Ghazali was the most influential theologian, besides that he was a philosopher, a Jurist and a Sufi mystic. He was a prolific writer and as such he authored more than seventy books. One of his major works: The Revival of Reli- gious Science can be divided into four parts which covers almost all aspects of Islam, including Islamic jurisprudence, theology and Sufism in great detail. In this book he pointed out that the traditional teaching about Islam did not convince him in his adolescence. In other words he lost his convection about the truth which he regained later through his Sufi mystical experience. In his autobiography: The Deliverance from error he recounts how his spiritual crisis was resolved by a light from God, the key to all knowledge. The

94 Sufi mystical experience brought some changes in his theological thoughts which is obvious in his later work. Al-Ghazali authored two books on Islamic theology, The Middle Path in Theology and The Jerusalem Epistle. In both books the theological position he expressed matches with the Ash'arite school of thought. He wrote three books on Aristotelian logic, The Stan- dard Measure of Knowledge, The touchstone of Proof of Logic and The Just Balance. It seems al-Ghazali was very much interested in logic, though logic and faith do not mix well. Most probably he saw its usefulness in refuting the heretical views of the philosophers and also its effectiveness for the reconstruction of the religious science on a firm basis. Al-Ghazali was very much interested in philosophy also and he studied intensively while he was teaching at Baghdad. He wrote two books on philosophy; The Intention of Philosophers in which he has summarized his own thoughts about philosophy and set the stage for the second book: The Incoherence of Philosophers. In this book he has used all the logical tricks of the philosopher's trade with great effect to confront the the Muslim philosophers head on. He vehemently rejected Aristotle, Plato and all Muslim philosophers starting from the eighth century who incorporated the ancient Greek philosophy with Islamic theology. He declared every one of them as heretic and corrupter of

95 Islamic faith. The main among them were al Kindi, al- Farabi and Ibn Sina. Point by point, he refuted their arguments for an eternal world based on causality, non-physical resurrection and their doctrine that God does not interfere in every event in nature. His argument remained unchallenged for a hundred years until Ibn Rushd an Andalusian philosopher made a counter-argument in his book; The Incoherence of the Incoherence, but the epistemological course of Islamic thought had already been set by al- Ghazali. Al-Ghazali divided knowledge into three categories; praiseworthy, permissible and blameworthy which he has discussed in his book Ihya Ulum-id-Din . All learning connected to religion is praiseworthy but any other learning when mixed with something other than religion sometimes becomes blameworthy. Learning medicine and mathematics he said are permissible and declared it as farze kefayah, not farze Ayin. If a man in a town or a locality acquires such knowledge, the whole community gets absolved from sin.11 His position on the subject of acquiring knowledge fluctuated with time. In his book al- Mustasfa which he wrote towards the end of his life, stated that arithmetic and geometry are pure rational sciences and as such not recommended for study. They fluctuate between false and true knowledge that yield no practical application. He saw no usefulness in the study of physics and said some parts of the subject

96 contradicted the Shariah (Islamic law) and thus useless or blameworthy.12 Al-Ghazali was very cautious in dealing with mathematics and exact science. He argued that wine strengthens the body but it is forbidden, similarly the game of chess sharpens the mind but that should not be the reason to pursue it. The same logic can be applied to arithmetic and geometry, these subjects can render the mind more acute and are not harmful to religious belief. He, nevertheless, argued that one might be attracted through these subjects to dangerous doctrines and metaphysics of the philosophers he had so strongly condemned.82 It was a flimsy and stupid argument to exclude such a valuable subject from the field of knowledge and study. Al-Ghazali believed in the certainty of God which he experienced by mystic revelation, a phenomena he said beyond logic or sensory perception. He argued that you can not prove the presence of God by logic or philosophy and saw philosophy as largely a waste of time and inadequate for discovering the truth. Contingent events, he said are not subject to natural physical causes, but are direct results of God's constant intervention. This concept of God is consistent with the Ash'arite school of theology, who believed that when fire and cotton are placed in contact, the cotton is burned di- rectly by God, not by the fire, a total negation of cause and effect logic.

97 Al-Ghazali's work had a widespread influence on Wes- ern medieval scholars specially Thomas Aquinas. He played a major role in integrating Sufism with Shariah and so he became an indispensable advocate and ally among the traditionalist Muslims. He received a wide recognition in the religious institutions of the Ottoman empire, southeast Asia, and Africa. In the Indian subcontinent al-Ghazali enjoyed wide recognition both among the Deobandi school as well as the arch rival Barelwi school. The reason why, al Ghazali is so poplar among the traditionalist Muslims, because he introduced the Islamic mysticism (Tasawwuf), which provides false perception of perfection of inner life. With the rise of of rational thinking among the educated Muslims and a colossal setback suffered by the Is- lamic civilization, al-Ghazali's legacy has come under critical scrutiny. The nineteenth-century reformer Ja- mal al-Din Afghani and Amir Shakib Arsalan in his famous treatise, 'Our Decline and Its Cause' have posed serious questions about al Ghazali. Introduc- tion of mysticism by al Ghazali which they claim effectively turned the Muslim societies into hotbed of irrationality and superstition. Allama Iqbal rejected Ghazali's idea of mysticism, he says in his book Reconstruction of Islamic Thought: The technique of medieval mysticism by which religious life, in its higher manifestations, developed itself both in the East and in the West has now

98 practically failed. In the Muslim East it has, perhaps, done far greater havoc than anywhere else. Far from reintegrating the forces of the average man's inner life, and thus preparing him for participation in the march of history, it has taught him a false renunciation and made him perfectly contented with his ignorance and spiritual bondage78. Moroccan thinker Abid al Jabiri accuses al Ghazali of declaring Muslim philosophers views to be heretic and anathema to Islamic doctrines. He pointed out that al- Ghazali's harsh critique of the philosophers made it impossible to resuscitate the Muslim philosophical tradition. Jabiri poses the hypothetical question: What do you think Arabo-Islamic thought would have been like, after Ghazali, if Ghazali had not existed? What Islamic civilization would have lost, if Ghazali had not written anything? He then hints that Ibn Rushd provided much greater service to Arabo-Islamic thought than Ghazali, who was rejected by the Ummah.51 Egyptian thinker Hasan Hanfi holds Ghazali responsible for the defeat of reason in the Muslim intellectual tradition. He thinks that Ghazali's hegemonic ideas were responsible for the defeat of free and rational thinking among Muslims and led the Muslim society to be frozen in time.52 There is no doubt that al-Ghazali's ideas and philosophy were responsible for introducing orthodoxy in Islamic thought which banished reasoning and logic

99 for good. Since he was a Sufi and Islam spread through Sufism in Turkey, South East Asia and other part of the world, his ideas and philosophy dominated the Islamic thought, so much so, that the traditionalist Muslims gave him the title of Hujjatul Islam ( Proof of Islam ). They believed that he was the savior of Islam from devilish thoughts and paganistic ideas, introduced by great philosophers like al-Kindi, al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, which was far from the truth. In the end al- Ghazali's ideas prevailed among the orthodox Ulemah which set the stage for Dark Ages among the Muslim Ummah, resulting in a colossal disaster we are facing now.

100

ABU MARWAN MALIC IBN ZUHR 1094 – 1162

bu Marwan Malik Ibn Zuhr also known as A Avenzoar in the West was born at Seville in 1094 CE. He received his education at the University of Cordoba specializing in medicine. Ibn Zuhr came from a highly educated family which produced many good physicians including two female physicians who served at the palace of Almohad ruler . He started his medical practice in Seville but after

101 some time he fell out of favor from the new Almoravid ruling king. He had to flee from Seville, but was apprehended and jailed at Marrakesh for a long period of time. After about two decades Almohad dynasty conquered Seville again and Ibn Zuhr returned to his beloved city. He devoted his time in medical practice, research and teaching till he died in the year 1162CE. Ibn Zuhr was one of the greatest physicians and surgeons of the Islamic Golden Age and is considered as the father of Experimental Surgery. Contrary to the general practice of the Muslim scholars of that time, he confined his work only to medicine and surgery . This is the reason why he produced works of everlasting fame. He was highly critical of the Four Humors theory which was supported by the Greek philosophers like Hippocrates and Galen. Ibn Sina was also the supporter this theory which later proved to be incorrect. As a physician, he made several discoveries and breakthroughs. He was the first physician to describe correctly the cause of scabies and explained that the disease is caused by some sort of a parasite, thus he may be regarded as the first parasitologist. Likewise, he developed methods of direct feeding through the gullet in cases where normal feeding was not possible. He also gave clinical descriptions of tumors, intestinal phthisis, inflammation of the middle ear, etc.46 Ibn Zuhr's chief contribution can be found in the

102 monumental work; Kitab al-Taisir fi al-Mudawat wa al-Tadbir (Book of Simplification concerning Thera- peutics and Diet). In it he described several original contributions he had made. The book gives in detail pathological conditions, followed by therapy. Ibn Zuhr gave the idea of performing experimental surgery on animals. He invented the surgical procedure of tracheotomy and perfected it by doing the experiment on goats and thus brought the era of experimental surgery on firm basis. He was the first physician who tried to establish surgery as an independent field of medicine and suggested a training course meant especially for the future surgeons.53 Parenteral procedures (delivery of the medicine to desired part of body) had never been tried on patient before, Ibn Zuhr was first to try it by using a silver needle which he invented. He described in detail about this new method in his book entitled: Method of Preparing Medicines and Diet. Neurological disorders were not very well understood in the Middle Ages. Ibn Zuhr was the first to give accurate descriptions of the mental disorders which included meningitis and other mental diseases.54 He also formulated the medicine for this kind of diseases, thus he is credited for the contribution to the modern neuropharmacology. He wrote a book on early pharma- copoeia (the art of the drug compounding) which remained a standard book on this subject for a long

103 time. Modern anesthesia was developed in Muslim Andalu- sia to which Ibn Zuhr made great contribution along with al-Zahrawi, another Andalusian surgeon. Ibn Zuhr used both oral and inhalant anesthesia and performed many surgeries with the use of narcotic soaked in sponges placed on the face of the patient. He perfected the procedure by adjusting the dose and concentration and thus made original contribution in the field of anesthesiology which made surgery practical. In the Middle Ages, dissection of the human body was considered as a taboo, so physicians never undertook this project. Ibn Zuhr broke the tradition and conducted dissection and postmortem autopsy on human bodies and brought the field of medicine to the modern age. Dissection of bodies brought some new information to the medical science which was not available before. Ibn Zuhr authored many other books related to medicine. His book; Kitab al-Iqtisad fi Islah al-Anfus wa al-Ajsad (Book of the Middle Course concerning the Reformation of Souls and the Bodies) gives a summary of diseases, therapeutics and hygiene written specially for the benefit of the laymen as well as the physicians. His other book; Kitab al-Aghziya (Book on Dietetics) describes different types of food and drugs and their effects on health and human body. Ibn Zuhr in his works lays stress on observation and experiment

104 and his contribution greatly influenced the medical science for several centuries both in the East and the West. His books were translated into Latin and Hebrew and remained popular in Europe as late as the 18th century There is no doubt that Ibn Zuhr was one of the greatest physicians and surgeons of the Middle Ages who made so many important original contributions to medical science. He could have made more contributions had he not been jailed for so long by the unjust ruler.

105

ABU BAKR MUHAMMAD IBN BAJJAH 1095 – 1138

bu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Bajjah also known as A Avempace, in Europe, was born in Saragossa, Spain in 1095 CE. He received his education at Cordoba specializing in medicine. He served as Vizier to the Emir of Murcia, Spain and was the teacher of famous Andalusian philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes). After the fall of Saragossa, he moved to Seville, where he wrote several treatises on logic and finally to the Almoravid court at Fez, Morocco. He

106 died very young and it is believed that a rival physician of Fez poisoned him in the year 1138 CE . Ibn Bajjah was an Andalusian physician, philosopher and administrator who also contributed to the field of astronomy, physics, logic, music and poetry. In physics, Ibn Bajjah gave the law of motion which was equivalent to the principle of uniform motion. This principle would later form the basis of modern mechanics and have a subsequent influence on Euro- pean physicist. Ibn Bajjah's definition of velocity was very close to Galileo's definition of velocity:Velocity = Motive Power - Material Resistance, here the motive power is measured by the specific gravity of the mo- bile body and the material resistance is the resisting medium whose resistive power is measured by its specific gravity.55 Ibn Bajjah was also the first to state that there is always a reaction force for every force exerted, a precursor to Newton's third law of motion. Ibn Bajjah wrote commentary on Aristotelian Metrolo- gy in which he was highly critical of Aristotle's idea about milky way. He explained that the Milky Way is the light of many stars which almost touch one another. Their light forms a continuous image on the surface of the body which is like a tent under the fiery element. Ibn Bajjah explains the continuous image as the result of refraction and supports his explanation with the observation of a conjunction of planets, Jupiter and Mars which took place in 1106 CE. He

107 watched the conjunction and saw them having an elongated figure, although their figure is circular.56 He also proposed his own planetary model. Ibn Bajjah was the earliest Andalusian philosopher who played a prominent role in introducing the ideas of Plato and Aristotle and the Islamic philosophers, al- Farabi, Ibn Sina to the West. His main contribution to Islamic philosophy was his ideas on soul phenomenology, which unfortunately could not be fully developed before his early death. Ibn Bajjah’s thoughts particularly the idea of perfection as a state in which the mind comes into contact with the Divine Intellect and becomes itself an intellect (Acquired Intellect). He influenced Thomas Aquinas and Ibn Rushd. Thomas Aquinas mentions Ibn Bajjah and his teaching in his works many times. Some of Ibn Bajjah’s writings were not completed because of his untimely death. His student, Ibn Imam, edited his works after his death, including treatises on mathematics and medicine, commentaries on Aristotle and al-Farabi, and Ibn Bajjah's own original philosophical treatises. The important among these treatises are Tadbir al-mutawahhid (The Hermit's Guide), Risalat al-wada (Essay on Bidding Farewell) and Risalat al-ittisal al-'aql al faal bil-insan (Essay on the Conjunction of the Intellect with Human Beings). His other book on philosophy titled 'On the Soul' is actually a treatises on Logic which is considered an

108 important piece of work. Like earlier Muslim philosophers, Ibn Bajjah considered philosophy and the use of reason as the means by which human intellect could reach its ideal point. He believed that human soul developed through three stages corresponding to the lives of plants, animals, and the human mind. The plant stage represents embryonic life, when the soul receives nourishment and grows. The soul then moves on to the animal stage, the stage of sensation, movement and desire. Finally the soul acquires thought, and the capacity for rational thinking. Ibn Bajjah described the essence of human nature as intellect, which is either potential or actual. Potential intellect has the capacity to acquire its proper objective, intelligible forms and actual intellect is completely identified with how much a man can achieve. In his book The Hermit Guide Ibn Bajjah tried to show how a man could, by the development of his own powers of mind, attain a union with the Active In- tellect. He distinguished two kinds of action: animal action which is a product of the animal soul, and human action which is a product of free will and reflection. A man who throws a stone to hurt someone performs an animal action; a man who throws the stone not to injure others but to protect a man from a wild animal, performs a human action. The first step in the moral progress of man is to learn to be ruled by will

109 and reason so that his actions may all be human. Having attained this, the man must strive for higher perfection, so that his actions may become divine. Ibn Bajjah was a brilliant polymath who achieved so much in such a short span of his life. Even his critic Ibn Tufayl described him as possessing the sharpest mind and the soundest reasoning. His student Ibn Imam and Ibn Rushd considered him as the marvel of his time in depth of philosophical knowledge and exact science. He is categorized as the second generation philosopher along with Ibn Rushd, who produced original philosophical ideas.

110

MUHAMMAD IBN AL-IDRISI

1099 - 1166

uhammad Ibn al- Idrisi was born in Andalusian M city of Ceuta, in 1099 CE. He was a descendant of Idrisid, the ruler of Morocco, who was said to be the direct descendant of Hzrat Hasan the grand son of Prophet Muhammad. Al-Idrisi received his education in Cordoba and traveled to many distant places including Europe, Africa and Asia to gather geographical data and plant samples. After traveling a few years he gathered enough information and

111 accurate measurements of earth surface to complete a rough world map. His fame and competence eventually led to the attention of Roger II, the Norman King of Sicily, who invited him to produce an up-to- date world map. He left Andalusia and moved to Sicily and worked in the court of Norman king till he died in the year 1166 CE. Mohammad al-Idrisi was a great geographer, cartographer, botanist, traveler and a poet. In West he is best known as a geographer, who made a globe of silver sphere weighing 400 kilograms for King Roger of Sicily. Al Idrisi's contribution to geography was tremendous. His book; Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq,(The Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey Through the Climates) also known as Roger's Book, is a geographical encyclopedia which contains detailed maps and information of European countries, Africa and Asia. Al- Idrisi completed his encyclopedia in a very unique way. In addition to his personal travel and scholarship, he selected some intelligent men who were dis- patched to distant lands accompanied by draftsmen. When these men returned al- Idrisi inserted the information in his treatise. On the basis of these observations made in the field, and from data derived from earlier Arabic and Greek geographers, he brought the data up to date. The book and associated maps took fifteen years to complete. Unquestionably it is the

112 most interesting monument of Arabian geography. It is a voluminous book which contains a detailed geographical work done about the 12th century Europe. Al-Idrisi compiled a comprehensive encyclopedia about Africa, entitled Rawd-Unnas wa-Nuzhat al-Nafs (Pleasure of Men and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi's knowledge of the Niger above Timbuktu, the Sudan, and of the head waters of the Nile was remarkable for its accuracy. For three centuries geographers copied his maps without alteration.57 The relative position of the lakes form which the river Nile starts its journey, as mentioned in his work, does not differ greatly from that of the modern map. Al-Idrisi built a large global map made of silver weighing approximately 400 kilograms. He meticu- lously recorded on it the seven continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains. It is known to have been a colossal work of geography, probably the most accurate map of Europe, north Africa and western Asia, created during the Middle Ages. The presentation of earth as a round globe was a revolutionary idea in the Christian world because they believed that the earth was flat. Al-Idrisi knew that earth is round and he even calculated the circumference of the earth to be 22900 miles a difference of eight percent from the present value and explained the revolutionary idea about earth like this; "The earth

113 is round like a sphere, and the waters adhere to it and are maintained on it through natural equilibrium on the surface of the earth, the air which suffers no variation surrounds it on all sides. It remained stable in space like the yolk in an egg”. Al-Idrisi's book, Kitāb nuzhat al-mushtāq, represents a serious attempt to combine descriptive and astronomical geography. This book was not as grand as his other books, apparently because of the author’s inadequate mastery of the physical and mathematical aspects of geography, nevertheless, it is also a major geographic document. He also made the world map on a great disk almost 80 inches in diameter and weighing over 300 pounds fab- ricated out of silver, chosen for its malleability and permanence. Al-Idrisi's other major contribution was his work on medicinal plants which he has discussed in several books, specially Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat al- Nabatat. (A Simple Book of Medicinal Plants) He studied and reviewed all the literature on the subject of medicinal plants and came to the conclusion that very little original material had been added to this branch of knowledge since the early Greek work. He started collecting medicinal plants wherever he traveled. Thus, he is credited for adding a large number of new medicinal plants together with their evaluation to the medical science. He has given the names of the herbs

114 in many languages like Greek, Persian, Hindi, Latin, Berber and Arabic. Al- Idrisi was a traveler who wrote about what he saw. Some historians compare him to Marco Polo but his work was much more scientific, and generally more objective than Polo's work. While al-Idrisi's books have survived in their original manuscript form, Marco Polo's writings exist primarily as later transcriptions which were often altered. Al-Idrisi, no doubt, was a great geographer and a traveler who produced original work in the fields of geography and botany. Some historians regard him as the greatest geographer and cartographer of the Middle Ages. His books were translated in Latin and became the standard book on geography for centuries both in the East and the West.

115

ABDAL RAHMAN AL-KHAZINI

bdal Rahman al-Khazini was a Muslim of Greek A origin who was brought to Merv as a slave by the Seljuk king after the victory over the Byzantine Emperor. His master, al-Khazini, gave him his name and the best possible education in mathematics, philosophy, science and astronomy. Al- Khazini was also a pupil of the famous Persian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam (d 1131 CE) who was living in Merv at that time. Very little is known about his life, except that he was a man of self-respect who refused rewards and handouts sent to him by the wife of Emir. He preferred to live a simple life on a

116 meager income which he earned himself. The exact date of his death is also not known but it is believed that he died by the middle of 12th century. Al-Khazini was a great physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher and alchemist. He is better known for his contribution to physics, his treatise: Kitab Mizan al-Hikma (The Book of Balance of Wis- dom,) written in four volumes remained an important part of physics among the Muslim scientists. The first volume deals with his predecessor's theories of centers of gravity, including al-Biruni, al-Razi and Omar Khayyam. In this book al-Khazini draws attention to the Greek philosopher's failure to differentiate clearly between force, mass and weight. He explains how the weight of the air and its density decreases with altitude. By looking at his predecessor's science, al-Khazi- ni provides crucial records of their contributions that could have remained unknown or lost. The remaining treatises deal with hydrostatics, most particularly the determination of specific gravities. Al- Khazini goes to extreme length in describing the equipment necessary to obtain accurate results. He was very careful in the preparation of his equipment and materials while doing his experiment. He carried out various experiments with his balances with rigorous attention to scientific accuracy. His interest to determine the specific gravities of precious metals and al- loys had some commercial purposes in mind. With the

117 accurate value of specific gravity he could determine the purity of gold and silver without any chemical treatment. To determine the specific gravity of a substance, its weight has to be known in air and water, and the volume of air and water displaced, so most re- searchers used water balances in their experiments. Using the same instrument Al-Khazini made repeated experiments with several metals and gemstones. He also measured the specific gravities of many other substances like salt, clay, liquids and amber, a total of fiftyone substances. He developed his own hydrostatic balance and specialized balances which was extremely precise. He could find the weight of an object on micro gram level a precision only surpassed in the 20th century. In another experiment, he discovered that the density of water is greater near the Earth's center, which was proved by Roger Bacon two centuries later. Al-Khazini defines heaviness in traditional terms, he says in his book; A heavy body is one which is moved by an inherent force, I mean that a heavy body is one which has a force moving it towards the central point, and constantly in the direction of the center, and that the force referred to is inherent in the body. It appears that what al-Khazini meant by gravity 'thiql' in Arabic, is both an idea similar to the modern con-

118 cept of gravitational potential energy, and the moment of a force relative to a point. In any case, al-Khazini appears to have been the first to propose that the gravity of a body varies with its distance from the center of the Earth.58 In his first sense of the word gravity, the concept was not considered again, till five centuries later by Isaac Newton . Al-Khazini's contributions in astronomy includes astronomical treatise Zij as-Sanjari or 'Sinjaric Tables'. In this treatise he gave a description of his construction of a 24 hour water clock designed for astronomical purposes which he invented. This was an early example of astronomical clock. He computed the positions of 46 stars for the year (1115-16 CE). and tables for the observation of celestial bodies at the latitude of Merv.59 His astronomical treatise was translated into Greek and was studied in Byzantine Empire. Al-Khazini's book Risala fi'l-alat (Treatise on Instru- ments) consisted of seven chapters in which he has described a number of highly specialized and innovative mechanical devices. These instruments include dioptra, (a classical surveying instrument) triangular instruments, triquetrum, (an instrument to find altitude of heavenly bodies) quadrant, sextant and the astrolabe. Al Khazini no doubt was a great physicist and astronomer of the Middle Ages who made tremendous advancement in the field of physics and instrument

119 making. Charles Jillispe editor of Dictionary of Scientist's Bibliography proclaimed him the greatest of all times.

120

ABU AL-WALID IBN RUSHD 1128 - 1198

bu al- Walid Ibn Rushd also known as Averroes A in Europe, was born in 1128 A.D. in Cordoba. He came from a prestigious family of lawyers and judges. His grandfather was Imam of the Jamia Mosque of Cordoba. Ibn Rushd received his education in Cordoba and lived a quiet life, devoting most of his time in pursuit of knowledge. The famous Umayyad Khalifa al-Hakim of Spain, had constructed a magnificent library in Cordoba, which housed half million books. This fabulous collection laid the

121 foundation for rich intellectual environment for men like Ibn Rushd. He studied his familial profession, specializing in law and medicine and after graduating he practiced in Cordoba as well as Marrakesh, North Africa. The Berber sultan offered him judgeship in Seville and with the patronage of the ruler, he soon moved to Cor- doba as a Judge, the position his father held for a long time. Here he passed a pleasant life for fifteen years and authored many books including commentaries on Plato's Republic. In 1195 CE sultan's son al-Mansur became the new ruler who banished Ibn Rushd from Cordoba and burned all his books on philosophy because of his criticism of the Berber rulers in his commentaries. However, as a result of intervention of leading scholars he was forgiven, he lived another two years and died in 1198 CE in Marrakesh, North Africa, the capital of Berber kingdom. Three months later his body was brought back to his beloved Cordoba to fulfill his wish. By education Ibn Rushd was a physician and lawyer but he proved to be one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of Europe in the Middle Ages.60 He also made remarkable contributions to the fields of medicine, music, astronomy, physics, and jurisprudence. He authored more than a hundred books and treatises in his life time, in which twenty were in medicine and the rest on philosophy and other

122 subjects. His well-known treatise Kitab al-Kulyat fi al-Tibb, (Compendium of Medical Knowledge) was written while he was working in Marrakesh. In it Ibn Rushd has thrown light on various aspects of medicine, including the diagnoses, cure and prevention of diseases. The treatise was divided in seven books arranged excellently, bringing together the works of the best physicians from the classical Greek and the Islamic world and contains several original observations of his own. Its Latin translation was known as Colliget which became a standard text in the European universities along with other Muslim treatise on medicine for several centuries. Given his family history, it was perhaps obvious that ibn Rushd would devote some his time to jurisprudence (Fiqh). His grandfather was a major figure in Maliki school of Fiqh and so was he. By his own account it took twenty years to complete his book Biday- at al Mujtahid wa al Muqtasid a primary work on Fiqh. The title holds a clue to ultimate aim of writing this book. A literal translation of the title can be read like this; 'Beginning of the Independent jurist and end of the mere Adherent of Precedent.' It is obvious that he favored Ijtihad or independent thinking in the matter of Fiqh where there is no specific guidance from Qur'an and Hadith. This book was not intended for laymen but the learned peers of ibn Rushd. In astronomy ibn Rushd wrote a treatise on the motion

123 of the sphere, Kitab fi-Harakat al-Falak. He also wrote commentary on 'Almagest', the great book of mathematics and astronomy written in Alexandria Egypt in 200 CE. He rejected the Ptolemaic model of universe and argued for strictly concentric model of the universe. He explained that the eccentric sphere is contrary to the nature. He wrote excellent commentary on Aristotelian physics. He was the first to define and measure force. He defined force as the rate at which work is done. He wrote a valuable commentary on Aristotle's treatise, De Anima which deals with the nature of living things. Ibn Rushd started his philosophical work while he was in Marrakesh and produced his first book; Kitab al- Jawami fil Falsafa: The Compendium of Philosophy. Here he touched upon subjects like physics, earth, meteorology, logic and metaphysics, some of these topics would occupy him for the rest of his life. His most important work Tuhafut al-Tuhafut: (Incoherence of Incoherence) was written in response to work of al-Ghazali. Here he counterattacked al- Ghazali's three main objections of the Muslim philosophers: an eternal universe based on causality, denial of bodily resurrection and God's ignorance of minute details of creations. Ibn Rushd argued, if the universe were created at a specific time, it would imply that Allah was forced to create at a fixed time which limits His power, which is not the concept of

124 God in Islam. He wonders how can al-Ghazali reject causality? The whole universe is working on natural laws based on causality, which Allah Himself designed. To reject His system is to reject God Himself. Like other Muslim philosophers Ibn Rushd tried to bring harmony between reason and faith. He argued that in Qur'an there are some verses which the Prophet had called 'sound' meant to be taken literally but others are ambiguous which required philosophy to interpret them. Bodily resurrection according to Ibn Rushd is a symbolic way to explain a new state of being, incomprehensible to common man. For the third objection he argued that God's knowledge and our knowledge about a thing can't be the same. God has made a system and everything is working according to His system. Every phenomenon is based on causality, so God does not need to know every minute details about it. It was a powerful argument but Ibn Rushd was criticized by many Muslim scholars for this book, which nevertheless, had a profound influence on Christian thought and gave them a jump-start in reason and rationalism which ushered in the age of enlightenment in Europe. He wrote three commentaries on the works of Aristo- tle, the shortest Jami may be considered as a summary of the subject. The intermediate was Talkhis and the longest was the Tafsir. These three commentaries would seem to correspond to different stages in the

125 education of pupils; the short one was meant for the beginners, then the intermediate for the students familiar with the subject, and finally the longest one for advanced studies. The longest commentary was, in fact, an original contribution as it was largely based on his analysis including interpretation of Qu'ranic concepts. Once the rediscovery of Aristotle through Ibn Rushd writing was complete, the philosophers and intellectuals alike found themselves in possession of the greatest intellectual reservoir ever developed. After confronting conservative theologians, Ibn Rushd became a bit bolder and tried to take on tougher opponent-- the rulers and the kings. Close to end of his life he chose to write a commentary on Plato's Republic one of the great masterpieces of Greek thought. He could have explained all those wonderful ideas of this excellent work, but he went further and discussed how the Andalusian rulers -- the Berbers, were nothing but decadent tyrants. It was not religious persecution that Ibn Rushd suffered from, rather it was his criticism of rulers and his political philosophy in the commentary that got his book burned. Thanks to the Jewish community of Cordoba who translated his books into Hebrew and then into Latin. In this book, he advocated revolutionary ideas like public education, even distribution of wealth and women's rights etc. It was a plea for social justice which was totally Islamic in its approach.

126 When the Latin translations of his work reached Eu- rope in thirteenth century, it was like the arrow hitting the bulls eye. The European intelligentsia were hungry to look at the world in a new way, which Ibn Rushd provided in a big way with his commentaries and his philosophy. A new phenomenon of Averrosim derived from his Latin name Averroes started to take hold among learned people of Europe specially the professors of newly opened universities.61 The Catholic church was horrified and saw the storm cloud gathering. The Pope formed a commission to look into this new phenomenon and by 1231 CE Aristotelian philosophy, all the Ibn Rushd commentaries and his books on philosophy were banned through all of Christendom. It was too late, the Genni was out of the bottle. But try as the Church might to extinguish the flame -- its sparks drifted northward and eastward. It was a perplexing and disturbing news for the church that this new and dangerous idea was coming from the Muslim world and penetrating into the universities of Italy and France. One of the staunchest Averroists, Pietro d'Abano a professor of medicine and philosophy in one of the universities of Italy, defied the decrees of church and introduced Aristotle and Ibn Rushd in University of Padua's curriculum in 1306 CE. He articulated that tradition and Bible were no longer adequate for discovering truth. Experiments, observations and

127 reasoning were new tools of trade invented by Greek and Muslim philosophers. This was too much for the Catholic church to take- the Inquisition which was formed by church to combat Averrosim, condemned d'Abano on numerous counts. He died in 1315 CE before the church could get him but this did not stop the Inquisition, they found him guilty and ordered his dead body to be burned at the stake.71 Ibn Rushd wrote commentary 'The Exposition of the Methods of Proof Concerning the Beliefs of the Com- munity' in which he takes on the sensitive issue of criticizing all schools of theology prevalent in his days. He does so in the name of reason, maintaining that any position or interpretation of Qur'anic verses that cannot withstand the scrutiny of reason is not worth holding. Worse still, it is not worth imposing on the unsuspect- ing ordinary people by force. According to Ibn Rushd, the theologians have interpreted the Scripture in a way that gave them sway over the believers, minds and lives. The theologians defined true belief and heresy, thereby setting the ground for defining the true Muslim and exercising a tremendous influence on the political life of the Muslim community. They monopolized the access to the true faith and ostracized whoever disagreed with them as heretics. Ibn Rushd was a deeply religious man which is evident in his writings. In his medical and philosophical works one can find the depth of his faith

128 and knowledge of the Qur'an and Prophetic traditions. At the same time he suggested that scientific research and rational thinking are as important as revelation. He argued that the demonstrative truth cannot conflict with Qur’an, since Islam is the ultimate truth and always promotes search for truth. If Scripture does conflict with demonstrative truth, such Scripture should be interpreted allegorically. Ibn Rushd contends that allegorical interpretation of Scripture is common among the lawyers, theologians and the philosophers, and has been long accepted by all Muslims. His philosophical work, which fascinated, inspired and influenced the West, were of little interest to the Mus- lim world, where he is remembered as a great physician. The Muslim world's rejection of Ibn Rushd as a great thinker and philosopher and propagating the dogmatic ideas and mysticism of some Islamic thinkers ushered in the the Dark Ages to the Muslim world.

129

ABU AL - IZ IBN RAZAZ AL-JAZARI

1136 - 1206

bu al-Iz ibn Razaz al-Jazari was born at Jazira a A small town in northern Iraq in the year 1136 CE. His father was the chief engineer at Artukly palace the residence of Turkish dynasty ruler. He received his education at Diyar-Bakir, Turkey where the palace was located. Al-Jazari excelled in education and made several new inventions, and after the retirement of his father he became chief engineer of

130 the palace. He lived all his life at Diyar-Bakir, Turkey and died in the year 1206 CE. Al-Jazari was a rare genius who mastered the science of mechanical engineering at an early age. He was also a scholar, artist, inventor, astronomer and craftsman. He is considered as father of modern day mechanical engineering because of his fundamental inventions in this field. He is also hailed as the father of robotics because he was the first person to design an early programmable humanoid robot. Al-Jazari was an accomplished writer and artist. His treatise The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Me- chanical Device is considered as the most outstanding book in mechanical engineering. Gorge Sarton the historian of science and technology says: “This treatise is the most elaborate of its kind and may be considered the climax of the Muslim achievements in science and technology”. In this book he has given the detail's of his invention and has illustrated them with drawings and paintings. This book includes six main categories of machines and devices. Several of the machines, mechanisms and techniques that first appear in his treatise, later entered in the vocabulary of European mechanical engineering books, which included double acting pumps with suction pipes and the use of a crank shaft in a machine, accurate calibration of orifices, lamination of timber to reduce warping, static balancing of wheels, use of paper models to establish a de-

131 sign and casting of metals in closed mold boxes with sand etc. He also describes methods of construction and assembly in great detail of about fifty machines, so that the future craftsmen could reconstruct them. Al-Jazari was the first engineer to invent the crankshaft and connecting rod system, which is considered as the single most important invention after the wheel. This system is used to transform the linear motion into rotatory motion and vice versa and is central to the modern machinery such as steam engines and internal combustion engines used in cars today.62 Al-Jazari invented five machines for raising water from a river or well. It was in these machines, where he introduced his most important ideas and concepts. The first two devices used animal power and an open channel with a scoop. The third machine manipulated the water power and a series of gears to lift the pots filled with water. In the fourth machine he used a brand new concept of using the crankshaft and connecting rod system to lift the water. The fifth machine was very complex, which utilized a cog wheel, piston and a suction pipe. Creating vacuum for suction and application of the double-acting principle were really an advanced technological achievement eight centuries ago. The modern reciprocating water pumps are not very different what al-Jazari invented centuries ago.63 Al-Jazari's genius mind invented a host of new kinds

132 of clocks, which never existed before. His astronomical clock was a monumental invention which displayed the moving models of sun, moon and stars. His biggest model was eleven feet high which displayed lunar orbit, zodiac and solar orbit. The clock had a pointer which traveled across the top and caused the automatic doors to open every hour. His elephant clock was an ingenious creation of several new innovations. It was the first water clock which employed the flow regulator in a closed loop system. This clock indicated hours to match the uneven length of days throughout the year. The float regulation used in the clock had a big implication during the Industrial Revolution of Europe when it was used in boiler of the steam engine and other industrial applications.64 The Candle clock was another original idea to design a time indicating device. Here he used a candle of uniform weight and cross section whose rate of burning was known. The candle rested on a shallow dish with ring connected through pulley to the counterweight. As the candle burned the counterweight pushed the candle upward at a constant rate, which was then calibrated in to time. He also designed a mechanical clock powered by water. This clock was successfully reconstructed at the Science Museum in London, England. Al-Jazari invented the earliest form of programmable humanoid robot. He used this invention to entertain the king in the palace parties. He is also credited to design

133 a variety of automate, like automatic gate, door, and musical instruments all powered by water. His creation of a water fountain with musical automata was very unique, which he achieved by hydraulic switching, a new invention as well.65 Al-Jazari was a rare genius whose inventions in the field of engineering and robotics gave birth to modern mechanical engineering. He deserves to be called the Leonardo da Vinci of the Muslim world. It is sad that the Muslim society produced such a ingenious man like al-Jazari but we the Muslims could not use his inventions. On the other hand the Europeans built the modern world taking advantage of the discoveries.

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135

AHMAD IBN AL-BAITAR 1197-1248

hmad ibn al-Baitar was born in Andalusian city A of Malaga in the year 1197 CE. He received his education in Seville under the guidance of Abul Abbas Ahmad as a physician. He had great interest in botany which he learned from his teacher. He first started collecting plants in and around Andalusia. In 1219 CE he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and traveled along the northern coast of Africa and some parts of Asia Minor. In the year 1224 CE he

136 entered the service of Malik al-Kamil, the Egyptian ruler, and was appointed as chief herbalist. Al-Kamil extended his kingdom to Damascus, and Ibn al-Baitar accompanied him there which provided him an opportunity to collect plants in Syria, Palestine a good part of Iraq. Malik al-Kamil's regime, brought a peaceful atmosphere for a long time in Egypt and Syria. Schools of learning were prospering and the atmosphere was very conducive for research and learning. Learned people were given due recognition by the king . Malik al- Kamil himself was a learned man who participated in scholarly discourses and took active part in the propagation of knowledge. Ibn al-Baitar lived in Damascus in a very good atmosphere and did his researches on plants and medicine till he died in 1248 CE. Ibn al-Baitar was a great botanist, pharmacist and physician of the Middle Ages. He is credited for introducing early scientific method in experiments. Ibn al- Baitar's major contribution, Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al- Mufrada,(Book of Simple Drug and Food) is one of the greatest treatise of botany dealing with medicinal plants . It enjoyed a high place among botanists up to the 18th century. The treatise comprises some 1,400 different items, largely medicinal plants and vegetables of which about 300 plants were new, not known earlier. The book refers to the work of some 150 authors mostly Arabic, and it also quotes some early Greek sci-

137 entists. Ibn al-Baitar's second monumental work Kitab al- Mlughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada is an encyclopedia of medicine. He critically studied medicinal plants and relevant literature from Greece, Spain, North Africa and Turkey, as a result of which he prepared more than 150 manuscripts. He has enumerated the properties of more than thousand items of plants, minerals and animals. The drugs are listed in accordance with their therapeutic values. The chapters deal with the plants bearing significance to diseases of different parts of the body. On surgical issues he has frequently quoted the famous Muslim surgeon, Abul Qasim Zahrawi. Besides Arabic, he has given Greek, Spanish and Berber names of the plants, thus facilitating transfer of knowledge to European and other readers. Hindiba is a herb and its medicinal properties were known to the Arabs but Ibn al-Baitar was the first physician to compound it and use it for the treatment of cancer and tumors.66 Ibn al-Baitar took a great care in selecting the plants to be used as medicine or as food. He even indicated the timing of the medicines, indicating which one to be taken during the night and which one during the day. He had full confidence in observations, inferences and deductions and wrote nothing without observation and experimentations. He prescribed only those items which he considered suitable as medicine or as food.

138 Wherever he collected the sample he always tried to seek relevant information from the local learned experts. According to Sarton, the author of Introduction to the History of Science, Ibn al-Baitar was the greatest herbalist of the Middle Ages. No one excelled or equaled him in bulk and quality till the 16th century. Professor M.M. Sharif, the author of Muslim Thought its Origin and Achievements states that Ibn al-Baitar's book held the position of a standard materia medica for centuries in Europe. Its translation into Latin, was reprinted many many times during and after the 15th century. Some parts of its Latin version were printed as late as 1758 CE. Ibn al-Baitar is credited for transforming pharmacy to the modern age and for the introduction of hundreds of new medicine to the medical science.

139

NASIR AL-DIN AL-TUSI

1201 - 1274

asir al-Din al-Tusi was born in Tus, which lies N close to Meshed in northeastern Iran in the year 1201 CE He was educated mainly at a religious establishment but while studying in such an institution at Tus he was taught other topics by his uncle which would have a profound influence on his intellectual development. These topics included logic, physics and mathematics. At an early age he moved to Nishapur

140 where al-Tusi studied philosophy, medicine and mathematics. While in Nishapur he began to acquire a reputation as an outstanding scholar and became well known throughout the area. In 1256 CE al-Tusi was in the castle of Alamut when it was attacked by the forces of the Halaku Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. Halaku captured the castle but treated al-Tusi with great respect. Al-Tusi joined the victorious Mongols who appointed him as their scientific advisor. Later Halaku Khan built an observatory and a fine library at Maragheh in northern Iran for al-Tusi. Here he worked in his observatory as well as studied other science subjects including mathematics. He finally moved to Baghdad where he died in the year 1274 CE and is buried at Kazimiyah just outside the city of Baghdad. Al-Tusi was a great astronomer and mathematician who also made contribution to the field of chemistry, physics, biology, philosophy, medicine and theology. He put his Observatory to good use, making very accurate tables of planetary movements. He published those results in his book, Zij-i ilkhani written first in Persian and later translated into Arabic. This work contains tables for computing the positions of the planets, and it also contains a star catalog. It is fair to say that al-Tusi made the most significant work in developing the model of planetary system which was very ahead of his time. He wrote a major astronomical treatise

141 called, Memoir on Astronomy. In this book he describes a new model of lunar motion and about an invention of new geometric technique called 'Tusi- couple' which generated linear motion from the sum of two circular motions. This technique was widely used by all the later astronomers including Copernicus. The aim of al-Tusi with this technique was to remove all parts of Ptolemy's system that were not based on the principle of uniform circular motion.

Tusi-Couple Among numerous other contributions to astronomy, al- Tusi calculated the value of annual precession of the equinoxes. He also wrote works on astronomical instruments such as astrolabe and was the first astronomer to present the evidence of the rotation of earth using the location of comets.

142 Al-Tusi wrote many commentaries on Greek texts. In particular he wrote a commentary on Menelaus's Spherics, and Archimedes's on the sphere and cylinder. One of al-Tusi's most important mathematical contributions was the creation of trigonometry as a mathematical discipline in its own right rather than just a tool for astronomical applications. He was the first person to list the six distinct cases of a right triangle in spherical trigonometry. In treatise on the quadrilateral al-Tusi gave the first extant exposition of the whole system of plane and spherical trigonometry. This work also contains the famous sine formula for plane triangles: a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C. Another mathematical contribution was al-Tusi's concerning the calculation of n-th roots of an integer. This work by al- Tusi was not original but rather it was his version of methods developed by al-Karaji. Al-Tusi has written extensively on the subject of biology and he was one of the pioneers of biological evolution.67 He explained how plants then animals and then humans evolved. He then goes on to explain how heredity and variability were important factors in biological evolution. He put forward this idea 600 years before Darwin in his popular work, The Nasirean Ethics. He wrote: The organism that can gain the new features faster are more variable. As a result, they gain advantages over other creatures and have a better chance of survival.”

143 Al-Tusi then explains how human beings might have evolved from advanced animals. He says: Such advanced animal (apes) lived in the Western Sudan and other distant corners of the world. They are close to animals by their habits, deeds and behavior. The humans have features that distinguish them from other creatures, but he has other features that unite him with the animal world, all differences between organisms were of natural origin. The next step will be associated with spiritual perfection, will, observation and knowledge. It is obvious that al-Tusi's view on evolution was very similar to Darwin's. He presented his idea based on Is- lamic philosophy that God created the world and then things developed on its own by His guidance. In the field of Chemistry al-Tusi gave the idea of conservation of matter, he wrote; “A body of matter cannot disappear completely. It only changes its form, composition, color and other properties and turn into different complex or elementary matters.” Five hundred year latter Lavoisier the French chemist discovered the Law of Conservation of Mass stating exactly the same idea, he only proved it by experiment. Al-Tusi's contribution to logic can be seen in his book Asas al-Iqtibas written in Persian and he also wrote a book on logic in Arabic named, Tajrid al Mantiq. His major work on philosophy is a commentary on Ibn Sina's philosophy. He defended Ibn Sina and insisted that whoever attacked him was ill-equipped as

144 philosopher. Al-Tusi authored two books on ethics: Akhlaq-i Muhtashami and Akhlaq-i Nasari both in Per- sian. The first book is not just a manual on ethics, it is written eloquently with quotation from Qur'an and Greek source. The second book deals with the practical philosophy in Islamic tradition and commentaries on science subjects including biology and chemistry. Al- Tusi was an intellectual giant of the Islamic civilization. A lunar crater on moon is named after him.

145

JALALUDDIN MOHAMMAD RUMI 1207 – 1273

alaluddin Mohammad Rumi was born in Balkh, J present-day Afghanistan in the year 1207 CE. His father Bahauddin Balad was a well-known jurist, Islamic theologian and a mystic who claimed to be the direct descent of Hazrat Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa of Islam. He became known as 'Rumi' -- derived from Rome -- because his father moved to Anatolia, once the base of the eastern Roman empire, what is now Turkey. Rumi's childhood faced a period of remarkable social and political turbulence. It was an era of the

146 crusades; also the area where Rumi lived was under constant threat of Mongol invasion. The great upheavals Rumi faced during his life is said to have influenced much of his poetry. Rumi and his family traveled extensively in the Muslim lands. His family left his birth-place of Balkh for Baghdad to Mecca, Damascus and to Malatia in western Turkey. Later on his father finally moved to Konya north west Turkey at the invitation of the Seljuk king where Rumi died in 1273 CE. Here at Konya, Rumi's father became the head of a learning institution and when he died Rumi inherited his position. Now Rumi preached in the mosques of Konya and taught his adherents at the Madrasah. Dur- ing this period, Rumi also traveled to Damascus and is said to have spent four years there. It was his meeting at Damascus with the dervish Shams Tabrizi that completely changed Rumi's life. Shams met Rumi in a very mysterious way, both men were talking one night when Shams was called to the back door, he went out, never to be seen again. Rumi went out searching for Shams and journeyed again and again to Damascus where he realized: Why should I seek? I am the same as He. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself! It is said that Rumi after meeting Shams, sponta- neously composed poetry for ten years and the collection of the poetry was named after Shams in his honor.

147 He lived all his life at Konya teaching and composing poetry till he died in the year 1273 CE. A mausoleum was built in his honor by the Seljuk king and next to the mausoleum, there is a mosque built by the Ottoman prince who was an ardent admirer of Rumi. Jalaluddin Rumi is one of the world's most revered mystical poets, he was also a philosopher, jurist and a mystic. During his lifetime he produced a prolific range of inspiring and devotional poetry which beauti- fully expresses union of man with the divine. These timeless classics have enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, as Rumi has become one of the most popular poets of the West. Although Rumi was a Sufi and a great scholar of the Qur'an, his appeal reaches across religious and social divisions. Even during his lifetime he was noted for his cosmopolitan outlook.68 Rumi's poetry can be divided into various categories: Ghazal or Odes, the quatrains or Rubayāt and Masnavi or narrative poetry. His first book Diwan Shams Tabrizi contains Rumi's poems in several different styles of Eastern Islamic poetry. It is a collection of 40,000 verses of Ghazals and lyric - is a masterpiece of wisdom and eloquence and is considered one of the greatest works of Persian literature. Rumi's major work is the Masnavi, a six-volume poetry book containing some fifty thousand verses which is regarded by some as the Persian-language Qur'an. It can justifiably be considered the greatest spiritual mas-

148 terpiece ever written by a human being. Its content includes the full spectrum of life on earth, every kind of human activity: religious, cultural, political, every kind of human character from the vulgar to the refined. It has specific details of the natural world, history and geography. It is also a book that presents the vertical dimension of life - from this mundane world of desire, to the most sublime levels of metaphysics and cosmic awareness. It is its completeness that attracts readers so much. Rumi's book Fihi Ma Fihi provides a record of seventy talks and lectures given by Rumi on various occasions to his disciples. Another book Majales-e Saba contains sermons or lectures given in different as- semblies. The sermons themselves give a commentary on the deeper meaning of religion. The sermons also include Makatib, the book containing Rumi's letters in Persian to his disciples, family members, and men of influence. The teachings of Rumi are universal in nature, for him religion was mostly a personal experience and not lim- ited to logical arguments, as his couplets suggest. I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not. I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there. I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went very far but God I found not.

149 Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there. Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else. Shahram Shiva is a performance poet, award-winning translator and scholar of Rumi. He migrated to US from Iran at an early age. Shiva is the only major pre- senter in the West who recites Rumi's poetry in En- glish as well as the original Persian verses. The great mystical poet is celebrated with Shiva's unique and passionate recitations of the timeless poetry performed with various musical groups, he says about Rumi:69 Rumi is able to verbalize the highly personal and often confusing world of personal/spiritual growth and mysticism in a very forward and direct fashion. He does not offend anyone, and he includes everyone. The world of Rumi is neither exclusively the world of a Sufi Muslim, nor the world of a Hindu, nor a Jew, nor a Christian; it is the highest state of a human being; a fully evolved human. A complete human is not bound by cultural limitations; he touches every one of us. Today, Rumi's poems can be heard in churches, synagogues, Zen monasteries, as well as in the downtown New York. Rumi's poetry has made a deep impact on the philosophy, literature and culture throughout Central Asia and to some extent the entire Islamic world. His message seems to have inspired a lot of intellectuals

150 including Dr. Allama Iqbal who considered him to be his spiritual leader. His poetry forms the basis of much of the classical music of Iran and Afghanistan which has been translated into many world languages including Japanese and Chinese. In the year 2007 UNESCO celebrated eight hundredth anniversary of Rumi's birth and issued a medal in his name to engage people in the dissemination of Rumi's ideas and ideals.

A page from Diwan Shams Tabriz

151

ALA AL- DIN IBN AL-NAFIS 1213 - 1288

la al-Din Ibn al-Nafis also known al-Quarashi A was born in 1213 CE in a small town near Damascus called Kersh. He studied medicine, Islamic philosophy, jurisprudence and Arabic literature in Damascus, Syria. Besides medicine he became an expert on the Shafii school of Jurisprudence. In 1236 he moved to Cairo, Egypt and worked at various hospitals and finally became the personal physician of

152 Sultan Baibars. Ibn al-Nafis lived during a very critical period of Is- lamic history when Jerusalem was under attack by the Christian crusaders and Baghdad was sacked and destroyed by the barbaric Mongols in 1258 CE. A part of Syria was also temporarily occupied by the Mongols. Ibn al-Nafis must have felt a sigh of relief when the Sultan of Egypt, Baibars finally defeated the Mongols at the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 CE. Ibn al-Nafis and many other Muslim scholars intensified the scientific activity both in Damascus and Cairo to preserve the scientific legacy of Islamic civilization after the colossal destruction of all the valuable books in Baghdad. Ibn al-Nafis lived in peace at Cairo writing large number of books till he died in 1288 CE. Being a good physician he became a wealthy man but donated most of his belongings to the charitable organizations. Ibn al-Nafis was a great physician and surgeon who also made contributions to the fields of astronomy, Is- lamic theology and philosophy, history and scientific fiction writing. He was the first physician to discover how blood circulates in the human body and worked out the correct anatomy of the heart. In his writing he clearly states: The blood from the right chamber of the heart must arrive at the left chamber, but there is no direct pathway between them. The thick septum of the heart is not perforated and does not have visible pores as

153 some people thought or invisible pores as Galen thought. The blood from the right chamber must flow through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, spread through ought its substance, be mingled with air, pass through the pulmonary vein to reach the left chamber of the heart. The nourishment of the heart is from the blood that goes through the vessels that permeate the body of the heart. It is amazing that his discovery about the working of the heart and its nourishment from the blood was so wonderfully close to the modern cardiac knowledge. Galen the Greek physician believed that every part of of an artery pulsates at the same time and the pulse is caused by the natural motion of the blood. Ibn al-Nafis rejected this idea and explained that the pulsation is caused by the contraction and expansion of the heart. The heart expands while the arteries contract and vice versa and the pulse he said, helps to disperse the blood from heart to the different parts of the body. He was the first physician to give the idea of capillary circulation of the blood,70 a fact which was not known to the European physicians till 1661 CE Ibn al-Nafis's work was based on extensive reading and the study of anatomy of the human body. But the significance of his work was not clearly understood even in his own time, and was probably unknown by physicians of Europe. Three hundred years after his original writing, some of Ibn al-Nafis's work was

154 translated into Latin in 1547 CE. His important observations then became available to the European physician. It was only in the 20th century that his work was brought to light again and people became aware of how early he had reached his conclusions on the workings of the heart and circulation of blood. Because of his work he is considered as the father of circulatory physiology. Ibn al-Nafis was an early proponent of dissection of human body and developed his own system of anatomy, and physiology. He wrote 20 volumes of commentary on Ibn Sina's Cannon of Medicine and corrected the concept of almost all parts of the human body with diagrams to illustrate its function and working. He made the earliest known dissection on the human brain and discovered how blood circulates through it. Similarly he was the only pre-modern physician to correctly present the anatomy of bile duct and gall bladder which physicians in Europe learned in 16th century. After completing the commentary on Ibn Sina's book, Ibn al-Nafis authored voluminous medical encyclopedia; Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb, (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine). He believed to have written some three hundred volumes, but could publish only eighty of them. Even in this incomplete state, his encyclopedia is considered as the largest collection of work in the history of medicine, larger than the Canon of Medicine

155 by Ibn Sina.71 Out of eighty volumes only twenty eight have survived. The manuscript which has been studied, deals in great detail about the surgery and surgical instruments. Some section of the book have detailed discussion on urological problems including the issues of sexual dysfunction and its treatment by tested drugs. Ibn al-Nafis's five hundred page book; A Summary of Medicine has survived. This book contains subjects like, theory of medicine, practice of medicine, diets and diseases of organs etc. A section of the book also deals with the diseases of ear and their treatments. He authored a voluminous book on Opthalmology in which he made a number of original contributions, like a new treatment of glaucoma. He placed a much greater emphasis on food and nutrition to maintain a healthy life and wrote a book on this subject. Ibn al-Nafis made the first attempt to write a theological science fiction, a novel. In his novel Risalat Fadil Ibn Natiq he used the plot to express his own philosophical, scientific and religious themes. In other words he tried to explain religious teaching in terms of science and philosophy by using the fictional narrative. Ibn al-Nafis's treatise on Hadith; A Short Account of the Methodology of Hadith in which he has tried to use logic and rationality to classify the Hadith. He thought it might help to sort out any contradiction within them. He wrote several books on Sharia law in which

156 the most famous one is Mujazal Qanun. It seems he left no subject untouched and wrote two books on Arabic linguistics, two books on logic in Islamic philosophy, commentary on Ibn Sina's philosophy and on the work of Hippocrates. He even wrote a treatise on environmental science covering air and water pollution and soil contamination. No doubt, Ibn al-Nafis was a legendary physician and the greatest physiologist of the Middle Ages, who was way ahead of his time. Muslim biographers of the 14th century onward considered him greater than all pre- ceding physicians.

157

ABDUL RAHMAN IBN KHALDUN 1332 – 1406

bdul Rahman Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis A North Africa in 1332 CE. His ancestors were Yemeni Arabs who settled in Spain in the eighth century. After the fall of Seville his family emigrated to Tunis. Ibn Khaldun memorized the Qur’an at an early age, studied grammar, jurisprudence, Hadith, philology, and poetry in Tunis. He continued his studies until the age of nineteen, when he lost both his father and mother to the plague.

158 Ibn Khaldun entered the service of Tunisian ruler Ibn Tafrakin, as a writer of fine calligraphy, while he was still a teenager. Here he got a first-hand look at the inner workings of court politics. In 1352 CE Abu Ziad, the Emir of Constantine attacked and conquered Tunis. Ibn Khaldun escaped to Fez the capital of Morocco. He enjoyed the company of many scholars from all over North Africa and Andalusia. He was promoted from one position to another, finally appointed as a Chief Judge (Qadi) of Fez. The subsequent ruler did not treat him well, so he decided to move to Granada. The sultan welcomed and entrusted him with diplo- matic mission to king Pedro of Castile, Spain. He successfully carried the mission but the Sultan's Vizier became envious of him and did not like his presence in Granada, so he moved back to North Africa. In 1382 CE Ibn Khaldun arrived at Cairo where he was warmly welcomed by scholars and students. His fame for his writings had already preceded him. He lectured at al-Azhar and other distinguished schools. He again enjoyed the favors of the sultan and was appointed a Maliki Judge. During this period, Ibn Khaldun devoted his time to lecturing and studying, as well as completing his Universal History. He enjoyed 24 years of peaceful life in Cairo and died there in 1406 CE. Ibn Khaldun is considered the forerunner of several social science disciplines like historiography, demogra-

159 phy, sociology, cultural history and modern economics. He is also considered as father of science of sociology. Ibn Khaldun's main work was initially conceived as a universal history. He divided it into seven books in which the introduction, the first book, commonly known as Muqaddema, was transformed into a unique work itself. This book became a masterpiece of literature on philosophy of history and sociology. The books two to five deal with the history of mankind up to the time of Ibn Khaldun which includes history of Arabs, contemporary Muslim and European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians and landmarks of Islamic history. The sixth books covers the history of Berbers and the Maghreb and the last volume covers the events of his own life, known as Al-Tasrif. This eight hundred page book, Muqaddema, can be divided into six parts namely; ethnology and anthropolo- gy, rural society, urban society, forms of government, economic facts and science and humanity. This excellent work is the essence of Ibn Khaldun's wisdom and hard earned experience. He used his political and first- hand knowledge of the people of Maghrib to formulate many of his ideas. This document summarizes Ibn Khaldun’s ideas regarding every field of knowledge during his day. He discusses a variety of topics, including history and historiography.72 He wrote about astronomy, astrology, and numerology, and dealt with

160 chemistry, alchemy, and magic in a scientific way. His discussions of tribal societies and social forces is the most interesting part of his thesis. He illuminated the world with deep insight into the makings and workings of kingdoms and civilizations. In the field of economics, Ibn Khaldun understood very clearly the supply and demand factors which affect price, the interdependence of prices and the ripple effects on successive stages of production. He discussed the nature and function of money and its ten- dency to circulate from country to country according to demand and the level of activity. Ibn Khaldun puts forward the insight that all profit comes from labor, the idea which Karl Marx used to write Das Kapital. He outlines early example of political economy, and describes the economy as being composed of value adding processes. When labor is added to techniques and crafts, the product is sold at a higher price. This was a powerful insight, as one can construct an entire theory of economics from these fundamentals.73 Ibn Khaldun was the founder of the science of sociology, he himself fully realized that he had created a new discipline, Ilm al-umran, (The Science of Culture) that no one had done before. This science can be of great help to the historian by creating a standard by which to judge accounts of past events. Ibn Khaldun's contributions to the field of history was remarkable. He analyzed in detail the sources of error

161 in historical writings, in particular partisanship, over- confidence in sources, failure to understand what is intended, and the inability to place an event in its real context. He understood the desire of writers to gain favor from rulers and kings for exaggerating the small events. On the development of the state, and the relationship between the state and society, Ibn Khaldun believed that human society is necessary since the individual acting alone can't acquire necessary food or security. Only the division of labor, through society, makes this possible. The state arises through the need of a re- straining force to curb the natural aggression of human being. History is a constantly changing cycle argued Ibn Khaldun, with essentially two groups of people, nomads and townspeople, with peasants in-between. He characterizes each group: nomads are rough, savage and uncultured, freedom-loving and self-reliant, and so make excellent fighters. In addition, they have a strong sense of social solidarity. This greatly enhances their military potential. Towns, by contrast, are the seats of crafts, sciences, arts and culture. Yet luxury corrupts them, and as a result they become a liability to the state, like women and children who need to be protected. Solidarity is completely relaxed and the arts of defending oneself and fighting the enemy are forgotten, so they are no match for conquering

162 nomads, like Mongols who overran the Islamic and Christian world in thirteenth century. No doubt Ibn Khaldun was one of the versatile universal thinkers of the Middle Ages. His works have been translated into many languages both East and West, and have inspired writers after him in the development of new disciplines. British historian Arnold Toynbee has called Muqaddema the greatest work of its kind that has never been created by anyone at any time or place – the most comprehensive and illuminating analysis of how human affairs work.

163

JAMSHID AL KASHI 1380 1405

amshid al-Kashi was born in Kashan which lies in J the eastern foot of the Central Iranian Range in 1380 CE. At the time when al-Kashi was growing up, Timur Leng was the ruler of that area, who was not interested in science and education. Timur died in 1405 and his empire was divided between his two sons, one of whom was Shah Rukh. During Timur's kingship the conditions were very difficult with widespread poverty. Al-Kashi lived in poverty, but devoted himself to astronomy and mathe-

164 matics while moving from town to town. Conditions improved when Shah Rukh became the ruler after his father's death. He brought economic prosperity to the region and strongly supported science and intellectual activity. With the change in economic condition al- Kashi's life also improved markedly. Samarkand, Uzbekistan, became the capital of Timur's empire and Shah Rukh made his son, Ulugh Beg, ruler of the city. Ulugh Beg, himself a great scientist, began to build the city into a great center of learning. He invited al-Kashi to Samarkand to work with him which he gladly accepted. He lived there and worked on many books until his death in the year 1429 CE. Al Kashi was a great astronomer and mathematician who made original contributions in both fields. Al- Kashi wrote his first book on astronomy when he was very young, it was entitled; Sullam al-Sama (The Stairway to Heaven). In this book he discussed how to determine altitude, size and distance of the heavenly bodies. He finished his second book on astronomy; Mukhtasar dar 'ilm-i hay'at (Compendium of the Sci- ence of Astronomy) and dedicated it to a Timurid ruler of Iran. Al-Kashi's third book Khaqani Zij was completed at Samarkand and dedicated to his new patron Ulugh Beg, who was also known as Khaqani, or "Supreme Ruler"; zij is the Persian term for astronomical tables. Al-Kashi's astronomical tables were based on an earlier work done by another Persian,

165 Nasir al-Tusi. This book had useful tools to calculate the coordinates of the heavens, helped astronomers measure distances, and predicted the motion of the sun, moon, and planets, as well as longitudinal and latitudinal parallaxes. In 1416 CE al-Kashi completed two new works, Risala dar sharh-i alat-i rasd (Treatise on the Explanation of Observational Instruments) and Nuzha al-hadaiq fi kayfiyya san'a al-ala almusamma bi tabaq al-manatiq (The Method of Construction of the Instrument Called Plate of Heavens). The latter work contains a description of his invention for a device to predict the positions of the planets.74 Although al-Kashi had done some fine work in mathematics before joining Ulugh Beg at Samarkand, his best work was done while he was in that city. In the year 1424 CE al-Kashi finished his most famous work, the Risala al-muhitiyya (Treatise on the Circumfer- ence). In it he calculated pi, (the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) to sixteen decimal places. The last reliable pi figure had been calculated by Chi- nese astronomers in the fifth century, but it was only good to six decimal places. It would be nearly two hundred years before European mathematician found a more accurate calculation for pi, which was accurate to 20 decimal places. Al-Kashi's most impressive mathematical work was the book he wrote entitled; The Key to Arithmetic in-

166 tended for those studying astronomy, accounting, trad- ing, students of architecture, land surveying. It was notable for its inclusion of decimal fractions. One of the most impressive sections of this book was al-Kashi's formula for measuring a complex shape called a muqarna. The muqarna was a standard form used by Arabic world architects to hide edges and joints in mosques, palaces, and other large public buildings. It was a three-dimensional polygon or wedge form combined into honeycomb patterns. Al-Kashi's muqarna measurement had a practical application in the field of civil and architectural engineering. Al-Kashi's important and last work in the field of mathematics was his book entitled: The Treatise on the Chord and Sine, in this work al-Kashi computed sin 1° to the same accuracy as he had computed pi in his earlier work. In order to determine sin10 value he discovered a new trigonometric formula sin 3 φ = 3 sin φ – 4 sin3 φ.75 He also considered the equation associated with the problem of trisecting an angle, namely a cubic equation. He was not the first to look at approximate solutions to this equation since al-Biruni had worked on it earlier. However, the iterative method proposed by al-Kashi was one of the best achievements in medieval algebra. Al-Kashi was the first mathematician to discover the law of cosines in a form suitable for triangulation which was later called: Theorem of Al-Kashi.

167 Al-Kashi wrote many letters to his father about his life in Samarkand, some letters have survived which has provided an unusual glimpse about the contemporary scholars and scientists of the time. He wrote about the observatory that Ulugh Beg had built at Samarkand in 1424 CE, it featured an immense astrolabe with a precision-cut arc made of marble that was 62 yards long. Al-Kashi was a brilliant astronomer and mathematician. After al-Kashi's death, Ulugh Beg, the ruler, praised him as a remarkable scientist, one of the most famous in the area, who had a perfect command on the science of the ancients, who made original contributions in the fields of astronomy and mathematics, and who could solve the most difficult problems.

168

TAQI AL- DIN 1521 1585 T

169 aqi al-Din was born in Damascus, Syria, in the year 1521 CE. He received his education at Cairo, Egypt, where he studied astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and Islamic law. He took the position of a Qadi and Islamic theologian at a Mosque and became teacher at a Madrasah. While at Cairo he published a number of scientific books and treatise. Impressed by his talent and qualification Sultan Selim II of the Ottoman empire who gave him the position of chief astronomer of the court and Taqi al-Din moved to Istanbul. After the death of Sultan Selim, Murad became the new ruler. Taqi al-Din suggested Sultan Murad to build an observatory so that he could make accurate astrological predictions. A month after the completion of observatory Taqi al-Din witnessed a comet and thought that the comet was an omen of Ottoman military victory, which proved to be incorrect. Sultan saw no other use for the observatory and issued an order to destroy it. Taqi al-Din worked in the observatory for three more years before its destruction in 1580 CE. He lived in Istanbul for the rest of his life working on many projects till he died in the year 1585 CE. Taqi al-Din was a legendary figure and a brilliant scientist who wore so many hats at the same time. He was an astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, watch maker, Islamic philosopher and theologian, engineer, physician, Islamic Judge, botanist, zoologist and an

170 inventor. He authored ninety books on a wide variety of subjects but he is famous for his books on engineering, clocks, optics, mechanics, astronomy and mathematics. Taqi al-Din was the inventor of mechanical alarm clock and spring-driven astronomical clock. The astronomical clock, which he built himself for his observations, was set up in the observatory. This clock was more precise than those previously used and considered to be one of the most significant inventions in the field of applied astronomy in the 16th century.76 Taqi al-Din invented an early practical steam turbine engine as a prime mover for the first steam powered and self-rotating spit. This invention proved for the first time that steam can be used to generate mechanical power. In his book, Al-Turuq al-samiyya fi al-alat al-ruhaniyya (The Sublime Methods of Spiritual Machines) he has discussed about various mechanical devices, which includes steam turbine, water clocks, devices for lifting weights, devices for raising water, fountains, continually playing flutes and irrigation devices. He also discussed the working of rudimentary steam engine in his book which finally lead to the discovery of real steam engine in 17th century.76 Taqi al-Din invented a hydro powered water-raising machine with six cylinder engine incorporating valves, suction and piston rods and cams on the axle

171 of a water-driven scoop-wheel. He used crankshaft- connecting rod mechanism, earlier invented by Al- Jazari. He has given the detailed account of this unique pump in his book; The Sublime Methods of Spiritual Machines. Taqi al-Din's work in the field of optics is very extensive, his momentous treatise; Kitab Nur hadaqat al-ib- sar wa-nur haqiqat al-anzar (Light of the Pupil of Vi- sion and the Light of the Truth of the Sight) was written in three volumes. The first volume deals with vision which includes properties of light, structure of the eye and many other related subjects. The second volume contains experimental investigations on light's reflection, and the third volume deals with refraction of light which includes global refraction, and the relation between light and color. He provides the first satisfac- tory explanation for the formation of color, clearly stating that color is formed as a result of reflection and refraction of light, two centuries before Isaac Newton. The method of construction of a rudimentary tele- scope can also be found in his treatise. It is a comprehensive book on optics in which Taqi al-Din relies heavily on scientific method for his investigations. Taqi al-Din built an observatory in 1577 CE which consisted of two large structures placed on a hill over- looking the European section of Istanbul. He made use of his newly invented observational clock to produce a zij, an astronomic table more accurate than those of

172 his predecessors or contemporaries like Nicolas Copernicus. Taqi al-Din was also the first astronomer to employ a decimal point notation in his observations. He also invented a framed sextant similar to what Ty- cho Brahe later used in his observation. He authored thirty three treatise on astronomy, an unbelievable number. On astronomical instruments Taqi al-Din wrote a comprehensive treatise entitled; The Observational Instru- ments of the Emperor's Catalog. This treatise describes the astronomical instruments used in the Istanbul observatory which included all ancient instruments, instruments by Arab astronomers and several instruments he invented himself. In mathematics Taqi al-Din made contribution in trigonometry, he was one of the mathematicians to determine the precise value of Sin 1O. He wrote six books on the subject of mathematics, one on zoology and one dictionary of medicinal plants. Taqi al-Din was a rare genius who invented many mechanical devises and astronomical instruments. His idea of steam turbine gave birth to modern steam turbine which produces 80% of electrical power world wide. He was the last great scientist of the Muslim world who gave new ideas and inventions to the human civilization. His treatise were translated into Eu- ropean languages and they flourished there but the Ottoman Empire ruler Sultan Murad destroyed the

173 newly built Taqi al-Din astronomical observatory because he thought it was useless.

174

SIR SYED AHMAD KHAN 1817 -1898

ir Syed Ahmad Khan was born in Delhi, India, the S dying and decaying capital of the Mughal Empire in the year 1817 CE. His maternal grandfather had twice served as prime minister of the Mughal emperor of his time. His mother Aziz un Nisa Begum took great interest in the education and upbringing of Sir Syed and her rigid discipline and supervision guided him in his character formation. He was given a typical education of that time. Learning the Qur'an by heart,

175 Arabic, Persian, and Islamic law. The death of Sir Syed's father left the family in financial difficulties. For his livelihood, he started his career as a clerk with the East India Company in 1838 CE. He qualified three years later as a sub-judge and served in the judicial department at various places. Visited Great Britain in 1870 CE and was very impressed by their collegiate system of education and was knighted in England by the Queen herself. Came back from UK, determined to setup a Muslim Cambridge Univer- sity. After procuring some financial resources, he con- verted his School in Aligarh into a college in 1875 CE. Sir Syed spent rest of his life in Aligarh writing books and serving the Muslim community until his death in the year 1898 CE. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, was a lawyer, judge, author, publisher, political leader, educator and a great thinker of Muslim India. He strived towards the upliftment of the Indian masses specially Muslims, with modern scientific education and tried very hard to break the shackles of religious orthodoxy and traditional dogma of Indian Muslims. He saw the severe decline and de- cay of the Indian Muslims after the 1857 CE uprising, and thought that only through modern education the lot of Indian Muslims could be improved. To fulfill this objective he poured all his energy towards this goal with great passion. Sir Syed established his first school at Muradabad in

176 the year 1858 CE and five years later, another one in Ghazipur, finally in 1867 CE, he set up, Muham- madan Anglo-Oriental School in Aligarh which became a university in 1920 CE. He also established a Scientific Society, which published translations of scientific and educational books as well as a journal. From Aligarh he published two journals; Muslim So- cial Reformer and Aligarh Institute Gazette. The themes of these journals were to reform the thinking of the Ummah and a call for Muslim's involvement in modern education and scientific methodology. Sir Syed's literary interest developed early in his life while working as a Jurist, he published a series of treatises in Urdu on religious subjects. It was his book; Athar Assanadid (Great Monuments) which won him a national fame in which he documented the antiq- uities of Delhi starting from the medieval age. His other Literary works include Jila-ul-qulub bi -Zikr-il Mahbub, Tuhfa-i-Hasan, and Tahsil-fi-jar-e-Saqil, These three works deal with the religious and cultural aspect of Islam. His book Asbab-e-Bhaghawath-e- Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny), Loyal Mus- lims of India, was meant largely for the British audience . The book Tabyin-ul-Kalam, consists of a series of essays on the life of Prophet Muhammad. Apart from these books he also wrote a commentary on the Bible and tafsir ( Commentary) on Qur'an. He was the first Muslim to write commentary on the Bible.

177 On the political front Sir Syed opposed Hindu nation- alist leaders after the creation of the Indian National Congress in 1885 CE. He tried to assure the British, about Muslim's loyalty towards them. These tactics reflected his belief that if the British were convinced of Muslim's support, the resulting official patronage would help Muslims overcome their relative back- wardness in education and employment. Sir Syed tried to get rid of Muslim religious orthodoxy which was destroying the Ummah on every front. In a speech in Lahore in 1884 CE, he said, “We need a modern elm al-Kalâm, by which we should either refute the doctrines of modern sciences or show that they are in conformity with the articles of Islamic faith”. He wrote a book, Tahrîr fi'l-asul al-tafsir ( Words About Principle of Tafsir) in 1892 CE to explain the principles behind his tafsir of the Qur'an, and stated; There could be nothing in the Qur'an that is against the principles on which nature works as far as the supernatural is concerned, I state it clearly that they are impossible, just like it is impossible for the Word of God to be false- I know that some of my brothers would be angry to read this and they would present verses of the Qur'an that mention miracles and supernatural events but we will listen to them without annoyance and ask: could there not be another meaning of these verses that is consonance with Arabic idiom and the Qur'anic usage? And if they

178 could prove that it is not possible, then we will accept that our principle is wrong- but until they do so, we will insist that God does not do anything that is against the principles of nature that He has Himself established. He further said that if the apparent meaning of the Scripture conflicts with demonstrable conclusions, it must be interpreted metaphorically. Ibn Rushd seven centuries ago had a similar idea. He said that in case of reconciling the demonstrative truth and scriptural truth, one has to make metaphorical and allegorical interpretation which is what the Author of Scripture intended. Sir Syed Ahmad was a contemporary of Darwin and he believed in his Theory of Evolution,77 putting forward the argument that the fall of Adam and Eve was actually symbolic for humans to distinguish between good and evil. Qur'an, he said, is not a book from which to seek scientific knowledge, rather a great source of moral and other guidance. Sir Syed Ahmed was a great humanist, during the uprising of 1857 CE he risked his own life to save British families from the freedom fighters. Later, when the British Government offered him a huge estate in reward, he refused it and said that he had acted from conviction, not for the reward. He believed in the communal harmony between Hin-

179 dus and Muslims of India and in one of his Maaqulat (Essays) he stated: I look to both Hindus and Muslims with the same eyes and consider them as my own two eyes. By the word nation, I only mean Hindus and Muslims and nothing else. We Hindus and Muslims live together on the same soil under the same government. Our interest and problems are common and therefore I consider the two factions as one nation. Sir Syed Ahmad was a great thinker who made immense contribution towards the development of Muslims of India and certainly tried his best to build a bridge between Islamic thought and modernity. His towering achievement was the Aligarh movement and a world famous Aligarh Muslim University. The university gave modern education to tens of thousands of Muslims of India but they still did not rise up to his call, otherwise we could have established several universities like Aligarh all over the sub continent.

180

ALLAMA DR. MUHAMMAD IQBAL 1877 - 1938

llama Dr. Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot, A Punjab, in 1877 CE. His grandfather was a Kashmiri Brahman who accepted Islam and moved to Sialkote. Iqbal's father Sheikh Nur Muhammad was a prosperous businessman and a devout Muslim. Allama Iqbal graduated from Government College, Lahore with Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and completed his MA degree in philosophy from the same college in 1899 CE with

181 gold medal. He became lecturer in philosophy and taught there until 1905. Sir Thomas Arnold the professor and scholar of modern philosophy noticed Iqbal's extra-ordinary talent and suggested him to go for higher education in Europe. Iqbal left Lahore for England in 1905 CE and studied Philosophy at the Trinity College, Cambridge University and Law at Lincoln's Inn. He went to Germany in 1907 CE and completed his thesis in a short period of one year and received his PhD in philosophy from Munich University and returned home. Rejoined his service at government college but after some time, he resigned and started law practice. Allama Iqbal was knighted by the British in 1922 CE. Though he was not an active politician, he was elected to the Punjab legislature for four years and president of the Muslim League of India in 1930. He visited a lot of Muslim countries including Spain and after return- ing from his trip abroad in 1933 CE his health deterio- rated. He still devoted his time to politics and writing excellent Urdu poetry till he breathed his last on April 21st 1938 CE in Lahore, leaving a host of mourners in the Indian subcontinent and the Islamic world. Allama Iqbal started writing poetry at an early age, his early poems have patriotic touch which include Tarna- e-Hind and others. His thinking changed during his stay in Europe, now his poetry reflected a global Mus- lim perspective which included Islamic heritage, his-

182 tory and philosophy. The poem Khizr-e-Rah, Tulu-e- Islam and others reflect his new thoughts. His poetry has huge philosophical depth, passion, force and eloquence, it can stir the core of your heart. Allama Iqbal preferred to write poems in Persian probably because of larger Muslim audience. Out of twelve thousand verses, seven thousand are in Persian and the rest in Urdu. The first work of poetry in Urdu; Bange-e-Dra was published in 1924 CE. It is a collection of poems written in different phases of his life, next came Bale-e-Jibril published in 1935 CE, which is considered Allama's most elegant work and is said to have been inspired by his visit to Spain. In his third Urdu poetry work: Zarb-e-Kalim (Rod of Moses) published in 1936 CE, here Allama has declared war on the present with his powerful yet eloquent poetry. He presented his idea how to rescue the Muslims from ignorance and shackle of slavery, just as Moses had rescued the Israelites. Allama Iqbal was deeply influenced by the poetry and philosophy of poet Mawlana Rumi which reflects in his Persian poetry. His first work in Persian Asrar-e- Khudi (Knowledge of Self Respect) was published in 1915 CE. Here Allama has tried to explain his philosophy of Khudi or self respect. He emphasizes that the aim of life should be self-realization and self-perfection so as to become the vice-regent of God on earth. His philosophy of Khudi can be summed up in one of

183 his Urdu couplet, Khudi ko kar buland etna ke her taqdir se pahle. Khoda bande se khud puche bata teri raza key hai. Raise your self respect so high that before God decides your fate. God Himself comes to you and asks o' man! what do you want ? Allama's second Persian work is; Rumz-e-Bekhudi (Hints of Selflessness) was published in the year 1917 CE. Here he is addressing the Ummah about an ideal community based on Islamic social and ethical values where self-sacrifice is the essence and is the prime need of the nation which comes first. Allama's third work in Persian is Payam-e-Mashriq (The Message of the East) is really a reminder to the West about the importance of spirituality, morality and religion. In his fourth Persian work of poetry; Zabur-e-Ajam, Allama denounces slavery and reminds on remembering the past, excelling the present and making preparation for the future. His fifth work Javaidnama is addressed to his son and young people at large reminding how the Muslim traitors were responsible for the many victo- ries of British in the Indian subcontinent which led to shackle of slavery. His other Persian works are Pas Chih Bayad Kard and Armaghan-e-Hijaz. Allama Iqbal's first book in English; The Development of Metaphysics in Persia was his PhD thesis which became a masterpiece in its own right. His second book in English is the Reconstruction of Religious Thought

184 in Islam, which is a collection of his lectures delivered in the big cities of India. It was published in 1930 CE and again in 1934 adding one more chapter; 'Is Religion Possible'. In this book Allama Iqbal has tried to reconstruct true spirit of Islam which had been misinterpreted and diluted through ages. Allama Iqbal rejected Ghazali's idea of mysticism and says in his book: The technique of medieval mysticism by which religious life, in its higher manifestations, developed itself both in the East and in the West has now practically failed. In the Muslim East it has, perhaps, done far greater havoc than anywhere else. Far from reintegrating the forces of the average man's inner life, and thus preparing him for participation in the march of history, it has taught him a false renunciation and made him perfectly contented with his ignorance and spiritual bondage.78 Another contribution of Allama Iqbal to the contemporary Islamic thought is his insistence that modern science is compatible with Divine consciousness. He considers it more precious than mere belief in God and says that the scientific study of nature brings man clos- er to God, a kind of mystic search and an act of prayer.79 Allama Iqbal passed through the very painful part of the Islamic history – Turkey and its ally had lost the

185 first world war. The vultures of England and France were looming on the horizon of Islamic land with the aim to divide it into small pieces with the sole purpose of making the Ummah weak for ever. Allama saw the ugly events unfolding in the Muslim land before his own eyes. He turned to Islam for inspiration and rejected nationalism as a disease of the West. He argued that Muslims must find their destiny through a pan-Islamic movement that ignored national boundaries. In 1930 Allama Iqbal was elected President of Muslim League of India. In his Presidential Address at the An- nual Session at Allahabad he boldly asserted the Muslim demand for the creation of a Muslim state within India, thus he laid the foundation of Pakistan. He persuaded Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1934 CE to return from England and lead the Muslims of the Indian Sub-continent in their struggle to create Pakistan. Allama Iqbal was a great friend and supporter of Mohammad Ali Jinnah because he saw in him those very qualities that were needed by the Muslims at the time to lead them to independence. Jinnah was also a great admirer of Allama Iqbal and said about him when he passed away. “Allama Iqbal was, undoubtedly one of the greatest poets, philosophers and seers of humanity of all times. To me he was a personal friend, philosopher and guide and as such the main source of my inspiration”.

186

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INDEX

Abbasid ...... 25,40 Adam ...... 12 Abid al Jabiri ...... 99 Abul...... 65, 83, 84, 136, 138 Afghanistan ...... 145,150 Ahmad H. Sakr...... 21 Aligarh ...... 175, 176, 179 Allah ...... 22, 26, 124, 125, 185 Almohad ruler ...... 101 Amir Shakib ...... 98 Aristotle...... 76, 95, 107, 108, 124, 126, 127 Ash'ari ...... 8 Asharite school...... 95, 97 Astronomical clock ...... 119, 133, 170 Averrosim ...... 127 Avicennian logic ...... 81 Baghdad, ...... 3 Bale-e-Jibril...... 182 Bange-e-Dra ...... 182 Barelwi school ...... 98 Biological evolution ...... 143 Bukhara ...... 3, 55, 77, 78 Cairo, ...... 3, 67, 152, 169 Cambridge ...... 4, 175, 181, 189 Cannon of Medicine ...... 155

193 Carly Fiorina ...... 6 Catholic Church ...... 1, 2, 5 Copernicus ...... 5, 53, 73, 74, 78, 172 Cordoba ...... 106, 111, 121, 122, 126 Crankshaft ...... 132, 171 Crusade ...... 147, 153 Cryptography ...... 41 Dalton ...... 28 Dark Ages ...... 3, 5, 100, 129 Darwin ...... 33, 143, 178 Deobandi school...... 98 Earth circumference ...... 113 Edward Fitz ...... 91 Egypt ...... 152, 153, 160, 169, 184 Esfahan ...... 90 Farab ...... 55 France, ...... 30 Galileo ...... 3, 53, 73, 189 Germany ...... 1, 30, 181 Ghazal ...... 148 Giordano Bruno ...... 2 Greek ...... 2, 49, 53, 56, 64, 76, 77 Halaku Khan ...... 141 Harun al-Rashid ...... 29 Hasan Hanfi ...... 99 Heliocentric theory...... 91 Hippocrates ...... 102, 157 Hossein Nasar ...... 21 Hapatia ...... 13 Humors theory ...... 49 Ibn Hanbal ...... 8,15

194 Ibn Taymiya ...... 20 Indian ...... 175, 176, 177, 181 Indus ...... 7, 18, 40, 134, 179 Ijtihad ...... 24,123 Islamic civilization ...... 2, 4, 14, 99, 153 Jafer al Sadiq ...... 26 Jamaat-e-Islami ...... 18 Keplar ...... 70 Khudi...... 182 Kocher's method ...... 85 Kufa...... 25, 26, 40 Lavoisier...... 26 Lamark ...... 34 Ma'mun ...... 40, 44 Makkah ...... 94 Marrakesh ...... 102, 122, 123, 124 Maryam Jameelah, ...... 18 Materia medica...... 79, 84, 139 Maudoodi ...... 20 Medina ...... 94 Merv ...... 91, 116, 119 Middle Ages ...... 103, 104, 105, 115, 120, 122 Middle East ...... 3, 38, 42 Mongols ...... 141, 153, 162 Mu'tazili, ...... 32,44 Muqaddema...... 160, 163 Muqarna ...... 167 Mysticism, ...... 98 Neshapur ...... 61 Neuropharmacology ...... 103 Newton ...... 78, 80, 107, 119, 172

195 Nile ...... 113 Oxford ...... 4, 187, 188 Pakistan...... 23, 185 Persian ...... 90, 91, 115, 116, 144, 148 Phenomenology...... 70 Pinhole Camera ...... 68 Pope ...... 1,127 Plato ...... 44, 56, 58, 95, 108 Ptolemy ...... 38,52,53,142 Qur'an ...... 8,10,19,144 Renaissance ...... 2,4,41,189 Rayy ...... 45,46,47, 78 Roger's Book ...... 112 Russian ...... 65 Samarkand...... 89, 165, 166, 168 Sanskrit ...... 14, 36, 72, 76 Sarton, Gorge ...... 39, 50, 82, 131, 187 Shafii school...... 152 Shariah ...... 16,97,98 Socrates ...... 29 Specific gravity ...... 74 Steam turbine ...... 170, 171, 173 Tawhid ...... 14 Theory of evolution...... 33,178 Thomas Arnold...... 179 Turkey ...... 138, 146, 147, 184 Tusi-couple ...... 142 Ulugh Beg ...... 165, 166, 168 Umayyad ...... 25, 121 Universal History...... 159,160

196