701 (died) C.E. - Khalid Ibn Yazeed - Alchemy
721-803 - Jabir Ibn Haiyan (Geber) - Alchemy (Great Muslim Alchemist)
740 - Al-Asma’i - Zoology, Botany, Animal Husbandry
780 - Al-Khwarizmi (Algorizm) – Mathematics (Algebra, Calculus) - Astronomy
776-868 - ‘Amr ibn Bahr al-Jajiz – Zoology
787 - Al Balkhi, Ja'far Ibn Muhammas (Albumasar) - Astronomy
796 (died) - Al-Fazari, Ibrahim Ibn Habib - Astronomy
800 - Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi - (Alkindus) – Medicine, Philosophy, Physics, Optics
815 - Al-Dinawari, Abu-Hanifa Ahmed Ibn Dawood - Mathematics, Linguistics
816 - Al Balkhi – Geography (World Map)
836 - Thabit Ibn Qurrah (Thebit) - Astronomy, Mechanics, Geometry, Anatomy
838-870 - Ali Ibn Rabban Al-Tabari - Medicine, Mathematics
852 - Al Battani Abu Abdillah - Mathematics, Astronomy, Engineering
857 - Ibn Masawaih You'hanna-Medicine
858-929 - Abu Abdullah Al-Battani (Albategnius) - Astronomy, Mathematics
860 - Al-Farghani, Abu al-`Abbas (Al-Fraganus) - Astronomy, Civil Engineering
864-930 - Al-Razi (Rhazes) - Medicine, Ophthalmology, Chemistry
873 (died) - Al-Kindi – Physics, Optics, Metallurgy, Oceanography, Philosophy
888 (died) – ‘Abbas ibn Firnas – Mechanics, Planetarium, Artificial Crystals
900 (died) - Abu Hamed Al-ustrulabi - Astronomy
903-986 - Al-Sufi (Azophi) - Astronomy
908 - Thabit Ibn Qurrah-Medicine, Engineering
912 (died) - Al-Tamimi Muhammad Ibn Amyal (Attmimi) - Alchemy
923 (died) - Al-Nirizi, AlFadl Ibn Ahmed (Altibrizi) - Mathematics, Astronomy
930 - Ibn Miskawayh, Ahmed Abu-Ali-Medicine, Alchemy
932 - Ahmed Al-Tabari - Medicine
934 - al Istakhr II – Geography (World Map)
936-1013 - Abu Al-Qasim Al-Zahravi (Albucasis) - Surgery, Medicine
940-997 – Abu Wafa Muhammad Al-Buzjani - Mathematics, Astronomy, Geometry
943 - Ibn Hawqal – Geography (World Map)
950 - Al Majrett'ti Abu-al Qasim - Astronomy, Alchemy, Mathematics
958 (died) – Abul Hasan Ali al-Mas’udi – Geography, History
960 (died) - Ibn Wahshiyh, Abu Baker - Alchemy, Botany
965-1040 - Ibn Al-Haitham (Alhazen) - Physics, Optics, Mathematics
973-1048 - Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni - Astronomy, Mathematics, History, Linguistics
976 - Ibn Abil Ashath - Medicine
980-1037 - Ibn Sina (Avicenna) - Medicine, Philosophy, Mathematics, Astronomy
983 - Ikhwan A-Safa (Assafa) - (Group of Muslim Scientists)
1001 - Ibn Wardi – Geography (World Map)
1008 (died) - Ibn Yunus - Astronomy, Mathematics
1019 - Al-Hasib Alkarji - Mathematics
1029-1087 - Al-Zarqali (Arzachel) - Astronomy (Invented Astrolabe)
1044 - Omar Al-Khayyam - Mathematics, Astronomy, Poetry
1060 (died) - Ali Ibn Ridwan Abu'Hassan Ali - Medicine
1077 - Ibn Abi-Sadia Abul Qasim - Medicine
1090-1161 - Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) - Surgery, Medicine
1095 - Ibn Bajah, Mohammed Ibn Yahya (Avenpace) - Astronomy, Medicine
1097 - Ibn Al-Baitar Diauddin (Bitar) - Botany, Medicine, Pharmacology
1099 - Al-Idrisi (Dreses) - Geography, Zoology, World Map (First Globe)
1110-1185 - Ibn Tufayl, Abubacer Al-Qaysi - Philosophy, Medicine
1120 (died) -Al-Tuhra-ee, Al-Husain Ibn Ali - Alchemy, Poem
1128 - Ibn Rushd (Averroe's) - Philosophy, Medicine, Astronomy
1135 - Ibn Maymun, Musa (Maimonides) - Medicine, Philosophy
1140 - Al-Badee Al-Ustralabi - Astronomy, Mathematics
1155 (died) - Abdel-al Rahman Al Khazin-Astronomy
1162 - Al Baghdadi, Abdel-Lateef Muwaffaq - Medicine, Geography
1165 - Ibn A-Rumiyyah Abul'Abbas (Annabati) - Botany
1173 - Rasheed Al-Deen Al-Suri - Botany
1180 - Al-Samawal - Algebra
1184 - Al-Tifashi, Shihabud-Deen (Attifashi) - Metallurgy, Stones
1201-1274 - Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi - Astronomy, Non-Euclidean Geometry
1203 - Ibn Abi-Usaibi'ah, Muwaffaq Al-Din - Medicine
1204 (died) - Al-Bitruji (Alpetragius) - Astronomy
1213-1288 - Ibn Al-Nafis Damishqui - Anatomy
1236 - Kutb Aldeen Al-Shirazi - Astronomy, Geography
1248 (died) - Ibn Al-Baitar - Pharmacy, Botany
1258 - Ibn Al-Banna (Al Murrakishi), Azdi - Medicine, Mathematics
1262 (died) - Al-Hassan Al-Murarakishi - Mathematics, Astronomy, Geography
1270 - Abu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman al-Khazini – Physics, Astronomy
1273-1331 - Al-Fida (Abdulfeda) - Astronomy, Geography
1306 - Ibn Al-Shater Al Dimashqi - Astronomy, Mathematics
1320 (died)-Al Farisi Kamalud-deen Abul-Hassan - Astronomy, Physics
1341 (died) - Al-Jildaki, Muhammad Ibn Aidamer - Alchemy
1351 - Ibn Al-Majdi, Abu Abbas Ibn Tanbugha - Mathematics, Astronomy
1359 - Ibn Al-Magdi, Shihab-Udden Ibn Tanbugha - Mathematic, Astronomy
1375 (died) - Ibn Shatir – Astronomy
1393-1449 – Ulugh Beg – Astronomy
1424 - Ghiyath al-Din al Kashani – Numerical Analysis, Computation
(References: Hamed Abdel-Reheem Ead, Professor of Chemistry at Faculty of Science-University of Cairo Giza-Egypt and director of Science Heritage Center,
http://www.frcu.eun.eg/www/universities/html/shc/index.htm; See also the books: 100 Muslim Scientists by Abdur Rahman Sharif, Al-Khoui Pub., N.Y; Muslim Contribution to Science by Muhammad R. Mirza and Muhammad Iqbal Siddiqi, Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1986.)
With such a train of Muslim scholars, it is not difficult to understand why George Sarton said, "The main task of mankind was accomplished by Muslims. The greatest philosopher, Al-Farabi was a Muslim; the greatest mathematicians Abul Kamil and Ibrahim Ibn Sinan were Muslims; the greatest geographer and encyclopaedist Al-Masudi was a Muslim; the greatest historian, Al-Tabari was still a Muslim."
History before Islam was a jumble of conjectures, myths and rumors. It was left to the Muslim historians who introduced for the first time the method of matn and sanad tracing the authenticity and integrity of the transmitted reports back to eyewitness accounts. According to the historian Buckla “this practice was not adopted in Europe before 1597 AD.” Another method: that of historical research and criticism - originated with the celebrated historian Ibn Khaldun. The author of Kashfuz Zunun gives a list of 1300 history books written in Arabic during the first few centuries of Islam. That is no small contribution!
Now look at today’s Muslim world. When’s the last time you have heard of a Muslim winning the Nobel Prize in science or medicine? How about scientific publications? Unfortunately, you won’t find too many Muslim names in scientific and engineering journals either. Why such a paucity? What excuses do we have?
A recently published UN report on Arab development noted that the Arab world comprising of 22 countries translated about 330 books annually. That is a pitiful number, only a fifth of the number of the books that (tiny) Greece (alone) translates in a year! (Spain translates an average of 100,000 books annually.) Why such an allergy or aversion from those whose forefathers did not mind translating older works successfully to regain the heritage of antiquity, analyzing, collating, correcting and supplementing substantially the material that was beneficial to mankind?
Why is the literacy rate low among Muslims when the first revealed message in the Qur’an is ‘Iqra (meaning: Read)? Are they oblivious of the celebrated hadith of their Prophet (S): “The search of knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim”? [1] How about the following Prophetic hadith?
“A learned person is superior to a worshipper as the full moon is superior to all the stars. The scholars are heirs of the prophets and the prophets do not leave any inheritance in the shape of dirhams and dinars, but they do leave knowledge as their legacy. As such a person who acquires knowledge acquires his full share.” [Abu Dawud and Tirmizi] [2]
Muslims today seek wealth more than they know how to even spend it. Such a mentality is silly, if not risky. Ali (RA) was once asked what was better: wealth or knowledge. He said, “Knowledge is superior to wealth for ten reasons:
What wisdom! Yet today our people are dispassionate about seeking knowledge. Why? Do they know what Imam Ibn Hazm (R) - the great Spanish Muslim theologian, jurist and poet - said? He said, “If knowledge had no other merit than to make the ignorant fear and respect you, and scholars love and honor you, this would be good enough reason to seek after it… If ignorance had no other fault than to make the ignorant man jealous of knowledgeable men and jubilant at seeing more people like himself, this by itself would be reason enough to oblige us to feel it… If knowledge and the action of devoting oneself to it had no purpose except to free the man who seeks it from the exhausting anxieties and many worries which afflict the mind, that alone would certainly be enough to drive us to seek knowledge.” [4] I only wish that his remarks would wake our people to seeking and mastering knowledge.
Solutions to our present-day predicament:
While there are many solutions that I can point out to get us out of our current predicament, I choose to discuss three major ones below, of which the first two relates to personal and community/social obligations.
1). Seeking knowledge:
The main reason behind the success of early Muslims rested in their seeking knowledge where it was evident and also from places where it was hidden. As true sons of Islam, they understood the meaning of the Prophetic Traditions: “A Muslim is never satiated in his quest for good (knowledge) till it ends in paradise.” [Tirmizi: narrated by Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (RA)] “A person who goes (out of his house) in search of knowledge, he is on Allah's way and he remains so till he returns.” [Tirmizi: Anas (RA)] “One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by Allah thereby.” [Muslim: Abu Hurayrah (RA)] “To seek knowledge for one hour at night is better than keeping it (night) awake.” [Darimi: Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA)]
They did not shy away from translating and learning from others in the best of the Prophetic Traditions: “The word of wisdom is [like] the lost property of a wise man. So wherever he finds it, he is entitled to it.” [Tirmizi: Abu Hurayrah (RA)]
When others were hesitant to do experiments to check their hypotheses, they courageously filled the vacuum. In that they were true to the Prophetic dictate: “Knowledge is a treasure house whose keys are queries.” [Mishkat and Abu Na’im: Ali (RA)]
Muslims should also ponder over the statement made by Mu’adh ibn Jabal (RA): “Acquire knowledge for the pleasure of Allah, for learning engenders piety, reverence for one’s Lord and fear of wrongdoing. Seeking knowledge for Allah’s pleasure is an act of worship, studying it is a celebration of God’s glory (lit. Zikr), searching for it is a rewarding struggle (lit. Jihad), teaching it to someone who realizes its worth is a charity (lit. Sadaqa), and applying it in one’s home strengthens family unity and kinship. … Knowledge is a comforting friend in times of loneliness. It is the best companion to a traveler. It is the innermost friend who speaks to you in your privacy. Knowledge is your most effective sword against your foe, and finally, it is your most dignifying raiment in the company of your close comrades.” [Hilyat’ul Awliya Wa Tabaqat’ul Asfiya]
Similarly, Sharafuddin Maneri (R) said, “Knowledge is the fountainhead of all happiness, just as ignorance is the starting point of all wretchedness. Salvation comes from knowledge, destruction from ignorance.” [Maktubat-i Sadi]
2). Quality of leadership and Government patronage:
In the early days of Islam, Muslim rulers were not only the great patrons of learning they were great scholars themselves. They surrounded themselves with learned men: philosophers, legal experts, traditionalists, theologians, lexicographers, annalists, poets, mathematicians, scientists, engineers, architects and doctors. Scholars held high ranks in their courts. They built libraries, academies, universities, research centers, observatories and astrolabes. They invited scholars of all races and religions to flock to their capitals. Thus the cities they built became intellectual metropolises in every sense of the term. Like today’s MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, their universities were then the most sought after academies.
And what do we have today? Most of the rulers in Muslim countries are half-educated individuals, who are surrounded (with very few exceptions) by cronies whose most important qualification is not competence or education but “connections” with the ruler or his/her family.
Our rulers (with very few exceptions) are utterly corrupt and self-serving. Not surprisingly, they are surrounded by equally corrupt people who have been put into positions of authority to fatten the coffer of their patrons and peers. Thus, while the number of palaces and mansions increase exponentially, not a single university has been built by most of these rulers. Only a token fraction of the state budget is spent today on education and research. So, it is all too natural to witness the dismal record of invention from Muslim countries. Not a single university in the Muslim world ranks within the top 100 universities of the world. The brightest minds naturally are draining out of their respective countries, only to settle (with very few exceptions) in more prosperous western countries, where they can apply their talents and skills appositely.
Our society remains so much entrenched in a system of patronage and clientage that government contracts are almost always doled out on the basis of personal and professional relationships rather than what is good for our people. So a new breed of half-literate billionaires has emerged who sees no value in education or its patronizing.
Why this behavior, when Islam teaches that anyone who is seeking after virtue should keep company with the virtuous and should take no companion with him on his way except the noblest friend - one of those people who is learned, sympathetic, charitable, truthful, sociable, patient, trustworthy, magnanimous, pure in conscience and a true friend? [5]
So if Muslim countries want to regain their lost heritage in knowledge, they must retrace their path that once made them successful and discard the current aberrant methodology that only leads to doom and gloom.
Let me again quote here from Carli Fiorina, who said, “Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership. And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population-that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions. This kind of enlightened leadership - leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage - led to 800 years of invention and prosperity.”
Would our leaders take heed and amend their actions?
3). Going beyond the expected:
As I hinted above, Muslims are far behind in every field of learning. Simply going with the flow or doing just the bare minimum is simply not sufficient to close this widening gap. Our strategy ought to be - going beyond the normal call of duty, doing extra things. To elucidate this point, let me here close with a story from our Prophet’s time.
Talha bin 'Ubaidullah narrated that a man from Najd with unkempt hair came to Allah's Apostle and we heard his loud voice but could not understand what he was saying, till he came near and then we came to know that he was asking about Islam. Allah's Apostle said, "You have to offer prayers perfectly five times in a day and night (24 hours)." The man asked, "Is there any more (praying)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to offer the Nawafil prayers (you can)." Allah's Apostle further said to him: "You have to observe fasts during the month of Ramad, an." The man asked, "Is there any more fasting?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, but if you want to observe the Nawafil fasts (you can.)" Then Allah's Apostle further said to him, "You have to pay the Zakat (obligatory charity)." The man asked, "Is there any thing other than the Zakat for me to pay?" Allah's Apostle replied, "No, unless you want to give alms of your own." And then that man retreated saying, "By Allah! I will neither do less nor more than this." Allah's Apostle said, "If what he said is true, then he will be successful (i.e. he will be granted Paradise)."
Here in this hadith lies the formula for rejuvenating the Muslim nation. May we be guided to reclaim our lost heritage!
Notes:
]1]. See hadith collections by Imams Ibn Majah and Baihaqi.
[2]. Consult this author’s book – Islamic Wisdom – for many such hadiths and sayings of learned men of Islam.
[3]. Hilyat’ul Awliya wa Tabaqatul Asfiya by Imam Abu Na’im al-Asfahani (R).
[4]. See Imam Ibn Hajm’s writing: “Al-Akhlaq wa’l Siyar" – Morality and Behaviour, published in "In Pursuit of Virtue" by M. Abu Laylah, Ta-Ha Publishers 1990.
[5]. ibid.
Bibliography:
World Book Encyclopedia
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Chronology of Science & Discovery - by Isaac Asimov
Introduction to the History of Science - by George Sarton
History of the intellectual development of Europe - by John William Draper
The making of humanity - by Robert Briffault
Decline and Fall of Roman Empire - by Edward Gibbon
Legacy of Islam - by Sir Thomas W. Arnold and Alfred Guillaume
The Miracle of Islamic Science - by Dr. K Ajram
The Arabian Connection: A Consiparcy Against Humanity - by Kasem Khaleel
Muslim History: 570-1950 C.E. - by Akram Zahoor
Further Reading:
Setting the Record Straight: What is taught in the West about Science and What Should be Taught
by Kasem Ajram
http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/20380
Islamic Intellectualism
by Murad Wilfried Hofmann
http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/2077
Pre-Columbian Muslims in the Americas
by Dr. Youssef Mroueh
http://www.mediamonitors.net/youssefmroueh1.html
The Islamic Community In The United States: Historical Development
by Muhammed Abdullah Ahari
http://www.mediamonitors.net/muhammedabdullahahari1.html
Turkish Language and the Native Americans :: Traces of the Altaic Words "ATA", "APA", "ANA" and Their Derivatives in the Languages of Some of the Native Peoples of Americas ::
by Polat Kaya
http://www.mediamonitors.net/polatkaya1.html
The Melungeons :: An Untold Story of Ethnic cleansing in America ::
by Brent Kennedy
http://www.mediamonitors.net/brentkennedy1.html
Related / External Link (s):
http://www.1001inventions.com/
http://www.cyberistan.org/
http://www.muslimheritage.com
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/history/chronology/
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/introduction/woi_knowledge.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/islam/islamsbook.html
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Source:
http://world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/24937/
