Arabic Science I

The spread of Islam occurred within a very short timespan, about 200 years from the time Muhammad began to teach in Mecca. Islam's speedy expansion can be attributed to the concept of Jihad (Holy War). Such growth along with the forced conversions of pagans and the use of Arabic as a common language helped create a diverse society in which the natural philosophies flourished. After the death of Mohammad, Islamic areas were separated into small states that were governed by caliphs.  The spread of Islam also brought down political barriers in all parts of the European world that had previously been separated into several empires and warring states.  Trade with the Far East brought paper from China. The cheap material for recording and documentation helped spur translation.  Through a massive translation effort many scientific and philosophical texts that were written in several different languages became consolidated into Arabic allowing for easier consumption and criticism.

 Arabic Translation

     In Baghdad during the Abbasid Dynasty, under the supervision of caliph al-Mansur (754-75), a large effort to translate the Greek and Syriac texts of the Nestorian Christians into Arabic was undertaken. His grandson, Harud ar-Rashid (786-809), sent out for Greek manuscripts to Byzantium. The son of ar-Rahid in turn, al-Mamun (813-833) founded a reaearch institute: The House of Wisdom, which became clearinghouse for translation.

     Three of the most important translators were Hunayn ibn Ishaq, his son Ishaq ibn Hunayn, and Thabit ibn Qurra.  Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a Nestorian Christian, translated Galen, Plato's Timaeus, and some Aristotelian works.  His son, Ishaq ibn Hunayn, translated Ptolemy's Almagest, Euclid's Elements and more of Aristotle's works.  And finally, Thabit ibn Qurra translated "mathematical and astronomical treatises" (Lindberg 172). The majority of these translations were from Syriac to Arabic and done sentence by sentence to preserve the text's meaning (semantic translation). It is important to remember that due to the philosophical and mathematical complexity of these works, translation, and even more so semantic translation, required high intelligence and intense study.  Translations were also compared to other translations to ensure accuracy. By 1000 A.D., nearly all of the Greek corpus had been translated into Arabic.

     The reasons for translations of the texts ranged from practical means to plain curiosity. Galen's work was useful for developing medicine. Ptolemy's astronomical insight was needed in order to calculate times of prayer and help determine the direction of Mecca, the city to which daily prayers are directed. Aristotle's logic was used in theology and law. For the most part, Greek natural philosophy was used to aid in the practice of Islam and furthering well-being in the Islamic Commonwealth.

Places of Learning  

     The Arabic world created libraries, located in Cairo, Toledo, and many other places scattered about the Islamic world. Libraries like the "House of Sciences" in Cairo and the library at Maragha created in the 13th century.  The first observatories were also founded. At a young age, students learned the fundamentals of education, how to read and write, in a mosque or at a teacher's house.  Once mastered, students studied the Koran, other indigenous writings, poetry, and history; pedagogy focused on memorization.  Requirements of learning led to the creation of place of higher learining called madrasas - private schools for the study of law.

Notable Arabic Natural Philosophers:

• Al-Kindi: worked in philosophy and optics
• Al-Battani: Worked in Astronomy
• Al-Farghani: Worked in Astronomy
• Ibn Sina: General Natural Philosophy
• Ibn al-Haytham: Worked in Optics
• Ibn Rushd: General Natural Philosophy
• Al-Tusi: Worked in Astronomy
• Ibn ash-Shatir: Worked in Astronomy

Major Achievements

• Mathematics: Arabic numerals and the idea of “zero”, a concept which was borrowed from Indians, are of Arabic origin. Algebra is an Arabic invention as well, and while the subject was practiced differently during this time, it was used in much the same way as it is today. The idea of logarithms and trigonometry also came from the Islamic world.

• Astronomy: Observatories - institutional homes for astronomers and their activities, came into existence, and new instruments such as the quadrant were created.  Islamic astronomy was largely based on the Greek fundamentals.  The Islamic astronomers focused on mastery of Ptolemy's Almagest. They then compared Ptolemy's model against observations and made corrections where necessary.  

• Optics:

• Medicine: Critical discussions on Galen were common. Pulmonary circulation was discovered before it's inception in Western Europe.

Decline of Arabic Science

No one really knows for sure why Arabic Science declined after flourishing for 100s of years.

Primary Sources

Key Terms and Definitions

Caliph:  The succesive leaders of Islam and the Muslim world after Mohammed's death.

Koran:  The holy book of Islam containing the teachings of Mohammed.

Mosque:  A place of worship in the Islamic religion, also where some religious study was done in Islamic faith.

muqqawit:  A nmuslim timekeeper usually employed in mosques in order to find prayer times and other calendric tasks.

House of Wisdom: started by Caliph Al-Mamun and was the "clearing house" for the translation of the documents brought from around the known world. 

Madrasas: schools of religious thought and institutions of learning similar to colleges today.

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