In the modern world Islam is seen as many things, but rarely is it acknowledged as a source of inspiration and enlightenment. The verses of the Quran are enlightening, but many do not appreciate the scholarly pursuits and achievements Islam contributed to during the middle Ages. While Europe was in the midst of darkness, the Muslims, spurred on by the light of their new Deity, carried the torch of scholarship and science. Muslims preserved the knowledge of antiquity, elaborated upon it, and brought it to Europe.
Many do not fully appreciate the numerous scientific contributions Islamic civilization and the early Muslims made. Colonialist and Eurocentric thinking portrays Islam as backwards, suggesting its beliefs are incompatible with science and technology. Consequently Muslim youth educated in systems governed by these thought processes never learn of their glorious past, and often, the only thing they inherit is the inferiority complex of previous generations. Yet, it is common knowledge that we can learn from our past and it will shape and enrich our future.
A historical overview of why Muslims were inspired to pursue scientific knowledge
In seventh century A.D. the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent to all mankind and started his mission in Arabia. Within a decade of his death Muslims had conquered the Arabian Peninsula. A century later Islam, a belief system that unified science, theology and philosophy, had spread from Andalusia in Spain to the borders of China.
Allah commanded Muslims to study, seek knowledge, and learn and benefit from others’ experiences through the holy Quran and the prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It was this direction that enable Muslims to soar to great heights in the sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, philosophy, art and architecture.
Muslim scholars began obtaining Greek treatises and started their study and translation into Arabic a few centuries after the Hijra (622 A.D.) They critically analyzed, collated, corrected and substantially supplemented Greek science and philosophy.
Shortly thereafter the Golden Age of Islam ensued, which endured for more than two centuries. It is during this period that many of the great scientists of Islam developed and contributed to hundreds and thousands of books on the various branches of science.
A Who’s Who List of Muslim Scholars
Abu Ali Al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina, universally known as Avicenna (980-1037) authored 246 books, including Kitab-al Shifa (The Book of Healing) consisting of 20 volumes and Al-Qanun fit Tibb (The Qanun of Medicine). The Qanun was the chief guide for medical science in the West from the 12th to 17th centuries. Dr. William Osler, author of The Evolution of Modern Science, remarks, “The Qanun has remained a medical Bible for a longer period than any other work.” Containing over a million words, it provides a comprehensive survey of medical knowledge dating from ancient and Muslim sources, including Ibn Sina’s original contributions.
Ibn Sina’s original contributions included such advances as recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis; distribution of diseases by water and soil and psychological influences on physical health. The Qanun describes more than 760 drugs and became the most authentic pharmacopoeia of its era. Ibn Sina was also the first to document meningitis, and he also made rich contributions to anatomy, gynecology and children’s health.
Muslim interest in medicine dates back to the time of the Prophet (PBUH) who said every disease has a cure. Hospitals and clinics were built throughout the Muslim world. The earliest was built in 707 by Caliph Walid ibn Abd AL-Malik in Damascus. Muslims also contributed to knowledge about blood circulation, quarantine practices, apothecary shops and the earliest school of pharmacy.
Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a philosopher and physician, contributed to advances in medicine, physics, mathematics, astronomy, veterinary medicine, science and ophthalmology. He was the head of the famous school of translators founded by Caliph Mamun at Baghdad and wrote the first systemic text on ophthalmology.
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925 AD), known as Rhazes, was one of the most prolific Muslim doctors and probably second only to Ibn Sina in his accomplishments. He was born at Ray, Iran and became a student of Hunayn ibn Ishaq and later a student of Ali ibn Rabban. He authored more than 200 books, including Kitab
Al-Mansuri, ten volumes on Greek medicine, and al-Hawi, an encyclopedia of medicine in 20 volumes. The al-Hawi summarizes medical Greek and Arab medical knowledge with Rhazes original comments based on his experiences. He classified substances as vegetable, animal or mineral while other alchemists at the time divided them into “bodies”, “souls” and “spirits”.
Al-Razi was the first to oversee the Royal Hospital at Ray, and later assumed a position in Baghdad where headed up Muqtadari Hospital for many years. He found a treatment for kidney and gall bladder stones, and explained the nature of various infectious diseases. He also conducted research on smallpox and measles and was the first to introduce the use of alcohol for medical purposes. He was a strong proponent of healthy eating, recognizing nutritional value of foods as an important health factor. He also acknowledged the impact of psychological health on physical health. He experimented with remedies on animals to evaluate their effects and side effects before introducing them to humans. He was also an expert surgeon and the first to use opium as an anesthetic.
Abul Qasim al-Zahrawi (963-1013 AD), another great physician, was known as Albucasis in the West. Al-Zahrawi was a famous surgeon in his time, at the court of Caliph al-Hakam II and students and patients from the Muslim world and Europe flocked to him. He wrote the medical encyclopedia al-Tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif, which contained 30 sections of surgical knowledge and illustrations of 200 surgical instruments, most which were self-designed. The Encyclopedia became standard fare for physicians, and five centuries later it continued to be the standard textbook on surgery used in universities throughout Europe. Al-Zahrawi performed many delicate operations, including Cesareans, and was the first to use silk thread to stitch wounds.
Al-Idrisi was born in Cordova, Spain in 1099. His major contribution was in medicinal plants which he
described in many books, such as Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat al-Nabatat. He collected plants and data not reported earlier and enhanced botanical understanding. From him a large number of new drugs from plants with their evaluations became available to medical practitioners. Al-Idrisi also made original contributions to topography, as related to economics, physical factors and cultural aspects. He wrote geographical encyclopedias, the largest called Rawd-Unnas WA Nuzhalat Nafs (Pleasure of Men and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi also wrote on the subjects of fauna, zoology and therapeutically aspects. His work was soon translated into Latin and his books on geography especially remained popular in the east and west for several centuries.
Working in the field of botany as well was Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Baitar, also from Spain. He was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and one of the greatest botanists and pharmacists of the middle Ages. He went on many traveling expeditions to collect plants as far as Africa and Asia Minor. He wrote Kitab al-Jami al-Adiwaya al-Mufrada, one of the greatest botanical compilations dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic the encyclopedia was made of over 1,400 items, many of which were not known before. The book referred to the works of 150 authors, mostly Arabic and quoted about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated into Latin and published as late as 1758.
Ibn al-Baitars works were characterized by observation, analysis and classification and exerted a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western botany and medicine. Even though many of his works were translated and published late in the western languages, many earlier scientists had studied various parts of the book and made several references to it.
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