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In the history of science, Islamic science refers to the science developed under the Islamic civilisation between the 8th and 15th centuries (the Islamic Golden Age).^[1] It is also known as Arabic science due to most texts during this period being written in Arabic, the lingua franca of the Islamic civilization. Despite these names, not all scientists during this period were Muslim or Arab, as there were a number of notable non-Arab scientists, as well as some non-Muslim scientists, contributing to science in the Islamic civilization. Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of a body of techniques known as scientific methods, emphasizing the observation, experimentation and scientific explanation of real world phenomena. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1020x1508, 359 KB) Book cover Frontispiece of : Tabulae Rudolphinae : quibus astronomicae . ... The sociology and philosophy of science, as well as the entire field of science studies, have in the 20th century been preoccupied with the question of large-scale patterns and trends in the development of science, and asking questions about how science works both in a philosophical and practical sense. ... The historiography of science is the historical study of the history of science (which often overlaps the history of technology, the history of medicine, and the history of mathematics). ... A pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purported to be scientific or supported by science but which fails to comply with the scientific method. ... In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. ... The Ptolemaic system of celestial motion, from Harmonia Macrocosmica, 1661. ... The history of science in the Middle Ages refers to the discoveries in the field of natural philosophy throughout the Middle Ages - the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance. ... The event which many historians of science call the scientific revolution can be dated roughly as having begun in 1543, the year in which Nicolaus Copernicus published his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) and Andreas Vesalius published his De humani corporis fabrica (On the... Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature, known in Latin as philosophia naturalis, is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, and astrological practices of pre-history: vestiges of these are still found in astrology, a discipline long interwoven with public and governmental astronomy, and not completely disentangled from it until a... The history of biology dates as far back as the rise of various civilization as classic philosophers did their own ways of biology as a system of understanding life. ... Portrait of Monsieur Lavoisier and his Wife, by Jacques-Louis David The history of chemistry may be said to begin with the distinction of chemistry from alchemy by Robert Boyle in his work The Sceptical Chymist (1661). ... ÛEcology is generally spoken of as a new science, having only become prominent in the second half of the 20th Century. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The history of paleontology has been an ongoing effort to understand the history of life on Earth by understanding the fossil record left behind by living organisms. ... Since antiquity, human beings have sought to understand the workings of nature: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, the character of the universe such as the form of the Earth and the behavior of celestial objects such as the Sun and the Moon... For more, see: Social science#History In ancient philosophy, there was no difference between the liberal arts of mathematics and the study of history, poetry or politics—only with the development of mathematical proof did there gradually arise a perceived difference between scientific disciplines and others, the humanities or liberal... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into History of economics. ... Efforts to describe and explain the human language faculty have been undertaken throughout recorded history. ... Antecedents of political science While the study of politics is first found in the Western tradition in Ancient Greece, political science is a late arrival in terms of social sciences. ... The history of psychology as a scholarly study of the mind and behavior dates, in Europe, back to the Late Middle Ages. ... Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline among other social sciences including economics, political science, anthropology, and psychology. ... The wheel was invented circa 4000 BC, and has become one of the worlds most famous, and most useful technologies. ... Agronomy today is very different from what it was before about 1950. ... The history of computer science began long before the modern discipline of computer science that emerged in the twentieth century. ... The History of materials science is rooted in the history of the Earth and the culture of the peoples of the Earth. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Chronologies or timelines are important in understanding history. ... Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of a body of techniques known as scientific methods, emphasizing the observation, experimentation and scientific explanation of real world phenomena. ... Nations with a Muslim majority appear in green, while nations that are approximately 50% Muslim appear yellow. ... Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Lingua franca, literally Frankish language in Italian, was originally a mixed language consisting largely of Italian plus a vocabulary drawn from Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic and used for communication throughout the Middle East. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ...

A number of modern scholars, notably Robert Briffault, Oliver Joseph Lodge, Will Durant, Fielding H. Garrison, Alexander von Humboldt, Muhammad Iqbal, and Abdus Salam, consider modern science to have begun in the Islamic civilization, in particular, due to the development of the scientific method by Muslim scientists. Robert Briffault (1876 - 11 December 1948) was a French novelist, social anthropologist and surgeon. ... Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (June 12, 1851 - August 22, 1940), born at Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent and educated at Adams Grammar School, was a physicist and writer involved in the development of the wireless telegraph. ... Will Durant William James Durant (November 5, 1885–November 7, 1981) was an American philosopher, historian, and writer. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... An 1859 portrait of Alexander von Humboldt by the artist Julius Schrader, showing Mount Chimborazo in the background. ... Sir Muhammad Iqbāl (Urdu/Persian: ‎ ) (November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938) was an Indian Muslim poet, philosopher and politician, whose poetry in Persian and Urdu is regarded as among the greatest in modern times. ... Abdus Salam at Nobel Prize ceremony with the King of Sweden Dr. Abdus Salam (Urdu: عبد السلام) (January 29, 1926 at Santokdas, Sahiwal in Punjab – 21 November 1996 in Oxford, England) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979 for his work in electroweak theory which... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... Islamic science has been an important part of the history of science and the present day. ...

Overview

Rise

Further information: Islamic Golden Age

During the early Muslim conquests, the Muslim Arabs led by Khalid ibn al-Walid conquered the Sassanid Persian Empire and much of the Byzantine Roman Empire, establishing the Arab Empire across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, followed by further expansions across Pakistan, southern Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. As a result, the Islamic governments inherited "the knowledge and skills of the ancient Middle East, of Greece, of Persia and of India. They added new and important innovations from outside, such as positional numbering from Ancient India," as Bernard Lewis wrote in What Went Wrong? Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... Age of the Caliphs The initial Muslim conquests (632–732), also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests,[1] began after the death of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... Khālid ibn al-WalÄ«d (592-642) (Arabic: خالد بن الوليد) also known as Sayf-Allah al-Maslul (the Drawn Sword of God or Sword of Allah), was one of the two famous Arab generals during the Muslim conquests of the 7th Century. ... After Islamic Conquest  Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Iran  Iraq  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan  This box:      The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: []) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226–651). ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... The Arab Empire at its greatest extent The Arab Empire usually refers to the following Caliphates: Rashidun Caliphate (632 - 661) Umayyad Caliphate (661 - 750) - Successor of the Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Emirate in Islamic Spain (750 - 929) Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in Islamic Spain (929 - 1031) Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... North Africa is the Mediterranean, northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The Islamic conquest and domination of Sicily (as well as parts of southern Italy) is a process whose origin must be traced back in the general expansion of Islam from the 7th century onwards (see Muslim conquests for more details). ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... The History of India begins with the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to 1700 BC. This Bronze Age civilization was followed by the Iron Age Vedic period, which witnessed the rise of major kingdoms known as the Mahajanapadas. ... Prof. ... What Went Wrong? : Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response is a book by Bernard Lewis released in January 2002. ...

Another innovation was paper - originally a secret tightly guarded by the Chinese. The art of papermaking was obtained from two prisoners at the Battle of Talas (751), resulting in paper mills being built in Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improved upon the Chinese techniques using linen rags instead of mulberry bark. A blank sheet of paper Paper is a commodity of thin material produced by the amalgamation of fibers, typically vegetable fibers composed of cellulose, which are subsequently held together by hydrogen bonding. ... The Diamond Sutra of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, the oldest dated printed book in the world, found at Dunhuang, from 868 AD. Papermaking is the process of making paper, a material which is ubiquitous today for writing and packaging. ... Combatants Abbasid Caliphate Tang Dynasty Commanders Ziyad ibn Salih (Persian)[3][4] Gao Xianzhi (Goguryeo)[3] Li Siye (Chinese)[3] Duan Xiushi (Chinese)[3] Strength The number of troops from Arab protectorates was not recorded by either side. ... International Paper Companys Kraft paper mill in Georgetown, South Carolina. ... Samarkand (Tajik: Самарқанд, Persian: ‎ , Uzbek: , Russian: ), population 412,300 in 2005, is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. ... Baghdad (Arabic: ) is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate. ... Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. ... Species See text. ...

Much of this learning and development can be linked to geography. Even prior to Islam's presence, the city of Mecca served as a center of trade in Arabia and the Islamic prophet Muhammad was a merchant. The tradition of the pilgrimage to Mecca became a center for exchanging ideas and goods. The influence held by Muslim merchants over African-Arabian and Arabian-Asian trade routes was tremendous. As a result, Islamic civilization grew and expanded on the basis of its merchant economy, in contrast to their Christian, Indian and Chinese peers who built societies from an agricultural landholding nobility. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... The Quran identifies a number of men as prophets of Islam. ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... The Hajj or Haj is the Pilgrimage to Mecca (or, Makkah) and is the fifth of the Five Pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so is obliged to make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. ...

The number of important and original Arabic works written on the mathematical sciences is much larger than the combined total of Latin and Greek works on the mathematical sciences.^[2] Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Scientific method

Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) has been described as the "father of optics", the "pioneer of the modern scientific method", the "founder of psychophysics and experimental psychology", and the "first scientist". He was also the first to discover Fermat's principle of least time, Newton's first law of motion, and a general formula for integral calculus using an early inductive proof. He also laid the foundations for telescopic astronomy.

Muslim scientists placed far greater emphasis on experiment than had the Greeks. This led to the modern scientific method being developed in the Muslim world, where significant progress in methodology was made. In particular, the empirical experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) on optics from circa 1000 is seen as the beginning of the modern scientific method.^[3] Another leading exponent of the experimental method was Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī.^[4] The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Image File history File linksMetadata Ibn_haithem_portrait. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ibn_haithem_portrait. ... (Arabic: أبو علي الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم, Latinized: Alhacen or (deprecated) Alhazen) (965 – 1039), was a Muslim polymath, anatomist, astronomer, engineer, mathematician, mechanician, ophthalmologist, philosopher, physician, physicist, psychologist, and scientist, who made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as astronomy, analytic geometry, infinitesimal and integral calculus, mechanics, motion, number theory, and visual perception... For the book by Sir Isaac Newton, see Opticks. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... Psychophysics is the branch of cognitive psychology dealing with the relationship between physical stimuli and their perception. ... Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Fermats principle assures that the angles given by Snells law always reflect lights quickest path between P and Q. Fermats principle in optics states: This principle was first stated by Pierre de Fermat. ... Newtons First and Second laws, in Latin, from the original 1687 edition of the Principia Mathematica. ... The integral of f(x) from a to b is the area above the x-axis and below the curve y = f(x), minus the area below the x-axis and above the curve, for x in the interval [a,b]. Integration is a core concept of advanced mathematics, specifically... Calculus (from Latin, pebble or little stone) is a branch of mathematics that includes the study of limits, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series, and constitutes a major part of modern university education. ... Mathematical induction is a method of mathematical proof typically used to establish that a given statement is true of all natural numbers. ... In mathematics, a proof is a demonstration that, assuming certain axioms, some statement is necessarily true. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex-+-periri, of (or from) trying), is a set of actions concerning phenomena. ... Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena and acquiring new knowledge, as well as for correcting and integrating previous knowledge. ... Nations with a Muslim majority appear in green, while nations that are approximately 50% Muslim appear yellow. ... In philosophy generally, empiricism is a theory of knowledge emphasizing the role of experience in the formation of ideas, while discounting the notion of innate ideas. ... (Arabic: أبو علي الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم, Latinized: Alhacen or (deprecated) Alhazen) (965 – 1039), was a Muslim polymath, anatomist, astronomer, engineer, mathematician, mechanician, ophthalmologist, philosopher, physician, physicist, psychologist, and scientist, who made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as astronomy, analytic geometry, infinitesimal and integral calculus, mechanics, motion, number theory, and visual perception... For the book by Sir Isaac Newton, see Opticks. ... (September 15, 973 in Kath, Khwarezm – December 13, 1048 in Ghazni) was a Persian [1][2][3] polymath and scientist of the 11th Century, whose experiments and discoveries were as significant and diverse as those of Leonardo da Vinci or Galileo, five hundred years before the Renaissance; al-Biruni was... In philosophy generally, empiricism is a theory of knowledge emphasizing the role of experience in the formation of ideas, while discounting the notion of innate ideas. ...

Rosanna Gorini writes:

"According to the majority of the historians al-Haytham was the pioneer of the modern scientific method. With his book he changed the meaning of the term optics and established experiments as the norm of proof in the field. His investigations are based not on abstract theories, but on experimental evidences and his experiments were systematic and repeatable."^[5] A historian is an individual who studies history and who writes on history. ...

Ibn al-Haytham, who is now known as the father of optics,^[6] used the scientific method to obtain the results in his Book of Optics. In particular, he combined observations, experiments and rational arguments to show that his modern intromission theory of vision, where rays of light are emitted from objects rather than from the eyes, is scientifically correct, and that the ancient emission theory of vision supported by Ptolemy and Euclid (where the eyes emit rays of light), and the ancient intromission theory supported by Aristotle (where objects emit physical particles to the eyes), were both wrong.^[7] It is known that Roger Bacon (who is sometimes erroneously given credit for the scientific method) was familiar with Ibn al-Haytham's work. For the book by Sir Isaac Newton, see Opticks. ... The title page of a 1572 Latin manuscript of Ibn al-Haythams Book of Optics The Book of Optics (Arabic: Kitab al-Manazir, Latin: De Aspectibus or Perspectiva) was a seven volume treatise on optics written by the Iraqi Muslim scientist Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhacen or Alhazen... This does not cite any references or sources. ... In optics, a ray is an idealized narrow beam of light. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Emission theory has at least two meanings: First, it refers to Newtons proposal that light is emitted from luminous objects in the form of particles or corpuscles. ... A medieval artists rendition of Claudius Ptolemaeus Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: ; ca. ... Euclid (Greek: ), also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician of the Hellenistic period who flourished in Alexandria, Egypt, almost certainly during the reign of Ptolemy I (323 BC-283 BC). ... Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... For the Nova Scotia premier see Roger Bacon (politician). ...

The development of the scientific method is considered to be so fundamental to modern science that some — especially philosophers of science and practicing scientists — consider earlier inquiries into nature to be pre-scientific. Some have described Ibn al-Haytham as the "first scientist" for this reason.^[8] Robert Briffault wrote in The Making of Humanity: Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of science, especially in the natural sciences and social sciences. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Robert Briffault (1876 - 11 December 1948) was a French novelist, social anthropologist and surgeon. ...

"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence. The ancient world was, as we saw, pre- scientific. The astronomy and mathematics of the Greeks were a foreign importation never thoroughly acclimatized in Greek culture. The Greeks systematized, generalized and theorized, but the patient ways of investigation, the accumulation of positive knowledge, the minute methods of science, detailed and prolonged observation, experimental inquiry, were altogether alien to the Greek temperament. [...] What we call science arose in Europe as a result of a new spirit of inquiry, of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, measurement, of the development of mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Arabs."^[9] Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predominantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Roman Catholicism, Alawite Islam, Druzism, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ...

Science is the most momentous contribution of Arab civilization to the modern world, but its fruits were slow in ripening. Not until long after Moorish culture had sunk back into darkness did the giant to which it had given birth, rise in his might. It was not science only which brought Europe back to life. Other and manifold influences from the civilization of Islam communicated its first glow to European life."^[10] Map of Arab League states in dark green with non-Arab areas in light green and Mauritania, Somalia and Djibouti in striped green due to their Arab League membership but non-Arab population. ... The term Modern Times is used by historians to loosely describe the period of time immediately following what is known as the Early Modern Times. ... The Moors were the medieval Muslim inhabitants of the western Mediterranean and western Sahara, including: al-Maghrib (the coastal and mountain lands of present day Morocco and Algeria, and Tunisia although Tunisia often is separately called Ifriqiya after the former Roman province of Africa); al-Andalus (the former Islamic sovereign...

Oliver Joseph Lodge wrote in the Pioneers of Science: Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge (June 12, 1851 - August 22, 1940), born at Penkhull in Stoke-on-Trent and educated at Adams Grammar School, was a physicist and writer involved in the development of the wireless telegraph. ...

"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia."^[11] This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Arab Empire at its greatest extent The Arab Empire usually refers to the following Caliphates: Rashidun Caliphate (632 - 661) Umayyad Caliphate (661 - 750) - Successor of the Rashidun Caliphate Umayyad Emirate in Islamic Spain (750 - 929) Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba in Islamic Spain (929 - 1031) Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258...

"It is clear from the large number of Qur’anic verses, a few of which have been quoted above, and from the writings of numerous eastern as well as western scholars, that modern science owes its very existence to Islam. The new spirit of enquiry and the new methods of experiment, observation, and measurement, on which modern science is based, are all contributions of those who followed the teaching of Islam."^[12]

George Sarton, the father of the history of science, wrote: George Alfred Leon Sarton (1884-1956) was a seminal Belgian-American polymath and historian of science. ... Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of a body of techniques known as scientific methods, emphasizing the observation, experimentation and scientific explanation of real world phenomena. ...

"The main, as well as the least obvious, achievement of the Middle Ages was the creation of the experimental spirit and this was primarily due to the Muslims down to the 12th century."^[13]

Muhammad Iqbal wrote in The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam: Sir Muhammad Iqbāl (Urdu/Persian: ‎ ) (November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938) was an Indian Muslim poet, philosopher and politician, whose poetry in Persian and Urdu is regarded as among the greatest in modern times. ... The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam is a book by Muhammad Iqbal on Islamic philosophy, which was published in 1930. ...

"Thus the experimental method, reason and observation introduced by the Arabs were responsible for the rapid advancement of science during the medieval times."^[14]

Decline

Further information: Islamic Golden Age

From the 12th century onwards, Islamic science and the numbers of Islamic scientists began declining. After the 13th century, the Islamic civilization would still produce occasional scientists but they became the exception, rather than the rule (see List of Islamic scholars). Some historians have recently come to question the traditional picture of decline, pointing to continued astronomical activity as a sign of a continuing and creative scientific tradition through to the 15th century, of which the work of Ibn al-Shatir (1304–1375) in Damascus is considered the most noteworthy example.^[15][16] Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... Islamic scholars are Muslim and non-Muslim scholars who work in one or more fields of Islamic studies. ... Ibn al-Shatir (or Ibn ash-Shatir) (1304–1375) was a Muslim astronomer of Damascus. ...

One reason for the scientific decline can be traced back to the 10th century when the orthodox school of Ash'ari challenged the more rational school of Mu'tazili theology, or even earlier when caliph Al-Mutawakkil (847-861) attempted to suppress the Mu'tazili theology. The orthodox Sunni Muslims fought the Shia Muslims and other Muslim branches, as well as several invaders, such as the Crusaders and Mongols, on Islamic lands between the 11th and 13th centuries. The Ashari (Arabic الأشعرية al-ash`aryah) is a school of early Muslim philosophy named after its founder, the theologian Abu lHasan al-Ashari (d. ... Mutazilah (Arabic المعتزلة al-mu`tazilah) is a theological school of thought within Islam. ... Al-Mutawakkil Ala Allah Jafar bin al-Mutasim (821–861) (Arabic: المتوكل على الله جعفر بن المعتصم) was an Abbasid caliph who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... Expansion of the Mongol Empire Another picture of Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Их Монгол Улс, literally meaning Greater Mongol Nation; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous land empire in history, covering over 33 million km² [1] (12 million square miles) at its peak, with an estimated population of over 100 million...

Another important reason for the rapid decline of Islamic science was the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. As they made their way across Central Asia, the Mongols destroyed Muslim libraries, observatories, hospitals, and universities, culminating in the sack of Baghdad, the Abbasid capital and intellectual centre, in 1258. The destruction of Baghdad marked the end of the Islamic Golden Age.^[17] Expansion of the Mongol Empire Another picture of Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Их Монгол Улс, literally meaning Greater Mongol Nation; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous land empire in history, covering over 33 million km² [1] (12 million square miles) at its peak, with an estimated population of over 100 million... Combatants Mongols Abbasid Caliphate Commanders Hulagu Khan Guo Kan Caliph Al-Mustasim Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties Unknown, but believed minimal Military, 50,000(est. ... Abbasid Caliphate (Abbasid Khalifat) and contemporary states and empires in 820. ... Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ...

In the end, the more strict Ash'ari school replaced Mu'tazili thoughts in the Islamic lands. That replacement and numerous wars and conflicts created a climate which made Islamic science less successful than before.

With the fall of Islamic Spain in 1492, scientific and technological initiative generally passed to Christian Europe and led to what we now call the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ... The Age of Enlightenment (French: ; German: ) was an eighteenth century movement in European and American philosophy, or the longer period including the Age of Reason. ...

Influence on European science

Further information: Latin translations of the 12th century

Contributing to the growth of European science was the major search by European scholars for new learning which they could only find among Muslims, especially in Islamic Spain and Sicily. These scholars translated new scientific and philosophical texts from Arabic into Latin. The 12th century saw a major search by European scholars for new learning, which led them to the Arabic fringes of Europe, especially to Spain and Sicily. ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... The Islamic conquest and domination of Sicily (as well as parts of southern Italy) is a process whose origin must be traced back in the general expansion of Islam from the 7th century onwards (see Muslim conquests for more details). ... The 12th century saw a major search by European scholars for new learning, which led them to the Arabic fringes of Europe, especially to Spain and Sicily. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

One of the most productive translators in Spain was Gerard of Cremona, who translated 87 books from Arabic to Latin,^[18] including Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī's On Algebra and Almucabala, Jabir ibn Aflah's Elementa astronomica,^[19] al-Kindi's On Optics, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī's On Elements of Astronomy on the Celestial Motions, al-Farabi's On the Classification of the Sciences,^[20] the chemical and medical works of al-Razi,^[21] the works of Thabit ibn Qurra and Hunayn ibn Ishaq,^[22] and the works of Arzachel, Jabir ibn Aflah, the Banū Mūsā, Abū Kāmil Shujā ibn Aslam, Abu al-Qasim, and Ibn al-Haytham (including the Book of Optics).^[18] Gerard of Cremona (Gherardo) (Cremona, Lombardy, c. ... (Arabic: ) was a Persian[1] mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer. ... A page from the book (Arabic for The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), also known under a shorter name spelled as Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala and other transliterations) is a mathematical book written approximately 820 AD by the Persian... Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Aflah (Arabic: , born 1100 in Seville, Spain - died 1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician whose works, once translated into Latin, influenced later European mathematicians. ... Abū-Yūsuf Ya’qūb ibn Ishāq al-Kindī (c. ... also known as Alfraganus in the West was a Persian[1] [2][3] Muslim astronomer and one of the famous astronomers in 9th century. ... Al Farabi (870-950) was born of a Turkish family and educated by a Christian physician in Baghdad, and was himself later considered a teacher on par with Aristotle. ... Alchemy in Islam differs from the general alchemy in certain ways, one of which is that Muslim alchemists didnt believe in the creation of life in the laboratory. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Abul Hasan Thabit ibn Qurra ibn Marwan al-Sabi al-Harrani, (826 – February 18, 901) was an Arab astronomer and mathematician. ... Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (809—873) was Nestorian physician in the House of Wisdom. ... For other meanings, see Arzachel (disambiguation) Al-Zarqali (in full Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Yahya Al-Zarqali, Arzachel to Latin Europe), (1028–1087 CE), was a leading Arab mathematician and the foremost astronomer of his time. ... Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Aflah (Arabic: , born 1100 in Seville, Spain - died 1150) was an Arab Muslim astronomer and mathematician whose works, once translated into Latin, influenced later European mathematicians. ... It has been suggested that Ahmad ibn MÅ«sā ibn Shākir be merged into this article or section. ... (c. ... Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (936 - 1013), (Arabic: أبو القاسم بن خلف بن العباس الزهراوي) also known in the West as Abulcasis, was an Andalusian-Arab physician, and scientist. ... (Arabic: أبو علي الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم, Latinized: Alhacen or (deprecated) Alhazen) (965 – 1039), was a Muslim polymath, anatomist, astronomer, engineer, mathematician, mechanician, ophthalmologist, philosopher, physician, physicist, psychologist, and scientist, who made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as astronomy, analytic geometry, infinitesimal and integral calculus, mechanics, motion, number theory, and visual perception... The title page of a 1572 Latin manuscript of Ibn al-Haythams Book of Optics The Book of Optics (Arabic: Kitab al-Manazir, Latin: De Aspectibus or Perspectiva) was a seven volume treatise on optics written by the Iraqi Muslim scientist Ibn al-Haytham (Latinized as Alhacen or Alhazen...

Other Arabic works translated into Latin during the 12th century include the works of Muhammad ibn Jābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī and Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (including The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing),^[19] the works of Abu al-Qasim (including the al-Tasrif),^[23][18] Muhammad al-Fazari's Great Sindhind (based on the Surya Siddhanta and the works of Brahmagupta),^[24] the works of al-Razi and Avicenna (including The Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine),^[25] the works of Averroes,^[23] the works of Thabit ibn Qurra, al-Farabi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, and his nephew Hubaysh ibn al-Hasan,^[26] the works of al-Kindi, Abraham bar Hiyya's Liber embadorum, Ibn Sarabi's (Serapion Junior) De Simplicibus,^[23] the works of Qusta ibn Luqa,^[27] the works of Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti, Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, and al-Ghazali,^[18] the works of Nur Ed-Din Al Betrugi, including On the Motions of the Heavens,^[28][21] Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi's medical encyclopedia, The Complete Book of the Medical Art,^[21] Abu Mashar's Introduction to Astrology,^[29] the works of Maimonides, Ibn Zezla (Byngezla), Masawaiyh, Serapion, al-Qifti, and Albe'thar.^[30] Abū Kāmil Shujā ibn Aslam's Algebra,^[19] the chemical works of Geber, and the De Proprietatibus Elementorum, an Arabic work on geology written by a pseudo-Aristotle.^[21] At the close of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries, Mark of Toledo translated the Qur'an and various medical works.^[31] (c. ... (Arabic: ) was a Persian[1] mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and geographer. ... A page from the book (Arabic for The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), also known under a shorter name spelled as Hisab al-jabr w’al-muqabala, Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabala and other transliterations) is a mathematical book written approximately 820 AD by the Persian... Abu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi (936 - 1013), (Arabic: أبو القاسم بن خلف بن العباس الزهراوي) also known in the West as Abulcasis, was an Andalusian-Arab physician, and scientist. ... Al-Tasrif was an influential medieval treatise on medicine. ... Abu abdallah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Fazari was a Persian philosopher and mathematician. ... This article aims at providing a thorough (but not verse by verse) exposition of most important topics of and problems related to Surya Siddhanta and its comparison with ancient and modern astronomy, together with its use in astrology. ... Brahmagupta (ब्रह्मगुप्त) (598-668) was an Indian mathematician and astronomer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... The Book of Healing is a scientific encyclopedia written by the great Persian physician and philosopher Ibn Sina of Persia in the 10th century. ... A Latin copy of the Canon of Medicine, dated 1484, located at the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. ... Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes (1126 – December 10, 1198), was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Abul Hasan Thabit ibn Qurra ibn Marwan al-Sabi al-Harrani, (826 – February 18, 901) was an Arab astronomer and mathematician. ... Al Farabi (870-950) was born of a Turkish family and educated by a Christian physician in Baghdad, and was himself later considered a teacher on par with Aristotle. ... also known as Alfraganus in the West was a Persian[1] [2][3] Muslim astronomer and one of the famous astronomers in 9th century. ... Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (809—873) was Nestorian physician in the House of Wisdom. ... Abū-Yūsuf Ya’qūb ibn Ishāq al-Kindī (c. ... Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi (Hebrew: אברהם בר חייא הנשיא Abraham son of [Rabbi] Hiyya the Prince) (1070–1136?) was a Spanish Jewish mathematician and astronomer, also known as Savasorda (from the Arabic صاحب الشرطة Sâhib ash-Shurta Chief of the Guard). He lived in Barcelona during his life. ... Serapion, or Sarapion (Fl. ... Qusta ibn Luqa (820-912) (Costa ben Luca, Constabulus)[1]. was a Melkite physician, scientist and translator, of Greek extraction. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Jafar ibn Muhammad Abu Mashar al-Balkhi (787 - 886) was a Persian astronomer and mathematician from Balkh, in todays Afghanistan. ... Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-GhazzālÄ« (1058-1111) (Persian: ), known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia (modern day Iran). ... Nur Ed-Din Al Betrugi (also spelled Nur al-Din Ibn Ishaq Al-Bitruji and Abu Ishâk ibn al-Bitrogi; another spelling is al Bidrudschi) (known in the West by the Latinized name of Alpetragius) (died ca. ... Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi, also known as Masoudi, was a famous Persian physician. ... Jafar ibn Muhammad Abu Mashar al-Balkhi (787 - 886) was a Persian astronomer and mathematician from Balkh, in todays Afghanistan. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Yuhanna ibn Masawaih, also written Ibn Masawaih, Masawaiyh, and in latin Mesue, Masuya, Mesue Major, Msuya, and Mesue the Elder was an Assyrian physician [1] from the Academy of Gundishapur. ... Serapion, or Sarapion (Fl. ... (c. ... Alchemy in Islam differs from the general alchemy in certain ways, one of which is that Muslim alchemists didnt believe in the creation of life in the laboratory. ... Jabir ibn Hayyan and Geber were also pen names of an anonymous 14th century Spanish alchemist: see Pseudo-Geber. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. ... Mark of Toledo (fl. ... The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: ;, literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Alcoran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Fibonacci presented the first complete European account of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system from Arabic sources in his Liber Abaci (1202).^[21] The astronomical corrections to the Ptolemaic model made by al-Battani, Averroes, Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi (Urdi lemma), Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (Tusi-couple) and Ibn al-Shatir were later adapted into the Copernican heliocentric model. Al-Kindi's (Alkindus) law of terrestrial gravity influenced Robert Hooke's law of celestial gravity, which in turn inspired Newton's law of universal gravitation. Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī's Ta'rikh al-Hind and Kitab al-qanun al-Mas’udi were translated into Latin as Indica and Canon Mas’udicus respectively. Omar Khayyám's works on algebra and geometry were later influential in Europe from the 18th century.^[32] Leonardo of Pisa (1170s or 1180s – 1250), also known as Leonardo Pisano, Leonardo Bonacci, Leonardo Fibonacci, or, most commonly, simply Fibonacci, was an Italian mathematician, considered by some the most talented mathematician of the Middle Ages. ... The Hindu-Arabic numeral system (also called Algorism) is a positional decimal numeral system documented from the 9th century. ... Numerals sans-serif Arabic numerals, known formally as Hindu-Arabic numerals, and also as Indian numerals, Hindu numerals, Western Arabic numerals, European numerals, or Western numerals, are the most common symbolic representation of numbers around the world. ... Liber Abaci (1202) is an historic book on arithmetic by Leonardo of Pisa, known later by his nickname Fibonacci. ... This is a sub-article of Islamic science and astronomy. ... “Geocentric” redirects here. ... Al Battani (c. ... Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes (1126 – December 10, 1198), was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Mu’ayyad al-Din al-’Urdi was one of the astronomers of the Maragha observatory in Persia. ... Tusi couple from Vat. ... The Tusi couple is a 2-cusped hypocycloid obtained by rolling a circle of radius inside a circle of radius . ... Ibn al-Shatir (or Ibn ash-Shatir) (1304–1375) was a Muslim astronomer of Damascus. ... Split from main article Nicolaus Copernicus in order to concentrate on his work: // Much has been written about earlier heliocentric theories. ... Abū-Yūsuf Ya’qūb ibn Ishāq al-Kindī (c. ... The inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, their sizes to scale. ... “Gravity” redirects here. ... Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ... The celestial spheres relate to Johannes Keplers work Harmonia Mundi in which he drew together theories from the world of music, architecture, planetary motion and astronomy and linked them together to form an idea of a harmony and cohesion underlying all world phenomena and ruled by a divine force. ... Isaac Newtons theory of universal gravitation (part of classical mechanics) states the following: Every single point mass attracts every other point mass by a force pointing along the line combining the two. ... (September 15, 973 in Kath, Khwarezm – December 13, 1048 in Ghazni) was a Persian (TājÄ«k)[1][2][3] mathematician, physicist, scholar, encyclopedist, philosopher, astronomer, astrologer, traveller, historian, anthropologist, pharmacist, and teacher, who contributed greatly to the fields of mathematics, philosophy, history, anthropology, medicine, and science. ... Ghiyās ol-DÄ«n Abol-Fath Omār Ibn EbrāhÄ«m Khayyām NeyshābÅ«rÄ«, (Persian: غیاث الدین ابو الفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابوری, born: May 18, 1048 in Nishapur, Iran (Persia) – died: December 4, 1131), was a Persian poet, mathematician, philosopher and astronomer. ...

Fields

In the Middle Ages, especially during the Islamic Golden Age, Muslim scholars made significant advances in science, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, engineering, and many other fields. During this time, Islamic philosophy developed and was often pivotal in scientific debates — key figures were usually scientists and philosophers. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi (1236–1311), a Persian Astronomer. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... medicines, see Medication. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant Astronomy (also frequently referred to as astrophysics) is the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earths atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). ... Engineering is the design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. ... Islamic philosophy (الفلسفة الإسلامية) is a branch of Islamic studies, and is a longstanding attempt to create harmony between philosophy (reason) and the religious teachings of Islam (faith). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ...

An Arabic manuscript from the 13th century depicting Socrates (Soqrāt) in discussion with his pupils.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (561x664, 671 KB) Manuscript of Sughrat (Socrates) belongs to a 13th century Seljuk illustrator. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (561x664, 671 KB) Manuscript of Sughrat (Socrates) belongs to a 13th century Seljuk illustrator. ... Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... This page is about the ancient Greek philosopher. ...

Astrology

Main article: Islamic astrology

Islamic astrology, in Arabic ilm al-nujumis the study of the heavens by early Muslims. In early Arabic sources, ilm al-nujum was used to refer to both astronomy and astrology. In medieval sources, however, a clear distinction was made between ilm al-nujum (science of the stars) or ilm al-falak (science of the celestial orbs), referring to astrology, and ilm al-haya (science of the figure of the heavens), referring to astronomy. Both fields were rooted in Greek, Persian, and Indian traditions. Despite consistent critiques of astrology by scientists and religious scholars, astrological prognostication