Dr Mohammed Alhaj Hussein
الإستشاري الدكتور
Dr Mohammed Alhaj Hussein
Jeddah 21499
Saudi Arabia
dralhaj2
- Muslim Media Network - http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn -
Posted By TMO On November 29, 2007 @ 2:16 pm In *The Muslim Observer, Opinion |
By Syed Aslam
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 censors threatened to wipe out knowledge from past 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 the 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 mathematicians, chemists, astronomers, geologists and physicians. This is the abstract from the speech of Carly Fiorina CEO of Hewlett-Packard delivered on September 26, 2001 in Minneapolis Minnesota at a conference.
The abstract above is not a fiction but a hard fact. Four hundred years of the golden age of Islamic civilization, starting from eight century to thirteenth century was the most splendid eras of human creativity. At its pinnacle during the thirteenth century the Cairo library had some two million books and millions of books could be found in the libraries of Spain, Baghdad, Bukhara and Damascus. During this period many brilliant scientists were born and flourished. They paved the way to the modern science and technology.
Yet if you read the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, you will find a few pages about the contribution of Muslim scientists. It is sad to say that we Muslims buried those grate achievement under the rug and totally forgot about it.
Those Muslims celebrated the power of reason and human intellect and also believed that knowledge can be achieved from any source and from any where, which was the essence of Ijtehad. This idea is not contrary to the teaching of Islam, where Qur’an commands the believer to seek rational knowledge by observation and logic.
The Prophet (s) explained us the vital importance of aggressively pursuing knowledge.
The Europeans translated the works of Muslim scientists and thinkers into their language and there schools and university flourished – finally they pulled themselves out of drake age of dogmatic Christian era into the age of Enlightenment.
By the end of seventeenth century their innovations and discoveries simply overwhelmed the Muslim world. Though late, the mighty Ottoman Empire could have caught up with the Industrial Revolution and the modern scientific knowledge from the next door European countries, but they simply ignored it.
Most of the people know more about Copernicus, Galileo and many scientists of the western world but was absolutely ignorant of our own heritage and their achievement –what a sad situation.
In this series of articles I will introduce the Muslim scientists and thinkers to our readers and try to highlight their work.
Muslim Media Network - http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn -
- Muslim Media Network - http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn -
Muslim scientists and thinkers: Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi
Posted By TMO On March 27, 2008 @ 11:31 am In *The Muslim Observer, 10-14,
By Syed Aslam
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was born in 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 center of learning of science and philosophy in the middle ages. He studied the sciences and mathematics at House of Wisdom established by Khalifa Ma’mun, which included the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. He worked and lived in Baghdad where died in the year 850 CE.
Al-Khwarizmi developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics and for this reason he called the grandfather of computer science by some people. The words “algorithm” came from Latin corruptions of his name from al-Khwarizmi to Algorisms. 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). It will be interesting to see what al-Khwarizmi wanted to say about the purpose of his book in his own word. 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 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 examining 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 synthesize 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 introduced to Arab world 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 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 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 became 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.
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. Although 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 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 the map he created. He also wrote a book 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 brilliant Muslim scientist of his time and according to G. Sarton author of History of Science: one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. 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 their universities until the 16th century. A crater on the far side of the moon is named after him.
Aslamsyed1@yahoo.com
10-14
--------------------------------------------------[12] Muslim Scientists and Thinkers — Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun
Posted By TMO On October 1, 2008 @ 3:34 pm In *The Muslim Observer, 10-41, History, Science |
By Syed Aslam
[1] Abd al-Rahman Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis 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 by heart at an early age, studied grammar, jurisprudence, hadis, 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.
Ibn Khaldun entered the service of the 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, Andalusia. The sultan welcomed and entrusted him with a diplomatic 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 fine 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, demography, sociology, cultural history and modern economics. He is also considered the father of the science of sociology. Ibn Khaldun’s main work was initially conceived as a universal history. He divided it into seven books in which the first book, commonly known as the Muqaddema, was transformed into a unique work of its own. This book is considered a masterpiece of literature on the philosophy of history and sociology. Books two to five dealt with the history of mankind up to the time of Ibn Khaldun, including the history of the Arabs, contemporary Muslim and European rulers, the ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Egyptians, and Islamic history. The sixth book covers the history of Berbers and the Maghreb, and the last volume covers the events of his own life, known as Al-Tasrif.
His 800 page book, the Muqaddema, can be divided into six parts, namely ethnology and anthropology, rural society, urban society, forms of government, economic facts, science and humanity.
This work is the essence of Ibn Khaldun’s wisdom and 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 about every field of knowledge during his day. He wrote about astronomy, astrology, and numerology, and dealt with chemistry and alchemy in a scientific way. His discussion 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 understands 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 tendency 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 an early example of political economy, and describes 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 economy from this fundamental.
Ibn Khaldun was the founder of the science of sociology, he 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 in historical writings, in particular partisanship, overconfidence 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 the favor from rulers and kings for exaggerating 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 job of a state is to restrain the natural aggression of human beings.
History is a constantly hanging 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 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 the crafts, the sciences, the arts and culture. Luxury corrupts them, and as a result they become a liability to the state, 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 nomads, like Mongols who overran the Islamic and Christian world in thirteenth century.
No doubt Ibn Khaldun was one of the most versatile universal thinkers and philosopher of the Islamic civilizations. His work has been translated into many languages both east and west, and have inspired following writers in the development of new disciplines. The British historian Arnold Toynbee called the Muqaddema the greatest work of its kind that has never been created by any mind in any time or place–the most comprehensive and illuminating analysis of how human affairs works.
Ibn Khaldun’s remained a nonentity among Muslim thinkers till the west discovered him in the 19th century as one of the great mind of the Middle Ages.
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Dr Mohammed Alhaj Hussein
Jeddah 21499
Saudi Arabia
dralhaj2