Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was a great
scientist, physicist, astronomer, sociologist, linguist, historian and mathematician whose true worth may never be known. He is considered the father of unified field theory by Nobel Laureate - late Professor Abdus Salam. He lived nearly a thousand years ago and was a contemporary of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Sultan Mahmoud of
Ghazni.
When he was on his deathbed, Biruni was visited by a jurisprudent neighbor of his. Abu Rayhan was still
conscious, and on seeing the jurisprudent, he asked him a question on inheritance law or some other related issue. The
jurisprudent was quite amazed that a dying man should show interest in such matters.
Abu Rayhan said, "I should like to ask you: which is better, to die with knowledge or to die without
it?" The man said, "Of course, it is better to know and then die." Abu Rayhan
said, "That is why I asked my first question." Shortly after the jurisprudent had reached his
home, the cries of lamentation told him that Abu Rayhan had died. (Murtaza Motahari: Spiritual
Discourses)
That was then, nearly a millennium ago, when Muslims were the torchbearers of knowledge in a very dark world. They created an Islamic
civilization, driven by inquiry and invention, which was the envy of the rest of the world for many centuries.
In the words of Carli
Fiorina, the former highly talented and visionary, CEO of Hewlett Packard, "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. Its writers created thousands of stories; stories of
courage, romance and magic. 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 from the year 800 to
1600, which included the Ottoman Empire and the courts of Baghdad, Damascus and
Cairo, and enlightened rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent. 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 Arab
mathematicians."
Truly, there is hardly a field that is not indebted to these pioneering children of Islam. Here below is a short list,
by no means a comprehensive one, of Muslim scientists from the 8th to the 14th century CE:
1
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
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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
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 was the last time you 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?
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