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In hi s Book of Fixed Stars , the 10th-century as tr onomer As-Sufi fol lowed the ancien t
practice o f representing the conste l la t ions by animal o r h uma n f igures or objects. Above,
representation of the northern constellation Hercules is from a 13th-century manuscr ipt
version o f As-Sufi 's work. Accord ing to t radit ion, Hercules is depicted as a dancer, but
al though he is elsewhere shown as a youth with a scimitar , here he is bear ded and
weapon less . Th is vers ion of The Book of Fixed Stars, produced in t he No rth African c ity
of Ceuta, is the only known western Islamic manuscr ip t to mention its place of origin.
An eye on the heavens
Th e i l lustrations produced in 1237 by the art ist Al-Wasit i fo r Al-Hariri 's c lass ic ta les known
as the Maqamat a re a n ou ts tand ing example o f medieval Arabi c art . (See also pages 6and 25). These miniatures and their surrounding t ext , wh ich describes th e adventures
of a witty and resourceful figure named Abu Zaid, are today preserved in the Bib lio thèqueNationale, in Paris. Below, a scene with a scientific flavour: Abu Za id meas ur es the
h e ig h t o f th e celestia l bodies with an astrolabe.
> disseminating health information. The
Adudi hospital in Baghdad was a striking
example of an insti tut ion which performed
such a role. It had 24 doctors on its staf f
an d was equ ipped with lecture halls an d
an ample library. In the late 10th century,
its fame spread fa r and wide.
Among Arab ic au tho rs who wrote on
ophthalmology an d eye diseases, a branch
of medicine that received special attention
in th e M uslim world, Hunayn ibn Ishaq
was perhaps the first to write a systematic
manual on ophthalmology, complete with
diagrams. His work was dev elo pe d b y
later authors and has surv ived unt il today.
In te n t reat ises written be tween 84 0 and
860 and co mp le te d by his student an d
nephew , Hubaysh , Hunayn discussed the
anatomy of the eye, brain, and optical
nerves, as well as the physiology, diseases,
an d treatment of the eye. Although he
copied extensive ly from Greek works, he
a dd ed m an y new, personal observations.
A l-Razi was possibly th e f ir st t o describe
pupillary reflexes.
Arabic progress in ophthalmology reach¬
ed a peak a ro un d th e year 1000 in thew ork of A li ibn Isa, an oculist of Baghdad.
His book A Treasury fo r Ophthalmologists
was a comprehensive summary of all the
achievements o f th e past. His contempo¬
rary Ammat ibn Al i A l-Mawsil i was th e first
to in tro du ce th e te ch niq ue of suction
r emova l of cataracts. He d ev is ed a nd
used a hollow needle fo r the purpose, a
technique revived in 1846 by a French
doctor, Blanchet.
This high level of per fo rmance was
continued by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen)
an d in a guide fo r oculists written by
M uh am m ad a l-G ha fiq i of Andalusia.
Al-Ghafiqi i l lustrated his manual with
pictures of the surgical instruments he
used in performing eye operations.
Th e physician-philosopher Ibn Rushd k
once stated that whosoever becomes fully Y
Stalactite fantasy
in a royal chape l
T h e r oy al c ha p el built in Palermo around
1140 by Roger II, ruler o f th e No rma n
kingdom o f S i ci ly , is famed for it s richly
painted wooden ce il ing (detai l at right)
with stalactite vaults arranged in a
honeycomb design. The paint ings,
depict ing scenes f rom princely l i fe, were
executed by Muslim artists an d constitute
th e largest surviv ing ensemble o f Mu s lim
paint ing. Special ists believe that they
were probably produced by artists
following Mesopotamian traditions and
in f luenced by th e p i c to r ia l a r t o f F a tim idEgypt (11th century) or o f Tunis.
the s un , a nd th e moon r ota te d a t c on sta nt
speed ; b irds discharged pellets fr om the ir
beaks onto cymbals to sound the hour; .
doors opened to reveal small figurines. At
regular interva ls musicians such as drunv
mers, trumpeters and tambourine players
performed on their instruments.
These automata were usually actuated
by a f loat s in king a t a constant rate in a
water reservoir. Their mechanism invo lv¬
ed the use of comp lex hyd raul ic sys temswhich later reappeared in Europe during
the Industrial Revolution, and incorporated
a type of conical valve which was f irst
mentioned in th e West b y Leona rd o da
Vinci and which came into general use in
Europe dur ing the 16th century. A great
dea l of research still remains to be done
before the sources of Leonardo s ideas
can be fully established, bu t it seems
likely that he had access to some of the
translations from Arabic made in Toledo
in the 12th century.
Arab technology was essentially based
upon the use of the e ffec ts of water pres¬
sure and ai r pressure. M ost o f the mathe¬
matical relationships that underlie these
physical phenomena had no t then been
identified, and so eng in ee rs had to draw
upon a large fund of practical experience.
Two types of mill have been known
since classical times, on e with a vertical
waterwheel that dr ives th e mil lstones
through a pair of gear whee ls , th e other
with a horizontal-vaned water-wheel with
direct drive to th e m ills to ne s. It has been
computed that the second type could
reach an output of 10 horsepower with an
efficiency of 75 per cent. From th e ac¬
counts of geographers and travellers, we
know that both types of mill were widely
used in the Islamic lands fo r grinding grain
and fo r industrial purposes.
The f ive f ull- sc a le machin e s de sc rib ed
by Al-Jazari were all designed to raise
water, and four of them incorporate
features that are of great significance in
the history of machine technology.
There is ample evidence that knowledge
of Arabic science, medicine, mathematics,
and philosophy was transmitted to Europe
in written form , but very little evidence
that engineering ideas were disseminated
in this w ay. T echn olog ica l ideas have
frequently been carried from one culture
to another by travelle rs ' reports, by the
observations of commercial agents , and
by d irec t c on ta ct s between craftsmen.
Unti l modern times, such cross-fertiliza¬
tion was probably more f requent and
more fruitful than wri t ten communica t ions .
Arabic culture, including its contributions
to the life sciences, reached its h ighest
stage of development between the 9t h
and the 11th centuries, and experienced
a number of major revivals during the 12th
and 13th cen tu ries . During this period the
West was just beginning to awaken from
th e Dark Ages.
From the 12th century to th e Renais¬
sance, v ia translation and copying activities
in Spa in , S ic il y, and Syria, the bulk ofArabic writings in all fie ld s was made
available in Latin. Despite the poor quali ty
of translation and scholarship that prevail¬
ed in the West at that time, these Latin
versions revived the spirit of learning in
Western Europe du rin g th e late Middle
Ages.
In t he life s ciences , A ra bic a uth ors n ot
only preserved the classical achievements
o f th e ancients bu t also added new an d
original data. to the fun d of human know¬
ledge, thereby contributing to the well-
being of all men everywhere.
Salah Galal
THE 3 Rs
IN THE MOSQUE
(Continued from page 34)
course o f tim e th e writings p roduced by
th e g re at early masters became textbooks
for their su cce sso rs and their s tudents . In
many cases teachers simply read ou t and
commented on these ancien t te xts ,, a
method which led to the s tagna tion of
Mus l im educa ti on for several centuries.
Discussion and questioning were tw o
other features of education in the mosques.
Students often engaged in heated debate
with their teachers and professed opinions
which were at odds with theirs. At the
same time they remained highly respectful
of their teachers views. An art of dial¬
ogue and discussion regulated by clearly
defined rules thus developed in Muslim
academic life.
In th e early days of Islam, Muslim
scho la r s t rave l led far an d wide to collect
hadi ths which certain elders had commit t¬
ed to memory, but which had never been
written down. Later scholars journeyed in
search of unusual Arabic expressions an d
syntax, and e ve ntu ally th e p ra ctice of
travelling in search of knowledge expand¬
ed to include a ll other fields of academic
l i fe.
A ll knowledge is ultimately religious
and is acquired in God's name . This prin¬
ciple underlies the transmission and acqui¬
sition of knowledge in the Muslim world.
Any secular calling must be placed in a
.divine setting, and in the last analysis the
purpose of education is to serve God.
Hisham Nashab i
A majo r contribution to scientific progress
The Arabs w ere not only responsible fo r majo r innovat ions in science and tech¬
nology. Through their translations of Greek and other scienti fic works of Ant iqui tythey also ensured the transmiss ion of knowledge that cont ribu ted to the sub¬
sequent f lowe ri ng o f Western science.
Arab scholars played a key role in the development of such scientific disciplines
as astronomy and mathematics, as well as medicine, natura l history, geography
and agronomy. One outstanding example is the 9 th -century mathemat ic ian A l-
Khawarizmi, the creator of algebra (from the Arabic al-jabp, who also gave his
name to th e word algor i thm , today used in arithmetic. This g rea t scho la r,
who has been called one of the g reatest ma themat ic ians of all t imes , also
elaborated a method of finding square roots and m ade important advan ce s in
t r igonomet ry.
The developmen t o f Arab scient if ic thought and it s impac t on medieval Europe
and world scientific progress have been discussed in several articles in the Unesco
Courier (especia l ly the June 1974 issue). More recent ly , Unesco's international
scientific quarterly Impact o f Science on Society also devoted a special issue to
Science and t he I sl am ic World (May-September 1976).