Muslim Scientists

Muslim Scientists

AL-KHAWARIZMI (780-847)

Great muslim mathematician, astronomer, historian, geographer and musician.

First person who used zero

Composed oldest works on algebra and astronomical tables

Systematized the Greek and Hindu mathematical knowledge

Introduced the method of counting based on numerals and decimal systems for the first time

Wrote famous book named Hisab-al-jabar wal Muqabla in which he gave analytical solutions of quadratic and linear equations .This book was used as principal mathematical textbook, until the 16th century by European universities.

Composed his own astronomical tables known as Zijj (ZJ), which became a model for astronomical pursuits in East and West.

Kitab-surat-al-ard was a geography book in which he gave an idea about the shape of the earth

Jabir Ibn Hayyan (721-815)

Father of modern chemistry

Prepared large number of important chemicals like NITRIC ACID, HYDROCHLORIC ACID, SULPHURIC ACID, WHITE LEAD etc.

Introduced new chemical techniques and processes like Calcination, Reduction, Sublimation, Distillation, Melting, Crystallization etc.

Gave a sound theory on Geological formation of metals.

Prepared basic lead, arsenic, antimony and carbonate from their sulphides. He also dealt with refinement of metals, preparation of steel,

Ibn Al Haitham

Born at Basrah in A.D. (975-1039) Mathematician, physicst and optician

Major contributions He is more known for his optical works which were translated in Latin Explained the refraction of light rays through transparent objects Discovered magnifying lenses Function of retina as the seat of vision First scientist who elaborated two laws of Reflection of light Pinhole camera was contructed by him He was the first person who declared that Light is a form of energy. Identified Gravity as a force His fame lies in his book Kitab-al-manazir which is on optics.

IBN-E-SINA (980-1037)

He was born in 980 C.E. at Afshana, near Bukhara. He was the most famous muslim physician, philosopher, encyclopedist, mathematician and astronomer of his time.

His major contribution to medical science was his famous book Al-Qanoon, known as the “Canon” in the West. The Qanun fi al-Tibb is an immense encyclopedia of Medicine extending over a million words. In addition the book described 760 drugs.

His contribution includes recognition of the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis; distribution of diseases by water and soil and interaction between psychology and health.

He made rich contributions to Anatomy, Gynecology and child health. In Physics his contribution comprised the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanical and such concepts as force, vacuum and infinity, specific gravity and use of air thermo-meter.

Al BIRUNI (973-1048)

Major Contributions

Explained the problems of advanced trigonometry

Gave theory that light travels faster than sound

Described and explained fully the concept of longitude and latitude

He gave idea that earth is not stationary but rotate on its axis

He learned Sanskarit language in order to investigate Indian knowledge

He accurately determined the weight of 18 stones in physics

Books

Tahqiq Al Hind (about history and social conditions of India in 11th century)

Kitab Al Jawahar (book of gems and stones of different types)

Qanun Al Masudi

AL-RAZI (RHAZES) (864-930 C.E.)

“FATHER OF PAEDIATRICS” AL-HAWI is a most monumental work of him. It is the most comprehensive encyclopedia of medicine in 20 volumes.

He was first to used animal for surgical operations .

He was first to used Opium as anesthetic during surgery .

First to classify substances into vegetables, animals and minerals.

He correctly described the  physiology of the heart  and the function of  its valves.Treatise on the  venous system,accurately describing  the function of the veins  and  their valves,

He became the first to draw clear comparison between smallpox and chicken-pox.

Kitab al-Mansoori dealt exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine. He compounded medicines and designed several instruments used in chemical investigations.

Kitab al-Asrar deals with the preparation of chemical materials and their utilization. He paved way for organic and inorganic Chemistry. He was the first to produce sulphuric acid and prepared alcohol by fermenting sweet products.

Ibn Al Naafis (12th century CE)

Reputed physician and a renowned expert on shafi'i school of jurisprudence

Discover pulmonary blood circulation, which was rediscovered three centuries later

First to describe the constitution of lungs, bronchi, and the coronary arteries

Elaborated the function of the coronary arteries as feeding the cardiac muscle

Ibn Al-Baitar (12th century)

Great Spanish muslim Botanist and Pharmacist .

He Classified and gave names of plants kingdom over which modern botany is based

Gathered herbs and new plants from spain to Syria and extracted medicines from them.

Laid foundation of herbal medicines. His work was considered as authority in plants.

Kitab AL-Jami Fi Adwiya Al Mughani( 20 chapters dealing with diseases of head, ear, cosmetics and fever)

Kitab AL-Jami Fi Adwiya Al Mufzada (encyclopedia in Botany in which 1400 medical drugs are described)

NASEER AL-DIN AL-TUSI(1201-1274 A.D.)

He was born in Tus (Khurasan) in 1201 A.D.

He was one of the greatest muslim scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, astronomers, theologians and physicians of the time and was a prolific writer. He wrote several treatises on different sciences and subjects including Geometry, Algebra, Arithmetic, Trigonometry, Medicine, Metaphysics, Logic, Ethics and Theology.

In addition he wrote poetry in Persian.

In Mathematics, his major contribution would seem to be in trigonometry, which was compiled by him as a new subject in its own right for the first time.

Also he developed the subject of spherical trigonometry, including six fundamental formulas for the solution of spherical right-angled triangles.

As the chief scientist of the observatory established under his supervision at Maragha, he made significant contributions to Astronomy. The observatory was equipped with the best possible instruments. He himself invented an instrument “turquet” that contained two planes.

His book Akhlaq e Nasr became the most important work on ethics. And Tajrid al-Aqaid was well known contribution on Islamic scholastic Philosophy.

Al Idrisi (1099-1166, Ceuta –Spain) 

He collected plants and data not reported earlier and added this to the subject of botany, with special reference to medicinal plants. Thus, a large number of new drugs plants together with their evaluation became available to the medical practitioners. 

He has given the names of the drugs in six languages: Syriac, Greek, Persian, Hindi, Latin and Berber. 

His book: ‘Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq,’  is a geographical encyclopedia (The Delight of Him Who Desires to Journey Through the Climates)  In 1166 Al-Idrisi, built a large global map He meticulously recorded on it the seven continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains.

Al-Idrisi’s books were translated into Latin and became the standard books on geography for three centuries, both in the east and west.

Sind ibn Ali-Musa

Died after 864

He was a renowned Sindhi Muslim astronomer,  translator, mathematician and engineer.

Sind ibn ʿAlī traveled to Baghdad and received the best education available.

He had translated and modified the Zij al-Sindhind first astronomical table ever introduced in the Muslim World.

He calculated the Diameter of the Earth and other astronomical bodies.

The Decimal point notation to the Arabic numerals was introduced by Sind ibn Ali.

Al-Kindi Al-Kindi (801-873)(801-873)

Contributed in the fields of music, meteorology, and optics. Contributed in the fields of music, meteorology, and optics.

Most important work was on reflection of light

Discussed music from scientific point of view. Discussed music from scientific point of view.

Worked onWorked on geometrical optics

Explained theExplained the laws related to gravitational fall of the bodies ,The Sphere is the Largest of Bodily FormsThe Sphere is the Largest of Bodily FormsThat the Surface of the Sea is Spherical; Calculating the Azimuth on a That the Surface of the Sea is Spherical; Calculating the Azimuth on a SphereSphere

Projection of Rays; Projection of Rays; An Explanation of the Cause of the Retrogression of the Stars; 

The Reason Why Rain Rarely Falls in Certain Places; Areas of Vaulted The Reason Why Rain Rarely Falls in Certain Places; Areas of Vaulted ChambersChambersDetermination of the Hours on a Hemisphere by Means of Geometry

The Reason Why the Highest Part of the Sky is Cold, While Near the Earth is The Reason Why the Highest Part of the Sky is Cold, While Near the Earth is Warm  Warm  The Reasons for Cloud Formations; Calculation and Making an Instrument to Determine the Distances of Heavenly Bodies,

Abdul Qasim Al- Zahrawi

Born in A.D. 936 in SPAIN

Major contributions

Was a great Spanish Muslim Surgeon and Dentist. Invented many surgical appliances, never known before like Instrument for internal examina-tion of the ear, urethra, and Instrument for applying or removing foreign bodies from the throat. 

He performed surgery of eye, ear and throat.

He could very successfully set an artificial tooth in place of diseased.

He performed cauterization, removal of stone from the bladder and dissection of animals. 

He wrote famous Medical Ecyclopaedia called Al-Tasrif, which is composed of thirty volumes covering different aspects of medical science.

ALI IBN RABBAN AL-TABARIALI IBN RABBAN AL-TABARI Born in Born in 838 .838 .

He wrote He wrote Firdous al-HikmatFirdous al-Hikmat first ever Medical encyclopaedia. first ever Medical encyclopaedia. Spread over seven parts, which incorporates all the branches of Spread over seven parts, which incorporates all the branches of medical science. medical science.

It throws light on principles formed the basis of medical science. It throws light on principles formed the basis of medical science. Elucidation of the organs of the human body. Rules for keeping good Elucidation of the organs of the human body. Rules for keeping good health. health. Description of diet to be taken in conditions of health and disease. Description of diet to be taken in conditions of health and disease.

All diseases right from head to toe. All diseases right from head to toe. General causes relating to eruption of diseases. General causes relating to eruption of diseases. Diseases of the head and the brain,eye, nose, ear, mouth and the Diseases of the head and the brain,eye, nose, ear, mouth and the teeth. teeth. Diseases of the regions of the chest, throat and the lungs. Diseases of the regions of the chest, throat and the lungs. Diseases of the abdomen,the liver,gallbladder and spleen. Diseases of the abdomen,the liver,gallbladder and spleen.

Different kinds of fever. Examination of pulse and urine. Different kinds of fever. Examination of pulse and urine. Description of flavour, taste and colour. Drugs and poison. Description of flavour, taste and colour. Drugs and poison.

Al-Jazari: The Mechanical Genius (1136-1206)

Al-Jazari described fifty mechanical devices in six different categories, including water clocks, hand washing device (wudhu' machine) and machines for raising water, etc.

Al-Jazari developed the earliest water supply system to be driven by gears and hydropower . He also invented automatic gates driven by hydropower. 

Al-Jazari constructed a variety of water clocks and candle clocks.  

He also invented monumental water-powered astronomical clocks which displayed moving models of the Sun, Moon, and stars.

Al-Jazari invented a method for controlling the speed of rotation of a wheel using an escapement mechanism. He described the first suction pipes, suction pump, double-action pump, and made early uses of valves and a crankshaft-connecting rod mechanism

Banu Musa brothers

BANU MUSA, the name applied to three brothers, Abbasid astronomers whose father was Musa b. Saker.

They Discovered Gravity They also measured the length of a year to be 365 days and 6 hours.They Calculated circumference of Earth The Banū Mūsā brothers write the Book of Ingenious Devices, in which they describe their following inventions: valve, float valve, feedback controller, float chamber, automatic control, Automatic flute player, Programmable machine, Trick drinking vessels, gas mask, grab, clamshell grab, fail-safe system, hurricane lamp, self-feeding oil lamp, self-trimming oil lamp, mechanical musical instrument, and Hydropowered organ.

Al-Zarqali (Arzachel) (1029–1087)

Al-Zarqali was a Spanish Muslim a leading mathematician and astronomer . He constructed a Flat astrolabe (Safihah) that could be used at any latitude.He built a Water Clock capable of determining the hours of the day and night.

Al-Zarqali carried out a series of astronomical observations at Toledo and compiled them in his famous Toledan Tables.

Al-Zarqali corrected Ptolemy's estimate of the length of the Mediterranean Sea from 62 degrees to approximately correct value of 42 degrees.

He proved the motion of the Aphelion relative to the stars. He measured its rate of motion as 12.04 seconds per year, close to the modern calculation of 11.8 seconds.

Invented an instrument (anequatorium) for computing the position of the planets.

Copernicus in his famous book 'De Revolutionibus Orbium Clestium' expresses his indebtedness to Al-Zarqali.

Hasan al-Rammah (13th Century)

Born in Syria, al-Rammah was the first Muslim chemist to successfully create and engineer modern explosives.

Hasan al-Rammah described 107 gunpowder recipes.

He improved upon the gunpowder that was invented in China.

He was the first Muslim to invent Explosive Rockets.

The Torpedo is also invented by Hasan al-Rammah, who shows illustrations of a torpedo running on water with a rocket system filled with explosive materials and having three firing points.

Abbas Ibn Firnas(810–887 A.D.)

He was born in Ronda, southern Spain, in 810.He was the first man to make a controlled flight in human history. In 852 Ibn Firnas demonstrated an early parachute. He constructed a pair of wings, made out of feathers in a wooden frame, and attempted to fly—anticipating Leonardo da Vinci by some 600 years.

Ibn Firnas invented a water clock called Al-Maqata

He manufactured glass from sand to make silica and quartz glass. He developed a way of cutting rock crystal to create drinking glasses. He created fine lenses to magnify and correct eyesight.

He was an astronomer who built a Mechanized Planetarium with revolving planets stars, clouds, thunder and lightning produced by hidden mechanisms in the room.

UMMAR AL-KHAYYAM

Born in Nishapur in A.D. (1044-1123) 

He was mathematician, astronomer and philosopher 

He was the first person who proved BINOMIAL THEORUM 

He Classified algebraic equations 

He Introduced the Jalali calendar 

Recognized 13 different forms of cubic equations and arranged them in their order of complexity 

Al-Ma'mun Al-Ma'mun Abbāsid caliph(813–833)Abbāsid caliph(813–833)

Al-Mamun is renowned for his patronage of learning, commissioning Al-Mamun is renowned for his patronage of learning, commissioning translations of classical Greek texts.translations of classical Greek texts.

He founded the famous 'Bayt al-Hikmah' (House of Wisdom}He founded the famous 'Bayt al-Hikmah' (House of Wisdom} in Baghdad and personally presided over discussions in Baghdad and personally presided over discussions on logical,theological,and legal matters. on logical,theological,and legal matters.

The The Bayt al-HikmaBayt al-Hikma became an important center of translation for Greek  became an important center of translation for Greek and other ancient texts into Arabic. He employed a large number of and other ancient texts into Arabic. He employed a large number of translators and patronized many scholars. It was under his patronage that translators and patronized many scholars. It was under his patronage that the works of Plato, Aristotle,Hippocrates, and others were first translated the works of Plato, Aristotle,Hippocrates, and others were first translated into Arabic.into Arabic.

Al-Ma'mun was interested in every aspect of science, philosophy and Al-Ma'mun was interested in every aspect of science, philosophy and especially in astronomy. He himself conducted, on the plains of especially in astronomy. He himself conducted, on the plains of Mesopotamia, two astronomical operations intended to determine the Mesopotamia, two astronomical operations intended to determine the value of a terrestrial degree. value of a terrestrial degree. The first one to attempt to measure the dimensions of the EarthThe first one to attempt to measure the dimensions of the Earth. . He assigned two teams of astronomers and geographers and asked them to He assigned two teams of astronomers and geographers and asked them to go to two different locations east and west and then to measure one go to two different locations east and west and then to measure one degree of the longitude lines (360 in number).  degree of the longitude lines (360 in number). 

Ibn ZuhrIbn Zuhr (1091–1161): (1091–1161):  

Regarded as the father of pathology. Regarded as the father of pathology.

As a physician, he made several discoveries and breakthroughs. He described correctly, for the first time, scabies, the itch mite and may thus be regarded as the first parasitologist.

Likewise, he prescribed tracheotomy and direct feeding through the gullet and rectum in the cases where normal feeding was not possible.

He also gave clinical descriptions of mediastinal tumours, intestinal phthisis, inflammation of the middle ear, pericarditis, etc.

His contribution was chiefly contained in the monumental works written by him;Kitab al-Taisir fi al-Mudawat wa al-Tadbir (Book of Simplification concerning Therapeutics and Diet). The book gives in detail pathological conditions, followed by therapy.

His Kitab al-Iqtisad fi Islah al-Anfus wa al-Ajsad (Book of the Middle Course concerning the Reformation of Souls and the Bodies) gives a summary of diseases, therapeutics and hygiene, discourse on psychology.

AL-FARABI (870-950 C.E.)

Farabi contributed considerably to Science, Philosophy, Logic, Sociology, Psychology, Medicine, Mathematics and Music. He was also an encyclopedist. Author of large number of books on several subjects. He came to be known as the “Second Teacher” Aristotle being the first.

One of the important contributions of the Farabi was to make the study of logic easier by dividing it into two categories viz., Takhayyul (idea) and Sabut (proof). 

In Sociology he wrote Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila “The Model City” a significant early contribution to sociology snd political science.

He also wrote a book on Music, captioned Kitab al-Musiqa.He was a great expert in the art and science of music and invented several musical instruments, besides contributing to the knowledge of musical notes. It has been reported that he could play his instrument so well as to make people laugh or weep at will.

Al-Farghani

Al-Farghani, born in Farghana, Transoxiana (present-day Fergana, Uzbekistan), also known as Alfraganus in the West and died in Egypt.

He was Muslim astronomer and one of the famous astronomers in 9th century who involved in the measurement of the diameter of the Earth together with a team of scientists under the patronage of Al-Mamun and his successors in Baghdad. He determined the diameter of the earth to be 6,500 miles, and found the greatest distances and also the diameters of the planets.

His most important work, written between 833 and 857, he wrote "Elements of Astronomy" ( Kitab fi al-Harakat al-Samawiya wa Jawami Ilm al-Nujum)the book on celestial motion and thorough science of the stars), written about 833, a thorough, readable, nonmathematical summary of Ptolemaic astronomy. This was the book, which circulated in several Latin editions, was widely studied in Europe from the 12th to the 17th century and exerted great influence upon European astronomy before Regiomontanus.

AL-BATANI (858-929 A.D.)

Batani was a famous astronomer, mathematician and astrologer.

He determined the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 second, which is very close to the latest estimates.

He was an excellent observer of lunar and solar eclipses.

He also prepared the Islamic lunar calander. 

He determined the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun.

He proved the variation of the apparent angular diameter of the sun and the possibility of annular eclipses.

His treatise on Astronomy was extremely influential in Europe till Renaissance, with translations available in several languages.

Al-Majusi 980 AD.

He wrote  Kitāb Kāmil “The Complete Art of Medicine” .

Neuroscience and Psychology were discussed in The Complete Art of Medicine.

He described the neuroanatomy, neurobiology and neurophysiology of the brain. He first discussed various mental disorders, including sleeping sickness, memory loss, hypochondriasis, coma, hot and cold meningitis, vertigo epilepsy, love sickness, and hemiplegia.

He placed more emphasis on preserving health through diet and natural healing than he did on medication or drugs, which he considered a last resort.

Al Jahiz Born 776 AD

He described the Theory of evolution about 1000 years before Darwin.

In his book “Kitab al-Hayawan” describing the characteristics of animals, he remarked::

"Animals engage in a struggle for existence; for resources, to avoid being eaten and to breed. Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to offspring.

Ibn Majid (1430-1500)

He invented the Marine Compass in the field of geography

He wrote several books on marine science and the movements of ships, which helped people of the Persian Gulf to reach the coasts of India, East Africa and other destinations

Ibn Majid’s most important work was:

Kitab al-Fawa’id fi Usul ‘llmal-Bahr wa’l Qawa’id (Book of Useful Information on the Principles and Rules of Navigation) Another important book named al-Urdjuza covering the same subject

Ibn Majid’s Hawiyat, a poem of some 1,082 verses, is a genuine treasury of navigational theory In 1498, Vasco Da Gama, while sailing up the east coast of Africa met Ibn Majid. He helped Vasco Da Gama to reach Indian Coast.

Ibn Majid’s rich contribution benefited the sciences of geography and oceanography.

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (903 - 986 A.D.)

He first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, horoscopes, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, Qibla, Salah prayer, etc. 

He wrote the Book of Fixed Stars, a star catalogue thoroughly illustrated with observations and descriptions of the stars, their positions, their apparent magnitudes and their colour.

He identified the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is visible from Yemen, it was not seen by Europeans until Magellan’s voyage in the 16th century.

He made earliest recorded observation of the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 AD; describing it as a “small cloud” 600 years before Simon Marius.

He also catalogued the Omicron Velorum star cluster as a “nebulous star”, and an additional “nebulous object” in Vulpecula, a cluster now variously known as Al Sufi’s Cluster, the “Coathanger asterism”, Brocchi’s Cluster or Collinder 399.

Ziryab ("Blackbird") (789-857)

Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822 AD.

He revolutionised medieval music, lifestyle, fashion, hairstyles, furniture and even tableware. He transformed the way people ate, socialised, and relaxed.

He opened a Beauty parlour or “cosmetology school” for women near Alcázar, Al-Andalus.

He also taught "the shaping of eyebrows”.

He started first time use of chemical depilatories for removing body hair.

He introduced new perfumes and cosmetics.

Ziryab invented an early Toothpaste, which he popularized throughout Islamic Spain.

He also invented under-arm Deodorants.

He introduced new short hairstyles leaving the neck, ears and eyebrows free," as well as Shaving for men.

Al-Dinawari (896 AD)

Al-Dinawari, the founder of Arabic botany.

He wrote the Book of Plants, which describes at least 637 plants.

He discusses plant evolution from its birth to its death.

He described the phases of plant growth and production of flowers and fruit.

He also deals with the Earth sciences in the context of agriculture.He considers the Earth, stone and sands, and describes different types of ground, indicating which types are more convenient for plants and the qualities and properties of good ground.

He also deals with the applications of Islamic astronomy and meteorology to agriculture.

He described the astronomical and meteorological character of the sky, the planets and constellations, the sun and moon. He discussed the lunar phases indicating seasons and rain.

Ibn SahlIbn Sahl (940-1000 AD)(940-1000 AD)

He was an Arabian mathematician, physicist and optics He was an Arabian mathematician, physicist and optics engineer . engineer .

He wrote a treatise On Burning Mirrors and Lenses He wrote a treatise On Burning Mirrors and Lenses

He determined how curved mirrors and lenses bend and He determined how curved mirrors and lenses bend and focus light. focus light.

He is credited with first discovering the law of refraction, He is credited with first discovering the law of refraction, usually called Snell's law.usually called Snell's law.

He used the law of refraction to work out the shapes of lenses He used the law of refraction to work out the shapes of lenses that focus light with no geometric aberrations, known as that focus light with no geometric aberrations, known as anaclastic lenses.anaclastic lenses.

Al Mosuli (flourished around 1010 CE)

Ammar Ibn Ali Al-Mosuli from Mosul in Iraq, He wrote a book entitled Kitâb al-Muntakhab fî 'ilâj al-'ayn (Book of Choices in the Treatment of Eye Diseases) a landmark text on ophthalmology in medieval Islam. His book deals with anatomy, pathology and describes six case histories for cataract operation and a case of optic neuritis.

Ammar discussed some 48-eye diseases.

Ammar was the inventor of the cataract operation by suction, using a fine hollow needle inserted through the limbus (where the cornea joins the conjunctiva).

He invented a hollow metallic syringe hypodermic needle, which he applied and successfully extracted the cataracts through suction.

Ibn Rushd (Averroes )

He was born in Cordova, Spain in (1128 C.E.).

He was known in the West for being the grand commentator on the philosophy of Aristotle, whose influence penetrated the minds of even the most conservative of Christian Ecclesiastes in the Middle Ages, including men like St. Thomas Aquinas .

According to Philip Hitti, Ibn Rushd influenced Western thought from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.

His commentaries were used as standard texts in preference to the treatises of Aristotle in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. His books were included in the syllabi of Paris and other Western universities till the advent of modern experimental sciences . Ibn Rusd was studied in the University of Mexico until 1831. He compared spiritual laws to medicine in their effect on human beings physically on one hand, and morally and spiritually on the other. He pointed out that spiritual health is termed 'Taqwa' (righteousness and God-fearing) in the Qur'an.

Al Ghazali

Al-Ghazali's works on the relationship between philosophy and religion contributed to an ongoing discussion in the Islamic world on how to reconcile the two fields.

Al-Ghazali staunchly defended religion against attack by philosophers, and in doing so helped bridge the gap between the two streams of thought.

Al-Ghazali also sought to reign in what he believed were excessive views within Sufism, to bring it more in line with orthodox Islam. He continued to stress the importance of Sufism as the genuine path to absolute truth, but he sought to redefine its extreme image as disobedient to the basic teachings of Islam

Al-Ghazali laid out several arguments as to why philosophy was sometimes heretical to Islam.He particularly objected to arguments made by Greek-influenced philosophers questioning the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, reward and punishment after death, God's knowledge of all things, and the eternity of the world.He wrote Tuhafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers).

Ibn Khaldun

He is the founder of modern sociology and philosophy of history. Born in Tunis, Ibn Khaldun spent most of his life in North Africa and Spain.He led a very political life, working for a number of royal courts in North Africa, where he was also able to observe the political and social dynamics of court life.

Ibn Khaldun's most famous book is the Muqaddimah

In the Muqaddimah , Ibn Khaldun set out his philosophy of history. He concluded that civilisations rise and fall, in a cycle, as a result of psychological, economic, environmental, social, as well as political factors.

His attention to more than just the political conditions of a civilisation was revolutionary, as he sought to also examine social, religious, and economic factors in explaining world history. He also pioneered the emphasis on relating events to each other through cause and effect, and drawing parallels between past and present, when writing history. He subjected his study of history to objective, scientific analysis, and lamented the clearly biased histories written before him.

Ibn Battuta

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta He was born at Tangier, Morocco, in 1304 C.E. He left Tangier on Thursday, 14th June, 1325 C.E. His travels lasted for about thirty years.  

His main reason to travel was to go on a Hajj, or a Pilgrimage to Mecca, as all good Muslims want to do. But his traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles visiting the equivalent of 44 modern countries which were then mostly under the governments of Muslim leaders of the World of Islam, or "Dar al-Islam“.

He made rule for himself : Never to travel any road a second time.

 Near the end of Ibn Battuta's own life, the Sultan of Morocco insisted that Ibn Battuta dictate the story of his travels to a scholar and today we can read translations of that story called "Rihla - My Travels". Much of it is fascinating, it is a valuable and interesting record of places which add to our understanding of the Middle Ages.

Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani 940-998 CE

mathematician and astronomer  who worked in Baghdad.

Notable ideasTangent functionLaw of sinesTrigonometric identities

He made important innovations in spherical trigonometry, and his work on arithmetics for businessmen contains the first instance of using negative numbers in a medieval Islamic text.

He is also credited with compiling the tables of sines and tangents at 15' intervals.

He also introduced the sec and cosec functions, as well studied the interrelations between the six trigonometric lines associated with an arc.

His Almagest was widely read by medieval Arabic astronomers in the centuries after his death.

Taqi al-DinHe was born in 1521 in Damascus, Syria, and was educated in Cairo, Egypt. He became the official astronomer for Ottoman Sultan Selim II. He was a scientist, astronomer, astrologer, engineer, inventor, clockmaker, watchmaker, physicist, mathematician, botanist, zoologist, pharmacist, physician, Islamic judge, philosopher, theologian and Madrasah teacher.

He was the author of more than 90 books on a wide variety of subjects, One of his books described the workings of a rudimentary steam engine and steam turbine in 1551, predating the more famous discovery of steam power by Giovanni Branca in 1629.

His inventions include a variety of accurate clocks including the first mechanical alarm clock, the first spring-powered astronomical clock, the first watch measured in minutes, and the first clocks measured in minutes and seconds.

Taqi al-Din was the first mathematician to extract the precise value of Sin 1°. He also invented some astronomical instruments as well as one of the first spring-powered pocket watches.

Al Masudi (895-957 CE)

The historian and geographer.He wrote his first historical compendium Muruj-al-Zahab wa al-Ma-adin al-Jawahir (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Stones).

In this collection, he describes in fascinating detail the habitation, geography and ecology of the lands he had visited.

Al Masudi was an accomplished geologist and mineralogist. He studied earthquakes and in one his treatises he analyzed the earthquake of 855 CE.

He also propounded a theory of evolution from minerals to plants to animals to man. In this work he presages Charles Darwin by nine hundred years.

Al Masudi composed a map of the then known world which represented a significant advance upon earlier maps.

Al-Masudi recorded America across the ocean in his famous map and refers to it as “the unknown land” 600 years before Columbus.

Al-Muqaddasi:

He wrote the famous Ahsan at-taqasim fi ma'rifat al-aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions).

Ahsan a-Taqasim is the outcome of the journeys undertaken by him over two decades, and which took him in turn through all the countries of Islam.

In Ahsan al-taqasim, Al-Muqaddasi gives an overall view of the lands he visited,population, its ethnic diversity, social groups, commerce, natural and mineral resources, archaeological monuments, currencies, markets and weights, and the political situation.

It provides excellent information regarding many subjects such as water management, fiscal issues and finance, weights and measures, and city and urban developments,the region's topography, climate, hydrology, vegetation, development, architecture, language, religion and culture.

Technically, the most important distinction of Ahsan at-taqasim is that it was the first Arabic work of geography ever to provide maps in natural colors, which is the usual practice today.

Al Khazini (12th century )

Abu Al Fath Al Khazini an astronomer and an engineer.

He wrote Meezan Al-Hikmah, which was a marvel in the fields of mechanics, physics and hydrostatics.He discusses and explains the gravity of air, capillarity, use of aerometer to measure densities and temperature of liquids, theory of the lever.

He preceded Newton by several centuries. He made great efforts in his work on specific weights and gravity and demonstrated experimentally how all parts of the body direct their descent towards the centre of the earth due to gravity; He explained the resistance which bodies immersed in liquids generally encounter.

He preceded Torshilly in referring to air as matter with mass, and stating that air has mass and capillary action similar to liquids. He arrived at a formula that determines the abstract weight of masses composed of two different materials.

He also explained that the Archimedes’ principle applies to gases in addition to liquids; such revelations paved the way for the invention of the barometer, air-vacuums, and pumps. He also wrote on theories of light, and calculated the deflection of light upon its passage through air.

Al-Marwazi Died after 869 AD

Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi flourished in Baghdad He was a great astronomer, geographer, and mathematician. 

Habash gave us the first instance of a determination of time by an altitude (in this case, of the sun); a method generally adopted by Muslim astronomers.

He conducted various observations at the Al-Shammisiyyah observatory.  He estimated a number of geographic and astronomical values. He compiled his results in The Book of Bodies and Distances, some of his results included the following:

Earth's circumference: 20,160 miles (32,444 km)Earth's diameter: 6414.54 miles (10323.201 km)Earth radius: 3207.275 miles (5161.609 km)Moon's diameter: 1886.8 miles (3036.5 km)Sun's diameter: 35,280;1,30 miles (56,777.6966 km)

In 830, he seems to have introduced the notion of "shadow," umbra (versa).He described first time Trigonometric ratios: SIN, COS, TAN & COT.

Thabit ibn Qurra

Leading mathematician, astronomer, and translator of the Islamic Golden Age.In astronomy, he is one of the first reformers of the Ptolemaic system.

According to Copernicus Thabit determined the length of the side real year as 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 12 seconds (an error of 2 seconds).

In mathematics, He discovered an equation for determining amicable numbers. He also wrote on the theory of numbers, and extended their use to describe the ratios between geometrical quantities, It changed the way of mathematics.He calculated the solution to a chessboard problem involving an exponential series.He also described a Pythagoras theorem.

In physics, He proposed a theory of motion in which both the upward and downward motions are caused by weight, and that the order of the universe is a result of two competing attractions (jadhb): one of these being "between the sublunar and celestial elements", and the other being "between all parts of each element separately".

Al-Kashi

Al-Kashi invented the Plate of Conjunctions, an analog computer instrument used to determine the time of day at which planetary conjunctions will occur, and for performing linear interpolation. He wrote the book Sullam al-Sama  deals with distances and sizes of heavenly bodies such as the Earth, the Moon, the Sun and the Stars.He invented a mechanical planetary computer which could predict of the true positions in longitude of the Sun and Moon,and the planets . He computed and observed the solar eclipses of 809, 810 and 811 AH.

In French, the law of cosines is named Théorème d'Al-Kashi (Theorem of Al-Kashi), as al-Kashi was the first to provide an explicit statement of the law of cosines in a form suitable for triangulation.. Al-Kashi wrote Treatise on the Circumference giving a remarkably accurate approximation to pi in both sexagesimal and decimal forms, computing pi to 8 sexagesimal places and 16 decimal places.He completed The Key to Arithmetic containing work of great depth on decimal fractions. It applies arithmetical and algebraic methods to the solution of various problems one of the best textbooks in the whole of medieval literature.

Barakat Al-Baghdaadi (1100 – 1165 )

He discovered that a force applied continuously produces acceleration, “the fundamental law of classical mechanics” and an early foreshadowing of Newton’s 2nd law of motion.He described acceleration as the rate of change of velocity 500 years before Newton.Al-Baghdaadi's theory of motion distinguished between velocity and acceleration and showed that force is proportional to acceleration rather than velocity.

Al-Baghdaadi also suggested that motion is relative, writing that "there is motion only if the relative positions of the bodies in question change." He also stated that "each type of body has a characteristic velocity that reaches its maximum when its motion encounters no resistance.

Al-Baghdaadi criticized Aristotle's concept of time as "the measure of motion" and instead redefines time as "the measure of being", thus distinguishing between space and time, and reclassifying time as a metaphysical concept rather than a physical one. Al-Baghdadi drew the conclusion that time is an entity whose conception (ma'qul al-zaman) is a priori and almost as general as that of being, encompassing the sensible and the non-sensible, that which moves and that which is at rest.

Al-Karaji

Abu Bekr ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn Al-Karaji or al-Karkhi. Believed to be the “first person to completely free algebra from geometrical operations and to replace them with the arithmetical type of operations which are at the core of algebra today.

He was first to define the monomials x, x2, x3, … and 1 / x, 1 / x2, 1 / x3, … and to give rules for products of any two of these.

He started a school of algebra which flourished for several hundreds of years”.He Discovered the Binomial theorem for integer exponents. This “was a major factor in the development of numerical analysis based on the decimal system.”

Ibn al-Shatir

Ibn al-Shatir was an astronomer from Damascus who worked as timekeeper in the Umayyad Mosque, and constructed a magnificent sundial for its minaret in 1371/72.

His most important astronomical treatise was the Kitab nihayat al-sul fi tashih al-usul (The Final Quest Concerning the Rectification of Principles), in which he drastically reformed the Ptolemaic models of the Sun, Moon, and planets, by his introducing his own non-Ptolemaic models. Ibn al-Shatir's geometrical model was the first that was actually superior to the Ptolemaic model in terms of its better agreement with empirical observations.

Ibn al-Shatir invented the first astrolabic clock in the early 14th century.

E. S. Kennedy discovered that Ibn al-Shatir's models were mathematically equivalent to those Copernicus elaborated some 150 years later. This suggests that Ibn al-Shatir's models may have influenced Copernicus.

Abu Zayd al-Balkhi

Abu Zayd Ahmed ibn Sahl Balkhi was a Muslim psychologist and scientist. He was a pioneer of psychotherapy, psychophysiology and psychosomatic medicine. He wrote the medical and psychological work, Masalih al-Abdan wa al-Anfus (Sustenance for Body and Soul).

He was the first to successfully discuss diseases related to both the body and the soul. He used the term al-Tibb al-Ruhani to describe spiritual and psychological health, and the term Tibb al-Qalb to describe mental medicine.

Al-Balkhi was the first to differentiate between neurosis and psychosis, and the first to classify neurotic disorders and pioneer cognitive therapy in order to treat disorders.

Al-Balkhi also introduced the concept of reciprocal inhibition (al-ilaj bi al-did), which was re-introduced over a thousand years later by Joseph Wolpe in 1969.He wrote that Imbalance of the body can result in fever, headaches and other physical illnesses, while Imbalance of the soul can result in anger, anxiety, sadness and other mental symptoms.

 Tipu (Sultan of Mysore)

(1783-1799)

Tipu Sultan pioneered and perfected the use of rockets for military purposes, very effectively using it in wars against the invading British colonial armies. Tipu Sultan had 27 brigades called Kushoons; each brigade had a company of rocket men called Jourks.

At the Battle of Seringapattam in 1792, Indian soldiers launched a huge barrage of rockets against British troops. These Rockets were influential in British rocket development and were soon put into use in the Napoleonic Wars.Two of his rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, are displayed in the Woolwich Royal Artillery Museum in London.

They were the first rockets to have a rocket motor casing made of steel with multiple nozzles. The rocket, 50 mm in diameter and 250 mm long, had a range performance of 900 meters to 1.5 km.

Ibrahim Efendi

The Ottoman dockyard architect Ibrahim Efendi invented (a submarine called the Tahtelbahir)

The Ottoman writer Seyyid Vehbi, in his Surname-i-Humayun, compared this submarine to an alligator. He recorded that during the circumcision ceremony for Sultan Ahmed III's sons,

"the alligator-like submarine slowly emerged on the water and moved slowly to the sultan, and after staying on the sea for half an hour, submerged in the sea again to the great surprise of the public; then emerged one hour later, with five people walking outside the mouth of this alligator-like submarine, with trays of rice and zerde (a dish of sweetened rice) on their heads."

He explained the technical information concerning the submarine "submerging in the sea and the crew being able to breath through pipes while under the sea"

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan

Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is a national hero and father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. He is a famous Pakistani nuclear scientist and a metallurgical engineer. He is the founder of gas-centrifuge enrichment technology for Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent program.

He re-organized the Pakistani’s national space agency, SUPARCO. He has played an important role in Pakistan’s space program, patricularly the Pakistan’s first Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project.

He is the founder of several engineering universities in Pakistan. Dr. A. Q. Khan Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Sciences. Dr. A. Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering at Karachi

He has published more than 188 scientific research papers in international journals. Under his supervision, the process of Uranium enrichment was effectively accomplished and the successful test firing of Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles, Ghauri 1, in April 1998 and Ghauri II in April 1999.

Kerim Kerimov

Lieutenant-General Kerim Kerimov  was an Azerbaijani-Soviet/Russian aerospace engineer and a renowned rocket scientist, born in the year 1917 in a Muslim family .

one of the founders of the Soviet space industry, and for many years a central figure in the Soviet space program.

He was one of the lead architects behind the string of Soviet successes

the launch of the first satellite, the Sputnik 1 in 1957,the first human spaceflight, (Yuri Gagarin's 108-minute trip around the globe aboard the Vostok 1 in 1961) the first fully automated space docking, of Cosmos 186 and Cosmos 188 in 1967, the first space stations, the Salyut and Mir series from 1971 to 1991