‘If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure which stems, I think, from the strait-jacket of history which we have inherited.’
Prince Charles in a speech at Oxford University, 27 October 1993
“…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. Sufi poet-philosophers like Rumi challenged our notions of self and truth. Leaders like Suleiman contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership. And perhaps we can learn a lesson from his example: It was leadership based on meritocracy, not inheritance. It was leadership that harnessed the full capabilities of a very diverse population–that included Christianity, Islamic, and Jewish traditions. This kind of enlightened leadership — leadership that nurtured culture, sustainability, diversity and courage — led to 800 years of invention and prosperity.”
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP, in a speech given in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sep 26, 2001
“Technology, Business, and Our Way of Life: What’s Next”
Islam, from its inception, has encouraged Muslims to pursue intellectual and scientific exploration. Throughout its history, the Muslim world made vital contributions to science and medicine, philosophy, and the arts. Centers of learning in the Islamic world made notable contributions. They contributed to algebra, medical anatomical drawings, optics, geographical maps, and produced several scientific instruments, such as the astrolabe (used to determine the position of sun and stars). What follows are only some snapshots of Muslim contributions to our world:
Education
The Qarawiyin University in Fez, Morocco is the oldest running university in the world. It was founded by Fatima al-Fihria, a Muslim woman, in 859 C.E. The second oldest university in the world is Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in the tenth century. The Umayyad rulers of Spain had a library of 600,000 volumes in their huge Cordoba library. Hakam II, the caliph of Spain from 961-978, said the love of books was ‘a more consuming passion than his throne.’
Medicine
Muslims translated the works of Hippocrates, Dioscorides, Galen, and others into Arabic. The first modern hospitals were established throughout the Islamic world. Harun al-Rashid, a Muslim ruler, created the first modern hospital in Baghdad in 805 C.E.
Abu Bakr Al-Razi, a native of Persia, traveled to Baghdad to study medicine and later became director of a large hospital there. He wrote more than 200 books and was a master of experimental medicine. He made discoveries and wrote treatises on pediatrics, oral hygiene, smallpox, measles, allergies, scabies, and kidney stones.
Ibn Sina, known in the West as Avicenna, was born in present-day Uzbekistan in the tenth-century. Ibn Sina's masterpiece was titled ‘The Canon of Medicine.’ This encyclopedia of medicine consisted of more than a million words and included summarized Greek medicine, anatomical drawings, descriptions of diseases and their cures, and an outline of 760 medicinal plants and the drugs that could be derived from them. The monumental work was translated into many languages and was taught to trainee doctors in universities in France and Italy from the 12th to the 16th century. In addition, the works of more than 400 other physicians and authors were translated into European languages.
Astronomy
Muslim scientists built observatories all over the Islamic world and refined Ptolemy's catalog and coordinates for the stars. In the eleventh century C.E., Nasir Al-Tusi of Baghdad invented the azimuth quadrant and the torquetum, instruments used to compute and measure positions of stars. The word “azimuth” comes from the Arabic word assumut (compass bearings).
Mathematics & Physics
The numerals we use today originated in India but were transmitted to the Western world by Muslim scholars in the 8th century C.E. Muslim mathematicians introduced the concept of “sifr” or zero.
The Muslim physicist Ibn Al-Haytham (965–1040 C.E.) calculated the height of Earth's atmosphere to be thirty-two miles. He was off by just a mile!
One of the greatest mathematicians produced by the Islamic civilization was al-Khawarizmi. Born in Uzbekistan, raised in Baghdad, al-Khawarizmi is known as the founder of algebra who also gave the concept of an algorithm. He developed solutions for linear and quadratic equations and detailed trigonometric tables and geometric and arithmetical concepts.
Al-Biruni, born in 973 C.E. was another famous mathematician. Born in modern-day Uzbekistan, he studied Greek, Syriac, and Sanskrit and wrote about Earth's rotation, made calculations of latitude and longitude, and used mathematical techniques to determine the seasons.
Chemistry
Jabir bin Hayyan or Geber (722 to ca 815) is unanimously considered the founder of Chemistry. He devised and perfected sublimation, liquefaction, crystallization, distillation, purification, amalgamation, oxidation, and filtration. He discovered the sulphuric and nitric acids and built a precise scale. Razi or Rhazes (864 to 925) was even a greater expert than Geber. He designed and described more than 20 lab instruments that are still used today such as the crucible, cucurbit, or retort for distillation. The main chemistry textbook for medieval Europe, Sum of Perfection, was written by a Muslim, Iraqi scholar, Kindi (801-873).
Geography
Muslims were among the first to calculate Earth's circumference, publish detailed world maps, and study elements and minerals. Muslim geographers traveled all over the world to gather data.
Under the leadership of al-Khawarizmi, seventy geographers worked together to produce the first map of the globe, in 830 C.E.
Al-Idrisi, grew up in Muslim Spain and educated in Cordoba, was hired to produce a world map for the Norman King of Sicily, Roger II. Christopher Columbus used a map that was derived from Al-Idrisi's work in his explorations of the New World.
English Words of Arab Origin
Of all western European languages, Spanish has the highest concentration of words from Arabic. But, the influence of the Muslim world can also be seen in the many English words that originated from the Arabic language.
ENGLISH ARABIC
alchemy al-kimiya
admiral amir
alcohol al-kohl
algebra al-Jabr
almanac al-manaakh
atlas atlas
camphor kafur
cipher/zero sifr
cornea qarniya
cotton qutn
elixir aksir
gauze gazz
safari safara
sofa suffa
talc talq
typhoon tufaan
vizier Wazir
I wish Westerners who misunderstand Muslims could have seen Syed Abbas in action that day. They would see that most people who practice the true teachings of Islam…believe in peace and justice, not in terror… the Koran instructs all Muslims to make caring for widows, orphans, and refugees a priority."
Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time, Chapter 17, pg. 219
The Quran and Sunna truly embody the values of the Islamic faith. The following is a sample of the beautiful Islamic teachings enshrined in the sacred texts:
God
Indeed, I am Allah . There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance.
Quran 20:14
Purpose of Life
"I only created mankind and the jinn that they might worship Me.I demand no livelihood of them, nor do I ask that they should feed Me"
(Quran 51:56)
Parents
And We enjoined man (to show kindness) to his parents, For with much pain his mother bears him
Quran 31:14
Kind Treatment of Wives
And live with them in kindness
Quran 4:19
Treatment of Fellow Human Beings
And speak kindly to people
Quran 2:83
And do good (to everyone).
Indeed, God loves those who do good
Quran 2:195
Repel evil with what is better
Quran 41:34
Acts of Compassion
And what will explain to you what the steep path is?
It is the freeing of a (slave) from bondage; Or the giving of food in a day of famine to an orphan relative, or to a needy in distress.
Then will he be of those who believe, enjoin fortitude and encourage kindness and compassion
Quran 90:12-17
Forgiveness and Justice‘Show forgiveness,
Speak for justice And avoid the ignorant
Quran 7:199
Corruption & Attaining God’s Mercy
Do not corrupt the earth after it has been purged of evil. Pray to Him with fear and hope.His mercy is within reach of the righteous
Quran 7:56
Open Hearts
He whose heart God has opened to Islam, shall receive light from his Lord. But woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God! Truly, they are in the grossest error
Quran 39:21
Teachings of Prophet Muhammad
They are among the treasures of mankind, not merely Muslims.
Gandhi in his foreword to ‘The Sayings of Muhammad,’ by Sir Abdullah Suhrawardy,John Murray Publishers Ltd, London, 1941.
Mercy
Show mercy to those on earth and God will show mercy to you.
Tirmidhi
Power
The powerful one is not one who can wrestle others, but the one who controls himself.
Bukhari
Mindfulness
Be mindful of God, and you will find God in front of you. Acknowledge God in ease, and God will acknowledge you in distress. And know that what misleads you will never enable you to do right, and what enables you to do right will never mislead you. And know that help comes with patience, and that relief comes with distress; and with difficulty comes ease
Musnad Abd bin Humaid
Compassion
Whoever has no compassion for people, God has no compassion for him
Tirmidhi
Being in the World
Be in the world as if you were a stranger, or a wayfarer
Bukhari
Humility in Practice
God has inspired me that you should be humble so that so no one despises anyone, and no one oppresses anyone
Muslim
The Just
‘The just will be on platforms of light in the presence of God; those who are just in their decisions, with their families, and with what they are in charge of
Muslim
Injustice
Injustice will be layers of darkness on the Day of Resurrection
Bukhari
Kindness
‘God is Kind, and loves kindness in all things
Tirmidhi
Arguing, Lying, and Good Character
I guarantee an abode on the edge of Paradise for whoever gives up disputation, even when in the right; and an abode in the middle of Paradise for whoever gives up telling lies even in jest; and an abode on the heights of Paradise for whoever is of good character
Abu Dawud
Killing
if anyone kills a person - unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land - it is as if he kills all mankind, while if any saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind
Quran 5:32
If two Muslims meet with their swords drawn, both the killer and the killed are in for the Fire.’ Someone asked, ‘O Messenger of God, this befits the killer, but what about the one killed?’ The Prophet said, ‘He was in fact trying to kill his companion
Bukhari
Jesus and Muhammad (peace be on them)
I am the closest of all people to Jesus, son of Mary, in this world and in the Hereafter; for all prophets are brothers, with different mothers but one religion
Musnad
