In the recent years the image of Islam has taken a beating due to the various terrorist groups wrongly claiming to be followers of Islam and doing the god's work. Everything good thing about Islam is overshadowed by these terrorists and the world believes Islam to be a religion of intolerance and backwardness.However this was not the case always.Once upon a time,called the golden age of Islam,It was at the forefront of the values of tolerance and equality and also in the field of science. To raise awareness about this period and the scholars who came then and afterwards I present this small list of Five Muslim scholars who everyone should know.
In the period before the European Renaissance unfairly called the Dark Ages, much of the world thinks that there was no progress made in science.But in the Islamic world which was spread over the middle east , a golden period of science and learning was taking place.It was accelerated by the Caliph Al Mamun who started arguably one of the most significant movements in the history of mankind,the translation movement.The translation movement led to the growth of a number of scholars in the golden age of Islam and directly and indirectly influenced much of the modern world.
Here is the list of top five famous scholars of the Golden Age of Islam and after.This post has been directly influenced by Jim Al Khalili's book 'Pathfinders'
1-Al-Khwarizmi
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
Suppose you are given a equation to solve.For example
2x-10= 90
the first step to solve this is,as most of you will have learnt in school,adding 10 on both sides
the equation then becomes
2x-10+10= 90+10
This step of adding/subtracting to cancel terms was first described in Al-Khwarizmi's book-'The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing' This step is known as Al-jebr.By know you must be getting an idea about where I am going.The term Algebra is derived from the word Al-jebr.In this book Al Kwarizmi presented the first systematic solutions to linear and quadratic equations
Areas he is known for:
Mathematics,Astronomy,Geography
Legacy:
A crater on the moon is named after him.
In 1983 the soviet union issued a stamp commemorating Al khwarizmi's 1200th birthday.
Born-Died:
780CE-850CE
2-Ibn Al-Haytham
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
His book on optics 'Kitab al-Manazir' or the book of optics was read by and greatly influenced European scholars like Leonardo Da Vinci,Galileo,Rene Descartes and Johannes kepler.His theory of vision was very influential and inspired many other works of later centuries.Some call him 'The Father of Modern Optics'
Areas he is known for:
Optics, astronomy, mathematics, meteorology,visual perception and the scientific method
Legacy:
The crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour.Also an asteroid is named as Alhazen
Born-Died:
965 CE-1040 CE
3-Ibn sina
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
He wrote the book 'The Canon of Medicine' which is about health and diseases. It remained a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world till the 17th century.Even now in colleges of India and Pakistan it is followed as Unani system of medicine.
Areas he is known for:
Medicine,Astronomy,alchemy,geography,geology,psychology,logic,mathematics,physics,poetry
Legacy:
George Sarton, the author of The History of Science, described Ibn Sina as "one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history.His portrait hangs in the Hall of the Avicena Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris.
Born-Died:
980CE-1037CE
4-Ibn Khaldun
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
He was regarded among the founding fathers of Economics,Histriography and sociology.Historian Jim Al Khalili goes on to say that when compared with Adam Smith,the man many economists of today consider to be the father of economics,it is Ibn khaldun who is more worthy of the title.He wrote the 'Muqaddima' which is a treatise on human civilization.He was one of the first who called for creation of a science to explain society.
Areas he is known for:
History,historiography,economics,sociology
Legacy:
There is an Ibn Khaldun award given by Tunisian Community to any Tunisian/American whose works constitute a direct or indirect service to community.
Born-Died:
1332 CE- 1406 CE
5-Al Jazari
Someof the many reasons why you should know him:
He invented the camshaft and the crankshaft.It is one of the most important inventions in the history of mankind.A crankshaft is a mechanical part that can perform a conversion between reciprocating motion and rotational motion.Internal combustion engines used in vehicles have these to covert the reciprocating movement of the pistons into the rotary movement of the tyres. He also made many automated moving devices which later may have influenced Leonardo Da vinci.He wrote 'The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices'
Areas he is known for:
Mathematics,Mechanical Engineering,Inventions,Art
Born-Died:
1136CE-1206CE
Based on the feedback I receive I plan to write about a few more scholars.
In the period before the European Renaissance unfairly called the Dark Ages, much of the world thinks that there was no progress made in science.But in the Islamic world which was spread over the middle east , a golden period of science and learning was taking place.It was accelerated by the Caliph Al Mamun who started arguably one of the most significant movements in the history of mankind,the translation movement.The translation movement led to the growth of a number of scholars in the golden age of Islam and directly and indirectly influenced much of the modern world.
Here is the list of top five famous scholars of the Golden Age of Islam and after.This post has been directly influenced by Jim Al Khalili's book 'Pathfinders'
1-Al-Khwarizmi
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
Suppose you are given a equation to solve.For example
2x-10= 90
the first step to solve this is,as most of you will have learnt in school,adding 10 on both sides
the equation then becomes
2x-10+10= 90+10
This step of adding/subtracting to cancel terms was first described in Al-Khwarizmi's book-'The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing' This step is known as Al-jebr.By know you must be getting an idea about where I am going.The term Algebra is derived from the word Al-jebr.In this book Al Kwarizmi presented the first systematic solutions to linear and quadratic equations
Areas he is known for:
Mathematics,Astronomy,Geography
Legacy:
A crater on the moon is named after him.
In 1983 the soviet union issued a stamp commemorating Al khwarizmi's 1200th birthday.
Born-Died:
780CE-850CE
2-Ibn Al-Haytham
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
His book on optics 'Kitab al-Manazir' or the book of optics was read by and greatly influenced European scholars like Leonardo Da Vinci,Galileo,Rene Descartes and Johannes kepler.His theory of vision was very influential and inspired many other works of later centuries.Some call him 'The Father of Modern Optics'
Areas he is known for:
Optics, astronomy, mathematics, meteorology,visual perception and the scientific method
Legacy:
The crater Alhazen on the Moon is named in his honour.Also an asteroid is named as Alhazen
Born-Died:
965 CE-1040 CE
3-Ibn sina
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
He wrote the book 'The Canon of Medicine' which is about health and diseases. It remained a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world till the 17th century.Even now in colleges of India and Pakistan it is followed as Unani system of medicine.
Areas he is known for:
Medicine,Astronomy,alchemy,geography,geology,psychology,logic,mathematics,physics,poetry
Legacy:
George Sarton, the author of The History of Science, described Ibn Sina as "one of the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history.His portrait hangs in the Hall of the Avicena Faculty of Medicine in the University of Paris.
Born-Died:
980CE-1037CE
4-Ibn Khaldun
Some of the many reasons why you should know him:
He was regarded among the founding fathers of Economics,Histriography and sociology.Historian Jim Al Khalili goes on to say that when compared with Adam Smith,the man many economists of today consider to be the father of economics,it is Ibn khaldun who is more worthy of the title.He wrote the 'Muqaddima' which is a treatise on human civilization.He was one of the first who called for creation of a science to explain society.
Areas he is known for:
History,historiography,economics,sociology
Legacy:
There is an Ibn Khaldun award given by Tunisian Community to any Tunisian/American whose works constitute a direct or indirect service to community.
Born-Died:
1332 CE- 1406 CE
5-Al Jazari
Someof the many reasons why you should know him:
He invented the camshaft and the crankshaft.It is one of the most important inventions in the history of mankind.A crankshaft is a mechanical part that can perform a conversion between reciprocating motion and rotational motion.Internal combustion engines used in vehicles have these to covert the reciprocating movement of the pistons into the rotary movement of the tyres. He also made many automated moving devices which later may have influenced Leonardo Da vinci.He wrote 'The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices'
Mathematics,Mechanical Engineering,Inventions,Art
Born-Died:
1136CE-1206CE
Based on the feedback I receive I plan to write about a few more scholars.
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