IRRSTC, 23 JANUARY, 2024
IRRSTC1445
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ
ٱلرَّحِيمِِ ◯
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful.
"The
Prophet's life began with the context of knowledge" (Bishwanabi:
G.Mostofa).
Jabal
al-Hira (Arabic: جبل الحراء) is a mountain which lies about two miles from
the Ka’bah. Near the top is a small cave known as the Cave of Hira (Arabic: غار حراء),
which is a little less than 4 meters in length and a little more than 1.5
meters in width. It was here that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) received the first revelations of the Holy
Quran during the month of Ramadhan in 610 CE. The mountain is also known as
Jabal al-Noor (the Mountain of Light) and Jabal al-Islam (the Mountain of
Islam).
(Source: https://www.islamiclandmarks.com/makkah-other/jabal-al-hi
Darul Arkam
Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) started preaching it after receiving prophethood but the polytheists of Makka came to know the news of the Prophet's preaching of Islam. As a result, they attacked Muslims praying on a mountain in Makka. After this incident, Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) worried about their safety and decided the house of Arqam Ibn Abil Arqam as a place for religious education and prayer.Darul Arqam is a secret Islamic education and preaching center established by the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ). Dar means house. And Arkam is the name of a companion. Darul Arkam means House of Arkam. Here the Companions used to meet the Prophet in secret and learn about the rules of Islam. For about 3 years, the work of secret invitation and teaching of Islam continued.
It was the first Madrasa or the first formal educational institution of Islam. (Source: https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki /দারুল_আরকাম)
[Source:https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/ দারুল_আরকাম]
Ashab As-Suffah (دِكَّة
أَصْحَاب الصُّفَّة)
Al-Ṣuffah (Arabic: الصُّفّة), or Dikkat Ashab As-Suffah (دِكَّة أَصْحَاب الصُّفَّة) was a sheltered raised platform that was available at the rear side of the Prophet's Mosque[Source:"Suffah (Masjid al-Nabawi)". Madain Project. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.] during the Madina period (622-632) of early Islam.
It was initially available at the northeastern corner of the mosque and Muhammad ordered it to be covered by palm leaves in order to provide shade, hence it was called al-Suffah or al-Ẓullah (الظلة) "the shade". It was moved several decades later into another place in the mosque during an expansion project.
Homeless and unmarried Muhajirun (companions of the Prophet who migrated from Makka) who did not have relatives in Madina, dwelt in al-Suffah where they were mainly learning the Quran and Sunnah. These people were called Aṣhab al-Ṣuffah "Companions of the Ṣuffah".(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffah)
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه: a Student of D.Arkam-Ashab-E-Suffah:
Founder of Islamic Science-Tech
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib
(Arabic: عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; c. 600 – 661 CE) ﷺ
(peace be upon him) was the
last Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, the successor state to the Islamic
prophet Muhammad's ﷺ (peace
be upon him) political
dominions.
Ali is also credited
with the first systematic evaluations of hadiths, and is often considered a
founding figure for hadith sciences.[ Source: Pakatchi 2015.]
Ali is also credited
by some as the founder of Islamic theology, and his words are said to contain
the first rational proofs among Muslims of the unity of Allah, almighty
(tawhid).[Sources: i) Nasr 2006,
pp. 2, 120 ii) Shah-Kazemi 2014.
In later Islamic
philosophy, Ali's sayings and sermons were regarded as a central source of
metaphysical knowledge or divine philosophy. In particular, Ali is regarded in
the Sadra school of philosophy as the supreme metaphysician of Islam and the
first person to have expressed philosophical ideas in Arabic terms.[Source: Nasr &
Afsaruddin 2022.]
Some hidden or
occult sciences such as jafr, Islamic numerology, and the science of the
symbolic significance of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, were reportedly
established by Ali in connection with the books al-Jafr and al-Jami'a.[Source: Nasr &
Afsaruddin 2022]
Hazarat
Ali رضي الله عنه used to say in his poetry
that :"If you can combine mercury and mica with something like
lightning and thunder, then you can become the king of the East and the
West."
Micas (/ˈmaɪkəz/ MY-kəz) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is common in igneous and metamorphic rock and is occasionally found as small flakes in sedimentary rock. It is particularly prominent in many granites, pegmatites, and schists, and "books" (large individual crystals) of mica several feet across have been found in some pegmatites.[Sources: i) Nesse 2000, pp. 245–246, 248.ii) Jahns, R.H. (1946). "Mica deposits of the Petaca district, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Bulletin. 25: 60.]
Micas are used in products such as drywalls, paints, fillers, especially in parts for automobiles, roofing and shingles, as well as in electronics. The mineral is used in cosmetics and food to add "shimmer" or "frost." (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica)
Mercury
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum (/haɪˈdrɑːrdʒərəm/ hy-DRAR-jər-əm) from the Greek words hydro (water) and argyros (silver).[Source: "Definition of hydrargyrum | Dictionary.com". Archived from the original] A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is the halogen bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature.
Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is obtained by grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide.
Mercury is used in thermometers, barometers, manometers, sphygmomanometers, float valves, mercury switches, mercury relays, fluorescent lamps and other devices, though concerns about the element's toxicity have led to mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers being largely phased out in clinical environments in favor of alternatives such as alcohol- or galinstan-filled glass thermometers and thermistor- or infrared-based electronic instruments. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(element)
In order to put the records straight, this series on contributions of Muslim scientists and scholars aims to convey the massage to the world that our contributions to world of knowledge can never be forgotten. To start with, the contribution of the 4th Amir-ul-Muminin Hazart Ali Karramallahu رضي الله عنه, who was Bahrul Ulum as well as first Muslim scientist.
It should be noted
that the preeminence of Alchemy in the ancient Arab-Islamic science researches
by Khalid Ibn Yazid, Jaber Ibn Hayyan, Razi, Ibn Sina, etc., may be affected of
realization of the remarkable poem of Hazart
Ali رضي الله عنه
Khalid Ibn Yazid (An Alchemist) (668 – 704/709 C.E.)
Khālid ibn Yazīd (full name Abū Hāshim Khālid ibn
Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān. He was born in 668 C.E. (48 A.H.) during
Umayyad Caliphate and died 704 C.E.(85 A.H.) or 709 C.E. (90 A.H.) in Homs,
Syria. He was an Umayyad prince from Umayyad Dynasty and was a grandson of Muawiyah
who was purported to be Alchemist. He was Caliph adviser, military commander,
poet, and patron of the Arab-Islamic sciences.
Indeed, Alchemy i.e., Chemistry
in Islam refers to the study of both traditional alchemy and early practical
chemistry (the early chemical investigation of nature in general) by Muslim
scholars in the medieval Islamic world.
The word alchemy was derived
from the Arabic word kīmiyāʾ and may ultimately derive from the ancient
Egyptian word kemi, meaning black. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
the focus of alchemical development moved to the Caliphate and the Islamic civilization.
Much more is known about Islamic alchemy as it was better documented; most of
the earlier writings that have come down through the years were preserved as
Arabic translations.
A large number of Alchemical writings were attributed to Khalid, including also many alchemical poems. Khalid’s purported alchemical activity was probably part of a legend that evolved in 9th-century Arabic literary circles. Beside this Khalid was the first translator of Greek-Latin philosophical and scientific works into Arabic, One of these works, The Book of the Composition of Alchemy (Latin: Liber de compositione alchemiae), was the first Arabic work on alchemy to be translated into Latin, by Robert of Chester in 1144, though it was very scattered. Organized translation work began practically during the reign of Caliph Al Mansur (754-775.
According to Ibn al-Nadīm and Ḥajjī Khalīfa, he is the author of the alchemical works Kitāb al-kharazāt (The Book of Pearls), Kitāb al-ṣaḥīfa al-Kabīr (The Big Book of the Roll), Kitāb al-ṣaḥīfa al-saghīr (The Small Book of the Roll), Kitāb Waṣīyatihi ilā bnihi fī-ṣ-ṣanʿa (The Book of his Testament to his Son about the Art/Craft), and Firdaws al-ḥikma (The Paradise of Wisdom), but again, these works may be pseudepigraphical.
The Umayyad Prince Khalid was
attracted by its mystery and had an ancient Egyptian book on alchemy translated
into Arabic with the help of an Egyptian monk, Marianus.
Legend
·
According to one
theory advanced by the German scholar Manfred
Ullmann, the idea that Khalid had been
interested in alchemy originated in the 9th-century historian al-Baladhuri, who quoted
his teacher al-Mada'ini's description of Khalid as "pursuing that which is
impossible, that is, alchemy".
·
According to
Ullmann's theory, al-Mada'ini's lost work would have read "pursuing that
which is impossible" (referring to Khalid's failure to ascend to the
caliphate), while the words "that is, alchemy" would have been added
as an interpretative gloss by al-Baladhuri, who thus sparked the legend of
Khalid as an alchemist.[Source: Ullmann 1978, pp. 215–216; cf. Dapsens 2016, p. 135.
The Arabic words of the quote are wa-li-ṭalab mā lā yuqdar ʿalayhi yaʿnī
al-kīmiyāʾ.]
·
According to another
theory proposed by the French scholar Pierre Lory, the writings
attributed to Khalid were originally written in a much humbler environment than
the courtly milieus in which most 8th- and 9th-century philosophers and
scientists worked, and were purposefully attributed to an Umayyad prince to
lend them an aura of nobility.[Source: Lory 1989, p. 20; cf. Dapsens 2016, p. 136.]
·
In any case, Khalid
was widely associated with alchemy from the 9th century on by such authors
as al-Jahiz (776–868/869),
al-Baladhuri (820–892), al-Tabari (839–923),
and Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani (897–967).[Source: Sezgin 1971, p. 121; Ullmann 1978, p. 213; cf. Forster
2021.] He was also credited
by al-Jahiz and later by Ibn al-Nadim (c. 932–995)
with having been the first to order the translation
of Greek philosophical and scientific works into Arabic.[Source: Ullmann 1978, p. 213; Dapsens 2016, pp. 134–135.]
Arabic Scientific work by Khalid:
- Masāʾil Khālid li-Maryānus al-rāhib ("Khalid's Questions to the Monk Maryanos"), also known as Risālat Maryānus al-rāhib al-ḥakīm li-l-amīr Khālid ibn Yazīd ("Epistle of the Wise Monk Maryanos to the Prince Khalid ibn Yazid")
Other Latin texts attributed to Khalid
include:
- Liber secretorum alchemiae ("The
Book of the Secrets of Alchemy")[ Source: According
to Halleux 1996, p. 900, note 61, this work is based on a lost Arabic
original dating at the earliest to the 11th century.]
- Liber trium verborum ("The
Book of the Three Words")[Source: Halleux
1996, p. 893 classifies this work as a translation from the Arabic.]
Khalid
ibn Yazid
·
(Sources: https://worldsciencejournals.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/khalid-ibn-yazid/
According to Adorogy Brown
"Jabir Ibn Hayaan became partner with Khalid bin Yazid who was a well known scientist of alchemy in translating Greek Knowledge into Arabic."
The
term potassium nitrate in the Muslim world has always come up with
various names such as natrun, Buraq, al-ha'it milh, shabb Yamani, and other
names.
Chemist and Physician, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Rohimullahu Anhu
The Chemist and physician, Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (known to the West as Rhazes) that Jabir's great example was successfully followed. Razi was learned in almost every branch of science and Philosophy, Alchemy, Mathematics etc.
By profession a physician, Al Razi’ medical writings were more famous than his works in alchemy. His interest in alchemy seems to have begun in his youth and he is reported to have said that "no man deserves the name of 'philosopher' unless he be a master of theoretical and applied chemistry." He authored more than one hundred medical books, thirty-three treatises on natural science (exclusive of alchemy), eleven on mathematics and astronomy and more than forty-five on philosophy, logic and theology. On alchemy, he wrote Compendium of Twelve Treatises and Book Secrets.
Razi is a figure of exceptional importance in the history of chemistry since in his works we find for the first time a systematic classification of carefully observed arid verified facts regarding chemical substances, reactions and apparatuses described in a language almost entirely free from mysticism and ambiguity. Razi also gives a list of the apparatuses used in chemistry. These consist of two classes: (I) instruments used for melting metals, and (2) those used for the manipulation of substances generally. He completes the subject by describing how to make composite pieces of apparatuses and, in general, provides the same kind of information as is to be found in laboratory manuals today.
Another famous scientist who followed Razi is Abu Ah al-Hussain ibri Sina, the Avicenna of Europe, who has been described as the "Aristotle of the Arabs." During his lifetime, he accomplished an amazing mass of literary, medical, philosophical and scientific works. In his Book of Remedy, he wrote about minerals, formation of rocks and stones and properties of minerals and metals.
From the fourth to the twelfth centuries, A.D, the original chemical research and writing in Europe was virtually non-existent. Instead, Arabic texts came to be translated into Latin, these treatises functioning as standard textbooks for students in Europe. The translation of technical matters presented special difficulties, so that scholars often had to content themselves with literal renderings. It was safer not to translate words the meaning of which was imperfectly understood. Thus, in the translation from Arabic to Latin, such words were often simply transliterated, e.g. alembic, camphor, borax, elixir, talc and saffron.(Source: http://www.freearabvoice.org/acChemistry.html).
The Great Muslim Scientist Jafar Al Sadique Rohimahullah: A Super Star of Ahl-E-Bait-E-Rosoolullah ﷺ
Hazarat Jaʿfar
ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq (Arabic: جعفر بن محمد بن علي الصادق; c. 702 –
765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (lit. 'Ja'far the truthful'), was an
8th-century Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian. He was the founder of the
Jaʿfarī school of Islamic jurisprudence. A wide range of religious and
scientific works were attributed to him, though no works penned by al-Ṣādiq
remain extant.
Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq was born around
700 CE, perhaps in 702. He was about thirty-seven when his father, Muḥammad
al-Bāqir,
Contributions
After Ali رضي الله عنه Jaʿfar
ibn Muḥammad al-Sadiq is possibly the most famed religious scholar of the House
of Muhammad ﷺ, widely recognized as an authority in Islamic law,
theology, hadith, and esoteric and occult sciences.[Sources:
i) Campo 2009 .ii) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ja%27far_al-Sadiq]
At the age of 12 he rejected the theory of Four Elements of Aristotle and proved that it is wrong. He remarked: “I wonder how a man like Aristotle could say that in the world there are only four elements - Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. The Earth is not an element. It contains many elements. Each metal, which is in the earth, is an element.
For 1,000 years this theory was never refuted, and remained the corner stone of physics. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq proved that Water, Air, and Fire were also not elements, but a mixture of elements. This he said 1,100 years before the European scientists discovered that air was not an element and had separated its constituents. To derive the fact that Air is not an element, but a mixture of elements, was impossible to conclude in the Imam's age and time. He said that there are many elements in the air and that all of them are essential for breathing.
It was only in the 18th century, which was considered the golden age of science, after Lavoisier separated oxygen from the air and demonstrated the important role it plays in breathing and combustion that they accepted that it is not an element. However, even then they were of the opinion that other elements do not play a part in breathing. In the middle of the 19th century scientists changed their views about the part played by other elements in breathing.
By that time it was also proved that although oxygen purifies blood, it also burns combustible materials, which come in contact with it. If living beings breath pure oxygen for a long time, their breathing organs would be oxidised. Oxygen does not damage them because it is mixed with other gases. Therefore, they concluded that the presence of other gases which are in very minute quantities in the air is also essential for breathing.
Moreover, oxygen being the heaviest of all other gases in the air would have settled at the bottom and covered the surface of the earth up to a certain depth. As a result, breathing organs of all animals would have been burnt and animal life would have become extinct. Moreover it would have cut off the supply of carbon dioxide, which plants need so badly, and made it impossible for them to grow on the surface of the earth. Presence of other gases in the air does not let oxygen settle down to the bottom and destroy animal and plant life.
At last, after more
than 1000 years, the theory of Ja’far as-Sadiq Rohimahullah that presence of
all gases in the air is essential for breathing was proved to be correct. He
was the first person to discover that oxygen produces acidity. Time did not
allow him to make known to the world further such revelations, but he was
indeed proved the pioneer and leader in the scientific study of oxygen.
Origin of the Universe
The Imam's another wonderful theory is about the 'Origin of the Universe'. When modern scientists read this theory they confirm that it totally agrees with the modern theory, which has not yet become a law of physics. However, it has the unique distinction that it was enunciated 12 centuries ago. The theory read as follows :
“ The universe was born out of a tiny particle, which had two opposite poles. That particle produced an atom. In this way matter came into being. Then the matter diversified. This diversification was caused by the density or rarity of the atoms.”
The most significant point in this theory is the description of two opposite poles. The importance of this point was realised when the presence of two opposite poles was proved by modern science. Today it is an undisputed fact in atomic science and electronics.
Another of his interesting theory was that the universe is not always in one and the same condition. In one periods it expands and in another it contracts.
This phenomenon was considered for centuries as inconceivable and the theory remained quite incomprehensible to the leading astronomers. After the 18th century more and more powerful telescopes were built and astronomers could see beyond our solar system. It was in 1960 that it was observed and confirmed by astronomers that distances between our galaxy and the neighbouring galaxies are increasing. These observations have provided sufficient proof that the universe is in a state of expansion. We do not know when this expansion started. The discovery of black holes has proved his other statement that the universe sometimes contracts was also proved true. Hence Jafar Sadique's theory was proved to be correct.
Contribution in Physics
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) made many discoveries in physics which no one had even dreamt of before him and no one could think of after him. One of the laws worked out by him is about opacity and transparency of materials. He said that materials which are solid and absorbent are opaque, and materials which are solid and repellent are more or less transparent. When he was asked about the thing which is absorbed by an opaque material, he replied “Heat”. Today this theory is one of the Laws of Physics.
Composition of the Human Body :
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) said that while all human beings were made from the earth, which was a known fact, he also said that whatever is in the earth is also in the human body, but all elements are not in the same proportion. Four elements are in very large quantity, eight elements in small quantities and eight elements in minute quantities. This theory was proved to be correct as late as the 18th century with the dissection of the human body.
Results of these
analysis show that the ratio of the major elements in human bodies is the same
throughout the world as Hazarat
Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) had said. The four elements which are
in large quantities in the human body are: Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen and
Nitrogen. The eight elements which are in small quantities are : Magnesium,
Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Iron, and Chlorine. The other
eight elements which are in very minute quantities are: Molybdenum, Cobalt,
Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Fluorine, Silicon and Iodine.
Discovery of Hydrogen :
The greatest miracle of the Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) was his revelation of the presence of oxygen in the air.
Separation of hydrogen from water was more difficult that separation of oxygen from air. Pure oxygen is available in the air, but pure hydrogen is not available anywhere. Hence hydrogen could not be obtained till sufficient power was developed and water was hydrolysed.
The discovery of these two gases depended upon their separation from air and water. The world amazes as to how reveal the presence of hydrogen in air which was a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas and does not exist freely in nature. They could not have identified this gas and found out its properties without separating it from water through the process of hydrolysis, which was impossible without a strong current of electricity.
The first person who was able to separate hydrogen from water in modern times was the English scientist Henry Cavendish, who died in 1810. After many years of research he was able to hydrolyse water and obtain hydrogen gas. He was also able to confirm that hydrogen gas was highly inflammable as a result of a freakish accident that he had while doing his experiments, which resulted in his house catching fire. It was eventually Lavoisier, the French chemist, who gave the name of hydrogen to this gas.
Theory of Light
Another great contribution to science of Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) was his Theory of Light. He said that light reflected by different objects comes to us, but only a part of the rays enter our eyes. That is the reason why we do not see distant objects clearly.
If all the rays of light which come from them entered our eyes, objects would appear near to us. If we make a device through which all the rays of light coming from the camels grazing at a distance of 3000 zirah (one zirah is 40 inches) entered our eyes we would see them grazing at a distance of only 60 zirah ie. All these objects would look 50 times nearer to us.
This theory spread far and wide through his students and reached Europe too.
It was this theory, which helped Lippershey of Flanders to make his first binoculars in 1608. Galileo made use of this binoculars and invented his telescope in 1610.
When Galileo was asked why his telescope made heavenly bodies look so near that they could see the mountains of the moon, he repeated the words of Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) and said : “This telescope collects all the rays of light coming from the heavenly bodies. When all the rays of light coming from the heavenly bodies are concentrated, the objects which are at a distance of 3,000 feet away appear to us as if they were at a distance of only 60 feet.”
Before the time of the Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah), it was believed that light from our eyes falls upon different objects so that they could be seen. He was the first to have said that “ the rays of the light from different objects come to our eyes and enable us to see them. The rays of light from our eyes do not go out and fall on other objects, otherwise we would be able to see them in the darkness also.”
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) also put forward a very interesting theory about the speed of light. He has said that light is a kind of motion which is very fast. This is in harmony to the modern theory of light.
Founder
of theory of the Laser.
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq
(Rohimahumullah) had once said during the course of his lectures that a
powerful beam of light could move heavy objects. The light which Moses (A’laihimus
salam) saw at Mount Sinai was of that kind. It could have moved the mountain if
Allah, almighty had so desired. It can be said that by making this statement,
he laid the foundation of the theory of the Laser.
Theory of transfer of Disease by Rays
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) has said that patients suffering from certain diseases emit special types of rays. If these rays fall upon a healthy person, they are apt to make him sick.
This theory was not acceptable to physicians and biologists. They were of the opinion that microbes and viruses were the main cause of many diseases, which were spread by insects, air, water, food and direct and indirect contact with patients.
No one before Hazarat
Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah), had ever said that diseases were also
transferred from one person to the other by means of rays, emitted from
patients suffering from certain diseases. This idea was rather ridiculed by the
learned people till it was proved to be correct by scientific studies.
Theory of Matter and Anti-Matter
One of the unique theories of Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) is that everything except Allah, almighty has its opposites, but this does not result in a conflict, otherwise the whole universe would be destroyed. This is the theory of matter and anti-matter. The difference between matter and anti-matter is that in matter the electrons are negatively charged and protons are positively charged. But in anti-matter, the electrons are positively charged and protons are negatively charged. Scientists have concluded that if one kilogram of matter collides with one kilogram of anti-matter, so much energy will be released that the whole world will be destroyed.
Professor Alfven is of the opinion that there is no other source in the universe, which can generate so much energy as quasars, except explosion of matter with anti-matter.
Just as uranium was used for exploding an atomic bomb, helium would be used
for exploding matter with anti-matter. Russian scientists have already obtained
anti-matter of helium.
Theory of the Light of the Stars
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) has said that among the clusters of stars which we see at night, some are so bright that our sun, in comparison, is quite insignificant.
Because of man's limited knowledge, many people during the Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah)'s time and centuries after him, considered this theory to be illogical, irrational and unacceptable. They could not believe that these small specks of light which are called stars, can have more light than the light of our big bright sun.
About twelve and a half centuries later, it was proved that what he said was quite correct. It has been discovered that there are stars in the universe, which are billions of times brighter than the sun. They are called quasars. The light of quasars is about quadrillion times (ten thousand billion times) the light of our sun. Some of them are at a distance of about 9000 million light years from the earth. The first such quasar was discovered in 1927.
Another important theory was that there are many worlds other than our own, that we cannot even count them. Their number is only in the knowledge of Allah (swt). Just as we have living beings on this planet, there are living beings on many other planets in the universe where conditions are suitable.
Our telescopes are even today not powerful enough to enable us to see what is beyond the quasars. Therefore we do not know how vast the universe is. It can only be surmised that in the universe there would be millions and millions of worlds, which have existed for billions of years and shall continue to do so for billions of years to come.
We must therefore
accept as Hazarat Ja’far
as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) has said, that, no one except Allah (swt)
knows the number of large and small worlds.
Pollution of Environment
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) has said that we should not pollute our environment otherwise it would become impossible to live on this planet thought Pollution was not a problem in his time. There was not a single factory in existence and metals were smelted in small furnaces by burning wood. This was not a theory but a scientific fact which cannot be refuted. It is estimated that if air pollution increases at the present rate for 50 years more, 50% of plankton will die and the quantity of oxygen in the air would be reduced by the same proportion.
Science and Philosophy
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) was not only a religious leader, but a scientist, a philosopher and a man of letters. He used to teach theology, philosopher, science and literature. He was the first scholar in the world to have separated science and philosophy. No one before him paid any attention to the important point that they are two different subjects. He remarked, while pointing out the difference between the two which shocked many philosophers. They can be divided in two parts.
The first part read as follows : “Science and philosophy are two different subjects. Science gives us definite and exact results even if they are small and insignificant. But philosophy serves no practical purpose and gives no useful results.”
The second part read as follows : “However, it is beyond the scope of science to discover the ultimate truth; but it is within the domain of philosophy to do that.”
As Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) was a religious leader he already knew the truth through religion and did not want to find it through philosophy. However, it was his firm conviction that philosophy would solve many problems. He was therefore more interested in philosophy than in science because it helped to recognise the Creator.
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq
(Rohimahumullah) was not a physician by profession, but he introduced
and formulated methods of diagnosis and treatment in the field of medicine.
Western scholars find it hard to believe how he could have introduced certain
diagnosis in that age and time.
Good Advice for Mothers
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq (Rohimahumullah) has advised mothers that they should put their new born babies to sleep on their left side.
For centuries this advice was considered by many as meaningless and absurd since no one could see any use in putting babies to sleep on the left side of mothers. Some people even went to the extent of remarking that it was dangerous to carry out his instructions. Mothers may take a turn while sleeping and crush the baby to death. No one in the East or West took that advice seriously. Even during the Renaissance period, when scholars in Europe studied every theory critically, no one tried to find out whether it had a scientific basis.
In 1865, Ezra Cornell founded the Cornell University in NYK. In this university he set up under the department of medicine, an institute for the Research on New Born and Suckling Babies. A research scholar of this institute who travelled to different parts of the world, observed that mothers in every country carried their babies in the left arms.
Doctors in this institute observed that babies who are put to sleep on the left side of their mothers sleep more soundly and peacefully but those who are put on the right side, wake up every now and then and cry. It was reported that for the first few days after their birth, babies would have no rest at all, if they are not on the left side of their mothers.
After the invention of holography, holographic pictures of unborn babies were taken which revealed that the mother's heartbeat reached the ears of the baby in the womb. Experiments were made of different mammals to find out the reaction of the foetus. All experiments showed that whenever the heart of the mother stopped beating, the foetus became restless and agitated, because it feeds on the blood, which comes to it with each and every heartbeat.
These experiments proved that unborn babies are not only used to hearing their mother's heartbeat, but their very existence depends upon them. Heartbeats mean to them a constant supply of food. Stoppage of heartbeats signals starvation and death. They depend so much upon the heartbeat that even after they are born, they become restless, if they do not hear it. A new-born knows its mother's heartbeat quite well and that is why it sleeps comfortably and peacefully, when it is on the left side of the mother and can hear the heartbeats clearly.
If the Cornell University had not been established and the research work on babies was not done, no one would ever have realised the scientific importance of the advice of the Imam that mothers should put their babies to sleep on their left side.
Hazarat Ja’far as-Sadiq
(Rohimahumullah) was ahead of his time by 1,100 years. Indeed he had
access to “Ilm Ladunni” (Divine Knowledge).
(Courtesy of: https://www.al-islam.org)
Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Arabic: أبو موسى جابر بن حيّان,
Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Arabic: أبو موسى جابر بن حيّان,
variously called al-Ṣūfī, al-Azdī, al-Kūfī,
or al-Ṭūsī), died c. 806−816,
is the purported author of an enormous number and variety of works in Arabic,
often called the Jabirian corpus. The works that survive today mainly deal with alchemy and chemistry.
A significant part of Jabir's writings
were informed by a philosophical theory known as "the science of the
balance" (Arabic: ʿilm al-mīzān), which was aimed at reducing
all phenomena (including material substances and their elements) to a system of
measures and quantitative proportions. The Jabirian works also contain some of
the earliest preserved Shi'ite eschatological, soteriological and imamological doctrines, which Jabir
presented as deriving from his purported master Hazarat Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq Rohimahullah.
However, the original scope
of the corpus was vast and diverse, covering a wide range of topics ranging
from cosmology, astronomy and astrology, over medicine, pharmacology, zoology and botany,
to metaphysics, logic, and grammar.
Jabir's works contain the
oldest known systematic classification of chemical substances, and the oldest
known instructions for deriving an inorganic compound (sal ammoniac or ammonium chloride)
from organic substances (such as plants,
blood, and hair) by chemical means.[Source: i) Kraus
1942–1943, vol. II, pp. 41–42 (referring to Stapleton 1905; Ruska 1923a; Ruska
1928). See also Stapleton, Azo & Hidayat Husain 1927, pp. 338–340] His
works also contain one of the earliest known versions of the sulfur-mercury
theory of metals, a mineralogical theory that would remain
dominant until the 18th century.
As early as the 10th century,
the identity and exact corpus of works of Jabir was in dispute in Islamic
scholarly circles.
Some Arabic Jabirian works
(e.g., The Great Book of Mercy, and The Book of Seventy)
were translated into Latin under the Latinized name Geber, and in
13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually referred to as pseudo-Geber,
started to produce alchemical and metallurgical writings under this name.[Sources: i) Newman 1985; Newman 1991, pp.
57–103. It has been argued by Ahmad Y. Al-Hassan that the pseudo-Geber works
were actually translated into Latin from the Arabic (see Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y.
"The Arabic Origin of the Summa and Geber Latin Works: A Refutation of
Berthelot, Ruska, and Newman Based on Arabic Sources", in: al-Hassan 2009,
pp. 53–104 ii) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabir_ibn_Hayyan]
Muslims distinguished disciplines inherited from pre-Islamic civilizations, such as philosophy and medicine, which they called "sciences of the ancients" or "rational sciences", from Islamic religious sciences. Sciences of the former type flourished for several centuries, and their transmission formed part of the educational framework in classical and medieval Islam. In some cases, they were supported by institutions such as the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, but more often they were transmitted informally from teacher to student.[Source: Jonathan Berkey (2004). "Education". In Richard C. Martin (ed.). Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. MacMillan Reference USA.]
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā Al-Khwarizmi
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī[note 1] (Arabic: محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي; c. 780 – c. 850), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persian polymath from Khwarazm,[Sources: i) Clifford A. Pickover (2009). The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-4027-5796-9..
ii) Saliba, George (September 1998). "Science and
medicine". Iranian Studies. 31 (3–4): 681–690. doi:10.1080/00210869808701940.
iii) A History of Science in World Cultures: Voices of Knowledge.
Routledge. Page 228. "Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (780–850) was a
Persian astronomer and mathematician from the district of Khwarism (Uzbekistan
area of Central Asia)."
iv) Ben-Menahem, Ari (2009). Historical Encyclopedia of Natural and
Mathematical Sciences (1st ed.). Berlin: Springer. pp. 942–943. ISBN 978-3-540-68831-0. Persian mathematician Al-Khowarizmi
v) Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E.; Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Beck, Roger B.; Davila, Jerry; Crowston, Clare Haru; McKay, John P. (2017). A History of World Societies (11th ed.). Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 419. Near the beginning of this period the Persian scholar al-Khwarizmi (d. ca. 850) harmonized Greek and Indian findings to produce astronomical tables that formed the basis for later Eastern and Western research.] who produced vastly influential works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Around 820 CE, he was appointed as the astronomer and head of the library of the House of Wisdom (Baitul Hikmah) in Baghdad.[Source: Maher, P. (1998), "From Al-Jabr to Algebra", Mathematics in School, 27(4), 14–15].
Al-Khwarizmi's popularizing treatise on algebra (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, c. 813–833 CE presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. One of his principal achievements in algebra was his demonstration of how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square, for which he provided geometric justifications.Because he was the first to treat algebra as an independent discipline and introduced the methods of "reduction" and "balancing.
The term algebra itself comes from the title of his book (the word al-jabr meaning "completion" or "rejoining").[Source: Brentjes, Sonja (1 June 2007). "Algebra". Encyclopaedia of Islam,] His name gave rise to the terms algorism and algorithm,[Sources: i) Daffa 1977
ii)
Clegg, Brian (1 October
2019). Scientifica
Historica: How the world's great science books chart the history of knowledge. Ivy
Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-78240-879-6. Archived from
the original on 28 March 2023.
Retrieved 30 December 2021.
iii)
Knuth,
Donald (1979). Algorithms
in Modern Mathematics and Computer Science (PDF). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-11157-5. the
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese terms algoritmo, and the Spanish guarismo and
Portuguese algarismo, both meaning "digit".[Sources: i) Gandz, Solomon (1926). "The Origin of the Term
"Algebra"". ii) The American Mathematical Monthly. 33 (9):
437–440. doi:10.2307/2299605. ISSN 0002-9890]
1.
In the 12th century, Latin translations of his
textbook on arithmetic (Algorithmo de Numero Indorum) which codified the
various Indian numerals, introduced the decimal positional number system to the
Western world.[Source: Struik 1987, p. 93] The Compendious Book on Calculation
by Completion and Balancing, translated into Latin by Robert of Chester in
1145, was used until the sixteenth century as the principal mathematical
text-book of European universities.[Sources: i) Philip Khuri Hitti (2002). History
of the Arabs. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 379. ISBN 978-1-137-03982-8.
ii)
Fred
James Hill, Nicholas Awde (2003). A
History of the Islamic World. Hippocrene Books. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-7818-1015-9. "The
Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing" (Hisab
al-Jabr wa H-Muqabala) on the development of the subject cannot be
underestimated. Translated into Latin during the twelfth century, it remained
the principal mathematics textbook in European universities until the sixteenth
century
iii)
Shawn Overbay; Jimmy Schorer;
Heather Conger. "Al-Khwarizmi". University of Kentucky. "Islam
Spain and the history of technology". www.sjsu.edu.
In addition to his best-known works, he revised Ptolemy's Geography, listing
the longitudes and latitudes of various cities and localities.[Source: Bartel Leenert van der Waerden (1985). A History of
Algebra: From al–Khwarizmi to Emmy Noether. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.]
He further produced a set of astronomical tables and wrote about calendaric
works, as well as the astrolabe and the sundial.[Source: Arndt 1983, p. 669].
He also made important contributions to trigonometry, producing accurate sine and cosine tables, and the first table of tangents.
Contributions
Al-Khwārizmī's contributions to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography established the basis for innovation in algebra and trigonometry. His systematic approach to solving linear and quadratic equations led to algebra, a word derived from the title of his book on the subject, "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing".[Source: Yahya Tabesh; Shima Salehi. "Mathematics Education in Iran From Ancient to Modern" (PDF). Sharif University of Technology. ]
On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals, written about 820, was principally responsible for spreading the Hindu–Arabic numeral system throughout the Middle East and Europe. It was translated into Latin as Algoritmi de numero Indorum. Al-Khwārizmī, rendered as (Latin) Algoritmi, led to the term "algorithm".
Some of his work was based on Persian and Babylonian astronomy, Indian numbers, and Greek mathematics.
Al-Khwārizmī systematized and corrected Ptolemy's data for Africa and the Middle East. Another major book was Kitab surat al-ard ("The Image of the Earth"; translated as Geography), presenting the coordinates of places based on those in the Geography of Ptolemy but with improved values for the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, and Africa.
1.
He also wrote on mechanical devices like
the astrolabe [Source: Joseph Frank, al-Khwarizmi über das Astrolab,
1922]. and sundial. He
assisted a project to determine the circumference of the Earth and in making a
world map for al-Ma'mun, the
caliph, overseeing 70 geographers.[Source: "al-Khwarizmi". Encyclopædia Britannica.
Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.] When,
in the 12th century, his works spread to Europe through Latin translations, it
had a profound impact on the advance of mathematics in Europe.
Details: i) The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing
ii)
Latin
translations of the 12th century, Mathematics
in medieval Islam, iii) Science
in the medieval Islamic world
The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing (Arabic: الكتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر والمقابلة al-Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wal-muqābala) is a mathematical book written approximately 820 CE. The book was written with the encouragement of Caliph al-Ma'mun as a popular work on calculation and is replete with examples and applications to a wide range of problems in trade, surveying and legal inheritance.[Source: Rosen, Frederic. "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, al-Khwārizmī". 1831 English Translation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2009.] The term "algebra" is derived from the name of one of the basic operations with equations (al-jabr, meaning "restoration", referring to adding a number to both sides of the equation to consolidate or cancel terms) described in this book. The book was translated in Latin as Liber algebrae et almucabala by Robert of Chester (Segovia, 1145) hence "algebra", and also by Gerard of Cremona. A unique Arabic copy is kept at Oxford and was translated in 1831 by F. Rosen. A Latin translation is kept in Cambridge.[Source: Karpinski, L.C. (1912). "History of Mathematics in the Recent Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica". Science. 35 (888): 29–31. Bibcode:1912Sci....35...29K. doi:10.1126/science.35.888.29. PMID 17752897.]
It provided
an exhaustive account of solving polynomial equations up to the second degree,[Source: Boyer 1991, p. 228: "The Arabs in general
loved a good clear argument from premise to conclusion, as well as systematic
organization — respects in which neither Diophantus nor the Hindus
excelled."] and discussed the fundamental
method of "reduction" and "balancing", referring to the
transposition of terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the
cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation.[Source: (Boyer
1991, "The Arabic Hegemony" p. 229) ]
Al-Khwārizmī's method of solving linear and quadratic equations worked by first reducing the equation to one of six standard forms (where b and c are positive integers)
· squares equal roots (ax2 = bx)
· squares equal number (ax2 = c)
· roots equal number (bx = c)
· squares and roots equal number (ax2 + bx = c)
· squares and number equal roots (ax2 + c = bx)
· roots and number equal squares (bx + c = ax2)
by dividing out the coefficient of the square and using the two operations al-jabr (Arabic: الجبر "restoring" or "completion") and al-muqābala ("balancing"). Al-jabr is the process of removing negative units, roots and squares from the equation by adding the same quantity to each side. For example, x2 = 40x − 4x2 is reduced to 5x2 = 40x. Al-muqābala is the process of bringing quantities of the same type to the same side of the equation. For example, x2 + 14 = x + 5 is reduced to x2 + 9 = x.
The above discussion uses modern mathematical notation for the types of problems that the book discusses. However, in al-Khwārizmī's day, most of this notation had not yet been invented, so he had to use ordinary text to present problems and their solutions. For example, for one problem he writes, (from an 1831 translation)
If some one says: "You divide ten into two parts: multiply the one by itself; it will be equal to the other taken eighty-one times." Computation: You say, ten less a thing, multiplied by itself, is a hundred plus a square less twenty things, and this is equal to eighty-one things. Separate the twenty things from a hundred and a square, and add them to eighty-one. It will then be a hundred plus a square, which is equal to a hundred and one roots. Halve the roots; the moiety is fifty and a half. Multiply this by itself, it is two thousand five hundred and fifty and a quarter. Subtract from this one hundred; the remainder is two thousand four hundred and fifty and a quarter. Extract the root from this; it is forty-nine and a half. Subtract this from the moiety of the roots, which is fifty and a half. There remains one, and this is one of the two parts.[Source: Rosen, Frederic. "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, al-Khwārizmī". 1831 English Translation.]
Arithmetic
Al-Khwārizmī's
second most influential work was on the subject of arithmetic, which survived
in Latin translations but is lost in the original Arabic. His writings include
the text kitāb al-ḥisāb al-hindī ('Book of Indian computation'), and perhaps a
more elementary text, kitab al-jam' wa'l-tafriq al-ḥisāb al-hindī ('Addition
and subtraction in Indian arithmetic').[Sources: i) Burnett
2017, p. 39. ii) Avari,
Burjor (2013), Islamic
Civilization in South Asia: A history of Muslim power and presence in the
Indian subcontinent, Routledge,
pp. 31–32, ISBN 978-0-415-58061-8,
These texts described algorithms on decimal numbers (Hindu–Arabic numerals) that could be carried out on a dust board. Called takht in Arabic (Latin: tabula), a board covered with a thin layer of dust or sand was employed for calculations, on which figures could be written with a stylus and easily erased and replaced when necessary. Al-Khwarizmi's algorithms were used for almost three centuries, until replaced by Al-Uqlidisi's algorithms that could be carried out with pen and paper.[Source: Van Brummelen, Glen (2017), "Arithmetic", in Thomas F. Glick (ed.), Routledge Revivals: Medieval Science, Technology and Medicine (2006): An Encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, p. 46, ISBN 978-1-351-67617-5.]
As part of 12th century wave of Arabic science flowing into Europe via translations, these texts proved to be revolutionary in Europe.[Source: Thomas F. Glick, ed. (2017), "Al-Khwarizmi", Routledge Revivals: Medieval Science, Technology and Medicine (2006): An Encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-1-351-67617-5] Al-Khwarizmi's Latinized name, Algorismus, turned into the name of method used for computations, and survives in the modern term "algorithm". It gradually replaced the previous abacus-based methods used in Europe.[Source: Van Brummelen, Glen (2017), "Arithmetic", in Thomas F. Glick (ed.), Routledge Revivals: Medieval Science, Technology and Medicine (2006): An Encyclopedia, Taylor & Francis, pp. 46–47, ISBN 978-1-351-67617-5]
Four Latin texts providing adaptions of Al-Khwarizmi's methods have survived, even though none of them is believed to be a literal translation:
Dixit Algorizmi
(published in 1857 under the title Algoritmi de Numero Indorum[[Sources: i) Burnett 2017, p. 39 ii) "Algoritmi de
numero Indorum", Trattati D'Aritmetica, Rome: Tipografia delle Scienze
Fisiche e Matematiche, 1857, pp. 1–, archived from the original on 28 March
2023, retrieved 6 May 2019
Crossley, John N.; Henry, Alan S. (1990), "Thus Spake al-Khwārizmī: A Translation of the Text of Cambridge University Library Ms. Ii.vi.5", Historia Mathematica, 17 (2): 103–131, doi:10.1016/0315-0860(90)90048-I]
Liber
Alchoarismi de Practica Arismetice:
Liber
Ysagogarum Alchorismi
Dixit Algorizmi
('Thus spake Al-Khwarizmi') is the starting phrase of a manuscript in the University
of Cambridge library, which is generally referred to by its 1857 title
Algoritmi de Numero Indorum. It is attributed to the Adelard of Bath, who had
also translated the astronomical tables in 1126. It is perhaps the closest to
Al-Khwarizmi's own writings.[Source: Crossley,
John N.; Henry, Alan S. (1990), "Thus Spake al-Khwārizmī: A Translation of
the Text of Cambridge University Library Ms. Ii.vi.5", Historia
Mathematica, 17 (2): 103–131, doi:10.1016/0315-0860(90)90048-I]
Al-Khwarizmi's work on arithmetic was responsible for introducing the Arabic numerals, based on the Hindu–Arabic numeral system developed in Indian mathematics, to the Western world. The term "algorithm" is derived from the algorism, the technique of performing arithmetic with Hindu-Arabic numerals developed by al-Khwārizmī. Both "algorithm" and "algorism" are derived from the Latinized forms of al-Khwārizmī's name, Algoritmi and Algorismi, respectively.
Astronomy
Al-Khwārizmī's Zīj
al-Sindhind[38] (Arabic: زيج السند هند, "astronomical tables of Siddhanta"
is a work consisting of approximately 37 chapters on calendrical and
astronomical calculations and 116 tables with calendrical, astronomical and
astrological data, as well as a table of sine values. This is the first of many
Arabic Zijes based on the Indian astronomical methods known as the sindhind. [Sources: i) Thurston, Hugh (1996), Early Astronomy,
Springer Science & Business Media, pp. 204–, ISBN 978-0-387-94822-5 ii) Kennedy
1956, pp. 26–29]
The word Sindhind is
a corruption of the Sanskrit Siddhānta, which is the usual designation of an
astronomical textbook. In fact, the mean motions in the tables of al-Khwarizmi
are derived from those in the "corrected Brahmasiddhanta" (Brahmasphutasiddhanta)
of Brahmagupta.[Source: Waerden, Bartel L. van
der (1985). A History of Algebra: From al-Khwārizmī to Emmy Noether. Berlin
Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. p. 10. ISBN 978-3-642-51601-6.]
The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. This work marked the turning point in Islamic astronomy. Hitherto, Muslim astronomers had adopted a primarily research approach to the field, translating works of others and learning already discovered knowledge.
The original Arabic version (written c. 820) is lost, but a version by the Spanish astronomer Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti (c. 1000) has survived in a Latin translation, presumably by Adelard of Bath (26 January 1126).[Source: Kennedy 1956, p. 128] The four surviving manuscripts of the Latin translation are kept at the Bibliothèque publique (Chartres), the Bibliothèque Mazarine (Paris), the Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid) and the Bodleian Library (Oxford).
Honors
·
Al-Khwarizmi (crater) — A crater on the far side of the moon → El-Baz,
Farouk (1973). "Al-Khwarizmi: A New-Found Basin on the Lunar Far
Side". Science. 180 (4091):
1173–1176. Bibcode:1973Sci...180.1173E. doi:10.1126/science.180.4091.1173. JSTOR 1736378. PMID 17743602. S2CID 10623582. NASA Portal: Apollo 11, Photography Index.
·
13498 Al
Chwarizmi — Main-belt Asteroid,
Discovered 1986 Aug 6 by E. W. Elst and V. G. Ivanova at Smolyan.
·
11156
Al-Khwarismi — Main-belt Asteroid,
Discovered 1997 Dec 31 by P. G. Comba at Prescott.
(Courtesy of wikipedia, Encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Khwarizmi)
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn bin ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī bin
Sīnā al-Balkhi al-Bukhari
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn bin ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Ḥasan bin ʿAlī
bin Sīnā al-Balkhi al-Bukhari (أبو علي الحسين
بن عبد الله بن الحسن بن علي بن سينا البلخي البخاري).[Sources: i) "Avicenna", Consortium of European
Research Libraries, archived from the original on 19 August 2021, retrieved 19
August 2021. ii) Avicenna (1935), "Majmoo' rasaa'il al-sheikh al-ra'iis
abi Ali al-Hussein ibn Abdullah ibn Sina al-Bukhari" مجموع رسائل الشيخ الرئيس اب علي الحسين ابن عبدالله ابن سينا البخاري [The Grand Sheikh Ibn
Sina's Collection of Treatises], World Digital Library (first ed.), Haydarabad
Al-Dakan: Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Press, archived from the original on 19
August 2021, retrieved 19 August 2021 (Persian:
ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known
in the West as Avicenna (/ˌævɪˈsɛnə, ˌɑːvɪ-/), was the
preeminent philosopher and physician of
the Muslim
world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of
various Iranian rulers. He is often described as the father of early modern
medicine. His philosophy was of the Muslim Peripatetic school derived from Aristotelianism.[Sources:
i Saffari, Mohsen; Pakpour, Amir (1 December
2012). "Avicenna's Canon of Medicine: A Look at Health, Public Health, and
Environmental Sanitation". Archives of Iranian Medicine. 15 (12): 785–9.
PMID 23199255. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 11 August
2018. "Avicenna was a well-known Persian and a Muslim scientist who was
considered to be the father of early modern medicine."
Career
At the age of seventeen, Avicenna was made a physician of Nuh II. Avicenna later moved to Gurganj, the capital of Khwarazm, which he reports that he did
due to "necessity" Avicenna may have found himself in an unfavorable
position after the fall of his suzerain.[Source: Gutas 1987, pp. 67–70. ] It was through the minister of Gurganj, Abu'l-Husayn as-Sahi, a patron
of Greek sciences, that Avicenna entered into the service of Abu al-Hasan Ali.[Source: Gutas 2014, p. 19
(see also note 28)] Under the Ma'munids, Gurganj
became a centre of learning, attracting many prominent figures, such as
Avicenna and his former teacher Abu Sahl al-Masihi, the mathematician Abu Nasr Mansur, the physician Ibn al-Khammar, and the philologist al-Tha'alibi.
In Gurgan
Avicenna later moved due to "necessity" once more (in 1012), this time to the west. There he travelled through the Khurasani cities of Nasa, Abivard, Tus, Samangan and Jajarm. He was planning to visit the ruler of the city of Gurgan, the Ziyarid Qabus (r. 977–981, 997–1012), a cultivated patron of writing, whose court attracted many distinguished poets and scholars. However, when Avicenna eventually arrived, he discovered that the ruler had been dead since the winter of 1013. Avicenna then left Gurgan for Dihistan, but returned after becoming ill. There he met Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani (died 1070) who became his pupil and companion. Avicenna stayed briefly in Gurgan, reportedly serving Qabus's son and successor Manuchihr (r. 1012–1031) and resided in the house of a patron.[Source: Gutas 1987, pp. 67–70. 26]
Principal
works
The
Canon of Medicine
Avicenna authored a five-volume medical encyclopedia: The Canon of Medicine (Al-Qanun fi't-Tibb). It was used as the standard medical textbook in the Islamic world and Europe up to the 18th century.[Sources: i) McGinnis, Jon (2010). Avicenna. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-19-533147-9. ii) A.C. Brown, Jonathan (2014). Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy. Oneworld Publications. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-78074-420-9.]] The Canon still plays an important role in Unani medicine.[Source: Indian Studies on Ibn Sina's Works by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Avicenna (Scientific and Practical International Journal of Ibn Sino International Foundation, Tashkent/Uzbekistan. 1–2; 2003: 40–42]
Liber Primus Naturalium
Avicenna considered
whether events like rare diseases or disorders have natural causes. He
used the example of polydactyly to explain his
perception that causal reasons exist for all medical events. This view of
medical phenomena anticipated developments in the Enlightenment by seven
centuries.[Sources:i)
Avicenna Latinus. 1992. Liber Primus Naturalium: Tractatus Primus, De Causis et
Principiis Naturalium. Leiden (The Netherlands): E.J. Brill. ii) Axel Lange and
Gerd B. Müller. Polydactyly in Development, Inheritance, and Evolution. The
Quarterly Review of Biology Vol. 92, No. 1, Mar. 2017, pp. 1–38.
doi:10.1086/690841.]
The Book of Healing
Earth
sciences
Avicenna wrote on Earth sciences such as geology in The Book of Healing.[Source: Stephen Toulmin and June Goodfield (1965), The Ancestry of Science: The Discovery of Time, p. 64, University of Chicago Press (cf. The Contribution of Ibn Sina to the development of Earth sciences Archived 14 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine) q`91]
Physics
In mechanics, Avicenna, in The Book of Healing, developed a theory of motion, in which he made a distinction between the inclination (tendency to motion) and force of a projectile, and concluded that motion was a result of an inclination (mayl) transferred to the projectile by the thrower, and that projectile motion in a vacuum would not cease.[Source: Fernando Espinoza (2005). "An analysis of the historical development of ideas about motion and its implications for teaching", Physics Education 40 (2), p. 141.] He viewed inclination as a permanent force whose effect is dissipated by external forces such as air resistance.[Source: A. Sayili (1987), "Ibn Sīnā and Buridan on the Motion of the Projectile", Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 500 (1), pp. 477–482: "It was a permanent force whose effect got dissipated only as a result of external agents such as air resistance. He is apparently the first to conceive such a permanent type of impressed virtue for non-natural motion."]
The theory of motion presented by Avicenna was probably influenced by the 6th-century Alexandrian scholar John Philoponus. Avicenna's is a less sophisticated variant of the theory of impetus developed by Buridan in the 14th century. It is unclear if Buridan was influenced by Avicenna, or by Philoponus directly.[Source: Jack Zupko, "John Buridan" in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2014 (fn. 48 Archived 11 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine) "We do not know precisely where Buridan got the idea of impetus, but a less sophisticated notion of impressed forced can be found in Avicenna's doctrine of mayl (inclination). In this he was possibly influenced by Philoponus, who was developing the Stoic notion of hormé (impulse). For discussion, see Zupko (1997) ['What Is the Science of the Soul? A Case Study in the Evolution of Late Medieval Natural Philosophy,' Synthese, 110(2): 297–334]."]
In optics, Avicenna was among those who argued that light had a speed, observing that "if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by a luminous source, the speed of light must be finite."[Source: George Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, Vol. 1, p. 710.] He also provided a wrong explanation of the rainbow phenomenon. Carl Benjamin Boyer described Avicenna's ("Ibn Sīnā") theory on the rainbow as follows:
Independent observation had demonstrated to him that the bow is not formed in the dark cloud but rather in the very thin mist lying between the cloud and the sun or observer. The cloud, he thought, serves as the background of this thin substance, much as a quicksilver lining is placed upon the rear surface of the glass in a mirror. Ibn Sīnā would change the place not only of the bow, but also of the color formation, holding the iridescence to be merely a subjective sensation in the eye.[Source: Carl Benjamin Boyer (1954). "Robert Grosseteste on the Rainbow", Osiris 11, pp. 247–258 [248].]
In 1253, a Latin text entitled Speculum Tripartitum stated the following regarding Avicenna's theory on heat:
Avicenna says in his book of heaven and earth, that heat is generated from motion in external things.[Source: Gutman, Oliver (1997). "On the Fringes of the Corpus Aristotelicum: the Pseudo-Avicenna Liber Celi Et Mundi". Early Science and Medicine. 2 (2): 109–128. doi:10.1163/157338297X00087]
Psychology
Avicenna's legacy in
classical psychology is primarily embodied in the Kitab al-nafs parts of
his Kitab al-shifa (The Book of Healing) and Kitab al-najat
(The Book of Deliverance). These were known in Latin under the title De
Anima (treatises "on the soul").[dubious
discuss]
Notably, Avicenna develops what is called the Flying
Man argument in the Psychology of The Cure I.1.7 as defence
of the argument that the soul is without quantitative extension, which has an
affinity with Descartes's cogito
argument (or what phenomenology designates as a
form of an "epoche").[Sources: i) Nader El-Bizri, The
Phenomenological Quest between Avicenna and Heidegger (Binghamton, NY: Global
Publications SUNY, 2000), pp. 149–171.
Nader El-Bizri, "Avicenna's De Anima between Aristotle and Husserl," in The Passions of the Soul in the Metamorphosis of Becoming, ed. Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), pp. 67–89]
Avicenna's psychology requires that connection between the body and soul be strong enough to ensure the soul's individuation, but weak enough to allow for its immortality. Avicenna grounds his psychology on physiology, which means his account of the soul is one that deals almost entirely with the natural science of the body and its abilities of perception.
Thus, the philosopher's connection between the soul and body is explained almost entirely by his understanding of perception; in this way, bodily perception interrelates with the immaterial human intellect. In sense perception, the perceiver senses the form of the object; first, by perceiving features of the object by our external senses.
This sensory information is supplied to the internal senses, which merge all the pieces into a whole, unified conscious experience. This process of perception and abstraction is the nexus of the soul and body, for the material body may only perceive material objects, while the immaterial soul may only receive the immaterial, universal forms. The way the soul and body interact in the final abstraction of the universal from the concrete particular is the key to their relationship and interaction, which takes place in the physical body.[Source: Avicenna (1952). F. Rahman (ed.). Avicenna's Psychology. An English translation of Kitāb al-Najāt, Book II, Chapter VI, with Historico-Philosophical Notes and Textual Improvements on the Cairo edition. London: Oxford University Press, Geoffrey Cumberlege. p. 41.]
The soul completes the action of intellection by accepting forms that have been abstracted from matter. This process requires a concrete particular (material) to be abstracted into the universal intelligible (immaterial). The material and immaterial interact through the Active Intellect, which is a "divine light" containing the intelligible forms.[Source: Avicenna (1952). F. Rahman (ed.). Avicenna's Psychology. An English translation of Kitāb al-Najāt, Book II, Chapter VI, with Historico-Philosophical Notes and Textual Improvements on the Cairo edition. London: Oxford University Press, Geoffrey Cumberlege. pp. 68–69.] The Active Intellect reveals the universals concealed in material objects much like the sun makes colour available to our eyes.
Other
contributions
Astronomy
and astrology
Avicenna wrote an attack on astrology titled Resāla fī ebṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm, in which he cited passages from the Quran to dispute the power of astrology to foretell the future.[109] He believed that each planet had some influence on the earth, but argued against astrologers being able to determine the exact effects.[Source: Saliba, George (2011). "Avicenna". Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition.]
Avicenna's astronomical writings had some influence on later writers, although in general his work could be considered less developed than Alhazen or Al-Biruni. One important feature of his writing is that he considers mathematical astronomy as a separate discipline to astrology.[Source: Sally P. Ragep (2007). "Ibn Sīnā: Abū ʿAlī al‐Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā". In Thomas Hockey (ed.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 570–572.]
He criticized Aristotle's view of the stars receiving their light from the Sun, stating that the stars are self-luminous, and believed that the planets are also self-luminous.[Source: Ariew, Roger (March 1987). "The phases of venus before 1610". Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A. 18 (1): 81–92. Bibcode:1987SHPSA..18...81A. doi:10.1016/0039-3681(87)90012-4.]
He claimed to have observed Venus as a spot on the Sun. This is possible, as there was a transit on 24 May 1032, but Avicenna did not give the date of his observation, and modern scholars have questioned whether he could have observed the transit from his location at that time; he may have mistaken a sunspot for Venus. He used his transit observation to help establish that Venus was, at least sometimes, below the Sun in Ptolemaic cosmology,[111] i.e. the sphere of Venus comes before the sphere of the Sun when moving out from the Earth in the prevailing geocentric model.[Sources: i) Sally P. Ragep (2007). "Ibn Sīnā: Abū ʿAlī al‐Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā". In Thomas Hockey (ed.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 570–572. ii) Goldstein, Bernard R. (1969). "Some Medieval Reports of Venus and Mercury Transits". Centaurus. 14 (1): 49–59. Bibcode:1969Cent...14...49G. iii) Goldstein, Bernard R. (March 1972). "Theory and Observation in Medieval Astronomy". Isis. 63 (1): 39–47 [44]. Bibcode:1972Isis...63...39G. doi:10.1086/350839. S2CID 120700705].
He also wrote the Summary of the Almagest, (based on Ptolemy's Almagest), with an appended treatise "to bring that which is stated in the Almagest and what is understood from Natural Science into conformity". For example, Avicenna considers the motion of the solar apogee, which Ptolemy had taken to be fixed.[Source: Sally P. Ragep (2007). "Ibn Sīnā: Abū ʿAlī al‐Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Sīnā". In Thomas Hockey (ed.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 570–572.]
Chemistry
Avicenna was first to derive the attar of flowers from distillation[115] and used steam distillation to produce essential oils such as rose essence, which he used as aromatherapeutic treatments for heart conditions.[ Sources: i) Essa, Ahmed; Ali, Othman (2010). Studies in Islamic Civilization: The Muslim Contribution to the Renaissance. International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT). p. 70. ISBN 978-1-56564-350-5.ii) Marlene Ericksen (2000). Healing with Aromatherapy, p. 9. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-658-00382-8. iii) Ghulam Moinuddin Chishti (1991). The Traditional Healer's Handbook: A Classic Guide to the Medicine of Avicenna. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-89281-438-]
Unlike al-Razi, Avicenna explicitly disputed the theory of the transmutation of substances commonly believed by alchemists:
Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change.
Four works on
alchemy attributed to Avicenna were translated into Latin as:[Sources:
i) Robert Briffault (1938). The Making of Humanity, p. 196–197. ii) Georges C.
Anawati (1996), "Arabic alchemy", in Roshdi Rashed, ed., Encyclopedia
of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, pp. 853–885 [875]. Routledge, London
and New York.119]
- Liber Aboali Abincine de Anima in arte Alchemiae
- Declaratio Lapis physici Avicennae filio sui Aboali
Avicennae de congelatione et conglutinatione lapidum
Avicennae ad Hasan Regem epistola de Re recta
Liber Aboali Abincine de Anima in arte Alchemiae
was the most influential, having influenced later medieval
chemists and alchemists such as Vincent of Beauvais. However,
Anawati argues (following Ruska) that the de Anima is a fake by a Spanish
author. Similarly the Declaratio is believed not to be actually by Avicenna.
The third work (The Book of Minerals) is agreed to be Avicenna's
writing, adapted from the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of the Remedy).
Avicenna classified minerals into stones, fusible substances, sulfurs and
salts, building on the ideas of Aristotle and Jabir.
The epistola de
Re recta is somewhat less sceptical of alchemy; Anawati argues that it is
by Avicenna, but written earlier in his career when he had not yet firmly
decided that transmutation was impossible.[Sources:
i) Georges C. Anawati (1996), "Arabic alchemy", in Roshdi Rashed,
ed., Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 3, pp. 853–885 [875].
Routledge, London and New York.
List
of works
Avicenna's works further include:[Sources: i) "Ibn Sina Abu 'Ali Al-Husayn". Muslimphilosophy.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.ii) Tasaneef lbn Sina by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Tabeeb Haziq, , Pakistan, 1986, pp. 176–198]
- Sirat al-shaykh al-ra'is (The Life of Avicenna), ed. and trans. WE. Gohlman, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1974. (The only critical edition of Avicenna's autobiography, supplemented with material from a biography by his student Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani. A more recent translation of the Autobiography appears in D. Gutas, Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition: Introduction to Reading Avicenna's Philosophical Works, Leiden: Brill, 1988; second edition 2014.)
- Al-isharat wa al-tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions), ed. S. Dunya, Cairo, 1960; parts translated by S.C. Inati, Remarks and Admonitions, Part One: Logic, Toronto, Ont.: Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies, 1984, and Ibn Sina and Mysticism, Remarks and Admonitions: Part 4, London: Kegan Paul International, 1996.
- Al-Qanun fi'l-tibb (The Canon of Medicine), ed. I. a-Qashsh, Cairo, 1987. (Encyclopedia of medicine.) manuscript, Latin translation, Flores Avicenne, Michael de Capella, 1508,] Modern text. Ahmed Shawkat Al-Shatti, Jibran Jabbur.
- Risalah fi sirr al-qadar (Essay on the Secret of Destiny), trans. G. Hourani in Reason and Tradition in Islamic Ethics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
- Danishnama-i 'ala'i (The Book of Scientific Knowledge), ed. and trans. P. Morewedge, The Metaphysics of Avicenna, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973.
- Kitab al-Shifa' (The Book of Healing). (Avicenna's major work on philosophy. He probably began to compose al-Shifa' in 1014, and completed it in 1020.) Critical editions of the Arabic text have been published in Cairo, 1952–83, originally under the supervision of I. Madkour.
- Kitab al-Najat (The Book of Salvation), trans. F. Rahman, Avicenna's Psychology: An English Translation of Kitab al-Najat, Book II, Chapter VI with Historical-philosophical Notes and Textual Improvements on the Cairo Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952. (The psychology of al-Shifa'.) (Digital version of the Arabic text)
- Risala fi'l-Ishq (A Treatise on Love). Translated by Emil L. Fackenheim.
(Courtesy of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicenna)
Alhambra
The Alhambra (/ælˈhæmbrə/, Spanish: [aˈlambɾa ]; Arabic: الْحَمْرَاء, romanized: al-ḥamrāʼ ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Islamic world, in addition to containing notable examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture.[Source:i) "Alhambra, General Life and Albayzín, Granada". World Heritage List. UNESCO]
The complex was begun in 1238 by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of Al-Andalus. It was built on the Sabika hill, an outcrop of the Sierra Nevada which had been the site of earlier fortresses and of the 11th-century palace of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. Later Nasrid rulers continuously modified the site. The most significant construction campaigns, which gave the royal palaces much of their definitive character, took place in the 14th century during the reigns of Yusuf I and Muhammad V.[6][ Sources: García-Arenal, Mercedes (2014). "Granada". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three. ISSN 1873-9830. "Granada". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911].
During the Nasrid era, the Alhambra was a self-contained city separate from the rest of Granada below.[Source: Bloom 2020, p. 152.] It contained most of the amenities of a Muslim city such as a Friday mosque, hammams (public baths), roads, houses, artisan workshops, a tannery, and a sophisticated water supply system.[Sources: i) López 2011, pp. 201–215).ii) Ruggles 2008.] As a royal city and citadel, it contained at least six major palaces, most of them located along the northern edge where they commanded views over the Albaicín quarter.[Source: Bloom 2020, p. 152.]
The most famous and best-preserved are the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, the Palace of the Lions, and the Partal Palace, which form the main attraction to visitors today. The other palaces are known from historical sources and from modern excavations.
At the Alhambra's western tip is the Alcazaba fortress. Multiple smaller towers and fortified gates are also located along the Alhambra's walls. Outside the Alhambra walls and located nearby to the east is the Generalife, a former Nasrid country estate and summer palace accompanied by historic orchards and modern landscaped gardens.[Sources: i) Ruggles 2008. ii) López 2011. iii) Arnold 2017.iv) López 2011, pp. 219–225.
The Alhambra was one of the first Islamic monuments to become the object of modern scientific study and has been the subject of numerous restorations since the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[Sources: i) "Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada". World Heritage List. UNESCO. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008]
Baths of the mosque
One of the Alhambra Mosque's annexes, the baths (hammam), has been preserved on the east side of the church today and is accessible from the main street. Like other Islamic baths, it provided general hygiene to the local residents as well as the means to perform the ritual ablutions (ghusl) for religious purposes.Although sometimes eroticized in Romantic western literature, visitors attended the baths strictly with members of the same sex and wore cloths or towels around their private parts. These baths were constructed under Muhammad III along with the mosque. They may have been partly demolished in 1534 before being incorporated into a residential house during the 17th and 18th centuries. The preserved remains were significant enough to enable their restoration and reconstruction in 1934.[Sources: i) Irwin 2004, p. 46. ii) López 2011, pp. 213–215.]
Al-Azhar University
The Al-Azhar University (/ˈɑːzhɑːr/ AHZ-har; Arabic: جامعة الأزهر (الشريف), IPA: [ˈɡæmʕet elˈʔɑzhɑɾ eʃʃæˈɾiːf], "the University of (the honorable) Al-Azhar") is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. [Source: "Al-Azhar University". ] Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is renowned as one of the world's most prestigious universities for Islamic learning.[ Sources: i) Delman, Edward (February 26, 2015). "An Anti-ISIS Summit in Mecca A". The Atlantic.ii)Aishah Ahmad Sabki (2018). Pedagogy in Islamic Education: The Madrasah Context. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 16.2] In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a national network of schools with approximately two million students. As of 1996, over 4,000 teaching institutes in Egypt were affiliated with the university.[ Sources: i) Brown, Nathan J. (September 2011). Post-Revolutionary al-Azhar (PDF). Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. p. 4. Retrieved 4 April 2015. ii) Roy, Olivier (2004). Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah. Columbia University Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 9780231134996. Retrieved 4 April 2015. "In Egypt the number of teaching institutes dependent on Al-Azhar University increased from 1855 in 1986-7 to 4314 in 1995-6.]
Founded in 970 or
972 by the Fatimid Caliphate as a centre of Islamic
learning, its students studied the Qur'an and Islamic
law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate
the phases of the moon. Today it is the chief centre of Arabic
literature and Islamic learning in the world.[6]
In 1961 additional non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.[Sources: i) "Al-Azhar
University". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica.
Retrieved 2015-08-19.
ii) Skovgaard-Petersen,
Jakob. "al-Azhar, modern period." Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE.
Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson. Brill,
2010, retrieved 20/03/2010]
Chattogram, Bangladesh-4100
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