Islamic Scientists were the Source of Renaissance- Part II

From my previous entry (Part I), I explained how the expanding of the Islamic Empire and the translation movement of textbooks from Greek, Persia and India had created a mix of scientific heritage and culture, and consequently, found a new era known as Arabic Sciences, as, in fact, Islamic Scientists were renaissance people. They were behind the movement of European civilization in the renaissance age. During that period, many Arabic textbooks in different sciences were translated to Latin and used for centuries as basic and standards books in every university. In this entry I want to show some of the Islamic Scientists’ works and textbooks, and how they played a big role in the European renaissance.

Abu Ali Al-Husain Ibn Abduallah Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in the west contributed to medicine (980-1037). He was the greatest physician until the modern age. Al-Qanun book is the most famous and most important of Avicenna’s work. (Answer.com) He spent his entire life serving humanities. The work contains about one million words divided and subdivided into five medical fields. O. Cameron Gruner M.D. translated the Canon book of Avicenna. He declared in his translation: “A noble and scholarly work makes available at lest to modern readers one of the most influential books in the history of our profession. Avicenna’s Canon held the field as the authoritative, systematic text-book for over five centuries, not only during a period of stagnation but even throughout the Renaissance, its popularity being well attested by the twelve or more Latin editions printed between 1472 and 1608, and by the publication of the original Arabic version, a tour de force of printing, at Rome in 1593.”

Gruner was very impressed by Avicenna’s work, “it is a man may be judged by his nicknames, Ibn Sina, to give him part of his real name, takes high rank. Known in the East as Chief Master, Second Teacher (i.e. after Aristotle), and even Proof-of-God-to-mankind, to our Western ancestors he was Prince of Physicians.” And he evaluated his work, “The Canon is a voluminous work, about a million words divided into five books.” The first deals with general principles; the second with simple drugs sorted alphabetically; the third with diseases of particular organs and members of the body; the fourth with diseases which though local in their inception spread to other parts of the body, such as fevers, and the fifth with mix medicines. Avicenna’s books were translated to Latin during the renaissance time, and latterly, translated into many modern languages such German, French, and English.

Hospital and healthcare concept was an Islamic development. Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi, known as Rhazes in the west (865-925). He was an Islamic physician who found the concept of hospitals. After he was assigned by a caliph to build the first hospital in the Islamic empire or maybe in the world, he was in-charge of the first Royal Hospital. “By the time you get to the 12th or 13th century you have a remarkable system of numerous hospitals in urban areas,” Dr. Savage-Smith said. “Many of them, the largest ones, had wards devoted to only, say, ophthalmology, another ward to surgery … These hospitals stand in remarkable contrast to what was going on in western hospitals, because they were hospices, religious centres that provided custodial care, food and clothing … and little medicine.” Moreover, Arabs’ healthcare services were developed by the invention of the ambulant clinic on the camelback to meet the needs of rural areas, prisons, and the inner-cities. The whole program has been adapted from the Islamic system to Europe.

Most of us know Algorithm term, which is a step-by-step problem-solving procedure. This name came from an Islamic scientist. Mohammad Bin Musa Al-Khwarizmi, who was the famous renaissance scientist in the medieval age (800–847). He was a mathematician, geographer and astronomer, as; he introduced and added many concept and values to mathematics. In the words of Phillip Hitti, “He influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other medieval writer. His work on algebra was outstanding, as he not only initiated the subject in a systematic form but he also developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations, which established him as the founder of Algebra” which is a famous name from his book Al-Jabr “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing”. The book was translated into Latin in the twelfth century. 

Moreover, Al-Khwarizmi synthesized Greek and Hindu knowledge and also his contribution of fundamentals to mathematics. As a consequence, he defined the use of zero, negative numbers, algorithms and the decimal system. His book On the Calculation with Indian numbers or Hindu Numeral System “was principally responsible for the diffusion of the Indian system of numeration in the Middle-East and then Europe. This book also translated into Latin in the twelfth century, as Algoritmi de numero Indorum. From the name of the author, rendered in Latin as algoritmi, originated the term algorithm” (Answer.com). The work of Khwarizmi moved to Europe in the twelfth century when Girard of Cremona translated his books into Latin, and they were used for many centuries, “Until the sixteenth century [Algebra Book] was used in European universities as the principal mathematical text book.” George Sarton. Al-Khwarizmi’s influence reached far beyond the universities; Sarton added “We find it reflected in the mathematical works of Leonardo Fibinacci of Pissa, Master Jacob of Florence, and even of Leonardo da Vinci.” Al-Khwarizmi was a great renaissance man; many of his scientific terms are being used up to this day.

Abu’l Waleed Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes in the West contributed to philosophy (1126–1198). Averroes was one of the main interpreters of Aristotle’s work. Averroes spent his life writing commentaries on virtually all of Aristotle’s works, producing detailed and original reconstructive commentaries on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, Physics, Posterior Analytics, and De Anima, as well as Plato’s Republic. Averroes wrote Tahafut al-Falasifah (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), “The work was more influential in the Latin Christian West than in the Muslim East, and its contents paved the way for the medieval separation of faith and reason.” (Answer.com). Averroes’s writings were translated into various languages, including Latin, English, German and Hebrew. “Averroes [was] a linchpin in the transmission of Greek thought, especially Aristotle, from the Arabic- to the Latin-speaking world, and the interest of Averroes’ views on the nature of the human intellect, the relationship between philosophy and religion, and other topics” Roger Arnaldez.

There are many of Islamic scientists who found many great approaches in many fields of studies that helped to add values during the renaissance period. Some of their theories are still being used and valid up to now. In my belief, we should thank those early scientists for their hard effort and how they participated in the existence of modern sciences and technology. When we think as technical people, we cannot imagine computers working with Roman numerals, or the digital age without a zero number. Also, imagine how frightening it would be to live in a world without hospitals or living without healthcare and medicine.