Author: Muhammad Al-Afghani
The Contribution of Muslim Scientists in Mathematics (Part One)
Introduction
Expressing the activities and achievements of Islamic scientists is one of the missions and goals of every person committed to society and his religious beliefs. In fact, introducing the achievements of the past helps contemporary man to understand why he is in a position he does not deserve. The great men and generations of the past have had a very great and prominent position in various fields, especially in science and technology.
Examining history and observing the achievements of Islamic great men in various fields encourages today’s man and makes the path of progress and advancement easier. Many scientists from Islamic civilization have emerged who have provided useful services in mathematics. These services have helped the flourishing of mathematics and have been effective in its progress and improvement.
A review of the achievements of Islamic scientists in mathematics
Writing and compiling mathematical books has been a long-standing tradition among Islamic mathematicians. People like Al-Khwarizmi and others have left valuable works in this field, among which Al-Khwarizmi’s book is especially famous.
Al-Khwarizmi paid special attention to equations that arise in matters of inheritance, commerce, division of property, and legal claims. Also, everyday applications of mathematics such as land measurement, canal digging, and geometric calculations are also examined in his works.
He classified and solved quadratic equations, considering only positive answers. By forming a square and presenting a numerical solution, Al-Khwarizmi showed geometrically how the problem was solved. Some of his solutions were more complicated than Euclidean methods, and therefore Euclidean principles were not the main source of his work. Al-Khwarizmi also wrote a treatise on Indian numbers.
Thabit Ibn Qara also has a book called “On the Geometric Experiment of Solving Algebraic Equations of the Second Degree.” He incorporated geometric thinking into his works and introduced algebra and contrast as algebras, which led to the name “algebra”. Thabit ibn Qara and Hajjaj ibn Yusuf were among the scientists who stood against Al-Khwarizmi’s style. Thabit had an abstract way of thinking in number theory and obtained the formula for perfect numbers before Fermat and Descartes.
Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi, a great Iranian scientist and one of the most famous mathematicians and astronomers of his time, wrote a book on geography in which he recorded the longitude and latitude of many cities and places. This book, which is considered a rewrite of Ptolemy’s Geography, may have been prepared by a group of scientists under Al-Khwarizmi’s supervision to provide an accurate map of the Islamic world.
Abu Rayhan al-Biruni is also considered one of the most prominent Islamic geographers. He is widely known for his scientific accuracy and impartiality, and wrote the book “Al-Tahqiq Mallalhind”, which is considered one of his most important works and is recognized as one of the most important sources in Indian studies. Among scholars of the Islamic world, the scientific personality of Biruni has sometimes been compared to greats such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Leonardo da Vinci, and some have considered him more prominent than these scientists.
Philosophical trends in Islamic mathematics influenced by Greece
Platonic and Aristotelian ideas had a profound influence on Islamic philosophy and mathematics. Muslim philosophers such as al-Kindi attempted to integrate these two schools of thought.
Aristotle’s logic and Plato’s ideas on abstraction were combined in the book “Euclid’s Elements”, which Muslims used as a basis for geometry in their mathematics.
Applied mathematics, influenced by the style of Archimedes, became very popular in fields such as engineering, astronomy and geography. Practical treatises were constantly rewritten and improved to present more advanced computational methods than previous scientists.
Philosophical trends in Islamic mathematics were also influenced by the Indian school. Many mathematical problems in India arose from their religious views. Such as the methods of solving problems related to inheritance, which among Muslims, like Indian mathematics, were influenced by religion. It may be said that religious emphasis on calculating the direction of the Qibla and the times of the Azan (call to prayer) contributed to the growth of geometry, and the laws of inheritance led to the development of algebraic thinking among Muslims. These two roots were initially independent, but gradually merged in Muslim mathematical thought.
The Indian system of numeral writing, adopted by Muslims, was capable of being written in a concise manner on paper. Muslims developed several algorithms for numerical calculations, which ultimately led to the foundation of algorithmic thinking. The widespread needs for practical applications led to the use of algorithmic methods in calculations. Algorithmic thinking also penetrated algebra and geometry. The emphasis on algebra, which is more abstract than geometry, has its roots in Indian philosophy, which itself influenced Islamic Sufism and Islamic philosophy.
Continues…
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