The Role of Muslims in the Formation and Development of Sciences (Part 30)
Muslim Scientists Who Had Expertise and Skill in Various Mathematical Sciences
There have been countless scientists and scholars who played a significant role in the growth and formation of mathematics and related topics in history and were able to take the lead in the field. In this topic, we will mention some of the most famous and important thinkers in this area.
Imam Muhammad ibn Musa Khwarizmi
Imam Muhammad ibn Musa Khwarizmi lived in Baghdad between 164 and 235 AH (780 to 850 AD) and died there. He became prominent during the caliphate of Ma’mun and had a profound influence on mathematics and astronomy, to the extent that Ma’mun appointed him as the head of the “Bayt Al-Hikmah.” In Bayt Al-Hikmah, Khwarizmi developed mathematical thought and transformed algebra into a scientific and logical structure by creating systems for analyzing “first- and second-degree” equations with one unknown, using both algebraic and geometric methods. Therefore, Khwarizmi’s Al-Jabr Wa Al-Muqabelah is considered the first systematic attempt to develop algebra based on scientific and logical principles.
The mathematics that Muslim scholars inherited from the Greeks made the calculation of the legal division of inheritances exceedingly complicated, to the point that it might have seemed impossible. This complexity prompted Khwarizmi to seek a more precise, comprehensive, and adaptable method, leading him to algebra. He found time to write his famous book on algebra while busy with astronomical work in Baghdad.
In the introduction to his book (Hisab Al-Jabr Wa Al-Muqabelah), Khwarizmi mentions that the Caliph Ma’mun had asked him to write a book that would facilitate the solving of people’s problems, including inheritance and wills. Here is a part of the introduction:
“We were encouraged by what Allah had bestowed upon Imam (Ma’mun), the Amir al-Momineen, the Caliphate that he inherited, wore its clothes, and adorned himself with its adornments, as well as his desire for knowledge and closeness to the people of knowledge and their children, and his openness to helping them clarify complex issues and make difficult matters easier. Therefore, I have written a concise book of Hisab Al-Jabr Wa Al-Muqabelah, which contains precise and comprehensive calculations, because people need this book in matters of inheritance and wills, as well as in divisions, rulings, trade, and other issues they encounter in their daily interactions, including matters related to lands, the rent of rivers, geometry, and more. I have done this with good intentions, and I hope that the people of knowledge will accept this work with the grace of Allah and an awareness of His blessings. In this effort, I seek help from Allah and place my trust in Him, for He is the Lord of the Great Throne.”
The book Hisab Al-Jabr Wa Al-Muqabelah was translated by Robert Schuster into Latin in the sixth century AH (12th century AD). The book became known in Europe in Latin, but in 1247 AH (1831 AD), an Arabic copy was found in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England, and was published in Arabic characters that same year, not only in Europe but also in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Khwarizmi proposed ideas in the field of “limits,” which is one of the most important topics in modern algebra. However, the Japanese scientist Seki Kao (1642-178 AD) was the first to develop limits, contrary to the claims of some Western scientists who assert that the German Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716 AD) was its inventor. The French scientist Augustin Louis Cauchy (1789-1857 AD) later generalized limits and applied them to scientific life.
Khwarizmi successfully used the structural method to find the roots of equations. For this reason, the error between the two subjects can be considered an invention of Khwarizmi. This method played an important role in numerical analysis and is known in English as the “structural method.”
Khwarizmi introduced the unit used in areas and employed “Taksir,” which refers to area, whether it is surface area or volume. He also computed the areas of some geometric shapes such as circles, segments of circles, and various pyramids, cones, and spheres, using approximate ratios such as 7/22 or 10. Thus, Khwarizmi enriched the science of algebra by utilizing some concepts of algebra.
Khwarizmi recognized that in some cases, it is impossible to find a value for the unknown (imaginary values), and he called this the “impossible case.” This term was later known by the same name among mathematicians until the famous Swiss scientist Leonard Euler (1777-1783 AD) defined imaginary values. Euler characterized imaginary values as those which, when multiplied by themselves, yield a negative value, providing numerous examples of this. The German scientist Carl Gauss (1777-1855 AD) further focused on studying imaginary values and their properties, making them clearer. Notably, imaginary values eventually led to the development of the science of “complex analysis,” considered one of the most important mathematical sciences in the modern era. Undeniably, this credit first and foremost goes to the Islamic scientist Muhammad ibn Musa Khwarizmi and subsequently to Western scientists who researched imaginary values, evolving it into an independent field known as “complex analysis.”
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