Science and Islam_A History_Icon Science

by Ehsan Masood

  That is not to say that everything is poor, or bad. Certain fields in science and technology are healthy. For example, Iran is a leading nation among the developing countries for its human genetics programme; Malaysia is a leading producer of technology exports; Pakistan is a pioneer in the chemistry of herbal medicines; and Turkey has some of the best universities in the world and its overall scientific output is on a par with that of its neighbours in the south and east of Europe.

  Interestingly, the overall scientific situation seems to be a polar opposite of previous times, but there is at least one connection between the present and the golden age of the past – as well as the period of colonial rule. In previous centuries, science benefited hugely from authoritarian leaders. These were men who were not always interested in listening to the public, who used force to silence or eliminate their critics and opponents, and yet at the same time who were keen to push science. They included al-Mamun of Baghdad, as well as the Fatimid ruler al-Hakim. Al-Hakim was a ruler who supported the optics scientist ibn al-Haitham, yet who persecuted a man for refusing to accept the ruler’s methodology for compiling an Islamic calendar. Such rulers also included Helagu Khan, who sacked Baghdad yet built the Maragha observatory in Samarkand where the astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tusi made his contributions to the Copernican revolution. And they also included the many representatives of Europe’s nations who would use political and military force to bring modern learning and ideas to the countries that were their colonies.

  Today, in those developing countries where science is in better shape, a similar relationship between science and authoritarian rule is very evident. In the countries of the OIC, in Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey, for instance, you will find decent salaries for scientists, well-funded research labs, and opportunities for young people to pursue advanced science and learning abroad. The conditions for scientists in non-OIC countries such as China and Singapore are even better. In each case, however, scientists are happy and science is in good shape largely because of strong rulers who are desperate to take their nations into the modern world. At the same time, these are rulers who will not hesitate to use force to override public opinion or undermine their opponents. In the case of the Islamic world, these rulers have included Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the modern Iranian state; Mahathir Mohammed, whose strong hand presided over Malaysia for two decades; Kemal Ataturk, the army officer who founded modern Turkey; and a succession of military generals who have ruled Pakistan since the 1950s.

  This in no way means that more authoritarian rule is the answer for more science in the developing nations. India, much of Latin America, and of course the nations of the developed world demonstrate that the world’s best science happens in countries with a tradition of stable representative government. However, we do need to recognise at least two things. First, that in those countries where strong, unpopular rulers are pushing science today, they are carrying some of the legacy of those rulers who came before them. And second, we need to recognise that in those countries where public awareness of science is low, one reason may be that science is associated with authoritarian rule, and scientists are seen by populations – many of whom will be very poor – as benefiting from autocratic regimes or being close to military rulers.

  Did science need Islam?

  So science in Islam’s empires needed strong yet generous rulers. But did science need Islam, as a faith, in order to progress? And if it did, should we be encouraging more of the peoples of the Islamic world to become better and more observant Muslims, as a way of improving science in OIC countries? This is an argument that is sometimes put forward, particularly by those who believe that the world as a whole is in the grip of moral decay, and that a return to faith will help to make things better. This is also the view of those political leaders who want to see religion and politics in the Islamic world more closely aligned. They argue that, as the golden age of science and learning took place at a time when states were organised and governed under Islamic laws, a return to such ruling systems is what is needed to move science ahead into the future.

  The needs and the requirements of Islam clearly did have an impact on the kind of science that was done, and to that extent you could argue that science did at least benefit from the coming of Islam. The need for more accurate prayer times, for example, ensured that many more individuals became interested in astronomy, and this led to the creation of the job of time-keeper inside many mosques. Many such time-keepers, moreover, were also keen astronomers, and a few, such as ibn al-Shatir from Damascus, did groundbreaking work. Similarly, a need to help people to calculate inheritance according to Islamic guidance was at least one reason behind the development of algebra by al-Khwarizmi in 9th-century Baghdad. And last but not least, the religion’s teachings on healthcare also helped to push the development of medicine and hospitals.

  One way of asking whether Islam as a faith was central to the progress of science would be to look at the sources of funding for different scientific institutions, in particular, to see whether scientists and scientific institutions were allowed to be funded by religious endowments. The rulers of Islamic empires created a special endowment fund that was designed to pay for institutions which were important in meeting the obligations of faith. This fund was known in Arabic as a waqf, and it still exists in many countries, where it is used to help support the very poorest as well as paying for the upkeep of mosques. If scientific institutions would have had access to these funds, we can safely say that, for all practical purposes, science and faith would have been regarded as one and the same. What historians see from the records of these endowments is that some institutions that had a scientific function were entitled to religious funding, and they included hospitals. Other institutions, however, were clearly prohibited, and they included observatories. Individual scientists were also not allowed to be funded from these sources.

  Challenging personalities

  A second route to finding out the extent to which the Islamic faith drove science is to look at individual scientists themselves, and to ask whether faith and belief motivated them to experiment, to innovate and to invent and discover new things. What this book shows is that many scientists, engineers and philosophers were indeed Muslim, but also that many were from other faiths. Those that were Muslim, however, were far from being part of the mainstream. The picture that emerges is of a set of individuals who were more likely to challenge received ideas – whether on science or religion – and were therefore not always willing to go with the mainstream. In some cases, the tendency of scientists and thinkers to push at the boundaries attracted charges of heresy. This was at least the case with ibn-Sina and the Andalusian Sufi philosopher ibn-Arabi.

  Did Islam need science?

  Perhaps one very powerful argument against the view that religion was the major factor in scientific progress is in the nature of Islam itself. Yes, it is true that scientists found all kinds of ways to make the obligations of faith easier to perform, and that this helped to drive scientific discovery. Indeed, we still see faint echoes of that work in the digital compasses you can buy today that point the faithful towards Mecca; or the programmable clocks that can recite the call to prayer. However, at the same time, if you talk to anyone who has converted to Islam, one thing they will tell you is that a key attraction of the faith is not so much its complicated science and technology, but the fact that it carries a simple message, and that its obligations need minimum fuss and expense to carry out. What they like about their new religion is that there is no class of person (neither scientists nor clerics) telling people what they can and cannot do.

  So, as we have seen, even today in the age of atomic clocks and GPS navigation systems, Muslims all over the world will still begin the fasting month of Ramadan only after the crescent of the new moon has been spotted with the naked eye. Similarly, in hot countries, the faithful will still use the length of a shadow to work out times for praying; and no one minds if someone kneeling down in the
direction of Mecca might be a few degrees out. Not only that, but we know that many of Islam’s major mosques from the past are not exactly aligned towards Mecca.

  Islam and new knowledge today

  This brings us to another – and often controversial – issue: whether Muslims (today or in the past) have had difficulty in accepting new knowledge, especially knowledge that contradicts earlier teachings. And, if this is the case, whether it might be an additional impediment to the development of science and learning. In other words, did religion have anything to do with the decline?

  Historians are divided on this issue. Some argue that al-Mamun’s inquisition is at the root of many of today’s problems. If he hadn’t forced rationalism on his peoples, then his critics would not have organised themselves into guilds and colleges, where science was often not part of the syllabus. Others say that many, many key developments in science and innovation took place after this event, and also after the Sufi theologian al-Ghazali’s polemic against ibn-Sina. And they argue that Sufism, far from being anti-science, produced one of the most ambitious theories to try to explain the nature of reality – this was ibn-Arabi’s theory that God and all of life might be part of a giant inter-related super-organism, which he called ‘the unity of existence’.

  One important lesson from the past is that Islamic societies were receptive to hearing and discussing new ideas, even if they didn’t always agree with them. Until the 15th century, scientists from the Islamic world themselves were generating much of this new thinking. When this process of indigenous learning slowed down and moved to Western Europe, events such as the Copernican revolution were still widely accepted in the Islamic world. Even the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859 was discussed and published in the media of many Islamic countries.

  How can science return to the nations of the Islamic world? In many countries, much progress is already being made. But to achieve developed-world standards, governments and those with influence will need to do at least three things. There need to be massive investments, both in educating people and in building institutions. This will be hard for the poorest countries and they will need help, both from their wealthier neighbours and from the broader international community. Second, governments need to give their peoples the freedom to inquire, and the freedom to innovate. And third, science must never be used to attack people’s freedom to believe.

  The empires of Islam created the conditions for a staggering renaissance in science and technology, some of which undoubtedly helped the scientists of Western Europe. Yet those caliphs and rulers who were most enthusiastic about science were also harsh on their critics, and used science and new knowledge to force people to make choices in religion. If science is to return to the nations of Islam, it must do so without interfering in people’s freedom to believe.

  Timeline

  570–632 The life of the Prophet Muhammad

  Muhammad and his followers move to Medina in the Hijra. Later set as Year 1 of the Muslim calendar (622)

  Death of the Prophet Muhammad (632)

  632–661 Islam is led by the four Rightly Guided Caliphs

  Abu Bakr becomes first caliph (632–34)

  Umar becomes second caliph in 634. Assassinated 644

  Expansion to Syria

  Expansion to Iraq

  Capture of Jerusalem (638)

  Introduction of the Hijra calendar

  Expansion to Persia

  Conquest of Egypt

  Uthman becomes third caliph in 644. Assassinated 656

  Expansion into the Maghrib

  651–700

  Compilation of the text of the Qur’an into a book begins 632 to 634. Completed 634 to 644

  Ali becomes fourth caliph (656–61)

  Assassination of Caliph Ali (661)

  661–750 Umayyad caliphs rule in Damascus

  Umayyad dynasty established in Damascus

  Muawiya I becomes caliph (661–80)

  The battle of Kerbala and massacre of Hussain, the Prophet’s grandson, and his party. A rift opens between Sunni and Shia Muslims (680)

  Caliph Abd al-Malik decrees that only Arabic should be used in official documents (690s)

  Introduction of Arabic coinage (693)

  Khalid ibn-Yazid advises caliph on science

  701–750

  Islam comes to Spain (711)

  Expansion of Muslims into India (712)

  Great Mosque of Damascus completed (715)

  Crossing of Muslims into France (718)

  Battle of Tours (732)

  Umayyad dynasty ends in Baghdad (750)

  750–800

  751–1258 Abbasid caliphs rule intermittently in Baghdad

  756–929 Umayyads rule in Spain

  Foundation of Baghdad (762)

  Al-Fazari makes the first astrolabe in Islam (777)

  Jabir ibn-Hayyan experiments in chemistry

  Harun al-Rashid becomes caliph (786)

  Introduction of paper industry in the Arab world (795)

  The publication industry established as a sophisticated enterprise

  The caliph Harun al-Rashid presents Charlemagne with a clock

  The Thousand and One Nights makes an early appearance

  801–850

  The first public hospital is established in Baghdad (809)

  The first House of Wisdom is established in Baghdad

  Al-Kindi develops cryptography and introduces Indian numerals

  Al-Mamun becomes caliph after deposing his brother in a horrific battle in Baghdad (813)

  Ziryab the musician arrives in Cordoba (822)

  Caliph al-Mamun develops the House of Wisdom (c. 820)

  The translation project gets into gear

  Al-Khwarizmi promotes Indian numerals and writes his great book on algebra

  Medical doctor Hunayn ibn-Ishaq translates Galen

  His son, Ishaq ibn-Hunayn, translates Ptolemy

  Shammasiyah Observatory set up near Baghdad (c. 828)

  Banu Musa brothers publish their book of mechanical devices (850)

  851–900

  Al-Jahiz publishes The Book of Animals

  Al-Qarawiyin university established in Fez (859)

  Al-Farghani constructs the nilometer in Egypt (861) and publishes his Elements of Astronomy

  Al-Farabi writes a pioneering book on music theory

  Ibn-Firnas makes the first glider flight (875)

  Mosque of ibn-Tulun built in Cairo (878)

  Al-Battani publishes On the Sciences of Stars (c. 880)

  Al-Razi identifies measles and smallpox and develops chemical experimentation

  901–1000

  909–1171 Fatimids rule in Egypt

  945–1055 Buyids rule in Baghdad

  Al-Zahrawi in Spain writes a manual on surgery (c. 960)

  Al-Azhar university is established in Cairo (988)

  Ghaznavid dynasty established in Afghanistan and northern India (977)

  Fihirst al-Nadim, a catalogue of the leading books of the time. By al-Nadim (988)

  Al-Biruni publishes India and Determination of the Coordinates of the Cities (c. 1000)

  Humanist Al-Masudi lays the foundation of human geography

  Philosopher and physician ibn-Sina writes the Canon of Medicine, the standard medical text for the next half millennium (c. 1025)

  The Ghurids succeed the Ghaznavids in Afghanistan and northern India (c. 1150)

  1001–1100

  Ibn al-Haitham in Cairo experiments with light, reflection and refraction (c. 1020)

  1037–1200 Seljuq empire

  Poet Omar Khayyam solves cubic equations (c. 1100)

  Statesman and educator Nizam al-Mulk administers Seljuq empire, and creates a network of colleges

  Theologian and thinker al-Ghazali publishes The Incoherence of the Philosophers and directs the college of Baghdad

  Constantine translates Greek and Arabic medical texts into Latin

  Muslims travel as far as Vi
etnam where they establish communities

  1101–1200

  Al-Idrisi of Sicily publishes a detailed map of the world

  Philosopher and psychologist ibn-Bajja establishes psychology as a separate discipline

  Adelard of Bath translates Euclid from Arabic and al-Khwarizmi’s astronomical tables into Latin

  Ibn-Rushd publishes The Incoherence of the Incoherence and other philosophical works

  Gerard of Cremona translates texts from Arabic into Latin in Toledo

  Al-Zarqali works on the astronomical Tables of Toledo (c. 1180)

  Salah al-Din captures Jerusalem (1187) and unites the Muslim world with Egypt as its centre

  Al-Hariri publishes his linguistic masterpiece, The Assemblies

  Yaqut al-Hamawi publishes his Geographical Dictionary

  Al-Jazari develops the crankshaft and camshaft and designs the elephant clock (c. 1200)

  1201–1300

  1206–1406 Mongol empire

  Fakhr al-Din Razi publishes his great Encyclopedia of Science

  Biographer Abu-Khallikan establishes philosophy of history as a distinct discipline

  Ibn al-Nafis puts forward a new theory on the circulation of the blood (c. 1230)

  1232–1492 Nasrids rule in Granada

  Helagu Khan sacks Baghdad (1258); he becomes a Muslim and builds an observatory

  Abbasid caliphate ends (1258)

  Nasir al-Din al-Tusi completes his work Memoir of the Science of Astronomy (1261) at the Maragha observatory setting forward a comprehensive structure of the universe, and develops the ‘Tusi couple’ enabling mathematical calculations to establish a heliocentric worldview

  Ottoman empire founded (1281)

  Al-Rammah describes gunpowder rockets (c. 1285)

  The rise of the Mamluks in Egypt

  Islamic science and learning translated into new languages