Abu Yusaf Yaqab ibn Ishaq al-Kindi

Introduction:

Abu Yusaf Yaqub ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi (c. 801 - c. 873) was the ninth-century Arab polymath at the peak of the Abbasid dynasty (c. 750 - c. 1258). He belongs to the famous Arab tribe of Kinda and descendent of al-Ash'ath ibn Qays al-Kindi, a companion of Prophet Muhammad who had also close marital relationships with the 1st and 3rd caliphs Abu Bakr and Usman besides his supporting role for the fourth caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib against Mawaiya (first Umayyad king) at the Battle of Siffin (656). Al-Kindi extensively interacts with several fields such as Mathematics, Medicine, Chemistry, Astronomy, Astrology, Optics, Zoology, Meteorology, Logic, Ethics, Metaphysics, and Islamic Theology.

List of Achievements made by Al-Kindi:

He is widely known for his 10 major academic accomplishments regarding Philosophy and Science. 

Cryptanalysis: He is generally regarded as the "father of Cryptography" because he was the first to develop a method whereby variations in the frequency of the occurrence of letters could be analyzed and exploited to break ciphers (i.e. cryptanalysis by frequency analysis). This method can be described in his book called Risala fi Istikhraj al-Kutub al-Mu'ammah (رسالة في استخراج الكتب المعماة - On Extracting Obscured Correspondance).¹

Algorithm: He is also considered as the "father of algorithm/modern mathematics" along with al-Khawarzmi because of his use of Indian Numerals in his book named (Ketab fi Isti'mal al-Adad al-Hindi) which greatly contributed to the diffusion of Indian numerals in the Islamic world and then West.² He wrote many essential works on mathematical subjects related to arithmetic, geometry, the Indian numbers, the harmony of numbers, lines, and multiplication with numbers, measuring the proportion and time, relative quantities, and numerical procedures and cancellation. As a mathematician, he also used mathematics to disprove the philosophical concept of eternity of the world.³ 

Distillation: As a well-established chemist, he opposed the alchemy; he debunked the myth that simple, base metals could be transformed into precious metals such as gold or silver.⁴ He also describes the process of distillation of wine in his book of Kitab al-Tarafffuq fi al-Itr (The Book of chemistry Perfume and distillations). In this same book, he also describes the distillation process for the rose oils, and provide the recipes for 107 various types of perfumes. For that reason, he is also sometimes referred to as the "father of modern perfumery" because he was the first to carry out extensive research and experiments in combining various plants and other sources to produce a variety of scent products.⁵

Potency: He wrote more than 30 treatises attributed to al-Kindi in the subject of medicine. As an advanced mathematician, he was chiefly responsible for developing a scale to quantify the potency of the drug and a system, based on the phases of the moon, that would enable a doctor to ascertain in advance the most crucial days of a patient's illness. This was the first-ever serious attempt in the quantification of medicine.⁶

Optics: After Ptolemy, al-Kindi was the first writer on optics. In his theory, he said that "everything in the earth.... emits rays in every direction, which fills the entire earth". His theory of active power rays had also influenced the later physicist such as Ibn al-Haytham, Robert Grosseteste, and Roger Bacon.⁷

Theory of Tides: In meteorology, he gave the theory of tides in his treatise "Risala fi l-llla al-Failali I-Madd wa I-Fazr (Treatise on the Efficient Cause of the Flow and Ebb) to define the changes in the bodies due to the rise and fall of temperature and he proved through his experiment that how extreme cold air changes into water.⁸ Moreover, he also describes the cause of wind, and the difference of direction based on time and location, he wrote "When the sun is in its northern declination northerly places will heat up and it will be cold towards the south. Then the northern air will expand in a southerly direction because of the heat due to the contraction of the southern air. Therefore, most of the summer winds are substantive and most of the winter winds are not."⁹

Synchronization of Philosophy with Islamic Theology:

His greatest contribution to the field of philosophy was to harmonize the Hellenistic philosophy with Islamic theology. He was the first Peripatetic philosopher in the Muslim world, known as the "father of Arab/Islamic Philosophy".¹⁰  

Theological related scientific assessments of Al-Kindi:

Astronomy: Al-Kindi believed and wrote in his treatise that heavenly bodies are rational entities, whose circular motion is in obedience to and worship of God. He believed that their role is to act as instruments for divine providence. He furnishes empirical evidence as proof for this assertion, different seasons are marked by a particular arrangement of heavenly bodies situated above their homeland. This idea is perfectly correct within the context of Quranic verses such as one in the chapter al-Hajj verse 18: 

أَلَمۡ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَسۡجُدُ لَهُ ۥ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱلشَّمۡسُ وَٱلۡقَمَرُ وَٱلنُّجُومُ وَٱلۡجِبَالُ وَٱلشَّجَرُ وَٱلدَّوَآبُّ وَڪَثِيرٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ‌ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡعَذَابُ‌ۗ وَمَن يُہِنِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ ۥ مِن مُّكۡرِمٍ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفۡعَلُ مَا يَشَآءُ    

Do you not see that to Allah bow down (in worship all things) the heavens "Lofty waters/Membranes" and on land "Physical Universe"― the sun, the moon, the stars; the hills, the trees the animals; and many within mankind? and many are (also) fit for Punishment: and whosoever Allah shall disgrace none shall raise him to honor: that Allah does whatever he wants. (22:18) 

Metaphysics: Al-Kindi realized the goal of metaphysics is to attain the knowledge of God. For this reason, he wasn't made any distinction between philosophy and theology. Al-Kindi understands three major attributes of God, (1) Absolute oneness (2) Creator, and (3) Agent. All of his three major metaphysical ideas are in complete alignment with Quran's verses. Chapter Al-Ikhlas clear and concisely mentions Allah's absolute oneness:

قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ. ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ. لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ. وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ ۥ ڪُفُوًا أَحَدٌ 

Say: He is Allah the One (without multiplicity); Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him. (112:1-4) 

Underlying these two verses completely explains the idea of God as the ultimate creator of everything: 

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَاعِلِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ رُسُلاً أُوْلِىٓ أَجۡنِحَةٍ۬ مَّثۡنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَۚ يَزِيدُ فِى ٱلۡخَلۡقِ مَا يَشَآءُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ 

Praise be to Allah Who created the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels Messengers with wings― two, or three, or four (Pairs): He adds to Creation as He pleases: for Allah has power over all things. (35:1)

لَّقَدۡ ڪَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ‌ۚ قُلۡ فَمَن يَمۡلِكُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيۡـًٔا إِنۡ أَرَادَ أَن يُهۡلِكَ ٱلۡمَسِيحَ ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ وَأُمَّهُ ۥ وَمَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬ا‌ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَا‌ۚ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ 

In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ, the son of Mary. Say: "Who then hath the least power against Allah, if His Will were to destroy Christ the son of Mary, his mother, and all― everyone that is on the earth? For to Allah belong the dominion of the heavens and the land and all that is between. He creates what He, please. Allah had power over all things." (5:17)

Al-Kindi also proposes the idea of God as an active agent that acts through created intermediaries, which in turn act on one another - through a chain of cause and effect - to produce the desired results. Chapter Al-Anaam verse 65 perfectly harmonize with this concept: 

قُلۡ هُوَ ٱلۡقَادِرُ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَبۡعَثَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ عَذَابًا مِّن فَوۡقِكُمۡ أَوۡ مِن تَحۡتِ أَرۡجُلِكُمۡ أَوۡ يَلۡبِسَكُمۡ شِيَعً۬ا وَيُذِيقَ بَعۡضَكُم بَأۡسَ بَعۡضٍ‌ۗ ٱنظُرۡ كَيۡفَ نُصَرِّفُ ٱلۡأَيَـٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَفۡقَهُونَ 

Say: "He has the power to send calamities on you, from above and below, or to cover you with confusion in party strife, giving you a taste of mutual vengeance― each from the other." See how We explain the Signs by various (symbols) that they may understand. (6:65)

The Soul and the Afterlife: Al-Kindi's concept of soul and the afterlife are similar to the primary held idea of Islamic theology regarding the soul as the simple, immaterial substance embedded with the material world for a brief period. Quranic verses clearly gave an idea towards the nature of the soul as an immaterial substance connected through a physical realm momentarily, particularly verse 29 of Al-Hijir describes the creation of Adam:

    وَإِذۡ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ إِنِّى خَـٰلِقُۢ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلۡصَـٰلٍ مِّنۡ حَمَإٍ مَّسۡنُونٍ فَإِذَا سَوَّيۡتُهُ ۥ وَنَفَخۡتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُواْ لَهُ ۥ سَـٰجِدِينَ

Behold! Thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud molded into shape; "When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Soul, fall you down in obeisance unto him." (15:28-29) 

The relationship between revelation and philosophy:

Al-Kindi considered revelation and philosophy are two separate routes for arriving at the truth. To make a distinction, he differentiates the two positions in four ways. Firstly, a specific person who undergoes a long period of training and study to become a philosopher, prophecy on the other hand is bestowed upon someone by God. Secondly, the philosophers have arrived at the truth through personal efforts, whereas the prophet has the truth revealed to him by God. Thirdly, the understanding of the prophet - being divinely revealed - is clearer and more extensive than that of a philosopher. Fourthly, the expression of understanding by the prophet in delivering the message to the public is superior. Consequently, al-Kindi says the prophet is superior in two areas: the ease and certainty with which he receives the truth and how he presents it but the content of prophet's and philosopher's knowledge is the same.

These four ideas are accurately correct within the Quranic frame of reference. There is a well-known example of prophet Abraham who before revelation reflected on God's nature and comes to the conclusion that the sun, moon, stars, and even everything else created by one Al-Mighty, God. This story is mentioned in chapter Al-Anaam:

.وَكَذَٲلِكَ نُرِىٓ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُوقِنِينَ 

 فَلَمَّا جَنَّ عَلَيۡهِ ٱلَّيۡلُ رَءَا كَوۡكَبًا‌ۖ قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَبِّى‌ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَفَلَ قَالَ لَآ أُحِبُّ ٱلۡأَفِلِينَ . فَلَمَّا رَءَا ٱلۡقَمَرَ بَازِغًا قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَبِّى‌ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَفَلَ قَالَ لَٮِٕن لَّمۡ يَہۡدِنِى رَبِّى لَأَڪُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلضَّآلِّينَ . فَلَمَّا رَءَا ٱلشَّمۡسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَـٰذَا رَبِّى هَـٰذَآ أَڪۡبَرُ‌ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَفَلَتۡ قَالَ يَـٰقَوۡمِ إِنِّى بَرِىٓءٌ مِّمَّا تُشۡرِكُونَ . إِنِّى وَجَّهۡتُ وَجۡهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ حَنِيفً۬ا‌ۖ وَمَآ أَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ 

So also did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might have certitude. When the night covered him over, he saw a celestial object: he said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, he said: "I love not those that set." When he saw the moon rising in splendor, He said: "This is my Lord." but when the moon set he said: "Unless my Lord guides me I shall surely be among those who go astray." When he saw the sun rising in (splendor) he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sunset he said: "O my people! I am free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, toward Him Who created the heavens (Membranes/Lofty Waters) and the land (Physical Universe), and never shall I give partners to Allah." (6:75-79)         

This is the perfect example of being both a philosopher and a prophet when Abraham ponders upon nature and try to figure out the reality. As a result of his accurate observation and clever thinking, he came up with an outcome that there is only one transcendent, the incorporeal entity in the cosmos - responsible for every creation. But here a crucial point needs to be noted that there is a misconception concerning al-Kindi's idea that he devalued the superiority of revelation by saying that the content generated from both philosophy and prophecy are similar. The understandable part is that what does content means, according to al-Kindi. The content which al-Kindi describes the notion of ultimate reality, particularly about the knowledge of God. The previously best example of this verse clearly sheds light on this matter. Abraham, before the revelation, adopted monotheism, simply by querying and inquiring the nature, eventually finds out the answer. As a result, the (ultimate/primary) content that he gains from the quest concerning the attributes of God's Absolute oneness, Creator, and being as an Agent are the same as the prophets foretold to the people about God's attributes.  

Critics:

Al-Kindi was generally criticized for his pro-Mutazilite approach which is invalid. He involved in arguments with the Mutazilities whom he attacked for their belief in atoms. In his time, he would be blamed for praising the "intellect" as being the most immanent creation in proximity to God, which was commonly held to be the position of the angels. At that point, all critics misunderstood the meaning of "intellect" which al-Kindi spokes about. Everything in the universe is created from the cosmic code similar to binary digits (0/1). This machine language is actually codified in the form of binary digits across the cosmos and gives meaning to every creation. This is called "First Intellect" or "Information". This idea is supported by three different Quranic verses:

بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمۡرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ ۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ  

To Him is due to the primal origin of the heavens (lofty waters-universes) and the land; when He decrees a matter, He said to it: "Be" (كُن فَيَكُونُ/0 , 1), and it is. (2:117)     

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ‌ۖ وَيَوۡمَ يَقُولُ ڪُن فَيَڪُونُ‌ۚ قَوۡلُهُ ٱلۡحَقُّ‌ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلۡمُلۡكُ يَوۡمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ‌ۚ عَـٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ‌ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡحَڪِيمُ ٱلۡخَبِيرُ 

It is He Who created the heavens (lofty waters/universes) and the land in true (proportions): the day He said "Be" (كُن فَيَكُونُ/01) Behold! it is. His Word (information) is the truth. His will be the dominion the day the trumpet will be blown. He knows the Unseen as well as that which is open. He is the Wise, well acquainted (with all things). (6:73)  

أَوَلَيۡسَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ بِقَـٰدِرٍ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يَخۡلُقَ مِثۡلَهُم‌ۚ بَلَىٰ وَهُوَ ٱلۡخَلَّـٰقُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ. إِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُ ۥۤ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيۡـٴً۬ـا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ ۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ. فَسُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى بِيَدِهِۦ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَإِلَيۡهِ تُرۡجَعُونَ

"Is not He Who created the heavens (lofty waters/universes) and the land able to create the like thereof?"― Yea, indeed! He is the Creator Supreme, of skill and knowledge (infinite)! Verily, when He intends a thing, His command is "Be" (كُن فَيَكُونُ/01), and it is! So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things; and to Him, you will be brought back. (36:81-83) 

It was this "First Intellect" (كُن فَيَكُونُ) or probably Quantum Information in a modern usage term responsible for every creation whom al-Kindi may also theorize. This first intellect acts as an intermediary through which all other things came into being. Another Quran's verse perfectly supports this idea in the following way:

إِنَّمَا قَوۡلُنَا لِشَىۡءٍ إِذَآ أَرَدۡنَـٰهُ أَن نَّقُولَ لَهُ ۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ

It is He Who gives Life and Death, and when He decides upon an affair, He says to it, "Be" (كُن فَيَكُونُ/01), and it is. (16:40)  

Legacy:

No doubt, al-Kindi was one of the great scientific minds of all time. His influence lasted for several centuries after his death in the fields of mathematics, medicine, physics, chemistry, and philosophy. He was also a significant figure in medieval Europe. His several books got translated into Latin which eventually influenced western authors such as Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon. The Italian Renaissance scholar Geralomo Cardan0 (1501 - 1575) considered him as one of the twelve greatest minds.   

 

The Greatness of Islamic Civilization

The term Islamic Civilization commonly refers to all those people who adhere to the religion of Islam. The beginning of the Islamic civilization dates back to the early 7th century when Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), a prophet and leader of the Muslims started to preach Islam in Mecca. Early persecution by polytheist Meccans caused Muhammad and his followers to migrate towards Medina. From that point, Muhammad changed the course of history forever and emerged as the single most influential personality of all time (see Michael H. Hart's Book, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History).  

In this article, we are going to describe the most essential historical features of this civilization that defines "The Greatness of Islamic Civilization". The splendors of this civilization cover the unique distinctions that were unparalleled throughout history. From the most influential person in history (Muhammad) to the greatest army of all time (Rashidun Mujahideen) and from the greatest ruler Umar ibn al-Khattab (second only to Tartar ruler, Timur) to the greatest military commander Khalid ibn al-Walid (second only to Tatar warlord, Timur). Within this civilization, there is a man who had never seen before or even after that era i.e. Timur the Great; the greatest conqueror who single-handedly forged the greatest and largest empire ever created in the life of one man. However, the highest number of great conquerors were also included in this civilization as well, besides their political, social, economic, and military climax remained for 1200 years starting from the Conquest of Mecca (c. 630) by Muhammad until the fall of Ottoman Algiers (c. 1830) by the French colonial forces.

Moreover, Muslims were also vastly contributed to the field of science. During the Medieval Age, Muslim's scientific dominance started from the Abbasid dynasty (c. 750) and ended at the peak of the Timurid Renaissance (c. 1450), which is also the end of Medieval Age. 700 years of Islamic Golden Age (c. 750 - c. 1450), Muslim intellectuals from all over the world from the Iberian Peninsula to Uzbekistan participated in every field of science on a level that could ultimately set the foundations of modern science.    

Single Most Influential Person in History

Muhammad bin Abdullah

Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and generally known as the founder of Islam (c. 610 - c. 632). According to Muslims, he was an Apostle of God (Allah), sent to preach and confirm the monotheistic faith preceded by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all other prophets. In all the main branches of Islam, he is viewed as the final prophet of God. The Quranic instructions and Muhammad's teachings formed the Islamic doctrines.  

Born into the city of Mecca (c. 570), his father died before his birth, and his mother died at the age of six. He received revelations at the age of 40. 23 years of his consistent struggle in the form of facing the Meccan's persecution during his stay in Mecca for 13 years after revelations (610), facing difficulties during the early Muslim migrations {614 in Abyssinia (Ethiopia), 622 in Yathrib (Medina)} and launching Jihad (Holy War) against polytheist Arabian tribes and Jews from c. 624 to c. 632, eventually brought Islam into the entire Arabian Peninsula. Later under the Rashidun caliphs, Islam spread from Northern Africa to Central Asia within just 25 years after the death of Muhammad (c. 632). Muhammad is considered as the single most influential personality of all time by the book of astrophysicist Micheal Hart "100". Muhammad's extraordinary character and his unchallenged leadership skills changed the destiny of the Arab world and created countless great personalities from all disciplines. These personalities were shaped by Muhammad is known as Sahaba-e-Rasul (Companion of the Prophet). There will no Ali ibn Abi Talib, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, or Khalid ibn Al-Walid if Muhammad doesn't exist. As a result of his unparalleled and unsurpassed influence that he literally changes the trajectory of history forever and writes a chapter that has apparently no end. Today, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world and Muhammad's teachings continuously inspire and impact the social, political, and religious dogmas of the Muslim world, even much of the world's today. Muhammad is the supreme example of the world's most successful person in both religious and secular realms. 

Greatest Warrior in known History

Ali ibn Abi Talib

Ali ibn Abi Talib (15 September c. 601 - 29 January 661), was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), who ruled as the fourth Rashidun caliph from 656 to 661. Ali ibn Abi Talib was the greatest warrior in known history. As an undefeated military commander and warrior, Ali fought dozens of battles during the early period of Islam and in the final years of his life as caliph and commander of the Muslim army. He provides a pivotal role in the early rise of Islam. Due to his exceptional combat skills and military leadership, he won all the earliest major Islamic battles i.e. Battle of Badr (624), Battle of Trench (627), Battle of Hunain (630), etc, besides his conquest of Khyber, Fadak, and Mecca. He killed 25 to 35 enemy soldiers out of 70 during the first Islamic battle (Battle of Badr). Saved the Muslims from total annihilation and defeat during the Battle of Uhad (625) by killing off eight standard-bearers alone. According to Ibn Atheer, "The Prophet became the object of the various units of the army of Quraish from all sides. Ali attacked, in compliance with Muhammad's orders, every unit that made an attack upon him and dispersed them or killed some of them, and this thing took place several times in Uhud". Ali is the first person who found Muhammad heavily surrounded by enemies, then he rushed towards him and saved his life, even tactically speaking he also saved the Muslims by approaching and taking positions around the nearby mountain. He decisively conquers the Jewish city of Khyber and an Arabian city of Mecca finally set the stage of Islamic conquest and caliphate that spreads from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean around Morocco in the west to the parts of Uzbekistan in the east. His military career resumed at the age of mid-fifties after his appointed as the fourth caliph of Islam and he fought three major pitched battles (Jamal, Siffin, and Nahrawan). Battle of Siffin was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of Islam, it fought for three days continuously. All of the bravest warriors from both Iraq and Syria participated in this battle. It is said that Ali fought so bravely and courageously that he single-handedly killed 534 confirmed kills which is a record in the history of war. Whenever he killed each person he said Allah-o-Akber (Allah is the Greatest). He even challenged Mawaiya (first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty) to fight single combat (duel), which Mawaiya denied. He killed numerous best fighters of Arabia at the time of Muhammad; the most famous ones were the Umayyad champion Walid bin Utba, Quraysh's most formidable warrior Amr ibn Abd al-Wad, great Jewish commander and warrior Marhab. Muhammad regarded Ali as the greatest warrior of all time.   

   

Greatest Ruler (except Taimur the Great)

Umar ibn Al-Khattab

Umar Ibn Khattab (c. 584 - c. 644), also known as Umar the Great or Umar I by historians. He was an expert Muslim jurist known for his just and pious nature, which earned him the epithet Al-Farooq ("the one who distinguishes (between right and wrong)"). Under his rule, the Rashidun caliphate increased at an unprecedented rate, ruling the entire Sassanian Persian Empire and more than two-thirds of the Byzantine Roman Empire. He is regarded as the second greatest companion of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) by Sunni denomination comprised of 85% total Muslims in the world. His administrative abilities and skills were literally unmatched in human history. He was an administrative genius in building the architect of an Islamic Empire. Foundations upon which he builds his administrative functionaries provide a role model for later Rushidun, Umayyad, and Abbasid caliphs. He was the first person who established the first known welfare state in history, it was called Bayt al-mal. Bayt al-mal supported all subjects from both Muslims & Non-Muslims, including poor, needy, elderly, orphans, widows, and disabled people. Umar also introduced child benefits and pension plans for the children and old age people, this tradition is common among developing countries today, particularly Scandinavian countries. He also set the first-ever disaster management department and appointed Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah an officer of that department for managing the affairs during the period of great famine in Arabia (638). In recorded history, he is also the first person who established the free trade economy system. During the period of Byzantine-Sassanid Wars, the local population of Jews, Christian and other people faced persecution in the form of heavy taxes to finance the Roman-Persian Wars, which results in Muslim conquest because the caliphate wasn't levied taxes on trade and burden Non-Muslim subjects to finance their wars. Moreover, he also allows Christian, Jews, and other Non-Muslim subjects to use their own laws in the caliphate and appoint their own judges.    

Greatest Military Commander (except Taimur the Great)

Khalid bin Al-Walid

Khalid bin Al-Walid (c. 585- c. 642) was an Arab Muslim commander first in the service of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) than to Abu Bakr (first caliph of Islam) and Umar (second caliph of Islam). Khalid ibn Al-Walid is widely considered as one of the finest military commanders of all time. He fought more than at least 100 battles against numerically superior and well-equipped forces of Byzantine Romans and Sassanid Persians, even in Ridda Wars against Arab tribes in Arabian Peninsula, and remained undefeated. Even as a warrior he fought several duels across the best commanders/warriors of Arabia, Persia, and Rome and remained unchallenged. After Hannibal Barca, he was one of the first-ever commanders who successfully executed the pincer movement against a large army. Under his command, Muslims for the first time united into a single political entity called caliphate which embarked on a series of conquest that stretches from Morocco to Uzbekistan. 

There is no God except Allah & Muhammad is the messenger of Allah

Greatest Army in recorded history 

Rashidun Mujahideen

Rashidun Army (Mujahideen) (c. 632 - c. 661) was established after the death of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and succession of the first caliph of Islam Abu Bakr and disbanded after Hasan, the fifth Rashidun caliph who pledged an oath to Muawiyah I, founder of the Ummayad dynasty. Rashidun Mujahideen is the greatest army in recorded history. Just 13,000 to 41,000 Rashidun soldiers available within the period of the first caliph, Abu Bakr. Despite all of these facts, the Rashidun army's resilience, preservation, and superior military tactics were unparalleled. Within just two years of Abu Bakr's caliphate (c. 632 - c. 634), they were not only able to defeat and unite outnumbered and determined Arabian rebels during the Ridda Wars but also able to defeat the numerically superior and well-equipped forces of Byzantines and Sassanids (two major world powers at that time) and conquered parts of Iraq and Syria. During the Umar's reign (second Rashidun caliph), the caliphate expanded at an unprecedented rate, conquering the entire Sassanid Persian Empire and more than 2/3 of the entire Byzantine Roman Empire. Under Usman's reign (third Rashidun caliph), the caliphate reaches the height of glory conquered the 3 quarters of the entire Byzantine Roman Empire, permanently perished the Sassanid Persians, successfully occupied the Greek islands of Rhodes and Cyprus, even the coastal areas of Italian Sicily and Spain. Moreover, they also conquered the Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) parts of Dagestan (Russia), parts of western Pakistan, and the Khorasan region (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan). It spreads from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean around Morocco in the west to southern Uzbekistan in the east. Low standard army in terms of military equipment and strength, the Rashidun force able to conquer the entire Arabian Peninsula, Persian Empire, and 3 quarters of the entire Roman Empire within just 2 decades (c. 632 - c. 652) after the death of Muhammad, and permanently alter the landscapes. 

Rashidun Empire (Islamic Caliphate)

On the contrary, Mongolian and British conquests were all went in vain. Both of them shrinks to their original size from where they belong and came from. They left no or at least a smaller influence on conquered lands but unlike them, Rashidun conquest permanently changed the demography from the parts of Northern Africa to the parts of Central Asia forever. Imagine, it all can happen particularly within just a span of 2 or 3 decades. Today, the Arab world encompasses the entire Northern and Central Africa to the entire Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabian Peninsula with one cohesive culture and language, even the non-Arab world such as Persia and Khorasan region were also subjected to the greater influence of Rashidun's conquest in the form of religion. Mongols themselves fell under the influence of Rashidun conquest, as a result three principal khanates (Chagatai Khanate, Il-Khanate, and Golden Horde Khanate) of the Mongolian Empire out of four embraced Islam and carried the Islamic legacy. Emir Taimur (known in the West as Tamerlane), greatest of the Mongols and Tartars is also the product of Islamized society of recently converted Mongols. Timur was greatly inspired by the Rashidun caliphs particularly Abu Bakr, Umar, and Ali. He selected a name for his eldest son upon the name of second and greatest Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab i.e. Umar Sheikh Mirza, one of his grand-sons name was Abu Bakr Mirza named after the first Rashidun caliph Abu Bakr and his signet ring carved with three letters i.e. Allah, Muhammad, and Ali, showing his love and respect to Allah (God), Muhammad (a final prophet of Islam) and Ali (fourth Rashidun caliph).           

Greatest Conqueror, Military Commander, Military Campaigner, Warlord & Ruler of all time

Shuja-ud-din Timur bin Taraghay Barlas

Timur (9 April 1336 - 17 February 1405), also spelled as "Taimur", known in the western and eastern world as Tamerlane and Taimur-i-lang (respectively), was the greatest conqueror, military campaigner, military commander, warlord, and ruler of all time. As an undefeated military commander and warrior, he fought at least more than 200 battles in over forty years of his constant wars (c. 1363 - c. 1403), conquered 17 million km² landmass of the earth, established the greatest and largest contiguous empire in human history, spreading his empire across the three continents i.e. Asia (43%), Europe (38%), and Africa (6%), eventually ruled over half of the known world.  

Timur's Conquest (17,000,000 km² )

This unbeaten warlord led his invincible army to conquer each state from Mongolia to Turkey and from Moscow to Delhi. Moreover, his army had also feared across Europe, Asia, And Africa. It is taught that his military campaigns were also responsible for the death of 17 million people (5% of the total world's population at that time). He and his army defeated or subdued every single great empire of his time except Ming China which only escaped because of his death at Otrar, Kazakhstan while he had already headed towards this last great empire that stood in his way of complete world domination.   

Ottoman Sultanate of Turkey (1402), Mamluke Sultanate of Egypt (1400), Tughlaq Sultanate of India (1398), Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1399), Knights Hospitaller (Crusaders) of Rhodes (1403), Georgian Kingdom of Caucasus (1403), Muzaffarid Kingdom of Iran (1393), Chagatai Khanate of Uyghristan (1390), Golden Horde Khanate of Russia (1395), Northern Yuan Khanate of Mongolia (1403) (only Ming China survived, the last great empire), all these great empires crumbled down one by one like a house of cards by the Tartar forces of Timur.    

However, the Ming Empire of China survived from the Timur's global conquest but they also faced the Timurid war dust in the form of defeat by Oljei Temur Khan Bunyashiri, leader of the Northern Yuan Khanate (protege of Timur/Tamerlane) at the Battle of Kherlen on 23rd September 1409. Moreover, Timur's son and successor Shah Rukh effectively gained nominal suzerainty over Ming China in 1420. Imagine, Timur's own fearsome reputation and military might even felt on Chinese soil because of this sheer fact Ming Chinese establish cordial relationships with the Timurids after his death and accepted their supremacy.   

After the nominal subjugation of the last great empire and the final completion of the world domination; Timurids turn their eyes towards the Heaven (Universe), build the greatest and largest observatory of the ancient and medieval world, known as Ulugh beg observatory (c. 1424 - c. 1429), originated by Mirza Taraghay bin Shah Rukh bin Emir Taimur, famously known as Ulugh Beg "Great Leader" and he compiled the Zij-i-Sultani of 994 stars in 1437, it was the greatest star catalog between those of Ptolemy (c. 100 - c. 170) and Tycho Brahe (c. 1546 - c. 1601).

Conquerors:

In entire recorded history, the Muslim world produces the highest number of great conquerors. There are a total of 4 Great Conquerors in the Muslim world who successfully occupied the list of top 10 great conquerors in history i.e. Ahmed Shah Abdali, Mahmud Ghazanavi, Nader Shah, and Emir Taimur. 

Ahmed Shah: 

Ahmed Shah Abdali (c. 1722 - c. 1772) was a founder of the modern state of Afghanistan. He united the Pushtun tribesmen of his region to conquer Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Eastern Iran. He conquered 1.8 Million km² land area.

Mahmud Ghaznavi: 
Mahmud Ghazanavi (c. 971 - c. 1030) was the third king of the Ghaznavid Empire from 998 to 1030 who initially toppled his brother Ismail and set the stage of conquest that encompasses parts of Northeastern Iran, and Turkmenistan, entire Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Northwest India, parts of Uzbekistan. He conquered a 4.5 Million km² land area. 

Nader Shah:

Nader Shah (c. 1688 - c. 1747) ruled Persia for 10 years from 1736 to 1747. He united the Iranian forces and deposed the last Safavid ruler. He was the last great Asian conqueror in history, who occupied Iran, Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan), Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, most of the Iraq and Uzbekistan, Persian Gulf regions i.e. Bahrain and parts of Oman. He conquered a 5 Million km² land area.   

Amir Taimur: 
Timur (Tamerlane) (c. 1336 - c. 1405), a well-known greatest conqueror in history. With sheer diplomacy and military prowess, he united the Tartars in the Khorasan region and established his capital in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). From that base, he conquered most of Asia and Eastern Europe. He conquered 17 Million km² land area. 

Muslim Empires:

Islam arose in the early 7th century in the form of a small state in Medina. Within 10 years (c. 622 - c. 632), Medinan forces successfully overwhelmed the entire Arabian peninsula under the parasol of his charismatic leader Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim and united the Arabs for the first time in history. 

Umayyad Empire

After the death of Muhammad, his immediate successors embarked on a series of conquest that rocks the foundation of the old world. Almost 30 years (c. 632 - c. 661) of a caliphate rule, permanently changed the course of history forever from Northern Africa to Central Asia. This was the First Muslim (and only Islamic) Global Empire and it was called Rashidun (Rightly Guided) caliphate. It covers 10 million km² land area at its zenith under the third caliph Usman bin Affan.   

After that, Umayyad Caliphate came which covers 15 million km² land area at its peak under the caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, spreading from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indus River. It survives for almost 90 years (c. 661 - c. 750).   

Abbasid Empire

The third caliphate came in the form of the Abbasid Dynasty. Its initial 110 years marks the Abbasid's peak (c. 750 - c. 861) except for brief interruption by Fourth Fitna (Muslim civil war) (c. 811 - c. 830). It survives in different forms either puppet rulers or independent rulers starting from the c. 861 to c. 1258, then c. 1260 to c. 1517 (survived for 750 years total). It covers 10 million km² land area at its greatest extent under its greatest Abbasid caliph Huran al-Rashid (c. 763 - c. 809). From c. 750 to c. 1258, generally marked this period as the Golden Age of Islam because it is known in history as the peak of the Muslim's Art, Philosophy, and Science. However, it is debatable about the Golden Age of Islam but in an accurate sense, the golden age of Islam started in the mid 8th century (c. 750) and it lasted at the end of the medieval age (c. 1450). Abbasids remained dominant for a century since its foundation and then start to decline until it was permanently perished by the Mongols of Hulagu Khan during the sack of Baghdad (1258). The Abbasid line survived and continues to rule nominally from Cairo, Egypt. Nevertheless, Egyptian Mamluks were the real holders of the territory of Hejaz with ceremonial puppet Abbasid caliphs, who ruled until 1517 when the Ottoman sultan Selim I conquers Cairo, ending the Mamluk and Abbasid dynasty. During the period of Abbasid stagnation, numerous powerful Muslim empires emerged from it. In Khorasan; Samanid, Tahirid, Saffarid, Ghaznavid, and Ghurid dynasties emerged, in Hejaz, Egypt, and Syria; Fatimids and Ayyubids prevailed, in Iraq and Iran; Burid, Hamdanid, and Zengid dynasties took over the territories from the Abbasids, in North Africa; Aghlabid, Almoravid, Almohad replaces the Abbasid positions. Most importantly, Seljuks took over the realm of the Abbasids from Transoxiana to Anatolia during the 11th century.

Next, the Ottoman Empire/Caliphate came, it was the fourth and final caliphate who survived until it was dissolved by the Mustafa Kamal Ataturk Pasha and replaces with the modern state of Turkey. Ottoman Empire was the world's most durable empire. It survives for 625 years total (c. 1299 - c. 1924) and remains a dominant force on a global theater for more than three centuries (c. 1453 - c. 1774). Ottoman history is well divided into five main periods; the first period (c. 1299 - c. 1453) is known as the Rise of the Ottoman Empire, the second period (c. 1453 - c. 1571) defines the Ottoman Empire as the Transcontinental Hyperpower starting from the Conquest of Constantinople (1453) until the Battle of Lepanto (1571), the third period (c. 1571- c. 1774) marked the Ottoman Empire as the World's Superpower which ended after the decisive victory of Russians over the Ottomans during the First Russo-Turkish War, the fourth period (c. 1774 - c. 1908) is pronounced as the decline of the Ottoman Empire, even in that period empire was still big enough to remain within the context of being considered as the World's power, the fifth period (c. 1908 - c. 1924) ultimately specifies towards the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

Besides all those great empires i.e. Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and Ottoman Empires, there is another fifth global empire of Muslims that briefly took over the control of Hejaz and Jerusalem (in a nominal sense) i.e. Great Timurid Empire. The Timurid Empire grow into prominence after the disintegration of the Mongolian Empire of Genghis Khan. The Timurid empire is a cross-section of both nomadic and sedentary based empire. In 1370, Amir Timur (Tamerlane) united the Turko-Mongol factions around the northern Khorasan region and kurultai/shura (general assembly) elected him as a Great Amir. From his capital at Samarkand, his armies overran most of Eurasia. In the East, his armies conquered Eastern Turkistan (Xinjiang, largest province of China), Mongolia, and Southeastern Siberian regions. In the West, they conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, Levant, Asia Minor, even subdue Northeastern Africa, Southeastern Europe, and Hejaz (Western Arabian Peninsula). In the North, they conquered Western Turkistan (entire Central Asia), Caucasus, Southern European Russia, Southeastern Ukraine, and Western Siberia. In the South, they conquered the entire regions of northern parts of South Asia (including modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Northwestern India). It was the largest contiguous empire in human history, spanning from the Northeastern African regions on one hand and from the Southeastern Siberian regions on the other hand (25 million km² land area/half of the known world).  

Timur took over the authority of Hejaz in 1403 when he defeated the Egyptian Mamluks in 1400 and reduced them into a vassal state. Egyptian Khateebs read Khutba-e-Jumma (congregational sermon) in Timur's name all over the Egyptian capital city of Cairo to the holiest cities of Islam i.e. Medina and Makkah for 2 years (until his death). That same year (c. 1403), Timur also reached the status of Great Khan by all Turko-Mongol subjects when he successfully united all the remnants of the former Mongol Empire i.e. Chagatai Khanate of Turkistan (c. 1360 - c. 1390), Il-Khanate of Persia (c. 1383 - c. 1393), Golden Horde Khanate of Russia (c. 1385 - c. 1395), Northern Yuan Khanate (c. 1403 - c. 1404) of Mongolia. Timurid Empire survived for a century after his death. one of the most illustrious descendants of Timur named Babar survived the Uzbek onslaughts in 1507 and reached Kabul, Afghanistan, from where he invades Northern India to found the powerful Mughal Empire, which ruled almost entire Indian Subcontinent under the last great Mughal King Aurangzeb Alamgir (c. 1658 - c. 1707). In the Medieval Age (c. 476 - c. 1453), Four Muslim Global Empires emerged {Rashidun Caliphate (Great Phase c. 636 - c. 661), Umayyad Caliphate (1st Great Phase c. 661 - c. 683 & 2nd Great Phase c. 692 - c. 750), Abbasid Caliphate (1st Great Phase c. 750 - c. 811 & 2nd Great Phase c. 830 - c. 861) and Great Timurid Empire (1st Great Phase c. 1390 - c. 1405 & 2nd Great Phase c. 1409 - c. 1449). 

During the early modern age (1500-1800), also known as Gunpowder/Age of Discovery Period in which Three Muslim Gunpowder Empires existed i.e. Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires. In all of these great empires; the Ottoman empire was the global one, at the height of his power this empire spreading his eagle wings across three continents i.e. Southeastern Europe, Northern Africa, and Eastern Mediterranean world including Mesopotamia (Asia). It covers 5.2 million km² land area. The climax of the Islamic civilization started after the conquest of Mecca (630) by Muhammad and ended after the conquest of Ottoman Algiers (1830) by Charles X of France. During this 1200 years (c. 630 - c. 1830), the Muslim world remains a vibrant force across the old world (Afro-Eurasian continent). The early 18th century saw the gradual decline of the ottomans and the rapid decline of the Safavids and Mughals. Safavid Empire ended by Nader Shah of Persia, who unseated the last Safavid ruler in 1736 and founded the shortlived Afsharid Empire which collapses after his assassination by the Persian guards. Mughal Empire rapidly declines because of internecine wars between Mughal princes for the throne after the death of Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb Alamgir. Finally, Mughals confined to the red fort of Delhi by Hindu Marathas who occupied most of his territory until it was abolished by the British Raj (British East India Company) in 1858. The Ottoman Empire gradually underwent towards decline phrase and slowly starts to lose territory one by one until the First World War effectively marked the Ottoman decline. However, a resurgence led by Turkish nationalists under the umbrella of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk "Father of the Turks" substantially restored the Turkish prestige by defeating and liberating his country from the European Powers, but Mustafa Kamal Ataturk Pasha abolished the Caliphate system/Ottoman Empire in 1923. Since then, the Muslim world is divided into 50 states with little unity and coherence among them.         

Muslim Scientists:

Muslim scientists play an essential role in the early development of science which finally set the foundations of modern science. Scientific education flourished all over the Muslim Empires from the Iberian Peninsula to Uzbekistan, created the countless Islamic schools (Madrassahs) for the purpose of scientific study in which Bait-ul-Hikma (House of Wisdom) at Baghdad was the most famous one. 

Yaqub Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi 

Father of Islamic Philosophy, Environmental Science, Cryptography, and Algorithm/Modern Mathematics (Greatest Muslim Scientist along with Al-Biruni)

Yaqub ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi (c. 801 - c. 873) was an Arab polymath involving in the fields of metaphysics, logic, psychology, pharmacology, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, and optics. He is the first Islamic philosopher, considered as the father of Arab philosophy. He wrote hundreds of treatises on a wide range of subjects ranging from metaphysics, logic, psychology, and also involves in more practical topics such as swords, perfumes, glass, jewels, dyes, tides, mirrors, meteorology, and earthquake. In the field of mathematics, al-Kindi along with al-Khwarizmi played an essential role in presenting the Indian numerals to the Muslim world, then subsequently the Arabic numerals to the Christian world. He is also considered as the "father of cryptography". His book entitled "Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages" gave birth to cryptanalysis which was the earliest known statistical inference and established new methods of breaking codes of breaking ciphers, notably frequency analysis. By using his mathematics and medical expertise, he created a scale that would allow doctors to quantify the strength of their mediation. In optics, he developed a theory that everything in the world emits rays in every direction, which fills the whole world. This theory also influenced later scientists such as Ibn al-Haytham. Robert Grosseteste, and Roger Bacon. In chemistry, he was the opponent of alchemy; he debunked the myth that simple base metals could be transformed into precious metals such as gold and silver. He also unambiguously described the process of distillation of wine using a water bath and converts them into the color of the rose. Moreover, he also provides the process of extracting rose oils and describes the recipes for 107 various types of perfumes. In mathematics, he wrote on numerous mathematical disciplines such as geometry, arithmetic, the harmony of numbers, lines and multiplication with numbers, relative quantities, the Indian numerals, measuring proportion and time, and numerical procedures and cancellations. He wrote four volumes, on the use of the Indian numeral system into the Islamic world. He also made use of mathematics as a philosopher to disprove the eternity of the world by showing that actual infinity is a mathematical and logical preposterousness. His most lasting achievement was the development of a method whereby variations in the frequency of the occurrence of letters could be analyzed and exploited to break ciphers (i.e. cryptanalysis by frequency analysis). His book on this topic is Risala fi Istikhraj al-Kutub al-Mu'ammah (On Extracting Obscured Correspondance). In his treatise on cryptanalysis, he wrote: One way to solve an encrypted message, if we know its language, is to find a different plaintext of the same language long enough to fill one sheet or so, and then we count the occurrences of each letter. We call the most frequently occurring letter the "third", and so on until we account for all symbols of the cryptogram we want to solve". Regarding the Metaphysics al-Kindi said that the goal of metaphysics is to acquire the knowledge of God. For that reason, he doesn't make any distinction between philosophy and theology. The central idea of al-Kindi's Metaphysical theme revolves around two major points (1) God's absolute oneness (in both being and concept, lacking any kind of multiplicity whatsoever) (2) the creator (acts both as a final and efficient cause). Geralomo Cardano (c. 1501 - c. 1575), an Italian Renaissance scholar called him one of the twelve greatest minds.

Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmed Al-Biruni 

Father of Indology, Geodesy, Comparative Religion, Scientific Method, Experimental Mechanics & Hydrodynamics (Greatest Polymath in History)

Muhammad Al-Biruni (c. 5 September 973 - c. 13 December 1048) was a Persian polymath and scholar with an interest in numerous practical and scholarly fields that relate to what nowadays is considered as Astronomy, Physics, Anthropology, Psychology, Comparative Sociology, Mathematics, History, Medicine, Philosophy, Geography, and Theology. He is the founder of Indology, Geodesy, Comparative Religions (along with Ibn Hazm), Scientific Method (along with Ibn al Haytham), Experimental Mechanics, Hydrodynamics, and also the forerunner of Anthropology based on the fact that he was considered as "the first anthropologist". He was also known as one of the first exponents of an experimental method of investigation, introducing this method into mechanics, which is nowadays called as Mineralogy, Psychology, and Astronomy. Al-Biruni has been described as "one of the very greatest scientists of the Islamic world, and all considered, one of the greatest of all times" or "one of the great scientific minds in all history". In short, science itself cannot be completed without admitting the immense scientific contributions of Muhammad Al-Biruni. Al-Biruni wrote 146 books, 22 have survived and only 13 were published. Al-Biruni's scientific contributions were vast like an "Ocean of Knowledge". Main contributions of this greatest polymath are stated as:

Scientific Method:
Along with Ibn Abi Haytham, Al-Biruni was one of the first advocates of the experimental method and he used that method to figure out astronomy. His scientific approach was similar to the modern scientific method in many ways, particularly his emphasis on repeated experimentation. Al-Biruni was concerned with how to conceptualize and prevent both systematic errors and random errors, e.g. errors caused by the use of instruments and errors made by human observers. He argued that if instruments produce random errors because of their imperfections, then multiple observations must be taken, analyzed qualitatively, and on this basis, arrive at a "common-sense single value for the constant sought", whether arithmetic means or "reliable estimates.   
  
Astronomy:

In 1031, Biruni completed his extensive encyclopedia Kitab al-Qanun al-Masudi (Masudic Canon). It was an extensive encyclopedia on astronomy, geography, and engineering. 
In his Masudic Canon, he comprehensively wrote about astronomical findings and formulated astronomical tables. It introduces the technique of analyzing the acceleration of the planets, and first states that the motions of the solar apogee and the precession are not identical. He also disregarded Ptolemy's estimate distance between the earth and the sun and found out it was larger. Besides, he also introduces the new method of observation which is called "three-point observation" i.e. "two of them being in opposition in the ecliptic and the third in any desired place". This method replaces the inaccurate Hipparchus who used the interval of seasons for calculating solar parameters. This was a phenomenal contribution to the practical astronomy, even it used six centuries later by the Taqi al-Din, Tycho Brahe, and Nicolaus Copernicus to calculate the eccentricity of the sun's orbit and the annual motion of the apogee. 

Geodesy and Geography:
Al-Biruni is regarded as "the father of geodesy". He solved the complicated geodesy equation to compute the earth's circumference, which was close to modern values of the earth's circumference (Al-Biruni's estimate 6,335.725 km subtracted from the Modern estimate 6,371.936 = error 36.211 km). Unlike his Greek, Indian and Islamic predecessors who measured the earth's circumference by sighting the Sun simultaneously from two different angles. Al-Biruni, on the other hand, developed a new method of using trigonometric calculations based on the angle between a plain and mountain top which provides more accurate measurements of the Earth's circumference and made it possible for it to be measured by a single person from a single location.    

Indology:
Before Al-Biruni (10th century), history was often described as political and military events, but he changed all these facts and wrote a book called Tahqiq ma li'l-Hind (Researches on India), also known as Indica. It describes India's cultural, social, scientific, and religious history. That's why he is called "the father of Indology".

Anthropology:
Al-Biruni was considered as the first anthropologist because he did comprehensive, detailed investigations of the peoples, customs, and religions of the Indian subcontinent. He made extensive comparative studies on the anthropology of religions and cultures in the Middle East, The Mediterranean, and particularly South Asia. 

Geology:
Among his writings on geology, Biruni observed the geology of India and discovered that the Indian Subcontinent was once a sea, hypothesizing that it became land through the drifting of alluvium. This theory is correct with the modern geological theory of continental drift, where the Indian Subcontinent moved northwards and joined the Asian landmass, creating the Himalayas, and is still moving north-eastwards. 

History:
In his mid-twenties, in the year 1000, Al-Biruni wrote a book called Chronology of ancient nations, also known as The remaining Signs of Past Centuries, which discusses the comparative study of the calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with historical, mathematical, and astronomical information, exploring the traditions of different people. 

Celestial Mechanics:
He defines the Earth's gravitation as: "The attraction of all things towards the center of the earth." He thinks gravity exists within the heavenly bodies for attracted them towards the center. 

Experimental Mechanics:
Abu Rayhan Muhammad Al-Biruni was also the first person who successfully applied experimental scientific methods into mechanics, especially in the field of static and dynamics, particularly determining specific weights, such as those based on the theory of balances and weighing. With his powerful innovations, he also gave birth to hydrodynamics by combining dynamics with hydrostatics. In his book of Ayin-Akbari, he defines the idea of specific gravity in the light of the static field of mechanics. He measured the weights of various liquids and recorded the difference between freshwater and saltwater and between hot and cold water. Moreover, he also invented the conical measure, to find the ratio between the weight of a substance in the air and the weight of water displaced, and accurately measure the weight of gemstones and their corresponding metals, which are very close to modern measurements. 

Optics:
In Optics, Al-Biruni was the first along with Ibn al-Haytham, to postulate that the speed of light is finite and also discover that the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound. 

Abdul Rehman bin Muhammad bin Khaldun

Father of Early Economics, Sociology, Modern Historiography, Philosophy of History, Demography & Cultural History

(Greatest Social Scientist of all time)

Abdul Rehman bin Muhammad bin Khaldun (c. 1332 - c. 1406) was an Arab social scientist who is widely regarded as the forerunner of Economics, Sociology, Historiography, Philosophy of History, and Demography. His famous book named Muqaddimah or Prolegomena ("Introduction"), which he wrote in six months as he states in his autobiography known as the most astonishing work that influenced later Ottoman historians and European thinkers. His book Kitab-ul- Ibar (Book of Evidence), so-called "universal history" is divided into 7 parts/books, the first book covers the Muqaddimah, which is a separate work. Books two to five cover the history of mankind up to the time of Ibn Khaldun. Books six to seven cover the history of the Maghreb (Northern Africa) including the Berber people. Regarding the discipline of sociology, he perceived the theory of social conflict. He developed the dichotomy of sedentary life versus nomadic life as well as the concept of a "generation" and the inevitable loss of power that occurs when desert warriors conquer a city. His famous theory of Asabiyyah (social cohesion, group solidarity, tribalism). This social cohesion emerges voluntarily in tribes and other small kinship groups; it can be enhanced and inflated by a religious ideology. Ibn Khaldun examines how this cohesion carries groups to power but contains within itself the seeds of his own destruction (group's downfall). He also discusses the causes of the rise and fall of the civilizations and underlying mechanism for this cause which is similar to the economic business cycle. He is also one of the earliest to discusses the political economy. He describes the economy as being composed of value-adding processes, i.e. labor and skill are added to techniques and crafts and the product is sold at a higher value. He also made the difference between "profit" and "sustenance", in modern political-economic terms. Moreover, he further explains the surplus, and that needed for the propagation of classes respectively. He also calls for the creation of a science to explain society and goes on to outline these ideas in his major work the Muqaddimah. British historian Arnold J. Toynbee called the Muqaddimah "a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place." 

             

 Ismail al-Jazari

Father of Robotics

Ismail al-Jazari (c. 1136 - c. 1206) was a Turkic polymath related to mechanical engineering, arts, mathematics, and inventor. He is famous for his book named "The Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices" in 1206, where he explained 100 mechanical devices. He is also famous for inventing the modern flush toilet as well as the elephant and castle clock. He is sometimes regarded as the "father of Robotics" because of his numerous creation of self-operating machines, often called Automata. 

Camshaft:

A camshaft was first introduced by al-Jazari in 1206, a shaft to which am is attached, he used it as part of his automata, which cam is attached. He used it as part of his automata, water-raising machines, and water clocks such as castle clock. This principle is also used in cars to utilize the engines with a single overhead camshaft.  

Camshaft and crank-slider mechanism:

Al-Jazari invented an early crankshaft which he integrated with a crank-linking rod mechanism in his twin-cylinder pump. Similarly the modern crankshaft, al-Jazari's mechanism composed of a wheel setting various crankpins into motion. The crankshaft explained by al-Jazari converts constant rotary motion into a linearly reciprocating piston suction pump. His water pump also utilized the first known crank-slider mechanism. 

The escapement mechanism in a rotating wheel:

Al-Jazari created a system for controlling the speed of rotation of the wheel using an escapement. 

Mechanical controls:

According to Donald Hill, al-Jazari explained numerous early mechanical controls, a combination lock, a lock with four bolts, and a large metal door. 

Saqiya Chain Pumps:

Saqiya chain pump is the first known application of a crankshaft in a chain pump. The concept of intermittent working is also the first implied in one of al-Jazari's Saqaya chain pumps which run hydropower rather than manual labor. 

Double-action suction pump with valves and reciprocating piston motion:

He is also the first person who explains the suction pipes, suction pump, double-action pump and made early use of valves and a crankshaft-connecting rod mechanism when he created a twin-cylinder reciprocating piston suction pump.   

 

Water Supply System:

Al-Jazari also prepared the earliest water supply system to be driven by gears and hydropower which was built-in Damascus to supply water to mosques and Hospitals. This mechanism had water from a lake to turn a scoop-wheel and a system of gears which transported jars of water up to a water channel that led to mosques and hospitals in the city. 

Automata:

Al-Jazari built automated moving peacocks and gates which were driven by hydropower. He invented water wheels and a variety of water clocks, candle clocks such as an elephant clock (which is the first water clocks to accurately record the passage of the temporal hours to match the uneven length of days throughout the years), castle clock (which is an 11 feet high, and multiple functions besides the keeping, it was the first programmable analog computer). He also created humanoid automata which act as a mistress to serve water, tea, or drink. He also invented handwashing automation integrating flush arrangements now used in modern flush toilets. It features a female humanoid automaton standing by a basin filled with water. When the user pulls the lever the discharges, and the female automaton replenishes the basin. He was also an accomplished artist. In his glorious book entitled "The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices", he gave instructions and explained them through his miniature paintings (a medieval style of Islamic art).    

 Abbas ibn Firnas ibn Wirdas

Father of Aviation  

Abbas ibn Firnas (c. 810 - c. 887) was a Berber polymath: chemist, engineer, physician, and inventor. A father of aviation, Abbas ibn Firnas built the first human-carrying glider and is to have endeavored two successful flights. His work led to the late researchers to identify and create some of the fundamentals of rational aircraft design. According to John Harding, "Abbas ibn Firnas glider was the first attempt at heavier than air flight in aviation history". He made several contributions to the area of astronomy and engineering. He built a device that stated the movement of the stars and planets in the universe. He also came up with a method of making colorless glass and made magnifying lenses for reading, which was called reading stone. He also invented a water clock called al-Maqata and successfully developed a process for cutting rock crystal that enabled the Muslim kingdom of Andalusia to stop exporting quartz to Egypt to be cut.          

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi 

Father of Algebra and Algorithm 

Muhammad Ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi (c. 780 - c. 850) was Persian polymath related to the works of Mathematics, Astronomy, and Geography. In 820 CE, he was appointed as the astronomer and head of the library of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He has been widely regarded as the father of Algebra and Algorithm. His popular treatise on Algebra (The Compendious Book on Calculations by Completion and Balancing, c. 813-833) the first time ever presented the systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. One of his main accomplishments in Algebra was his exposition of how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square, for which he has given the geometric equations by completing the squares, for that purpose he gave the geometric justifications because he was the first to treat algebra as an independent discipline and introduced the methods of "reduction" and "balancing". For that reason, he has been widely regarded as the "founder/father of Algebra and Algorithm". His Latin translated book on Arithmetic which systematized the various Indian numerals presented the decimal positional number system to the western world, which eventually forms the Algorithms. Today, entire Computer Science is based on operations consists of Algorithm. Moreover, he revised the Ptolemy's Geography, recording the longitude and latitudes of various cities and localities. He also gave the Astronomical tables and wrote about calendars' work, astrolabe and sundial. He also made significant contributions in the field of trigonometry, producing the accurate sine and cosine tables, and the first table of tangents. In Astronomy, Al-Khwarizmi's Zij al-Sindhind is a vast collection of work involving 37 chapters on calendrical and astronomical calculations. This work contains tables for the movements of the sun, moon, and five planets known at that time. Al-Khwarizmi's most influential work on the subject of arithmetic under the light of his book Kitab al-Hisab al-Hindi (Book of Indian Computation) was a revolutionary step in the field of mathematics, which described the algorithms on decimal numbers (Hindu-Arabic numerals). This is the single greatest achievement in the history of science, which immortalize the scientific legacy of Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi (along with Yaqub bin Ishaq al-Kindi) because they introduce the Indian numerals to the Arab world and the manipulation of those numerals in his work, then subsequently presented those Hindu-Arabic numerals in the west, ultimately set the foundations of modern computer science.

Abu Kamil Shuja ibn Aslam 

Second Greatest Islamic Algebraist after Al-Khwarizmi 

Abu Kamil Shuja ibn Aslam (c. 850 - c. 930) was an Arab mathematician during an Islamic Golden Age. He is considered the first mathematician to systematically use and accept irrational numbers as solutions and coefficients to equations. Later on, Fibonacci adopted his mathematical techniques, thus allowing Abu Kamil an important part in introducing algebra to Europe. He was the first mathematician to handle algebraic equations easily with powers higher than x {2} (up to x 8), and solved sets of non-linear simultaneous equations with three unknown variables. He illustrated the rules of signs for expanding the multiplication (a pm b) (c pm d). He also enumerated all the possible solutions to some of his problems. The famous Ibn Khaldun categorized Abu Kamil as the second greatest algebraist chronologically after al-Khwarizmi.   

Ismail Add al-Hamid bin Wase bin Turk Jili

 Founder of Algebra (along with Al-Khwarizmi)

 

Abd al-Hamid bin Wase bin Turk Jili was a ninth-century Persian mathematician, he wrote a work on the algebra by the name called "Logical Necessities in Mixed Equations", which is much similar to al-Khwarzimi's Al-Jabr and published around the same time or maybe earlier than Al-Jabr. The text gives exactly the same geometric evidence as is identified in Al-Jabr, and in some cases the same example as found in Al-Jabr, and even goes beyond Al-Jabr by giving a geometric confirmation that if the discriminant is negative then the quadratic equation has no solution. The resemblance between these two works has led some historians to determine that algebra may have been well established by the time of al-Khwarizmi and Abd al-Hamid.   

 Abu al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali al-Qalasadi 

The founder of Symbolic Algebra

Abu al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qalasadi (c. 1412 -c. 1486) was an Arab mathematician who originated the algebraic symbolism. He wrote numerous books on algebra and arithmetic, including al-Tabsira film al-Hisab (Clarification of the science of arithmetic). He used his algebra to overcome the problems in everyday life, such as the composition of medicaments, the calculation of the drop of irrigation canals, and the explanation of frauds linked to instruments of measurement.                

Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi 

Pioneer of Trigonometric ratios such as sine, cosine, tangent, and cotangent 

Ahmed ibn Abdullah Habash al-Hasib Marwazi (c. 766 - c. 869) was a Persian astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who for the first time described the trigonometric ratios: sine, cosine, tangent, and cotangent. He also determines the Earth, Moon, and Sun's circumferences, diameters, radius, etc.      

Abu al-Wafa Buzhjani 

Pioneer of the Law of Sines for Spherical Trigonometry, Tangent Functions, and Trigonometric Identities 

Abu al-Wafa Buzhjani (c. 940 - c. 998) was a Persian mathematician and astronomer who made several significant innovations in spherical trigonometry and his work on arithmetics for the business community contains the first instance of using negative numbers in a medieval Islamic text. Furthermore, he compiled the tables of sines and tangents at 15 _ intervals. He introduced the law of sines for spherical triangles, tangent function, and several trigonometric identities.   

    

Abu Bakr Muhammd ibn al Hasan al-Karaji

Pioneer of the Theory of Algebraic Calculus 

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al Hasan al-Karaji (c. 953 - c. 1029) was a Persian mathematician and engineer. He is the first to free algebra from geometry. He was the first in the Islamic world along Ibn Hazm to mentioned the earth as spherical in shape. He describes the basic principals of hydrology in his book "Extraction of hidden waters" and first to realize the sequence of x, x^2, x^3,....could be extended indefinitely; and the reciprocals 1/x, 1/x^2, 1/x^3,....,. His work on algebra and polynomials gave the rules for arithmetic operations for adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials. He is mostly agreed by the historians that he introduced the Theory of Algebraic Calculus. He was also the first to give the formulation of the binomial coefficients, the first description of Pascal's triangle, and the discovery of binomial theorem.        

Abu Sa'id Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Sijzi

    One of the Finest Mathematicians in Islamic History 

Abu Sa'id Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Sijzi (c. 945 - c. 1020) was a Persian mathematician and astronomer. He invented the astrolabe called Zuraqi which tells the motion of the earth and describes that we see the movement of the earth is not because of the movement of the sky instead it is the motion of the earth. Al-Biruni also defended the theory of al-Sijzi in his treatise "al-Qanun al-Masudi" that the earth rotates. In mathematics, he studied the intersections of conic sections and circles. He substituted the old kinematical trisection of an angle by a simple geometric solution.  

     Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Azdi 

    One of the Finest Mathematicians in Islamic History 

Ahmed ibn Muhammad al-Azdi (c. 1256 - c. 1321) was an Arab mathematician and astronomer who wrote dozens of treatise, embracing topics such as algebra, astronomy, and logic, etc. His most valuable works to the Islamic sciences were the (1) calculations regarding the drop in irrigation canal levels, (2) arithmetical explanation of the Muslim laws of inheritance, determination of the hour of Asr prayer, explanation of frauds linked to instruments of measurement, enumeration of delayed prayers which have to be said in a precise order, and calculation of legal tax in the case of delayed payment. In algebra, he also computed the square roots of a number and the theory of continued fractions. This was the first known mathematical work to use algebraic notation.       

Abu Amir Yusaf ibn Ahmed ibn Hud (Al-Mu'taman Billah) 

    One of the Finest Mathematicians in Islamic History 

Al-Mu'taman Billah (c. _ - c. 1085), was the third king of the Banu Hud dynasty of Arab origin. Al-Mu'taman Billah was a scholarly king and patron of the arts, philosophy, and sciences. He was well-versed in mathematics and philosophy. Especially in mathematics, he wrote an important treatise (Kitab al-Istkmal) which deals with the irrational numbers, conic sections, quadrature of the parabolic segment, volumes, and areas of various geometric objects, etc. He is also the author of the first known formulation of Ceva's theorem, which was discovered by Giovanni Ceva more than five centuries later.   

Shams al-Din Abu Allah al-Khalili

    One of the Finest Mathematicians in Islamic History 

Shams al-Din Abu Allah al-Khalili (c. 1320 - c. 1380) was an Arab astronomer who compiled the comprehensive tables for astronomical use. He mostly worked as a timekeeper at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. He is well-known for his construction of two sets of mathematical tables, both totaling roughly 30,000 entries. He computed 13,000 entries into his 'Universal Tables' of different auxiliary functions which allowed him to generate the solutions of standard problems of spherical astronomy. Moreover, he created a 3,000 entry table that gave the direction of the city of Mecca (the Qibla) for all latitudes and longitudes for all the Muslim countries of the 14th century. 

 Ali ibn Abd al-Rehman al-Sadafi

    One of the Finest Mathematicians in Islamic History 

Ali ibn Abd al-Rehman al-Sadafi (c. 950 - c. 1009) was an Arab mathematician whose works are noted for being ahead of their time, having been based on meticulous calculations and attention to detail. His famous work in astronomy is al-Zij al-Kabir al-Hakimi (c. 1000), which was a handbook of astronomical tables that contained very accurate observations. According to N.M Swerdlow, Zij al-Kabir al-Hakimi is "a work of outstanding originality of which just over half survives". In 1819, Delambre noted from the translation of Hakemite tables that two of Ibn Yunus's methods for determining the time from the steller altitude were equivalent to the trigonometric identity. He also described the 40 planetary conjunctions and 30 lunar eclipses. Current scientific knowledge of the positions of planets confirms that his statement and his calculation of the distance being one-third of a degree is exactly correct.   

 Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik

Founder of the First Philosophical Novel 

 

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ad al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Tufail al-Qaisi (c. 1105 - c. 1185) was an Arab polymath, specialized in the fields of Philosophy, medicine, astronomy, and writing. He is famous for his work on the first philosophical novel called Hayy ibn Yaqdhan. As a physician, he was also an early supporter of dissection and autopsy, which was expressed in his novel. His philosophical novel was also the first to depict the desert island, a feral child, and coming of age plots. His novel had a profound influence on both classical Islamic philosophy and modern western philosophy. It became one of the most significant books that heralded the scientific revolution and European Enlightenment.         

 Ahmed ibn Rushd

Father of Rationalism 

Ahmad ibn Rushd (c. 1126 - c. 1198) was Arab polymath and jurist who wrote more than 100 books on philosophy, medicine, astronomy, theology, physics, psychology, Islamic jurisprudence, law, and mathematics. He was known in the west as "the commentator and father of rationalism" because of his numerous Philosophical works on Aristotle in the form of commentaries that supports Aristotelianism against Neoplatonist. In medicine, he proposed the new theory of stroke, described the signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease for the first time, and might have been the first to identify the retina as the part of the eye responsible for sensing light. His medical book under the name "Al-Kulliyat fi al-Tibb" became the standard textbook for centuries.  

 Abu Sa'd al-Ala ibn Sahl

Founder of the Law of Refraction 

Ibn Sahl (c. 940 - c. 1000) was a Persian physicist and mathematician who have written an optical treatise around 984. Ibn Sahl is the first Muslim scholar known to have studied the Ptolemy's Optics, and an important precursor to Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics, written some thirty years later. Ibn Sahl successfully coped with the optical properties of curved mirrors and lenses and has been known as the discoverer of the law of refraction. Ibn Sahl uses this law to derive lens shapes that focus light with no geometric aberrations, known as anaclastic lenses. In his treatise, he also handled the parabolic mirrors, ellipsoidal mirrors, biconvex lenses, and drawing techniques for hyperbolic arcs.            

 Hasan Ibn Al-Haytham

Father of Early Physics, Modern Optics, & Scientific Method

 

Hasan ibn Al-Haytham (c. 965 - c. 1040) was an Arab polymath related to the subjects of mathematics, astronomy, physics, philosophy, theology, and medicine. He is also known as "father of modern optics", he made substantial contributions to the principals of optics and visual perception (in particular). He was the first person to explain that vision occurs when light reflects from an object and then passes to one's eyes. Moreover, he was also the first person to explain that vision occurs in the brain, rather than in the eyes. He was also sometimes considered as the "first scientist and theoretical physicist" because he was the first person who proposes the idea of scientific method along with Abu Rayan Muhammad bin Ahmed Al-Biruni and made significant developments in the field of early Physics, that's why he also sometimes referred to as the "father of Physics". He was the first proponent of the concept that a hypothesis must be supported by experiments based on confirmable procedures or mathematical evidence that led to the establishment of the scientific method upon which our modern science-based. 

Kamal al-Din al-Farisi

One of History's Great Mathematician and Physicist 

Kamal al-Din al-Farisi (c. 1267 - c. 1319) was a Persian mathematician and physicist. he made two essential contributions to science, one on optics (Physics), and second on number theory (mathematics). He was a student of astronomer and mathematician Qutb al-Din, who in turn was a student of famous Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. According to encyclopedia Iranica, Kamal al-Din was the most Prominent Persian author on optics. He wrote a book entitled "Kitab Tanqih al-Manazir" (The Revision of the Optics), which further reforms the theory of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen). He was the first known person to give a mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow and an exposition of the nature of colors. He proposed the model where the light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more refractions occurring between the two refractions. He confirmed this through general experimentation using a transparent sphere loaded with water and a camera obscure. He projected light through the sphere and finally deducted through many tests and complete observations of reflections and refractions of light and eventually came to the conclusion that the colors of the rainbow are a manifestation of the decomposition of light. In mathematics, Farasi made a number of significant contributions related to number theory. His most astonishing work in number theory is on amicable numbers. He presented a whole new concept of number theory, establishing ideas such as factorization and combinatorial methods. Greek mathematician Euclid took the first step on the way to the existence of prime factorization, al-Farisi took the final step and stated for the first time the fundamental theorem of arithmetic.            

Jabir bin Hayyan

Father of Early Chemistry & Artificial Creation

Abu Musa Jabir bin Hayyan (c. 721 - c. 813) was an Arab polymath related to the board range of topics, including alchemy, cosmology, numerology, astrology, medicine, and philosophy. Best known as the "father of Chemistry", Jabir's works contain the oldest known systematic classification of chemical substances together with the oldest known instructions for deriving an inorganic compound (ammonium chloride) from organic substances (such as hair, blood, and plants) by chemical means. As a "father of artificial creation/cloning" Jabir's ultimate goal revolves around the creation of artificial life (Takwin). In his book, Kitab Al-Tajmi, he describes several procedures for creating creatures like scorpions, snake, and even humans in a laboratory environment, which is subject to the control of the creator. Jabirian corpus is famous for its contributions to chemistry. It shows the clear cut essentials of experimentation, as it is mentioned in the following words of Jabir "The first importance in alchemy is that you should practically perform work and conduct experiments, for he who performs not practical work nor makes experiments will never attain even the least degree of mastery." Max Meyerhoff famously quoted about Jabir bin Hayyan that "His influence may be traced throughout the whole historic course of European alchemy and chemistry". Erick John Holmyard (chemist historian) gives credit to Jabir for developing alchemy into an experimental science and gave him importance as equal to that of Robert Boyle and Antoine Lavoisier.  

Abu Ali Cena (Avicenna)

Father of Modern Medicine

Al-Hussian bin Abdullah (c. 980 - c. 1037), known in the west and east as Avicenna and Abu Ali Cena (respectively), was a Persian polymath particularly specialized in the subjects of Medicine and Philosophy. Besides medicine and philosophy, Abu Ali Cena's corpus included the works of astronomy, chemistry, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, and physics. His famous book "The Book of Healing" a medical encyclopedia which became a standard textbook during the medieval age, even at use as late as 1650. There is another book he wrote under the name "al-Shifa". This book is divided into four parts, logic, natural sciences, mathematics, and metaphysics. He is generally considered a great scholar of all time. He is also regarded as the "father of modern medicine".     

Abu al-Hasan al-Tabari

World's First Encyclopedist of Medicine

Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari (c. 783 - c. 853) was a Persian physician and psychologist, who wrote the world's first encyclopedia of medicine entitled Firdous al-Hikmah (Paradise of Wisdom). Moreover, he is also the first person to discover the pulmonary tuberculosis was contagious. He was a teacher of the famous physician Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi.   

Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi 

Father of Pediatrics

Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Razi (c. 854 - c. 925), was a Persian polymath associated with the fields of medicine, chemistry, philosophy, logic, and astronomy. An extensive thinker, Razi made fundamental and enduring contributions to various fields, which he recorded in over 200 manuscripts, and is particularly remembered for numerous advances in medicines through his observations and discoveries. As an early proponent of experimental medicine, he became a successful doctor and served as chief physician of Baghdad and Rey hospitals. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (1911), he was among the first to use humoral theory to distinguish one contagious disease from another and wrote a pioneering book about smallpox and measles providing a clinical characterization of the diseases. He also discovered numerous compounds and chemicals including alcohol and sulfuric acid. He is a pioneer in obstetrics and ophthalmology (first to recognize the reaction of the eye's pupil to light). Furthermore, he is also considered as the "father of Pediatrics".  

Khalaf ibn Abbas Al-Zahrawi

Father of Surgery 

 

Al-Zahrawi (c. 936 - c. 1013) was an Arab physician, surgeon, and chemist who lived in Hispania (Spain). Widely considered as the greatest surgeon during the medieval age, he is regarded as the "father of surgery". His main work included in his book Kitab al-Tasrif (The Method of Medicine) comprised of a 30 volume encyclopedia of medical practices. It remains a standard textbook in European universities for 500 years. Moreover, he was the first to discover the hereditary nature of hemophilia and abdominal pregnancy, a subset of ectopic pregnancy. His enormous contributions in the field of surgical procedures and instruments had influential across the whole world, even today some of his discoveries are still in use.    

Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Ala Ibn Zuhr

Father of Experimental Surgery

Ibn Zuhr (c. 1094 - c. 1162) was an Arab physician and surgeon, born in Hispania (Spain). He was notable for his emphasis on a more rational, empiric basis of medicine. His main work, Al-Taysīr fil-Mudāwāt wal-Tadbīr ("Book of Simplification Concerning Therapeutics and Diet") was tremendously influential in Europe as well as for the progress of surgery. Furthermore, he also improved surgical and medical knowledge by curing several diseases and their treatment. He is well-known as the "father of experimental surgery" because he was the first person to perform an experimental tracheotomy on a goat.   

Ali ibn Abi-Hazm Al-Qarshi (Ibn al-Nafis)

Father of Circulatory Physiology 

Ibn al-Nafis (c. 1213 - c. 1288) was an Arab polymath from Syria involved in a wide range of fields i.e. medicine, surgery, biology, physiology, philosophy, anatomy, and Islamic studies. He is the first person in medical history who successfully discover the procedure of pulmonary circulation, that's why he is sometimes pronounced as the "father of circulatory physiology" besides he also gave an early insight into coronary and capillary circulations. His extensive book of encyclopedia under the name of Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine) provides a complete summary of medical knowledge at that time. It comprises of 300 volumes in which only 80 were published by him. He had been described as the greatest physician of his time, with some even referring to him as "the second Ibn Sina".

Abu Zayd Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi

Pioneer of Mental Health, Cognitive Psychology, Medical Psychology, Psychophysiology, Psychosomatic Medicine & Cognitive Therapy 

 Abu Zayd Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi (c. 850 - c. 934) was a Persian polymath concerning the fields of geography, mathematics, medicine, and psychology. He wrote a book on mathematics entitled "the excellency of mathematics; on certitude in astrology. Another on geography by the name called Suwar al-Aqalim (Figures of the Regions) mainly consisted of geographical maps which led to the establishment of "Balkhi school" of terrestrial mapping in Baghdad. The geographers of this school wrote comprehensively of the peoples, products, and customs of the regions in the Muslim world with little concern in non-Muslim lands. The most essential part of his work was the early useful descriptions on the subject of mental health illnesses which he wrote in his book called, Masalih al-Abdan wa al-Anfus (Sustenance for Body and Soul). He was the first to introduce the concept of mental health and hygiene and also one of the first to discuss to successfully discuss the connection between body and soul. He described the term al-Tibb al-Ruhani (spiritual medicine) related to the psychological health condition and needs of the patient and another term Tibb al-Qalb (medicine of heart) related to the mental condition of the patient. He criticized many doctors of his time for placing too much stress on physical illnesses and neglecting the psychological or mental illnesses of the patients, and argued that "since man's construction is from both his body and his body, therefore, human existence cannot be healthy without the Ishtiblik (entangling or interweaving) of soul and body". to facilitate his arguments he said that "if the body gets sick, the nafs (psyche) automatically uses most of his cognitive and comprehensive ability and fails to enjoy the desirous aspects of life" and that "if nafs (psyche) gets sick, the body may also find no joy in life and may eventually develop a physical illness. Abu Zayd al-Balkhai traced back his ideas on mental health to verses of the Quran and hadith (traditions of prophet Muhammad), such as: 

             "In their hearts is a disease." (2:10)

"Truly, in the body, there is a  morsel of flesh, and when it is corrupt the body is corrupt, and when it is a sound the body is sound. Truly, it is the qalb (Heart)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman)

"Verily Allah does not consider your appearances or your wealth in (appraising you) but He considers your hearts and your deeds." (Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, no. 8707)

Cognitive and medical psychology and cognitive therapy:

Al-Balkhi was the first to distinguished neurosis and psychosis and also the first categorize neurotic disorders and establish cognitive therapy for each of these categorized disorders. He sorts out neurosis into four emotional disorders: fear and anxiety, anger and aggression, sadness, depression, and obsession. He further divided depression into three kinds: normal depression (Huzn-sadness), endogenous resulting from within the body, and reactive clinical depression originating from outside the body. He mentioned that a balance between the body and mind is needed for good health and that an imbalance between the two can cause sickness. He also presented the concept of reciprocal inhibition (al-ilaj bi al-did) over a thousand years before the Joseph Wolpe in 1969.            

Psychophysiology and psychosomatic medicine: 

Al-Balkhi was also a pioneer of psychotherapy, psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicine. He acknowledged both body and soul are one coherent unit; the soul and body can be healthy or sick "balanced or imbalanced" and illness can have both psychological and physiological causes. He wrote that disparity within the body can lead to fever, headache, and other types of illnesses, while disparity within the soul can lead to anger, anxiety, sadness, and other mental symptoms. He divided the depression into two types: one triggered by known reasons such as loss or failure, which can be healed psychologically through both external procedure (such as compelling topics, preaching and advising) and internal procedure (such as the advancement of inner thoughts and cognitions which assist the person to get rid of his depressive state); and the other resulted by unknown reasons such as a "sudden affliction of sorrow and distress, which remains all the time, avoiding the depressed person from any physical activity or from showing any happiness or medicine. He also differentiated between physical disorders with mental disorders and showed how psychosomatic disorders can be caused by certain interactions between them.   

Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan 

Father of Trigonometry

Muhammad ibn Muhammad bin al-Hasan (c. 1201 - c. 1274), famously known as Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi was a Persian polymath, mathematician, astronomer, architect, physician, philosopher, chemist, biologist, and theologian. He is often regarded as the creator of trigonometry as an independent mathematical branch. He successfully convinced the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan to construct an observatory for establishing accurate tables, this observatory is known as Rasad Khaneh/Maragheh observatory. Under the most advanced observatory of his time, Tusi accurately describes the tables of planetary motions as depicted in his book Zij-i-Ilkhani (Ilkhanic Tables). His planetary system is believed to be the most advanced of his time until Nicolaus Copernicus's heliocentric model. He also invented the geometrical technique called Tusi-couple for his planetary models for generating linear motion between two circular motions. He also calculated the annual precession of the equinoxes and created some astronomical instruments like an astrolabe. He criticized the Ptolemy's use of observational evidence to prove that earth was at rest, observing that such proof was not decisive. Tusi in his Tadhkira writes that "The Milky Way, i.e. the galaxy, is made up of a very large number of small, tightly clustered stars, which, on account of their concentration and smallness, seem to be cloudy patches. because of this, it was likened to milk in color". Three centuries later it can be proved by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei by using a telescope to study the Milky Way. He was the first to treat trigonometry as an independent branch of mathematics separated from astronomy. In his Treatise on the Quadrilateral, he gave a comprehensive demonstration of spherical trigonometry, distinct from astronomy. He was the first to list the six distinct cases of a right triangle in spherical trigonometry. He discovered the famous law of sines for plane triangles, spherical triangles, the law of Tangents for spherical triangles, and provided proofs for these laws. Tusi is regarded as one of the most eminent astronomers between Ptolemy and Nicolaus Copernicus.     

Ala al-Din Ali ibn Muhammed Qushji

Father of Astrophysics 

Ali Qushji (c. 1403 - c. 1474) was a Timurid astronomer, mathematician, and physicist of Turkic descent, originally from Samarkand (Uzbekistan). He is the first person who made early developments in astronomical physics independent from natural philosophy and allowing astronomy to become a purely empirical and mathematical science that led to the foundations of astrophysics, the main discipline of astronomy. He provides empirical evidence for the earth's rotation in his treatise (Concerning Supposed Dependence of Astronomy upon Philosophy) through his observation on comets and concluded based on empirical evidence rather than speculative philosophy that the moving Earth theory is just as likely to be true as the stationary Earth theory. As a disciple of Ulugh Beg, he also contributed to the Ulugh Beg's Zij-i-Sultani. He improved the planetary model of Nasir al-Din and presented an alternative planetary model for mercury which Tusi failed to provide. The echo or seeds of the Copernican revolution lies inside the advancements of such scientists such as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and particularly Ali Qushji who not only rejected the idea of stationary earth theory but also provides empirical evidence that builds up the notion of Heliocentric Model. It is most likely plausible that Nicolaus Copernicus get an idea of non-stationary earth theory from Ali Qushji because of its country's (Poland) close proximity with the Ottoman Empire from where Ali Qushji established the Sahn-i-Seman Medrese (c. 1470) at Constantinople (Istanbul). 

Jamshid Al-Kashi

One of History's Great Mathematician & Astronomer

Jamshid Al-Kashi (c. 1380 - c. 1429) was a Timurid astronomer and mathematician of Persian descent. Al-Kashi prepared a Zij entitled the Khaqani Zij, which was based on Nasir al-Din al-Tusi's earlier Zij-i-Ilkhani. Al-Kashi wrote sine tables to four sexagesimal digits (equivalent to eight decimal places) of accuracy for each degree and contains variations for each minute. He also created tables dealing with transitions between coordinate systems on the celestial sphere such as the alteration from the ecliptic coordinate system to the equatorial coordinate system. Moreover, he wrote the book named "Sullam al-Sama" on the resolution of difficulties faced by precursors in the determination of distances and sizes of celestial bodies such as the Stars, Sun, Earth, and the Moon. In 1416, he wrote another book called Treatise on Astronomical Observational Instruments, which described the wide range of instruments, the equinoctial armillary and solstitial armillary and solstitial armillary of Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi, the sine and versine instrument of Urdi, triquetrum and armillary sphere, a double quadrant Azimuth-altitude instrument he invented, the sextant at the Samarkand observatory, and a small armillary sphere incorporating an alhidade which he invented. He is also one of the few early scientists who invented an analog computing device used to measure the time of day at which planetary conjunctions will occur, and for carrying out linear interpolation. He also invented the mechanical planetary computer called Plate of zones, which could graphically solve the planetary problems, including the prediction of the true positions in the longitude of the sun, moon, and planets: and the ecliptic of the sun. In mathematics, his most crowning achievement was the establishment of the Law of Cosine (also known as Theorem of Al-Kashi) in which he was the first to give an unequivocal statement of the law of cosine in a form suitable for triangulation. In his Treatise on the Chord and Sine, al-Kashi calculated sin 1° to almost as much accuracy as his value for π which for the most estimation of sin 1 in his time until it was surpassed by Taqi al-Din in the 16th century. In algebra and numerical analysis, he developed an iterative method for solving cubic equations, which was discovered until centuries later. Furthermore, he correctly computed the 2 π to 9 sexagesimal digits in his numerical approximation. Jamshid al-Kashi is ranked among the greatest mathematicians in history.  

Mirza Taraghay bin Shah Rukh bin Emir Taimur

One of History's Great Observational Astronomer

Mirza Taraghay bin Shah Rukh bin Emir Taimur (c. 1394 - c. 1449), who ruled over much of Central Asia for 40 years from 1409 to 1449, first as a governor (38 years) and then as a separate ruler (2 years). He was a Timurid sultan, astronomer, and mathematician. He is famous for his works on astronomy-related mathematics such as trigonometry and spherical geometry besides their general interests in the arts and intellectual activities. He turned the Samarkand and Bukhara into an intellectual center of the Timurid Empire and build Ulugh beg Madrasah (c. 1417 - c. 1420). He also constructed the great observatory (c. 1424 - c. 1429) at Samarkand which is considered by my scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world and the largest in scientific history at that time. He is widely regarded as the most important observational astronomer by many scholars. With the help of most advanced observatory at that time, Ulugh beg composed a star catalog consisting of 1018 stars. He found multiple mistakes in Ptolemy's work that had been in use for many years. He compiled Zij-i-Sultani of 994 stars, this is the most comprehensive star catalog since Maragheh observatory two centuries before. 

In 1437, Ulugh Beg measured the length of the sidereal year as 365.2570370 days = 365 days 6 hours 10 minutes 8 seconds (an error of +58 seconds). Subsequently, he again measured another more precise value of the tropical year as 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes 15 seconds, which has an error of +25 seconds, making it more accurate than Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus's estimate which had an error of +30 seconds. Ulugh Beg also determined the Earth's axial tilt as 23° 30' 17" in the sexagesimal system of degrees, minutes, and seconds of arc, which in decimal notation converts to 23.5047°. In mathematics, he correctly wrote the trigonometric tables of sine and tangent values to at least eight decimal places. Ulugh Beg is the single most accomplished diversified personality of all time: on a political sphere; he was born as a prince, ruled as both governer and sultan of the Timurid Empire, on a religious sphere; he was a theologian who memorized the entire Quran by heart, on an educational sphere; he was not only the great patron of the arts and sciences but also an accomplished astronomer, mathematician, and a visionary architect who also spoke five languages i.e. Arabic, Persian, Turkic, Mongolian, and a small amount of Chinese. 

  Muhammad ibn Jabir ibn Sinan al-Battani  

Ptolemy of the Arabs

Muhammad ibn Jabir (c. 858 - c. 929) was an Arab astronomer and mathematician. He presented several trigonometric relations and his Kitab az-Zij was frequently quoted by many medieval astronomers, including Nicolaus Copernicus. His best-known achievement in astronomy was the determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 24 seconds, which is only 2 minutes and 22 seconds off. He compiled new tables of the sun and moon, long accepted as authoritative. Some of his measurements were more accurate than Nicolaus Copernicus. Al-Battani plays a major role in the early development of science and astronomy. His data is still used in geophysics. Among his most famous mathematical innovations were the (1) Introduction of the use of sines in the calculation and partially that of tangents, calculation of the values fro the precession of the equinoxes and the obliquity of the ecliptic, (3) use of a uniform rate for precession in his tables. He is often called the "Ptolemy of the Arabs".     

 Abd al-Rehman al-Sufi

One of History's Great Astronomer

 

Abd al-Rehman al-Sufi (c. 903 - c. 986) was a Persian astronomer, known in the west as Azophi. Al-Sufi wrote a famous book entitled "Book of Fixed Stars" in 964, producing most of his work, both in textual descriptions and pictures. Al-Biruni reports that his work on the ecliptic was carried out in Shiraz. He made several corrections on Ptolemy's star list and did his own brightness and magnitude estimates which frequently deviated from those in Ptolemy's work. He was the first person to observe the Andromeda Galaxy in 964 describing it as a "small cloud", this was the first galaxy other than the Milky Way to be observed from earth. He calculated the length of the tropical year, observed and explained the stars, their positions, their magnitudes, and their color, setting out his outcomes constellation by constellation. For each constellation, he produced two drawings, one from the outside of a celestial globe, and the other from the inside (as seen from the earth).   

 Fakhr al-Din Al-Razi

Pioneer of Multiverse Theory

Fakhr al-Din Al-Razi (c. 1149 - c. 1209) an Arab polymath who wrote works on medicine, physics, astronomy, literature, law, and history. His most lasting impact was his unique interpretive work on the Quran called Mafātiḥ al-Ghayb (Keys to the Unseen), later known as Tafsir al-Kabir (The Great Commentary) composed of 32 volumes in length. He is the originator of the idea of Multiverse theory and rejected the Aristotelian and Avicennian idea of a single universe revolving around a single World instead he explores the notion of the existence of Multiverse in the context of his commentary on the Quranic verse:

"All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the Worlds". (1:1) 

He raises the question of whether the term "Worlds" in this verse refers to "multiple worlds within this single universe or too many other universes or a multiverse beyond this known universe". Al-Razi states: It is conventionally established idea that there exists beyond the world an emptiness without an ultimate limit, and it is also established by proof that God Most High has power over all contingent beings. Thus, He the Most High has the power to create thousands of worlds beyond this world, each one of those worlds may be bigger and more massive than our world as well as having the like of what this world has of the throne, the chair, the heavens, and the earth, and the sun and the moon. The arguments of the philosophers for establishing that the world is only one is inadequate, feeble reasons founded upon frail assumptions. He mostly debated on the issue of a void (empty space) between stars and constellations in the universe in which some contain few or no stars. From that point, he argued that there exists an infinite outer space beyond this known world and God has the power to fill the vacuum with an infinite number of universes. 

Ali ibn Ahmed ibn Sa'id ibn Hazm

Father of Comparative Religion 

 

Ali ibn Ahmed (c. 994 - c. 1064), commonly known as Ibn Hazm, was an Arab polymath involving in the fields of Physics, Geography, Ethics, Logic, Psychology, History, and Theology. In his treatise under the name Fisal (Detailed Critical Examination), Ibn Hazm emphasized the significance of sense perception as he noticed that human reason can be erroneous. While he acknowledged the relevance of reason, since the Qur'an itself invites reflection, he claimed that this reflection must have done within the context of revelations and sense data, since the principles of reason are themselves derived completely from sense experience. He concludes that reason is not a capability of independent research or discovery, but that sense-perception should be applied in its position, a notion that represents the basis of Empiricism. He underpinned three major points regarding logic in Islamic Philosophy, (1) first sources of all human knowledge are the soundly used senses (2) and the intuitions of reason, (3) combined with a correct understanding of a language. His most astonishing achievement was his idea of spherical earth at the time when Muslims commonly believes the earth as a flat. But after the analyzing of Quranic verse of Chapter Al-Zumar verse 5 which stated as:

"He makes the Night overlap the Day, and the Day overlaps the Night" (39:5) 

Moreover, he made a detailed study of the celestial globe and came to the conclusion that earth is in a spherical shape because he found out that "the sun is always vertical to a particular spot on Earth". This was a "conceptual scientific revolution" in Islamic geography as they shifted from flat to spherical earth and inspired the later generations such as famed geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi to depict the world as a globe. In Physics, Ibn Hazm's opinion on sound is that it travels at specific speeds. He gave an example of echo inside the Mosque of Cordoba to prove his statement, among the examples he proposed was the reference to the interval between lightning and thunder that follows it. He also considered that lightning causes thunder. Ibn Hazm also provided an idea on Dynamics concerning the "nature of the motion of bodies", he said that "there are mobile objects and stationary objects, but there is no motion nor static". He was also the first person along with Al-Biruni to compared the study of religious pluralism and their works have been substantial in the subjects of theology and philosophy. He is also considered as "father of comparative religion" along with al-Biruni.     

Muhammad Al-Idrisi 

Founder of the First Advanced Global Map 

Muhammad al-Idrisi (c. 1100- c. 1165) was an Arab geographer, cartographer, and Egyptologist who was originally from Ceuta, Spain. He created the Tabula Rogeriana, one of the first advanced medieval world maps. Later, these maps were also used by Christopher Columbus and Vasco Da Gama for their discoveries and voyages. After 18 years of stay at the court of King Roger II of Sicily, Muhammad al-Idrisi has drawn a map showing the Eurasian continent in its entirety and northern Africa. Three centuries geographers follow these maps without any change. His geographical text, Nuzhat al-Mustq is often referred by proponents of pre-Columbian Andalusian-American contact theory in which al-Idrisi describes Mughamarin (adventurers) who penetrated deep into the fogs of Atlantic ocean and wanted to know that what it contains and where it ends. He also presented a sphere made out of solid silver in the court of King Roger II which measured the circumference of the earth. 

Muhammad bin Abdullah (Ibn Battuta)

Greatest Explorer 

Muhammad bin Abdullah (c. 1304 - c. 1369) famously known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber geographer and explorer who is widely regarded as the greatest traveler/explorer in history. He traveled 75,000 miles (120,000 km), surpassing Zheng He with about 53,000 km and Marco Polo with 15,000 km. He is the author of one of the most famous travel book called Rihlah (Travels) and describes his 30 years of his continuous journey to the edge of the world. He travels far and wide over the entire Northern, Western and Eastern Africa, Western, Southern, and Central Asia, Russia (Golden horde khanate), China, Spain, Southeastern Europe, even reaching as far as Indonesia (Sumatra).