Without the Muslims all of the so-called civilized countries would still be going through the Dark-Ages as it is called by its own academic historians due to their ignorance in all fields. In fact, European non-Muslim scholars would say: “There would be no renaissance in Europe had it not been for Islām.”
Muslim inventors were hundreds of years ahead of Europe and the rest of the world. They made innumerable discoveries and wrote countless books about medicine, surgery, physics, chemistry, philosophy, astrology, geometry, and various other fields that has shaped the world we a living in today.
Down below we present you some of the inventions.
1. Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khawārizmī
Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khawārizmī was born around 780 CE and he is a man known as one the most important and influential thinkers of all time!
Without algebra and algorithm, we could not measure anything, make anything or build anything. There would be no money, houses or roads. No hospitals or food production, no internet, no defence, etc.
But do you know who is known as “the as the father of algebra and algorithm”? It is none other than Ibn Mūsā al-Khawārizmī. One of the greats!
Is math the language of science? If that is the case, then we should be thankful to him for translating it for us. Al-Khawārizmī became the director of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, in modern-day Iraq, which was the capital of the Islamic empire at that time. There, he was part of a community of scholars from across the world who translated and studied ancient manuscripts. He blended and improved mathematical concepts from ancient Babylonian, Greek, and Hindu scholars, revolutionizing how we do math.
In the western world, he is also known as “Algoritmi” and the word “algorithm” is derived from the Latinization of his name, and the word “algebra” is derived from the Latinization of “al-Jabr “, which is a part of the title of his most famous book, in which he introduced the fundamental algebraic methods and techniques for solving equations.
We cannot today imagine the world without algebra, but have you ever heard of this man before? If not, you now probably know the reason why. He was a Muslim, with a turban and beard.
2. Ismā’īl al-Jazarī
Born in the 12th century, Ismā’īl al-Jazarī wrote a book in which he described 50 mechanical devices, along with instructions on how to construct them!
Al-Jazarī is not only known as the “father of robotics” but also considered to be the “father of modern-day engineering.” The world-famous Leonardo da Vinci left drawings made around 1495, depicting the first recorded designs of a humanoid robot but someone else got there before him. Can you guess who? The first person to build a programmable humanoid robot was al-Jazarī in 1206.
He invented the crank mechanism, connecting rod, programmable automaton, humanoid robot, reciprocating piston engine, suction pipe, suction pump, double-acting pump, valve, combination lock, cam, crankshaft, segmental gear, the first mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and especially the crankshaft, which is considered the most important mechanical invention in history after the wheel.
Not bad for a guy who lived 800 years ago.
3. Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham al-Ash’arī
Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham al-Ash’arī (Alhazen) is considered a pivotal figure in history and known as “The father of modern optics!”. Born around a thousand years ago in present-day Iraq, Al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham was a pioneering scientific thinker who made important contributions to the understanding of vision, optics, and light.
His methodology of investigation, in particular using experiments to verify theory, shows certain similarities to what later became known as the modern scientific method. Ibn al-Haytham is credited with explaining the nature of light and vision, through using a dark chamber he called “Albeit Almuzlim”, which has the Latin translation as the “camera obscura”; the device that forms the basis of photography.
This man changed the course of science. He ‘invented’ the camera! Could we even imagine the world in 2022 without cameras? No, we cannot.
4. ‘Abbās ibn Firnās
In 875 CE, at the age of 65, ‘Abbās ibn Firnās tried to fly. Using a hang-glider made of feathers and wood that he built after hours of observing birds in flight, he leapt off the roof of the Rusāfa palace in Cordoba. By all accounts, he flew for several minutes, gliding on the air currents like a raptor!
He is known as “the first man to ever fly”, but other than that, he also designed a water clock. He devised means of manufacturing glass, and he developed a chain of rings that could be used to display the motions of the planets and stars. He also devoloped a process for cutting rock crystal. Thereafter, Spain no longer needed to export quarts to Egypt, but could finish it at home.
Ibn Firnās was an Andalusi polymath, an inventor, astronomer, physician, chemist, engineer and an Arabic-language poet.
