The role of Muslims in Establishing and Promoting “Science”

Question: “Have Islam and Muslims played a role in establishing and promoting various disciplines of science?”
The emphasis of Islam towards science, teaching and learning led to the writing and compilation of many books in various scientific disciplines, that too in a very short period of time. Western scholars have devoted an important chapter in the history of Islamic civilization to the Muslim scientific movement and enumerated the various disciplines of science by mentioning the names of the scientists of each science. According to the explicit confession of Western historians, the European scientific movement is inspired by the Muslim scientific movement, and Europeans in the scientific movement consider themselves indebted to Islamic scholars.

Detailed answer:
The emphasis of Islam in science, teaching and learning led Muslims to write and compile many books in various scientific disciplines, including divine knowledge, philosophy, medicine, health, geography, physics, chemistry, etc. This knowledge has been published partially through the translation and the rest through the researches of Muslim scholars.

Western scholars, among others, have devoted an important chapter in the history of Islamic civilization to the Muslim scientific movement; And they have enumerated the various disciplines of science – which flourished and expanded under the supervision of Muslims – by mentioning the names of the scientists of each of the sciences and technology. According to the explicit confession of Western historians, the European scientific movement is inspired by the Muslim scientific movement, and Europeans in the scientific movement consider themselves indebted to Islamic scholars.


It is very noteworthy that, according to Western historians, the European scientific movement was inspired by the Muslim scientific movement; And the Europeans owe their knowledge to the scientists of Islam in their scientific movement.In ‘The History of Western Civilization and its Foundations in the East’’, written by a number of Western scholars, we read: “It can be said that a lot of light has shone from east to west!”

“The Arab sciences were like a shining moon that illuminated the darkest nights of medieval Europe, and as new sciences emerged, the moon became colorless, says Dr. Max Mirhoff in the book “The Heritage of Islam”. He mentioned that “It was the moon that guided us to the dark nights to bring us here, and we can say that its radiance is still with us.”

In another write up, in the same book we read:“ “Oriental sciences rained down on the dry soil of Europe like a rain of mercy and made it fertile, and little by little the Europeans became acquainted with the Eastern sciences!”


In his notes entitled “Natural Sciences and Medicine”
, he writes:
“What has been discovered in recent years has shed new light on the ancient history of the sciences of the Islamic world; Of course, these discoveries are not enough yet; And the world will realize the importance of Islamic sciences in the future.


In another article entitled “The Influence of Islamic Literature in Europe”: written by Professor Gabe, a professor of Arabic at the University of London, we read “When we look back, we see science and literature. The East served as a leaven for Western civilization such that the influence of Eastern ideas illuminated the dark spirit of the people of the West ,centuries ago and led them to the widen this world.


The famous Christian historian Georges Zidane writes in his book “History of Islamic Civilization” on the influence of Islam on sciences and knowledge that entered the Islamic field from abroad,he writes: “What we have said about the role of education in Islamic civilization is well used, that science and knowledge were fertilized in various ways [by Muslims], and scholars, jurists, physicians and philosophers showed their genius in this They made clear the way.

In short, in the books of the general history of the world, that have been written about the history of Islamic civilization,there are many confessions from Eastern and Western historians about the Muslim scientific movement and its long-term and short-term impact on the history of human science and culture, the description of which is worthy of an independent book and what has been said above; It is only a small part of it.

Translator: Salma Syeda
Keywords:
role of Muslims, establishing science, promoting Science, western world, Muslim Civilization , Professor Gabe, Georges Zidane, scientific disciplines, Arab Civilization, Knowledge.