Illustration by Abū al-Rayhān Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Bīrūnī of different phases of the moon from Vestiges of the Past (کتاب الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية).
The arabic of this title translates to “A Friendly Gift on the Science of Arithmetic” and represents one of multiple orginal texts of 14th-17th century Arab-Islamic science recently released by the United Nations World Digital Library.
I’ve been reading a good deal about the history of science in this region as I’m preparing for my interview with Adnan Oktar (who writes under the name Harun Yahya), one of the leading voices of Islamic Intelligent Design. His two-volume Atlas of Creation is an exquisitely gorgeous compendium of pseudoscience that is comprised of high quality photographs depicting vaguely labled fossils that sort of look like living species (the vast majority of which are fish). After 800 pages the reader is supposed to understand that this .0001% sample of the natural world proves that evolution has never occurred.
However, in looking through the works of antiquity in this new collection what stands out is how Islam and science have not always been in such collision.
In fact, while European science was in sharp decline following the collapse of the independent Greek city-states, Arab-Islamic science picked up the torch. They translated and expanded upon the classical authors such as Galen, Empedocles and Democrates. The words algebra, alchemy and (ironically) alcohol have their origin from this region. There is also evidence to suggest that medieval scholars in the Middle East initiated the experimental method in a way that elaborated upon the limited Greek model and may have inspired the European scientific Renaissance.
To give one example, Rosanna Gorini examined the work of Abu ’Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham, an 11th century experimental researcher in medicine and optics from the region now known as Basra, Iraq. According to al-Haytham, the role of the scientist is to begin by:
Investigating by induction existing phenomena and in this way distinguishing the properties of individual things. From here, we may turn to research and comparison, in a gradual and orderly way, criticizing premises and being careful about results.
This was written some 400 years before Paracelsus and Copernicus became known for initiating a similar, if much more crude, approach in Europe (a method that would take another century to refine). Al-Haytham was widely read throughout the Middle East and became influential in Europe after his work was translated into Latin.
While the current collection is written entirely in Arabic (a language I don’t speak or read beyond the tea party Salaam ’Alaykum) the texts are beautiful to look through and their mathematical rigor should inspire all would-be purveyors of truth (i.e. Mr. Yahya) to understand that good science comes from continuing to push the boundaries of knowledge, not shutting them down.
Other titles in the collection include:
The Book of Remedies from Deficiencies in Setting Up Marble Sundials (شفاء الأسقام فى وضع الساعات على الرخام) was written in 1319 and discusses the telling of time from such astronomical observations as the sun’s angle of inclination (mayl), altitude (irtifā‛), as well as the direction (samt) and length of cast shadows.
The Light of the Eyes and the Enlightened Landscape of Vision (نور حدقة الأبصار و نور حديقة الأنظار) a treatise on optics that covers such basic topics as direct vision, reflection and refraction, and the length of shadows. It discusses convex and concave mirrors and the physiology of vision, and has a section on optical illusions.
A Guide for the Perplexed on the Drawing of the Circle of Projection (ارشاد الحائر الى تخطيط فضل الدائر) deals with such questions as locating the North Pole and determining one’s latitude. I don’t know how important the work is in the history of Arab-Islamic science, but it’s definitely my favorite title.
Desired Transformations, or, On Negations and Affirmations in Rectifying Wisdom (التحولات المرغوبة، أو، عن النفي والإيجاب في تصحيح الحكمة) a text on alchemy, numerology, mineralogy, and magic which includes information from Galen and Democrates.
The Book of Instruction on Deviant Planes and Simple Planes (أشكال الوسائط في رسم المنحرفات و البسائط) a work on practical astronomy and the drawing of the circle of projection and related concepts from spherical trigonometry.
Deliverance from Error on Knowledge of Times of Day and the Direction of Prayer (هداية فى الضلالة فى معرفة الوقت و القبلة من غبر الة) a work of astronomy that begins by emphasizing the religious significance of knowing how to keep the time and how to determine the proper direction of prayer. Many a scientific breakthrough was discovered (by Kepler, Newton and others) by pursuing the answer to some practical solution of concern in their religious traditions.
Last updated:
Wednesday, 06 May
2009 - 14:38 UTC
Ah yes, the Atlas of Creation, which illustrates fly (non)-evolution using fishing lures.
(photo credit and story here).
Interesting post Eric. Islamic science had an airing on BBC TV back in January – I briefly flagged it up here and here. Not sure if it will be available in the US. Was a bit padded but there was nevertheless quite a bit of substance.
So, what is the title of your post. My Arabic’s a bit nonexistent…
I get “Tuhfat loved ones in the arithmetic”.
I can count to six in Arabic, but I only know those words phonetically.
This is what happens when you spend hours on end for a total of 5 weeks playing dice games with young children in Arabic speaking villages
D’oh! Perhaps it’s “A Friendly Gift on the Science of Arithmetic”, as the first line of the post so helpfully explains…?
It’s A Friendly Gift on the Science of Arithmatic by the Egyptian mathematician Sibt al-Māridīnī, Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad. I found the title to be very congenial.
To see the entire science collection of the World Digital Library click here. There’s a lot of great non-copyright material throughout the archive that can be used as images for our blog posts.
Stephen, yep, you get the prize.
@ Cath Thanks for the link. That’s hilarious. I’ve uncovered all sorts of ridiculous things in the research I’ve done so far on Atlas, but I hadn’t heard that one yet.
@ Stephen Thanks for bringing that series to my attention. I’ll search around a bit and see if I can find a copy. I’m starting to think that it’s not religion per se that is in conflict with science, but rather a totalitarian mindset. This can be in either religious or secular forms (and, as Chris Mooney pointed out in his book, Americans saw both used as justifications during the last eight years). Good science relies upon an open society and a willingness to challenge cherished ideas. This isn’t easy to acheive in any society. Afterall, even the widely praised and “enlightened” Greeks put Socrates to death for corrupting the youth of Athens, a charge based on nothing more than his asking challenging questions.
Where are you interviewing Adnan Oktar? I hope you’ll relay it here. I once attended a presentation given by two of his ‘Harun Yahya’ representatives, the most fallacious I think I have ever seen and heard. Billed as unbiased, it was a sermonised attempt to refute evolution and discredit evolutionary science. Tactics included invoking Piltdown Man, quoting ID-sympathetic biologists, (mis)quoting Dawkins out of context, and a graphically impressive film titled with the misnomer ‘Biochemical Evidence for Creation’, which was run through with errors like a spelling mistake in a stick of rock. There’s now a Volume III of Atlas…, which can be found among other wacko stuff here.
I was contacted awhile back by one of his representatives after I wrote a post about Turkey censoring their national science journal for putting a picture of Darwin on the cover. After some negotiation they offered an interview with “no holds barred.” I’m dubious I’ll get more than PR rubbish out of him, but I’ve been promised some space in a well-known pseudoscience debunking magazine if I do. We’ll see how it turns out. So far it’s very tedious work to go through his books. Of his more than 200 titles I’m finding a great deal of intellectual regurgitation.
“Wacko” is a charitable word, I think; a brief thumb-through of the first volume of the Atlas of Creation was about all I could stomach. My colleague across the hall at work received a copy years ago, and I think he’s dreading the arrival of additional volumes.
The National Library of Medicine has digital versions of a number of Islamic medical texts and illustrations, dating back to the medieval period. I’ve found lots of interesting texts and illustrations on the NLM website, but to be honest, I prefer perusing and photographing the originals in the medical historical library at work.
@Kristi – There’s a lot of great information at the NLM. Thanks for the link.
Eric, have you asked the NCSE for help? They track the creationist movement, and even sent one of their big guns to the Linnean Society to do some research: