The Rich Contribution of Muslims to the History of Human Civilization

Discover 1000 Years of Missing History;

The Muslim Heritage in our World

Ever bothered to learn about the true origins of code breaking, three Meals Course, treatment through music, cappuccino, GPS, archs- torpedoes, trick devices, games, spas, perfumes, photography, fashion and style, carpets, Philosophy and many more of our modern life essentials and luxuries?!

From home remedies to astronomical discoveries and physical/ chemical observations, this presentation seeks to familiarize your good self with the true foundations of human civilizations, laid and by Muslim grand grand fathers, and mistakenly credited to the age of the Renaissance, so as to feel proud and set firm your sense of identity as a Muslim.

Andalusia was the pathway that connected, or rather the gateway that brought the light of of Islamic Civilization to Europe, inspiring prosperity at the hands of Muslim scholars, entrepreneurs and advocates to many scientific, intellectual, social, and economic fields. The Andalusian civilization lived for approximately eight centuries, specifically during the period 92 - 897 A.H - 711-1492 A.D).

When the Islamic civilization first met with the Christian West during the medieval times, Europe was living through its darkest ages.

It was the rich Islamic civilization, stretching from Spain to China, from the 7th century and onwards, that brought much enlightenment to the human race. Muslims brought forth great prosperity through their inventions that left their mark on our world and still do.

When Muslims settled in Spain, they went on availing the tools for the commencement and success of their civilization, they devotedly invested much time and effort to acquiring knowledge. Developing new theories and advancements that took existing development in sciences, philosophy, architecture, literature and arts to new levels and opened absolute new horizons for new inventions..

They sent light far and wide, penetrating through geographical boundaries and nothing could stop the spread of their positive impact until the Italian renaissance in the 15th. century. It was during that time that Translation from Arabic into Andalusia flourished greatly.

“No sooner had the Arabs completed the conquest of Spain than they started to carry out the message of civilization there. In less than a century, they managed to give life to dead lands, reconstruct ruined cities, set up magnificent buildings, and strengthen close trade relations with other nations. They then started to dedicate themselves to studying sciences and arts and to translate Greek and Latin books and set up universities which continued to be a place for culture in Europe for a long time.”

-- Gustav Le Bon

Andalusia marked the Dawn of the Human Civilization

In the coming slides, supported by manuscripts and documentation, I shall try to list only a few of hundreds and perhaps thousands of great achievements Muslims advanced during the peak of the Islamic Civilization, to heed their experience and attempt to revive the faded glory of our heritage.

Toys and trick devices

Banu Musa Brothers

Banu Musa Brothers

The three brothers, namely Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shakir, Aḥmed ibn Musa ibn Shakir and Al-Ḥasan ibn Musa ibn Shakir, three Muslim scholars of 9th-century Baghdad, worked in astronomical observatories established in Baghdad by the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun. They also did good deal of research in the House of Wisdom.

Of all their great work, their most notable achievement was in the field of automation, which they made best use of in toys and other entertaining creations.

This is a manuscript showing the Banu Musa toy, wherein a fake bull would make a voice of contentment when it finishes drinking as if its thirst has been satisfied.

Al- Farabi

Al-Farabi

Abu Naṣr Mohamed ibn Mohamed Al-Farabi is a true talent

Of a philosopher and the master of Philosophy, the 'Second Master' (after Aristotle).

He was a philosopher, logician and musician, and a renowned political thinker. So little is known about Al-Farabi’s personal life but his philosophical heritage is quite rich. In the arena of metaphysics he’s nicknamed the 'Father of Islamic Neoplatonism’. Analyzing his corpus, you’d find it fed on Aristotelianism, however it is this Neoplatonic dimension that dominates much of his works.

Al-Farabi- (Continued)

Among his most reputed works is al-Madina al-fadila (The Virtuous City). Without a doubt his book demonstrates evident Platonic elements, however its theology adds to it far more elements than being a pure Platonic view of life.

Al-Farabi’s impact was rich and far outreaching, influencing major Islamic philosophers such as Ibn Sina and Yahya ibn 'Adi, al-Sijistani, al-'Amiri and al-Tawhidi, as well as Christian thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas.

Schools

The House of Wisdom

***(bait al hikma)

The House of wisdomThe House of Wisdom was a school, a full-fledged learning center, a translation institute, a library and a research center established in in Iraq during the Abbasid-era.

It was first founded by and during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid and reached an advanced form of its intended role during the reign of his son Caliph al-Ma'mun,

Based in Baghdad from the 9th to 13th centuries, Bait al Hikma, gave Birth to a huge number of reputable Muslim scholars. It was ran by skilled and devoted clerics who perfectly managed it as a research and educational center.

The House of Wisdom was an unparalleled learning center teaching mathematics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, zoology and geography, among others.

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Universities

Fatimah al-fihri

Fatimah al-fihriBorn to a wealthy family from Kairouan in Tunisia, Fatima and her parents were among many families who migrated to Morocco during the rule of King Idriss II.

Her husband, parents and brothers died, leaving behind a great wealth. Fatimah and her sister Mariam inherited such wealth and decided to join forces and devote their time, effort and wealth for serving their community, working on the betterment of its conditions, and hence attain the satisfaction of Allah Almighty.

Towards this end, Fatimah gave orders for the construction of Al Qarawiyyin mosque, which later developed into the massive and indeed the first academy. Mariam, on the other hand, decided to deliver part of her legacy by building the grand Al Andalous Mosque.

Fatimah al-fihri- (contued)As for Al Qarawiyyin Mosque and Madrasa, it established itself as a key spiritual and educational academy that played a major role in spreading the light of knowledge and set the milestone for cultural exchange between the glorious Islamic Civilization and Europe. It moreover had a unique social role of aiding the community and providing support to the families in a variety of ways that reflected in the rapid development of the city during that time. The renowned academy gave birth to some of the most notable scholars, academics, writers, historians, mathematicians, and Chemists, and scientists credited for laying the foundation of many fields of development, which later sprouted to many astounding inventions we benefit from till date.

Hospitals

Al- ZahrawiAbu al-Qasim Khalaf ibn al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi, also known as Albucasis, was an Arab Muslim physician who lived in Al-Andalus and was valued as the greatest medieval surgeon on the Islamic World.

Among his notable works is Kitab al-Tasrif, a thirty-chapter medical treatise that tackled a great number of medical issues, including dentistry and childbirth. He is also credited for highlighting the importance of a positive doctor-patient relationship and spoke highly of his students, whom he once described as "my children”.

Al-Zahrawi is referred to as the father of modern surgery.

music

Al- KindiThe musical advancement our modern age currently enjoys owes much credit to the 9th century Muslims who set the milestone for the cultivation and advancement of music, using musical notation, composing musical pieces, and designing musical instruments, among other contributions. Their influence in music and its arts remained strong and advancing through the last millennium, and denying them credit is ungrateful. Eleven hundred years ago, Abu Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī developed a detailed fretting for the lute and suggested a cosmological connotations of music. He built upon and further developed advancement scored by old Greek Musicians.

Al Kindi was one of the early Music Scholars to discover the therapeutic impact of music, in trying to cure a sick boy whose father sent to Al Kindi to help regain his health.

And as the musical band played the boy stood up and regained some of his fading vividness, but when the music stopped he dwelled into previous sickness. Asking al Kindi to keep the music playing, Al Kindi refused, noting that the boy’s time is up and that his health, as destined by Allah, has reached its limits, stressing that no one can make longer a person’s life. Centuries later, and in our modern times, music has become a recognized type of alternative medicine used to cure physical, mental and psychological aches.

known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs", Al-Kindi

was also a renowned Muslim philosopher,

mathematician, physician, the first of the Muslim

peripatetic philosophers, hailed as the

"father of Islamic philosophy.

His greatest achievement started from the great House of Wisdom in Baghdad, making the Greek thought and philosophy accessible to Muslims, translating many important texts and books. Al-Kindi’s efforts and work made the contribution of great figures such as Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and al-Ghazali possible.

Al Farabi

I don’t think I’ve given Al- Farabi his due credit, or have I?

After Al Kindi came Al- Fārābī; known in the West as Alpharabius, to develop the famous musical instrument known in the East as the Rababah, an ancestor of the violin family, authoring a number of books on the science of music, the influence of which continued for centuries that followed.

Al Farabi was also an acclaimed scientist, philosopher, logician, cosmoligist of the Islamic Golden Age. Many historical manuscripts and books document his prized commentaries and treatises, through which he became well known among medieval Muslim intellectuals as "The Second Teacher”; the successor to Aristotle, "The First Teacher".

Ziryab

Ziryab

• Nicknamed the Blackbird, given his beautiful voice and dark complexion, Ziryab was a student of a famous Baghdad-based musician. His fame and skills reached the Umayyad Caliph who sent inviting him to come to Andalusia. Ziryab settled in Cordoba around 820 CE, which was an era that enjoyed great advancement in arts and cultural life in Cordoba, under the rule of Abdul Rahman II, son of the Umayyad Caliph.

Ziryab- (continued)

• Ziryab became the court entertainer and further developed his fine skills and revolutionaries music. He used to receive a monthly salary of about 200 golden dinars, which was a fortune at the time.

• He established the first conservatory in the world, teaching musical composition. He introduced the use of the lute to Europe and added to it a fifth bass string. He set free metrical and rhythmical parameters and composed songs, refurbishing the whole entertainment life in Cordoba.

Al- Jazari’s Musical machine

Al-Jazari’s Musical Machine

• Badi'al-Zaman Abū al-'Izz ibn Ismā'īl ibn al-Razāz al-Jazarī, originally a Kurdish, was a renowned Muslim polymath: a scholar, mathematician, mechanical engineer and an artist,

• He is best known for his great work the al-Jāmiʿ bain al-ʿilm wa al-ʿamal al-nāfi fi ṣinaʿat al-ḥiyal (The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices), in which he described 100 mechanical devices.

Al-Jazari’s Musical Machine

• Al-Jazari created a musical automaton taking the form of a boat, carrying four automatic musicians and floating on a lake, part of a show to entertain guests at royal parties.

Zheng He,

The great muslim admiral

Zheng He

• Zheng He was a Chinese Muslim mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral. He led voyages to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Somalia.

• He led 7 epic voyages of enormous fleets of wooden ships, the largest ever built- this was during in the 15th century.

King Offa’s coin

King Offa’s Coin

• The coin of Kind Offa, of Mercia, stands as a remarkable evidence of the influence Muslims had on human civilizations. Holding the coin, you can see its explicit imitation of the gold dinar of the caliph al-Mansur, of the Abbasid dynasty, even though the Arabic inscription may not seem to have been perfectly copied. The original copy bywhich it was inspired was inspired was made in the Islamic year AH 157 (AD 773-74).

LifeStyle

Coffee and cappuccino

Muslims were the first to invent coffeeThe history of coffee goes back to the story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian Muslim goat herder who discovered coffee while trying to gather his goats, and found them to have eaten from the coffee leaves and became more active.

The use of Coffee as a drink Europe was greatly influenced by traditional Muslim preparation of the drink. It involved boiling a mixture of coffee powder, sugar and water. The Cappuccino was specifically inspired by a certain Marco d’Aviano, a priest from the Capuchin monastic order, who was fighting against the Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. Adter the victory of the Europeans, the Viennese made coffee from the abandoned sacks of Turkish coffee. But to contain its very strong taste, they mixed it with cream and honey, which made its color a little bit brownish, resembling the color of the modern day cappuccino.

The Three- Course meal

The three- course meal

Fine dining and the modern three- course meal was nothing but another achievement by Ziryab which he spread after settling in Andalus, sending his invention all through Europe, at a time when eating habits there were a complete mess.

It was Ziryab who said that meals should start with soup, then a main course of fish or meat, and end with fruits.

Even Style and Fashion?!Yes.. Even Style and Fashion!

Style and Fashion

It was also Ziryab• When he arrived in Andalusia, Ziryab’s influence proved

many-fold. Besides being a talented musician and a man of a good taste for fine dining, he was also a trend-setter and stylist who also taught etiquette.

• Through the 9th Century, Baghdad was the Paris and Italy of its age. Ziryab brought along toothpaste, deodorant, haircut styles. He was a man of fine taste and elegance. It was because of Ziryab that fine and luxurious dresses were brought to Spain. He started the fashion industry in Andalusia.

GPS!!

Al- Astrulabi

• Ali ibn Isa al- Asturlabi was a 9th century Muslim astronomer and geographer who wrote a treatise on the astrolabe. During the reign of al-Ma'mun, he teamed up with Khālid ibn ʿAbd al‐Malik al‐Marwarrūdhī, in an expedition to the Plain of Sinjar in an attempt to measure the circumference of the Earth.

• Al-Astrulabi is said to have managed to actually measure the circumference of the Earth.

Perfumes!!!

Muslims invented perfumes

Perfumes

Al- Kindi wrote an entire book on perfumes, called “The Book of the Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations”.

The book comprises over 1 hundred recipes for fragrant oils and perfumes.

More into personal

cleanness

Islamic Toothbrush

Miswak, invented by our beloved Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him

Miswak

Miswake has myriads of proven health and cleanness merits, ranging from eliminating bad breath to keeping teeth strong and healthy.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is reported to have scrubbed his teeth with Miswak before every prayer.

Spas and public baths

Spas and public baths

Checking public bathrooms during the 10th century Muslim world, one could find hygiene elements that compete with today’s modern products wrapped in colorful packages and carrying scary brand names.

Muslims, ordered to wash, tactfully, before each prayer, hadpersonal cleanness part of everyday life. Not just that, they used soap, mixed it with water as a cleaning liquid easy to use. 13th century manuscripts can describe many recipes for soap-making, some based on sesame oil, among others.

Sake Dean mohamed

?!

Sake Dean Mohamed

He was one of the famous early Indian immigrants to the UK, where he established what was known as Mohamed Indian Vapour, Baths on Brighton seafront, today’s Queen’s Hotel.

He was appointed as the shampooing Surgeon of both George IV and William IV.

Architecture

Sinan Architecture

Sinan was an architect and civil engineer during the Ottoman rule. He worked for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He led the construction of over 300 major projects, among other smaller ones, including his Islamic primary schools (sibyan mektebs). Later, his student designed the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul and helped design the Taj Mahal in the Mughal Empire.

Carpets

Carpets

At the time Hampton Court had to daily change rushes, underneath of which dirty floors would contain vomiting, leakage of dogs and scraps of fish, Muslims were keen on having clean an colorful carpets, that inspire in them a feeling of Paradise and had always been associated with it. Muslims invented creative weaving techniques that made beautiful carpets.

In the 11th century, Ibn Badis, a Tunisian Muslim scientist, produced great work on ink and coloring of dyes that were used for carpets.

Clocks

Al-Jazari’s elephant clock

How does it work?

Al-Jazari’s piece of art comprised of a weight powered water clock in the form of a fake elephant figure, besides a number of other elements placed on top of the elephant, designed to move and make a sound each half an hour.

Al Jazari’s Clock isn’t just prized for being a mechanical breakthrough, but it’s also an early sign of multiculturalism. The elephant represents the Indian and African cultures, whereas the dragon stands as a symbol representing Chinese and the Asian culture. As for the phoenix, it represents the ancient Civilization of Egyptians, the water work represents the ancient Greek culture, and the turban, normally used by Muslim scholars and Shaikhs, represents the Islamic culture.

A modern full-size materialization of Al-Zajari’s Clock can be found in the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, UAE.

Photography

Ibn Al-Haitham’s

Camera obscura

Camera Obscura

Simply put, Camera Obscura is an optical device that projects a specific surrounding image on a screen. It is used for a variety of entertainment purposes and surely marked the beginning of our modern day photography and the contemporary device of the camera taking different forms and of varying levels of advancement and sophistication.

Andalusia; Culture of Excellence

Our Muslim brothers and sisters upon the shoulders of whom the great civilization of Andalusia was built, were sincere in every single act they did. They sought after prominence and worked hard to earn it. Similarly they held fast to their faith and that’s why they earned the support and aid of Almighty Allah.

Our Muslim brothers and sisters upon the shoulders of whom the great civilization of Andalusia was built, were sincere in every single act they did. They sought after prominence and worked hard to earn it. Similarly they held fast to their faith and that’s why they earned the support and aid of Almighty Allah.

They preserved their identity and thus never got lost in the shades of other cultures they were exposed to. They built and provided their input, in almost all fields of life, and thus stood up as pioneers rather than followers. They exported their experience and inventions, and this is how they became sought after, as a leading civilization that greatly impacted humanity, and still does.

Shukran,

Wassalaam.

Presented to: Dr. Gharib Khalil

Prepared by: Maha Youssuf