islamic connection to mathematics

THE

ISLAMIC

CONNECTION

John E. Sasser

The Islamic Connection

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CONTENTS Foreword...............................................……............... 5 Dedication..................................................…….......... 7 Preface........................................................…….......... 9 Acknowledgments......................................…….......... 11 Map............................................................…….......... 13 List of Illustrations…………………………………... 14 Introduction..................................................……........ 15

PART I - ISLAM

The Geological Arabian Peninsula: The Cradle of the Semites......................................................……….......

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The Iron Age (2000 BCE - 200 CE)...........…............. 19 The Rise of Islam......................................…............... 21 The Connection Between Islam and the Arabian Peninsula: Mohammed........................……................

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The Spread of Islam...........................…….................. 27 The Quran............................................……................ 31 Islamic Beliefs and Duties....................…................... 35 Beliefs..................................................….................... 35 Duties..................................................……................. 36 The Connection Between Islam and Modern Science: The Quran..................................……………..............

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PART II - MATHEMATICS

The Connection Between Islam and the Search for Knowledge.....................…...................

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The Connection Between Antiquity and the European Renaissance: Translations.......……………….............

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The Connection Between Islam‘s Five Pillars of Faith and Mathematics..........……...............................

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Shahada......................................………......................

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The Connection Between Shahada and Geometry: Islamic Calligraphy and Geometric Constructions

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Salah....................................................……................

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The Connection Between Salah and Trigonometry: Direction and Time of Prayer…….. Direction of Prayer……………………………. Time of Prayers………………………………..

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Zakat...................................................……........….... 73 The Connection Between Islam and Number Theory: The Zakat………………………………

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The Hindu-Arabic Numeration System.......….... 74 Saum Ramadan and Hajj....…….............…............. 89 The Connection Between Islam and Astronomy & the Calendar: Ramadan and Hajj……………..

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The Connection Between Islam and Algebra: Shariath 91 Conclusion..........................................……................. 102 References........................................……................... 105 Glossary……………………………………………... 111 Index......................................................…….............. 115


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FOREWORD

The Islamic Connection is historical and immediately contemporary. For, today, Islam is perceived negatively by many in the West. This tension establishes a framework essentially limiting knowledge of Islam. So long as this framework stands, the Islamic culture, as a vitally lived experience for Muslims, cannot be known. This, unfortunately, is particularly true in the United States. This is why the author lived in Saudi Arabia and traveled throughout the Middle East during the year he researched and wrote this book. To learn about Islam is to learn about the people and cultures that live within it, speak its language, breathe its air and produce its histories and societies. By showing the influence Islam has had on the Muslim contribution to mathematics, the author has performed a great service in helping the reader to both understand something of Islam and appreciate the vast and important contribution made by the Arab Muslims to mathematics. Prof. Dr. Boris Kit


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DEDICATED

to

my granddaughter

KAYLA ROSE SASSER KILLETTE


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PREFACE

Most people in the United States have a very limited knowledge of Islam, indeed, they have a distorted and negative view. Also, they know little of the debt our mathematics owes Arabian medieval Islam. There are a few books on the Islamic contribution to Mathematics, particularly A.A. Daffa‘s, The Muslim Contribution to Mathematics and J.L. Berggren‘s Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. I am indebted to both of these authors and especially Professor Daffa and two of his graduate students, Ali Mohammed Al-Farras and Khaled Ahmed Al-Haddi at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, there are hundreds of excellent books on Islam. Despite this, there exist no book written specifically on the influence Islam has had on the Muslim contribution to mathematics. It is not the intention of the author to try to add anything new to what has been written on Islam or to do justice to the Muslim contributions to mathematics, but rather to show the influence Islam has had on the Muslim contribution to mathematics. I have included a map to which I occasionally make reference so the reader may see the locations. I have also included photographs of people, places and architecture germane to my account. I wish to thank my wife, Heidi, who stayed at home and made it possible for me to live and travel throughout the Middle East researching this book.


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The cover design, Figure 5, and the map of the Geological Peninsula are by my daughter, Rosemary Sasser Thomas. The small circular portion, representing the ―moon‖ is inscribed by a diagram and writing from a manuscript kept in the University Library, Leiden, Netherlands (Ms. Or. 185). It appears on the cover of the video, Qubba for Al-Kashi, copyrighted in 1995 by the University of Heidelberg and distributed by the American Mathematical Society. The photograph of the Jeddah Mosque in Saudi Arabia was taken by Robert H. Neff, Jr. The six pictures of 1) Abu Abdullah al-Battani 2) Abu Raihan al-Biruni 3) Mohammad Bin Musa al-Khawarizmi 4) Yaqub Ibn Ishaq al-Kindi and 6) Thabit Ibn Qurra are by courtesy of Shaykh Mohammad Mazar Jamil, Jamil Islamic Center of California, Web-Site: http://www.jamil.com/Personalities. The reader is encouraged to peruse this web-site. Samir Azer, a mathematical physicist and graduate of the Faculty of Science, Tanta University in Egypt, provided invaluable advice and help in the translation of Arabic into English and much of the Arabic Script found within this book. Dr. Professor Ali A. Daffa, past chairman of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and a leading scholar on the Muslim contribution to mathematics encouraged me and provided me with, not only important information, but also generous, friendly and warm Arabian hospitality in his home to include the Arab coffee served with dates! Ali Mohammed Al-Farras of Saudi Arabia and Khaled Ahmed Al-Haddi of Yemen – graduate students at King Fhad University - for

http://www.jamil.com/Personalities


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their translations of many important documents and answering my unending questions concerning Islam and the Quran. Barraq Ali for his helpfulness and companionship while in the Middle East. He provided me with my initial introduction to the Arabic Muslim culture and customs; encouraged me in my research; read and re-read the first pages of my manuscript offering valuable suggestions. Robert H. Neff, Jr. took the following photographs and provided them to me for this book: The Empty Quarter – p.18; Bedouin on Camel – p.25; Arab door with Islamic Calligraphy – p.34; Road to Mecca – p.89 and the photograph of the Mosque on the front cover. Kizzie Payton found grammatical and typographical errors that were introduced in final editing.


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MAP

The Geological Peninsula


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Number Photographs Page 1 The Empty Quarter 18 2 Bedouin on Camel 25 3 Children Learning Holy Quran 31 4 Arab Door with Islamic Calligraphy 34 5 Page of Holy Quran 40 6 Gentle Curves of White Arches-Mosque 56 7 Al-Battani 62 8 Al-Biruni 64 9 Al-Kindi 78 10 Thabit ibn Qurra 86 11 Pythagorean Theorem in Qurra‘s Translation of

Euclid 87

12 Road to Mecca 89 13 Al-Khwarizmi 96 14 Ali A. Al-Daffa‘ and John E. Sasser 104

Number Figures Page 1 First Verse of the Quran 44 2 Arabic Letters of Verse One 45 3 Pythagorean Theorem 57 4 Spherical Triangle showing Qibla 68 5 Time of Afternoon Prayer 71 6 Sanskrit Related Numerals 75 7 Early Arabic Numerals with Modern Arabic

Numerals below. 76

8 Isosceles Right Triangles of Al-Khwarizmi

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Number Tables Page 1 New Interpretation of the Quranic Miracle 46 2 Spherical Trigonometric Laws of Sines and Cosines 69

Number Charts Page 1 Arabic Translations of Greek Mathematical Works 54 2 Mathematical Vocabulary Borrowed from Arabic 76 3 Works of Arabic Muslim Mathematicians 101


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INTRODUCTION This book is concerned with the Muslims, their contributions in mathematics and the accompanying influence of Islam. This Islamic influence not only permeated the Muslims‘ original thinking and research but also the translations they made during the course of several centuries. These translations transmitted knowledge to medieval Europe and are no less essential than original works, for had the research of mathematicians such as Aristotle, Euclid, Pythagoras, and Ptolemy been lost to posterity, the world would have been as poor as if they had never been produced. What is unknown about Islam and the Muslims is much greater than what is known. There is as much misinformation as a lack of information concerning Muslims and Islam, especially among those of us born, reared and educated in the United States. Other peoples and countries, on a level approaching the Muslims in historical interest and importance, have received much greater consideration and study in modern times than have they. From the cradle of the Semitic family, the Arabian peninsula, these people, who were to become the first Muslims, later migrated into the Fertile Crescent and became the Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians and the Hebrews of history. The deserts of the peninsula is where the element of Islam, Judaism and consequently of Christianity began. In the sixth century of the common era [CE], Arabia gave birth to a people who conquered the civilized world and to Islam which claims nearly one billion people representing all races. Every fifth person in our world today is a follower of Islam. Islam - the religion, philosophy and culture of the Arabians - permeates all aspects of their lives. It is a living force and way of life to its adherents. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, is the product of a spiritual life, the Semitic life. Within a century after the birth of Islam this empire and culture extended from the Atlantic Ocean to China, an empire greater than that of the Roman Empire at its


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zenith. They coupled their own civilization of the Babylonians with the Egyptians and the Greeks and acted as a medium for transmitting to Europe those intellectual influences which resulted in the Renaissance. No people in the Middle Ages contributed to human progress so much as did the Arabic speaking people. For over five centuries (700 CE - 1100 CE) during the Middle Ages more works were produced in philosophy, medicine, history, religion, science and mathematics through the medium of Arabic, than through any other language. The reader should keep in mind that within this book ―Arabian‖ refers to an inhabitant of the geological peninsula [See map] and ―Arab‖ for any Arabic-speaking person.

The Islamic Connection - Part I - Islam

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PART I ISLAM

The Geological Arabian Peninsula:

The Cradle of the Semites

The geological peninsula of Arabia is the south-western peninsula of Asia. The area exceeds a million square miles and comprises Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. (See map). It is considered by many historians to have developed urban life under a common traditional patriarch long before written records existed. It was the cradle of the Semitic people - the Semites. These people became the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Phoenicians and the Hebrews. Ibrahim (Abraham) came from the Ur of the Chaldees. One can visit the archeological site in Iraq today, located at 30.56 degrees North and 46.08 degrees East. [24]. The two surviving representatives of the Semitic people are the Arabians and the Hebrews. The Arabians have, to a larger degree than the Hebrews, preserved the characteristic physical features and mental traits of the Semitic family. Their language, Arabic, has conserved more of the peculiarities of the Semitic tongue - including the inflection - than the Hebrew. We will later see how this Semite origin became a primary factor in the development of mathematics by the Arabs along the lines of their pragmatic philosophy. In the United States the word ―Semite‖ has come to possess a Jewish connotation. But to be ―anti-Semitic‖ is to be unfavorable towards Arabs and Hebrews -- Muslims and Jews. The term ―Semite‖ comes from ―Shem‖, the eldest son of Noah (Gen. 10:1). [28]. Two major Semitic migrations began around 3500 before the common era [BCE] from the area of what is today Northern Saudi


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Arabia. One planted itself on top of the earlier Hamitic population of Egypt and the amalgamation produced the Egyptians of history. A parallel migration struck root in the Tigro-Euphrates Valley, already populated by the Sumerians. The admixture of the two gave us the Babylonians. Not long after the time of the Nile and Mesopotamia civilizations the southern part of Arabia, primarily what is today the country of Oman, became a populated commercial center. Precious metals, such as gold and copper which were mined in Arabia, became a common supply to northern civilizations along with gum resin, frankincense and myrrh. Commodities were transported by camel from the trading center, by caravan routes from Arabia to Egypt and Babylonia.

The Empty Quarter


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The Iron Age

(2000 BCE - 200 CE)

The first recorded empire in history was that of Akkad in the area known as Babylonia, about 2369 BCE located in what is today called Iraq. (See map). Their influence spread beyond Mesopotamia to Arabia. However, after two centuries, it was overthrown by invading Amorites, from the present area of Syria, and who later became known as Aramaeans. A tribe from Asia Minor called Hittites conquered the Amorites in 1600 BCE and absorbed Syria. The barbarians from Europe overthrew the Hittites in 1200 BCE and were able to establish the Kassite Dynasty that ruled Babylonia successfully for four hundred years. The Assyrians, who came from northern Mesopotamia thereafter ruled Babylonia. They introduced and developed cultural ideas of their own and these were assimilated with those of the Babylonians and Sumerians. They remained and ruled powerfully, employing iron weapons to arm their armies for several centuries, until they were overthrown by a combined force of Medes, Babylonians and Persians in 612 BCE. Nebuchadnezzer was the greatest King of the Babylonian Empire. He conquered Egypt, destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE and rebuilt Babylon which became one of the most impressive capitals the world has ever seen. In 539 BCE, his Empire fell to Cyrus, the Persian conqueror, and Nebuchadnezzer went into exile. The Persians were able to conquer a vast region extending from Asia Minor, Egypt and even as far as India. About two centuries later, Alexander the Great finally conquered the Persian Empire in 323 BCE . He, however, died in Babylonia in the same year. The Sassanids were able to revive the Persian Empire during 226 common era [CE]. They were conquered by Moslem Arab armies in 640 CE through their Jihad or Holy Wars only 70 years after the Prophet Mohammed was born. [14].


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The Rise of Islam

The name of this religion is Islam. The word Islam means ―peaceful submission.‖ The root of which is Silm, which means the kind of peace represented by the opposite of war and Salam which means peace. Salam is also a greeting with peace. One of the many names of Allah (God) is that He is the Peace. It means submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment. Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in peace and harmony with all these segments. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs or any other nationality. An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an adherent to some other religion. Any person who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language of the Quran (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Quran and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Quran, namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language. While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200 million Arabs. Among them, less than ten percent, probably closer to five percent, are not Muslims. Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim population of the world. Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not separate religion from science. As a matter of fact, science and religion, as well as politics and the state, are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam.


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The Connection Between Islam and the Arabian Peninsula:

Mohammed

Mohammed was born in 570 CE in Mecca. His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was only six years of age. He grew up under the guardianship of his grandfather and then his father‘s brother, whom he accompanied on a business trip to Syria. As a young man he was employed by a rich merchant widow, Khadija Bint Khuwailed, whom he married when he was 25 years old and she 40 years of age. They had several children, of whom none of the sons lived beyond childhood. His wife, Khadija, was the first to accept his mission when he, at the age of 40 or more, went before his countrymen with religious revelations and the conviction that he was a chosen ―messenger‖ (rasul) of God who was given responsibility in matters of faith, not only for himself but for all mankind. At first, Mohammed recited his revelations to a small circle of friends and relatives and only later went before a larger public. Among the first adherents to the new faith, in addition to his wife, were his cousin and later son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib, and his adopted son Zaid ibn Haritha. Along with others, the rich and upright merchant Abu Bakr allied himself with them and stood by Mohammed faithfully during all attacks and dangers and later became the first successor (Khalifa or ―Caliph‖) to Mohammed, assuming leadership of the community of believers. At first the Meccans (the people who lived in the city of Mecca) did not give Mohammed's revelations any special attention. This changed, however, when Mohammed began energetically to oppose polytheism and the worship of idols. The Meccans now had to be concerned with their religious festivals and the profitable business that accompanied them. He and his followers met persecution and torture in Mecca and for this reason they moved to Madinah in September, 622 CE.


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Immediately following the emigration of Mohammed and his followers to Madinah, a war commenced between the Moslems in Madinah and the Polytheists in Mecca which eventually ended with the Hudaibeya Peace Treaty in 628 CE. The following year, the Moslems entered Mecca. Most of the inhabitants agreed to embrace Islam, and the Holy Ka‘aba was cleared of idols by the hands of the Prophet Mohammed, who then set about the unification of Arabia.

In February or March 632 CE, Mohammed undertook the last pilgrimage and firmly established on this occasion the Islamic calendar, in so far as it proceeds strictly according to the lunar year of 354 days without inserted months. The year 1 of the Islamic era begins with July 16, 622 of the Gregorian calendar. There is a perfect correlation between the Julian and the Lunar calendar:

Hijra, The year of the Prophet Mohammed, or 1 A.H. (Anno Hegirae), the Lunar Year, began July 16, 622 A.D., The Gregorian solar year.

Shortly after Mohammed undertook his last pilgrimage he became ill and died on the 7th or 8th of June in Madinah in the arms of his old companion Ali ibn Abi Talib. [25].


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Bedouin on Camel


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The Spread of Islam The first stage of the expansion of Islam covered the period from 622 CE to 732 CE, which included the period of the Prophet, from 622 CE to 632 CE and the period of the first Caliphs (Abu Bakr and Umar Ibn Al Khattab) from 632 CE to 661 CE. During this period Islam spread to Persia and the territories occupied by the Romans in Syria and to North Africa from Egypt to Tunisia. The Muslims spread the message of Islam through Iraq and Syria and defeated the Persians in 636 CE. The Battle of Nahavand (642 CE), in Iran, between Arab and Sassanian forces ended in disastrous defeat for the Sassanian armies and paved the way for the Arab conquest, which resulted in the Islamization of Iran. As Islam spread northward into Syria, Egypt, and the Persian empire, it came face to face with the sciences of antiquity whose heritage had been preserved in centers which now became a part of the Islamic world. Alexandria had been a major center of sciences and learning for centuries. The Greek learning cultivated in Alexandria was opposed by the Byzantines who had burned its library long before the advent of Islam. The tradition of Alexandrian learning did not die, however. It was transferred to Antioch and from there farther east to such cities as Edessa by eastern Christians who stood in sharp opposition to Byzantium and wished to have their own independent centers of learning. Moreover, the Persian king, Shapur I, had established Jundishapur in Persia as a second great center of learning matching Antioch. He even invited Indian physicians and mathematicians to teach in this major seat of learning, in addition to the Christian scholars who taught in Syriac as well as the Persians whose medium of instruction was Pahlavi, the Iranian language of Sassanian Persia. Once Muslims established the new Islamic order during the Umayyad period, they turned their attention to these centers of learning which had been preserved and sought to acquaint themselves with the knowledge taught and cultivated in them. They therefore set about with a concerted effort to translate the philosophical and scientific works which were available to them from not only Greek and Syriac (which was the language of eastern Christian scholars) but also from Pahlavi, the scholarly language of pre-Islamic Persia, and even from Sanskrit. The great movement of translation lasted from the beginning of the 8th to the end of the 9th century, reaching its peak with the establishment


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of the House of Wisdom (Bayt alhikmah) by the Caliph al-Mamun at the beginning of the 9th century. The result of this extensive effort of the Islamic community to confront the challenge of the presence of the various philosophies and sciences of antiquity and to understand and digest them in its own terms and according to its own world view was the translation of a vast corpus of writings into Arabic. Most of the important philosophical and scientific works of Aristotle and his school, much of Plato and the Pythagorean school, and the major works of Greek astronomy, mathematics and medicine such as the Almagest of Ptolemy, the Elements of Euclid, and the works of Hippocrates and Galen, were all rendered into Arabic. Furthermore, important works of astronomy, mathematics and medicine were translated from Pahlavi and Sanskrit. As a result, Arabic became the primary scientific language of the world for five centuries (700CE-1200 CE) and the depository of much of the wisdom and the sciences of antiquity. The Muslims did not translate the scientific and philosophical works of other civilizations out of fear of political or economic domination but because the structure of Islam itself is based upon the primacy of knowledge. Nor did they consider these forms of knowing as "un-lslamic" as long as they confirmed the doctrine of God's Oneness which Islam considers to have been at the heart of every authentic revelation from God. Once these sciences and philosophies confirmed the principle of Oneness, the Muslims considered them as their own. They made them part of their world view and began to cultivate the Islamic sciences based on what they had translated, analyzed, criticized, and assimilated, rejecting what was not in conformity with the Islamic perspective. By the conquest of the Fertile Crescent and the lands of Persia and Egypt the Arabians came into possession not only of geographical areas but of the earliest seats of civilization in the whole world. Thus, the sons of the desert fell heir to these cultures with their long traditions going back to Greco-Roman, Iranian, Pharaonic and Assyro-Babylonia times. With an ever sharp sense of curiosity and with latent potentialities never aroused before, these Muslem Arabians encouraged by the Quran and in collaboration with their subject people began now to assimilate, adapt and reproduce their intellectual and esthetic heritage. In places such as Damascus, Jerusalem and Alexandria they viewed, admired and copied the work of these people. [34].


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After the subjugation of the North African coast as far as the Atlantic, the way was open for the conquest of the neighboring south-western part of Europe. [46, 47]. In 711 CE, Tariq Bin Ziad took the momentous step of crossing into Spain on a raid that developed into a conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (al-Andalus). The Goths were defeated and Andalusia was converted to Islam. This constituted the last and most sensational of the major campaigns of the Arabs and by 732 CE resulted in the addition to the Moslem world the largest European territory ever held by them. By the year 732 CE, marking the first centennial of the death of the Prophet Mohammed his followers were the masters of an empire greater than that of Rome at its zenith. The name of the Prophet Mohammed, son of Arabia, joined with the names of almighty Allah, was being called five times a day from across an empire extending over south-western Europe, northern Africa and western and central Asia. After Mohammed died at age 63, leadership was passed to Abu Bakr in 632 A.D., who was the first caliph (khalifa) which means "successor." Umar Ibn Al Khattab the 2nd Caliph until 611 C.E. The first four caliphs were from the Qumayyad family (Qoureish tribe) and their rule was centered in Damascus. The 3rd caliph, Outhman, was murdered and his Ali, cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, became the fourth caliph. Mouaweeia, governor of Syria, accused Ali of complicity in the murder of Outhman and gained the caliphate after Ali was assassinated. These rivalries resulted in the major division in the Muslem faith: the Sunni, who believed that the caliphate was an elective office and the Shi'a who believed that the heirs of Prophet Mohammed, namely his daughter Fatima and her husband Ali, were entitled to the caliphate. The Qumayyard dynasty was overthrown in 750 CE by the descendants of Abbas. The Abbasid dynasty ruled from Baghdad until 1258 with the invasion of the Mongols. Prosperity reached


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its greatest peak during the Caliphate of Horoun Al-Rashid (786-809). It was during the rule of Al-Rashid that the Arab Empire made its most significant achievements in mathematics. Under Abu Bakr's leadership, General Khalid Ibn Al-Walid led the Arab Army in defeating the Byzantine and Sassonid Armies. The Byzantine Army was defeated in 636 A.D. and Iraq and Persia between 637 & 650. Jerusalem was conquered in 638 and Egypt in 641. Conquests continued for a century expanding the Arab Empire from China to France. The second stage [732 CE - 998 CE] of the expansion of Islam spread eastwards to the Sind Valley, Farghana and other areas bordering West China and westward to equatorial Africa. The third stage occurred between 998 CE and 1243 CE, when Islam spread through India and Asia Minor. Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the simplicity of its doctrine. Islam calls for faith in only One God worthy of worship. It also repeatedly instructs man to use his powers of intelligence and observation. Within a few years, great civilizations and universities were flourishing, for according to the Prophet "seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim man and woman." The synthesis of Eastern and Western ideas and of new thought with old, brought about great advances in medicine, mathematics, physics, astronomy, geography, architecture, art, literature, and history. Many crucial systems such as algebra, the Arabic numerals, and also the concept of the zero (vital to the advancement of mathematics), were transmitted to medieval Europe from Islam. Sophisticated instruments which were to make possible the European voyages of discovery were developed, including the astrolabe, the quadrant and good navigational maps. The prophet said, "Seek knowledge even into china…‖ The Hui Shen mosque was built in the seventh century.


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The Quran The sacred sources of Islam are the Quran and the Hadith. Muslims believe the Quran is the infallible, inerrant, Word of God. They believe it is authentic, original and complete. The Quran is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed. It was memorized by Mohammed and dictated to his Companions and written down by scribes. A Hadith is a reliably transmitted report of what Prophet Mohammed said, did or approved. The Sunnah is the practice and example of the Prophet. Belief in the Sunnah is part of the Islamic faith. The Seerah is the writings of followers of Mohammed about the life of the Prophet. The Quran is considered by Muslims to be the exact reproduction of a heavenly document, transmitted to Mohammed through divine revelations in the period from 610 CE to his death.

Children learning to recite the Holy Quran


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Mohammed began early the practice of reciting passages from the Quran to his followers for as long as necessary until they knew them by heart. The revelation involved a recitation or something to be recited. This is the meaning of the Aramaic word ―quran.” It is not uncommon among the Arabs Muslims to find those that have memorized the entire Quran. The Quran was revealed piecemeal within a period of 22 years, 2 months and 22 days, according to the needs of the time and provided solutions to the problems which came before the prophet. The first revelation occurred after the 15th night of the month of Ramadan when Mohammed was 41 years of age and the last verse was revealed when Mohammed was 63 years of age. The Quran is divided into 114 chapters and contains 86,430 words. [45]. It is not organized into chronological order as it was received by Mohammed. Muslims believe that the holy Quran is the book of Allah sent through the last of the Prophets, Mohammed. That it contains the knowledge imported by Allah and the guidance for men who are righteous for all time to come. That it is the final revelation from Allah. According to the Muslim belief, The Quran provides a code of conduct for every believer and is the commandment and a warrant for him. The Quran, as God's speech, cannot be translated but, rather, must be studied in its original Arabic form. Arabic played a leading role in other areas of Islamic literature, to include mathematics, which would have been unthinkable without the significance of the Arabic Quran. Islam permeates every aspect of the Muslim‘s life and the Quran is the declaration of Allah to show the right path. Thus, once one understands some things the Quran teaches, then one sees how the influence of Islam cannot be divorced from the Arabs contributions in Mathematics. From the 7th through the 11th centuries, significant contributions were made to mathematics by the Arabic speaking people because of Islam.


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Unlike the thinking of most adherents of Christianity and the Bible, there is no contradiction between the doctrines of the intellect and the revelation of the Quran. While Europe remained in mathematical darkness [Dark Ages] because the Christians thought the Bible contained the answers to science, Islam made significant advancements in their own original thinking and translations of earlier original works in mathematics because the Quran unambiguously encourages intellectual involvement with nature. There have been, and are, Christians for whom their religion is not an impediment to mathematical advances. However, in Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries, the narrowly dogmatic, and fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible by church authorities and in turn the rulers of the countries, hindered mathematical progress. The persecution of Galileo is an example.


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Arab door with Islamic calligraphy


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Islamic Beliefs and Duties

This book is about mathematics and history related to Islam and the Muslims; the continuity of knowledge through their original contributions and translations and the Muslem belief that all knowledge is sacred and leads ultimately to the knowledge of God. We see these beliefs expressed in Islamic calligraphy - geometric, decorative and invocatory. These beliefs are reflected in their architecture - the gentle curves of the white arches, suggestive of the traditional madrasah or Mosque School, where learning and a closer relationship to the Creator were inseparable pursuits. [23]. Beliefs Islam is the submission to the will of Allah. It involves belief in Allah and His angels, His ―book‖ and His messengers and belief in the ―Last Day.‖ It‘s first and greatest dogma is: ―No god whatsoever but Allah.‖ In belief (iman) the conception of God stands supreme. The second dogma treats Mohammed as the messenger (rasul) of Allah, His prophet, the admonisher of his people, the last of a long line of prophets of whom he is the ―seal,‖ and therefore the greatest. Mohammed is but a human being whose only miracle is being the receiver of the Quran. The Quran is the Word of Allah. It contains the final revelation and is ―uncreated.‖ In its phonetic and graphic reproduction and in its linguistic form the Quran is identical and co-eternal with a heavenly archetype. Of all miracles, Muslims believe it is the greatest. In its angelology Islam gives the foremost place to Gabriel, the bearer of revelation who is also ―the spirit of holiness.‖ He is the messenger of the supreme deity.


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Sin can be either moral or ceremonial. The worst and only unpardonable sin is shirk, joining or associating of other gods with the true God. (Allah). The most impressive part of the Quran deals with eschatology. It speaks at length about the ―Day of Resurrection‖ and ―the Day of Judgment.‖ Duties The religious duties (‗ibadat) of the Muslems center on the five pillars of Islam: (1) Shahada - The Profession of Faith or Creed is ―No god whatsoever but Allah; Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah." (2) Salah - Prayers - The performance of the daily prayers. Five times a day the faithful Muslem turns his face toward Mecca and recites his prescribed prayer. The ritual prayer is a legally defined act performed by all with the same general bodily postures and genuflection and with the same proper orientation. The worshipper should be in a state of legal purity (taharah) and the use of Arabic as a medium of expression is absolutely incumbent upon him, no matter what his native tongue may be. The Friday noon prayer is the only public one and is obligatory for all adult males. Certain mosques have places reserved for women. One feature of the Friday service is the khutbah (address) delivered by the leader (imam) in which intercessory prayer is offered on behalf of the ruling head of the state. Standing erect in self-arranged rows in the Mosque and following the leadership of the imam with precision and reverence, the worshippers present a sight that is always impressive. (3) zakat - Almsgiving or Purifying Tax - To pay annually 2.5% tithe of one‘s net savings on which a year has passed as a religious duty and purifying sum to be spent on poorer sections of the community.


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(4) Saum Ramadan - Fasting - The Moslems during the month of Ramadan not only abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, but also from evil intentions and desires. (5) Hajj - Pilgrimage is the fifth and last pillar of Islam. Once in a lifetime every Muslem of either sex, who is financially and physically able, is supposed to undertake at a stated time of the year a holy visit to Mecca. „Umrah ‗ is the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca and may be made individually and at any time.


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The Connection Between Islam and Modern Science:

The Quran In the West when science and religion are discussed, Judaism and Christianity are among the religions referred to, but Islam is rarely mentioned. When it is mentioned, statements made about Islam are generally erroneous. Sometimes this is a result of ignorance and sometimes of systematic denigration. The most serious of all the untruths told about Islam are those not in accordance with facts. Mistaken opinions are excusable; the presentation of facts running contrary to the reality is not. It is hoped that the following discussion of the Quran and science will help change the inaccurate views on Islam that are so widely held. At the height of Islam, between the eighth and twelfth centuries, CE, at a time when restrictions on scientific development were in force in the Christian world, a very large number of studies and discoveries were being made at Islamic universities. It was there that the remarkable cultural resources of the time were to be found. A very great number of ancient manuscripts have come down to us thanks to cultivated Arabs who acted as the vehicle for the culture of conquered countries. We are greatly indebted to Arabic culture for mathematics, astronomy, physics, geology, botany and medicine. For the very first time, during the Middle Ages, science took on an international character in the Islamic universities. The period between 700-1100 CE was for the Christian world, a time of stagnation and absolute conformity. Following the Renaissance, the scientists in the West developed an attitude of vengeance toward religion which permeates their thinking today and affects the thinking of all young people who receive a university education today in the West. In the Islamic world, this did not happen, because the Quran did not prevent them from being both believers and scientists. Science was the twin of religion and the Quran was the connection between the two.


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An objective examination of the Quran in the light of modern knowledge leads us to recognize the agreement between the two. This agreement is even more astonishing when one considers the fact that Mohammed was uneducated and functionally illiterate. Additionally, how could any person of the 6th century CE utter such scientific truths contained in the Quran? Below are only four examples to illustrate this connection. The reader is encouraged to read Mauric Bucaille‘s works [12] for a complete discussion. 1.) Formation of stars and planets. Sura 41:9&12. The formation of the sun and its sub-product the earth occurred by a process of condensation of the primary nebula and then their separation. The Quran refers to the processes that produced a fusion and subsequent separation starting from a celestial ―smoke.‖ The Quran gives much more information about the Creation of the universe which have been confirmed by scientific data. There is no opposition between the data in the Quran on the Creation and modern knowledge on the formation of the Universe. 2.) The Organization of the Universe. Fourteen centuries ago the Quran described the organization of the Universe. In over 40 verses in the Quran, information on astronomy is provided, much of which modern science has verified; none of which is shown to be scientifically inaccurate. The reader should keep in mind that scientific knowledge in Islamic countries is post-Quranic, and still would have been insufficient to explain the surprising statements on astronomy found in the Quran. In sura 51:47, where God is speaking:

“The heaven, we have built it with power. Verily. We are expanding it.”

“We are expanding it” is the translation of the plural present participle musi‟una of the verb ausa‟a meaning ―to make wider,


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more spacious, to extend, to expand.” Modern physics confirms that the universe is expanding. 3.) The Origin of Life. Sura 21:30:

“Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together, then we clove them asunder and we got every living thing out of the water. Will they then not believe?”

Life is in fact of aquatic origin and water is the major component of all living cells. Sura 20:53

“(God is the One Who) sent water down from the sky and thereby were brought forth pairs of plants each separate from the other.”

Modern scientific data confirms the oldest living things belonged to the Vegetable Kingdom (algae: pre-Cambrian period). Sura 24:45

“God created every animal from water.”

Organisms belonging to the animal kingdom appeared later -- they came from the sea. The statements contained in the Quran on the origin of life are strictly in accordance with modern scientific data. None of the myths on the origins of life that abounded at the time the Quran appeared are mentioned in the text.


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4.) The Source of the Constituents of Animal Milk. Sura 16:66.

“Verily, in cattle there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of what inside their bodies, coming from a conjunction between the contents of the intestine and the blood, a milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it.”

Maurice Bacaille, M.D., a French surgeon, wrote in "La Bible, le Coran et la Science" ("The Bible, The Quran and Science", p. 196&197) [12]:

“From a scientific point of view, physiological notions must be called upon to grasp the meaning of this verse. The substances that ensure the general nutrition of the body come from chemical transformations which occur along the length of the digestive tract. These substances come from the contents of the intestine. On arrival in the intestine at the appropriate stage of chemical transformation, they pass through its wall and towards the systemic circulation. This passage is effected in two ways: either directly, by what are called the “lymphatic vessels”, or indirectly, by the portal circulation. This conducts them first to the liver, where they undergo alterations, and from here they then emerge to join the systemic circulation. In this way everything passes through the bloodstream. The constituents of milk are secreted by the mammary glands. These are nourished, as it were, by the product of food digestion brought to them via the bloodstream. Blood therefore plays the role of collector and conductor of what has been extracted from food, and it brings nutrition to the mammary glands, the producers of milk, as it does to any other organ.


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Here the initial process which sets everything else in motion is the bringing together of the contents of the intestine and blood at the level of the intestinal wall itself. This very precise concept is the result of the discoveries made in the chemistry and physiology of the digestive system. It was totally unknown at the time of the Prophet Mohammed and has been understood only in recent times. The discovery of the circulation of the blood, was made by Harvey roughly ten centuries after the Quranic Revelation.”

5.) Mathematics Found Within The Quran. There are two major facets of the Quran's mathematical system: (1) The mathematical literary composition, and (2) The mathematical structure involving the numbers of suras and verses. Finally, because this book is specially concerned with the connection between Islam and mathematics, the following mathematics found within the Quran itself is included without commentary. Consider the first verse of the Quran:

Figure 1

“In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”


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The Arabic letters of this verse number nineteen (19):

Figure 2

The frequency of each word of this verse in the entire Quran is always a multiple of 19. The word ism (name) is repeated 19 times; Allah (God), 2698 (19 X 142) times; Al-Rahman (The Most Gracious), 57 (19 X 3) times and Rahim (The Most Merciful), 114 (19 X 6) times. Moreover, there is the same numeral relationship (number 19) between the letters of the first verse of the Quran and these same letters at the beginning of certain chapters (the Opening). Below is a table which appears in a copy of a lecture delivered in Kuwait by Dr. Mohammed Rashad Khalif, entitled ―Number 19 - New Interpretation of the Quranic Miracle.‖ Translation into English for the first three entries are as follows: (1) The letter nun the opening of Chapter 64 is used 133 (7x19) times. (2) The letter kaf is used as an opening for Chapters 50 and 57. The frequency of this letter in both chapters is 57 which equals a total of 114 (6x19). (3) The letter sad is used in the openings of three chapters: 7, 19 and 38. The frequency of this letter totals 152 (8x19).


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Number 19 - New Interpretation of the Quranic Miracle

Table 1


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The remaining part of this book will describe selected principal contributions to mathematics and the accompanying influence Islam had on these contributions. Selection of appropriate examples to illustrate these contributions does not begin to approach the vast contributions made by the Arab Muslims during the five centuries from 700 CE to 1100 CE, known as the Muslim Golden Age.

The Islamic Connection – Part II – Mathematics

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PART II MATHEMATICS

The Connection Between Islam

and the Search for Knowledge

Islam through the Quran, Sunnah and Seerah exhort the Muslim to search for knowledge. On several occasions Prophet Mohammed admonished all Muslims to search for knowledge as we see from the following quotes:

“The search for knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim,” “If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge, Allah will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise.” “Two greedy persons never attain satisfaction: he who is greedy for knowledge can never get enough of it, and he who is greedy for worldly goods can never get enough of them.” “The worst evil consists in learned men who are evil, and the best good consists in learned men who are good.” [4].

In addition to the fact that the Prophet Mohammed, himself having implored his followers to seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave, Muslims were encouraged to study the sky and the earth to find proofs to their faith.


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There was also a practical religious need for mathematics and astronomy. Such as developing trigonometric methods to find the direction to Mecca, towards which they turn daily in their prayers; using arithmetic and algebra to calculate inheritances and to count days and years. From Astronomy, Muslims could determine the beginning of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and other great holy days. Investigations in mathematics was given impetus by the teaching of Prophet Mohammed and the Quran. For example, a Latin translation of a Muslim arithmetic text was discovered in 1857 at the Library of the University of Cambridge. Entitled Algoritmi de numero Indorum, the work opens with the words: ―Spoken has Algoritmi. Let us give deserved praise to God, our leader and defender.‖[48] As a result of the Quran, Sunnah and Seerah, Muslims directed their attention to intellectual activities during the early days of Islam, approximately 700 CE, turning first to the practical sciences, such as mathematics and astronomy. Additionally, the Muslim mind has always been attracted to the mathematical sciences in accordance with the ―abstract‖ character of the doctrine of Oneness which lies at the heart of Islam. (Surah 6:19; Surah 112:1-4) [45]. The mathematical sciences have traditionally included astronomy, mathematics itself and much of what is called physics today.


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The Connection Between Antiquity and the European Renaissance

The Translations

Translations of antiquity began under Caliph Al-Mansur and were further developed under his grandson, Al-Ma‘mun. Beginning in 762 CE, al-Mansur established his capital in Baghdad and the caliph Harun al-Rashid, established a library. Following Al-Rashid's construction of a library to house both original and Arabic translations, Caliph al-Ma'mun (who reigned from 813 to 833) founded a translations and research institute known as "The House of Wisdom." Many different translators rendered scientific works from the Greek, Sanskrit and Persian into Arabic. Euclid's work on geometry entitled Book of Basic Principles and Pillars was the first Greek work to be translated into Arabic. Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf translations included the first six books of Euclid and the Almagesti written by Ptolemy. Among the many very important translations done by Hunayn b. Ishaq was Menelaos' Spherica. His son, Quota bin Luqa translated Diophantos' Arithmetica and Al-Hajjaj bin Matar translated Euclid's Elements. As was pointed out earlier in this book under the discussion of The Spread of Islam, most of the important philosophical and scientific works of Aristotle, Plato, the Pythagorean school, major works of Greek astronomy, mathematics, medicine, the Elements of Euclid and the works of Hippocrates and Galen were rendered into Arabic by the Islamic community. In addition to translations of the Greek works, important works of astronomy, mathematics and medicine were translated from Patilavi (Persia) and Sanskrit (India). As a result, Arabic became the most important scientific language of the world for many centuries and the depository of much of the wisdom and sciences of antiquity. The Moslems translated these works because the structure of Islam itself is based upon the primacy of knowledge.


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From 1050 onward Western science and mathematics benefited from Arabic materials and their translators. In the course of the Muslim conquests the Hindu-Arabic numerals and their arithmetic were carried by the Moors through North Africa and into Spain. Arabic numerals were known to Gerbert [Pope Sylvester II] in the 10th century and he introduced these numerals in the place of the awkward Roman numerals. John N. Crossley and Alan S. Henry in their article, “Thus Spake al-Khawarizmi: A Translation of the Text of Cambridge University Library Ms. Ii.vi.5” published in Historia Mathematica, Vol. 17, No. 2, May 1990, says:

―The process involved in using Hindu-Arabic numerals, as opposed to Roman numerals, acquired the name “algorism” in the West. It is generally agreed that the word “algorithm” comes from the name of the scholar Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who lived about 800-847 and used the Arabic language. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word “algorithm” was originally spelled “algorism” in its English version about the 12th century or perhaps slightly earlier. It was only very much later that the world “algorithm,” spelled with “th,” became current. In the 12th century and for a long time thereafter the spelling “algorism,” with an “s,” meant the rules and procedures for using the nine Hindu-Arabic numerals 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9 and the cypher (Arabic “sifr”) 0, though the actual shapes of these characters were different in those days.‖

Gilbert was followed by others such as Constantinus Africanus in the eleventh century. Africanus traveled for thirty years in Muslim lands and studied under Arab (Muslim) teachers and translated several Arabic works into Latin. In the 12th century the algebra of Al-Khwarizmi was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona. Among the more than seventy Arabic books Gerard translated into Latin was Archimedes‘


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Measurement of the Circle. Arabic translations and knowledge passed from Spain into Lorrains, Germany, Central Europe and England. Adelard of Bath was among the first of many scholars of England who traveled extensively in search of Arabic books. He translated works on Mathematics and Astronomy to include a Latin translation of Euclid's Elements from Muslim sources, Al-Khwarizmi's tables and other works on the abacus and astrolabe. His Quaestiones Naturales consists of 76 scientific discussions derived from Muslim sciences.


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Chart 1 is a summary of important mathematical works translated from the Greek into Arabic.

Arabic Translations of Greek Mathematical Works AUTHOR TITLE TRANSLATOR

Euclid The Elements Al-Hajjad b. Matar Ishaq b. Hunayn Thabit b. Qurra

Ptolemy Almagesti Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf

Archimedes Sphere and Cylinder Measurement of the Circle Heptagon in the Circle The Lemmas

Ishaq b. Hunayn Thabit b. Qurra Thabit b. Qurra Thabit b. Qurra

Apollonios The Conics Hilal al-Himsi Ahmad b. Musa Thabit b. Qurra

Diophantos Arithmetic Qusta b. Luqa

Menelaos Spherica Hunayn b.Ishaq

Chart 1


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The Connection Between Islam‟s Five Pillars of Faith and Mathematics

1.) SHAHADA

Shahada - The Profession of Faith or Creed

is: ―No god whatsoever but Allah; Mohammed is

the Messenger of Allah."

The Muslim mind has always been attracted to the mathematical sciences in accordance with the ―abstract‖ character of the doctrine of Oneness which lies at the heart of Islam.

The Connection Between Shahada and

Geometry

Islamic Calligraphy and Geometric Constructions Dominate in Islam are the elaborate geometrical designs executed in wood, tile or Mosaics. (See page 34). While there had always been a strong tradition of geometric design in the Middle East since the time of Egypt, the Islamic interest reflected its beliefs in their architecture - the gentle curves of the white arches of the Mosque School, where learning and a closer relationship to the Creator were inseparable pursuits. On the next page you see a Mosque that reflects these gentle curves of the white arches in its architecture.


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Gentle curves of white arches

Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870 CE), who taught philosophy in Baghdad and Syria, wrote a book on geometry with the title, A Book of Spiritual Crafts and Natural Secrets in the Details of Geometrical Figures. Abul al-W‘afa, incorporated all of al-Farabi‘s work in a book of his own, entitled, On Those Parts of Geometry Needed by Craftsmen. Abul al-W‘afa is best known for the first use of the tangent function and compiling tables of sines and tangents at 15' intervals. This work was done as part of an investigation into the orbit of the Moon, written down in Theories of the Moon. He also introduced the secant and cosecant and studied the interrelations between the six trigonometric lines associated with an arc. He and the prince Abu Nasr Mansur stated and proved theorems of plane and spherical geometry that could be applied by astronomers and geographers, including the laws of sines and tangents. It was Abu Nasr Mansur‘s pupil, al-Biruni (973-1050), who produced a vast amount of high-quality work, and was one of the


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masters in applying these theorems to astronomy and to such problems in mathematical geography as the determination of latitudes and longitudes, the distances between cities, and the direction from one city to another, specifically, from a given city to Mecca. It is in Abul al-W‘afa‘s work entitled, On Those Parts of Geometry Needed by Craftsmen, in which problems on geometrical constructions that are possible using only a straightedge and a compass with one fixed opening are discussed and solved. Problems using only a straightedge and compass will generally involve circles and polygons, which will invariably produce constructions involving isosceles triangles. This suggests an answer to the question, why Al-Khwarizmi gave a proof of ―the sum of the squares of the two legs of an isosceles right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse‖ [3] rather than right triangles in general, as Pythagoras did. All Al-Khwarizmi needed do to prove the theorem of Pythagoras, was let the square HGRT inscribed in square ABCD (see Figure 3) have vertices not equal distant from the vertices of the larger square ABDC, so that:

Figure 3

a is not necessarily equal to b, and then instead of adding the areas of the triangles, (i.e., TA2 = area of 2 triangles and AH2 = area of 2 triangles and TH2 = area of four triangles) subtract the area of the


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triangles from the area of ABDC which would leave the area of THGR:

(a+b)2 - 4(21 ab)= c2

a2 + b2 = c2.

Al-Khwarizmi‘s algebra contained other geometrical ideas. In his section on Mensuration he calculated areas of triangles, parallelograms, pyramids, and circles. He says:

“If you multiply the diameter of any circle by itself, and subtract from the product one-seventh and half one-seventh of the same, then the remainder is equal to the area of the circle.”

That is, = 3 71 .

So we see how Islam‘s first pillar of faith, Shahada, with the accompanying calligraphy involving geometric constructions is connected to the extensive development in geometry. Shahada was the impetus for the Arab Muslim‘s work in geometry, beginning with Euclid‘s work on geometry entitled Book of Basic Principles and Pillars, [48], the first Greek work to be translated for students in Arab lands. Shahada was the motivation for Thabit ibn Qurrah, his grandson Ibrahim ibn Sinan (909-946), Abu Sahl al-Kuhi (c 995), and Alhazen resulting in the solution of problems involving the pure geometry of conic sections and including the areas and volumes of plane and solid figures from which they were formed. Translations of various works began under Al-Mansur and were further developed under his grandson, Al-Ma‘mum. A prince with a fine intellect, a scholar, philosopher, and theologian, Al-Ma‘mum was instrumental in the discovery and translation of the works of ancient people. During the reign of Harun Al-Rashid, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf translated into Arabic several Greek works. Among these translation were the first six books of Euclid


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and the Almagest. [The name ‗Almagest‘ is a Latinized version of the Arabic title Almagesti.] The Almagest, written by Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria, was the most outstanding ancient Greek work on astronomy. [18]. The work of the Muslims in the application of geometry to the solution of algebraic equations suggests they were the first to establish the close interrelation of algebra and geometry. This was a leading contribution toward the later development of analytic geometry. It was during the ninth and tenth centuries that the Arab Muslims gave to Europe the first information about Euclid‘s Elements. [37]. Thabit ibn Qurra (836-911 CE) of Harran, Mesopotamia, is often regarded as the greatest Arab geometer. [19]. He carried on the work of Al-Khwarizmi and translated into Arabic seven of the eight books of the conic section of Apollonious. [6]. He also translated certain works of Euclid, Archimedies, and Ptolemy which become standard texts. [13]. Archimedes‘ original work on the regular heptagon had been lost, but the Arab translation by Thabit ibn Qurra proves the Greek manuscript still existed at the time of translation. Carl Schoy found the Arabian manuscript in Cairo, and revealed it to the Western public. It was translated into German in 1929. [35]. As the signs of mathematical awakening of Europe appeared in the 1200‘s, the Greek classics were available for translation. As the Christian monks made contact with Muslim universities in Spain, opening the way to the Renaissance, Euclid‘s Elements were translated again, but this time from Arabic to Latin.


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2.) SALAH

Salah - Prayers - The performance of the daily prayers. Five times a day the faithful Moslem turns his face toward Mecca and recites his prescribed prayer. Salah was the impetus for the Arab Muslims developing trigonometric methods in order to find the direction to Mecca, towards which they turn daily in their prayers.

The Connection Between Salah and

Trigonometry

Direction and Time of Prayer The era from 700 CE to 1100 CE was a period during which the Arab Muslims came into possession of a spirit of discovery and scholarship which distinguished the era as the ―Muslim Arab Renaissance‖ and led to setting the stage for the European Renaissance. The study of science and mathematics was kept alive by the Muslims during a period when the Christian world was in the ―Dark Ages.‖ The Muslims had more than a passing interest in the works of earlier civilizations. One can see this interest in the fact that they translated virtually all known information of their day into Arabic. Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf translated Ptolemy‘s work from Greek into Arabic and based their trigonometry on his theorem of half-chords.. However, the Arabs made two important and superior differences: (1) They employed the sine where Ptolemy used the chord and (2) they wrote their trigonometry in algebraic instead of geometric form. The perpendiculars drawn from the end point of the radii, to the original directions, form segments which correspond to the half-chords of Ptolemy. Half-chord in Arabic is jiba and became confused with jaib. Jaib, had nothing to do with the length of a half-chord, but rather meant, ―The opening of a garment at the


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neck and bosom.‖ European mathematicians translated the Arabic word ―jaib‖ by the Latin word ―sinus‖, meaning ―bosom‖ or ―fold.‖ And ―sine‖ was derived from ―sinus.‖ Rene Taton writes, ―The Muslims were vastly superior to the Greeks and Indians in the area of trigonometry.‖ [44]. Here, Islam exerted its influence by connecting the commandments of the Quran with the developments in trigonometry in two ways: (1) They needed the use of trigonometry to present a clear model of the heavens and (2) its relationships to the Muslim‘s mode of life, which included the problem of finding the direction of Mecca and prayer times. In studying the mystery of God and the relationship between heaven and earth, the Muslims directed their attention to spherical trigonometry, and Al-Battani became their chief proponent.

Al-Battani


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Mohammed ibn Jabir Abu Abdullah Al-Battani was born in Battan, Mesopotamia in 850 CE and died in Damascus in 929 CE.[1] He was an Arabian prince, governor of Syria, and is held as one of the greatest astronomers of Islam. He is responsible for a number of important discoveries in astronomy. His well-known discovery is the remarkably accurate determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds, which is very close to the latest estimates. His excellent observations of lunar and solar eclipses were used by Dunthorne in 1749 to determine the acceleration of motion of the moon. He also provided very neat solutions by means of orthographic projection for some problems of spherical trigonometry. Al-Battani determined with remarkable accuracy the obliquity of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the sun. In mathematics, he was the first to replace the use of Greek chords by sines, with a clear understanding of their superiority. He also developed the concept of cotangent and furnished their table in degrees. He wrote a number of books on astronomy and trigonometry. His most famous book was his astronomical treatise with tables, which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and flourished as De scienta stellerum — De numeris stellerum et motibus. His treatise on astronomy was extremely influential in Europe until the Renaissance, with translations available in several languages. His original discoveries both in astronomy and trigonometry were of great consequence in the development of these sciences. Copernicus in his book De Revolutionibus Orbium Clestium expresses his indebtedness to Al-Battani. Al-Biruni was another among those who laid the foundation for modern trigonometry. [39].


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Al-Biruni

As a philosopher, geographer, and astronomer, Al-Biruni was not only a mathematician but a physicist as well. Taki Ed Din al-Hilali considers Al-Biruni to be ―one of the very greatest scientists of all time.‖ Six hundred years before Galileo, Al-Biruni had discussed the possibility of the earth‘s rotation around its own axis. [33]. Al-Biruni was born outside of the city of Khwarizmi, present day Khiva, a city of Uzbekistan in 972 C.E. and died in 1048 C.E. in Ghazna (Afghanistan) after a forty-year illustrious career. Many scholars recognize in al-Biruni the exemplification of the true Islamic spirit in scientific inquiry. Trained initially as a mathematician, al-Biruni ventured into the fields of chemistry, astronomy, history, geography, and pharmacology. He proved to


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be the authority, par excellence, of classical Islamic knowledge. His mastery of Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, and Greek gave him access to the treasures of ancient civilizations and a means to grasp their ``truths". He said: "My experience in the study of astronomy and geometry and experiments in physics revealed to me that there must be a Planning Mind of Unlimited Power. My discoveries in Astronomy showed that there are fantastic intricacies in the universe which prove that there is a creative system and a meticulous control that cannot be explained through sheer physical and material causes." Al-Biruni carried out geodesic measurements [15] and determined the magnitude of the earth‘s circumference. [38].


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Direction of Prayer From all his contributions to mathematics and physics, Al-Biruni is best known in the World of Islam for fixing the direction to Mecca in mosques all over the world. [5]. And, if it had not been for the influence of Islam in his life, he probably would never have acquired the knowledge of mathematics and science sufficient to accomplish this feat. Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Mohammad and the most sacred spot in the Islamic world. Every year, during Ramadan, more than one million Muslims make a pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca. The city is surrounded by mountains and valleys which during Hajj season turn to towns of white tents for pilgrims. Non-Muslims are strictly banned to enter Mecca or the nearby pilgrimage towns such as Mina, Arafat, and Mozdalifah. The Ka‘aba, a windowless cube-shaped building, fifty-feet high, in the courtyard of the mosque, is believed by Muslims to have been built by the Hebrew patriarch Ibrahim (Abraham). It is draped in black and gold material which is traditionally renewed annually. In the southeastern corner of the Ka‘aba is the black cornerstone, cast down by God to Adam after he was removed from the Garden of Eden. This is a symbol of God‘s reconciliation with mankind. According to Islamic tradition, Muslims around the world must face Mecca during their daily prayers. This direction toward Mecca is called al-qibla. If we know where we are (point Z); where Mecca is (point M) and where the North Pole (point P) is, then we have a spherical triangle (ZPM), as shown in Figure 4:


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Figure 4 Angle PZM is the local azimuth of Mecca, the qibla. To find the qibla we must know two sides and the included angle in triangle ZPM. Al-Biruni stated, justified and then applied the Sine Theorem (law of sines) to a series of spherical triangles to determine the qibla. The law of sines (Sine Theorem) states: For a plane triangle, the sides of a triangle are proportional to the sines of the opposite angles. If the angles are A, B, C, and the lengths of the sides opposite these angles are a, b, c, this law is:

Csinc

Bsinb

Asina

Expressed in modern notation Al-Biruni stated, justified and applied the law of sines to a series of spherical triangles as appears in Table 2 below:


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Table of Spherical Trigonometric Laws of Sines and Cosines

Plane Trigonometry Spherical Trigonometry

Law of Sines

Csin

cBsin

bAsin

a

CsincSin

BsinbSin

AsinaSin

Law of Cosines

a2 = b2+ c2 - 2bcCosA Cos a = CosbCosc +

SinbSincCosA b2 = c2+ a2 - 2caCosB Cos b = CoscCosa + SincSinaCosB c2 = a2+ b2 - 2abCosC Cos c = CosaCosb + SinaSinbCosC

where for the plane triangle a, b, and c have units of length, and for the spherical triangle a, b and c are the angles subtended at the center of the sphere by the great circle arcs, e.g.

sphereofradiusaarcoflengtha

Note that the spherical triangle formulae reduce to the plane triangle formulae when a, b and c (in radians) are all much less than 1.

Table 2


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Time of Prayers In addition to finding the ―direction of prayer,‖ spherical trigonometry was used for the purpose of determining the time of the daily Muslim prayers. These times were defined in terms of the position of the sun relative to the horizon, hence the composition of tables for prayer times was an exercise in spherical applied astronomy that was used for civil and astronomical purposes as well. This science of time-keeping („ilm al-miqat ) gave rise to a group of astronomers who were associated with major mosques and whose duty it was to tell the muezzin when to call the faithful to prayer. In the case of the afternoon prayer, for example, the convention used is when the shadow of an upright rod in the ground equals the length of its noon shadow plus the length of the rod. For each degree of longitude of the sun, from the altitude of the sun at the beginning of prayer until sunset determines the permitted time for this prayer, as illustrated in figure 5:

Figure 5


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3) ZAKAT

Zakat - Almsgiving or Purifying Tax - To pay annually 2.5% tithe of one‘s net savings on which a year has passed as a religious duty and purifying sum to be spent on poorer sections of the community.

The Connection Between Islam and

Number Theory:

The Zakat (The Poor Due or The Tithe) One of the principal topics to be studied by the Muslims has always been arithmetic - which has been proliferated over the centuries into what we today refer to as number theory. The calculation of the Zakat, Islam‘s influence on the use of arithmetic is commanded by Islam:

“And they are ordered naught else than to serve Allah, in sincere devotion to Him, being monotheists, and to perform prayer perfectly and to pay the Zakat. That is true religion.” [surt-al-Bayyinah]

As explained in Part I (Duties) of this book, the religious duties („ibadat) of the Muslims center on the five pillars of Islam. The third pillar of Islam is ―Paying The Poor Due.‖ Allah ordained every Muslim who possesses a certain amount of property to pay annually the Zakat (poor due) of his possessions to the poor, or to the other categories mentioned in the Quran. The minimum amount of gold liable to payment of Zakat is 20 miskals of gold (a miskal is a weight equals 4.68 grams) and the minimum amount of silver is 200 dirhams (a dirham is a weight that equals 3.12 grams) or an equivalent sum of current money to this amount.


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There is also a minimum amount for goods of commerce liable to payment of Zakat. As for cereals and grains, its minimum amount is 300 saas (a saa‟ is a cubic measure used by Arabs). The minimum amount for real estates prepared for sale should be estimated in accordance with its value, but if the real estate is prepared for lease, the estimation is considered in accordance with its rent. The annual amount of Zakat fixed on gold, silver and goods of commerce is 2.5%. Diophantus of Alexandria, compiled the first text on number theory. He collected existing problems and invented new ones, and entitled his treatise, Arithmetica. Number Theorists today, still refer to this specialty as ―Arithmetic.‖ For 400 years Alexandria had been the intellectual capital of the civilized world. The library where Diophantus had spent his life-time compiling the Arithmetica, was the largest in the world and contained among its vast holdings six hundred years of mathematical progress. Only six of the 13 books comprising the Arithmetica survived it‘s destruction in 389 CE. For the next 400 years, a few adroit individuals in India copied the formulae from the surviving Greek manuscripts and added new elements to mathematics. The Hindus began to use Sanskrit characters as their numbers, which was the practice the Greek used. It was from these characters our present day Hindu-Arabic numerals evolved. The Hindu-Arabic Numeration System The most often asked question by the general public regarding the history of Arabian mathematics concerns the origin of our numeral system. It is impossible to give a definitive answer to this question because it is not possible to trace precisely the development of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system.


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The Hindu numerals were known to the early Arabic mathematicians and references to the Hindu numerals are mentioned by Arab Muslims as early as the 9th century. In his book on the Principles of Hindu Reckoning, Folio 268a, Kushybar ibn Labban (ca 971-1029 CE), gives the nine numerals (left to right) as:

(Sanskrit related) Figure 6

The above numerals are related to the Sanskrit characters the Hindus began to use around 400 CE, following the practice of the Greeks who used letters of their alphabet as their numerals. It was the Muslim's that gave us zero. The Hindu's used it as a place holder but the Muslim's treated it as a number. Also, the earliest Muslim zero is contained in a manuscript that predates the earliest Hindu manuscript which contains a "zero." Our word "zero" derives from the Arabic sifr, which was Latinized into "zephirum." The word sifr itself was an Arabic translation of the Sanskrit word sunya, meaning "empty." An alternate Medieval translation of sifr into "cifra" led to our modern English "cipher." There are many words in the mathematical vocabulary which are borrowed from Arabic words, such as the following:


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Mathematical vocabulary borrowed from Arabic

Chart 2

The Muslim's used a dot '' for zero. It was also the Muslim‘s that gave us the modern notation for common fractions and the use of decimal fractions. We call our numerals Arabic because the principles in the two systems are the same and the variations that took place over time resulted in today‘s numeration system. From the beginning of the 10th century, the Arabs were using the following numerals which are still used in Saudi Arabia today:

(Early Arabic Numerals)

Figure 7 The above symbols were finally transformed into today‘s modern Hindu-Arabic numerals (reading right to left) zero-0, one-1, two-2, three-3, four-4, five-5, six-6, seven-7, eight-8, nine-9.

Latinized Name Arabic Name Algebra

al-Jabr

Algorism, Algorithm Al-Khawarizmi Atlas Atlas Azimuth Al-sumut Cipher, Zero Sifr Cosine Cosine Nadir Nadir, Nazir Sine Sine Tangent Tangent Zenith Cenit


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The details of how the symbols were transformed into today's modern Hindu-Arabic numerals are missing and unimportant. The important thing was that in the 10th century, Gerbert of Aurillac, from France, learned the numerals from the Moors of Spain and introduced the system to the West through his teaching positions in churches and schools in Europe. The Arabian Muslims had replaced the primitive Greek symbols and cumbersome Roman numerals with the numeral system Europe adopted by the 13th century and is used universally today. Among the Muslim mathematicians, Abu-Yusef Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi contributed the most to Arithmetic [7]. Following is a list of the eleven texts he wrote on the subject: 1. An Introduction to Arithmetic. 2. Manuscript on the Use of Indian Numbers.

3. Manuscript on Explanation of the Numbers mentioned by Plato in his politics.

4. Manuscript on the Harmony of Numbers. 5. Manuscript of Unity from the Point of View of Numbers. 6. Manuscript on Elucidating the Implied Numbers. 7. Manuscript on Prediction from the Point of View of Numbers. 8. Manuscript on Lines and Multiplication with Numbers . 9. Manuscript on Relative Quantity. 10. Manuscript on Measuring of Proportions and Times. 11. Manuscript on Numerical Procedures and Cancellation.


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Al-Kindi

Yaqub ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi (Alkindus) was born of noble Arabic descent at Kufa, approximately 800 A.D., and flourished in Iraq under the caliphs al-Ma`mun (813-833) and al-Mu'tasim (833-842). He died in 873 A.D. Al-Kindi was not only a mathematician, but the first outstanding Islamic philosopher, known as "the philosopher of the Arabs." He was also a physicist, astronomer, physician, geographer and an expert in music. He was a prolific writer, having written more than 270 works. A large number of his books were translated into Latin by Gherard of Cremona. In addition to the 11 books he wrote on Arithmetic, he wrote extensively on Astronomy, Geometry, Medicine, Physics, Philosophy, Logic, Psychology, and Music.


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Al-Kindi also wrote various monographs concerning tides, astronomical instruments, rocks, and precious stones. Most of his books are no longer in existence, but those that have survived, are reportedly significant in both content and scholarship. His work on shadows and chords of circles led to further development of mathematics and his work on springs and the specific weight of precious stones and metals led to further development of physics. His accurate calculations of latitude and longitude were based on the actuality that the earth rotated on its axis. He invented a plane projection of the sphere that could be used to produce a map of a hemisphere. In 1030 he wrote al Qanun al-Mas‟udi which contains a collection of 23 observations of equinoxes beginning with observations by Hipparchus and Ptolemy and ending with two observations which he made himself. Cardano considered him as one of the twelve greatest minds during the Middle Ages. Al-Karkhi of Baghdad (Abu Bekr Mohammed ibn Al-hosain Al-karkhi) was the most scholarly and the most original writer of arithmetic. He was born in Karkh, a suburb of Baghdad, and died in the decade 1019-29. A Muslim mathematician at Baghdad, he wrote on arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Two of his works are known: Al-Kafi fi al-Hisab, which means ―Essentials of Arithmetic‖ and Al-Fakhri, which was the name of his friend, the grand vizier in Baghdad at that time. [36]. W.W. Rouse Ball, reports that:

“Al-Karkhi gave expressions for the sums of the first, second, and third powers of the first n natural numbers; solved various equations, including some of the forms 0cbxax pp2 ; and discussed surds, showing for example, that

50188 .” [8].


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Diophantus‘ Arithmetica discussed the solution of linear and quadratic equations, but he lacked an easy system of numerals to build his solutions. The Muslims brought a new number language from the East and the classical mathematics from Greece to Fibonacci, who studied in Muslim schools and in 1202 CE introduced Arabian numerals to Europe. [25]. By 1453 CE, when the Turks ransacked Constantinople, they discovered the manuscripts which survived the destruction of the Alexandria library had been carefully preserved by the Muslim scholars. Diophantos‘ Arithmetica had been translated into Arabic by Qusta ibn Luqa of present-day Lebanon, probably in the ninth century.[9]. Diophantus was now in the hands of Byzantine Scholars headed for the desk of Pierre de Fermat who was already in possession of the Arabic numeral system. As Fermat read Diophantus, he would write comments in the margins of the book. While studying Book II of the Arithmetica, Fermat read the observations, problems and solution concerned with Pythagoras‘ Theorem and Pythagorean triples. Euclid‘s Elements had been translated again, but this time by al-Hajjaj bin Matar, from Arabic to Latin, which Fermat read, and thus was familiar with Euclid‘s proof that there are an infinite number of Pythagorean triplets. As he played with Pythagoras‘ equation, he wrote an equation, which was very similar to Pythagoras‘ equation, but had no solution at all. Instead of considering the equation: 222 zyx , Fermat wrote:

333 zyx , which turns Pythagoras‘ equation with an infinite number of solutions into an equation with no solutions. So in the margin of his Arithmetica, next to Problem 8, Fermat wrote a note that said there are no whole numbers which satisfy:

nnn zyx , where n 3.

Then Fermat added the comment:


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―On the contrary, it is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes, a fourth power into two fourth powers, or, generally, any power above the second into two powers of the same degree: I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration which this margin is too narrow to contain.‖ (Fermat, Oeuvres, III, p. 241)

Over 300 years later, this was the equation Andrew Wiles read about at ten years of age and gave the world a proof for 30 years later. The West, and indeed the whole world is familiar with this story of ―Fermat‘s Last Theorem.‖ However, the world is not familiar with the following episode in the history of number theory which involved Fermat. Before Fermat reached Problem 8 of Book II, where he wrote his now so very famous quotation, he made a discovery concerning amicable numbers. Amicable numbers are pairs of numbers such that each number is the sum of the divisors of the other number. The Pythagoreans knew that 220 and 284 are amicable or ―friendly‖ numbers, and are given credit for discovering this fact. But this was known long before the Pythagoreans. Before mathematicians discovered “Amicable” numbers, the Bible used them four times. The first time is in Geneses 32:14. Notice that Amicable, is an adjective. Defined by Webster as: Characterized by or showing goodwill; peaceable. And that amicable numbers are defined by Webster as: Two numbers, each of which is equal to the sum of all the exact divisors of the other except the number itself. For example, the numbers 220 and 284 are amicable numbers, because:

If m = {1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20, 22, 44, 55, 110} then m|220

and 1 + 2 + 4 + 5 + 10 + 11 + 20 + 22 + 44 + 55 + 110 = 284


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If n = {1,2,4,71,142} then n| 284 and

1 + 2 + 4 + 71 + 142 = 220

[Note: The symbol “|” means “divides”; for example 55|220 (read “fifty-five divides 220”) means that 55 is an exact divisor of 220.]

We arrive at the number 220 by “amalgamating” 200 females and 20 males. The second, third and fourth time these numbers are used we find in: Ezra 8:20:

Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name.

I Chronicles 15:6

Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty:

Nehemiah 11:18

All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.


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These three places are “amicably” related: All are connected to the tribe of Levi, whose name derives from the wish of Levi‘s mother to be “amicably” related to his father: (Gen. 29:34):

And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

The above three references have to do with (1) Ezra 8: - the returning exiles (Levites) to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem with (Nehemiah 11:18) the 284 Levites living there with (I Chronicles 15:6) 220 descendants of Merari. As follows: Ezra 8: The list of Ezra‘s company of returning exiles, and

their arrival at Jerusalem. Vs. 20: David had appointed 220 Nethinims for the service of

the Levites. Nehemiah: The rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Ch. 11: The call for people to dwell in Jerusalem. Vs. 18: 284 of these people were Levites. I Chronicles 15: The Ark brought to Jerusalem. Vs. 2: None to carry the Ark except the Levites. Vs. 6: The sons of Merari, 220 Merarites, descendants of

Merari living in Jerusalem after the rebuilding.


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In summary, the connection between the numbers 220 and 284 and all the above scriptures is the fact they are ―amicably‖ related. All are connected to the Tribe of Levi, whose name derives from the wish of Levi‘s mother to be ―amicably‖ related to his father Jacob. The West still thinks that ―no other amicable numbers were identified until 1636 when Fermat discovered the pair 17,296 and 18,416.‖ [41]. In his number-1 bestseller, Singh goes on to say:

“Descartes discovered a third pair (9,363,584 and 9,437,056) and Leonhard Euler went on to list sixty-two amicable pairs.” [41].

During the last half of the 9th century, over 700 years before Fermat was born, the Arabian Muslim, Thabit ibn Qurra (826 CE - 901 CE), who is particularly noted for his translations of works from Greek to Arabic by Euclid, Archimedes, Appollonius, Ptolemy and Entocious [36], had already identified the amicable number pairs 17,296 and 18,416. As a matter of fact, he did a great deal more! A remarkable formula for amicable numbers is credited to him [11]. The formula is as follows:

If p, q and r are prime numbers, and if they are of the form, p= 32n - 1, q = 32n-1 - 1, r = 922n-1 - 1,

Then p, q and r are distinct primes and 2npq and 2nr are a pair of amicable numbers.

For Example: For n = 2, p =3(4)-1=11, q=3(2)-1=5, r=9(8)1=71 and 22(11)(5) = 220 and 22(71)=284. Notice that when n=4 you get: p =47, q=23, r=1151 and 24(47)(23) = 17 296 and 24(1151)=18 416.


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Without the many translations of Thabit ibn Qurra, the number of Greek mathematical works known today would be smaller. For example, we would have only the first four of the seven books or more of Apollonius‘ Conics. In adherence to Prophet Mohammmed‘s admonition:

“He who is asked about something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the day of resurrection.” -Prophet Mohammed [4].

Thabit ibn Qurra did not conceal his knowledge of the Greek mathematical classics, but widely disseminated, through his translations, modifications and generalizations of mathematics findings which created an interest in particular areas of mathematics, such as amicable numbers, that these topics formed a continuing tradition in Islam. Kamal ad-Din al-Farisi (who, by the way, translated Brahmagupta‘s astronomical work into Arabic) gave the pair 17,926 and 18,416 as an example of Thabit's rule, and in the 17th century Muhammad Baqir Yazdi gave the pair 9,363,584 and 9,437,056.


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Thabit ibn Qurra

Thabit ibn Qurra was born in Harran (present day Turkey) in northern Mesopotamia in 836 CE, and died in Baghdad in 901 CE. He was an Arab mathematician, physician, and philosopher, and a representative of the flourishing Arab-Islamic culture of the 9th century. He went to Baghdad and obtained a thorough mathematical and philosophical training. Through the influence of several men who were trusted advisors of the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid, Thabit secured appointment as a court astronomer in Baghdad, where he spent the remainder of his life writing mathematical, philosophical, and medical works. He applied arithmetical terminology to geometrical quantities, and studied several aspects of conic sections, angle trisection and magic


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squares. A number of his computations aimed at determining the surfaces and volumes of different types of solids.

Pythagorean Theorem in Qurra‘s Translation of Euclid

Courtesy of The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Classics in Mathematics Education, A Series, “The Pythagorean Proposition.”


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It is not the intention of the author to try to do justice to the Muslim contributions to mathematics in this book, but rather, as stated in the preface, to show the influence Islam has had on the Muslim contribution to mathematics. However, in the limited reading and research that I did in producing this work, it is my sense that there exist manuscripts, some of which have yet to be translated into English, that would yield an abundance of work done by the Arabic Muslims in the field of number theory. For example, we know that the Muslim mathematician, Al-Karkhi gave expressions for the sum of the first, second, and third powers of the first n natural numbers as follows: [5].

1 + 2 + 3 + ... + n = 2

)1n(n

12 + 22 + 32 + ... + n2 = 6

)1n2)(1n(n

13 + 23 + 33 + ... + n3 =4

)1n(n 22 .

We also know that the introduction of the line separation between the numerator and denominator of a common fraction is due to the Muslims. To denote a fraction in the Muslim method,

one writes three-fourths as 43 , the same way it is still written.

Additionally, it is to Muslim mathematicians that credit is due for the first use of the decimal fractions. The Arabic word for fraction, al-kasr, is derived from the stem of the verb meaning ―to break.‖ [29].


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4) SAUM RAMADAN and 5) HAJJ

Saum Ramadan - Fasting - The Moslems during the month of Ramadan not only abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse from dawn to sunset, but also from evil intentions and desires.


Astronomy & The Calendar

Ramadan and Hajj

From Astronomy, Muslims could determine the beginning of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and other great holy days. Hajj - Pilgrimage is the fifth and last pillar of Islam. Once in a lifetime every Moslem of either sex, who is financially and physically able, is supposed to undertake during Ramadan a holy visit to Mecca. Umrah - is the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca and may be made individually and at any time.

To Mecca: Moslems Only


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The year 1 of the Islamic era begins with July 16, 622 of the Gregorian calendar. There is a perfect correlation between the Julian and the Lunar calendar: Hijra, The year of the Prophet Mohammed, or 1A.H. (Anno Hegirae), the Lunar Year, began July 16, 622 A.D., The Gregorian solar year. One lunar month is equal to the cycle between two new moons encompassing:

29 days + 12 hours + 44 minutes + 2.8 seconds

Thus, a Lunar year = 354 days and 3011 of a day. In 30 years

this equals 11 days (30 X 3011 days = 11 days)

Letting x = Gregorian year and y = Hijra year we can write a set of equations:

)622x(3233y

y3332622x

The above equations give us the corresponding years between the two. For example, the Hijra year corresponding to the year 2000 A.D. is:

.H.A142113783233)6222000(

3233y


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Algebra

The Shariath ('ilm al-fara'id) The mathematics that the Muslims inherited from the Greeks made many problems important to Islam scholars extremely complicated or impossible. For example, the division of an estate. This topic, known in Arabic as 'ilm al-fara'id [10, 21] (the science of the legal shares of the natural heirs). In Islam, if a man dies his wife receives 1/8 of the estate (1/4 if there are no children) and each male child receives twice what the female child receives. If there are only female children, 2/3 of the estate is divided among the girls. If there is only 1 female child, 1/2 the estate goes to the female child. All of this is further complicated by the inheritance of 1/6 of the estate, each, for the parents of the deceased and the inheritance of the brothers of the deceased if there were no male children. [17]. Abu Abdullah Mohammad Ibn Musa al-Khawarizmi‘s algebra served as a model for later writers in its application of arithmetic and algebra to the distribution of inheritances according to the complex requirements of Muslim religious law. It was the search for more accurate, comprehensive, and flexible methods that led Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 825 CE) to make modifications in the algebra inherited from the Greeks and on to epoch-making original contributions in algebra. In his Arithmetica, [16] Diophantus of Alexandria (c. 275 CE) gave a method of reducing indeterminate equations to simple equations that can be solved directly or take the form of determinate equations. A single equation is indeterminate if it has more than one variable and has an infinite number of solutions. An example would be: 6x + 8y = 46. When the coefficients are integers and it is required to find solutions in a restricted class of numbers, for example, positive integers, then the equation is called Diopantine


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equations. Diophantus was the first to pose and solve problems that called for solutions in integers or rational numbers. In solving these determinate equations Diophantus followed definite methods. For example, in solving ax2 + bx = c, he multiplied both sides by ―a‖ in order to make the first term a perfect square (a2x2). The Arab scholars translated and used what the Greeks achieved in algebra to make original contributions themselves which proved to be epoch-making achievements. Al-Khowarizmi made modifications in Diophantus‘ methods. For example, in solving the same equation, ax2 + bx = c, he divides both sides of the equation by “a”, in order to reduce the first term to a perfect square (x2), which is the method used today. While engaged in astronomical work at Baghdad and Constantinople, Al-Khowarizmi wrote the algebra which brought him fame, Al-jabr ma-al-muqabala (The Science of Cancellation and Reduction) written in 820 CE. [3]. Al-jabr ma-al-muqabala is devoted to finding solutions to problems posed by the requirements of Islam and practical problems which the Muslims encountered in daily life concerning matters of inheritance, legacies, partition, lawsuits and commerce. In his book Al-Khwarizmi first demonstrates his methods and then turns his attention to solving those problems posed by Islamic requirements. Al-Khwarizmi, in his introduction to Al-jabr ma-al-muqabala explains in his introduction why he came to write his algebra text:

―That fondness for science, by which God has distinguished the Imam al-Ma‘mun, the Commander of the Faithful ... has encouraged me to compose a short work on calculating by al-jahr and al-muqabala , confining it to what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, partition, ...‖ [3].


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A Latin translation of this text became known in Europe under the title Al-Jabr. Thus, the Arabic word for reduction, al-Jabr, became the word algebra. [22]. He cites a problem on the topic „ilm al-fara‟id, (inheritance) as followings:

A woman dies, leaving her husband, a son, and three daughters and bequeathing to a stranger one-eighth and one-seventh of her capital;” [3, pages 89&90].

The Shariah (Islamic Law) declares the husband receives 1/4 of the estate and the son twice that of a daughter. Al-Khwarizmi‘s solution is as follows:

Each daughter receives 1/5 of 3/4 = 3/20, of the residue, and the son, 6/20. Since the stranger takes 1/8 + 1/7 = 15/56 of the capital, the residue = 41/56 of the capital, and each 1/20th share of the residue = 1/20 x 41/56 = 41/1120 of the capital. The stranger, therefore, receives 15/56 = (15x20)/(56x20) = 300/1120 of the capital. [3, page 90].

In The Supplement of Arithmetic by the Iraqi traveler, Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi, there is a problem to pay the Zakat on 7586 dirhams. [8]. The dirham was divided into sixty fulus, the plural of fils. Al-Baghdadi calculates the total due on 7586 dirhams, as follows:


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“7586 From the first place we remove 1, which we make 40, and then remove 6 from the 40. This is the zakat due on 6 dirhams and it is 6 parts of (the 40 into which we have divided) a dirham. Note: 2.5% of 40 fulus = 1, so, 6 fulus is the zakat due on 6 dirhams. Thus, of the 40 (fulus) there remains 34 (fulus). This we put under the fils that has remained in the units place.” 7585 34 We must now calculate 1/40 of the 80 that arises from the 10‟s place, to obtain 2, which we subtract from the five in the units place. 7583 34 In the 100‟s place there is 500, on which the zakat due is 12 1/2.” (500 divided by 40 equals 12 1/2.). Of the 40 parts into which we have divided the dirham, 1/2 is 20, so when we subtract this from 34, there remains 14 parts. Also, 12 from 83 leaves 71, so there now remains: 7571 14


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So, for the 1st year we have left 7396 dirhams and 14 fulus. Subtract from 7585 40 7396 14 189 d 26 fulus = 7586 fulus.”

Since 7586 dirhams = 303440 fulus, and %212 of 303440 =

7586 fulus, we see the calculation is correct. Since one dirham = 60 fulus, not 40, the base-40 fraction, convenient to use, must now be converted into sexagesimal fractions: 7586/40 = 7586 X (3/2)/(40X(3/2))=7586/40 = 7586(3/2)/40(3/2)

= 11379/60 = 189.65 which is %212 of 7586. [9, pp 65-67].

In developing his algebra, Al-Khwarizmi transformed the number from its earlier arithmetical character as a finite magnitude into an element of relation and of infinite possibilities. It can be said that the step connecting arithmetic to algebra is in essence a step from ―being‖ to ―becoming‖ or from the static universe of the Greeks to the dynamic ever-living, God-permeated one of the Muslims. Solomon Gandz wrote the following concerning Al-Khwarizmi:

“Al-Khwarizmi‟s algebra is regarded as the foundation and cornerstone of the sciences. In a sense, Al-Khwarizmi is more entitled to be called „the father of algebra‟ than Diophantus because Al-Khwarizmi is the first to teach algebra in an elementary form and for its own sake, Diophantus is primarily concerned with the theory of numbers.” [20].


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al-Khwarizmi

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, was born about 770 C.E. and died in Baghdad in 850 C.E. He was a Muslim mathematician and astronomer whose major works introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals and the concepts of algebra into European mathematics. In addition to being a mathematician and astronomer, Al-Khawarizmi was a geographer. In his book on geography, The Image of the Earth, he developed a map of the Islamic world much superior to that known from the work of Ptolemy by correcting Ptolemy‘s exaggerated length of the Mediterranean Sea. His work on algebra Kitab al-jabr wa al-muqabalah ("The Book of Restoring and Balancing"), was translated into Latin in


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the 12th century and originated the term algebra (al-jahr). He established the subject in a systematic form and developed it to the extent of giving analytical solutions of linear and quadratic equations. Another work on Hindu-Arabic numerals is preserved only in a Latin translation, Algoritmi de numero Indorum ("Al-Khwarizmi Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning"). In this work he explained the use of zero, a numeral of fundamental importance developed by the Arabs and, additionally, developed the decimal system. It was from the title of this book (Algoritmi for Al-Khwarizmi) that the term algorithm originated. In addition to introducing the Indian system of numerals (now generally known as Arabic numerals), he developed at length several arithmetical procedures, including operations on fractions. It was through his work that the system of numerals was first introduced to Arabs and later to Europeans, through its translations in European languages. He developed in detail trigonometric tables containing the sine functions. The development of astronomical tables by him was a significant contribution to the science of astronomy, on which he also wrote a book. He is also reported to have collaborated in the degree measurements ordered by Mamun al-Rashid which were aimed at measuring the volume and circumference of the earth. The influence of Khawarizmi on the growth of science, in general, and mathematics, astronomy and geography in particular, is well established in history. He has been held in high repute throughout the centuries since then. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi influenced mathematical thought to a greater extent than any other mediaeval writer. He was one of the great mathematicians of all times. [24]. In his book, Al-Khwarizmi gives a proof of: The sum of the squares of the two legs of an isosceles right triangle is equal to the square of the hypotenuse. He writes: [3]


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Observe, that in every rectangular triangle the two short sides, each multiplied by itself and the products added together, equal the product of the long side multiplied by itself. The proof of this is the following. We draw a quadrangle, with equal sides and angles ABCD. We divide the line AC into two moieties in the point H, from which we draw a parallel to the point R. Then we divide, also, the line AB into two moieties at the point T, and draw a parallel to the point G. then the quadrate ABCD is divided into four quadrangles of equal sides and angles, and of equal area; namely, the squares AK, CK, BK, and DK. Now, we draw from the point H to the point T a line which divides the quadrangle AK into two equal parts: thus there arise two triangles from the quadrangle, namely, the triangles ATH and HKT. We know that AT is the moiety of AB, and that AH is equal to it, being the moiety of AC; and the line TH joins them opposite the right angle. In the same manner we draw lines from T to R, and from R to G, and from G to H. Thus from all the squares eight equal triangles arise, four of which must, consequently, be equal to the moiety of the great quadrate AD. We know that the line AT multiplied by itself is like the area of two triangles, and AK gives the area of two triangles equal to them; the sum of them is therefore four triangles. But the line HT, multiplied by itself, gives likewise the area of four such triangles. We perceive, therefore, that the sum of AT multiplied by itself, added to AH multiplied by itself, is equal to TH multiplied by itself. This is the observation which we were desirous to elucidate. Here is the figure to it:


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Figure 8

Since Mohammed ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi was the founder of the Muslim school of mathematics, the subsequent Muslim and early medieval works on algebra were largely founded on his algebraic treatise. Al-Khwarizmi‘s work plays an important role in the history of mathematics, for it is one of the main sources through which Arabic numerals and Muslim algebra came to Europe. This tradition of service to the Islamic faith was the enduring feature of mathematical work in Islam and one which, in the eyes of the Muslim‘s, such as al-Mahani, justified the study of secular learning. Al-Mahani (c. 860), the next Muslim contributor to algebra, took up Archimedes‘ problem of cutting the sphere into two segments, the ratio of which is equal to a given ratio, and rendered it such celebrity that the equation x3 + a2b = cx2 came to be known as the al-Mahani‟s equation. Even though he found no solution for it, his work led Abu Ja‘far al-Khazin (c. 960) of Khorasan to a solution for it by means of the intersection of conic sections. Arab mathematicians accomplished some significant results in seeking a solution for the fourth degree equation. Among them were Abul W‘afa, whose method was lost and Mohammad ibn al-Leit (c. 1000), who developed a solution by the intersection of conic sections. [30]. Al-Karkhi of Baghdad (1020 CE), the most


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scholarly and the most original writer of arithmetic, who was mentioned earlier, also made a marked contribution to algebra. His work in algebra includes operations of algebraic quantities, roots, equations of the first and second degree, indeterminate analysis, and solution of problems. [30]. Al-Karkhi contributed rational solutions to certain special equations of degree higher than two and a method for approximating the solution to linear equations. The Muslims not only created algebra, which was to become the indispensable instrument of scientific analysis, but they laid the foundations for methods in modern experimental research by the use of mathematical models. These are but a few of the more outstanding developments in algebra that resulted directly from the efforts of Muslim mathematicians influenced by Islam. The Greeks expressed their algebra in geometrical terms and as a result their achievements were confined to a few analytical solutions. The Arabians influenced by their Semite origin, were endowed with minds that valued practicality. Additionally, they were influenced by Islam which involved problems of religious duties, such as the calendar, hours of daily prayers and determination of exact directions toward Mecca.


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Chart 3, below, is a summary of only those works referred to in this book. WORKS OF ARABIC MUSLIM MATHEMATICIANS

(Referenced in this Book) NAME CENTURY WORKS

Al-Farabi, Abu Nasr

9th

A Book of Spiritual Crafts & Natural Secrets in the Details of Geometrical Figures

Al-Kindi, Abu Yusef Ya‘qub ibn Ishaq

9th Eleven texts on Arithmetic and Number Theory

Qurra, Thabit ibn 9th Number Theory Al-Khwarizmi, Mohammed ibn Musa

9th Algebra Al-jabr ma-al-muqabala

Al-Mahani 9th Algebra Al-Battani, Mohammed ibn Jabir

9th /10th Spherical Trigonometry

Al-Khazin, Abu Ja‘fer

10th

Solved Archimedes Problem: Cutting the sphere into two segments.

L-Wafa, Abul

10th

On Obtaining Cube and Fourth Roots and Roots Composed of These Two.

Labban, Kushybaribn 10th Principles of Hindu Reckoning

Al-Biruni, Abu l-Rayhan

10th /11th

Spherical Trigonometry Physics Fixing the direction to Mecca.

Al-Karkhi, of Baghdad

11th

1) Al-Kafi fi al- Hisab 2) Al-Fakhri

Al-Baghdadi, Abu Mansur 11th The Supplement of Arithmetic

Al-Leit, Mohammad ibn 11th Quartic Equation Chart 3


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Conclusion

The people of Europe and the United States are unaware of Islam's great relevance to their own history. Most mathematicians are unfamiliar with Islam's relevance to the history of mathematics, and even unfamiliar with most of the mathematical contributions made by the Arabs of the geological Arabian Peninsula. This is due in part to the fact that Western historians have purposely overlooked and minimized the importance of the Islamic society and culture, particularly in Spain beginning with the 8th century. All of this lack of information and misinformation continues to permeate Western Civilization because of ethno-centric, religious prejudice and an absence of easily obtainable sources. The preservation of intellectual contact of ancient Greek, Roman, Persia and Indian civilizations has been recognized, but the Arabs original contributions have not. Pope Urban (Claremont, France), Nov. 26, 1095) exerted the Christians to:

"enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulcher, wrest it from the wicked race, and subject it."

One hundred fifty thousand men (Crusaders) responded by meeting at Constantinople and attacking the Arabs mercilessly, destroying and devastating all that lay in their path. Libraries, with ancient and original works were burned and hundreds of thousands of the inhabitants massacred. The fate of the Islamic Arab Empire was sealed by the invasion and destruction of the Mongols led by Hulagu Khan. By the time the Ottoman Turks had risen to power (13th century) the Islamic Empire had been so weakened that the Turks had no difficulty in expanding their power to include the entire Arab World. The


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Turks, ruling in the name of Islam, turned Muslim against Christian, Sunni against Shi'a and Kurd against Armenian. With the destruction of their great system of irrigations, that made the region fertile; orchards razed to the ground; centers of learning destroyed and people massacred by the hundreds of thousands followed by the occupation of the Turks who considered the Arab Muslims inferior, the Islamic Arab Empire was excluded from all activities that contribute to a genuine civilization. The Arab Muslims were made to perform menial tasks during the European Renaissance, the Eighteenth Century Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution. The Ottoman Empire lasted until the end of WWI with the defeat of Germany and its allies which included Turkey. With the ending of WWI in 1918, Great Britain became the dominant force in the region. In 1913 Abdulaziz Al-Saud fought the Turks at the Hassa Province (Hofuf) on the Arabian Gulf. He needed the ports in the region to obtain armaments and food. In April, 1913, Abdulaziz eliminated the Turks from the Hassa region and all territory from Kuwait to Qatar was now under his control. Saudi control was extended to the outskirts of Hail in 1917. At the end of the war Great Britain was determined to limit Arabs self-rule. Because the United States declared its support for Arab self-determination, good relations were established between the Arabs and the U.S. King Abdulaziz Al-Saud was successful in unifying the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 1932 and he is known today in Saudi Arabia as the ―father of the country.‖ The discovery and production of oil in 1939 added to its strategic importance and economic progress. Because Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Prophet Mohammed and the location of the Holy Muslim Shrines in Madinah and Mecca, it is the spiritual center for all Muslims. Contrary to the Western view, Saudi Arabia is in an energy/economic, military strategic and spiritual position to become the Islamic force and influence, to lead the Islamic Arabian geological peninsula to enlightened influences and


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reform movements that recognize the necessity for adapting the old teaching to the present era. Ali A. Daffa wrote [ 1 ]:

"There are many Muslim thinkers, planners, and writers whose advocacy of progress with Western ideas is reconcilable with their allegiance to Islam. Such a view suggest the possibility of a change for Muslim cultural perspectives and a return to scholarly pursuits in education and applied research."

Ali A. Al-Daffa' and John E. Sasser

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REFERENCES

1.) Al-Daffa, Ali Abdullah, The Muslim Contribution to Mathematics, (Atlantic Highlands, N.J., Humanities Press, 1977) 2.) Al-Harunik, Abi ‗Abdullah Mohammed bin Sinan bin Jabir Kitab Assif Assabi‟ (Rome, Tubi ‗a bi Madinat Rumiyah al-‘Uzma, 1899), p. xi. 3.) Al-Khowarizmi, Mohammed Ben Musa, The Algebra of Mohammed Ben Musa, (Edited and translated by Frederic Rosen (London, Printed by J.L. Cox, 1831) 4.) Al-Khuli, Muhammad Ali, Traditions of Prophet Muhammad, 3rd Edition, Swaileh, Jordan, Alfalah House For Publications and Distributions, 1998). 5.) Ali, Jamil, (trans.), Tah did al-Amakin by al-Biruni (Beirut, The American University Press, 1966), p.8. 6.) Arnold, Thomas, Sir, and Guillaume, Alfred, The Legacy of Islam (London, Lowe and Brydone, 1949), p. 387. 7.) Atiyah, George N., The Philosopher of the Arabs (Karachi, Al-Karami Press, 1966), p. 185. 8.) Ball, W.W. Rouse, A Short Account of the History of Mathematics (New York, Dover Publications, 1960), pp. 159-60. 9.) Berggren, J.J., Episodes In The Mathematics Of Medieval Islam, (New York, Springer-Verlag, 1986). 10.) Bodleian Library, Oxford, England, March MSS, 640, fol. (f. 102).

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11.) Boyer, Carl B., A History of Mathematics (New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1968). 12) Bacaille, Maurice, The Bible, The Quran and Science, (trans by Alastair Pannell and author), North American Trust Publications, 1979. 13.) Carmody, Francis J., The Astronomical Works of B. Kurra (Berkeley, California, University of California Press, 1960), p. 15. 14.) Coon, Carleton S. Caravan: The Story of the Middle East [1951], 2nd ed. (Henry Holt, New York, 1958). 15.) Dampler, Sir William Cecil, History of Science (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1943), p. 82. 16.) Diophantus. Diophantus of Alexandria, T. L. Heath, Cambridge, 1910. 17.) Doi, Abdur Rahman I., Shariah: The Islamic Law, (Abul Qasim Bookstore, Jedda, Saudi Arabia, 1990) 18.) Eves, Howard, An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969), p. 90. 19.) Fink, Carl, A Brief History of Mathematics (Chicago, The Open Court Publishing Company, 1900), p. 320. 20.) Gandz, Solomon, “The Source of Al-Khwarizmi‟s Algebra,” Ostris (Bruges, Belgium, The Saint Catherine Press Ltd., 1936), Vol. I, p 264. 21.) ------------------------, “The Algebra of Inheritance,” Osiris,, V (1938), 324.

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22.) ------------------------,“The Origin of the Term Algebra,” The American Mathematical Monthly, XXXIII, (May, 1926), 437. 23.) Hill, Derek and Grabar, Oleg, Islamic Architecture and Its Decoration , [1964] 2nd ed. (Faber and Faber, London, 1967). 24.) Hitti, Philip K., History of the Arabs, , [1981] 10th ed. (St. Martin‘s Press Inc., New York, N.Y., 1937]. 25.) --------------------, The Near East in History - a 5000-year Story , (New York, D. V an Nostrand Company, 1960), p. 253. 26.) Hocker, Sidney G., Barnes, Wilfred E. and Long, Calvin T. Fundamental Concepts of Arithmetic (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall, 1963), p. 9. 27.) Hodgson, Marshall G.S. The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History In A World Civilization , Vol. 1,2 & 3. (The University of Chicago, 1974). 28.) Holy Bible, New International Version, International Bible Society, Bangkok 29.) Karpinski, Louis C. and Winter, John G., Contributions to the History of Science (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, 1930). 30.) Kasir, Daoud S., The Algebra of Omar Khayyam (New York, N.Y., Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1931.) 31.) Kushyar, Ibn Labban, Principles of Hindu Reckoning (A translation with Introduction and notes by Martin Levey and Marvin Petruck of the KITAB FIUSUL HISAB AL-HIND, Madison & Milwaukee, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1965) page 6.

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32.) Landau, Rom, Arab Contribution to Civilization (San Francisco, The American Academy of Asian Studies, 1958), p. 29. 33.) --------------------, The Arab Heritage of Western Civilization (New York, Arab Information Center, 1962), p. 33. 34.) Lapidus, Ira, Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages, , (Harvard University Press, 1967). 35.) Marks, Robert W., The Growth of Mathematics from Counting to Calculus (New York, Bantum Books, 1964), p. 120. 36.) Ore, Oystein, Number Theory and Its History (New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1948), p. 185. 37.) Reeve, William David, Mathematics for the Secondary School (New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1954), p. 373. 38.) Sachau, C. Edward, Chronologic Orientalischer Volker, Von al-Beruni (Leipzig, In commission Bei F. Brockhaus, 1878) pp. 184-6. 39.) Saffouri, Mohammed and Ifram, Adnan (trans.) Al-Biruni on Transits (Beirut, American University of Beirut Press, 1959), p. 17. 40.) Sarton, George, A History of Science (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1952), Vol. I, p. 446. 41.) Singh, Simon, Fermat‟s Last Theorem (London, Fourth Estate Limited, 1998), page 63. 42.) Smith, David E. and Karpinski, Charles, The Hindu Arabic Numbers (Boston and London, Ginn and Company, 1911), p. 10.

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43.) Stelzer, John, The World‟s Most Useful Islamic Software (Rochester, NY, Eastman Kodak Co., 1998). 44.) Taton, Rene, History of Science: Ancient and Medieval Science From The Beginning to 1450 (New York, Basic Books, 1963), vol. I, p. 70 45.) The Holy Quran, English translation of the meanings and commentary, Revised & Edited by The Presidency of Islamic Researches, IFTA, The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Complex For The Printing of The Holy Quran, P.O. Box 3561, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah. 46.) Trimingham, J. Spencer, Islam in Ethiopia , (Oxford University Press, 1952). 47.) ---------------------------------,A History of Islam in West Africa,, (Oxford University Press, 1962). 48.) University Library, Cambridge, England, Arabic MSS, 1075, fol. (00.6.55). 49.) Yeldham, Florence A. The Story of Reckoning in the Middle Ages (London, George C. Harrap and Company, 1926), p. 64.

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GLOSSARY Akkad – The first recorded empire in history in the area known as Babylonia. Allah - The one and only true God; the creator of all things. Al-qibla - In spherical trigonometry, if we know where we are (point Z); where Mecca is (point M) and where the North Pole (point P) is, then we have a spherical triangle (ZPM), The direction toward M, Mecca, is called al-qibla. See Figure 4. Amir - Leader or commander Arab – Any Arabic-speaking person. Arabia – Today Arabia means the country of Saudi Arabia, but historically it was the entire eastern part of the geological peninsula which includes Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qutar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Arabian - Refers to an inhabitant of the geological peninsula [See map]. Ausa‟a – A verb meaning ―to make wider, more spacious, to extend, to expand.‖ C.E. - Common Era [A.D.] Caliph - successor (Khalifa or ―Caliph‖) to Mohammed, assuming leadership of the community of believers. Hadith - Sayings of the Prophet Mohammed

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Hajj - Pilgrimage; the fifth and last pillar of Islam. 'ilm al-fara'id -The division of an estate (the science of the legal shares of the natural heirs). „ilm al-miqat - The science of time-keeping. Imam – Leader of the congregational prayer, Salat, that the Muslims offer five time a day. Ism - Arabic word for ―name‖ Jaib/jiba - Half-chord in Arabic is jiba and became confused with jaib. Jaib, had nothing to do with the length of a half-chord, but rather meant, ―The opening of a garment at the neck and bosom.‖ Jihad - Holy War(s) Ka‟aba - The first house of worship built for mankind. It was originally built by Adam and later on reconstructed by Abraham and Ismail. It is a cubed shaped structure based in the city of Mecca, to which all Muslims turn to in their daily prayers. Madinah - The first city-state that came under the banner of Islam. It is where the Prophet Mohammed‘s masjid and grave are situated. Masjid - A place of worship and salat. The life of the early Muslims used to revolve around the masjid. It is called in ―mosque‖ in English. Mecca - Mecca is the site of the Ka’aba, the most sacred spot in the Islamic world, and it is the direction to which Muslims must turn to say their daily prayers.

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Poor Due - Zakat - Almsgiving or Purifying Tax - To pay annually 2.5% tithe of one‘s net savings on which a year has passed as a religious duty and purifying sum to be spent on poorer sections of the community. The Third Pillar of Faith. Qibla - The same as al-qibla. Quran - Muslims believe the Quran is the infallible, inerrant, Word of God. They believe it is authentic, original and complete. The Quran is a record of the exact words revealed by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed. Ramadan - The holy month of prescribed fasting for the Muslims. It was during this month that the Quranic revelations began. Rasul - Messenger of God Ratim - The Most Merciful Salat - The five obligatory prayers that a Muslim must perform every day. Saum - Fasting Seerah - Biography of Prophet Mohammed Shahadah - Declaration of faith: ―I testify that there is no god but Allah and I testify that Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah.‖ Shariah – Islamic Law Shirk – the worst and only unpardonable sin is shirk, joining or associating of other gods with the true God. (Allah). Sunnah- The examples of the Prophet‘s life, what he said, did, implemented, how he implemented.

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Taharah - A state of legal purity Umrah – The lesser pilgrimage to Mecca and may be made individually and at any time. Zakat - The obligatory tax that every Muslim must give. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. The zakat is used to provide for the poor and destitute.

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INDEX Abraham, 17 Abu Bakr, 23, 27, 29, 30 Abu Ja'far al-Khazin, 99 Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi, 93 Abu Nasr al-Farabi, 56 Abu-Yusef Ya'qub ibn Ishaq,

77 Akkad, 19, 111 Al-Biruni, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68,

101, 108 Alexander the Great, 19 Al-Fakhri, 79, 101 Algebra, 4, 76, 91, 101, 105,

106, 107 Algoritmi de numero

Indorum, 50, 97 Al-Hajjaj bin Matar, 51 Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, 51, 58,

61 Ali ibn Abi Talib, 23, 24 Al-Jabr, 93 Al-jabr ma-al-muqabala, 92,

101 Al-Kafi fi al-Hisab, 79 Al-Karkhi of Baghdad, 79,

99 Al-Khowarizmi, 92, 101,

105 Al-Kindi, 77, 78, 101 Allah, 21, 29, 32, 35, 36, 44,

45, 49, 55, 73, 111, 113

Al-Leit, Mohammad ibn 99, 101

Al-Mahani, 99, 101 Al-Ma'mum, 51, 58 Al-Mansur, 51, 58 al-qibla, 67, 111, 113 Al-qibla, 111 Al-Rahman, 45 Amir, 111 Amorites, 19 Arab, 5, 16, 17, 19, 21, 27,

30, 34, 47, 52, 58, 59, 61, 75, 86, 92, 99, 102, 103, 108, 111

Arabia, 5, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 29, 76, 103, 106, 111

Arabian, 3, 9, 15, 16, 17, 23, 59, 63, 74, 77, 80, 84, 102, 103, 111

Arabians, 15, 17, 28, 100 Arabs, 17, 21, 29, 32, 39, 61,

74, 76, 78, 97, 102, 103, 105, 107

Aramaeans, 19 Aristotle, 15, 28, 51 Arithmetic, 54, 74, 77, 78,

79, 93, 101, 107 Arithmetica, 51, 74, 80, 91 Asia Minor, 19, 30 Assyrians, 15, 17, 19 Astronomy, 4, 50, 53, 65, 78,

89

116

Ausa‟a, 111 ausa'a, 41, 111 Babylonians, 15, 16, 17, 18,

19 Book of Basic Principles and

Pillars, 51, 58 C.E., 29, 64, 96, 111 Cairo, 59 Caliph, 23, 28, 29, 51, 111 Carl Schoy, 59 China, 15, 30 Christianity, 15, 33, 39 Common Era, 19 Conics, 54, 85 Constantinople, 80, 92, 102 Creation, 41 Cyrus, 19 Descartes, 84 Direction of, 67 Direction of Prayer, 67 dirham, 73, 93, 94, 95 Duties, 3, 35, 36, 73 Egypt, 18, 19, 27, 28, 30, 55 Egyptians, 16, 18 Elements, 28, 51, 53, 54, 59,

80 equation, 80, 81, 92, 99 Euclid, 15, 28, 51, 53, 54,

58, 59, 80, 84, 87 Euler, 84 Europe, 15, 16, 19, 29, 30,

33, 53, 59, 63, 77, 80, 93, 97, 99, 102

European Renaissance, 3, 51, 61, 103

Fermat, 80, 81, 84, 108

Fibonacci, 80 fulus, 93, 94, 95 Geometry, 4, 55, 56, 57, 78 Gerbert of Aurillac, 77 Gherard of Cremona, 78 Greeks, 16, 62, 75, 91, 92,

95, 100 Gregorian, 24, 90 Hadith, 31, 111 Hajj, 4, 37, 89, 112 Hanrun al-Rashid, 51 Harun Al-Rashid, 58 Hebrews, 15, 17 Heptagon, 54 Hindu-Arabic Numeration

System, 74 Hittites, 19 Hudaibeya Peace Treaty, 24 ibn al-Leit, 99 Ibrahim, 17, 58 'ilm al-fara'id, 91, 93 'ilm al-miqat, 71 Imam, 92, 112 India, 19, 30, 51, 74 Inheritance, 106 Iraq, 17, 19, 27, 30, 78, 111 Iron Age, 3, 19 Islam, 3, 4, 5, 9, 15, 21, 23,

24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39, 44, 47, 49, 50, 51, 55, 58, 62, 63, 67, 73, 85, 88, 89, 91, 92, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 109

Islamic Connection, 5 ism, 45, 112

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jaib, 61, 112 Jerusalem, 19, 28, 30, 83 jiba, 61, 112 Jihad, 19, 112 Jordan, 17, 105 Judaism, 15, 39 Julian, 24, 90 Ka‟aba, 112 Ka'aba, 24 Kassite Dynasty, 19 Khadija Bint Khuwailed, 23 Kushybar ibn Labban, 75 Kuwait, 17, 45, 103 Law, 69, 93, 106 Lebanon, 17, 80, 111 Lunar, 24, 90 Madinah, 23, 24, 103, 109,

112 Map, 3 Masjid, 112 Mathematics, 4, 9, 32, 44,

53, 55, 105, 106, 108 Mecca, 23, 24, 36, 37, 50,

57, 61, 62, 67, 68, 89, 100, 101, 103, 111, 112

Meccans, 23 Medes, 19 Medicine, 78 Mensuration, 58 Mesopotamia, 18, 19, 59, 63,

86 Messenger, 36, 55 Middle Ages, 16, 39, 79,

108, 109 Middle East, 5, 9, 55, 106 Milk, 43

miskal, 73 Mohammad, 91, 99 Mohammed ibn Musa, 91,

99, 101 Moors, 52, 77 Moslem, 19, 28, 29, 35, 36,

37, 61, 89, 103 Muslim, 5, 9, 21, 30, 32, 47,

49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 58, 59, 61, 62, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 84, 88, 91, 96, 99, 100, 103, 104, 105, 108

Noah, 17 Number Theory, 4, 73, 101,

108 Oman, 17, 18, 111 Opening, 45 Origin of Life, 42 Palestine, 17 Peace, 21, 24 Peninsula, 3, 13, 17, 23, 29,

102 Persians, 19, 27 Philosophy, 78 Phoenicians, 15, 17 Pilgrimage, 37, 89, 112 poor due, 73 Poor Due, 73, 113 Prayer, 4, 61 Principles of Hindu

Reckoning, 75, 101, 107 Ptolemy, 15, 28, 51, 59, 61,

79, 84, 96 Pythagoras, 15, 57, 80 Qatar, 17, 103 qibla, 68

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Qibla, 113 Quota bin Luqa, 51 Quran, 3, 21, 28, 31, 32, 33,

35, 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 50, 62, 73, 106, 109, 113

Qusta ibn Luqa, 80 Ramadan, 4, 32, 37, 50, 89,

113 Rasul, 113 Ratim, 45 Renaissance, 16, 39, 59, 61,

63 Rene Taton, 62 Roman Empire, 15 Salat, 112, 113 Sassanids, 19 Saudi Arabia, 17, 111 Saum, 4, 37, 89, 113 Science, 3, 39, 43, 92, 106,

107, 108, 109 Semite, 17, 100 Shahadah, 113 Shariah, 93, 106, 113 Shariath, 4, 91 Shem, 17

Shirk, 113 Silm, 21 Sine, 68 sinus, 62 Solomon Gandz, 95 Spherica, 51, 54 Sumerians, 18, 19 Sunnah, 31, 49, 50, 113 Syria, 17, 19, 23, 27, 29, 56,

63, 111 Taharah, 114 Thabit ibn Qurra, 59, 84, 85,

86 The Most Merciful, 45, 113 Tigro-Euphrates, 18 Time of, 4, 61, 71 Tithe, 73 Translations, 3, 51, 54, 58 Trigonometry, 4, 61, 69, 101 Turks, 80, 102, 103 Umrah, 37, 89, 114 Universe, 41 Ur of the Chaldees, 17 Yemen, 17, 111 Zaid ibn Haritha, 23 Zakat, 4, 73, 74, 93, 113, 114

Abu Kayla

islamic connection to mathematics

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