Public Science & Reference

The achievements of Muslims in the field of mathematics are extremely remarkable. A regular study of this science, like all other sciences, was begun during the reign of the second Abbasi Caliph, Al-Mansür in. the second half of the eighth century A.C. During this period the work on mathematics was exclusively done by Muslims.1 Some stimulus came from Indian and Greek works which were later translated into ‘Arabic. The investigations were carried out, and until the end of the fifth century A.H. /the 11th century A.C., nearly all of the original and creative work was done by Muslims, and even the non-Muslims wrote all the works on mathematics in Arabic. In the 12th century the Christians and Jews started the work of translation from Arabic into Latin and Hebrew, and also began to conduct research in this field. But until, the end of the 13th century no mathematical work comparable to that of Muslims could be done by the Christians or Jews.

                                    The Muslims used numerals including zero for counting in contrast with writing the amounts in words, or counting with the letters of alphabet. Thus they made arithmetic simple and applicable to the problems of everyday life in connection with commerce and trade and the division of estates and inheritance. The zero has a great importance in arithmetic. Without zero it is not possible to indicate the figures like tens, hundreds, etc. If zero is not used it becomes necessary to use a table (named abacus) with columns of units, tens, hundreds, etc., to keep each figure in its place.2 The zero was used by the Muslims centuries before it was known in the West. The Latin word ciphra for zero is of Arabic origin; the Arabic word for it being sifr, meaning empty or nil.

Md. Wasim Aktar

Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.

Astronomy (‘Ilm al-Hay’ah) or the science of formation (i.e. of the heavens) deals with such things as the structure of the heavens, the number and configuration of the stars, the signs of the zodiac, the distances of the stars, their size and their motions. It also deals with the compilation of planetary tables, the catalogue of stars for the making of calendars and similar tasks.

The Arabs took a keen interest in the study of heavens. They developed this interest firstly, because they had once worshipped heavenly bodies, (1) and secondly, because the dwellers of the desert who usually traveled at night in connection with trade, war and migration from one place to another, found the direction of their journey with the help of the stars. The clear sky of the desert gave them a chance of making precise observations. Thus there was some locally acquired knowledge of the fixed stars, the movements of the planets and the changes of the weather.

After the advent of Islam, the Muslims had to determine the time of the prayers and the direction of the Ka’bah to turn their faces towards it at the time of prayers. For this purpose it was necessary to know the altitude of the sun and the latitudes and longitudes of all the places where the Muslims lived. The same need arose for the orientation of the mosque. This gave a religious impetus to the study of astronomy and the allied subjects such as astronomical geography and mathematics. On the other hand, the Muslims, who once carried on flourishing trade all over the world and occasionally launched Jihad, had to travel on the land and the sea. As an aid to travel, navigation and meteorology, a by product of navigation, they needed star maps. The necessity of such maps was also a cause of their interest in astronomy.

Md. Wasim Aktar

Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.

Astronomy (‘Ilm al-Hay’ah) or the science of formation (i.e. of the heavens) deals with such things as the structure of the heavens, the number and configuration of the stars, the signs of the zodiac, the distances of the stars, their size and their motions. It also deals with the compilation of planetary tables, the catalogue of stars for the making of calendars and similar tasks.

The Arabs took a keen interest in the study of heavens. They developed this interest firstly, because they had once worshipped heavenly bodies, (1) and secondly, because the dwellers of the desert who usually traveled at night in connection with trade, war and migration from one place to another, found the direction of their journey with the help of the stars. The clear sky of the desert gave them a chance of making precise observations. Thus there was some locally acquired knowledge of the fixed stars, the movements of the planets and the changes of the weather.

After the advent of Islam, the Muslims had to determine the time of the prayers and the direction of the Ka’bah to turn their faces towards it at the time of prayers. For this purpose it was necessary to know the altitude of the sun and the latitudes and longitudes of all the places where the Muslims lived. The same need arose for the orientation of the mosque. This gave a religious impetus to the study of astronomy and the allied subjects such as astronomical geography and mathematics. On the other hand, the Muslims, who once carried on flourishing trade all over the world and occasionally launched Jihad, had to travel on the land and the sea. As an aid to travel, navigation and meteorology, a by product of navigation, they needed star maps. The necessity of such maps was also a cause of their interest in astronomy.

The achievements of Muslims in the field of mathematics are extremely remarkable. A regular study of this science, like all other sciences, was begun during the reign of the second Abbasi Caliph, Al-Mansür in. the second half of the eighth century A.C. During this period the work on mathematics was exclusively done by Muslims.1 Some stimulus came from Indian and Greek works which were later translated into ‘Arabic. The investigations were carried out, and until the end of the fifth century A.H. /the 11th century A.C., nearly all of the original and creative work was done by Muslims, and even the non-Muslims wrote all the works on mathematics in Arabic. In the 12th century the Christians and Jews started the work of translation from Arabic into Latin and Hebrew, and also began to conduct research in this field. But until, the end of the 13th century no mathematical work comparable to that of Muslims could be done by the Christians or Jews.

                                    The Muslims used numerals including zero for counting in contrast with writing the amounts in words, or counting with the letters of alphabet. Thus they made arithmetic simple and applicable to the problems of everyday life in connection with commerce and trade and the division of estates and inheritance. The zero has a great importance in arithmetic. Without zero it is not possible to indicate the figures like tens, hundreds, etc. If zero is not used it becomes necessary to use a table (named abacus) with columns of units, tens, hundreds, etc., to keep each figure in its place.2 The zero was used by the Muslims centuries before it was known in the West. The Latin word ciphra for zero is of Arabic origin; the Arabic word for it being sifr, meaning empty or nil.

Md. Wasim Aktar

Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.

Astronomy (‘Ilm al-Hay’ah) or the science of formation (i.e. of the heavens) deals with such things as the structure of the heavens, the number and configuration of the stars, the signs of the zodiac, the distances of the stars, their size and their motions. It also deals with the compilation of planetary tables, the catalogue of stars for the making of calendars and similar tasks.

The Arabs took a keen interest in the study of heavens. They developed this interest firstly, because they had once worshipped heavenly bodies, (1) and secondly, because the dwellers of the desert who usually traveled at night in connection with trade, war and migration from one place to another, found the direction of their journey with the help of the stars. The clear sky of the desert gave them a chance of making precise observations. Thus there was some locally acquired knowledge of the fixed stars, the movements of the planets and the changes of the weather.

After the advent of Islam, the Muslims had to determine the time of the prayers and the direction of the Ka’bah to turn their faces towards it at the time of prayers. For this purpose it was necessary to know the altitude of the sun and the latitudes and longitudes of all the places where the Muslims lived. The same need arose for the orientation of the mosque. This gave a religious impetus to the study of astronomy and the allied subjects such as astronomical geography and mathematics. On the other hand, the Muslims, who once carried on flourishing trade all over the world and occasionally launched Jihad, had to travel on the land and the sea. As an aid to travel, navigation and meteorology, a by product of navigation, they needed star maps. The necessity of such maps was also a cause of their interest in astronomy.