The Influence of the Arab Scholars on Modern Science Part 2 General Research Results

The Influence of the Arab1 Scholars on Modern Science

Part 2 of 3: General Research Results ______________

Andreas Eppink & Muhammad Perla (2015b)

Introduction to Parts 1 and 2

Muslims, Christians, Jews and even Buddhists have brought about a form of science andculture which was unprecedented, thanks to the co-operation of people from differentorigins. Europe owes its familiarity with classical sciences mainly to the numerous Arabictranslations which, in turn, have been rendered into European languages. However, Muslimscholars were not mere translators, they commented and re-commented on works originatedfrom different cultural sources, and made important innovations and discoveries in manyareas.

The enormous influence of Arab science on modern, “Western”, science has, however,been forgotten by history2. The influence becomes evident from simple things like the studyof Arabic in seventeenth-century England3 (university of Oxford) and the English word“physician” for medical doctor. That in one of the most authoritative medieval universities inEurope —in Bologna— the surgery has been conducted on the premises of the Faculty ofLaw, is another proof of Arab influence.

According to European historiography, we are supposed to believe that science beganwith the Greeks and, after the epoch of the “dark” Middle Ages —during which there hashardly been something worth mentioning in the field of science— all of a sudden Western

1 “Arab” refers to scholars from different religious and cultural backgrounds who wrote in Arabic.2 There is a very comprehensive genealogical tree in respect of the development of medical science,

but only one (!) Arab influencer is mentioned in it (Ibn Síná). Einhorn Presse Verlag, GMBHReinbek (BRD), 1986; 2009, Hamburg; Design: Peter von Bartkowski: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/A1pd0k UximL.jpg. El Árbol Genealógico de la Medicina (Bacelona:EdicionTemis SA, 1988): http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2SHJ63-x-Xg/UBq_WRu2MnI/AAAAAAAANRc/bd4pP dDUPo8/s1600/1.jpg [now unidentified].We found the same premeditated omission in the Spanish version of this genealogical tree, ElÁrbol Genealógico de la Medicina Española e Hispano-Americana. (http://www.todocoleccion.net/cartel-medico-arbol-genealogico-medina-espanola-e-hispanoamericana~x3647897 4). [nowunidentified].

3 G.J. Toomer, Eastern Wisdom and Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England.Oxford, 1996.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ARAB SCHOLARS ON MODERN SCIENCE — PART 2 2

scholars made innumerable discoveries, seemingly out of nowhere, as if the knowledgeserved as base of these discoveries had fallen from the sky! Nothing could be less true, asthis study shows.

The results of this research are published in Les pionniers niés de la science moderne: 1001savants arabes au berceau des sciences modernes —une histoire de contacts des cultures.4

The Development of Arab Science

Already at an early stage (first half of the 7th century) there was in the Muslim world a verythorough scientific attitude reflected in the research into the Quran and the Hadith (Islamictradition), both in terms of classification and inquiry into the reliability of the sources. Thatis, who was the narrator and how has the narration been transmitted? How close was thesource to the (Companions of the) Prophet? What can be said about the reliability of atradition, legend, or authoritative decision? Based on this inquiry, the Sharía (the Law) wasborn, which combines welfare (!) and social regulations and, because these regulations aregiven by God, the Sharía also regulates the attitude of man towards God (and not theopposite, God towards man). Consequently, jurisconsults became the most importantscholars in the Muslim world, and exegesis, reasoning by analogy and apology —hence theratio— took centre-stage.

In connection with the nature of Islam as a religion of Law (as is the Jewish religion), Muslimscholars were primarily interested in a practical rational and empirical-experimentalapproach to science, in contrast to the contemplative Hellenistic (particularly Neoplatonic)thinking. Similarly, Greek-Hellenistic thinking in Christian theology stood in rather starkcontrast with the legal (military) and practice-oriented thinking in the Early Roman Empire.5

This means, among other things, that what was going to be called “metaphysics”, in fact, hastaken centre-stage in the medieval Christian science, that is to say, theology. (The Greekword meta indicates that Aristotle’s latter writings were drafted “after” the volumes on thefysica, or the order of nature.)

In the Christian world, theology became “the mother of all sciences”. In the Islamic

4 Muhammad Perla & Andreas Eppink, Les pionniers niés de la science moderne: 1001 Savants arabes auberceau des sciences modernes —une histoire de contact des cultures. 2nd edition (from now on MP &AE). This book, 690 pages, examines in detail the different aspects of Arab science.

5 These are main trends, of course. Speculative and magical thinking were still identifiable in theformer Persian and Byzantine regions —and particularly among common people. Clear elementsof magical thinking can be found in the Roman Empire as well. (Cf. Genero Chic García, Economíade prestigio versus economía de mercado. Sevilla, 2007.) In addition, speculative thinking in sciencemay contribute to hypothesis formulation and research. Even a Christian-Byzantine question like“How many angels (i.e., beings without tangible body) can sit on the tip of a needle?” could becompared with our imagination of how small a microchip can be made in order to hold anamount of data ranging from megabytes to yottabytes (in decimal notation , 1,0008) or more.


world, on the other hand, theology was seen as some kind of knowledge gathering to whichthere has been a strong opposition, due to its speculative nature. Islam, being a religion ofLaw, is much more benefited from a legal-rational approach and analogical reasoning inorder to substantiate the regulations and requirements and develop them further. Forinstance, regarding issues in terms of interpersonal relationships, how can concepts such asmandatory, forbidden, tolerated, recommended and inadvisable be delimited. In addition,in order to make Islam more comprehensible and acceptable to the Hellenistic —Persian andByzantine— world, scientific works from Islamised regions were translated and studied.Converted scholars and officials from Persian and Byzantine origin were very committed tothis task. Consequently, the physical has become a centre of attention of Muslim scholars.Hellenistic-Christian-theological thinking considered bridging the gap between theologyand classical science an almost impossible matter to resolve. It is, therefore, hardlysurprising that many classical thinkers, such as Plato and Aristotle, had completely sunkinto oblivion6, and that only the speculative Neoplatonists had met a better fate.

Faith and Science

“Reconciling faith with science” —as it would be called later in Europe— and bridging thegap between the pre-Islamic science of the physical world (the order of nature) and Islamrepresented no particular problem to Muslim scholars. For, inquiring into “God’s creation”,the natural order, or Aristotle’s physical world, have even been considered recommended.

Islam is a pragmatic religion that provides requirements for the organisation ofeveryday life. Regulating social relations is the main issue in Islam (Law) rather thanspeculating on man’s relationship to God (which was in the Islamic requirements sufficientlydealt with) and on the nature of God —as addressed in Christian theology. Speculatingabout the nature of God was considered to be on the verge of conceit.

It is interesting to note that medical study was considered a derivation of Law andinitially ranked among the legal studies. This seems awkward at first sight, but it should beborne in mind that medical care is a matter of (good) social relations. Hence, notoriousscholars like Averroës (Ibn Rushd) and Maimonides (Ibn Maimún) are known as medicaldoctors as well as Doctor in Law. Still in one of the most authoritative medieval universitiesin Europe —in Bologna— the surgery has been conducted on the premises of the Faculty ofLaw. That was a direct result of the Arab influence.

Mathematics and astronomy primarily served to fulfil Islamic requirements, as todetermine the prayer times etc. (see Part 1).The research concerning the sources of what exactly was revealed to the Prophet and theinterpretation of his acts and sayings, propelled empirical research on the facts, from whichother branches of science have benefited.

Practising science has given birth to three tendencies in the Muslim world: (i) scientific

6 Again only after 1453 the classical thinkers have been “discovered”.


study of the Law (or jurisprudence, fiqh), (ii) research into the physical world —the study ofGod’s creation— adopted by public “Houses of Knowledge” (sing., Bait al-Hikma) and byprivate institutions called awqáf (sing.: waqf) whose funds were intended for pious purposes,and (iii) research in the field of “theology” (knowledge of God), conducted in other privateinstitutions headed by a Sheikh.

These topics have already been extensively discussed in Part 1.

A Pluricultural Enterprise

The development of the research into God’s creation by Arab scholars started with makingtranslations of Indian, Greek and other writings, and studying them. Antioch was taken bythe Muslims in 633. The Monophysites —Christians who did not accept the doctrine of thedivinity of Jesus— supported the Muslims against Byzantium. They became localadministrators and, a few decades later, omnipotent at the court of the Caliphs of Damascus.This influence had also been shared by Nestorians in their capacity of teachers, translatorsand scholars.

Nestorians, Persians, Indians scholars at Gundishapur travelled to Damascus, the capitalof the Umayyads, where an early start of translation activities into Arabic had been made. Inthe late 7th century, the Umayyad prince Khálid ibn Yazíd ibn Mu’áwiyya initiated thetranslation works; he invited scholars from the School of Alexandria to Damascus in order totranslate Coptic and Greek works on chemistry and astrology into Arabic, as well as Greekand other works already translated into Syriac. In Damascus, an interest in Plato andAristotle was taken, while in the Christian world these philosophers were still considered tobe “show-offs”.

At the school of Gundishapur (founded about 540 CE), in the ancient Sassanid Empire,translations of Greek and Achæmenian works into Syriac and Pahlavi had been undertakenon a large scale by Nestorian Christians. The school of medicine and philosophy peakedthrough the exchange of knowledge and the co-operation between Persians, Byzantines,Jews and Indians, and through the Silk Road, the academy underwent Chinese influences aswell. Although losing its importance in favour of Damascus, Gundishapur remained, evenafter it had come under Muslim rule in 638, the largest centre for medical education until840 —a notoriety that was taken over by Baghdad.

In the early 8th century, the Umayyad Caliph disposed of a large library that grew out to bea House of Knowledge (Bait al-Hikma7), a title that was not officially used until 832 todesignate the school created in Baghdad in 800. After the take-over of the Umayyads by theAbbasids and the foundation of the city of Baghdad, the translation activities intensified,especially during the reign of the first three Abbasid Caliphs. The translators were mostlyNestorians, assisted by Persian, Indian and Arab scholars. The House of Knowledge offered

7 The concepts Madrasa, Bait and Dár (school), in time and place, went through changes inconnotation and even in meaning.


all kinds of facilities. The Nestorian Hunain (Joannitius, d. 877) narrated that the fourthcaliph paid the translator the weight in gold of each translated work (hand written onpapyrus).

Around 840 Islam became the main guideline for everyday life and trade in large partsof southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from the Atlantic Ocean to China. Thescientific corpus has initially been made up of translations into Arabic —that is, the languageof the Quran— from Sanskrit and local Semitic languages such as Syrio-Aramaic andChaldean, and particularly Syriac, which had already supplanted Greek and into whichclassical Greek works had been translated. Later, this corpus has been amplified withtranslations from Chinese, Farsi, Achaemenian, Pahlavi (and other written languages in theformer Persian Empire) and Copto-Egyptian writings. These translations reflect on the onehand the expansion of Islam, and on the other hand, science and culture as a pluriculturalundertaking in the Muslim world during the first centuries of our era.

This pluricultural undertaking might be called the trademark of Islamic civilisation andpersisted during the subsequent centuries (at least until 1300 CE).

Up to 850 CE, the contribution to science of the Houses of Knowledge for Non-Legal Sciencesconsisted primarily of translation activities in the field of medicine, mathematics andastronomy, particularly of Indian and Greek works. The flux of commentaries on thetranslated work, however, proves that it was not a matter of merely preservation of sciencefrom the past, but of an actual scientific progress, renewals and innovations. That hasdefinitely been the case in the field of mathematics and geometry, applied medicine andespecially hygiene and patient care (reflecting the religious regulations in this respect), thehospital sector, and what would later be called natural sciences. Generally, thesecommentaries are not theoretical contemplations or generating speculative hypotheses,instead the authors rely on experimental research and provide guidance on practicalapplications.

Towards the end of the 9th century, the translation activities were virtually completed.Then the era of commentaries, commentaries on other commentaries, and original workannounced itself. Soon these scientific achievements have expanded to western NorthAfrica, and from there to Christian Europe.

Ifríqiyá — the Cradle of European Scientific Development8

Around 835, the Abbasids of Baghdad founded a dependency of the House of Knowledge inKairouan (a city erected by the Umayyads in 670). In 859, some eminent emigrant scholarsfrom Kairouan created the “university” of Fez, “the first university in the world”. Kairouanhad two expansion zones across the Mediterranean: the one —via Fez— to al-Andalus, theother to Sicily. From Sicily, Arab knowledge (Arabum studia) played a decisive part in

8 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE pp. 11-13.


Europe during the 11th century through the medical school of Salerno, “the first medicalschool in Christian Europe” (1050).

The university of Fez, with its library of about 300,000 works, had a major impact onthe world of science in Europe, especially through the scientific centres of al-Andalus(covering most parts of the actual Portugal en Spain) such as Cordoba (10th century), which,under the Umayyad Caliph Abd ar-Rahmán (Abdelrahman) III, had a prominent influenceon the West in the fields of fashion, etiquette, culture and science, like New York nowadays.

The Spanish (Castilian) Schools of Translation9

Some time after the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI in 1085 CE, which became the capital ofCastile, a large program of translations was set up, under leadership of Raimundo deSauvetat (also called Bourgondid), French Cluniac monk, future archbishop of Toledo andGrand Chancellor of Castile. Translations from Arabic into Latin were once beforesporadically made in various places. Besides Toledo, Zaragoza was an important scientificcentre of education in the north; its fall in 1118 CE promoted the intensification of translationactivities, in the footsteps of Toledo. Toledo attracted scholars from everywhere, like Robertof Chester and Herman of Carinthia; both “wanted to bring to the surface the deepesttreasures of the Arabs”.

During the reign of Alfonso VII, King of Castile and León (1126-57), Raimundo ofSauvetat founded the Translation school of Toledo (“Escuela de Traductores de Toledo”)with the purpose of translating Arabic and Greek works into Latin, under leadership ofDominicus Gundissalinus, archdeacon of Sevilla.

After Archbishop Raimundo’s death, Juan II (King of Castile and León, 1152-66) foundednew translation schools and entrusted Gerard of Cremona (Lombardy, d. 1187) with thedirection of the “Escuela de Traductores de Toledo”. The new archbishop of ToledoRodríguez Ximénez de Rada was the last head of this School of the first period (1209-47),called the “Latin period”.

One hundred years after Cremona, King Alfonso X “the Learned” (1252-84) magnifiedthese activities in Toledo and elsewhere, a period called the “Castilian period” because allefforts are geared towards translating most Arab works into Castilian. Translation schools —i.e., teams of translators— were set up in cities such as Sevilla, Salamanca, Murcia, Santiago,Burgos, Barcelona, Tarragona, Segovia, León and Pamplona —examples to be later followedby Toulouse, Béziers, Narbonne, Montpellier and Marseilles.

About the same period, Miguel Cornel, the learned Archbishop of Tarazona (prov. ofZaragoza) set up a team of translators in collaboration with Hugotius of Santalla, priest fromTarragona and translator. The translation schools attracted scholars and students from allover Europe.

9 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE pp. 569-579.


Important Arab Innovations that Changed the World

Much discussion on the influence of the Arabs on Western (“modern”) science (and culture)wrongly assume that exclusively genuine inventions turn a scientist into an “influencer”.Science, by contrast, is always the result of a sequence of innovations in the field of ideas,theories, methods or tools. Examples of this include the innovative use and the production ofpaper, and the many innovations which have led to the refinement of the astrolabes and thedevelopment of the octant, sextant and quadrant, to say nothing of the many Arabinnovations in medicine. The use of paper and the positional number system are twofundamental matters that completely changed the face of the world.

1. Paper10

The production and use of paper can be considered one of the many spin-offs of Arabscience that had the most impact on the world. In the country of origin of this invention,China, paper was rarely used, except for some special documents. Muslim conquerors hadcaptured two paper mills and brought Chinese technicians to Baghdad in order to disclosethe manufacturing process. The reason why the use of paper had taken a great leap had, ofcourse, everything to do with the value attached to religious and legal texts.

The first paper mill was built by these craftsmen during the reign of the second Abbasidcaliph, al-Mansúr (754-75). The produced paper was, in a short time, exported to CentralAsia, the Syrian territories, Egypt and North Africa. Because of its low cost and reasonablequality, the paper proved to be more efficient than parchment, papyrus (which was onlykept in large rolls) and vellum (fine parchment).

Chinese paper was made from the bark of mulberry, and the Samarkand’s of flax andhemp (some sources mention linen, stinging nettle and bones). In the early 11th century inthe Maghrib, rags and old carpet were used as a fibre for making coloured paper. 11

Paper (Ar.: waraq) soon became an important branch of trade; in Baghdad a “paper market”appeared, with more than 100 shops that sold books as well. The famous encyclopaedic Ibnan-Nadím al-Warráq (10th c.) began his career as stationer-bookseller in this market. Paperbrought about a flood of publications in various fields: jurisprudence, philosophy,mathematics, literature, stories, poetry, and even cookbooks. Of 1001 Nights, copies weremade on the assembly line. Indian, Greek and other ancient works were translated on paper,then copied, bound and sold to libraries and book shops. The Persian merchant and travellerNasir-i Khosrov saw in Fustat (near Cairo) about the year 1040 that the paper was also usedas packaging for spices, glassware, pottery and other commodity. He reported that this

10 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE pp. 63-65.11 Paper material was even used for amulets with written texts on it. Arianna D’Ottone, A far eastern

type of print technique for islamic amulets from the Mediterranean: an unpublished example.(https://www.academia.edu/4541740/A_Far_Eastern_Type_of_Print_Technique_for_Islamic_Amulets_from_the_Mediterranean._An_Unpublished_Example).


paper was not discarded after use, but often bought or recovered by specialised traders whosold it to paper mills for recycling [100]12.

Soon paper mills were built in Damascus, Tripoli (Lebanon), Tiberias (Palestina), Cairo,Kairouan (Tunisia, about 909), Fez and Ceuta (Morocco). From Fez (with its many papermills) and Kairouan, paper manufacturing reached the Iberian Peninsula (Játiva, about 940or 1065 CE), Italy (Palermo, 1090, under Roger II), Fabriano (Ancona, Italy, 1276), France(Troyes, Aube, 1348) and Germany (Nuremberg, 1389, by Ulman Stomer of the prosperouslineage of spice merchants). The itinerary that paper had followed is to be traced back to theword ream (now an unit of 500 sheets), via the Old French rayme, from the Spanish resma,which, in turn, comes from the Arabic rizma, meaning a bale or bundle.13 The first press —ofJohann Gutenberg— appeared about 1453 in Mainz (Germany), thanks to the papermanufacture of Stomer Ulman. This was a cultural revolution.

2. The Grand Sind-Hind, Arabic Numerals and the Numeral “Ø”14

The introduction of the so-called “Arab numerals” and the positional number system had adecisive impact on mathematics and related disciplines. It were the scholars of the House ofKnowledge in Baghdad who, for the first time, started to use “Hindu figures” —as they usedto call them— during the translation wave of Indian works on astronomy into Arabic. Thispositional number system made the so-called “theory of comparison” possible, by using ninefigures and a symbol for the zero notion.

The splendid Abbasid court of Caliph al-Mansúr in the brand new founded Baghdad(762) attracted scholars and artists from all directions. In 771/3 CE, an Indian delegation, ledby the astronomer and physician Kankah (also Mawkah), offered the caliph a work inSanskrit titled Siddhanta (the “Eternal Continuum”), written by the Indian astronomerBrahmagupta (d. ca. 665). The book deals with a variety of computation methods based onthe positional number system, and uses symbols that would later be known in the West as“Arab numerals” and called al-Hurúf al-Hindiyya (“Indian letters”) by the Arabs. This giftwould be a milestone in the development of mathematics. The caliph entrusted to his courtastronomers the task of translating the Siddhanta into Arabic and making an excerpt of it.Their translation became known everywhere as As-Sind wa al-Hind al-kabír (The Grand Sind-Hind). More translations of other Indic books on mathematics and astronomy followed,stripped of Indian mystic speculations on the concept of the Zero15. Mystic speculations were

12 The number in brackets refers to a document in the bibliography below.13 Older works on paper that had endured the ravages of time can be found in the Oriental Institute

of Chicago and in the University Library of Leyden (The Netherlands), dating from the year 866CE.

14 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , pp. 65-66.15 The Hindustanis used the zero as a symbol to refer to “something missing”, the sunya, “the void”.

The Arabs translated this notion conceptually as Sifr (“vacant”), Latinised as zephyrum, tziphra andziffrae. Subsequently, ciphirum became “zefero”, “zepiro” and “zeuero” in Italy, “cifra” (medieval


not well-received by Muslims, who generally clung to the practical approach of the Quran.Finally, the famous mathematician al-Khawárizmí (Algorismus, d. 840) adapted and

augmented the As-Sind wa al-Hind al-kabír. His two manuals —Kitáb fí al-hisáb al-Hindí (Bookon Hindustani Arithmetic), and Kitáb fí al-jam’ wa at-tafríq (Book on Addition andSubtraction)— replaced the original “Grand Sind-Hind”.

The popularity of the Book on Hindustani Arithmetic is reflected in its many translations.The first Latin translation appeared in Toledo in 1143 (this translation is to be found in theWiener Hofbibliothek [5]), followed by several translations during the 12th century, like theanonymous one produced in Salem monastery (Baden, Germany) around 1200 CE under thetitle Liber Algorismi [203], and an adaptation in rhyme by the French mathematician andwriter Alexander of Villedieu (Villa-Dei, d. 1250) Carmen de algorismo (Poem on Algorismus[13]). The other manual, Book on Addition and Subtraction —dealing with addition,subtraction, multiplication, division, raising numbers to powers, root extraction andcalculating (simple) fractions, illustrated with many examples— has made a new systemaccessible to banking institutions, tradesmen, surveying services and notaries of inheritancelaw.

Ibn Mun’im (Morocco, d. ca. 1228) was one on the long list of algebra mathematicians in thetradition of al-Karají (d. 102916). This scientist was born in Denia (al-Andalus), lived anddied in Marrakech (Morocco). The advance of the Christian conquering armies urged him toleave al-Andalus to Marrakech, where he spent the remainder of his life teachingmathematics. He based his lectures mainly on the Book of Perfection by al-Mu’taman(mathematician and ruler of Zaragoza, d. 108517), which he had brought with him from al-Andalus. During the reign of the Almohad sovereign An-Násir (1199-1213), many scholars,including Ibn Mun’im, used to visit the court and benefited from the sovereign’s generosityand protection. Only three of Ibn Mun’im’s works have survived; they deal with magicsquares, geometry and arithmetic.

Ibn Mun’im developed a new discipline in mathematics, the “combinatorial analysis”,i.e., the study of the different ways of arranging things. This discipline deals with variouscomponents such as pedigrees charts, roads diagrams, calculation of powers, and faculties ofnumbers. Ibn Mun’im taught his students formulas similar to some algorithms used incomputer programs. He wanted to prove mathematical propositions through analysis andsynthesis, and to avoid reasoning by induction (which makes mathematical presentation

Latin), and finally “zero” in Castile. In France, the word “chiffre” was born, which soon took thenotion of something “mysterious”, referring to encoded messages sent using carrier pigeons in theEast. In England Sifr became “cipher” and “zero”, in Portugal and Poland “zero”, in Germany“Ziffer”, and so on. From 1356 onwards in the West, Sifr referred to the nine digits (1-9) and nullafigura (ø: “not a real figure”), from which the word “null” originated (“nulo” in Spanish andPortuguese, “nul” in French, Dutch etc.).

16 MP & AE, p. 255.17 MP & AE, p. 539.


quite difficult). His Kitáb fiqh al-Hisáb (Book of Learning Arithmetic) was translated intoCastilian and Latin in Toledo.18 (Apparently, the translator felt it of no importance tomention the author’s name; hence, there is no information about the title of translations, yearand place of publication, and possible commentaries.)

The French mathematician “Father” Marin Mersenne (d. 1648) applied Ibn Munim’s methodin his work (enumeration of combinations with repetitions). The notation —one or twoletters highlighted, representing a quality as a measure of a segment length— in Kitáb hasbeen used by the German mathematician Jordan of Nemore (Jordanus Nemorarius, d. ca.126019) in his Arithmetica decem libris demonstrata. The arithmetic triangle used by GerolamoCardano of Pavia (Italian mathematician, physician and philosopher, d. 1576) and the onedesigned by the French Blaise Pascal (d. 1662) were a corollary of “Munim Triangle” and ofIbn al-Banná’s triangle (13th c.20). The Italian mathematician Niccolo Fontana (alias Tartaglia,d. 1557) and Bernard Frenicle de Bessy (geometrician and member of the Académie Royaledes Sciences, d. 1675) were familiar with Ibn Mun’im’s work [238].

It was Leonardo of Pisa (aka Fibonacci, d. 1240) —the “al-Khawárizmí of the West”—who adopted, introduced and popularised the notion of Sifr (zero) as ciphirum in his bookLiber abbaci. Fibonacci’s work and those of his contemporary the German JordanusNemorarius (d. 1260) and the passionate Italian mathematician Plato Tiburtinus (d. after1155) were of a decisive significance for the development of mathematics in the West.21

However, official introduction and implementation of the Indian numerals took place muchlater.22

Innovations in the Educational System

Through the cultural centres in successively Damascus, Baghdad and Kairouan, scientificprogress would eventually spread to Christian Europe along two Mediterranean lines. Themedieval Islamic world along the Mediterranean —al-Maghrib, “where the sun sets”—consisted of three areas: Ifríqiyá (Tunisia and Libya), the Middle Maghrib (Algeria and Sicily,connected by the Mediterranean), and the Far Maghrib (al-Maghrib al-Aqsá: Morocco and al-

18 “To our knowledge, his book [Kitáb fiqh al-Hisáb] was the first in the entire history of mathematicsto have devoted a whole chapter to these [combinatory] problems and to have stated them andsolved them according to a common procedure.” Helaine Selin [ed.], Encyclopaedia of the History ofScience, Technology, and Medicine in non-Western Cultures. Dordrecht, 1997. [238]

19 MP & AE, p. 683.20 MP & AE, p. 412.21 MP & AE, p. 671 and 555.22 The use of the abacus for administrative purposes lasted in France until 1791, after which the

Assemblée Nationale adopted the Indian method and prohibited other methods in schools and ingovernment institutions. By 1800, the first steps were taken to introduce the Indian calculationmethod in England on a large scale. (MP & AE , pp. 69-72.)


Andalus, also connected by the Mediterranean Sea). From the year 800 onwards, so called“Houses of Knowledge” were founded in Baghdad, Kairouan (Tunisia) and Fez (Morocco)successively.

The Houses of Kairouan and Fez were in fact the first universities in the modern sense,where various secular disciplines were taught. The large radiation of these universities wasto no small extent due to the paper factories. Kairouan had two expansion zones across theMediterranean: the one —via Fez— to al-Andalus, the other to Sicily, and later, in the 11thcentury, from Sicily to the medical school of Salerno in Italy.

European, called “scholastic”, education was taught in a dogmatic and rigid way, withouttaking account of the tastes and needs of the rising middle classes in Italy, England, Franceand the German regions. For this reason and as early as 1050 CE, gifted students from thesebackgrounds, thirsty, went to the quest for the knowledge of the Arabs, the Studia Arabum, atthe time very popular in al-Andalus and in Sicily, where Arabic language prevailed. Thesecontacts with Arab sciences were the basis of reforms that most European universities hadknown from the early 1200s. A significant number of innovations modelled on Arabmethods made their entrance, as well as the introduction of new philosophical, medical andphysical methods (the Arabicum), the organisation of the educational program (thecurriculum), and thus the organisation of the faculties as we know it today. Asking questionswas not customary in Europe of the Scholastics. The Scholastics attempted to sustaintheology with the newly acquired knowledge from Arab science, mainly logic and naturalsciences. Despite these reforms, the West reserved the first place for theology, whichremained central in the curriculum.

European Universities During the 13th Century on the Model of Salerno23

In Sicily, Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), King of Sicily, Naples and later Germanemperor, enjoyed a good Arab education, which earned him the nickname of “the baptisedSultan of Sicily”. Frederick, promoter of arts and sciences, attracted to his “oriental” courtscholars from East and West. He sent the Scottish Michael Scotus (scholar and Archbishop ofCashel [Ireland] and Canterbury) to Cordoba in order to purchase Arab works. Also knownat the emperor’s court were the scholar-translators John of Palermo (Joannis Palermitanus),Theodore of Antioch (“Theodore the Philosopher”, physician and confidant of the Emperor,d. 1250), Leonardo of Pisa (aka Fibonacci, d. 1240), and Jacob Anatoli (native to Provenceand living in Naples), who was commissioned by the emperor to assist the popularisation ofArab science projects. Frederick encouraged Fibonacci and Plato of Tivoli (Plato Tiburtinus)—the “founders of European mathematics”— to bring scholars together in order to translateevery scientific Arabic work available. Frederick reformed the old medical school of Salernoto the example of the Arab tradition (detached from theology and apology).

23 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , pp. 22-29.


In Europe, the model of the medical school of Salerno (1050) was followed with theemergence of the precursors of the present-day faculties, i.e., high education institutes with aspecialism, although this should not be taken too strictly: legal science and medicine inBologna (1100/1119), natural sciences and philosophy in Oxford (1167), and art of medicineand legal science in Montpellier (1170/1181). As already mentioned, this combination is aremnant of the Arab tradition.

More than a century and a half after Salerno and over a hundred years after Bologna,“universities” were founded in many cities, including Paris (1200-1256, primarily withtheology, without natural sciences), Valencia (1209), Palencia (1212), and Salamanca (1215),besides the “universities” founded during Frederick II’s reign: Padua (1222), Naples (1224,modelled after Bologna), and Messina (Sicily, 1224). They have been followed by Cambridgein 1229/1284 and finally, in the 14th century, Cologne, Pisa, Prague, Vienna and Erfurt.24

Pope Honorius IV (1285-87) instituted at the university of Paris a few chairs professingoriental languages, especially Arabic, and ordered in Montpellier reforms modelled after the“Arab style”. As early as 1220 CE, no physician was considered competent until approved bya committee of scholars of this school, presided over by a priest. During the subsequent twocenturies, Arab works remained dominant. Thirteen of the sixteen manuals were of Araborigin, including Ibn Síná’s Canon (Avicenna, d. 1037), Ar-Rází’s Antidotarium, Continens, al-Mansúrí, Aforismen, Pestilentia, Physicians Guide, and Source Water (Rhazes, d. 930), Hunain’sIsagoge (Joannitius, d. 877), and Constantinus Africanus’s compiled manual (monk at MonteCassino, d. 1087), with works of Alí ibn Isá (Jesu Hale, d. 994), Ibn Másawaih (JoannisMesue, d. 857), Ibn al-Jazzár (Algisar, d. 980) and other Arab scholars.

Among the classical authors, virtually only Galen’s Techne and De morbo et accidenti, andHippocrates’ Aphorismi were taught. Galen was sometimes cited, Hippocrates barely, otherGreeks were almost unknown. Teachers at Montpellier, such as Arnaud de Vilanova (d.1313), taught only “Arab medicine” and were called —not without reason— “Arab scholars”.This medicine continued to exert great influence until the mid 16th century. In thecurriculum from 1489 onwards, Ibn Síná’s works took a prominent place [166]. Famousteachers in Montpellier were the mentioned Arnaud de Vilanova, Guy de Chauliac (d. 1368)and Michel de Notredame (Michel Nostradamus, “the magician”, d. 1566).

European Universities

In Europe members of distinct professions were organised into unions, or guilds. Educationwas taught at cathedral schools, in towns with a church officially recognised as cathedral byRome. The educational disciplines were theology and the additional courses of trivium and

24 As to the dates of the foundation of European universities, the sources mention different dates. As“complete” universities: Bologna (1188), Valencia (1209), Oxford (1214), Paris (1215), Montpellier(1220), Naples (1224), Padua (1228), Cambridge (1229), Toulouse (1229), Salamanca (1230) andRome (1245).


quadrivium, together making up the seven liberal arts (artes liberales).From the early 1200s, the universitates —”unions” of teachers and students at the big

cathedral schools— became “guilds” officially recognised, with the same rights as cathedralbuilders. Subscribed teachers and students could move freely and were subject only to theregulations of their own universitas, except in cases of serious crimes.25 From these unionsemerged universities as we know them today, a fact that had everything to do with theadvent of cities and with the needs of the wealthy urban upper-middle class for practicalknowledge.

The British Adelard of Bath (Adelardus Bathensis, d. 1160) resided in Sicily in the early 12thcentury, where he learned Arabic. He studied at many places, including Salerno and Toledo,and travelled around to collect Arabic manuscripts. The political developments led to newcultural contacts between England, France —particularly Normandy and Anjou— Sicily andPalestine. All this explains Adelard’s itinerary. In 1105, Adelard made a voyage to Toledoand to Sicily; the latter had just fallen into the hands of the Normans. Then, after a short visitto his hometown, Bath, Adelard returned to France where he taught primarily at Laon.Between 1109 and 1116, he travelled to Sicily again, studied at Salerno and continued hisjourney to Greece, Tarsus, Antioch (in the hands of Roger of Salerno), Damascus, Jerusalem,Alexandria, where he embarked for Spain (or Sicily), and North Africa.

Adelard is called the “first English scientist”.26 To a nephew he wrote: “I have learnedfrom my Arab teachers to take reason as a guide, while you only adhere to what those ofauthority say.” Indeed, Adelard blamed his contemporary scholars for having allowedthemselves to be enthralled by the prestige of the authorities —beginning with Aristotle,clearly. Because of them, he made use of the slogan “reason against authority”. He started animposing series of translations from Arabic into Latin, including works by Euclid, Ptolemy,Abú Ma’shar (Albumasar, d. 886), Ibn Qurra (Thebit, d. 901), al-Khawárizmí (Algorismus,d. 840) and al-Majrítí (Maslama, d. 1008). All these works are later used by Roger Bacon, towhom the university of Oxford (1167) owes its fame.

The great contribution of Adelard to science was in the fields of astrology, astronomyand mathematics. The introduction of “Arab numerals” and the use of zero in Europe —spread from the university of al-Qarawiyyín in Fez (Morocco, 859), via Córdoba, throughoutEurope— are indebted to him to a large extent, as well as the scientific tradition ofinterpreting natural phenomena logically rather than supernaturally.

In 1214, after a sentence of the pope, Oxford received the character of an universitas.27 Incontrast to other European universities, the schoolhouses of Oxford and Hereford had beenknown in the 13th century as educational establishments of mathematics and quadrivium parexcellence. Under the influence of Aristotle and Ibn Rushd’s works (Averroës, d. 1198), the

25 MP & AE, p. 20.26 See the comprehensive section on Adelard of Bath in MP & AE , pp. 608 ff.27 MP & AE, p. 23.


study of natural philosophy was added to the artes liberales. Then, until the 15th century, theinfluence of Grosseteste —a prominent figure in the Franciscan Order (of Friars Minor)—was significant in the Oxford curriculum, mainly because he focused on teachingmathematics and geometry as an essential basis for the study of optics (see Ibn al-Haitham,Alhazenus28). During the 14th century, Oxford grew in importance because of the Courts ofAppeal installed but not the less thanks to scholars who had fled Paris.

The Universities of Paris and Oxford as the Most Important Arab Heirs29

University teachers generally spent much of the time allotted to the works of a particulargreat scholar. Natural sciences were taught on the basis of translated Arabic works. It shouldbe remembered that natural sciences and philosophy had not yet been detached from oneanother, and that natural sciences were still partly at a pre-scientific stage of (philosophical)speculation. It would take a long time before a distinction was made between astrology andastronomy, alchemy and chemistry, (natural) philosophy and mathematics, and naturalphilosophy and physics.

In Europe, (Arab) philosophy prevailed at first, but in a new guise, that of theology!Natural sciences as they had been taught and developed in Alfonso X’s centre (1252-84) inToledo were taken over by Oxford and Hereford, which enabled them, as reflection ofToledo, to spread throughout northern Europe, while Paris was still struggling in theologicalorientations. With the exception of Spain, “universities” in other European countries werelargely dependent on the Church and the monarchy. Arab knowledge was borrowed andadapted without its essential foundation, which lay in the separation between science andfaith (and Church).

The universities of Oxford and Paris were the first to focus on philosophical problemsalready quite advanced in the Muslim world. These issues included, as has been said, therelationships God—Creation, Revelation—reason, society—faith (the Church), in addition toSoul, ethics and politics. The so-called Latin Averroists —mostly represented in Salerno and,initially, also in Paris between the 12th and 16th century— advocated a strict separationbetween philosophy and theology. Therefore, the universities of Paris and Oxford can beconsidered to be the main inheritors of the Arabs in the field of philosophy, as Salerno had itbeen particularly in the field of medicine. Oxford finally gave preference to natural sciences.

In Paris, the Italian Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) —who had studied “Arab sciences” inNaples— went in search of the authentic Aristotle, as Ibn Rushd (Averroës) in Cordoba haddone a century earlier. Thus, Thomas, taking his full profit of Arab sciences, was stronglyinfluenced by Ibn Rushd, more than he wanted to admit. However, in contrast to theCordovan scholar, Thomas used Aristotle to support his theological conceptions. Under the

28 MP & AE, p. 258.29 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , p. 23.


influence of Aristotelianism, then raging in Europe since the 12th century, three currentscame forward.

i) Neoplatonic Augustinianism borrowed only a few of Aristotle’s notions out of fear of apantheistic physics. Its supporters were mostly Franciscan priests who put the emphasis onfaith at the expense of reason in order to arrive at the proximity of God.

ii) Augustinianists’ main opponents were those who wanted to reconcile Aristotelianismwith Christianity. These were especially Dominican priests, with big names such as Albertthe Great (Albertus Magnus, d. 1280) and Thomas Aquinas —in Cologne and Parisrespectively— who opposed to Augustinianism and Averroism. Thomas based his ideas onauthentic Aristotle and hence on Ibn Rushd.

iii) The Latin Averroists in Salerno and Paris, in turn, took Ibn Rushd’s commentaries onAristotle as basis. They advocated a strict separation between philosophy and theology. Inline with this, Aristotle’s (Arabicised) works and Arab writings on natural sciences werestudied and commentated upon in Oxford. Adelard of Bath’s famous disciple Roger Bacon(d. ca. 1292), professor and university dean, concluded that experimental sciences mustcontrol the assertions of all sciences. Thomas Aquinas’s innovation was the introduction ofAristotelian logical approach as a tool for theology, like Arab scholars —particularly IbnRushd and his fellow citizen Ibn Maimún (Maimonides, d. 1204)— had already doneregarding Islam and Judaism respectively.

After Thomas Aquinas, Arab heritage extended its influence, particularly in secular (natural)sciences. Salerno set the pace for all European universities. The kingdom of Sicily saw aflood of different rulers passing by, but since the domination of the Aghlabids of Tunis,most of these universities cherished medical science. Charles I of Anjou, King of Naples andSicily (1226-85), put Gerard of Sabionetta —called Gerard of Cremona the Younger and“Lord of Salerno”— in charge of translating various Arabic works into Latin. At the urgingof Charles, the Jewish physician and analyst Abú al-Faraj Yúhanná ibn Sálim procured inTunis a copy of Ar-Rází’s Kitáb al-háwí al-kabír fí at-tibb (The Comprehensive Book onMedicine) and translated it, between 1275 and 1279, under the title Liber continens (alsoknown as Continens Rhasis). This work was so voluminous (it encompasses 30 parts) thatonly two complete copies had been made. It will be one of the most authoritative medicaltextbooks in the Western world, generating an ubiquitous renewal of attention to themedical school of Salerno.

At the request of Robert of Anjou (1309-43), rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus fromArles (known as Maestro Calo) made in 1328 a Latin translation of Ibn Rushd’s Decline of the“Decline of the Philosophers” (conceived as reply to al-Ghazálí’s Decline of the Philosophers). Abúal-Faraj translated in 1280 Taqwím al-abdán fí tadbír al-insán (Body Care in Accordance withthe Regimen of Man), composed by the physician from Baghdadi Abú Alí Yahyá ibn Ísá ibnJazla [also: Jizla] al-Baghdádí (Latin names: Buhahylyha Byngezla and Bengesla, d. ca. 1100),and published in Strasbourg in 1532 under the title Tacuini aegritudinum et morborum ferme


omnium corporis humani, cum curis eorundem. Abú al-Faraj also translated Ibn Jazla’s medicalmanual dedicated to the caliph of Baghdad Minhaj al-bayán fímá yasta’miluhu al-insán(Explanatory Guide for What We Need), published in Strasbourg as De methodica dispositioeorum, quibus homo uti solet.

In the Muslim East, the interest in science retrograded more and more. Successive invasionsof Turkish tribes from Central Asia made life precarious. Fear and the need for securitygradually pushed people into a rigid orthodoxy.

Meanwhile, Arab sciences —i.e., medicine and pharmacology, mathematics, physics andastronomy— prevailed in Europe; opposition became inevitable. Scholasticism in particularopposed to Arab thinking, especially to the new rationalist philosophies, and such despitethe fact that scholasticism itself made some good use of this rational thinking. During the13th century, there were two antagonistic scientific currents in Europe. The university ofParis went to war against the dominance of reason over faith. The other current wasrepresented by the translation team of Alfonso X in Toledo, the university of Naples, themedical school of Salerno, and the law school of Bologna. The school of Bolognaprogressively took over the prominent place of Salerno.

As we have already seen, in the Muslim world it is the science of Law that is devoted toman, his well-being, behaviour and environment. Therefore and for a long time, Arabmedicine was considered part of legal science. It is then no coincidence that the art ofmedicine —and particularly the art of dissection— has been taught at the law school ofBologna, where courses in the art of dissection have been given using Arab works, mainlyAbú al-Qásim’s manual (Abulcasis, d. 1013). In 1302, the first research in forensic medicinetook place in Bologna. For medical practice, Europe turned towards Italy (especiallyBologna, Padua and Salerno) that had built its own famous medical tradition on the basis ofArab heritage, and thus broken away from Arab influences. A notorious privilege wasgranted to students coming from Italy.

Science Policy in Spain (13th—16th c.)

Spain, on the contrary, shows us a different picture. After the Christian conquest of Valencia(1238) and in order to be allowed to exercise the medical profession, Moorish physicianswere expected to take additional scholastic training, which was subjected to the approval ofa jury composed exclusively of Christians. An exception was made for physicians who,through their reputation and professional competence, made their mark in the Christiansociety. On the other side, nothing vis-à-vis the Christian physicians was clearly defined.Tradesmen of Valencia, however, were hostile to the increasing interference of the Church inmedical education, and thus to scholasticism. This conflict led to the enactment of a lawrequiring that in the university council (Studium Generale) and other public institutions “...only citizens, merchants or men with a similar status, could be part of this council. Clergy,knights and others from a non-secular social class were excluded” [122].


Through the influence of Arnaud de Villeneuve (Arnau de Vilanova, d. 1313, Spanishcourt physician, alchemist, theologian, diplomat, and professor of “Arab medicine” inMontpellier), Valencia initially kept the Moorish science policy; also thanks to his influence,a new translation flood from Arabic into Valencian and into Latin was initiated. Arabic hadbeen maintained as language of science. This supremacy of Arabic began to dwindleprogressively when medical science in particular became the domain of choice among mostJewish scholars, who started to use Hebrew language for their dissertations; so, Hebrewgrew in importance from the mid 16th century. In Barcelona, Hebrew became mandatory inpublic schools, followed by Sevilla, where translation of Arabic works into Hebrew tookplace. Most Jewish physicians also adapted their way of writing to that of scholasticism —which meant less essential-scientific and more faith (and sometimes superstition). In an anti-Moorish sentiment, attempts were made to reform science education, which was hithertobuilt on Moorish (and Aristotelian) methods. Opponents of Moorish science policy ardentlyattempted to “re-invent the wheel”, looking for survived original Greek works in order totranslate them into Latin. One noticed, however, that the result was, in several respects,deficient. Therefore, some work had to be redone, starting from Arabic translationsconsidered more coherent (e.g., those by Thábit ibn Qurra, Thebit, d. 901).

Italy appeared to have no difficulties with the problems Spain faced; there, the process ofintegration and assimilation of Arab science had started at an earlier stage. Montpellierseemed to have established a successful synthesis between Arab-Moorish and scholasticeducation, while the debate about scholastic instruction had preoccupied Spain until the endof the 17th century. Even the expulsion of the conversos —or “new Christians” (convertedMuslims and Jews)— from Spanish territory between 1609 and 1619 was to no avail.30

A Provisional Conclusion on Science Until 150031

Salerno brought Arabic medicine within the reach of Europeans. Medical care, hospitals,pharmacy, content and methods of medical education underwent a drastic renovation. Oncefollowed by Montpellier, soon whole Europe came under its spell. Towards the end of the15th century, eighty European universities (nineteen of which in France) taught Arabsciences. Scholars such as Roger Bacon, Guy de Chauliac, Thomas Aquinas and Henry deMondeville introduced a scientific renewal movement. In the transition period of Arabscience to modern science, scholasticism took a key position. The proof of the greatness ofGod no longer needed to be supported by scientific findings. With the study of faith —orstrictly speaking, the dogmas of faith— science in the Muslim world had little to do. For, it isGod Himself who created things, and it is His prophet —likewise the apostle Paulus— who

30 Muslim and Jewish expulsions started in 1492: Muslims, 1568 etc., forced relocations of conversos:1671, 1699, 1702, 1708 and 1721. Cf.: Mercedes Gárcia-Arenal & Gerard Wiegers (eds.), TheExpulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: A Mediterranean Diaspora. Leyden/Boston: Brill, 2014.

31 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , p. 13-16.


had prompted and exhorted people to explore everything. This made the study of faith(theology) in fact superfluous, even suspect, for no evidence was needed because everythingis the proof of God’s greatness, and one should only focus on the phenomena themselves.

When science —according to the scholasticism— had the duty of supporting theChristian faith rationally, it became the handmaiden of theology, a captivity from which itwould painfully be released during the centuries after 1500. In that detachment process, theworks of Arab scientists had been, again and again, rediscovered, commentated upon,completed, and sometimes even presented as one’s own discoveries. Eventually, Europeanscientists started to believe that it all began with them. This Eurocentrism, or Occidentalism,ultimately led to it that the contribution of the Arabs, which was crucial for modern science,fell into oblivion.

Who Were the “Arabs”?

Roughly between the 8th and the 15th century, the word “Arabs” referred to all those whowrote in Arabic: Arabs, Muslims, Nestorian Christians, Catholics, Greek Orthodoxes, Jews,Zoroastrians, Hindus. Arabic was, in fact, the language of scholars and administrators, aswell as traders in various commercial centres in this globalising world, irrespective of theirethnic origins and religion. It is, therefore, about the heritage resulting from this co-operation and the mutual influence of different cultures. Arab thinking thus was acumulative intercultural exchange of ideas of all those scholars who wrote their work in thelanguage of science, Arabic. Those were not only Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, theywere rather scholars who, like nowadays, belonged to a global world: Central Asia, Persia,China, India, the former Byzantine territories, the former Roman provinces, including Egypt,without forgetting North Africa and southern Europe, particularly Sicily and al-Andalus.

The next list shows the names of European Arab scholars; they also form part of theEuropean civilisation:

Ziryáb (d. 857 in Córdoba) — Ibn Firnás from Ronda (“the Aviator”, d. 887) — Ibn Masarrafrom Córdoba (Abenmasarra, d. 931) — Ibn Juljul from Córdoba (d. 994) — Ibn Samajún fromCórdoba (d. 1004) — al-Majrítí from Madrid (Maslama, d. 1008) — Abú al-Qásim fromCórdoba (Abulcasis, d. 1013) — Ibn Abí ar-Rijál (Abenragel, d. 1040) — Ibn Gabirol from Málaga(Avicebron, d. 1056) — Ibn Hazm from Córdoba (Abenhazam, d. 1064) — Ibn Sá’id from Almería(Abensad, d. 1070) — Ibn al-Wafíd from Córdoba (Abenguefiz, d. 1074) — al-Mu’taman(sovereign of Zaragoza and mathematician, d. 1085) — Constantinus Africanus died as a monkat Monte Cassino (d. 1087) — the Banú Zuhr from Sevilla and Córdoba (Avenzoar, 11th-12th c.)— Az-Zarqálí from Córdoba (Azarquiel, d. 1100) — al-Fásí (Alfassi, d. 1103 in Lucena) — IbnBájja from Zaragoza (Avempace, d. 1139) — Bar Hiyya from Soria (d. 1143) — al-Idrísí fromCeuta (Dreses, d. 1166 in Sicily) — Ben Ezra from Tudela (Avenares, d. 1167) and his son Isaak— Ibn Tufail from Guadix (Abentofail, d. 1186) — Ibn Rushd from Córdoba (Averroës, d. 1198)— al-Bitrújí from Los Pedroches (Alpetragius, d. 1204/18) — Ibn Maimún from Córdoba(Maimonides, d. 1204) — Ibn Mun’im from Denia (d. 1228) — Ibn al-Arabí from Murcia


(Abenarabi, d. 1240) — Ibn al-Baitár from Benalmádena (d. 1248) — Raimundo Llull fromPalma de Mallorca (d. 1315) — Ibn al-Khatíb from Loja (d. 1375). — Ibn Abbád from Ronda(Abenabbad, d. 1389) — Anselm Turmeda from Palma Mallorca (“Abdullah”, d. 1425) — Ibn al-Wazzán from Granada (Leo Africanus, d. 1554).

In al-Andalus, Ibn Rushd (Averroës, d. 1198) —a great philosopher, scientist and jurisconsultof the Maliki school of law— tried to bridge the gap between faith and reason. The greatReconquista, which took place fifty years after his death, however, prevented his effortsfrom penetrating into the Muslim world. Ibn Rushd has far more influence on Europeantheology! Unfortunately, the West was more interested in what he had written about thefaith in relationship to the intellect (the reason) —and therefore in Aristotle— and much lessin Ibn Rushd’s nuanced ideas, critical thinking and illuminated conceptions. The interest inIbn Rushd’s work and commentaries on Aristotle is understandable, for Christian theologyhad to save the day. In the Christian world, there was still much less attention to thefundamental philosophical problems than in the Muslim world. These problems includedthe relationship between the tangible world and the world of thoughts, between God andthe Creation, between Revelation (faith) and reason. (According to Plato, the “Ideas ofcreatures” are actually living in their own world; to neoplatonic Christians, this world was“God’s world”.) We can also add topics such as the Soul, ethics, and the relationship betweensociety and the Church (or the faith). The relationship between faith and politics —from theoutset a theme addressed by Muslim jurisconsults— was not until much later going to play apart in Western universities.

Who has read the works of Aristotle and Plato, as well as those of Ibn Rushd and al-Farábí, can tell what makes the difference.

The Period 1300–1500

Europe reinforced its theological science by trying to reconcile Christian theology with Arabscience. The Ulemas in the Muslim world closed the door to science in general by declaringIdjtihád closed. Europe feared the Sassanid danger, and due to the rise of the Ottomans, theInquisition took measures aiming to purify the society of heresy and ratio, resulting in theexpulsion of Moors and Jews (1492 up to 1721!) , and a royal decree forbade the nobility tolearn reading and writing and to use mathematics.32

From 1300 onwards, Western scholars focused particularly on the study of metaphysicsand theology (the latter attempted to understand the nature of God), and Westernuniversities were primarily theological higher colleges, and therefore, it was assumed thatall sciences should fall under the aegis of theology. We therefore can understand why theArab non-theological approach was definitively not admired by everyone in the West. InEurope, there was no “breakthrough in the thirteenth century, making the Renaissance break

32 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , pp. 26-29.


through an era of purely speculative practice of science...”33.In fact, the opposite is true. Christian Europe actually came under increasing influence

of theology, launched by the University of Paris and driven by authoritative scholasticnames such as Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus —with their commentaries onAristotle. Both “Doctors of Church” found support for their own apologetical theologicalideas in Arab writings which they used to rationalise theology, and by doing so, theyhindered empirical science. Had that not been the case, a scientific boost in the thirteenthcentury would actually have taken place. Arab science had already provided all theresources to that end.

An era of empirical science and a Renaissance —at least in the scientific field— brokethrough only after 1453 thanks to two historical facts: the invention of the printing press thatmade translated scientific Arabic writings accessible to a wide circle of scientists and, to alesser extent, the fall of Constantinople.

It would still take centuries before faith (theology) and (natural) science could be reconciled,or rather, completely separated. Arab science has been familiar with this separation muchearlier, but in the very thirteenth century, the heyday of the Renaissance in the Arab worldhas actually passed and a reverse process in science has taken place. Because of theenormous expansion of Islam in the previous centuries, it proved obvious and necessary to,first of all, reconcile the cultural differences and local customs with Islam as a religion ofLaw (!). Integrating local folk beliefs threw the door wide open to the speculative(theological) element (particularly in the former Persian territories), which, however,provoked all kinds of fundamentalist counter-tendencies. The best example of how thesedifferent conflicting tendencies could change a person’s life is the biography of the PersianImám al-Ghazálí (d. 1111), influential professor of legal scholarship, Sufi, author of theetiquette book Al-munqidh min al-Dalál (The Saviour of the Aberration) [81], and the flywheel of the extreme fundamentalist movement of the Almoravids.34 [ 65]

Arab Sciences as an Integral Part of Western Thinking35

In the 16th century, an increasing resistance to Arab sciences has arisen. Since the fall ofConstantinople in 1453, Renaissance in sciences meant a renewed interest in —or better said,a non-factual interpretation of— classical Greek world of ideas. Western universities learnedabout the original Greek texts brought to Europe by Byzantine refugees, which, with theirassistance, could be translated into Latin, the language of science at the time. Learning aboutoriginal texts is, most often, an advantage. In the case before us, however, an aversion went

33 “Historisch gezien was de empirie een wetenschappelijke doorbraak in de dertiende eeuw,waardoor de Renaissance een tijdperk van louter speculatieve wetenschapsbeoefening doorbraken de Verlichting aankondigde.” (http://nl. wikipedia.org/wiki/ Empirisch_ onderzoek.)

34 Andreas Eppink, Hidden Goals: A Psychological Analysis of Muslim Cultures; pp. 48-49.35 The following paragraph is —with some modifications— taken from MP & AE , pp. 88-90.


together with Arab sciences that, henceforth, were taken for “outmoded and outdated” asagainst the “new and fresh” Greek texts. The attraction exerted by this “new and fresh”knowledge pushed the efforts of the Arabs into oblivion, although it was they who hadcommentated on and completed the works of the ancient Greeks during 600 years, andhence developed science further.

Possibly, accurate or complete original Greek texts had not always been available to theArabs, but the fact remains that their thinking in those six centuries had progressed and thatthe achieved results have surpassed those of their highly esteemed Greek predecessors,especially in terms of practical applications in the field of mathematics, natural sciences andmedicine. Indeed, the return of the Humanists to the ancient Greeks was a step backwards,losing sight of these centuries of development.

From the mid 16th century onwards, three main trends in the West can generally bediscerned: (i) the conservatives remained faithfully devoted to Arab science, albeit in ascholastic way; (ii) the Humanists rejected Arab science in favour of original Greek texts (anorientation called corpus recentius); and (iii) those who had republished Arabic works and, ifappropriate, improved them on the basis of original Greek texts, whereby it was generallyabout details. And what they could not understand was simply considered amisinterpretation of the Greeks by the Arabs. In addition, for reasons of personal prestige,some eluded as much as possible all references to Arab authors, others did not hesitate tobluntly publish Arab ideas as their own discoveries. Obviously, the Latin translations ofArabic works were not always impeccable, giving rise to misinterpretations. Nevertheless, aconsiderable number of scholars determined to build on these translations. It was in factobvious that any alternative would not be so easy because, in general, it would take severaldecades to translate such a large number of Greek scholars, provided that their originalworks have survived.

Modern science is a pluricultural product, like Arab scientific thinking was a melting pot ofArab, Indian, Hellenistic, classical Greek, Persian, Turcmenic, Chinese, Greco-Roman andpossibly other influences.

The Indolence of the Influence Process36

Arab culture had an unparalleled influence on Western thinking, in philosophical, religiousand particularly in natural scientific field. The fact that we hardly realise it, comes from theindolence with which influence occurs. For instance, under Indian influence, Arabs madegeographic maps according to the roundness of the Earth. These maps were of vitalimportance to many, including explorers like Columbus and particularly to the Republic ofthe Netherlands as a great seafaring nation and world power. Antwerp and Amsterdamcarried forward the art of cartography and became places where the best maps had been

36 This paragraph comes from MP & AE, pp. 86-88.


printed. Astronautics would have lingered for several centuries to develop if it had to gowithout Arab mathematics, which itself have been the outcome of the cumulative effort ofIndian, Greek and Arab scholars for centuries —a pluricultural achievement.As early as the 13th century, with parsimony and faced with great opposition, many

Christian theologians have acquainted themselves with Arab scientific writings,commentated upon and supplemented them, most of the time ignoring that their (Arab orGreek) authors were not their contemporaries but had lived centuries earlier!At the same time, conservative Muslim scholars had definitively put a brake on the

development of science in general. The Christian Church tried to do the same thing, whichresulted in the fact that in Europe a lot of translated Arab writings on natural sciences wereknown and studied only during the 16th and 17th century, and sometimes even later. Thisexample shows, as so often, the delay of several centuries before influences becomemanifest.Natural sciences of today, as well as the 1001 Nights, are the result of a long process

during which the nucleus has been developed slowly, giving it a completely timelesscharacter on which unlimited variations can be brought —a process that remains a source ofinspiration for many in several areas of knowledge.

Conclusions37

An era of empirical science and a Renaissance —at least in the scientific field— did not breakthrough till after 1453 thanks to two historical facts: the invention of the printing press thatmade translated scientific Arabic writings accessible to a wide circle of scientists and, to alesser extent, the fall of Constantinople.

Renaissance in sciences meant a renewed interest in —or better said, a non-factualinterpretation of— classical Greek world of ideas. Western universities learned about theoriginal Greek texts brought to Europe by Byzantine refugees, which, with their assistance,could be translated into Latin, the language of science at the time. Learning about originaltexts is, most often, an advantage. In the case before us, however, an aversion went togetherwith Arab sciences that, henceforth, were taken for “outmoded and outdated” as against the“new and fresh” Greek texts. The attraction exerted by this “new and fresh” knowledgepushed the efforts of the Arabs into oblivion, although it was they who had commentated onand completed the works of the ancient Greeks during 600 years, and hence developedscience further.

Possibly, accurate or complete original Greek texts had not always been available to theArabs, but the fact remains that their thinking in those six centuries had progressed and thatthe achieved results have surpassed those of their highly esteemed Greek predecessors,particularly in terms of practical applications in the field of mathematics, natural sciencesand medicine. Indeed, the return of the Humanists to the ancient Greeks was a step

37 Quoted from MP & AE, pp. 88 ff.


backwards, losing sight of these centuries of development.From the mid 16th century onwards, three main trends in the West can generally be

discerned: (i) the conservatives remained faithfully devoted to Arab science, albeit in ascholastic way; (ii) the Humanists rejected Arab science in favour of original Greek texts (anorientation called corpus recentius); and (iii) those who had republished Arabic works and, ifappropriate, improved them on the basis of original Greek texts, whereby it was generallyabout details. And what they could not understand was simply considered amisinterpretation of the Greeks by the Arabs. In addition, for reasons of personal prestige,some eluded as much as possible all references to Arab authors, others did not hesitate tobluntly publish Arab ideas as their own discoveries. Obviously, the Latin translations ofArabic works were not always impeccable, giving rise to misinterpretations. Nevertheless, aconsiderable number of scholars determined to build on these translations. It was in factobvious that any alternative would not be so easy because, in general, it would take severaldecades to translate such a large number of Greek scholars, provided that their originalworks have survived.

Final Conclusion

Until the 17th century and even thereafter, Arab sciences of pre-1300 CE were indispensableto Western scholars and university students, although they were —before the invention ofprinting press, ca. 1453 CE— mostly spoon-fed with scholasticism. Ever since (hand-written)manuscripts could be printed and reproduced, the countless editions of translated Arabicworks, as well as new translations into European languages, have gained large popularity.By consequence, the Arab heritage is an integral part of European culture and modernscience.

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The Influence of the Arab Scholars on Modern Science Part 2 General Research Results

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