Islamic Golden Age | Arab Culture
Islamic Golden Age achievements | Scholars of the Golden Age of Islam
Islamic Golden Age, as a result of the approach brought by Prophet Muhammad – PBUH – and as a response to the explicit call of the Noble Qur’an for knowledge and innovation.
Based on the teachings, directives, and rulings of Islam in various areas of life, Muslims were able to extricate humanity from swamps.
They managed to establish a great civilization that was one of the longest-lived civilizations in history.
Through these teachings, Muslims were able to fill the world with knowledge and light.
They would be able to contribute to human development.
The climax of the Muslim effort comes at the time of the Islamic golden age.
In the Islamic golden age, Muslims served humanity great services that extended to this day.
It may not be an exaggeration to say that, till today, we still live the impact of the Islamic civilization.
Islamic Golden Age provided important contributions in various fields such as science and industries.
First of all, what is meant by “Golden Age”:
Golden Age is a term used by historians to describe a period of time during which a nation, state, or civilization attains the height of its progress, strength, and prosperity, especially in the fields of arts, architecture, literature, and science.
The term “Islamic Golden Age” is used to refer to a historical stage in which Islamic civilization was advanced scientifically, culturally, and economically.
Land of Islamic Golden Age
This prosperity and great success spread in many regions of the Islamic world from Spain in the west to China in the east.
Which Time was Islamic Golden Age
Islamic Golden Age extends between the eighth and thirteenth centuries AD. In that period, the civilized production of the Islamic civilization reached its utmost.
Ends of Islamic Golden Age
Islamic golden age ends upon the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate with the invasion of the Mongols. It ends with the siege and looting of Baghdad in 1258 AD.
the Remarkable number of contemporary historians argue that the Islamic golden age extends until the sixteenth century. They argue that scientific production in the Arabic language resulting from the Islamic golden age did not stop until that date.
Causes behind the End of Islamic Golden Age
The tension of the political and economic conditions accelerates the end of the Islamic golden age.
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Islamic Golden Age and House of Wisdom
Islamic golden age began during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid with the establishment and opening of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad.
Baghdad was the largest city in the world at that time. In Baghdad and during the Islamic Golden age, scholars from different parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds were commissioned to collect and translate all the knowledge of the ancient world.
Translation of Knowledge at Islamic Golden Age
It was during the Islamic golden age that different fields of knowledge were to be translated from their original sources directly into the Arabic language.
Knowledge of Greece was to be translated from Greek, knowledge of India was to be translated from Sanskrit. Moreover, knowledge of China was to be translated from Chinese, Knowledge of Persia was to be translated from Persian. That was in addition to the knowledge available in the Syriac language.
Different Nationalities Participated
During Islamic Golden Age, Work in the House of Wisdom was not limited to a particular nationality or certain religions. However, a large number of those who worked in the House of Wisdom were of different religions and nationalities.
Arabic is the language of Knowledge during Islamic Golden Age
By the middle of the ninth century AD, the House of Wisdom had the largest number of books in the world.
All the knowledge of the ancient world became in one place and one language. Arabic became the official language of knowledge.
The House of Wisdom reached its climax during the era of Caliph Al-Ma’mun, who had a great passion for science and scholars.
Islamic World is first in Knowledge
It was in the ninth century that the Islamic world became the largest source of knowledge. During Islamic Golden Age, the Islamic world exported knowledge to the whole world through the creativity of Muslim scholars who excelled in all kinds of sciences.
Artists, engineers, scientists, poets, philosophers, geographers, and merchants of the Islamic world contributed to agriculture, arts, economics, industry, law, literature, navigation, philosophy, science, sociology, and technology.
Islamic Golden age and Experimental Approach
One of the most important contributions during the Islamic golden age was establishing a sober scientific experimental approach.
Humanity learned during the Islamic golden age how to reach the scientific truth away from suspicions, illusions, and whims.
Muslim scholars in the Islamic golden age were the first to innovate the experimental method in handling the scientific and cosmic data around them.
That led to the establishment of the rules of the experimental scientific method, which contemporary science is still guided by until now.
Causes for decline after Islamic Golden Age
Despite our glorious past which reached its utmost during the Islamic golden age, some reasons led to the decline:
– The ignorance of many Muslims of their history and civilization.
– Complete ignorance of the great role played by the Muslim mind in building human civilization.
– Bitterness of the reality that we live in generated psychological setbacks and defeats.
– Normal result emerged from the fascination of many Muslims with other civilizations.
– The role of media in presenting other Civilizations as that of science, culture, and freedom.
– Forgetting that the progress and prosperity that other civilizations achieved nowadays were based on the contribution of the Islamic golden age.
Therefore, we will shed light in this article on an important period in our great history known and known as the “Islamic golden age”
Prominent scholars of the Islamic Golden Age
Among the most prominent scholars who excelled in the Islamic Golden age are:
Jabir ibn Hayyan
Jabir ibn Hayyan appeared during Islamic Golden Age, he is considered the father of quantum chemistry and was the pioneer of many techniques that are still in use today. Jabir ibn Hayyan was of a great experimental mindset, as he sought to prove everything through experiments.
Jabir helped to develop the scientific method to test ideas through experiment and observation. He made a significant contribution to great inventions and achievements, especially the invention of sulfuric acid, hydrochloric and nitric.
Moreover, the invention of luminous ink that helps to read texts and messages in the dark, as well as a kind of anti-combustion paper were achieved by Jabir ibn Hayyan. Jabir ibn Hayyan was the first to conjure gold water!
Abu Bakr Al-Razi
Abu Bakr Al-Razi is one of the scholars of the Islamic golden age. He is the founder of modern chemistry. Historians called Abu Bakr Al-Razi the father of medicine.
Abu Bakr Al-Razi studied medicine, mathematics, philosophy, astronomy, chemistry, logic, and literature. Abu Bakr Al-Razi worked as head of a hospital. He is the first to invent surgical threads and make ointments. He has many books in medicine, some of the most prominent are “Tareekh al-Tib”, “Al-Hawi fi Al-Tibb”, “Al-Tib al-Rawhani”, “Ina Li al-Abd Khaliqan” and “Al-Madkhal Ila al-Mantiq”, along with “Tabakat al-Absar” and “Akhlaq al-Tabib”.
Al-Kindi
Al-Kindi was famous for being one of the most prominent Muslim mathematicians during the Islamic golden age. Besides that, Al-Kindi was known for his knowledge of various aspects knowledge, which includes astronomy, philosophy, optics, medicine, chemistry, cryptography, music rules, and many more!
Al-Kindi has many books, numbering about 260 books. Al-Kindi is considered one of the 12 greatest human minds in history. He wrote a very detailed book, in which he described 50 mechanical devices and machines. Al-Kindi developed the mechanical devices and made precise drawings of them.
He played a major role in introducing Arabic numerals and zero into arithmetic, which was the basis of later efforts.
Avicenna
Avicenna (Ibn Sina) is a Muslim philosopher and physician who appeared during the Islamic golden age. He is considered one of the most prominent and influential physicians in the Islamic and European world for several centuries.
Avicenna students called him the “Al-Sheikh al-Ra’ees”, while the Europeans called him the “Boss of Physicians” and the “Father of Modern Medicine”.
Avicenna’s most prominent works include composing a comprehensive medical encyclopedia. It is called “Law in Medicine” and consists of 5 volumes summarizing Arabic and Greek medicine. It describes 760 drugs to treat diseases.
The medical encyclopedia of Avicenna was used as a major reference in medicine for 7 centuries. The completion of Avicenna was studied in European universities until the late 19th century.
Some works of Avicenna
– Describing the anatomy of the eye with an accurate illustration of eye diseases such as cataracts.
– Discovering some infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, and explaining the symptoms of some chronic diseases such as diabetes.
– Clarifying some psychological disorders.
– Explaining the neuroanatomy of the spine in 8 chapters.
– Describing the period of birth and the places of sleeping and feeding of infants.
Ismail Al-Jazari
Ismail Al-Jazari is the last prominent innovator of the Islamic golden age.
He is an engineer and encyclopedist known as the father of robotics. Ismail Al-Jazari built a robot in the form of a man.
Ismail Al-Jazari as well built various clocks, including the first portable watch and the wonderful elephant clock. Al-Jazari explained his elephant clock in a book called “Al-Jami’ Bein al-‘Ilm wa al-Amal anafi’ fi Sina’at al-hial”
Arab science in the golden age (750–1258 C.E.) and today
Conclusion
Islamic Golden Age gives us the right to be proud of that wonderful effort, effective contribution, and human development, which Muslims made in human civilization during their history, especially Islamic golden age.
in Muslim history, especially at Islamic Golden Age that distinguished scholars who emerged from Muslims who illuminated humanity’s deep darkness with their sciences, discoveries, achievements, and industries. The impact of Muslim history, especially in the Islamic golden age, is highly remarkable in human civilization.
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