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Abū Jaʿfar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (before 803 – February 873), Abū al‐Qāsim, Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century) and Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century) are widely known for their Book of Ingenious Devices, which describes about one hundred devices and how to use them. Among these was “The Instrument that Plays by Itself”, the earliest example of a programmable machine, as well as the Book on Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures. Mohammad Musa and his brothers Ahmad and Hasan contributed to Baghdad’s astronomical observatories under the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma’mun, in addition to the House of Wisdom research. Having shown much potential, the brothers were enrolled in the library and translation center of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad.
The Meaning of Life
Al-Mamun also organized research on the circumference of the Earth and commissioned a geographic project that would result in one of the most detailed world-maps of the time. Some consider these efforts the first examples of large state-funded research projects. At the core of Hunayn’s activities was his commitment to his Christian faith, which informed and motivated his scholarship. Rejecting the advice of an acquaintance that he convert to Islam, Hunayn instead authored an apology for Christianity (How to Perceive the Truth of Religion). In it, he offered six reasons that someone would embrace falsehood and four reasons to accept religious truth, one of which was signs and miracles.
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But it was also al-Maʾmūn’s reign that brought about a change in wind for Bayt al-Hikmah, which had hitherto specialized in Persian knowledge. In the final years of his reign, he undertook a dramatic shift in the imperial ideology. He endorsed an Islamic theology that stressed free will and dialectical reasoning (see kalām; Muʿtazilah). In an ironic show of force, al-Maʾmūn engaged in an inquisition (the miḥnah) and persecuted those who would not conform. The intellectual weaponry of the inquisition was supplied by the import of Hellenistic thought and the translation of Greek philosophy into Arabic, which al-Maʾmūn had begun sponsoring in the years prior to his conversion.
The World’s First Collectors, Museums And Libraries Of Antiquity
Additionally, al-Khwarizmi wrote about the astrolabe, sundial, and elaborated on Ptolemy’s geometric model. Al-Khwarizmi is also known as the first geographer of Islam with his famous Picture of the Earth treatise. In Picture of the Earth, he arranged the coordinates of hundreds of cities in the world at that time and gave instructions for drawing a new map of the world. George Sarton, one the most famous historians of science known for his book, Introduction to the History of Science, called the period between 800 and 850 AD “The Time of al-Khwarizmi”. Besides that, this mathematician is responsible for the introduction of the Hindu decimal system to the Arab world, and through it to Europe.
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Great Muslim scholars exchanged ideas, created inventions that would radically change society
They studied the works of Aristotle, Plato, Hippocrates, Euclid, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Brahmagupta and many others. Then, they began building on and testing the knowledge of the greatest ancient scholars, resulting in the development of the scientific method of observation and experimentation. It was even said that translators were awarded the weight of each successfully completed book in gold. The philosopher apparently urged the caliph to preserve the knowledge of ancient civilisations by gathering classical literature and sponsoring translation. The second was to dispatch missions to emperors and other rulers throughout the empire to facilitate the gathering of valuable manuscripts, such as the 2nd-century astronomical treatise by the Greek scholar, Ptolemy, whose English name, Almagest, derives from its later Arabic translation. Immediately upon taking power, he commanded his vizier Yahya al-Baramika to transfer part of the palace’s private library into a public space.
Al-Mamun: A patron of sciences
He wrote Book of Animals, which discusses the way animals adapt to their surroundings, similarly to Aristotle’s History of Animals. In his book, al-Jahith argued that animals like dogs, foxes, and wolves must have descended from a common ancestor because they shared similar characteristics and features such as four legs, fur, tail, and so on. Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Isḥaq al-Kindī[40] was also another historical figure that worked at the House of Wisdom. Al-Kindī is the most famous for being the first person to introduce Aristotle's philosophy to the Arabic people. He fused Aristotle's philosophy with Islamic theology, which created an intellectual platform for philosophers and theologians to debate over 400 years.
This shows that the people of that time – these at least- were not extremists & did not hold to the ferocious writings in the Koran that cause the violence of the likes of ISIS nowadays and in other times & places. The problem is always that of the few who take literally every word spelt out in their religious ‘book’ !!! It still gives us a problem in this age as we try to deal with the kooks who want to blow up everyone who won’t just follow their professed ‘God’ !
This lesson plan sheds light on the scientific discoveries and inventions that emerged during this era, showcasing their impact on today's technology. This resource includes informational slides for classroom use, online readings and student activities – all designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the Muslim scholars who paved the way for modern science. Great Muslim scholars exchanged ideas, created inventions that would radically change society, and translated philosophical works from the Greeks, the Persians, the Europeans, the Chinese, the Indians, and the Sumerians. The heyday of Baghdad was 1,200 years ago when it was the thriving capital of the Muslim world.
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Curated by al-Rashid’s father and grandfather, the collection spanned various subjects in the arts and sciences. Three decades later, the collection had grown so large that al-Rashid’s son, Caliph Al-Mamun (ruled 813–833 CE), built extensions to the original building and turned it into a large academy named Bayt al-Hikma (the House of Wisdom). The House of Wisdom was the largest repository of books in the world by the middle of the ninth century and became the leading center for various branches of study, including mathematics, astronomy, medicine, alchemy, chemistry, zoology, geography, and cartography. The House of Wisdom (بيت الحكمة; Bayt al-Ḥikmah) refers either to a major Abbasid public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad or to a large private library belonging to the Abbasid Caliphs during the Islamic Golden Age. The House of Wisdom is the subject of an active dispute over its functions and existence as a formal academy, an issue complicated by a lack of physical evidence following the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate and a reliance on corroboration of literary sources to construct a narrative.
Baghdad’s location and cosmopolitan population made the perfect location for a stable commercial and intellectual center. The Abbasid dynasty had a strong Persian bent, and adopted many practices from the Sassanian Empire – among those, that of translating foreign works, except that now texts were translated into Arabic. For this purpose, al-Mansur founded a palace library, modeled after the Sassanian Imperial Library, and provided economic and political support to the intellectuals working there. He also invited delegations of scholars from India and other places to share their knowledge of mathematics and astronomy with the new Abbasid court.
Experts constantly worked to translate the old writings into Arabic to allow the scholars to understand, debate and build on them. Among the famous translators was Youhanna bin Al-Batriq Al-Turjuman (the Translator Jonah son of the Patriarch), who translated the Book of Animals (Kitab Al-Haywan) by Aristotle. A major contribution from the House of Wisdom in Baghdad is the influence it had on other libraries in the Islamic world.
These libraries had the intention of reproducing the advantageous and beneficial characteristics that are known throughout the world because of the House of Wisdom. The House of Wisdom was much more than an academic center removed from the broader society. Scholars from the Bayt al-Hikma usually doubled as engineers and architects in major construction projects, kept accurate official calendars, and were public servants. The House of Wisdom or Bayt al-Hikma movement, which flourished in Baghdad in the Middle ages, gathered together men of science, and of learning in general, with the aim of developing an interdisciplinary corpus of knowledge for the benefit of the whole of society. 2300 Silver Lake BoulevardLos Angeles, CA 90039-vdl.orgFamed Viennese-American architect Richard Neutra built an experimental glass house and studio in Silverlake, called the VDL Research house after the Dutch industrialist Cornelius H. Van der Leeuw who loaned him the money.
The research has dealt with funding sources and the budget that the state caliphs dedicated to the library. The study found out that, the house of wisdom has had a very organized administration and affair management system. In addition, new competing libraries have been influenced by the system of the house of wisdom in Baghdad which resulted in the emergence of newfound libraries in Egypt, Maghreb and Andalusia.
Often, al-Ma’mun would assign handpicked renowned scholars to perform specific translations of works. An example of such was the selection of the famous scholar Abu Yousuf Ya'qoub Al-Kindi, who had an impressive level of qualifications which included being a physician, philosopher, mathematician, geometer, logician, and astronomer, to be the one in charge of translating of the works of Aristotle. Bayt al-Hikmah had its own system but sources have not stated a precise description that bind the system that the house of wisdom used to function. Other cities in the eastern provinces of the Muslim civilisation also established House of Science (Dar al-‘Ilm), or more accurately Houses of Knowledge, in the 9th and 10th centuries to emulate that of Baghdad.
