Muslim Contribution To Science Quotes

“I constantly sought knowledge and truth, and it became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.”
― Alhazen

“As a matter of fact, Islam does not negate critical inquiry. Muslim scholars who understand this viewpoint are supportive of stem cell research, genetic engineering and robotics within ethical bounds. Even traditional Muslim scholarship in early-twentieth century was not skeptical of evolution as a scientific explanation, which can be seen in the writings of Syed Qutb and Maulana Syed Abul-Ala Maududi. Several Muslim scientists conduct research in evolutionary biology and also teach it including Mohammed Alassiri of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Ehab Abouheif, Canada Research Chair at McGill University; Fatimah Jackson, Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of North Carolina and Rana Dajani, Associate Professor at Hashemite University, Jordan.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“In history, we find that Muslim scientists were the first to break free from the axiomatic approach and introduced an observational approach to science. The paradigm shift with an observational approach which brought impetus to science has origins in early Muslim scientific work rather than in post-renaissance. Robert Briffault, in his book ‘The Making of Humanity’, contends that the very existence of science, as it is understood in the modern sense, is rooted in the scientific thought and knowledge that emerged from Muslim Middle East.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“Thus, the spirit of objective inquiry in understanding physical realities was very much there in the works of Muslim scientists. The seminal work on Algebra comes from Al-Khwarizmī and Fibonacci (Leonardo of Pisa) has quoted him. Al-Khwarizmī, the pioneer of Algebra, wrote that given an equation, collecting the unknowns on one side of the equation is called 'al-Jabr'. The word Algebra comes from that. He developed sine, cosine and trigonometric tables, which were later translated in the West. He developed algorithms, which are the building blocks of modern computers. In mathematics, several Muslim scientists like Al-Battani, Al-Beruni and Abul-Wafa contributed to trigonometry. Furthermore, Omar Khayyam worked on Binomial Theorem. He found geometric solutions to all 13 forms of cubic equations.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“In biology and medicine, there were several noteworthy contributions by Arabs. Al-Razi wrote the first book on smallpox, called, ‘Al-Judri wa al-Hasba’. Ibn-e-Sina’s Canon of Medicine was used as a standard medical text in even as late as the 17th century in Europe. Al-Zahravi was one of the pioneer surgeons and he developed various surgical instruments and methods, which were state of the art at that time and some are still used today. He is also reported to have performed the first cesarean operation. Ibn al- Nafis described the pulmonary circulation of the blood quite a few centuries before William Harvey.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“In chemistry, Muslim scientists carried out perfume distillation, glass making, minting of coins and grouping chemicals based on chemical characteristics, which later on led to the modern periodic tables. In 780, Jabir ibn Hayyan, a Muslim chemist who is considered by many to be the father of chemistry, introduced the experimental scientific method for chemistry, as well as laboratory apparatus such as the alembic, still and retort, and chemical processes such as sublimation, distillation, liquefaction, crystallisation, and filtration. Ibn Hayyan also identified many substances including sulphuric and nitric acids. Al-Jazari developed mechanical devices like watermills and water wheels to ease water management.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“Even in social sciences, Muslims were modern and advanced compared to their age. The birth of capitalism as per Max Weber in “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” began in Western Europe and spread to North America. Benedict Koehler in his recent book “Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism” argues that it is Muslim civilization that provided the organizational and ideological elements that combined and gave rise to some positive features of Capitalism.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World

“Among the Muslim contributions to social sciences, Imam Ghazali and Ibn-e-Khuldun discussed the concept of the labour theory of value and division of labour in economics several centuries earlier than Adam Smith and David Ricardo. The famous Laffer curve in economics was first discovered by Ibn-e-Khuldun.”
― Salman Ahmed Shaikh, Reflections on the Origins in the Post COVID-19 World