Islam and Islamic History:
Science and Scholarship in
Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain)
For Europe and Western civilization the contributions of
Islamic Spain were of inestimable value. When the Muslims entered southern Spain
- which they called al-Andalus - barbarians from the north had overrun much of
Europe and the classical civilization of Greece and Rome had gone into eclipse.
Islamic Spain then became a bridge by which the scientific, technological, and
philosophical legacy of the 'Abbasid period, along with the achievements of
al-Andalus itself, passed into Europe.
In the first century of Islamic rule in Spain the culture was
largely derived from that of the flourishing civilization being developed by the
'Abbasids in Baghdad. But then, during the reign of 'Abd al-Rahman III
(912-961), Islamic Spain began to make its own contributions.
'Abd al-Rahman III was passionately interested in both the
religious and the secular sciences. He was also determined to show the world
that his court at Cordoba equaled in greatness that of the caliphs at Baghdad.
Sparing neither time nor expense, he imported books from Baghdad and actively
recruited scholars by offering hand some inducements. Soon, as a result,
scholars, poets, philosophers, historians, and musicians began to migrate to
al-Andalus. Soon, too, an infrastructure of libraries, hospitals, research
institutions, and centers of Islamic studies grew up, establishing the
intellectual tradition and educational system which made Spain outstanding for
the next four hundred years.
One of the earliest of the scholars drawn to al-Andalus was
'Abbas ibn Firnas, who came to Cordoba to teach music (then a branch of
mathematical theory) and to acquaint the court of 'Abd al-Rahman with the recent
developments in this field in Baghdad. Not a man to limit himself to a single
field of study, however, Ibn Firnas soon began to investigate the mechanics of
flight. He constructed a pair of wings out of feathers on a wooden frame and
made the first attempt at flight, anticipating Leonardo da Vinci by some six
hundred years. Later, having survived the experiment with a back injury, he also
constructed a famous planetarium. Not only was it mechanized - the planets
actually revolved - but it simulated such celestial phenomena as thunder and
lightning.
As in the 'Abbasid centers of learning, Islamic Spain's
interest in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine was always lively - partly
because of their obvious utility. In the tenth century Cordoban mathematicians
began to make their own original contributions. The first original mathematician
and astronomer of al-Andalus was Maslamah al-Majriti, who died in 1008. He had
been preceded by competent scientists - men like Ibn Abi 'Ubaydah of Valencia, a
leading astronomer in the ninth century. But al-Majriti was in a class by
himself. He wrote a number of works on mathematics and astronomy, studied and
elaborated the Arabic translation of Ptolemy's Almagest, and enlarged and
corrected the astronomical tables of the famous al-Khwarazmi. He also compiled
conversion tables in which the dates of the Persian calendar were related to
Hijrah dates, so that for the first time the events of Persia's past could be
dated with precision.
Al-Zarqali, known to the West as Arzachel, was another leading
mathematician and astronomer who flourished in Cordoba in the eleventh century.
Combining theoretical knowledge with technical skill, he excelled at the
construction of precision instruments for astronomical use and built a water
clock capable of determining the hours of the day and night and indicating the
days of the lunar months. He also contributed to the famous Toledan Tables, a
highly accurate compilation of astronomical data. Arzachel was famous as well
for his Book of Tables. Many "books of tables" had been compiled
before then, but his is an almanac containing tables which allow one to find the
days on which Coptic, Roman, lunar, and Persian months begin, other tables which
give the position of planets at any given time, and still others facilitating
the prediction of solar and lunar eclipses. He also compiled valuable tables of
latitude and longitude.
Another important scholar was al-Bitruji, who developed a new
theory of stellar movement, based on Aristotle's thinking, in his Book of Form,
a work that was later popular in the West. The names of many stars are still
those given them by Muslim astronomers, such as Altair (from al-tair, "the
flier"), Deneb (from dhanab, "tail"), and Betelgeuse (from bayt
al-jawza, "the house of the twins" or "Gemini"). Other terms
still in use today such as zenith, nadir, and azimuth are also derived from
Arabic and so reflect the work of the Muslim astronomers of al-Andalus and their
impact on the West.
Scientists of Islamic Spain also contributed to medicine, the
Muslim science par excellence. Interest in medicine goes back to the very
earliest times (the Prophet himself stated that there was a remedy for every
illness), '' and although the greatest Muslim physicians practiced in Baghdad,
those in al-Andalus made important contributions too. Ibn al-Nafis, for example,
discovered the pulmonary circulation of blood.
During the tenth century in particular, al-Andalus produced a
large number of excellent physicians, some of whom studied Greek medical works
translated at the famous House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Among them was Ibn Shuhayd,
who in a fundamental work recommended drugs be used only if the patient did not
respond to diet and urged that only simple drugs be employed in all cases but
the most serious. Another important figure was Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, the most
famous surgeon of the Middle Ages. Known in the West as Abulcasis and
Al-bucasis, he was the author of the Tasrif, a book that, translated into Latin,
became the leading medical text European universities during the later Middle
Ages. Its section on surgery contains illustrations of surgical instruments of
elegant, functional design and great precision.
Other chapters describe amputations, ophthalmic and dental
surgery, and the treatment of wounds and fractures. Ibn Zuhr, known as Avenzoar,
was the first to describe pericardial abscesses and to recommend tracheotomy
when necessary as well as being a skilled practical physician, and Ibn Rushd
wrote an important book on medical theories and precepts. The last of the great
Andalusian physicians, Ibn al-Khatib, also a noted historian, poet, and
statesman, wrote an important book on the theory of contagion in which he said:
"The fact infection becomes clear to the investigator, whereas he who is
not in contact remains safe," and described how transmission is effected
through garments, vessels, and earrings.
Islamic Spain made contributions to medical ethics and hygiene
as well. One of the most eminent theologians and jurists, Ibn Hazm, insisted
that moral qualities were mandatory in a physician. A doctor, he wrote, should
be kind, understanding, friendly, and able to endure insults and adverse
criticism. Furthermore, he went on, a doctor should keep his hair and
fingernails short, wear clean clothes, and behave with dignity.
As an outgrowth of medicine, Andalusian scientists also
interested themselves in botany. Ibn al-Baytar, for example, the most famous
Andalusian botanist, wrote a book called Simple Drugs and Food, an
alphabetically arranged compendium of medicinal plants, most of which were
native to Spain and North Africa, and which he had spent a lifetime gathering.
In another treatise Ibn al-'Awwam lists hundreds of species of plants and gives
precise instructions regarding their cultivation and use. He writes, for
example, of how to graft trees, produce hybrids, stop blights and insect pests,
and make perfume.
Another important field of study in al-Andalus was the study
of geography. Partly out of economic and political considerations, but mostly
out of an all-consuming curiosity about the world and its inhabitants, the
scholars of Islamic Spain started with works from Baghdad and went on to add
such contributions as a basic geography of al-Andalus by Ahmad ibn Muhammad
al-Razi and a description of the topography of North Africa by Muhammad ibn
Yusuf al-Warraq. Another contributor to geography was al-Bakri, an important
minister at the court of Seville but also an accomplished linguist and
litterateur. One of his two important geographical works is devoted to the
geography of the Arabian Peninsula, with particular attention to the elucidation
of its place-names. It is arranged alphabetically, and lists the names of
villages, towns, wadis, and monuments which he culled from the hadith and from
histories. The other was an encyclopedia of the entire world, arranged by
country, with each entry preceded by a short historical introduction. It
included descriptions of the people, customs, and climate of each country, the
principal features, the major cities, and even anecdotes.
In the study of geography such figures as Ibn Jubayr, an
Andalusian traveler, and the most famous traveler of all Ibn Battutah, also made
important contributions. Born in North Africa, then in the cultural orbit of
Islamic Spain, Ibn Battutah traveled extensively for twenty-eight years and
produced a travel book that proved to be a rich source for both historians and
geographers. It included invaluable information on people, places, navigation,
caravan routes, roads, and inns. But the most famous geographer of the period
was al-ldrisi, who studied in Cordoba. After traveling widely, al-ldrisi settled
in Sicily and wrote a systematic geography of the world, usually known as the
Book of Roger after his patron Roger II, the Norman King of Sicily. The
information contained in the Book of Roger was also engraved on a silver
planisphere, a disc-shaped map that was one of the wonders of the age.
Innumerable scholars in al-Andalus also devoted themselves to
the study of history and linguistic sciences, the prime ''social sciences"
cultivated by the Arabs, and brought them to a high level. Ibn al-Khatib, for
example, who distinguished himself in almost all branches of learning, produced
more than fifty works on travel, medicine, poetry, music, politics, and
theology, as well as writing the finest history of Granada that has survived.
The most original mind of the period, however, was undoubtedly Ibn Khaldun, the
first historian to develop and explicate general laws governing the rise and
decline of civilizations. In the Prolegomena, an introduction to a huge, seven
volume universal history - an introduction longer than some of the volumes - Ibn
Khaldun approached history as to a science and challenged the logic of many
accepted historical accounts. In a sense, he was the first modern philosopher of
history.
Photo: Al-Idrisi's
planisphere is considered the first scientific map of the world.
Another great area of Andalusian intellectual activity was
philosophy, where an attempt was made to deal with intellectual problems posed
by the introduction of Greek philosophy into the context of Islam. One of the
first to deal with this was Ibn Hazm, who as the author of more than four
hundred books has been described as "one of the giants of the intellectual
history of Islam." There were other philosophers too, such as Ibn Bajjah,
known to the West as Avempace, who was also a physician and Ibn Tufayl, the
author of Hayy ibn Yaqzan, the story of a child growing up in complete solitude
on a desert island who, entirely by his own intellectual efforts, discovers for
himself the highest physical and metaphysical realities. It was however,
Averroes - Ibn Rushd - who earned the greatest reputation. He was an ardent
Aristotelian and his works had a lasting effect, in their Latin translation, on
the development of Western philosophy.
The list of Islamic Spain's contributions to the West, in
fact, is almost endless. In addition to Islamic Spain's contributions in
mathematics, economy, medicine, botany, geography, history, and philosophy,
al-Andalus also developed and applied important technological innovations: the
windmill and new techniques in the crafts of metalworking, weaving, and
building.
Above article was reproduced with permission of IslamiCity
(http://www.islamicity.com)