Author: Will Durant
Excerpt from The Age of Faith (1950, pp. 239-245)
During the vibrant centuries of early Islamic civilization, Muslim scholars pursued a deeper understanding of science and philosophy. Recognizing the relative lag in Arab scientific knowledge, the caliphs valued the rich Greek cultural heritage preserved in regions like Syria. The Umayyads wisely allowed Christian, Sabaean, and Persian colleges in cities such as Alexandria, Beirut, Antioch, Harran, Nisibis, and Jund-i-Shapur to continue their work. These institutions safeguarded Greek scientific and philosophical classics, often in Syriac translations.
Muslims learning Syriac or Greek became captivated by these texts, and translations into Arabic soon followed, often facilitated by Nestorian Christians or Jews. Umayyad and Abbasid rulers encouraged this cultural exchange. Caliphs like Al-Mansur, Al-Mamun, and Al-Mutawakkil sent emissaries to Hellenistic cities, including Constantinople—sometimes negotiating with their traditional adversaries, the Greek emperors—to acquire Greek texts, particularly in medicine and mathematics. This effort brought works like Euclid’s Elements to the Islamic world.
In 830 CE, Al-Mamun established the “House of Wisdom” (Bayt al-Hikmah) in Baghdad, a scientific academy, observatory, and public library, funded at a cost of 200,000 dinars (approximately $950,000). He assembled a team of translators, compensating them from the public treasury. Historian Ibn Khaldun attributed Islam’s intellectual awakening to this institution, likening its impact to the Italian Renaissance, with shared causes—expanded commerce and the rediscovery of Greek knowledge—and outcomes, including advancements in science, literature, and art.
From 750 to 900 CE, translations continued from Syriac, Greek, Pahlavi, and Sanskrit. Leading this effort was Hunain ibn Ishaq (809-873), a Nestorian physician known as John, son of Isaac. Hunain translated 100 treatises of Galen into Syriac and 39 into Arabic, preserving critical works. He also translated Aristotle’s Categories, Physics, and Magna Moralia; Plato’s Republic, Timaeus, and Laws; Hippocrates’ Aphorisms; Dioscorides’ Materia Medica; Ptolemy’s Quadripartitum; and the Old Testament from the Septuagint Greek. Al-Mamun paid Hunain in gold equivalent to the weight of the books translated, though Al-Mutawakkil later imprisoned him for a year after Hunain refused to create a poison, despite threats.
By 850 CE, most Greek texts in mathematics, astronomy, and medicine were translated into Arabic, though often with inaccuracies. Ptolemy’s Almagest gained its name through its Arabic version, and Arabic translations preserved works like Books V-VII of Apollonius of Perga’s Conics, Hero of Alexandria’s Mechanics, and Philo of Byzantium’s Pneumatics. Notably, Islamic scholars largely ignored Greek poetry, drama, and historiography, favoring Persian influences in those areas.
Plato and Aristotle reached the Islamic world primarily through Neoplatonic interpretations, such as Porphyry’s take on Plato and an apocryphal Theology of Aristotle from the 5th or 6th century. Scholars, aiming to reconcile Greek philosophy with the Koran, often preferred these interpretations over the originals. Aristotle’s true influence was felt mainly in logic and science.
Hindu contributions were significant, particularly in mathematics. In 773 CE, Al-Mansur commissioned translations of the Siddhantas, Indian astronomical treatises dating to 425 BCE, likely introducing the “Arabic” numerals and zero to Islam. Al-Khwarizmi (780-850), a pivotal figure from Khwarizm (modern Khiva), advanced mathematics with his work on Hindu numerals, astronomical tables, and quadratic equations. His treatise, known in Latin as Algoritmi de numero Indorum, gave rise to the term “algorithm.” In 976, Muhammad ibn Ahmad formalized the zero as “sifr” (empty), later becoming “cipher” and “zero” in European languages.
Al-Khwarizmi also developed algebra—named from the Arabic “al-jabr” (restoration)—and collaborated on a geographical encyclopedia for Al-Mamun. Thabit ibn Qurra (826-901) excelled in geometry, while Al-Battani (850-929) advanced trigonometry, introducing the sine and formulating ratios still used today. Astronomers under Al-Mamun measured the earth’s circumference at approximately 20,000 miles, remarkably close to modern estimates, and confirmed Ptolemy’s findings while studying solar spots.
Geography flourished as Islam relied on agriculture and trade. In 840 CE, Suleiman al-Tajir’s journey to the Far East produced the earliest Arabic account of China, predating Marco Polo by 425 years. Ibn Khordadhbeh and Ahmad al-Yaqubi documented regions like India and Africa, while Muhammad al-Muqaddasi’s 985 Description of the Moslem Empire became a landmark in Arabic geography.
Al-Biruni (973-1048), a polymath from Khwarizm, epitomized Islamic scholarship. A philosopher, historian, traveler, geographer, linguist, mathematician, astronomer, poet, and physicist, he made original contributions across these fields. Supported by princes in Khwarizm and Ghazni, he studied India extensively, producing the History of India (1030), a comprehensive work on Hindu astronomy and religion. Al-Biruni translated Sanskrit scientific texts into Arabic and vice versa, speculated on the earth’s rotation, and determined the specific gravity of 18 precious stones, laying foundational principles in physics.
Islamic scholars pioneered chemistry, introducing precise observation and controlled experiments. They invented the alembic, analyzed substances, and distinguished alkalis and acids, contributing to pharmacology. Jabir ibn Hayyan (702-765), known as Gebir, was a prominent alchemist whose works, though largely attributed to later authors, influenced European chemistry. Despite progress, chemistry later declined into occultism after the 10th century.
Biological studies were less extensive but notable. Abu Hanifa al-Dinawari (815-895) expanded pharmacology with his Book of Plants, and botanists experimented with grafting to create new fruits and flowers. Othman Amr al-Jahiz (d. 869) proposed an evolutionary theory, suggesting life progressed “from mineral to plant, from plant to animal, from animal to man,” a concept later embraced by the mystic poet Jalal ud-din, who extended it to spiritual evolution.
The Islamic world’s scientific achievements, peaking in the 10th and 11th centuries, bridged ancient knowledge with medieval Europe, preserving Greek and Hindu traditions while advancing fields like mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry. Scholars like Al-Biruni and Al-Khwarizmi marked a high point in medieval thought, influencing global scientific progress for centuries.
Excerpt from Will Durant’s The Age of Faith, pp. 239-245, published 1950.
Excerpts from Will Durant's The Age of Faith Pages 162-186 Pub. 1950
