In the seventeenth century, nearly seven centuries after Ibn Sina, the Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek (also referred to as the “Father of Microbiology”) observed microorganisms under a microscope (van Leeuwenhoek 1980). With his fundamental discovery, he showed that there were living organisms that were not visible to the naked eye. What van Leeuwenhoek did not realize was that these microorganisms (e.g. pathogen: a disease causing microbe) could actually be the cause of infections. This is contrary to the discoveries made by Ibn Sina seven centuries earlier that microorganisms could be the cause of infections despite the extremely limited evidence for the existence of microorganisms at the time. Nearly two centuries after Leeuwenhoek’s first observation of microorganisms, in 1876, Robert Koch, a German physician, postulated that microorganisms could actually be the cause of infection and therefore disease by his fundamental observation that the blood of an infected animal that contained pathogenic bacteria that, when transferred to a healthy animal caused the recipient animal to become sick (Koch 1999).

Let’s take a moment to reflect on Ibn Sina’s life story to encourage readers to learn more about him (McGinnis 2010) and his contributions to modern medicine and science.

Ibn Sina was born in 980 in in the village of Afshana near Bukhara, Uzbekistan (previously known as Khorasan) to a local governor named Abdullah, from Balkh, and his wife Setareh, a local from Afshana. Thanks to his father’s position as a governor as well as his background as a scholar, Ibn Sina had access to an excellent education in Bukhara, which at the time was the capital and intellectual center of the Samanids. Ibn Sina was taught by some of the most famous scholars of the time in the sciences and in Islamic theology. By the age of 18, Ibn Sina had already mastered the sciences of his day and had become a practicing physician. In addition to his expertise in medicine, for which he became world-renown, he was also a well-known philosopher, astrophysicist, mathematician, and theologian. He spent his life educating people, treating patients and writing books that not only enlightened the people of his age but later generations throughout the world as well.

Although Ibn Sina was considered one of the greatest Muslim philosophers of the medieval age he was a widely respected and well-known physician and was known as the “Prince of Physicians” in the West, and al-Sheikh al-Rais (Leader of the Scholars) among his students and colleagues (McGinnis 2010, 227). His gigantic medical encyclopedia al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine), comprising of upwards of a million words, has been used as the standard medical textbook up until the seventeenth century and is still widely considered a valuable resource for the study of medicine. It was printed thirty-six times in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries alone (Ullman 1978) and is regarded as one of the most influential books in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Siraisi 2001).

The Canon of Medicine consists of five books with each book subdivided into various subjects, subsidiary subjects, summaries, and sections. The first book, also called al-Kulliyyat (The Collection), discusses the scientific background of medicine and anatomy such as physiology, symptomatology, and the principles of therapy. The second book has an account of the therapeutic properties of substances used in medicine. The third book is devoted to pathology and specific or localized ailments. Diseases that affect the whole body, such as fever, are discussed in the fourth book. Ibn Sina explained the mixing of drugs in the final volume, which is a book on pharmacology. Ibn Sina, in his Canon, derives his system of medicine from the Greco-Roman physician Galen (Galen of Pergamon, modern day Bergama, Izmir, Turkey, 129-200 CE) who himself based his approach on Hippocrates (460-370 BCE). Ibn Sina also benefited from ar-Razi (Rhazes in Latin, 865-925 CE) and al-Majusi (Haly Abbas in Latin, died circa 990) to present a systematized and comprehensive view of the medical sciences of the time (Prioreschi 2003).

Ibn Sina is only one of many great minds of the Muslim World during the medieval era. There were other great minds such as Ibn Rushd (Averroes in Latin), Ali Kuscu, al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Omar Khayyam and many more whose multifaceted studies encompassed diverse scholarly fields such as exegesis, law, logic, metaphysics, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. The great Mesopotamia and Andalusia Civilizations – civilizations that were built by these brilliant scientists and philosophers – established the foundations of the science, art and philosophy of our age. The knowledge developed by the Muslim scholars was later transmitted to Europeans and enabled Europe to emerge from the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance.

A Renaissance is also needed for the Muslim world today. This can only be possible when they can raise a new generation of scholars like Ibn Sina who can lead the society with their groundbreaking findings and illuminating interpretations.

References

• Colgan, Richard. 2009. Advice to the Young Physician. Springer, New York.
• Koch, Robert. 1999. A Life in Medicine and Bacteriology. ASM Press, Washington, D.C.
• Life and work of Anton van Leeuwenhoek of Delft in Holland; 1632-1723. Municipal Archives, Delft, 1980.
• McGinnis, Jon. 2010. Avicenna. Oxford University Press, New York.
• Prioreschi, Plinio. 2003. Medieval Medicine vol. 5: Medieval Medicine, Horatius Press, Omaha, Nebraska.
• Siraisi, Nancy. 2001. Medicine and the Italian Universities 1250-1600. Leiden, The Netherlands.
• Ullman, Manfred. 1978. Islamic Medicine. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
• United States National Library of Medicine, MS A 53
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/mideast/themes/science/index.html

Lawrence first provides a summary of Prophet Muhammad’s life (peace be upon him) in chapters 1 and 2. In the following chapters, he offers succinct summaries of divergent interpretations of the Qur’an throughout history. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with examples of earlier interpretations of the Qur’an, by the Shi’ite scholar Jafar as-Sadiq and the Sunni Abu Jafar at-Tabari, respectively. The next two chapters cover rather mystic interpretations of the Qur’an. Chapter 8 surveys probably the greatest Islamic mystic Ibn al-Arabi, “a deep sea diver in the ocean of the Qur’an” (p. 109). Chapter 9 is about another mystic, Jalal ad-Din Rumi (or Mawlana), who sought to display the “everyday wonders” of the Qur’an in his Mathnawi. The last four chapters cover four different modern interpreters of the Qur’an. Chapters 11 and 12 deal with two Indian/Pakistani scholars. Ahmad Khan of chapter 11 offers an early rationalist (“militantly rationalist” in Lawrence’s words) critique of traditional interpretations in the face of Western intrusion into the Muslim world. By contrast, Muhammad Iqbal of chapter 12 makes a case for a redefined spiritual Islam in the late-colonial period and calls for revivification of moral Islamic values among Muslims. In chapter 13, the American interpreter W. D. Muhammad offers yet another interpretation that stresses racial equality more than anything else. Lastly, in chapter 14, Lawrence depicts the mind of the notorious Osama bin Laden, in whose interpretations military jihad takes precedence over all other issues. Lawrence argues that bin Laden “selects only those verses that fit his message, and then cites them exclusively for his own purpose” (p. 180).

In one unusual chapter (chapter 7), Lawrence portrays a Christian interpreter of the Qur’an, Robert of Ketton, who was the first person to translate the Qur’an into a Western language (Latin) in the twelfth century. An Englishman, Robert of Ketton moves to Toledo and becomes part of a Christian group that translates scientific texts from Arabic into Latin. He eventually finds himself heading a team project to translate the Qur’an into Latin. In a time of heated and continuous warfare between Christians and Muslims, Robert of Ketton takes a more noble way of engaging with Muslims. Islam was to be approached “not by arms, but by words; not by force, but by reason” (p. 100).

In an era when both adherents and critics of the Qur’an make claims as to what “real Islam” is, Bruce Lawrence’s survey of Qur’anic interpretations reminds us that all interpretations of the Qur’an are but partial representations that favor certain sections and meanings over others. In so doing, The Qur’an: A Biography becomes a friendly reminder that it takes more humility than most of us assume to understand and appreciate the richness of the verses of the Qur’an.

As a final note, for the more academic reader the book has a significant flaw. Although he provides a “further reading” list which includes most of the books he cites, except for the verses from the Qur’an, Professor Lawrence does not provide direct references for other quotes or opinions. I hope he will remedy this gap in a future edition.

Technology is the tool of civilization, and for Islamic civilization to have been such a leading force in the world for several centuries, it must have been based on important technological achievements.

The blossoming of science and culture in Islamic civilization was the result of the increasing quality of material life in its cities. The material prosperity, the varied local industries, the local and international trade, and the flourishing science and culture, in these cities, were all linked together, and would have been impossible without a developing technology. If Islam was the force behind the rise of cities, as is frequently asserted, then it was also the force behind all aspects of the prosperity of these cities and hence the technological efforts associated with it.

In addition to the positive effects of the ideology of Islam as a religion, Islam achieved a unique effect in the history of mankind. It united the civilizations and populations of the vast expanse of territory which lies between the borders of China and the Atlantic. This area comprised the lands of those ancient civilizations which were also the seat of later civilizations in the Near East, such as the Hellenistic. It remained under one government during the first centuries of Islam. Moreover, even after the rise of various dynasties, the region benefited from the cultural unity Islam provided. Islam abolished the barriers which had isolated these countries from each other, so that the whole area now had one religious tradition and one literary and scientific language. The cultural unity also ensured free passage and free trade from China in the east to Spain in the west. Scientists and men of letters were free to travel, and crossed vast distances to meet other scholars. Moreover, although the Umayyads in Spain did not acknowledge the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad, there always exited links between Spain and the Eastern territories under Islamic rule.

TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY

The traditional view of Western historians is that European culture is the direct descendant of the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. According to this theory, the works of classical authors–mostly in Latin, but some in Greek–were preserved by the Church during the centuries that followed the fall of the Roman Empire, to re-emerge as a potent source of inspiration in the later middle Ages and the Renaissance. Few would deny the strong influence of classical literature on European thought. Until recently, the works of Homer, Thucydides and the Greek dramatists, of Tacitus, Virgil and Horace, to name but a few, were part of the cultural background of every educated European. In science, however, the situation is very different. During the sixth century after the Hijra (twelfth century CE) the writings of such scholars as al-Farabi, al-Ghazali, al-Farghani (Afragamus), Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were translated into Latin, and became known and were esteemed in the West. The works of Aristotle, soon to become the predominant influence on European thought, were translated from the Arabic together with the commentaries of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd to the medieval Europeans. These commentaries were as important as the works of Aristotle himself in forming European scientific and philosophical thought. Many other scientific works, which had originally been translated from Greek into Arabic centuries earlier, were now translated into Latin. However, most of these were from the Hellenistic period, and though they were written in Greek, their authors came from all the countries of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean. It seems, therefore, that some European writers, being deeply appreciative of the literary masterpieces of Greece and Rome, have been led to believe that Western civilization, in all its aspects, was based upon Greek and Roman foundations. This is not the case with science and technology.

Charles Singer has discussed some of the points already touched upon. The Graeco-Roman heritage was built upon the great civilizations of the Near East and, furthermore, the major achievements in science and technology that are called Hellenistic and Roman were mainly Near Eastern achievements due to the scholars and artisans of Egypt and Syria. The pre-Islamic civilizations from Spain to Central Asia and northern India were inherited by Islam. Under the influence of Islam and the Arabic language, the science and technology of these regions was developed and improved. Referring to the Eurocentrism of Western historians, Singer wrote: ‘Europe, however, is but a small peninsula extending from the great land masses of Afrasia. This is indeed its geographical status and this, until at least the thirteenth century CE, was generally also its technological status.’ In skill and inventiveness during most of the period CE 500 to 1500, Singer continues: ‘the Near East was superior to the West… For nearly all branches of technology the best products available to the West were those of the Near East… Technologically, the West had little to bring to the East. The technological movement was in the other direction.’ We shall now indicate (see, S. Charles, et al., A History of Technology, 8 vols, Oxford, 1954) how this technology transfer occurred, and give some examples of the transfer of ideas and techniques from Islam to the West.

The adoption by Europe of Islamic techniques is reflected by the many words of Arabic derivation that have passed into the vocabularies of European languages. In English these words have often, but not always, entered the language from Italian or Spanish. To cite but a few examples: in textiles–muslin, sarsanet, damask, taffeta, tabby; in naval matters–arsenal, admiral; in chemical technology–alembic, alcohol, alkali; in paper–ream; in foodstuffs–alfalfa, sugar, syrup, sherbet; in dyestuffs–saffron, kermes; in leather-working–Cordovan and Morocco. As one would expect, Spanish is particularly rich in words of Arabic origin, especially in connection with agriculture and irrigation. We have, for example, tahona for a mill, acena for a mill or water-wheel, acequia for an irrigation canal.

Many Arabic works on scientific subjects were translated into Latin in the later middle Ages. The translation bureau in Toledo in the twelfth century CE, where hundreds of such works were rendered into Latin, is a notable example of this activity. There was, unfortunately, nothing comparable in the field of technology, in which direct translations from Arabic were extremely rare. About CE 1277, in the court of Alfonso X of Castile, a work in Spanish entitled Li-bros del Saber de Astronomia was compiled under the direction of the King, with the declared objective of making Arabic knowledge available to Spanish readers. It includes a section on time keeping, which contains a weight-driven clock with a mercury escapement. We know from other sources that such clocks were constructed by Muslims in Spain in the eleventh century , that is about 250 years before the eight-driven clock appeared in northern Europe. About CE 1277 the secrets of Syrian glass-making were communicated to Venice under the terms of a treaty made between Bohemond VII, titular prince of Antioch, and the Doge. Such direct examples of technology transfer are still comparatively rare but more will undoubtedly come to light as research proceeds.

For the moment, we can indicate several points in space and time where the exchange of ideas took place. Relations between Christian Europe and the Islamic world were not always hostile. Muslim rulers were often enlightened men and tolerant towards their Christian subjects, an attitude enjoined upon them by the precepts of the Qur’an. Furthermore, commercial considerations led to the establishment of communities of European merchants settled in Byzantium, where they made contact with Swedish traders traveling down the Dnieper. There were particularly close commercial ties between Fatimid Egypt and the Italian town of Amalfi in the fourth and fifth centuries AH (tenth and eleventh centuries CE). The ogival arch, an essential element of Gothic architecture, entered Europe through Amalfi–the first church to incorporate such arches being built at Monte Casino in CE 1071. Some historians think that the influence of the Crusades on European culture has probably been exaggerated, but transmission certainly occurred, as we have seen in the case of Syrian glass-making. Certainly, however, the mast fruitful exchanges took place in the Iberian Peninsula, where over many centuries the generally tolerant rule of the Umayyad caliphs and their successors permitted friendly relationships between Muslims and Christians. Muslim operations in agriculture, irrigation, hydraulic engineering, and manufacture were an integral part of everyday life in the southern half of the peninsula, and passed from Spain into Italy and northern Europe. These transmissions were not checked by the Reconquista. Indeed, they were probably accelerated, since the Christians took over the Muslim installations and maintained them in running order in the ensuing centuries. The Muslim irrigation systems with their associated hydraulic works and water-raising machines remained as the basis for Spanish agriculture and were in due course transferred to the New World. Other installations passed into Christian hands. Industrial plants, such as the paper mill at Jativa near Valencia, were taken over. Two large water-clocks on the banks of the Tagus at Toledo were found by the Christians where they continued in operation for at least fifty years. These few examples must suffice as indicators of the passage of Muslim ideas into Europe.

CONCLUSION

The contributions of Islamic civilizations to science, notably mathematics and astronomy, have long been recognized. The application of this scientific expertise to technology, however, has been neglected. The story of Islamic technology is far from complete. Research in this area is still at an early stage and, notwithstanding what has been published so far, contributions by Islam to science and technology have yet to be fully revealed. During the nineteenth and the first quarter of the twentieth centuries, Western research into Islamic science yielded outstanding results, but only after a long period of silence has that interest now been revived. There is still a need for additional co-ordinated research if significant results are to be obtained. The field of alchemy/chemistry and chemical technology is a case in point. At present this is an almost totally neglected area in which few seem to have taken even a slight interest since the admirable research several decades ago of Kraus, Ruska, Stapleton and Wiedemann.

(For more information, see, A. Y. al-HASSAN and D. R. HILL, Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1988.)