Before Galileo, da Vinci and Newton, there were Ibn Hazim, Ibn Nafis, Al-Zahrawi and al-Khwarizmi.

Who were they, you must be wondering. Well, it really is a shame that we all know people from the Western world who were pioneers, discoverers and trailblazers of their times and to whom the world owes much of its advancement.

But when it comes to people of similar stature and deeds from the East and the Muslim world, we go blank. We do not know if there are people who made important discoveries that the world today owes its progress to or that there are so many things popular everywhere but which originated from Asia and the East.

Today we will look at some of the things that were introduced to the world by Muslims.

Coffee

The Muslims introduced coffee to the world. It arrived from Ethiopia to Yemen and the drink was found pleasant, so it began to spread from there to other places as well as to Makkah. As Muslims from far and wide visited the holy city, they took coffee to their country, thereby acquainting distant lands with this beverage.

After it was introduced in Turkey, it made its way from here to Europe as Turkey did good business with Europe, coffee too, figured in the trade. It is believed to have reached Venice by 1645 and then westward from there to other parts of Europe.

In 1650, a Turk by the name of Pasqua Rosee, opened a coffee shop on Lombard Street, London. The word coffee is derived from Arabic ‘qaveh’. In continental Europe it is called ‘café’.

Pinhole camera

In ancient Greece, it was thought that the eyes emitted rays like laser, and that enabled one to see objects. It was a Muslim scientist who lived in the 10th century, Ibn-al-Haithan, who said that light entered the eyes and not the other way around.

Al Haitham was a physicist, mathematician and astronomer. He discovered that light entering through a pin hole into a completely darkened box would create a picture at the back of the box. He called the box ‘qamarah’ from which the word ‘camera’ is derived.

First parachute

In 852, Abbas-ibn-Firnas, poet, astronomer, musician and engineer, built a cloak having wooden strips, allowing the cloak to spread out as birds’ wings do when in flight.

Although a resident of Baghdad, he moved to Cordoba in al Andalus (Muslim Spain). He climbed atop the minaret of the Grand Mosque of Cordoba and jumped from there. He didn’t fly, but rather floated down to earth and crashed. However, the crash was not severe and he sustained minor injuries.

The experiment showed the first ‘parachute’ in action. In 875, he built another flying machine using silk and eagle feathers. This time Ibn Firnas jumped from a mountainside. He did fly for a few minutes, but crashed again. Once again he sustained light injuries. He correctly noticed that absence of a tail resulted in the crash. Baghdad airport is named after him as well as a crater on the moon.

Chess

A form of chess was played in India and made its way to Persia. Here, the game was perfected as we know it today. From Persia, the game spread east and west.

It was introduced to al Andalus (Muslim Spain) in the 10th century and from there it found its way into Europe. The ‘rook’ of today’s chess is really derived from Persian ‘rukh’ which means chariot.

Soap

Muslims were the first to introduce soap as it is known today. They used vegetable oil, sodium hydroxide and herbal oils. In its earliest forms, Egyptians and Romans used soaps of sort.

In 1759, an Indian Muslim opened a bath in Brighton called ‘Mohammad’s Indian Vapour Bath’. He was appointed ‘Shampooing Surgeon’ to King George IV and William IV.

Chemistry

Jabir ibn Hayyan was a scientist living in the ninth century. In the year 800, he changed alchemy into chemistry. Alchemy was based more on spiritual, magical and philosophical beliefs. Chemistry, on the other hand, is based on scientific facts, observations and experiments.

He invented distillation, which is a means through which liquids are separated according to their boiling points. He also developed processes and apparatus for liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidation, evaporation and filtration. Many of the processes and apparatus are still in use today.

In addition, he also discovered sulphuric acid and nitric acid. He also invented the alembic still which could make intense rosewater as well as alcoholic spirits. His contribution to chemistry is so monumental that he is called the father of modern chemistry.

Mechanical engineering

If Jabir ibn Hayyan is considered father of chemistry, then Ismail al-Jazzari (1136-1206), can be called the father of mechanical engineering. He was the inventor and designer of many mechanical objects.

Amongst his inventions is the crankshaft which converted rotary motion into linear motion. He wrote a book called ‘The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices’. He completed this book in 1206, a little before he died. He was familiar with the use of pistons and valves which were astonishing inventions for their time. These valves, pistons and crankshaft helped start the Industrial Revolution, first in Britain and later in Europe. He also developed the combination lock.

Quilt

Quilting is the sewing of insulating material between two pieces of cloth. It was the Crusaders who came across quilted fabric when they came in contact with the locals in Palestine, whom they called Saracens. Saracens were the Muslim soldiers battling the Crusaders.

The clothes that the Saracens wore had quilt made of straw. This acted not only as insulation against the weather but also proved to be an effective protective armour. It was certainly much lighter than the iron armour the Crusaders used. The usefulness of the quilt was noticed by the Crusaders who brought back the idea to Europe where it was readily accepted. It was not long before quilting became a cottage industry in England and Holland.

Islamic arches

Islamic arches in buildings not only looked nice but they also provided structural strength to the building. This was in contrast to the round arches that were built by the Romans and adopted by Norman builders. As a result, the Islamic arches allowed construction of bigger and grander structures.

Consequently, European designers borrowed heavily from the Islamic designs and this showed in the arches of Gothic cathedrals. In addition, European castles and forts also borrowed from Islamic designs of narrow arrow slits, battlements, parapets and barbicans. The architect of Henry V’s castle was a Muslim.

Surgical instruments

The Muslim surgeon Al-Zahrawi developed surgical instruments which are still in use either in their original form or have been slightly modified.

Al Zahrawi developed 200 surgical instruments. Some of these are scalpels, bone saws, forceps and fine scissors for eye surgery. He also discovered that cat guts were good for internal surgical stitching as they dissolved away naturally.

Another medical scientist, Ibn al-Nafis, discovered blood circulation 300 years before William Harvey discovered it. Muslim scientists also developed anaesthesia using opium and alcohol. They also developed hollow needles for eye surgeries to suck out cataracts in a technique still used today.

Windmills

Windmills first appeared in Persia in 634 and were used to grind corn and for the drawing of water for irrigation. From Persia the idea went to Arabia. These mills had six to 12 sails, covered either in cloth or palm leaves. Wind mills appeared 500 years later in Europe.

Vaccine

Neither Jenner nor Pasteur introduced inoculation. This is actually a Turkish discovery for use to inoculate children against smallpox. The wife of the English ambassador to Turkey, Lady Mary Montague, brought the inoculations to Europe in 1724. Smallpox vaccinations were being applied in Turkey 50 years before it was started in Europe.

Numerals

The numbering system probably originated in India but it was the Arabian mathematicians, Al-Khwarizmi and Al-Kindi, who created numerals which appeared first in around 825.

Algebra was named after Al-Khwarizmi’s book ‘al Jabr wa’al Muqabalah’. Much of the contents of the book are still in use. An Italian mathematician, Fibonacci, was the first to introduce this mathematics to Europe. By doing so he introduced the continent to algorithm and trigonometry.

Al-Kindi is credited with the discovery of frequency analysis. This discovery is the basis of cryptography. Cryptography means establishing codes in order to communicate without anyone knowing about the contents of the communication. Only authorised people can understand what is in the communication.

Culinary art

Ali Ibn Nafi resided in Baghdad but moved to Cordoba (Muslim Spain) in the ninth century. He specialised in culinary art, introducing meals first with soup, followed by meat and vegetables and ended with nuts for dessert. He also introduced crystal glassware.

Crystal glass had been created by Abbas ibn Firnas. The idea about meal and glassware was then introduced to Europe where it became popular.

Persian carpets

Persian carpets having intricate designs and eye-catching colours, have always been in demand and as they were in the period called the Middle Ages (476-1500). These carpets commanded much value not only in Persia but also in Europe. The bright colours were the result of the development of chemicals and dyes which were unknown in Europe.

Bank cheques

Bank cheques are considered a norm of life these days. How many know that the word ‘cheque’ originated from the Arabic ‘saqq’, which was basically a written vow to pay for goods when they were delivered. It is said that in the ninth century, a businessman could cash his cheque in China drawn on his bank in Baghdad. This ‘cheque’ system was introduced in Baghdad in the ninth century.

Spherical Earth

Muslim scholars of the ninth century had declared Earth to be a sphere and Ibn Hazm stated that Earth revolved around the Ssun and not the other way around. This fact also occurred to Galileo, but that was five centuries later.

Muslim astronomers also calculated the circumference of Earth as 40,253 km, which was less than 200 km from the actual circumference that was later to be calculated.

Muhammad Al Idrisi (1100-1165) was a geographer, cartographer and Egyptologist and lived in the court of King Rogers of Sicily. In 1139, he presented to the king a globe depicting Earth.

Gun powder

The Chinese are credited with the invention of the gun powder. However, it was the Arabs who discovered a way of purifying it by using potassium nitrate. It proved to be effective for military purposes. The Crusaders found the devices fearsome.

By the 15th century, Arab engineers had made interesting progress. They had devised a torpedo and rocket. Both were novelties of their time. The torpedo was really a device where an explosive charge was placed at the end of a lance. The propulsion was done by a large rocket that was attached to the torpedo. The lance would impale itself to the wooden ship’s side and the explosive within the torpedo would blow up, sinking the ship.

Flower gardens

Medieval Europe boasted kitchen gardens. However, Muslim rulers of al Andalus developed beautiful flower gardens sometime in the 11th century. The idea was taken up readily by the Europeans. Carnations and tulips originated in al Andalus and made their way to European gardens.

Fountain pen

The Sultan of Egypt king wanted a pen that did not stain his clothes, as the pens at that time did, so the fountain pen was invented for him in 953. It used gravity and capillary to feed the ink to the nib.

Published in Dawn, Young World, September 3rd, 2016