Intellectual Islamic History

What do coffee beans, torpedoes, surgical scalpels, arches, and observatories all have in common? Were Leonardo Da Vinci’s flight ideas original? Who devised the casing for pill capsules and where did Fibonacci learn to flex his mathematical fingers?

All these answers can be found here in ‘1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World,’ written in an accessible style for those with limited knowledge of either Islam or history. A golden age of civilization, from 600 to 1600 CE, will unfold, because medieval Muslims were trailblazers in fields as diverse as medicine and mechanics, cartography and chemistry, education and engineering, architecture and astronomy. No area was too obscure to miss the scrutiny of enquiry backed up by rigid scientific experimentation.

So get comfortable with this guidebook and prepare to begin on a voyage of discovery through a thousand years of science and technology into the lives of medieval pioneers whose ingenious inventions have helped create our world today.

We hear the term Ahl Sunnah wal Jama'ah often. What does it exactly mean? How did it evolve historically? Why is it so important? What factions were formed among the sahaba and their followers? Why Kufa and Basrah became the centers of conflict? A refreshing discussion by the great Allama Syed Sulaiman Nadwi.

A PhD thesis that analyzes the tafseer of Imam Maturidi, Ta'weelat al-Qur'an, and discusses his approach, principles, and philosophy in tafseer. Part of a series of books called Al-Madrasah al-Maturidiyyah.

A detailed exposition of the Khawarij: their history from the time of their founders to the end of the Umayyad dynasty, their beliefs, peculiar traits, and the various sects that represented their beliefs. Also discusses the links between them and Abdullah ibn Saba.

This book is not just a reminder to Muslims that they have a glorious past and that for many centuries they had the upper hand over their enemies; it also analyzes the reasons for it and shows that they became masters of the world when they adhered to Islam and when they became preoccupied with worldly gain and the pursuit of luxury then decline set in.

Content

PREFACE OF THE TRANSLATION

NOTICE

CHAPTER I: THE MATHEMATICIANS: SCIENTIFIC MILIEU AND WORKS

1.        Ibn Sahl

1.1.        Ibn Sahl and his Time

1.2.        Ibn Sahl’s Scientific Work

1.2.1.        On Squaring the Parabola

1.2.2.        On Centers of Gravity

1.2.3.        Geometrical Problems Cited by al-Sijzī

1.2.4.        On Lines of Diorism

1.2.5.        Al-Shannī s Book on the Synthesis of the Problems Ana-lysed by Abū Saʻd al-ʻAlāʼ ibn Sahl

1.2.6.        On the Properties of the Three Conic Sections

1.2.7.        The Book on the Astrolabe by the Demonstration of al-Qūhī and the Commentary of Ibn Sahl

1.2.8.        Burning Instruments 

1.2.9.        Proof that the Celestial Sphere is not of extreme Transparency

2.        Al-Qūhī

2.1.        The Mathematician and the Artisan

2.2.         Al-Qūhī's Scientific Work

2.2.1.        The Book on the Astrolabe by Demonstration

2.2.2.        On the  Perfect Compass

2.2.3.        Lemma to the Division of the Straight Line by Archimedes

2.2.4.        On the Construction of an Equilateral Pentagon in a Given Square

2.2.5.        On the Determination of the Division of a Known Angle into Three Equal Parts

2.2.6.        On the Division of an Angle Enclosed by Two Straight Lines into Three Equal Parts

2.2.7.        On the Determination of Two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines, so that the Four Succeed One Another in Continuous Proportion, and on the Division of an Angle into Three Equal Parts

2.2.8.        On the Trisection of an Angle and the Construction of a Regular Heptagon in the Circle

2.2.9.        On the Knowledge of the Magnitude of the Distance between the Center of the Earth and the Position of a Shooting Star in the Night

2.2.10.        On the Knowledge of the Magnitude of what is Seen of the Sky and of the Sea from the Top of an Elevated Thing 

2.2.11.        In Finite Time, there is Infinite Movement

3.        Al-Qūhī's Predecessors: On the Trisection of an Angle

3.1.        Aḥmad ibn Shākir: On the Trisection of an Angle Enclosed by Two Straight Lines

3.2.        Thābit ibn Qurra 

3.2.1.        On the Construction of Two Means and the Division of a Known Angle into Three Equal Parts

3.2.2.        The Division of an Angle into Three Equal Parts

3.3.        Abū Ja'far Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Khāzin

3.3.1.        On the Division of an Angle into Three Equal Parts and the Determination of Two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines that Succeed One Another in Continuous Proportion

3.3.2.        On the Determination of Two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines that Succeed One Another in Continuous Proportion by a Method of Fixed Geometry

4.        Al-Sijzī

4.1.        On the Construction of the Perfect Compass

4.2.        On the Properties of the Hyperbolic Dome and the Parabolic Dome

4.3.        On the Properties of the Elliptical, Hyperbolic and Parabolic Solids

5.        Ibn al-Haytham

5.1.        Book Seven of the Optics

5.2.        The Treatise on the Burning Sphere 

6.        Al-Fārisī: The Commentary on the Burning Sphere

Dioptrics

CHAPTERS II: IBN SAHL AND THE BEGINNINGS OF DIOPTRICS

1.        Introduction

2.        The Parabolic Mirror

3.        The Ellipsoidal Mirror 

4.        Refraction and Snell's Law

5.        Plano-Convex and Biconvex Lenses

6.        Conclusion 

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

1.        On Burning Instruments

2.        Proof that the Celestial is not of Extreme Transparency

CHAPTER III: THE DIOPTRICAL RESEARCH OF IBN AL-HAYTHAM AND AL-FĀRSĪ

1.        The Spherical Diopter

2.        The Spherical Lens

3.        The Burning Sphere

4.        The Burning Sphere and the Quantitative Study of al-Fārisī

5.        Ibn Sahl, Ibn al-Haytham, and Snell's Law

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

Ibn al-Haytham

1.        Optics – Seventh Book: The Spherical Diopter

2.        Optics – Seventh Book: The Spherical Lens

3.        Treatise on the Burning Sphere

4.        Treatise on the Burning Sphere – Redaction of al-Fārisī

Geometry

CHAPTER IV: ON CONIC SECTIONS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

1.        Conics and Harmonic Division

1.1.        Ibn Sahl on Harmonic Division

1.2.        Projective Interpretation of Ibn Sahl's Study

2.        Ibn Sahl on Conic Sections and Geometrical Constructions

2.1.         The Synthesis by al-Shannī of Ibn Sahl's Analysis of Geometrical Problems 

2.2.         Ibn Sahl on the Construction of a Triangle by Means of an Ellipse and a Circle

3.        Conic Sections and Geometrical Construction: al-Qūhī and his Predecessors

3.1.        Introduction

3.2.        The Two Mean Proportionals

3.2.1.        The Legacy of the Ancients

3.2.2.        The New Tradition: Thābit ibn Qurra and al-Khāzin

3.2.3.        AL-Qūhī

3.3.        The Trisection of an Angle

3.3.1.        Introduction

3.3.2.        The Earliest Trisections of an Angle: Pappus, Aḥmad ibn Shāktr and Thābit ibn Qurra 

3.3.3.        Al-Khāzin: Trisecting an Angle and the Cleavage between Ancients and Moderns

3.4.        Al-Qūhī: Variation on the Trisection of an Angle

3.5.        The Lemma to Archimedes' Division of a Straight Line 

3.6.        The Inscription of a Pentagon in a Given Square

3.7.        Conclusion

4.        A New Orientation in the Geometry of Conics: Quadratic Surfaces 

4.1.        On the Properties of Hyperbolic and Parabolic Domes

4.2.        Projective Interpretation of the Problem of the Plane Sections of a Quadric

4.3.        On the Properties of Elliptical, Hyperbolic and Parabolic Solids 

4.3.1.        Plane Sections

4.3.2.        Hyperbolic and parabolic Plane Sections

4.4.        The Projective Interpretation of the Investigation of Plane Sections of a Cylinder

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

Ibn Sahl

1.        On the Properties of the Three Conic Sections

2.        Book on the Synthesis of the Problems Analysed

3.        A Fragment on the Construction of a Triangle by Means of an Ellipse and a Circle

4.        A Problem of Geometry

AL-QŪHī

1.        On the Determination of the Division of a Known Angle into Three Equal Parts

2.        On the Division of an Angle Enclosed by Two Straight Lines into Three Equal Parts

3.        On the Determination of Two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines, so that the Four Succeed One Another in Continuous Proportion, and on the Division of an Angle into Three Equal Parts

4.        On the Trisection of an Angle and the Construction of a Regular Heptagon in the Circle

5.        Lemma to the Division of the Straight Line by Archimedes

6.        On the Construction of an Equilateral Pentagon in a Given Square

AL-QŪHī'S PREDECESSORS

1.        Aḥmad ibn Shākir

On the Trisection of an Angle Enclosed byTwo Straight Lines

2.        Thābit ibn Qurra

On the Construction of Two Means and the Division of a Known Angle into Three Parts

The Division of an Angle Enclosed by Two Straight Lines into Three Equal Parts

3.        AL-Khāzin

The Division of an Angle into Three Equal Parts and the Determination of Two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines that Succeed One Another in Continuous Proportion

On the Determination of two Straight Lines Between Two Straight Lines that Succeed in One Another in Continuous Proportion by a Method of Fixed Geometry

AL-SUZĪ

               On the Properties of the Hyperbolic Dome and the Parabolic Dome

               On the Properties of the Elliptical, Hyperbolic and Parabolic Solids

CHAPTER V:  A TRADITION OF RESEARCH: CONTINUOUS DRAWING OF CONIC CURVES AND THE PERFECT COMPASS

   Introduction

1.        The Mechanical Construction of Conics Ibn Sahl

1.1.        The Parabola

1.2.        The Ellipse

1.3.        The Hyperbola

2.        The Invention of the Perfect Compass: Abū Sahl al-Qūhī

2.1.        Al-Qūhī's First Book

2.2.        Al-Qūhī's Second Book

2.3.        Correspondence between al-Qūhī's propositions 4, 5, and 6 and proposition  I.52 TO 59 of Apollonius' Conics

3.        Al-sijzī and the Continuous Drawing of Similar Conic Sections with the Help of the Perfect Compass

4.        Continuous Drawing and the Classification of Curves

5.        Geminus and al-Sijzī: the Classification of Curves 

6.        Ibn 'Irāq and al-Bīrūnī on al-Qūhī's Perfect Compass

6.1.        Ibn 'Irāq: on the Lemmas of al-Qūhī

6.2.        Al-Bīrūnī: al-Qūhī's Theory of the Perfect Compass 

6.2.1.        The Parabola

6.2.2.        The Hyperbola

6.2.3.        The Ellipse

7.        Kamāl al-Dīn ibn Yūnus and his Pupils: On the Perfect Compass

7.1.        Introduction

7.2.        Al-Abharī and the Perfect Compass

8.        Conclusion: Drawing Conic Sections: A New Subject Area in Geometry

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

1.        Al-Qūhī: On the perfect Compass

2.        Al-Sijzī: On the Construction of the Perfect Compass

3.        Ibn 'Irāq: Epistle of Ibn 'Irāq to al-Bīrūnī in Reply to Geometrical Problems 

4.        Al-Bīrūnī: Account of the Perfect Compass

5.        Al-Abharī: Treatise on the Compass of Conic Sections

CHAPTER VI:  CONICAL AND CYLINDERICAL AL PROJECTIONS, AND ASTROLABES

1.        The Astrolabe and the Methods of Projection

2.        Ibn Sahl on Stereographic Projection

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

1.        Treatise on the Art of the Astrolabe by Demonstration, composed by Al-Qūhī

2.        Ibn Sahl: Commentary on the Treatise on the Art of the Astrolabe by Al- al-Qūhī

3.        A Fragment of Ibn Sahl on Stereographic Projection

APPENDIX I: GEOMETRY AND MECHANICS (KINEMATICS). AL-QŪHĪ, VS ARISTOTLE ON MOTION

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

1.        Al-Qūhī: In Finite Time, there is Infinite Movement 

2.        Fragment of the Treatise of Ibn Buṭlān: The Refutations of 'Ali ibn Riḑwān

3.        Fragment of al-Mu'tabar fi al-ḥikma of Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

APEENDIX II: AL-QŪHĪ: FROM METEOROLOGY TO ASTRONOMY

TEXTS AND TRANSLATION

1.        On the Knowledge of the Magnitude of the Distance between the Center of the Earth and the Position of a Shooting Star in the Night 

2.        On the Knowledge of the Magnitude of what is Seen of the Sky and OF the Sea from the top of an Elevated Thing

3.        Fī ma'rifat mā yurā min al-samā' wa-al-baḥr (abridged version)

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Notes on Ibn Sahl's Treatises on Burning Instruments and the Celestial Sphere

1.        On the parts of the ’instrument’

2.        Experimentation

3.        Translation of Plotemy's Optics

Notes on Ibn al-Haytham's On the Sundial

Notes on al-Shannī's Book on Synthesis

Notes on the Astrolabe

1.        Treatise by al-Qūhī

2.        Ibn Sahl's Commentary on the treatise by al-Qūhī

ARABIC-ENGLISH GLOSSARY

INDEX

     Index of Names

     Subject Index

     Index of works

     Index of Manuscripts

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ARABIC PREFACE

Critique of Maulana Maududi's Khilafat-o-Malookiat. Includes response to the original critique by Maulana Maududi's assistant the late Malik Ghulam Ali and a response to that response. Also includes a biography of Amir Muawiyya Radi-Allahu unhu.

This is a unique book. You may be aware of a few of the contributions of Islamic Civilization to the history of humanity and the world we live in today. For example, many people know about the Islamic origins of Algebra and Arabic Numbers. However, much of this history remains obscured, and hidden from view. This book places many aspects of the profound impact of Islamic Civilization into plain view and shows how it has been suppressed and distorted. Western historians, in general, have removed the Islamic source with regard to every single change that affected science and civilization at the origin of Western civilization, and modern civilization, and then, each and everyone has substituted a number of explanations for such changes within their field of study. This systematic suppression of the Islamic source of modern science and civilization has been, however, noted by individual historians who have re-considered the history of their subject. Thus, in his `History of Dams,’ Norman Smith, began his chapter devoted to Islamic dams, by noting how historians of civil engineering have ignored the Muslim period, and have claimed that nothing was done by the Muslims, even worse, they have blamed the Muslims for the decline of irrigation and other engineering activities, and their eventual extinction, which is `both unjust and untrue.’ (from the Introduction) The book's more than 500 pages are packed full with thousands of referenced facts and includes a substantial select bibliography. It is set to become the standard reference work for the subject and the starting point for anyone wanting to explore the field further.

What was the education system in India during the Muslim rule? What books and subjects they studied and how exactly was the instruction conducted? Maulana Manazir Ahsan Gilani combines his wealth of knowledge on this subject with his usual lucid style. He shows how the system the British imposed destroyed a superior system. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Education.

"14th-century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun founded a special science to deal with the problem of history and culture based on the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle and their Muslim followers. This work examines the philosophic foundation and principles of Ibn Khaldun's new science of culture, to show that an adequate understanding of his contribution to the study of the various aspects of human society requires an understanding of his all-comprehensive approach to sociology."

What was Imam Abu Hanifah's view on dealing with the government and the rulers? What was his own practice? What were his relations with the Omayyad and Abbasid rulers? Why some of his students joined the government and others shunned it? The historic insights in this lively book will help guide the Muslims today also to answer these questions for themselves in their interactions with the Muslim rulers.

Urdu translation of the Arabic book, ma za khasar al-alam bi inhitat al-Muslimeen. This book has sold hundreds of thousands copies in various translations.

This is an edited and updated version of author's Phd thesis which earned him a doctorate from the University of Karachi. The author teaches at the Darul Uloom Karachi. A very comprehensive treatment of the subject of Waqf in Islamic Jurisprudence.

The Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir by Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Sa'd is one of the most important and earliest surviving collections of biographical details of the early Muslims, spanning just over the first two centuries of Islam. It is a rich storehouse of information compiled from all the sources available to Ibn Sa'd, as a result of which, the reader is given a vivid insight into the lives of the early Muslims and how extraordinary they were.

How many times have you heard that Imam Abu Hanifa was not well versed with Hadith? Here is a scholarly refutation of that myth. The author was a great Hadith scholar and researcher. Foreword by Shaykh Abdul Fattah Abu Ghaddah.

This booklet considers the two main perspectives from which history may be viewed. If beauty is in eye of the beholder, so is history. The author urges us to bear in mind when reading any historical account, who wrote it, from what perspective and for what purpose.

This classic looks at history from a fresh perspective. Humanity has suffered a lot due to the decline of the Muslims. Here is a penetrating account.

This classic looks at history from a fresh perspective. Humanity has suffered a lot due to the decline of the Muslims. Here is a penetrating account.

The story of how Arab editors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries revolutionized Islamic literature.

Maulana Nadwi, the hisorian, the scholar, and the thinker, is at his best in this great work, which was originally published in 1375/1958. This latest edition includes footnotes and references added by Dr. Mustafa Saeed al-Khun, in addition to the foreword of Dr. Mustafa al-Sibaii. Beautiful two color printing and wonderful production quality add to the value of this treaure, which remains a wonderful gift for any home and library.

English translation of the seminal work "Tarikhi Dawat-o-Azimat." Here is an entirely different outlook on history, where center stage is held not by rulers and generals but by the spiritual rulers and mujaddids.

A New Revised and Edited Translation of the seminal work "Tarikhi Dawat-o-Azimat." Here is an entirely different outlook on history, where center stage is held not by rulers and generals but by the spiritual rulers and mujaddids. This is Volume 1. Covers up to the coming of Tartars. 

Thomas Arnold (d. 1930) was an Orientalist of the 19th century. He wrote this book while he was teaching at the Muslim Anglo-Oriental College Aligarh. This is his view of how Islam spread in every country in the world. This country by country account from a Christian scholar is sufficient to bury once for all the myth that Islam spread by the sword.

The first book written on the history of Arabic literature, this was originally published in 1911.

Here is an entirely different outlook on history, where center stage is held not by rulers and generals but by the spiritual rulers and mujaddids.

History of Arabic literature from the Jahilyya period to our time.

As the forces of global Christian Fundamentalism are on the march, the Muslim world is looking increasingly vulnerable. The Cross and the Crescent is a pioneering study, filling a strategic intellectual void by initiating a Muslim tradition of the scientific study of the West.