Muslim Contributions to Science & Technology

In the modern world Islam is seen as many things, but rarely is it viewed as a
source of inspiration and enlightenment. Though it is a force of
enlightenment and it is not only verses of the Quran that testify to that fact,
but also the great body of scholarship produced during the Middle Ages.
While Europe was in the midst of darkness, it was the Muslims, spurred on by
the light of their new Deem who picked up the torch of scholarship and
science. It was the Muslims who preserved the knowledge of antiquity,
elaborated upon it, and finally, passed it on to Europe.

Although every person earn what they do and pass on, it is important for us
to learn about and appreciate the contributions of the Islamic civilization by
the early Muslims.
Colonialism, the institution of the Western educational model, along with
Euro centrism often portrays Islam as backwards, incompatible with science
and technology and anti-educational. Muslim school children never learn of
their glorious past and often the only thing passed on to them is the
inferiority complex of the generation before them. From the past we can
learn from our mistakes and use the analysis of those great examples before
us as role models to enrich us in the future.

In the seventh century A.D., the prophet Muhammad (SAW) was sent to the
people of Arabia. Within a decade of his death the Muslims had conquered
all of the Arabian peninsula. Within a century, Islam had spread from Al-
Andalus in Spain to the borders of China. Islam unified science, theology,
and philosophy. Muslims were commanded to study, seek knowledge, and
learn and benefit from others' experiences by Allah (SWT) in the holy Quran
and by the prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the Sunnah. It was this that
inspired the Muslims to great heights in sciences, medicine, mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry, philosophy, art and architecture.

Muslim scholars began obtaining Greek treatises and started their study and
translation into Arabic a few centuries after the Hijrah (622 A.D.) They
critically analyzed, collated , corrected and supplemented substantially the
Greek science and philosophy. After this period began what is known as the
Golden Age of Islam, which lasted for over two centuries. It is here we find
many of the great scientists of Islam who literally left behind hundreds and
thousands of books on the various branches of science.

Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina, universally known as Avicinna (980-
1037), alone wrote 246 books, including Kitab-al Shifa (The Book of Healing)
consisting of 20 volumes and Al-Qanun fit Tibb (The Canons of Medicine) .
The Qanun was the chief guide for medical science in the West from the
twelfth to the seventeenth century. Dr. William Osler, who wrote The
Evolution of Modern Science, remarks "The Qanun has remained a medical
Bible for a longer period than any other work". Containing over a million
words, it surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and
Muslim sources, and including his own original
contributions.

Ibn Sina's original contributions included such advances such as recognition

of the contagious nature of phtisis and tuberculosis; distribution of diseases
by water and soil and the
interaction between psychology and health. Also, the book described over
760 drugs and became the most authentic of its era. Ibn Sina was also the
first to describe meningitis and made rich contributions to anatomy,
gynaecology and child health.

This interest in medicine went back to the time of the Prophet (SAW), who
once said that there existed a cure for every disease. With this spirit there
were hospitals and clinics built all over the Muslim world, the earliest built in
707 by Caliph Walid ibn Abd a-Malik in Damascus. Muslims made many
advances such as the idea of circulation of blood and quarantine and the
foundation of the first apothecary shops and the earliest school of pharmacy.

Hunayn ibn Ishaq, a philosopher and physician made advances in Medicine,

Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy Veterinary Science, and Ophthalmology.
He was the head of the famous school of translators founded by Caliph
Mamun at Baghdad and wrote the first
systematic text book on opthamology.

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925 AD) , known as Rhazes,
was one of the most prolific Muslim doctors and probably second only to Ibn
Sina in his accomplishments. He was born at Ray, Iran and became a
student of Hunayn ibn Ishaq and later a student of Ali ibn Rabban. He wrote
over 200 books, including Kitab al-Mansuri, ten volumes on Greek medicine,
and al-Hawi, an encyclopedia of medicine in 20 volumes. In al-Hawi, he
included each medical subject's information available from Greek and Arab
sources and then added his own remarks based on his experience and views.
He classified substances as vegetable, animal or mineral while other
alchemists divided them into "bodies", "souls" and
"spirits".

Al-Razi was first placed in charge of the first Royal Hospital at Ray, from
where he soon moved to a similar position in Baghdad where he remained
the head of its famous
Muqtadari Hospital for a long time. He found a treatment for kidney and
bladder stones, and explained the nature of various infectious diseases. He
also conducted research on smallpox and measles and was the first to
introduce the use of alcohol for medical purposes. A unique feature to his
medical system was that he greatly favored cure through correct and
regulated food intake. This was combined with his emphasis on the
influence of psychological factors on health. He also tried proposed
remedies first on animals in order to evaluate their effects and side effects.
He was also an expert surgeon and the first to use opium
for anesthesia.

Another great physician who soon followed was al-Razi was Abul Qasim al-
Zahrawi (963-1013 AD) who is known as Albucasis to the West. A famous
surgeon in his time, at the court of Caliph al- Hakam II , students and
patients flocked to him from the Muslim world and Europe. He wrote the
medical encyclopedia al-Tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif, which contained 30
sections of surgical knowledge and illustrations of 200 surgical instruments,
most of which he designed himself. The Encyclopedia was not only a
standard for physicians, but even five centuries later it was being used as
the standard textbook on surgery in universities in Europe.
He also performed many delicate operations such as Cesareans and was also
the first to use silk thread for stitching wounds.

Al-Idrisi was born in Cordova, Spain in 1099. His major contribution was in
medicinal plants which he described in many books, such as Kitab al-Jami-li-
Sifat Ashtat al-Nabatat. He
collected plans and data not reported earlier and added this to the subject of
botany. From him a large number of new drugs from plants with their
evaluations became available to medical practitioners. Al-Idrisi also made
original contributions to topography, as related to economics, physical
factors and cultural aspects. He wrote geographical encyclopedias, the
largest called Rawd-Unnas wa Nuzhalat Nafs (Pleasure of Men and Delight of
Souls). Al-Idrisi also wrote on the subjects of fauna, zoology and
threapeutical aspects. His work was soon translated into Latin and his books
on geography especially remained popular in the east and west for several
centuries.

Working in the field of botany as well was abu Muhammad Ibn al-Baitar, also
from Spain. He was one of the greatest scientists of Muslim Spain and one of
the greatest botanists and pharmacists of the Middle Ages. He went on
many traveling expeditions to collect plants as far as Africa and Asia Minor.
He wrote Kitab al-Jami al-Adiwaya al-Mufrada, one of the greatest
botanical compilations dealing with medicinal plants in Arabic The
encyclopedia was made of over 1,400 items, many of which were not known
before. The book referred to the works of 150 authors, mostly Arabic and
quoted about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated
into Latin and published as late as 1758.
Ibn al-Baitars works were characterized by observation, analysis and
classification and exerted a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western
botany and medicine. Even though many of his works were translated and
published late in the western
languages, many earlier scientists had studied various parts of the book and
made several references to it.

At the same time as these advances in medicine were being made, the
Muslims produced some of the most outstanding Mathematicians.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, born in 780 A.D. was the founder of
modern Algebra. He developed sine, cosine and trigonometrical tables,
which were later translated to the West. His book on algebra Hisab al-Jabr
waal-Muqabalah (The Calculation of Integration and Equation) was used until
the 16th century as the principal textbook of European universities. In it he
writes that given an equation, collecting the unknowns in one side of the
equation is called al-Jabr and collecting the knowns in the other side of the
equation is called al- Mukabalah. He also described six basic types of
equations: nx=m , x^2=nx , x^2=m , m+x^2 =nx, m+nx+x^2 and
x^2=m+nx. He also solved the particular equation x^2+21=10x using
geometrical arguments.

Al-Khawarizmi also helped introduce Arabic numerals, the decimal position

system, and the concept of zero. Algebra and Algorithm are in fact
corruption's of his work and name.
Interestingly, this first every book on algebra included many examples from
the Islamic inheritance laws and how they could be solved using algebra.
Under al-Mamun the caliph of the time, he with some others were the first to
map the globe.

In the field of Algebra the Muslims continued with Thabit Ibn Qurra's more
general equations solved by geometrical arguments. In 901, Abu Kamil,
called "the Egyptian calculator", did some work on algebra in which he
established rules for manipulating
algebraic expressions. He also proved various laws such as ax*bx-abx^2,
a(bx)=(ab)x and (10-x)(10-x)=100+x^2-20x (Mirza, p124). Around 1000,
Abu Bakr Al-Karaji, in his book The Marvelous discussed higher order
equations such as fourth and fifth order equations,
combing geometry and arithmetic. Al-Samawal established the power law
x^nx^n=x^(m+n) in 1180 in his work The Shining which is just one of his 85
books. He also worked on performing multiplication of algebraic expressions
involving terms with different powers and division of polynomials. Abu Yunus
proved the famous identity cos(a)cos(b)={cos(a+b)+cos(a-b)}/2 and used
spherical trigonometry to set formulas to computer prayer times. Al-Biruni
also used spherical trigonometry to find the direction of Mecca or any other
city on the globe.
Another outstanding mathematician was Ghiyath al-Din al Kashani of the late
fourteenth century. He worked on the theory of numbers and techniques of
computations. In 1424, he computed a value of 2pi to sixteen decimal digits
of accuracy using an approximation of the circle by 805306368 side polygon.
One of his most important works was Miftah elHussab or The Calculators'
Key, in it he described an algorithm for finding the fifth root of any number.
The book was used in Persian schools until the seventeenth century. Later in
his life he moved to Samarkand at the request of the then ruler to help direct
a new scientific school and observatory and conduct research with other
scholars of the time. Kashani also wrote on how to approximate sin(1) by
solving a cubic equation accurately.

Umar Khayyam known to the west as only a poet actually also was an
excellent mathematician. He criticized Euclid's theorems, evolved a
methodology for the solution of third degree equations, and did research in
the field of binomials and their coefficients.

Abu Wafa Muhammad al-Buzanji was born in Buzjan, Nishapur in 940 A. D.

He became a great mathematician and astronomer at Baghdad and died in
997 A.D. Al-Buzanji's main contribution lies in several branches of
mathematics, in geometry and trigonometry
especially. In geometry he contributed to a solution of geometrical problems
with opening of the compass, construction of a square equivalent to other
squares, regular polyhedra, construction of regular hectagon taking for its
side of the equilateral triangle inscribed in the same circle, constructions of
parabola by points and geometrical solution of the equations x4=a and
x4+ax3=b.

Al-Buzanji's contribution to the development of trigonometry was also

extensive. He was the first to show the generality of the sine theorem
relative to spherical triangles. He developed a new method of constructing
sine tables, the value of sin 30` being correct to the eight decimal place. He
also developed relations for sine (a+b) and the formula: 2 sin2 (a/2) = 1 -cos
a and sin a = 2 sin (a/2) cos (a/2). In addition he studied tangent and
calculated tables for them. He introduced the secant and cosecant for the
first time. He wrote a large number of books on mathematics and other
subjects, most of which have been lost or exist in modified
forms. He also wrote rich commentaries on Euclid, Diophanatos and al-
Khwarizmi. A sizable part of today's trigonometry can be traced back to him.

Abu Abdullah al-Battani (862-929 A.D.) was a son of a scientist and also a
famous astronomer, mathematician and astrologer. He is often considered
one of the greatest astronomists of Islam. His career of 42 years included a
number of important discoveries, including the accurate determination of the
solar year as 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 24 seconds, which is very
close to modern estimates. He also determined with accuracy the obliquity
of the ecliptic, the length of the seasons and the true and mean orbit of the
sun. He proved that in contrast to Ptolemy, the variation of the apparent
angular diameter of the sun and the possibility of annular eclipses. His
observations of lunar and solar eclipses were used by Dunthorne in 1749 to
determine the secular acceleration of motion of the moon.

In mathematics, al-Battani was the first to replace the use of Greekchords by

sines and the first to develop the concept of cotangent and furnished their
table in degrees. He wrote a number of books on astronomy and
trigonometry. His most famous book was his astronomical treatise with
tables which was translated into Latin in the 12th century, called De Sceinta
Stellerum De numeris Stellerum et Motibus. This was extremely influential in
Europe until the Renaissance, with translations available in several
languages. His original discoveries in both astronomy and trigonometry were
of great consequence in the development of those sciences.

In the related field of Physics, Abu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman al-Khazini studied
mechanics and hydrostats and wrote books on physics and astronomy. Al-
Biruni, a geographer, chronologist, mathematician, astronomer, was also a
physicist. His Elements of Astrology remained a textbook for centuries and
he also wrote on specific gravity, and developed formulas to determine
absolute and specific weights of all objects.

Abu al-Hassan al Haitham (965-1039 AD) was one of the most eminent
physicists, whose contribution to optics and the scientific method were great.
Originally from Basra, he went to Egypt where he was asked to find ways of
controlling the flood of the Nile. Being unsuccessful in this, he feigned
madness until the death of Caliph al-Hakim. He also traveled to Spain and
during this time also had time for his scientific pursuits. He wrote treatises
such as Kital al-Manzir on light, worked with mirrors and lenses, reflection,
refraction, and magnifying and burning glasses. He discussed the
propagation of light and colors, optic illusions and opposed the view of Euclid
and Ptolemy that the eye sent out visual rays. From studying motion, he
discovered the principle of inertia.

He contradicted Ptolemy's and Euclid's theory of vision that objects are seen
by rays of light emanating from the eyes. According to Haitham, the rays
originated in the object of vision and not in the eye. Through this kind of
extensive research on optics, he has been considered the father of modern
Optics. Roger Bacon and all medieval Western writers on optics based their
work largely on his Opticae Thesaurus and it even influenced Leonardo da
Vinci, Johann Kepler and Newton.. Haitham also studied the phenomena of
sunrise and sunset and explained rainbows through the principle of
reflection. He was known for the earliest use of the camera obscura as well.
Al-Kindi (d. 873 AD) considered the first philosopher of the Arabs, also
contributed to Physics , Optics, reflection of light, specific weights, tides and
metallurgy.

Muslims also made discoveries in Chemistry by discovering many new

substances such as potash, nitrate of silver, corrosive sublimate and nitrate
and sulfuric acid as well as improving methods for evaporation, filtration,
sublimation, calcination, melting, distillation, and crystallization. Jabir,
otherwise known as the father of Arab alchemy contributed in the fields of
Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Al-Asma'i (740-882 AD) was a philologist who contributed to Zoology, Botany

and Animal Husbandry. Other Muslim botanists described plants in detail,
medicinal herbs, physiology of plants and wrote books on horses, camels,
sheep, birds, the history of bees and locusts, the effect of climate on the
behavior of animals and men. Also working on the subject of Botany, Suri al-
Dimashqi researched plants around Damascus and Lebanon at different
stages of growth.

In the field of geography, Ibn Majid invented the compass. The Muslims
traversed the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean as well as sailing around the
African continent, in their trading with India, Iran and Greece. They wrote
such books as Akhbar al-Hind (Reports on India), Akhbar al-Sin (Reports on
China) and Ajib al-Hind (Curiosities of India). Sulaiman Al-Makri wrote of his
travels in Al-budat and other books. Abu al-Hasan al-Masudi, a historian and
scientist, traveled the world journeying from Persia, Central Asia, India, the
Near East, Madagascar and the China Sea. He wrote his encyclopedic
volume on his travels which included history, cosmology and geography.

Al-Biruni was the first known writer to identify certain geological facts, such
as the formation of sedimentary rocks and the great geological changes that
happened in the past. He was also the founder of geodesy and wrote and
improved upon the methods of measuring longitudes, latitudes, heights of
mountains and the diameter of the earth. He also wrote on biological
evolution.

Of the many scientists in the field of astronomy, Al-Sufi helped build a

famous observatory under the Buwayh sultan Sharaf-al-Dawlah. He
prepared charts of the heavens with magnitudes and was the first to mark
the nebula of Andromeda in his atlas. Al-Zarqali from al-Andalus invented
the astrolabe and measured the rate of motion. He also constructed
astronomical instruments and built a water clock.

Jabir ibn Aflah was a Spanish Arab who criticized Ptolemy's heliocentric
theory of planetary motion. He designed the first portable celestial sphere to
explain and measure the movements of celestial objects and led the way for
spherical trigonometry. Al-Bitruji developed a new theory of stellar
movements. Names of many constellations, words like zenith and nadir and
even names of craters of the moon all go back to the works of Muslim
scholars of this time.

We can see that these Islamic sciences had a great impact upon both the
Western world and also the two major civilizations east of the Islamic world,
India and China. Without the Islamic scientists and their work, the
development of science in these civilizations would have been different.
Between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries the major works of Islamic
scientists were translated into Latin in Spain, Sicily and Italy. Muslim
scientists like Ibn Sina and al-Razi became household names in the West.
Islamic medicine led the way for European medicine.

In the field of mathematics the works of al-Khwarazmi and others were

taught in the Western universities for centuries. Astronomical tables written
in the West were based upon the work of Muslims before them. Treatises on
algebra that were written were mostly based on the work of Khayyam.
Works in chemistry written in Latin used an extensive Arabic vocabulary
because there was no Latin vocabulary in this field.

Many of these scientists were also great philosophers, such as Ibn Sina and
al-Razi. Ibn Sina initially began studying logic, from there he studied physics
and metaphysics and was the first to develop a complete philosophical
system in Arabic. Ibn Sina's philosophical encyclopedia Kitab al- Shifa was a
monumental work, embodying a vast field of knowledge from philosophy to
science. He classified the entire field as follows: theoretical knowledge;
physics, mathematics, and metaphysics; ethics, economics and politics. His
philosophy synthesized Aristotelian tradition, Neoplatonic influences and
Muslim theology. Besides al-Shifa his well-known treatises in philosophy are
al-Najat and Isharat.

Al-Razi's contribution as a philosopher was also well known. The basic

elements in his philosophical system were the Creator, the spirit, matter,
space and time. He discussed their
characteristics in detail and his concepts of space and time as constituting a
continuum His philosophical views were, however, criticized by a number of
other Muslim scholars of the era.

During the time of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) the Muslims built a library
which contained both originals and translations of almost any then known
scientific work in Sanskrit, Persian and Greek. His son, Caliph al-Mamun
continued the tradition of philosophy and science and established in
Baghdad his Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom), a library and academy.
Here the objective was to collect all scientific works, translate them into
Arabic and copy and bind them into books to preserve them. No doubt much
of the knowledge of the Greeks and others was preserved in this way.

Lastly we come to the realm of the arts. The well known Hadith "Allah is
beautiful and He loves beauty" encouraged Muslims to beautify the word of
Allah through calligraphy and other expressions. Islamic calligraphy began
with the kufi styles, then followed naskhi, thuluth, muhaqqiq, rayhani, and
nasta'liq. Calligraphy began as a direct response of the soul of Muslims to
the descent of the Quranic revelation. Calligriphical art moved from
beautifying the Quran and texts to objects, houses and Mosques and
eventually to Architecture.

Writes T.B. Irving on Islamic architecture, “...Few civilizations have

approached Islam's beauties in architecture: her soaring minarets and spires,
her fabled domes, her cool corridors, all reflect the yearning of Muslims, who
refusing to find expression in natural depiction concentrate their energies on
buildings and their embellishment."

These embellishments included the calligraphic mosaics of mosques, tombs

and places through out Persia , India, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco along with
marble carving, plaster work, delicate inlay and tile work. Muslims also
evolved their own style of art, while producing beautiful ceramic tiles,
porcelain, pottery, plates, bowls, tapestries and rugs, and lamps.

The defining elements of Islamic Architecture are many. The use of the
frame created organization and design.. Calligraphy was found in the
decoration of almost every Islamic building as well as many objects.
Geometry become a major art form by using the circle as a basis and
generating patterns from repetition, symmetry and changing scale to create
unusual effects. Reflected light was developed and multiplied with the
Muqarnas cells beneath domes, and they reflected and refracted light.

Ceramic tiles and mirrors were added to use light and increase them.
Foliation including the classical vine and scroll motifs gave rise to the
abstract art of the arabesque. Lastly, water was an essential element,
whether flowing through palaces in India or in fountains found in the inner
courtyards of Spain. Islamic architecture influenced the widespread use of
the niche form for Mihrab, tombstone, door, window or decorative feature,
lamps, domes, mosaics, geometric shapes, patterns, intertwining leaf motifs
and designs, fountains, gardens, and courtyards.

Islamic art took from the civilizations surrounding it and also impacted them.
The Chinese were influenced in their vases and carpets. Medieval Europe
were influenced in their arts and showed it from their adoption of arches to
their illuminations of Latin and Hebrew manuscripts. Of course the epitome
of Islamic art can be seen in the greatest Islamic masterpieces such as the
grand mosques of Cordova in Spain, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Blue
mosque in Turkey. The works of these Muslim artists have become
prototypes and models on which other artists and craftsmen patterned their
own works, or from which they derived the inspiration for related work.

Thus the contributions of early Islam were so rich, so voluminous and so

varied that it defies this brief descriptive survey. These Muslims drew from
their pre-Islamic traditions, plus those of the civilizations they came into
contact with and they absorbed what went with their beliefs and rejected
what did not. Over the centuries they continued to develop and partake in
the pursuit of knowledge with no hesitation. The destruction of Baghdad and
the Mongol invasions did not even hinder them from learning and elaborating
on the arts and sciences, despite the great destruction of their books and
knowledge.

However, what is most important is not the discoveries themselves of the

early Muslims but the methodology and kind of thought behind what
produced them. Inspired by the truth of Islam, by strong faith and by
Quranic enjoinders to ponder, think and discover the world did they lead the
world in doing so. Only with this verve to relate the outward world of
science, art and philosophy to inner spirituality and religion can we again
reach the heights of the Golden Age of Islam.

[ A timetable of contributions:]

- Chuzini, Abu al-Fath al-; physicist.

- Ibn Hisham; biographer, historian.
- Ibn Labban, Kushyar.
- Ibn Turk, `Abd al-Hamid; mathematician.
- Ibn al-Muqtafi, Abu al-Fadl Ja`far; astronomer.
- 767 Ibn Ishaq; biographer, historian.
721- 815 Jabir ibn Hayyan, Abu Musa (Geber); alchemist.
780- 850 Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa al-; astronomer,
mathematician.
82?- 861 Farghani, Abu al-`Abbas al- (Afragamus); astronomer,
geographer.
- 870 Kindi, Abu Yusuf Ya`qub ibn Ishaq al-Sabah al-;
philosopher.
828- 889 Ibn Qutaybah; historian, philologist, theologian.
826- 901 Ibn Qurra, Thabit; mathematician.
865- 923 Razi, al- (Rhazes); alchemist, philosopher, physician.
839- 923 Tabari, al-; historian, theologian.
858- 929 Battani, al- (Albatenius); astronomer, mathematician.
870- 950 Farabi, al- (Alfarabicus); philosopher, poet.
940- 998 Abu al-Wafa'; astronomer, mathematician.
-1008 Ibn Yunus; astronomer, mathematician.
936-1013 Abu al-Qasim (Albucasis); physician.
-1029 Karkhi, al-; mathematician.
930-1030 Ibn Miskawayh; historian, philosopher.
980-1037 Ibn Sina, Abu `Ali al-Husayn (Avicenna); philosopher,
physician.
965-1039 Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen); mathematician, physicist.
973-1048 Biruni, al-; historian, mathematician, physicist.
1058-1111 Ghazali, Abu Hamid al- (Algazel); philosopher.
1048-1131 Khayyam, `Umar (Omar Khayyam); astronomer, mathematician,
poet.
1095-1138 Ibn Bajjah (Avempace); philosopher.
1075-1144 Zamakhshari, al-; philologist, theologian.
1090-1162 Ibn Zuhr, Abu Marwun `Abd al-Malik (Avenzoar, Abumeron);
physician.
1100-1185 Ibn Tufayl; philosopher, physician.
1126-1198 Ibn Rushd, Abu al-Walid (Averroes); philosopher,
physician.
1135-1204 Ibn Maymun (Maimonides); Jewish philosopher, physician.
1201-1274 Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-; astronomer, mathematician,
philosopher.
-1288 Ibn al-Nafis; physician.
-137? Ibn al-Shatir; astronomer.
1332-1406 Ibn Khaldun, Abu Zayd `Abd al-Rahman; historian,
sociologist.
-1436 Kashi, al-; mathematician.
1445-1505 Suyuti, al-; historian, philologist, theologian