The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam 9780199358434, 9780199358441, 2014000311, 9780199812578

Citation preview

THE

OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA

OF

PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE,

ano

TECHNOLOGY wy ISLAM IBRAHIM

KALIN,

IN CHIEF EDITOR

THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA

OF PHILOSOPHY,

SCIENCE, AND

TECHNOLOGY

IN ISLAM

EDITORIAL

SE RNS

BOARD

bi) bhp.

John L. Esposito Georgetown University

EDITOR

EN

CHIEF

Ibrahim Kalin Georgetown University

SENTORZEDITORS

Salim Ayduz Istanbul Medeniyet University

Caner Dagli College of the Holy Cross

THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY IN ISLAM

Ibrahim Kalin EDITOR

IN CHIEF

VOLUME

1

‘Abbas ibn Firnas—Mechanics and Engineering

NIVERSITY

PRESS

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

PRESS

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dares Salaam HongKong Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City New Delhi Shanghai ‘Taipei Toronto

Karachi Nairobi

With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

© Oxford University Press 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Oxford encyclopedia of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam / Ibrahim Kalin, editor in chief. volumes cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-935843-4 — ISBN 978-0-19-935844-1

1. Science—Islamic

countries—Encyclopedias. 2. Technology—Islamic countries—Encyclopedias. 3. Islamic philosophy—Encyclopedias. I. Kalin, Ibrahim. Q127.1742094 2013 297.2'603—dc23 2014000311 Set ISBN: 978-0-19-981257-8

Vol. 1 ISBN: 978-0-19-935843-4 Vol. 2 ISBN: 978-0-19-935844-1

Meh Se FANS) eat) we Printed in the United States of America

on acid-free paper

EDITORIAL

AND

PRODUCTION

STAFF

Acquiring Editor

Proofreaders

Damon Zucca

Jonathan Aretakis

Patti Brecht Mary Flower

Development Editor Anne Whittaker

Carol Holmes

Editorial Assistant Lauren Konopko

Indexer Katharyn Dunham

Production Editor Claudia Dukeshire

Compositor SPi

Copyeditors

Manufacturing Controller

Jonathan Aretakis Johanna Baboukis

Genieve Shaw Cover Design

Dorothy Bauhoff

Caroline McDonnell

Michele Bowman

Patti Brecht

Managing Editor

Mary Flower

Mary Araneo

Mary Funchion Kristen Holt-Browning Richard Isomaki

; Production MOR David Ford

Theresa V. Kornak

Executive Editor, Development

Jan A. Maas

Alixandra Gould

Margaret Procario

Benjamin Sadock

Publisher

Alan Thwaits

Damon Zucca

ane

en

mee,ae STS S61 Ftuas Mis)? Ob. tigi

iii ore GAM

CONTENTS

List of Entries

ix

Introduction to the Series John L. Esposito Preface Ibrahim Kalin

xvii

Common Abbreviations Used in This Work

THE OXFORD

xiii

xxi

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF

PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

IN ISLAM

Topical Outline of Entries, vol. 2,

463

Directory of Contributors, vol. 2,

469

Index vole2.6477

vii

@

ie

oS a”

i

=


“ce”

oe

wat

ae

LIST OF ENTRIES

A ‘Abbas ibn Firnas ‘Abduh, Muhammad Abdus Salam Aesthetic Theory Afghani, Jamal al-Din Agricultural Sciences Alchemy Algebra ‘Amili, Baha’ al-Din alAmiri, Abi al-Hasan alAnimals in Islamic Law and Muslim Culture Angarawi, Ismail Architecture Traditional Forms of Islamic Architecture Principles of Islamic Architecture Aristotelianism/Peripatetic Tradition in Islam Arithmetic Ashiari, Abi al-Hasan alAsh‘arism Astrolabe Astrology Astronomical Tables (Zi/) Astronomy Atom and Atomism Awliya Chalabi Azhar, al-

Battani, al-

Environment

Bioethics

Epistemology, Philosophy, and

Biology Biruni, al-

Bitraji, al-

Science Estimation (Wahm) Ether

Botany

Ethics (Akhlaq)

Bursevi, Ismail Hakka Buzjani, Abu-l-Wafa’

The Classical Period The Modern Period Evolution and Muslim Responses to It Existence and Essence Existence and

C Calendars Cause and Effect Chalabi, Hezarfen Ahmet Change and Movement Chemistry and Alchemy Classification of the Sciences Compass Contingency and Necessity Cosmological Science, Modern Cosmology and Models of the Cosmos Classical Modern Cybernetics

Non-Existence F

Farabi, al-

Farghani, Abu 1-‘Abbas alFarisi, Kamal al-Din alFartqi, Ismail Raji al-

G Gardens and Landscaping Gelenbevi, Ismail Geography and Cartography Geology

D Darulftinun, Ottoman Deduction and Induction

Geomancy Geometry Ghazali, Abi Hamid al-

Demonstration

Ghazali, Ahmad alGod, Proofs for the Existence of God-World Relationship Guénon, René

Design Argument B

Bahmanyar b. Marzuban Banu Musa

Education

Bayt al-Hikmah

E Earth Sciences

x | List OF ENTRIES

H

Hermeneutics and Allegorical Interpretation (Ta wil)

Hiyal Hospitals and Medical

Isfahan, School of Ishraqiyun Isma ilt Philosophy

J

I

Jabir ibn Aflah Jabir ibn Hayyan Jahiz, al-

‘Ibadi, Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-

Jazari, alJili, ‘Abd al-Karim al-

Institutions

Ibn al- Arabi Ibn al- Awwam

Ibn Bajjah

Ibn Bassal Ibn Battutah Ibn al-Baytar

Argument Karaji, alKashani, Afdal al-Din

Ibn al-Haytham

Katib Chalabi Khan, Sayyid Ahmad Khayal (Imagination)

Ibn Juljul Ibn Kamal Ibn Khaldiin, ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn Ibn Ibn Ibn

Masarrah Mu adh al-Nafis Nawbakht

Ibn al-Raqqam Ibn al-Rawandi Ibn Rushd, Abt al-Walid Muhammad Ahmad Ibn Sabin, ‘Abd al-Haqq Ibn al-Shatir Ibn Sina

Ibn Taymiyah, Taq! al-Din Ibn Tufayl Ibn Yunus Ibn al-Zuhr Family Ikhwan al-Safa’ Impact of the Scientific Revolution and Western Science

Industry Institutions of Science Education Classical Contemporary

Iqbal, Muhammad ‘Traqi, Abu al-Qasim al-

Contemporary Practice

Metalwork Metaphysics Methods in Science Military Institutions (Arsenals/ Foundries)

K Kalam Cosmological

Ibn Hazm Ibn al-Jazzar

Matter and Form Maturidi and Maturidism Mechanics and Engineering Medicine Traditional Practice

Khayyam, Umar

Khazini, Abt al-Fath ‘Abd Rahman alKhwarizmi, alKindi, alKirmani, Hamid al-Din al-

Knowledge and Its Types

Mineralogy Miracles Mir Damad

Miskawayh, Ahmad ibn Molla Fenari Mulla Jami Mulla Sadra

Muradi, alMusic, Philosophy, and Science Music, Technical Aspects of Mu tazilah Muwaggit and the Munajjimbashi, Office of the

L

Libraries in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey Light and Illumination Linguistics

Logical Proofs in Science and Philosophy Logic and Logical Terms

N

Nasafi, ‘Aziz al-Din alNasir-i Khusraw Nautical Sciences

Numerology Nursi, Bediiizzaman Said O

M Madrasas Magic

Observation Observatories Optics and Optical Theories

Major Correspondences in Philosophy and Science Major Discoveries and

P Paper

Inventions

Majriti, al-

Majriti, Maslamah ibn Ahmad alMaps and Mapmaking Mas tdi, Abt al-Hasan ‘Ali alMathematics

Philosophy Philosophy of Science in Islamic Civilization Physics Piri Reis Platonism and Neoplatonism Political Science

List OF ENTRIES

Primary Schools Prime Matter in Science and Philosophy Psychology Pythagoras in Islam

Q

Sexuality

Transmission of Greek Science

Shahraziri, Shams al-Din Shah Waliullah Shirazi, Qutb al-Din

Transmission of Indian

Sijistani, Abu Sulayman alSijistani, Abu Ya‘qub al-

and Philosophy Science and Philosophy Transmission of Islamic

Scientific and Philosophical Works to Europe

Qunawi, Sadr al-Din alQur’an and Science: The

Sinan the Architect Social Sciences Soul, The Space Spirit Substance and Accident

Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-

Contemporary Debate Qushji, “Ali al-

Sufi, “Abd al-Rahman, al-

Tusi, Sharaf al-Din al-

Sufism, Doctrinal and

Qaysari, Dawud alQuality and Quantity

Quhi, Abii Sahl al-

Philosophical (‘Trfan) R Rahman, Fazlur Razi, Aba Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya alRazi, Fakhr al-Din alReason and Intellect Reason and Revelation in Islam

| Xi

Transmission of the Modern Exact Science to the Muslim World

Trigonometry

U

Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din alSundials

Ulug Bey

Surgery and Surgical

Urbanism

Universal and Particular Universities

Sciences

Surgical Tools

Vi Virtue

T Tabari, Ibn Rabban al-

Void

Tabataba1, Muhammad Taqi al-Din ibn Ma'ruf

W

Rumi, Jalal al-Din

Rimi, Qadizade al-

Tawhidi, Abi Hayyan al-

Watermill Weights Western Reception of Islamic

Religion, Philosophy of Rida, Muhammad Rashid

Technology and Applied S Sabzawari, Mulla Hadi

Samargandi, Shams al-Din alSanad ibn ‘Ali Science Al-Andalus Muslim India Ottoman World Science Education in the Muslim World

Sciences of History Self, The Sensation

Sciences

Tehran, School of Thabit ibn Qurra Thanvi, Ashraf ‘Ali Theology (Kalam) Classical Modern

Wahdat al-Wujtid

Philosophy Windmill Wisdom (Hikmah) Women in Science

Y

Theories of Language Theories of Light

Yanyali Esat Efendi

Theories of Matter Translation of Greek and Persian Texts into Arabic

Z Zahrawi, alZarqali, alZoology

a a

J

-

_D =

,

~,

-

=

Ell,

wriich-ae ois 8

st

1 a

6

*@

=

.

(

a

t

ie

a

ry =

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

The Oxford Islamic World Encyclopedia Series is a series of four authoritative reference works, two volumes each, within a major subfield of Islamic studies: Islam and Women; Islam and Politics; Islam and Law; and Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam. Each multivolume set has its own editor in chief and editorial board. Although The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World offers a comprehensive foundation of information, the four two-volume sets form an eightvolume series that provides far more detailed study of many aspects of the Islamic world. The Islamic World Encyclopedia Series has been designed to be a primary reference not only for scholars and students of religion, history, and the social sciences but also for government, media and corporate analysts, as well as interfaith organizations, which

will find a reliable source of information for many

topics and issues not covered by existing reference works and coverage in emerging areas. Each multivolume set includes general overview articles from The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World as a foundation, drawing on its extensive coverage of Islam and Muslim societies and communities going back to the beginnings of Islam. However, the majority of articles are newly commissioned in-depth entries written by leading experts. Upon completion, the four sets will form an eight-volume series that, taken together, will

provide an in-depth, comprehensive, and detailed study of key aspects of the Islamic world. Each encyclopedia is offered in print and e-book format. Customers interested in a complete reference library in Islamic studies will be able to purchase the series. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the research, we are also offering each set individually. All of the newly commissioned material will be included in the Oxford Islamic Studies Online website (http://www. oxfordislamicstudies.com),

where it can be ac-

cessed in one place.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women Editor in Chief Natana J. DeLong-Bas

Boston College Scholarship on Islam and women has expanded exponentially over the past twenty years, with increasing specialization within the field as well as cross-pollination with other fields and disciplines. Recent scholarship has tended to focus on expanding both historical and contemporary case studies relative to countries and regions through both archival and theoretical studies, as well as mapping out transnational trends and the reinterpretation of ideas and disciplines by Muslim women throughout the world. xiii

xiv | INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

With this surge in interest, a genuine need has developed for a systematic reference work to provide balanced, comprehensive coverage of the field. An up-to-date, carefully organized reference source is urgently needed to help scholars assess the progress that has been made and to chart the path for future research. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Women is designed to meet this need by providing clear, current, comprehensive information on the major topics of scholarly interest within the study of women and Islam.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics Editor in Chief Emad El-Din Shahin The American University in Cairo ‘The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics provides in-depth coverage of the political dimensions of Islam and the Muslim world. At no time has the understanding of the nature, political dimensions, and implications of these developments been more needed. Developments in Muslim societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have highlighted the need for a major reference work that focuses primarily on the political dimensions of Islam. | The recognition of internal decay and relentless quest for reform; the collapse of the Islamic caliphate; the fall of most parts of the Muslim world under Western colonialism; the emergence of nation-states; the dominance of secular ideologies; the rise of Islamic revivalist movements and faith-based political, economic, and social alternatives; and the confrontation between Islamic movements and secular-inspired regimes have constituted major turning points in the contemporary history of Muslim societies. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics seeks to target specialized

users,

scholars,

students,

experts,

policy makers, and media specialists, and to offer

them accurate and balanced scholarship on Islam and politics.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law Editor in Chief Jonathan AC Brown

Georgetown University

Recent years have witnessed an increase in scholarly publications on the subject of Islamic law, and the topic has received growing attention in the popular press. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Isiam

and Law is intended to be the primary reference source for questions of Islamic law. It is conceived to help scholars assess the progress that has been made and chart the path for future developments in this flourishing area of research. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law is designed to meet this need by providing clear, current, comprehensive information on the major topics of scholarly interest within the study of Islam and the law. It is intended to be the main reference source for questions of Islamic law among engaged readers in the West and academics in general and legal researchers in particular. This encyclopedia contains conceptual entries that help readers from a Western legal background understand Islamic law and offers an extensive listing of Islamic legal technical terms, with an emphasis on discussing how Islamic law influences or exists in modern nation-states.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

Science, and Technology in Islam Editor in Chief Ibrahim Kalin Georgetown University

Philosophy and science in the Islamic tradition have not yet been covered systematically in asingle, authoritative reference work. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam builds on the subjects of philosophy, science,

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES | xv

and technology presented in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World, expanding them to provide comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the achievements of classical Islam as well as a detailed survey of the main features of philosophy, science, medicine, and technology in the Muslim world. Like other major religious traditions before the modern period, the Islamic tradition treated philosophy, science, and technology as part of a single quest to understand the reality of things. Nature was studied and researched as a subject matter for both philosophy and science. The methodology and subject matter of the classical sciences allowed philosophy and the natural sciences to interact with one another in comple-

mentary ways. Technology, a field in which the Muslim world produced an immense body of work, from astrolabes to watermills, developed as

an extension of both philosophy and science. Ad-

vanced techniques and technological devices quickly became a feature of urban life in the vast Muslim world stretching over the middle belt of the globe. Royal patronage was an important catalyst for the development of scientific institutions, including hospitals, libraries, and observatories.

This encyclopedia also covers the modern period during which interaction with modern (Western) philosophy and science as well as the transfer of modern technology into Muslim countries has led to the rise of new schools of thought and generated heated debates about Islam, tradition, and modernity up to the present time.

John L. Esposito Georgetown University

“abet Beige’ : Melitta pore |

al

an

~ “ONS

oe

denis ie ‘ Peseta -

eRe

as

cs

Teepe

"

“yk

=

&

oe ta

tee ag ypshvortagt tans.

a oes

7

*

>tKer

LCi:

Ky

“oh

bn ~~

ts

7

6

= es

9

§®

-zx

7

z4

a

ee °

-?>

>

-

.

>

>

7

-

tas

Me

af

Veen . oh

"2a

1

Aan

oy

7eg7 7

ena

ay

eran

wie

rs

.

® -

ae

im ee

os

d

ews

eat oat eres

oi}

Miva AL oth co

oe

be e

.

hy a ins ,

;

et

if

.

ees

n

PREFACE

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam (OEPSTI) builds upon the celebrated Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World and brings together the rich history of philosophical and scientific disciplines in Islam over the last fourteen centuries. It presents readers with a fairly complete treatment of the major themes, figures, and developments of the Islamic intellectual and scientific tradition. While entries of a technical nature provide accessible analysis of each subject, other entries discuss the larger issues of worldview and philosophical outlook that underpin the development of various disciplines in Islamic history. The rise and flourishing of the main themes and achievements of philosophy, science, and technology are discussed in a cross-disciplinary manner, combining linguistic and conceptual analysis with socio-historical contextualization. Philosophy, science, and technology in Islam are “Islamic” to the extent in which they embody

and reflect the metaphysical outlook and cultural ethos of Islam as a religion and civilization. While interacting with pre-Islamic philosophical and cultural traditions, Muslim philosophers, theologians, mystics, scholars, and scientists have articulated the worldview of Islam in a multitude of ways and given voice to different philosophical, artistic, and scientific possibilities. Some of the

more conceptual entries discuss these and other related issues in an effort to present the larger context of religious, philosophical, and cosmological ideas in Islam. The foundation of all things Islamic is tawhid or Divine unity, which establishes God’s absolute oneness above all things. Theologically speaking, Divine unity states Islam’s robust monotheism and places God at the center of the Islamic Weltanschauung and practice. But Divine unity also structures Islam's view of the universe and the human world, or, as the classical scholars called it, macro-cosmos

(al-alam al-kabir) and micro-

cosmos (al-alam al-saghir). This view of reality

has had a deep impact on the rise and development of all major Islamic sciences from Quranic

exegesis and jurisprudence to philosophy and cosmology. It has also shaped the ways in which religion, philosophy, and science have interacted with each other, leading to a holistic understanding and study of the world of nature as well as the human sphere. One of the leitmotifs of classical Islam is the absence of any clear-cut demarcations between the various fields of knowledge. A scholar with expertise in a religious discipline such as Quranic exegesis, as in the case of Ibn Kathir, could be an accomplished historian. A philosopher like Ibn Rushd could be a jurist and a physician at the xvii

xviii

| PREFACE

same time. Al-Biruni could be a major astronomer and mathematician, and exchange letters with Ibn Sina, but could also be a great ethnographer and cultural historian with his study on India. Such examples in the history of Islamic philosophy and science abound and confirm the integrated approach of the classical Muslim scholars to learning. It was within such a framework of understanding that nature was studied as a subject matter of both philosophy and science in the narrow sense of the term. The multiple methodologies that were developed over the centuries allowed philosophy and natural sciences to interact with one another in complementary ways. In the field of technology, Muslim and nonMuslim scholars produced an immense body of work from astrolabes and maps to watermills and surgical tools. Advanced techniques and technological devices became a common feature of urban life in all the major centers of the Muslim world, Royal patronage served as a catalyst for the development and maintenance of scientific

institutions

including

hospitals,

li-

braries, and observatories. Not everything produced in the Muslim world was “Islamic” in the technical sense of the term. Islamic lands were host to other religious and cultural traditions. Jews, Christians, and numerous

religious denominations worked together with their Muslim and other compatriots in a variety of disciplines and sciences. Al-Farabi’s teacher in logic, Yuhanna ibn Haylan, was a Christian. AlFarabi’s famous student in logic was Yahya ibn ‘Adi, a Syriac Christian from Baghdad. Moses Maimonides, considered to be the greatest Jewish theologian of the Middle Ages, was born in Cérdoba, Andalusia, and died in Egypt, spending all of his life in Muslim lands and composing his works in a multi-religious, multi-cultural milieu. To accommodate this religio-cultural diversity Marshall Hodgson has proposed the term “Islam-

icate,’ covering both the Islamic and non-Muslim elements in the history of Islam. The entries in OEPSTI pay due attention to this aspect of philosophical and scientific activities in Islamic history. Whether dealing with a prominent figure, scientific concept, or technological device, the entries take a multi-disciplinary approach to the cross-pollination of ideas, methods, arguments,

and encounters. Without claiming to be all-inclusive, OEPSTI covers the major areas of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam and includes major figures, institutions, topics, concepts, controversies,

events, and instruments. Entries and subthemes are designed to present the full spectrum of the rise and development of various strands of thought in different cultural and socio-political environments. They cover both the classical and modern periods and underscore the continuities and discontinuities of philosophical and scientific activity in various parts of the Muslim world. A number of entries discuss, in a critical manner, the interaction between the classical Islamic heritage and modern Western philosophy and science. The OEPSTI entries reflect the cutting-edge scholarship of a wide range of experts in Islamic studies. Scholars of Islamic philosophy, theology,

logic, history of science, natural history, cosmological sciences, ethics, aesthetics, environment, and other fields of research have produced an impressive body of entries that reflect the rich heritage of philosophy, science, and technology in Islam. Some entries have been transferred from the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World but they have been updated and augmented in content. The entries have been written with a view toward avoiding verbosity and redundant technicality without, at the same time, compromising on the content. In this sense the OEPSTI is designed for general readers, as well as students and experts of Islamic studies.

PREFACE

Using the Encyclopedia Entries in the encyclopedia are arranged in alphabetical order for ease of use. A table of contents is provided at the beginning to help with quick search and also to showcase the range of topics covered. A topical outline, list of contributors, and index are provided at the end of volume 2. Visual material is essential for contributions in science and technology and therefore we have included a number of maps, pictures of instruments, and drawings from different areas. Diacritical marks have been used to highlight the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Urdu originals of the words.

Acknowledgments A number of people deserve credit for this work. John Esposito, Series Editor and a dear friend, has been a source of inspiration and strength throughout the various stages of the encyclopedia. Damon Zucca, Acquiring Editor and Publisher at Oxford University Press, has been immensely helpful with the organization and execution of the project. Oliver Leaman made invaluable contributions to the early development of the project including the preparation of the list of names and themes but had to leave us due to his other commitments. We thank Mary Funchion, Development Editor, for her diligent work at the early stages of the en-

cyclopedia until her departure in 2012. Lauren

| xix

Konopko, Editorial Assistant, filled in during the editorial transition and ensured the continuity of the work. Anne Whittaker, Development Editor, has been simply superb with her diligence, punctuality, and commitment. We thank her particularly for her professionalism, for guiding us through the arduous task of editing, and for ensuring the completion of the encyclopedia within the given timeframe. I thank our Senior Editors Dr. Salim Ayduz and Dr. Caner Dagli for their knowledge and dedication and for authoring a number of key entries. Their work ethics and knowledge of Islamic philosophy and science have been essential for the success of the encyclopedia. Finally, we thank all of our contributors who have made available their expertise and scholarship and responded positively to our numerous queries and edits. We hope they will be as pleased with the encyclopedia as we are. No work of scholarship can claim absolute perfection, and a collective work such as this cannot

pretend to be immune from further improvement. However, we believe that The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam will fill an important vacuum in a key area of Islamic studies and encourage students and scholars to pursue the history of Islamic philosophy, science, and technology with new interest. Ibrahim Kalin

Georgetown University

-

atj'h* Wi

—

y

ig &

ra

_

ome

COMMON ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS WORK

AD AH

anno Domini, in the year of the Lord anno Hijra, in the year of migration from Mecca to to Medina born before the common era (= BC) circa, about, approximately

1. n. n.d. no. n.p. 8,

line (pl., IL)

common era (= AD)

p.

page (pl., pp.)

confer, compare

pt.

part

died

rev.

revised

dissertation editor (pl., eds), edition and following (pl., ff.) floruit, flourished

ser. supp. vol.

series

note

no date

number

no place new series

supplement volume (pl., vols.)

XXi

we

ens ay

ay f cialoh

wrt

re

red

fT.

J

see

Put

ions OD oer,

P

+

. ’

4

cae 46

:

HANI» teve alt 6

ae; gen _

;

yy

>

7

ows ® .

>

‘

= Ps

> ile igviey

(ie

dll

a

a.

Toe | o.

“wy

oe

um

a

5

:

val ty

= ‘anh,

out >omen

a

“te

lw eee ‘

|

te

4

ia

“ABBAS

IBN FIRNAS

(4d. 887), a poet,

adib, and scientist attached to the courts of the

in al-Andalus. Surprisingly, the poem that accompanied the armillary contained a verse stating, “If

Andalusian emirs al-Hakam I (796-822), ‘Abd al-

Ptolemy had been inspired to create it, he would

Rahman II (822-852), and Muhammad (852-886).

have never worked with the Qanitin tables.” It is

Born Abt |-Qasim ‘Abbas ibn Firnas ibn Wardas,

obvious that “Abbas had never read Ptolemy’s Almagest, which contains a detailed description of the instrument. He also built for the amir Muhammad a water clock (minqdna) that seems to have had automatons. In the accompanying poem, Ibn Firnas emphasizes the applications of the instrument for time reckoning and, specifically, for the determination of the prayer hours when atmospheric conditions did not allow the observation of the sun or the stars. He finally built, in a room of his house, a kind of planetarium that contained a representation of the sky, with the planetary spheres, and a mechanism able to produce effects similar to clouds, lightening, and thunder. Ibn Firnas was, therefore, more interested in

he was a mawla (client) of the Umayyads and of Berber extraction, his family having established itself in the region of Takurunna (Ronda). Only a small number of fragments of his poems have been preserved and the little available information on him derives from quotations of his poetry and secondary sources. Called Hakim al-Andalus (the Sage of al-Andalus) by the Historian Ibn Hayyan (987/88-1076), he was

interested in all branches of knowledge. He is above all renowned as one of the poet-astrologers present in the court of ‘Abd al-Rahman II who paid him a double salary as a poet and as an astrologer. There is no information about his activities, but he seems to have been very involved in those related to astronomy. In a poem, he asks the amir Muhammad to allow him to use the daftar

muhkam, probably a set of astronomical tables, which was in the hands of Ibn al-Shamir (Shimr),

technology than in astronomy per se. Another indication of this interest may be found in the work of Ibn Hayyan, who writes that Ibn Firnas “was the first in al-Andalus to develop the industry of

armillary sphere for ‘Abd al-Rahman II and this is

glass from the mineral,’ a sentence whose meaning other scholars have discussed: He might have

the first reference we have of the instrument's use

indeed developed a new technique to cut rock

another poet-astrologer of the court. He built an

2 | ‘ABBAs IBN FIRNAS

crystal or to fabricate glass. Also in the field of technology, he made an unsuccessful attempt to fly: Using a dress covered with feathers and a couple of wings, he jumped from a hill in the gardens of al-Rusafa, in Cordova, and successfully planed for a short distance before falling down and hurting his back. In other fields of knowledge, Ibn Firnas was the first Andalusian scholar to decipher al-Khalil’s Kitab al-Arad, a book that had reached alAndalus during the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman II. On this topic, he also seems to have written a nonextant book. Considered an expert in niranjat (magic charms), he was accused of heresy because, among other things, he had been heard to repeat mafail, understood as a kind of magic word instead of a metrical foot. He interpreted also an unidentified treatise on music probably brought from Mashrig by ‘Abbas ibn Nasih after one of his travels.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Aragon, M. “Ibn Firnas, “Abbas.” In Biblioteca de al-

Andalus, Vol. 3, edited by Jorge Lirola Delgado and José Miguel Puerta Vilchez, pp. 168-172. Almeria, Spain: Fundacion Ibn Tufayl de estudios arabes, 2004. Forcada, Miquel. “Astronomy, Astrology and the Sciences of the Ancients in Early al-Andalus (2nd/8th3rd/gth

centuries).” Zeitschrift fiir Geschichte

Arabisch-Islamischen

der

Wissenschaften (Frankfurt) 16

(2004-2005): 1-74.

Terés, Elias. “‘Abbas ibn Firnas.” In The Formation of al-Andalus, Part 2: Language, Religion, Culture and the Sciences, edited by Maribel Fierro and Julio Sams6, pp. 235-244. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate-Variorum, 1998.

JULIO SAMSO

‘ABDUH,

MUHAMMAD

(1849-1905)

Egyptian jurist, writer, and one of the most celebrated and somewhat controversial Islamic thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Life and Works. ‘Abduh’s family worked in agriculture in the village of Mahallat Nassr in the modern Egyptian governorate of Buhayrah. His religious father hired an instructor to teach him the Qur'an, which ‘Abduh memorized in only two years before reaching the age of 13. Impressed by his talents, his family sent him in 1862 to the neighboring city of Tanta to continue his Islamic education in its biggest mosque al-Ahmadi (or Ahmad al-Badaw1) mosque. The traditional teaching methods and obscure material did not appeal to ‘Abduh, nor did the inefficient teachers. He left the mosque with a plan to start a career in farming and to not pursue any further religious education. Before returning to his village, “Abduh stayed in the house of a Sufi relative who, by using a one-on-one method to explain Sufi writings to him, incited his love and a quest for more religious knowledge. This experience informed his subsequent critique of the traditional teaching and learning systems, which were centered not on critical thinking but on memorization and reading of texts fraught with epexegesis and unintelligible commentaries. After resuming his Islamic education and moving to al-Azhar in 1866, Abduh showed interest in learning science, mathematics, and philosophy, subjects that only a few scholars could offer, while the rest reminded him of the oldfashioned teachers he formerly abandoned. An exceptional teacher he met in 1872 was

al-Din

Afghani (1839-1897),

Jamal

a widely traveled

and influential Islamic intellectual whom he immediately adopted as a mentor and spiritual guide. The religious thought and passion for political and social reform demonstrated by Afghani made a deep impression on ‘Abduh, whose worldview became informed by modern theories, rather than following the traditional approach exclusively. Both of them worked to call for the liberation of the Muslim world from colonial control and its own prevailing state of ignorance.

‘ABDUH, MUHAMMAD

‘Abduh graduated from al-Azhar in 1877 as a teaching scholar and began his career at Dar al‘Uliim, which was founded in 1871 to teach Is-

lamic and modern subjects. He was dismissed in 1879, the same year Afghani was expelled from Egypt as a result of harassment from the Britishcontrolled Council of Ministers. In the next year, ‘Abduh was in charge of the official gazette al-Waqa@i al-Missriyya, in which he criticized instruction in Egyptian schools, prevailing bribes in the government, and nonreligious and innovative practices among Muslims. ‘Abduh’s time was politically turbulent, as Egypt was under British control and weak khedives. This situation contributed to his political activism, which is demonstrated by his support of Ahmad ‘Urabi’s nationalist revolt (1879-1882)

against the khedive and foreign influence in Egypt and its military establishment. The failure of this uprising and the British occupation of Egypt in 1882 resulted in Abduh’s exile to Beirut. There, he was engaged in teaching in mosques and developing the Sultaniya School, where he was hired as an instructor of Islamic subjects and Arabic. Some of the Islamic lessons he gave in Beirut were published in Egypt in 1897 under the title Risalat al-tawhid (Theology of Unity), a significant theology book that shows his deep knowledge of Islamic philosophy and his emphasis on reason, rather than mere imitation, in understanding the essence of Islamic faith. In the same year, he published Sharh Kitab al-Bassq@iral-Nassiriyya, a commentary on a medieval work on logic, one of ‘Abduh’s favorite subjects. ‘Abduh went to Paris in 1884 and co-founded

with Afghani al-‘Urwah al-wuthqa (The Firmest Bond), a weekly political and literary newspaper mainly devoted to critiquing anticolonial rule and promoting national and Muslim unity to oppose it. Even though the newspaper was discontinued in less than a year, it established ‘Abduh’s involvement in Egyptian politics and

| 3

made him famous as a religious scholar committed to political and social causes, which inspired many young Egyptian officers and intellectuals to consider him as a national symbol. However, ‘Abduh’s political zeal subsided when he returned to Beirut. He dedicated himself to teaching and writing, producing two commentaries:

one in

1885 titled Nahj al-balaghah (The Way of Eloquence), a classical anthology of wise sayings and eloquent opinions supposedly attributed to ‘All ibn Abi Talib; and a commentary in 1889 on alHamadhani's Magamat, the assemblies of rhymed stories with poetic passages. These works reflect ‘Abduh’s fascination with eloquence, rhymed prose, and witty turns of phrase; hence, the famous phrase attributed to him: “In France, I saw Islam but no Muslims; in Egypt, I see Muslims but no Islam.” When ‘Abduh returned to Egypt in 1889, he changed his approach to politics and avoided confronting political authority. Instead, he focused on educating his followers and engaging some of them in providing social services to the poor and spreading awareness about the need for reform and modernization. For the next ten years, he worked as a judge with the publication in 1897 of Sharh Kitab al-Bass@ir al-Nassiriyya, a commentary on a medieval work on logic, one of ‘Abduh’s favorite subjects. He became the grand mufti of Egypt in 1899, a position that he held until his death, which interrupted his commentary on the Quran, a project that was resumed by his student Rashid Rida.

His Intellectual Life and Influence. Like Afghani, Muhammad ‘Abduh adopted a panIslamic approach and used eloquence and reasoning to call for a revival of Islam. In addition to teaching and writing, Abduh relied on journalism and a network of followers to promote his thought, and many intellectuals of the time were either his followers or were indirectly influenced by his reformative ideas. Some of his disciples

4 | ‘ABDUH, MUHAMMAD

were renowned politicians, such as Sad Zaghlul; nationalist reformers, such as Qasim Amin; edu-

cators, such as Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid; men of let-

ters, such as Mustafa Sadig al-Rafii; and famous writers with encyclopedic knowledge, such as Muhammad Rashid Rida and ‘Abbas Mahmtid al-‘Aqqad. By bringing a new intellectual dimension to the Muslim scholar, through connecting Islamic scholarship with modern currents of thought, ‘Abduh embraced the culture of his time and became an influential public intellectual in Egypt. He did not shy from embracing or experimenting with new intellectual movements and thus reportedly became a member of the Freemasons for a short time. His interdisciplinary knowledge, independent character, and openmindedness attracted Western politicians and intellectuals who communicated and debated with him. Using his intellectual and religious status, ‘Abduh introduced a project of reform to Egyptian society, which, like the rest of the Muslim world, was visibly less developed than the Western powers that were active in their colonial projects. Instead of dismissing and blaming the West, ‘Abduh addressed himself to the roots of backwardness in Arab and Muslim society. As such, he was critical of the social, educational, and economic system in the East, and he admired what he saw as the scientifically oriented and orderly European societies, Even though he criticized the West's reliance on power and its dominance of Muslim states, “Abduh believed in dialogue to dispel misunderstanding between Western and Muslim societies, rather than designating the differences in religion and culture as basis for renouncing anything Western. Such a moderate political stance exposed him to tenacious critics accusing him of being friendly to foreign or hostile powers. This approach applied also to the Caliphate, which “Abduh saw as a flawed system under the Ottomans and called for its reform, while at the same time refusing to give “religious

authority” to any person because Islam itself abolished such authority that was practiced in pre-Islamic societies. Unlike Afghani, who was revolutionary in his approach for a developed and independent Muslim nation, ‘Abduh was a reformist who envisioned a gradual change that would reflect the development in the consciousness of people. The major tool for such change was education, but he also acknowledged that traditional schools and al-Azhar needed change and reform in order to be a driving force of progress. These institutes were characterized largely by recycling past knowledge and accumulated exegesis to provide the student with classical information not necessarily relevant to the real needs of modern society. That is why ‘Abduh adopted a practical program of addressing the elite and, to some extent, the masses with the need to modernize religious institutes and al-Azhar in particular, promoting its adoption of new sciences and disciples, such as mathematics, history, and geography. His position as Egypt's mufti allowed him to be officially engaged in improving religious education at al-Azhar, which he constantly blamed for the lack of development in Egypt. Not objecting to modern sciences developed by non-Muslims, ‘Abduh himself utilized scientific theories, sociology, psychology, and other fields in developing his thought and in reading Islamic texts to make them easy to understand. One of the reported anecdotes about this methodology concerns a piece of advice he gave to his student Muhammad Musstafa al-Maraghi, who was then a judge and who later became the shaykh of al-Azhar. After ‘Abduh advised him to be a guide to people and not only a judge, he asked him if he knew the definition of knowledge. After al-Maraghi answered by narrating the classical definitions of the term, ‘Abduh gave him a simple answer implying that knowledge is what benefited people, asking him to seek this type of knowledge while working,

ABDUS SALAM

‘Abduh’s approach to reforming society included defending the rights of women and encouraging the public to accept the engagement of women in education. Because of the effective role they can play in society, he called for giving women an appropriate education to liberate them from ignorance and superstitions, emphasizing the Islamic imperative for seeking knowledge regardless of gender differences. One of his revolutionary stances regarding the improvement of womens status was the decree that a judge was allowed to prevent polygamy, which reflects his disapproval of the male-oriented rules regarding divorce and polygamy. As a scholar in the field of Quranic studies,

Abduh challenged some of the conventional interpretations of the Quran regarding miracles and prioritized the utilization of modern sciences in understanding the universe. In the influential journal al-Manar, he attempted to find common ground between modern discoveries and Quranic verses. This novel approach aroused objections from many al-Azhar scholars, who did not approve of his unorthodox interpretations, such as his reading of a Quranic verse referring to groups of birds, which were sent by Allah to stone the attackers of the Ka’bah as mosquitos carrying germs of some diseases. This example shows ‘Abduh’s rational approach to prove that modernization and Islam are compatible. His al-Islam wal-Nassraniyya maal-ilm wal-madaniyya (Islam and Christianity: Science and Civilization), published in 1902,

defends Islam against Orientalist views but also criticizes Muslim scholars who, instead of continuing to be a source of knowledge to Europe, indulged in flawed imitations of previous schools of thought, without creative understanding of their religion. For ‘Abduh, if Islam can be for all people and all times, then there should not be rigid orthodoxies that, through imitation of old schools rather than informed interpretation, prevent Muslims from adapting to modern life.

|5

Living in Egypt when it was still under the direct influence of the West, ‘Abduh taught his fellow Arabs and Muslims that a revival, or nahda, was an Islamic obligation and that a new understanding of Islam and its position in the world was necessary. He challenged political, social, and religious establishments and demanded reform. His legacy centralizes the embracing of an Islamic identity while being open to modernization, critical thinking, and ongoing reform.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

‘Abduh, Muhammad. Al-A‘mal al-kamila li. Edited and introduction by Muhammad ‘Amara. Beirut: Dar al-Shurigq, 1993.

‘Aqqad, ‘Abbas Mahmiid. ‘Abgariyyat al-Imam. Cairo: Dar al-Ma‘arif, 1943.

Badawi, Muhammad

Zaki. The Reformers of Egypt.

London: Croom Helm, 1978.

Kedourie, Elie. Afghani and ‘Abduh: An Essay on Religious Unbelief and Political Activism in Modern Islam. London: Cass, 1966. ASAAD AL-SALEH

ABDUS

SALAM

Pakistan's

preeminent

theoretical physicist and sole Nobel Prize winner, Abdus Salam (1926-1996) grew up in the town of

Jhang (Punjab). An unsophisticated home environment notwithstanding, he rapidly outpaced his teachers, who recognized and respected the young boy’s talent for physics and mathematics. Winning a scholarship enabled him to proceed to England, and in 1949 Salam earned a degree in

physics from Cambridge University in just one year. Then in 1950 he solved an important problem in renormalization theory, becoming a minor academic celebrity. In 1951 he returned to Government College, Lahore, but found to his disappointment that research was not encouraged. Without a library or colleagues to talk to, he reluctantly went back to Britain in 1954.

6 | Asbus SALAM

Prize (1968), the Einstein Medal (1979), and the

he put before the doyen of twentieth-century quantum physics, Wolfgang Pauli. But Pauli rejected the idea and advised against publication, a mistake Salam regretted because a Nobel Prize was awarded to T. D. Lee and C. N. Yang for the same idea some years later. One of his students, Yuval Ne’eman, was the co-discoverer of “the eight-fold way” of classifying baryons, with Murray

Peace Medal (1981). Salam received honorary de-

Gell-Mann. Another, Ronald Shaw, discovered the

By the early 1960s, Salam was already among

the world’s top authorities in particle physics. At thirty-one, he was the youngest professor of theoretical physics ever employed at Imperial College, London. Apart from the 1979 Nobel Prize, he held, among others, the Adams

from Cambridge

University, Atoms

Prize (1958)

for Peace

grees from more than forty universities world-

non-Abelian gauge theory independently of C. N.

wide and a knighthood in 1989 for his services to

Yang and Robert Mills.

British science. Scientific Accomplishments. Salam’s earlier achievements included clarifying the role played by renormalization in quantum field theory. During his PhD work at Cambridge, he had resolved the thorny problem of “overlapping divergences. His abiding interests lay in various aspects of quantum field theory: renormalizability, non-abelian gauge theories, and chirality. Salam was among the early pioneers who applied group theory to classify existing particles and predict new ones. These crucial elements led to the unification of the weak and electromagnetic

Views on Islam and Science. Salam wrote extensively on the Golden Age of Muslim science, seeking to inform and enthuse Muslims by copious references to that period. He would frequently return to the reasons why science has vanished from Muslim lands today. Salam concluded, “Science only prospers provided there are sufficient practitioners to constitute a community

which can work with serenity, with fullest support in terms of the necessary experimental and library infrastructure, and with the ability to criticize openly each other’s work. These conditions are not satisfied in contemporary Islam”

forces—work for which he shared the 1979 Nobel

(Salam 1990).

Prize with Steven Weinberg and Sheldon Glashow. This unification work is considered foundational for modern elementary particle physics. Subsequently, together with Jogesh Pati from the University of Maryland, Salam proposed that the strong nuclear force might also be included in this unification. This “Grand Unified Theory” predicts magnetic monopoles and proton decay— phenomena that are still being searched for. Salam, together with his lifelong collaborator John Strathdee, also proposed the idea of superspace, a space with both commuting and anti-commuting coordinates, which is extensively used in supersymmetry research, Salam’s interest in weak interaction physics led him to believe that all neutrinos are twocomponent left-handed particles, an idea which

Although Salam’s frequent allusions to mystical experiences have left a widespread impression that he favored a fusion of religion with science, he made explicit his position that this is not what he actually believed to be true. In fact, he explicitly stated that there is only one universal science. Its problems and modalities are international, and there is no such thing as Islamic science, just as there is no Hindu science, no Jewish science, no Confucian science, nor Chris-

tian science,

Developing Science. As a Pakistani theoretical physicist in Britain, Salam became one of the most authoritative and influential advocates of science for the developing world. His position on scientific development went against the grain of commonly accepted wisdom of his times, that is,

AESTHETIC THEORY

that scientific development in developing countries is best done by concentrating on specific technologies. Salam took umbrage at notions like “theoretical physics is the Rolls Royce of sciences—what the developing countries want is nothing more than bullock carts” (Salam 1986, p. 12). He held that the theoretical sciences are

central to both intellectual and material progress, and so proposed and promoted the idea of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste. Founded by him in 1964, it was

renamed the Abdus Salam ICTP after his death. The Centre has remained intellectually vigorous under subsequent directors and continues to host hundreds of visitors from developing countries every year. In earlier years, Salam had been very influential in Pakistan. Seen as a kind of cultural amphibian equally at home in Pakistan and in scientific circles of the West, Salam became the chief scientific adviser to Pakistani president Ayub Khan. He helped to establish SUPARCO (Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission) and PAEC (Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission). But 1974 marked the turning point

in his life when, by a decision of Pakistan's national assembly, the Ahmadiyah sect of Islam, of which Salam was a member, was declared heretical. Salam resigned his official position. Earlier, he had been only moderately observant of Islamic rituals but subsequently became much stricter. Perhaps in reaction, he began signing his name as Mohammed Abdus Salam. Subsequent years saw Salam’s influence in the Muslim world fade. The Islamic Science Foundation, Salam’s grand scheme for scientific advancement with a projected endowment of $1 billion collected from oil-rich countries, came to naught after he was banned from entering Saudi Arabia. Kuwait and Iran gave only small amounts of money for supporting their scientists at the ICTP. Salam died in Oxford at age seventy on 20

November

| 7

1996 after a debilitating illness and

was buried in Rabwah, Pakistan. He is uncelebrated in the country today because of his religious affiliation; the world “Muslim” was scratched

away from his tombstone by a court order. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fraser, Gordon. Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam - The First Muslim Nobel Scientist. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. de Greiff, Alexis. “Abdus Salam: A Migrant Scientist in Post-Imperial Times.’ Economic and Political Weekly, 21 January 2006. Salam, Abdus. Ideals and Realities: Selected Essays of Abdus Salam, 3d ed. Edited by C. H. Lai and Azim Kidwai. Singapore: World Scientific, 1986. Salam, Abdus. Preface to Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality, by Pervez Hoodbhoy. London: Zed Books, 1990. PERVEZ HOODBHOY

AESTHETIC THEORY

‘here was a well-

developed discussion of aesthetics in classical Islam, especially with respect to literature. Indeed, one of the most popular proofs for the miraculous nature of the Quran was based on its beauty, a beauty apparently beyond the level of human creativity. This sort of proof required an extensive

aesthetic vocabulary, and presented a range of views on what it means for a piece of writing to be graceful, beautiful, evocative, and so on. The idea taken from Aristotle's Poetics that poetry could be analyzed in terms of the syllogism, with a rather weak but nonetheless logical process of explication, was used extensively by thinkers ranging from al-Farabi up to Ibn Rushd. The Sifi tradition in particular has developed a considerable literature on the meaning of art, beauty, and aesthetics. The works of Rumi, Ibn al-‘Arabi, Mulla Jami, and Farid al-Din ‘Attar,

among others, contain discussions of the role of

8 | AESTHETIC THEORY

beauty in reaching the Divine and purifying the human soul, Traditional Islamic theory of Divine Names usually divides the names of God into two broad categories: the Names of Majesty (asmd al-

jalal) and the Names of Beauty (asmd’ al-jamal). The second group of names, which include such Divine Names as the Beautiful, the Merciful, the Forgiver, and so on, are believed to refer to the “feminine aspect” of the Divine and underlie the aesthetic dimension of the creation of the world. Many Stifis also make use of the Hadith saying that “God is beautiful and He loves beauty.” As an aspect of the Divine, beauty is considered to be part of Muslim life and functions as a principle to refine and beautify everything from the human soul to the cities in which humans live. In the nineteenth century this situation underwent a change, primarily in response to contacts with the West, but the impact was uneven throughout the Islamic world. In this period the primary spokesmen for the arts of Islam were at first the colonizers themselves or, in the case of the Ottoman Empire, Western specialists such as Parvillée or Montani who worked for Ottoman patrons. The early printed works by Europeans dealing with the art of Islamic lands were largely descriptive and often lavishly illustrated. Some stressed the exotic aspects of Islamic art, and

others expressed or implied the European view that the lack of a tradition of sculpture and easel painting, or the absence of linear perspective in painting meant that Islamic art was somehow un-

developed or inferior. At the same time Europe was granting new status to art forms traditionally among the foremost in Islamic society—the socalled “decorative arts’—and Europe’s admiration for Islamic accomplishments in these media was both sincere and widespread. Both new and old European art theories influenced the Islamic world profoundly. From the Ottoman Empire artists were sent to Europe (primarily as an adjunct to military training) to learn

Western techniques of painting and the means of depicting pictorial space. At the same time, the establishment of European museums of decorative arts where Islamic works figured prominently caused Islamic artists and writers to look at their own early traditions with new respect. By the turn of the twentieth century, various movements to renew or “purify” Islamic art began to emerge in various parts of the Islamic world. In the Ottoman Empire this movement grew

out of a nationalist ideology, especially in architecture, and resulted in a body of writing that sought the establishment of a true national style in architecture by rejecting the Europeanized taste of the nineteenth century and returning to the classical Ottoman style of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In Iran a somewhat similar movement,

incorporating historicism and a re-

vival of past glories and applied to many artistic media, arose under the Qajars. Nationalist writers in the Arab world, and to a lesser extent in India, decried the artistic influence of educational systems, and patronage meant that few artists or architects were able to express the new theories. Between the two world wars, little changed in the Islamic world artistically; in the meantime, how-

ever, European Orientalists had taken a fresh look at early texts, and a more comprehensive view of Islamic aesthetic practice, if not theory, began to emerge in the works of such scholars as Thomas Arnold and Ernst Kihnel.

Following World War II, with the emerging independence of many Islamic nations, a revolution in aesthetic theory occurred throughout the Islamic world. European converts to Islam and scholars from the Islamic world sought a new centrality and universality of meaning in Islamic art under the concept of tawhid or unity, while wrestling with the traditional Islamic proscription against figural images, The emergence of the printing press, television, cinema, and political democracy, with its attendant political imagery,

AFGHANI, JAMAL AL-DIN

has prompted tentative attempts to tackle the theological issues around taswir (representational painting). Some have proposed that representation of the human form is not necessarily antiIslamic but is in fact an important and vital part of Islamic cultural traditions. Islamic religious art has been viewed in new perspectives by European Muslims such as James Dickie, Martin Lings, and Titus Burckhardt, and in the Islamic world by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Tharwat ‘Ukashah in Egypt. A Sufi approach to understanding both Islam and art became popular, emphasizing the role of art as a gateway to the deeper realities that lie behind the world of appearance. Two scholars, Valérie Gonzalez and Doris Behrens-Abouseif, have attempted a systematic overview of the concept of beauty in Islam, the former extrapolating elements of a contemporary theory of Islamic

aesthetics from this overview. Concrete political reflections, however crude, of an “Islamic” concept of beauty are many. State-supported “re-islamization” of artistic traditions has been attempted with varying degrees of success across the Islamic world, perhaps most notably in Morocco. By contrast, secular Islamic regimes such as Turkey and Bathist Iraq experienced a broad development of responses to international artistic styles. The varied approaches to visual art today are often filled with irony: the Taliban’s Mullah Ibrahim lived in a residence whose walls were decorated with crude paintings of verdant landscapes, while Saddam Hussein’s palaces in Iraq, with their mélange of Islamic and neo-Babylonian motifs, have been widely noted. Today’s conflicts over the definition of Islamic art are a profound reflection of a deeper dialectic within modern Islamic society and culture; a broad consensus is unlikely to emerge despite the efforts of the Aga Khan Foundation and other organizations to help define “Islamic” architecture and design for

the twenty-first century.

| 9

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arnold, Thomas. Painting in Islam: A Study of the Place of Pictorial Art in Muslim Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1928. The first major study of the religious environment of Islamic pictorial art. Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Beauty in Arabic Culture. Princeton, N.J. Markus Weiner, 1999. A recent look

at the notion of beauty in Arabic arts. Burckhardt, Titus. Art of Islam: Language and Meaning. London: World of Islam Festival Pub., 1976. Examines the theoretical and aesthetic principles of Islamic art. Gonzalez, Valérie. Beauty and Islam: Aesthetics in Is-

lamic Art and Architecture. London and New York: 1.B. Tauris, 2001. Looks to medieval Islamic Aristotelian philosophers as the source of an Islamic aesthetics and uses contemporary aesthetics to formulate a view of Islamic art. Leaman, Oliver. Islamic Aesthetics: An Introduction. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press,

2008. An account of the main approaches in aesthetics to Islamic art, generally critical of Sufi interpretations.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Art and Spirituality. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1987.

Discussion of the aesthetics and spirituality of Islamic visual art, music, and literature. Schimmel, Annemarie. Calligraphy and Islamic Culture. New York: New York University Press, 1984.

Aesthetics and symbolism of the most important Islamic art form in the context of the Islamic mystical tradition. ‘Ukashah, Tharwat. The Muslim Painter and the Divine: The Persian Impact on Islamic Religious Painting. London: Park Lane, 1981. Deals with the phenomenon of figural representation of religious themes in Islamic art. WALTER B. DENNY

Revised by OLIVER LEAMAN

AFGHANI, JAMAL AL-DIN

(1838-1897),

scholar and pan-Islamic activist. One of the

most important figures of modern Islam, Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani is considered the founding father of several intellectual and _political

10 | AFGHANi, JAMAL AL-DIN

trends, including Islamic reformism and panIslamism. He has influenced generations of Muslims from India and Afghanistan to Iran, Egypt, and Turkey. Two competing theories have been proposed about Afghanis place of birth; questions regarding his nationality and sect have become a source of long-standing controversy. Those who claim that he was Persian and Shi‘ argue that he was born in Hemedan, Iran. There is little evidence to prove this claim, other than the fact that

Afghant'’s father spent some time in Iran and that Afghani was well-versed in traditional Islamic philosophy. The other theory holds that he was born in a village called Asadabad near Kabul, Afghanistan. Education and Political Career. Afghani received his early education from his father, Safder. He studied linguistics, mathematics, history, philosophy, and medicine. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, he went to India (1855-1856) to continue

his studies, and he performed the hajj in 1857. He returned to Afghanistan in 1858 and was taken into the royal service of Amir Dost Muhammad.

When Dost Muhammad died in 1863, his brother Muhammad A’zam acceded to the throne and appointed Afghani as prime minister. After A’zam lost his rule, Afghani left Afghanistan for Iran,

then traveled to India. Taking note of his growing influence and anti-Western stance, the British sought to contain him in India, which led to his eventual departure for Egypt. In 1870, he traveled to Egypt and then to Istanbul, where he received a warm welcome from Ottoman officials and intellectuals. But some of his public announcements about certain theological issues enraged some Ottoman scholars, forcing him to leave Istanbul. Afghani returned to Egypt and stayed there for eight years (1871-1879), during which time he

began to spread his philosophical and political ideas through private classes and public lectures. It was also during this time that Afghani became

politically active against the Egyptian ruler Khedive Ismail Pasha. He was critical of Ismail Pasha’s oppressive policies and advocated political freedom, urging the participation of all Egyptians in the government. Hopeful of reform, he supported Ismail Pasha’s son Tawfiq Pasha. Soon after, however, Tawfiq Pasha grew suspicious of Afghanis ideas and activities, and he ordered, under pressure from the British, Afghani’s depor-

tation.

Afghani returned to India, remaining there until 1882. During this period, he became closely acquainted with the positivistic ideas of Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Afghani wrote his famous Hakikat-i Mazhab-i Nichiri va Bayan-i hal-i Nichiriyan (The Truth about the Neichari Sect and an Explanation of the Necharis), first published in 1881 in Haydarabad, in rejection of S. A. Khan and his followers. The book was later translated by his friend and colleague Muhammad ‘Abduh into Arabic and was published as al-Radd ‘ala al-dahriyyin (The Refutation of the Materialists) in 1886 in

Beirut. At the beginning of 1883, Afghani arrived in

London; after a short stay there, he left for Paris. In Paris he began to publish the journal Al-‘Urwah al-wuthqa (‘The Firmest Rope—a title taken from the Qur'an) with Muhammad ‘Abduh. Due to a number of difficulties, Al-‘Urwah was discontinued in September 1884 after the publication of eighteen issues. Through his essays and lectures, as well as his polemic against the well-known French historian and positivist Ernest Renan,

Afghani established a considerable name for himself in Parisian intellectual circles. In 1886, he was invited by Shah Nasir al-Din to Iran and was offered the position of special adviser to the Shah, which he accepted. Afghani, however, was critical of the Shah's policies on the question of political participation, This rift forced Afghani to leave

Iran for Russia from 1886 to 1889. On his way to Paris in 1889, Afghani met Shah Nasir al-Din in

AFGHAN, JAMAL AL-DIN

Munich; the Shah offered him the position of grand vizier. But Afghanis unabated criticisms of the rule and conduct of the Shah led to his eventual deportation from Iran in the winter of 1891. Afghani was later implicated in the murder of Shah Nasir al-Din in 1896.

Afghani spent the last part of his life in Istanbul under the patronage and, later, surveillance of Sultan “Abd al-Hamid II. The demands for Afghanfs extradition by Iranian officials for his alleged involvement in the assassination of Shah Nasir al-Din were rejected by ‘Abd al-Hamid who, most probably, collaborated with Afghani for the implementation of his political program of pan-Islamism and Islamic unity (ittihad-i islam). Afghani died of cancer on 9 March 1897, and was

buried in Istanbul. He has an empty tomb in the Seyhler Cemetery, Macka, Istanbul, as his bones were transferred to Afghanistan upon the request of the Afghan government in 1944.

Reform and Renewal. Afghanis career as a thinker and activist has had a deep impact on the

Islamic world and continues to be a source of inspiration and controversy. His project of Islamic “reform” and “renewal” (islah and tajdid), which he developed in his lectures, polemics, short essays, and newspaper columns, was based on the idea of finding a modus vivendi between traditional Islamic culture and the philosophical and scientific challenges of the modern West. Afghani took a middle position between blind

Westernization and its wholesale rejection by the traditional ‘ulam@. He held that modern Western science and technology are essentially separable from the philosophical ethos, social manners, and imperialist politics of European countries and that technology could be acquired by the Islamic world without accepting European theological and philosophical premises. Afghani was well versed in traditional Islamic philosophy, and he considered philosophy essential for the revival of Islamic civilization. This

| 11

belief is clearly reflected in his various lectures, particularly in al-Radd ‘ald al-dahriyyin (The Refutation of the Materialists). In fact, many of Afghanis philosophical arguments against the naturalists and materialists derive their force from his philosophical training. As revealed in his lecture “The Benefits of Philosophy,” Afghant’s vision of a “modern Islamic philosophy” was closely tied to his confidence in the recent advancements made in the fields of science and technology. Unlike traditional theology (kalam), philosophy should articulate a cosmology based on the findings of modern science. These and similar ideas expressed by Afghani have been used by his critics and enemies to label him as a “heretic.” Afghanis program of reform and revival is based on the principle of going back to the fundamental sources of Islam, that is, the Quran and

the Sunnah of the Prophet. The failure of the Muslim world is not attributable to the religion of Islam but the misinterpretation of religion at the hands of ignorant and misguided Muslims. The remedy is not to change the religion but to take it back to its original meaning and spirit. The way to do this is ijtihad, defined as independent reasoning and judgment through the methodology of Islamic jurisprudence. Afghani strongly believed that Muslims, while relying on tradition, are capable of achieving ijtihad for themselves at any moment in history. Independent reasoning does not contradict or cancel out revelation because reason and revelation are perfectly compatible. The failure of Muslims to use reason to uncover the multilayered meanings of the Qur'an has led to the decline of Islamic civilization. Reform and revival means recovering the original, true, and dynamic spirit of Islam to cope

with the religious, intellectual, and social challenges of the modern world. Afghanis political program of pan-Islamism (ittihdd-i islam) sought to mobilize Muslim nations to fight against Western imperialism and to

12

| AFGHANI, JAMAL AL-DIN

gain military power through modern technology. He saw the unity of Muslim countries as essential for the future of the Muslim world and the Caliphate. To this end, he sent letters to various Islamic countries and leaders, both Sunni and Shi, to mobilize and unite them against British rule, while at the same time trying to establish the foundations of a mutual rapprochement between Sunni and Shii. His goal was to unite the Ottoman Empire and Persia; his proposal included the recognition of the Ottoman Sultan as the caliph of all Muslims and the Shah of Iran as the head of all Sh1T Muslims. His pan-Islamic political agenda was coupled with the independence of individual Muslim countries. It has been a key factor in the development of the so-called “Islamic nationalism” and has influenced such Muslim figures as Muhammad Iqbal, Mohammad

Ali Jinnah, and Kalam

Azad in India; Mehmet Namik Kemal, Said Nursi, and Mehmed Akif Ersoy in Turkey; and Muhammad ‘Abduh, Muhammad Rashid Rida, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Raziq, Qaasim Amin, Lutfi al-Sayyid, and Osman Amin in the Arab world. Writings. As a public intellectual and activist, Afghani articulated and expressed most of his ideas through his lectures, and he wrote comparatively little. He published only two books in his lifetime. One is a history of Afghanistan and the other is his famous refutation of naturalism and materialism, which he singled out as the most urgent threat to humanity in general and to the Islamic world in particular. It is worth noting that Afghanis only published book of intellectual substance is directly related to the question of religion and science. Although brief, Afghani’s letter to Ernest Renan in response to his celebrated lecture at the Sorbonne in 1883, in which Renan

openly attacked Islam as an obstacle to philosophy and science, is another important document for the understanding of Afghani’s position on Islam and modern science.

In The Refutation of the Materialists, Afghani gives a scathing criticism of the naturalist/materialist position from scientific, philosophical, ethical, and social perspectives. He traces the history of modern materialism to the Greek materialists, among whom he mentions Democritus, Epicu-

rus, and Diogenes the Cynic. This short historical survey is followed by a criticism of Darwin and his evolutionary theory. Afghani rejects the idea of chance in nature and accuses the materialists of attributing “perception and intelligence” to atoms (i.e., matter) in and of themselves. He re-

jects the idea of the universe as a self-regulating structure without a higher intelligence/principle operating on it.

Afghani also provides a social and ethical criticism of materialism. The materialists, in his view, are intent on undermining the very foundations of human society. They try to destroy the “castle of happiness” based on the six pillars of religion. These six pillars are divided into three beliefs and three qualities. The first belief is that man is a terrestrial angel, that is, he is God’s vice-regent on earth. The second belief is that one’s community is considered to be the best in the sense of belonging to the human world, in contrast to the animal and plant kingdoms, and in the sense of belonging to the best human and religious society. Afghani believes that this inherent exclusivism is the most important motive for the global race of goodness, which lies at the heart of all world civilizations. The third belief is that man is destined to reach the highest world through his innate ability to transcend the merely material and realize the spiritual within himself. In addition, religion inculcates three ethical qualities in its followers. The first quality is what Afghani calls “modesty” (haya’, literally “shyness’), that is, the shame of the soul to commit

sins against God and his fellow humans. The nobility of the soul increases in proportion to the degree of modesty/shame. Afghani considers this

AFGHANI, JAMAL AL-DIN

quality to be the most essential element for the ethical and social regulation of society. The second quality is trustworthiness, which underlies the very fabric of a society. The survival of human civilization depends on mutual respect and trust. The third quality is truthfulness and honesty, which, for Afghani, is the foundation of social life and solidarity. Through these six pillars, Afghani establishes religion as the foundation of civilization and denounces materialism as the enemy of religion and human society. He mentions the Batiniyyah (Esoterists) and the Babi as followers of naturalism/

materialism in the Islamic world. He refers to Rousseau and Voltaire as modern materialists and uses strong language in condemning their “sensualism” and anti-moralism. He even goes so far as to classify socialists, communists, and ni-

hilists as mere variations of materialists, in the

ethical sense of the term. He holds the materialists responsible for the destruction or decline of the Persian, Roman, and Ottoman Empires. Since the materialist does not recognize any reality other than gross matter and “sensuality,” he paves the way for the reign of passions and desires. In the last part of the treatise, Afghani turns to Islam, compares it with other world religions, and asserts its eventual superiority. He believes that Islam is the only religion to cope with the challenges of the newly emerging modern world. Afghani concludes his treatise with a short statement that has become the hallmark of Islamic reformist and revivalist movements: If someone says: If the Islamic world is as you say, then why are the Muslims in such a sad condition? I will answer: When they were [truly] Muslims, they were what they were and the world bears witness to their excellence. As for the present, I will content myself with this holy text: “Verily, God does not change the state ofa people until they change themselves inwardly.” (Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism, p. 173)

| 13

Afghani’s response to Ernest Renan brought him fame across Europe and the Muslim world but also confirmed his project of defending Islam against the materialist-positivist attacks of the modern world. In his celebrated lecture “Islam and Science,’ given at the Sorbonne and published in the Journal des Débats, 29 March 1883,

Renan had attacked Islam and Arabs as innately incapable of engaging with philosophy or producing science. Renan’s quasi-racist attack was a result of his general typology of religion and provoked a number of responses and apologies by Muslim intellectuals, including one by Mehmet Namik Kemal, the renowned Ottoman writer, poet, and activist. Afghanis language is rather apologetic in his letter sent to the Journal des Débats.

Afghani

agrees with Renan that all religions are intolerant in one way or another and that they suppress the “free investigation” of scientific and philosophical truth. Even though Afghani asserts that religions have played a vital role in bringing humanity

from “barbarism” and myths to the level of advanced civilizations, he maintains that both Islam

and Christianity have turned against the free use of reason and thus have stifled scientific progress at some point in their history. Here Afghani seems to fogo his essential distinction between revelation and its unfolding in history, namely, the notorious distinction between Islam and Muslims. With the rise of the Enlightenment, European nations have freed themselves from the tutelage of Christianity and have made revolutionary advancements in all fields of knowledge. Afghani hopes that a similar thing will happen in

the Islamic world. Afghani’s major works include the following: Ta ligat ‘ala sharh al-dawwani lil- aqq@ id al‘adadiyah’ (Cairo, 1968). Afghani's glosses on Dawwanis commentary on the famous kalam book of ’Adiid al-Din al-‘ji called al-‘aq@id al‘adiidiyyah. Risdlat al-waridatfi sirr al-tajalliyat

14 | AFGHANI, JAMAL AL-DIN

(Cairo, 1968) were dictated by Afghani to his stu-

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

dent M. ‘Abduh when he was in Egypt. Tatimmat

understand the extent of the agricultural revolution that Islam brought about, it is important to look at the state of agriculture prior to the Islamic era. Soil fertility depended upon crop rotation, which meant that land was only cropped every four years. Beyond river valleys, harvests were rain-dependent. The selection of vegetables and fruits was meager and only available in warmer weather. In winter the diet was restricted to cereals, leeks, and cabbages. Sugar was unknown except in China and parts of India, while only the rich could afford honey. Clothing materials were restricted to skins, wool, and flax. Silk was only for the prosperous, who had no idea of how it was made. Cotton was known only in India.

al-bayan (Cairo, 1879) is a political, social, and

cultural history of Afghanistan. Hakikat-i Mazhab-i Nichiri va Bayan-i hal-i Nichiriyan was first published in Haydarabad-Deccan in 1881 and is Afghanis most important intellectual work published during his lifetime. It is a major criticism of naturalism, which Afghani also calls “materialism.” The book has been translated into Arabic by M. ‘Abduh as al-Radd ‘ala al-dahriyin (The Refutation

of the Materialists).

Khdatirat Jamal

al-Din al-Afghani al-Husayni (Beirut, 1931) was compiled by the Lebanese journalist Muhammad Pasha al-Mahzumi. Mahzumi was present at most of Afghant’s talks in the latter part of his life. The book contains important information about Afghant's life and ideas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Enayat,

Hamid.

Modern

Islamic

Political

Thought.

Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1982.

Gibb, H. A. R. Modern Trends in Islam Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1947.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1789-1939. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Karaman, Hayrettin. “Cemaleddin Efgani.” In Diyanet Islam Ansiklopedisi, Vol. 10, pp. 456-466. Istanbul: Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi, 1994.

Keddie, Nikki. An Islamic Response to Imperialism: Political and Religious Writings of Sayyid Jamal al-Din “al-Afghani.” Berkeley: University of California Press,

In order to

Introduction of Land Tenure and Sharecropping. One of the goals of the spread of Islam has been to relieve the burdens inherited from the feudal regimes of Byzantium, Iran, and India. Individuals now had the opportunity of legally owning land distributed by the state. The conditions of such ownership were to work the land or have it worked and to pay taxes. Furthermore Islam gave an incentive to those without land in the form of sharecropping, whereby a contract (‘aqd) was set up between the owner and the sharecropper before any work was done on the land. The latter became a “sharik,’ that is, a partner in the harvest to come with his percentage already fixed by contract: khamdas (a fifth), raba‘ (a quarter), that is, awarded a fifth, a quarter, or

up to a half.

1983.

Keddie, Nikki. Sayyid Jamal al-Din Afghani: A Political Biography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972. Qudsi-zadah, Albert. Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani: An Annotated Bibliography. Leiden: Brill, 1970. Siddiqi, Mazheruddin. Modern Reformist Thought in the Muslim World. Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1982.

Nikki R. KEDDIE Updated by IBRAHIM KALIN

The landlord provided land and seeds; the sharecropper invested time and effort to look after the land until the harvest. The new practice

involved several types of contract: muzara‘ah for cereals or mugha@rasa for planting trees and shrubs. The contract stipulated the conditions of the contract. For trees, it involved tilling, pruning, weeding, fertilizing, and irrigating, covering a period of three to five years before the “crops”

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

were ready. It could involve animal breeding, whereby an adjustment was carried out every year to take into account the new-born animals and the sales of milk and butter.

The Agricultural Expansion. The Islamic expansion of the seventh century cE brought drastic social changes to the known world. Sharecropping became widely used in all Islamic countries in various forms, Jurists had set out the principles on which the Shariah law was based. Each contract provided explanatory notes on each commitment, its validity, and the main points. The Caliphate had an elite group of technocrats and project designers to help in decisions whereby people could participate in its own well-being in terms of income and self-reliance. This was achieved by:

| 15

plants, collecting and naming them and identifying their uses. As such they became active agents in the development of agriculture by enlarging the scope of the Arabic language, which their successors developed to encyclopedic levels. To name but a few: ¢ ¢

Abt Malik Omar ibn Karkara (d. eighth century), grammarian and linguist Abt Said Al Asmai (d. 831 cE), Imam

and grammarian e

Abu Hanifah al-Dinawari (d. 895), scientist, ‘ilm Nabat wa ‘ilm al Quran (his work was

used until the seventeenth century)

These authors were followed by several others such as Ibn al- Awwam (twelfth century), “Abd al-Latif Al Baghdadi (d. 1233), Rashiddudin Ibn as Sori (d. 1241), and also Ibn al-Baytar (d. 1248),

¢

Incentives based on the recognition of private ownership and the rewarding of cultivators with a harvest-share.

¢

The extension of exploitable land by irrigation and improved farming techniques.

Agriculture became a popular sector because of

tropical and semi-tropical plants that were introduced from foreign lands and acclimatized: rice, citrus fruits, bananas,

mangoes,

who wrote that he quoted more than 150 earlier authors. The Challenge of Acclimatization. The Umayyad Caliph al-Hakam al-Mustansir bi-Llah (xr, 961-977) burnt books dealing with natural

philosophy. This philosophy defined science as a system of inquiry like other physical sciences. But it was only during the Almoravid (r. 1056-1147)

ginger, sugar-

and the Almohad (r. 1130-1269) periods that agri-

cane, spinach, okra, aubergines, artichokes, cotton, indigo, and mulberry trees for the silk industry. Knowing that the only valid economic basis for a stable empire was a successful and expanding agriculture, which in return could generate the wealth and population growth necessary to fi-

cultural investigation through scientific inquiry led to the production of remarkable works based on a scientific approach toward agriculture. It became part of scientific studies just like astronomy, medicine, and pharmacy. The new

nance and guarantee physically the protection of the state, the leaders invested in large public projects: roads, bridges, reservoirs, and the digging of

and others) instigated soil studies based analogy, perception, and evidence:

wells. The situation was complex and multifaceted, involving new concepts and new methods. All this progress would have been difficult to achieve had it not been for the foresight of the first philologists. The seventh- and eighthcentury scholars had an analytical approach toward

scholars (Ibn Bajjah [d. 1149], al-Ishbili [d. 1179]

¢

ten types of soil were defined, describing the composition of each one.

« A technical “cure” was indicated for the equilibrium of each type. ¢

on

‘Their mineral component was analyzed to establish any fertilizers required (pigeon droppings [nitrogen], green manure, etc.).

16 | AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

If the soil was suffering from erosion this was compensated with manure, and if from heat, with irrigation.

development during his reign. Unfortunately after his death the project was halted by the breakup of

Fieldwork based on a scientific approach was carried out with students from agricultural colleges

The latter not only diverted the project experts to their private gardens and personal farms for nearly sixty years but also neglected and decentralized al-Hakam’s agrarian policy and prevented even the writing of agricultural books. With the arrival of the Almoravid dynasty, the Western Muslim countries including Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia became self-reliant by encouraging agronomists—including Al-Tighnari (d. 1087); Abii al-Khayr al Ishbilt (d. 1105); al-

e

with courses on:

¢

soil recognition and correcting soil equilibrium

¢

irrigation schemes, hydrology, and silt removal

¢

fertilization methods and planting seasons

¢

plant specifications

e

how to recover barren land

¢

coping with pestilence

They described and recorded their natural findings. They measured up and calculated their observations. They found that the world was a complex network of affinities, compatibilities,

and symmetries and their opposites in the world of minerals, plants, and animals. They studied specimens and selected the best seeds and breeds. They gathered and compiled their information in manuals. The scholars of philology were a pivotal part of the development of the scientific agricultural revolution. Within one hundred years agricultural manuals were turned into scientific books relating to all questions on animal husbandry, selective breeding, soil, water, and fertilizers. This resulted in specialization and exchange of information on experiments and trials. The introduction and acclimatization of new plants were given serious attention by the Umayyad caliphs in Spain (756-1031). It is known that a long

list of new plants was already established in Spain through information contained in the Cérdoba Calendar, of which Caliph al-Hakam al-Mustansir sent three copies to three Christian leaders written in Latin with valuable agricultural information and with precise Christian Saints’ days and astronomical indicators of periods for planting, grafting, and fertilizing. An intense irrigation project was under

the caliphate into Petty Kingdoms (r. 1031-1086).

Ghafiqi (d. 1165); and Ibn al--Awwam (d. 1184)—to

record the results of their studies. These scholars had a philosophical attitude toward agriculture and looked at plants on epistemological grounds. They conducted experiments in nurseries, selecting seeds for agriculture and pharmacy. Agriculture was continually reformed between the eighth and the fifteenth centuries in Muslim areas—from the crop rotation systems of preIslamic times, to three or four crops a year, to the introduction of tropical and sub-tropical plants which needed extensive artificial irrigation. One of the most important accomplishments for Muslim leaders was water management. They gave great impetus to capital investment but also to placing scientists in high esteem throughout the Muslim world. Mechanical devices for raising water were improved, such as water-wheels and clepsydra (mechanical clocks for water distribution in the fields by turn), while the calculation of gravity irrigation systems keeps its secret until

today in Southern Europe. Water-mills or animaldriven devices for raising water became a common scene from the African continent to Asia. Methods of surveying and exploring ground water were improved by advances in mathematics. Subterranean artificial streams of water, khettara systems, brought water from hills and

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

mountains toward towns. This was a sophisticated system that was implemented in arid and semi-arid areas. Networks of aligned wells, up to six hundred at times, were dug to reach the underground water table in order to supply water to

far away localities. The wells allowed easy access through high ground for maintenance at any time if there was a blockage in the stream underground. In Marrakesh in 1107 cE between two hundred and three hundred workers were employed on this project; it took thirty years to achieve the gigantic task of bringing water to the town, gardens, reservoirs and fields. The same principle existed in several towns in Iran, Madrid, and Valencia. In Valencia, the Acequia Real (Qanat Shaqa@r) irrigated twenty thousand hectares of rice fields and sugar cane from Almeria to Malaga. Another device that became the key to the development of a sophisticated irrigation system in Spain, Africa, and the Middle East was the na Ura (noria) or waterwheel. It existed in dif-

ferent dimensions reaching up to sixty-four meters in diameter. The rice plantations in Valencia had more than eight thousand norias. Mallorca had more than four thousand saniyas, animal driven waterwheels, which were still in use until 1900. In Fez one of the gardens Al Massara

(1286) was watered by a timed noria

that made twenty-four revolutions in twenty-four hours. The Turia River in Spain was divided into eight networks irrigating 9,227 hectares. The river had water committees on each side of the bank, presided over by eight judges. They held consultations every Thursday and were elected every two years. They were qualified in legal matters as well as in agriculture. In cases of litigation, the parties had three trials at the local court. If they were still not satisfied, the case was sent to the

high court. There were water managers (sahib or amin sdgiya), water specialists, and engineers as it was the state’s responsibility to build and maintain the

| 17

systems wherever they were needed. The vast scale on which water management was applied required an increased provision of capital from the state. Such a mobilization of capital to carry out operations on this level was until then undreamt of, involving building reservoirs, dams, bridges, and so on, some of which would require several years to achieve. This was the case on the Deccan Plateau in India, which prior to Islam suffered from lack of water as it had only four months of monsoon rainfall followed by eight months of drought. Large underground cisterns and wide reservoirs were dug where water was stored, while irrigation canals brought water wherever it was needed, Bijapour and Warangal annual rainfall can be as low as 20 inches. Many fruits and vegetables known only in Kashmir and Kabul were transplanted. The irrigation network coupled with new fertilizers caused the Deccan Plateau to yield 70 percent of wet crops. The area was turned into a vast and fertile land producing, on a large scale, spices that had previously been single region varieties. Many spices were trans-

planted from Indonesia and China. Although India was self-sufficient in pre-Islamic times, there were many food crops that were restricted to their own specific regions or regarded as luxury items because of their short supply, for example, sugarcane (planted in Syria in 643 CE, in Morocco 710, in Spain 756, and in Sicily 878) was available

only in North Bengal, while the technique of purifying it came only with Islam. India, before the advent of Islam, did not have almonds, raisins, pistachio, coriander, or cumin, while cardamom, ginger, and saffron were restricted to their original areas. This variety of goods changed the culinary taste of the Indian continent as it became

more cosmopolitan. Another aspect of the Islamic lution was shown by the astute devised for passing information valuable contribution from the

agricultural revomethod that was to the farmer. A astronomers was

18 | AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

the creation of agricultural calendars based on new astronomical data rather than weather predictions in the pre-Islamic period (anwa’). The eleventh century saw a great step forward by removing pagan myths and creating a new concept based on scientific calculations designed to carry information in a coherent frame. The new agrarian calendar was based on twenty-eight constellations with Arab and foreign names identified as manazil al gamar (mansions of the moon), since the moon, regardless of its phases, follows the same pattern as the manazil, which is twenty-eight constellations. The latter added to the improvement of data-carrying instruments such as the astrolabe and helped in theoretical and practical matters such as time reckoning, fixing the qibla (direction toward Mecca) and following the seasons for agricultural purposes. Hence the farmer wherever he was, armed with this timetable, had daily, seasonal, and yearly information for planting, fertilizing, pruning, and watering his new plants simply by following the sky map. At times, the information on astronom-

ical and environmental matters was written in rhyming poems to help the farmer memorize the constellations and the tasks he was due to perform, based on hints from the first signs around him like bees appearing, quails nesting, type of flowers blooming, and so on. The Legal Dimension. Agricultural laws did not receive much attention in the early stages of Islamic legal thought. The Shariah law overrode some

Urf (traditions) until significant develop-

ment and increase of land occurred after the era of the Companions. The Abbasid period (r. 750-1258 CE) saw the

emergence of officers for general administration, justice, and taxation accounts. The first scholar to compile a work on taxation to meet the state civil and military expenses was Mu awiya Ubayd Allah Yasar al Ash ari (d. 786). The main books on

kharaj (income from taxes) from this period were written by four kharaj scholars:

¢

Yahya Ibn Adam al-Qurashi (d. 818)

«

Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub Ibn Ibrahim (d. 798) called

“qadi Rashid.” He wrote books on kharaj taxes and money matters but also for the first time on administration. ¢

Abi ‘Ubayd ibn Sallam (d. 839)

¢

Qudama Ibn Jafar al Katib (d. 932)

These were followed by other scholars who wrote on al amwéal (finance), including Kitab al Usul by Abii Faraj al Hanbali (d. 1393); and Kitab al Amwal

by Ahmad ibn Nasr Dawidi (d. 1011), for taxes in

North Africa, Spain, and Sicily. Later the need for Shari ah law began to evolve from traditional books on figh to a philosophy of the Islamic law according to levels of necessity in the eleventh century. The new economic situations could not be handled solely by qiyas (analogy). Juwayni (d. 1085) was the first scholar

to attack this subject in his work Ghiyath al Umam (The Salvage of the Nations). Islamic jurists had found mechanisms that dealt with new events based on giyds, maslahah (interest), and Urf (traditions). This contributed

toward the relationship between purposefulness and the features of the system of Islamic law. A subsection of the Shariah law was implemented to address the agricultural issue at hand (nastin filmas @lah) with supporting evidence to achieve justice and equality between people. They wrote exclusively to foster innovation because of the change of circumstances. Every aspect of land acquisition was legally scrutinized and laws were devised according to the Qur'an and Sunnah. The state created a supervision group called al Muhtasib for the farmers. They performed intensive consultation to optimize the welfare of those who had acquired land from the state. The socioeconomic structure was in the hands of these controllers. They were in charge of taxation to facilitate the transfer of profits toward large-scale infrastructures, road mainte-

nance, bridges, water canals, and so on. It became

ALCHEMY

imperative for all law institutions to write new regulations, since the law had to expand alongside the new economy in multiple ways so that the legal system could become its core of strength. The new freedom was not only physical, as it was understood from slavery, but also included the liberty to indulge in economic gain, in the ownership of property that started with ijtihad of the companions of the Prophet, applying Shari ah. Otherwise the SharTah would have been restricted to its first boundaries of early literature and hence would be irrelevant to the new freedom of ownership and economic development. Scholars rationalized the rulings of Shariah law for the common interest of the people. The best contributions were made by Ibn Hisham (d. 1209) and Ibn Lub (d. 1380) with his Nawazil’.

Glick, T. F. Irrigation and Society in Medieval Valencia. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard Univer-

sity Press, 1970.

Guichard, P. L. L’Espagne et la Sicile Musulmane aux XIeme et XIléme siécles. Lyon, France: Presses Universitaire de Lyon, 1991.

Ibn Al Awwam. Libro de Agricultura. 2 vols. Translated and edited by J. A. Banqueri. Madrid: Imprenta Real, 1802.

Al Jazari, Ibn Razzaz. Kitab fi marifat al hiyal al handasiya [The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices]. Translated and annotated by D. R. Dordrecht. Boston: D. Reidel Publishing Co.,

1974. Navarro, Maria Angeles. Risala fi awqat al sana:

sejo Superior de Investigaciones Scientificas, 1990.

Watson, A. Agricultural Innovations in the Early Islamic World. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1975. ZOHOR I|DRIS|I

AKHLAQ

¢

the legalizing of land distribution and land ownership

¢

the legalizing of water distribution

¢

the legal control of supervisors

Un

calendrio anonimo andalusi. Granada, Spain: Con-

They adopted this approach to Shartah law as a tool to manage a complex economy that was developing rapidly. Not only did it control disputes but also inhibited abuses of administrative power

through:

| 19

See Ethics.

ALCHEMY The word alchemy derives from the Arabic al-kimiya, whose etymology is still open to question. Some believe it is derived from

Finally, in one comprehensible sense the Islamic

the Egyptian kéme (black earth, in Greek khémia),

agricultural revolution can only be understood and explained by exploring the proliferation of material sources, although most of them are still unprinted. The agricultural endeavor of these scholars brought a break with the past and left a

which was one of the names of ancient Egypt, while others say it is derived from the Greek khy-

strong impact on what we eat and wear today.

méia (fusion). In the Islamic world, other terms

were also used for alchemy, such as al-san‘a (the art), ‘ilm al-san‘a (the science of the art), alhikmah (the wisdom), and al-‘amal al-a'zam (the

great work). Among modern studies of alchemy, BIBLIOGRAPHY

Auda, Jaser. Magasid al Shari'ah as Philosophy of Islamic Law. London and Washington: ‘The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2008. Bin Hamada Sa’id. Al Ma’ wal Insan fi Al Andalus [Water and Man in al Andalus]. Beirut: Dar Tali'a li tiba’a wa Nashr, 2007.

one can distinguish two major approaches: one

focuses on the exoteric practical applications of alchemy and the other on its esoteric aspects. The former analyzes alchemy as a proto-chemistry, proto-science, or a branch of medicine, empha-

sizing the laboratory work aspect. The latter interprets it as part of religious behavior and

20 | ALCHEMY

worldview, stressing its spiritual character. Despite these divergences, numerous studies stress the need to investigate both its exoteric and esoteric aspects, claiming that alchemy has not to do merely with material substances and metalwork, but it is also a science of the soul and a science of the cosmos (Lory 1989, Holmyard 1990,

Haq 1994). Its defining objectives include the transmutation of base metals into noble ones, namely gold and silver; the creation of a panacea for all ills; the purification of the soul; the explanation of the functioning of the laws of the cosmos; and the transformation of certain elements of the phenomenal world in a faster and more radical way than the natural course of events would permit. Roots of Islamic Alchemy. One can identify three major traditions in the history of alchemy: Chinese alchemy, Indian alchemy, and Western alchemy. It is to the Western tradition, initially centered on Greco-Roman Egypt, that the origin of Islamic alchemy is traced back. The foundation of the Egyptian alchemical tradition is credited to the legendary Hermes Trismegistus (Thrice Greatest), identified by Greeks with Thoth, the Egyptian god of sacred sciences, wisdom, and writing. Hermes Trismegistus, in Arabic Hirmis

(or Hirmis), was identified by Muslim scholars with the prophet Idris mentioned in the Qur'an (19:56-57, 21:85-86),

sometimes

identified with

the biblical prophet Enoch. The alchemical tradition developed in Egypt thanks to the confluence of the practices of artisans (chiefly metallurgists and goldsmiths) and philosophical and mysticalreligious theories related to ancient Greek philosophy, hermeticism, and to gnosticism (Lory 1989, Anawati 1997).

A number of ancient Greek phi-

losophers, such as Pythagoras, Archelaus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Porphyry, and Galen, were quoted as alchemists by Arabic sources. The first known alchemist in Egypt is Bolus of Mendes, who lived during the second century

BCE and played a significant role in the establishment of alchemy, enriching Egyptian techniques with philosophical principles. Around the first and second centuries cE, the Greek texts attributed to Hermes and known as Hermetica were composed in Egypt. Apollonius of Tyana (in Arabic, Baliniis), a Neo-Pythagorean philosopher of the first century CE, is considered the intermediary of hermetic wisdom and became famous in the Islamic world as the pseudonymous author of works on magic and alchemy. The most influential of these works was the Arabic Sirr al-khaliqa (The Secret of Creation), a treatise on cosmology

that included an appendix titled Al-lawh al-zumurrud (The Emerald Table), which, according

to numerous generations of alchemists, contained the fundamental principles of alchemy. Al-lawh al-zumurrud, a short and highly enigmatic text, in its Latin translation (Tabula smaragdina) was

an avidly studied document throughout the later Middle Ages. Numerous pseudepigrapha in Greek and other languages date back to the period between the second and third centuries. Such treatises were disseminated under the names of Agathodaimon, Artephius, Cleopatra, Moses, Solomon, Mary the Jewess, the Persian Ostanes, Democritus, the Indian Biytin, Mani, Adam, Seth, Moses, Korah, David, Ezekiel, Jesus, and

others. During the fourth century, the writings of Zosimus of Panopolis, an Egyptian Gnostic mystic, made a major contribution to the evolution of alchemy, lending a strong mystical-religious character to alchemy, In the sixth century, significant works on alchemy were produced by the Neoplatonic philosopher Almiodorus and the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (1. 610-641). These texts were

preserved as Arabic translations, and it is through these translations that Europeans were able to access Greco-Egyptian alchemical literature.

History of Islamic Alchemy. Muslim alchemists assimilated the Greco-Egyptian philosophical and esoteric heritage into their own sacred

ALCHEMY

history, relating it to the ancient monotheist prophets. In this way they were able to lend legitimacy to ancient alchemy and make it an Islamic science. Combining this heritage with the principles laid out in the Qur'an and the Hadith and drawing on experimental research, Muslim alchemists reworked and innovated ancient alchemy, finding new chemical products and technological processes. Arabic sources indicate that the first Muslim who showed interest in alchemy was the Umayyad prince Khalid ibn Yazid (d. 704), who

facilitated translations into Arabic of the existing literature and himself composed several works on alchemy. An abundant pseudepigraphic literature including a few treatises on alchemy is attributed

| 21

mists, and several of his treatises were translated into Latin.

Another outstanding figure of the history of Islamic alchemy is the great physician Abii Bakr Muhammad

ibn Zakariya

al-Razi

(864-925),

known also by his Latin name Rhazes. In contrast to Jabir, al-Razi rejected the symbolic and mystical dimensions of alchemy, denying the possibility of an esoteric interpretation of things. Though al-Razi followed the terminology of Jabirian alchemy, he did not adopt its worldview, ignoring the correspondence between the natural and spiritual worlds and focusing on the external characteristics of substances. His most important alchemical work, Sirr al-asrar (The Secret of Se-

to Ja far al-Sadiq (700-765), the sixth Shit imam.

crets), shows the first systematic classification of

He lived in Medina, was an expert of the Qur'an

lim alchemist. Jabir (722-815), the Latin Geber,

carefully observed facts regarding chemical substances, reactions, and apparatuses described in an unambiguous language. Razi’s clear language contrasts with the obscure and allegorical discourses of his younger contemporary Muhammad

studied in Medina, where he met Ja far al-Sadig,

Ibn Umayl (900-960). Two of his writings have

and lived mostly in Kufa. Some historians have doubted the historical genuineness of the data concerning the involvement in alchemy of these three figures and questioned Jabir’s very existence. Other scholars have challenged these analy-

been preserved: Al-Mda' al-waragi wa-al-ard alnujumiyah (Silvery Water and Starry Earth) and Risdlat al-shams ila al-hilal (Epistle of the Sun to

and Hadith and was considered a Sufi master. He

was the master of the celebrated Jabir ibn Hayyan al-Sufi, who is considered the first historical Mus-

the New Moon). Both have been translated into

ses, and the debate is ongoing (Lory 1989). The

Latin, as Tabula chemica and Epistula solis et lunam crescentem, and studied by medieval Euro-

works attributed to Jabir form a huge corpus,

pean writers.

known as Jabirian Corpus, which is considered

Andalusia contributed some celebrated alchemists such as Maslamah ibn Ahmad al-Majriti

a major contribution to Islamic alchemy. A great

part of these works were composed after his death, between the mid-ninth and mid-tenth centuries, by a group of his followers (Kraus 1942, 1943). Jabir is the pioneer of all that is important

and characteristic of Islamic alchemy: the sulfurmercury theory, the use of organic substances, the introduction of sal ammoniac, the production (though not recognition) of mineral acids,

the theory of the balance of natures, and the conceptual distinction between heat and temperature. Jabir’s ideas were known to European alche-

(d. 1007/8), to whom were attributed an impor-

tant work on alchemy titled Rutbat al-hakim (The Sage’s Step), which contained precise instructions for the preparation of gold and silver by cupellation, and a treatise on astrology titled Ghayat al-hakim (The Aim of the Wise), known in Latin as Picatrix. Some prominent figures of Islamic alchemy were unknown to the Latin Middle Ages. Among them are Al-Tughra7 (d. 1121), an important poet and copyist; Ibn Arfa Ra's (d. 1197),

who rose to fame among later alchemists because

22 | ALCHEMY

of his poem “Shudhir al-dhahab” (Particles of Gold), which had a remarkable circulation and

was commented on by numerous authors, and who followed the cryptic allegorical-mystical tradition of Ibn Umayl and Al-Tughra7; Abt alQasim al-‘Iraqi, who lived in the thirteenth century and composed the celebrated Kitab al-‘ilm al-muktasab fit ziraat al-dhahab (Book of the Acquired Science Concerning the Cultivation of Gold); Aydamir bin ‘Ali al-Jildaki (d. 1342), who

authored numerous books, mainly commentaries and compilations, which contained quite a few writings of earlier alchemists, and was, like al‘Iraqi, an ardent follower of Jabir. During subsequent centuries, the practice of alchemy continued, even though literature became more and

Building on the Empedoclean doctrine of four primary bodies—earth, water, air, and fire—and the Aristotelian theory of four primary qualities— hot, cold, moist, and dry—Jabir ibn Hayyan developed an original theory of the composition of matter, which diverged from that of Aristotle. Jabir believed that the four qualities, called natures (taba), were independently existing real entities, and these natures—and not the Empedoclean bodies—were the true material elements of things. The sources of these natures are sulfur and mercury (understood as hypothetical substances, not as the ordinary sulfur and mercury): sulfur provides the hot and dry natures, while mercury the cold and moist ones. All varieties (anwa’) of

metals belong to the same genus (jins) and differ

repetitive (Lory 1989). Although the al-

only in terms of “accidents” (a'rad). Accidents are

chemical tradition flourished in Iran up to the

changeable; therefore, one metal can be changed into another. This transmutation can be carried out in many ways. Metals form in the bowels of the earth due to the union of sulfur and mercury and under the influence of planets. Each metal is related to a specific planet. If sulfur and mercury are pure, if the quantities of both substances stand in ideal relation to one another, and if the heat has the proper degree, gold is generated. Defects in

more

twentieth century thanks to the Shayki school, there is no information available about institutional or organized practice of alchemy in the rest of the contemporary Islamic world.

Theories. The worldview of alchemy is based on an analogy between the universe (the macrocosm) and man (the microcosm); given the uni-

versal relationship between the macrocosm and the microcosm, all grand biological processes occurring in nature could be replicated, and in principle improved upon, in the alchemical laboratory. In the celebrated Emerald Table one finds indications of the belief that there is an immutable cosmic correspondence between “what is above” and “what is below,” as well as between the inner world of the soul and the outer world of phenomena, and further, that the manifold forms in which matter occurs have a unique origin. This doctrine of essential unity discards Aristotle’s cosmology, which distinguishes between the terrestrial and celestial worlds; it implies a naturalistic possibility of transmutation that accommodates astrology. In addi-

tion, it renders the process of purifying matter inseparable from that of purifying the soul.

purity or proportion generate other metals. By

imitating nature, the alchemist tries to replicate this process in the laboratory (Kraus 1942).

Another method of producing gold is based on Jabir’s theory of the balance (mizdn) of the natures. Jabir claimed that the four natures (hot,

cold, moist, and dry) exist within metals in a proportion resulting from a specific numerical series—1, 3, 5, 8—whose sum is 17, the number that

controls all beings and substances. The four na-

tures are divided into four degrees, and each degree is divided into seven divisions, thus obtaining twenty-eight positions. The number of the letters of the Arabic alphabet—twenty-eight—is related to the divisions of the natures (Kraus 1942).

By drawing on this complex numerical symbology,

ALGEBRA

the alchemist aims to achieve the right balance among the four natures. The preferred method of making gold, however, was that of the elixir (al-iksir). Ancient alche-

mists made elixirs only from mineral substances, while Jabir was the first to use also organic substances. This method consisted in adding specific preparations to any base metal that previously had been reduced to the passive (e.g., without any

quality) condition; these preparations were supposed to mix with the metal and transmute it into

gold. The elixir was also understood as a prepara-

tion supposedly able to confer health, youth, and Muslim alchemists were crucial for the transmission of philosophical, scientific, and mystical knowledge of antiquity to the modern world. they

animated

Kraus, Paul. “Jabir ibn Hayyan: Contributions a histoire des idées scientifiques dans Islam? Mémoires de l'Institut d’Egypte 44 (1942) and 45 (1943).

Lory, Pierre. Alchimie et mystique en terre d’Islam. Lagrasse, France: Verdier, 1989.

Needham, Joseph. “Arabic Alchemy in Rise and Decline” In Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 5,

part 4. Cambridge,

U.K.: Cambridge

University

Press, 1980.

Stapleton, H. E., M. Hidayat Husain, and R. F. Azo. “Chemistry in Iraq and Persia in the Tenth Century AD? Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 8, no. 6

(1927): 315-417. Viano, Cristina, ed. Lalchimie et ses racines philosophiques: La tradition grecque et la tradition arabe. Paris: Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 2005.

longevity (Kraus 1942).

Moreover,

| 23

empirical

SYED NOMANUL HAQ

Updated by MASSIMO CAMPANINI and MAURO VALDINOCI

research,

which is the foundation of the progress of technology up to the modern age. In particular, they made lasting theoretical and practical contributions to the field of chemistry.

[See also Cosmology and Models of the Cosmos and Science. ]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anawati, Georges. “Lalchimie arabe.” In Histoire des sciences arabes, 3. Technologie, alchimie et sciences de

la vie, edited by Roshdi Rashed, pp. 111-141. Paris: Seuil, 1997.

Haq, Syed Nomanul. “Chemistry and Alchemy.’ In Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Trevor Mostyn and Albert Hourani, pp. 389-491. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Haq, Syed Nomanul. Names, Natures, and Things: The Alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan and His Kitab al-Ahjar (Book of Stones). Dordrecht, Netherlands, and Boston:

Kluwer Academic, 1994. Holmyard, Eric John. Alchemy. New York: Dover, 1990

[1957]. Kappler, Claire, and Suzanne Thiolier-Méjean, eds. Alchimies: Occident-Orient. Paris: Harmattan, 2006.

ALGEBRA Also called “abstract algebra” or “modern algebra,’ algebra has a central place in modern mathematics. Not only is it one of the principal branches of modern mathematics, but it is also heavily influential in many other subfields, as evidenced by the fact that many areas of contemporary mathematics include the term > «C “algebraic”—such as “algebraic geometry,’ “algebraic number theory,” and “algebraic topology,’ to name but a few examples. The discipline of algebra has a clear beginning in the book Kitab al-jabr wal mugabala written by Muhammad ibn Misa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780-c. 850) around the

year 820 CE in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time. The word “algebra” is derived from the Arabic word al-jabr, which appears in the title of al-Khwarizmi's book. Another fundamental term in modern science is “algorithm,” which, through a series of corruptions in European languages, is derived from al-Khwarizmi'’s name. Although the term “algorithm” currently has a more general meaning, historically it was much more closely related to

24 | ALGEBRA

algebra in that it referred to procedures used to solve algebraic equations (Savitch, p. 14). In his Kitab al-jabr wa’l muqabala, al-Khwarizmi explains that he wrote the book under the patronage of Caliph al-Ma’mtn (reigned 813-833),

and he states the purpose of this work as: to include what is subtle in calculation and what is most noble in it and what people have real need in need of matters of their inheritances, their legacies, their judgments, their commercial transactions, and all they deal with in the matter of surveying parcels of land, digging water channels, mensuration and other things to do with calculation. (al-Khwarizmi, p. 94) From his explanation, it is clear that he wanted

his book to serve practical purposes; hence he can be considered an applied mathematician. However, his system of classification has the clear flavor of pure mathematics. He a priori classified quadratic equations into six types before demonstrating how to solve each type. This classification is the main point that sets his work apart from earlier works that are related to algebra. According to al-Khwarizmi, there are three quantities to be considered in quadratic equations: (1) the unknown quantity, which he called either shay (which means “thing”) or jazar (which means “root”), usually denoted by the symbol x in modern mathematics; (2) the square of the unknown, which he called mal (which means “wealth”), usually denoted by x’; (3) simple numbers, which he

often refers to as dirhams. He described his algebra entirely in words, even writing out numbers. The six types of equations he introduced are: 1.

Roots equal numbers (nx = m)

In the modern symbolic representation of all these equations, the letters m and n represent positive numbers. The Meaning of Algebra. The two important terms related to algebra are al-jabr and almugabala. Al-Khwarizmi did not explicitly define these terms, and he was not always consistent. The literal meanings of al-jabr are “completion, restoration, setting back in place” or “forcing, compelling.” While many authors (e.g., Berggren) assume that al-Khwarizmi had the first set of definitions in mind, some argue that he intended the second set of meanings (Saliba, 1973). In more technical

terms, the first meaning of algebra is the operation of restoring a quantity subtracted from one side of an equation to the other side and making it positive. An example of this operation is to convert the equation 2 - 3x = 4x to 2 =7x. The literal meanings

of al-mugabala include “comparison,” “matching,” and “balancing.” According to Berggren, it refers to the operation of “replacing two positive terms of the same type, but on different sides of an equation, by their difference on the side of the larger” (Berggren, p. 102). For example, two applications of this operation transform the equation 5x + 4 = 3x +9 to 2x=5. ”»

«

According to Saliba (1973), al-jabr means

to

apply operations or follow a procedure (algorithm) to force the unknown to be equal to a known quantity. In many cases, there is more than one possible value for the unknown. AImuqabala is the process of checking these values and eliminating the ones that do not make sense in the context of the problem. Clearly, both sets of interpretations are valid and important for the science of algebra.

Mal equals numbers (x? = m)

Another feature of al-Khwarizmis algebra was to use geometry to illustrate and prove his proce-

Numbers and mal equal roots (m + x* = nx)

dures

Numbers equal roots and mal (m = nx + x’)

equations. He used geometry not only to prove

War RA SOS Mal equals numbers and roots (x? = m + nx)

that the algorithm is correct but also to explain

Mal equals roots (x? = nx)

(Berggren, p. 103).

(algorithms)

to solve

each

one

of his

why it is correct (al-Khwarizmi, p. 33). Thus he

‘AMILI, BAHA’ AL-DIN AL- | 25

synthesized Babylonian and Hindu methods that lead to solutions of quadratic equations and Greek concerns with classification of problems into different types and geometrical proofs of the validity of the methods involved (Berggren, p. 7). In the second part of his book, titled “Book of Wills,” al-Khwarizmi gives examples of problems of inheritance and wills to be solved according to

b. Husayin Baha’ al-Din al-'Amili, known also as

Islamic law (Shari ah). He demonstrates how to

ally rich environment of Safavid Iran.

solve them using the algebraic rules described in the first part. With this, he initiated yet another

discipline, ilm al-faraid, the “science of obligations” (al-Khwarizmi, p. 11).

Many scholars from all parts of the world have contributed to the development of algebra since the ninth century, helping to shape the subject into its current form. The seeds that al-Khwarizmi planted have flourished into a mature tree from which many fruits have been harvested.

Shaykh-i Baha'i, was a true polymath. He was born in Baalbak, Syria. His father, Shaykh ‘Izz al-Din Husayn b. ‘Abd al-Samad, was a respected

scholar of Shi7 law and the author of a diwan of poetry. ‘Amili’s father took the family to Iran, which was emerging as a center of Sh7i learning

under Safavid rule. ‘Amili grew up in the cultur‘Amili completed his studies in Qazvin and Herat and then settled in Isfahan, the the Safavid Empire since 1597. Along Damad and Mir Findiriski, he became most prominent scholars of his time.

capital of with Mir one of the Both Mir

Damad, who was called the “third teacher” (al-

scholar, philosopher, poet, judge, mathematician,

muallim al-thalith) by his students, and Mir Findiriski, a somewhat enigmatic figure yet an important philosopher, had a direct influence on Mulla Sadra, who became the celebrated philosopher of the period. ‘Amili was Sadra’s chief master in the field of “transmitted sciences,” that is, religious disciplines such as Quranic exegesis, hadith, and jurisprudence. ‘Amili, Mir Damad, and Mir Findiriski are considered to be the founders of the “School of Isfahan.” Shah Abbas I took ‘Amili under his patronage and made him the Shaykh al-Islam of Isfahan. Despite repeated requests by the Shah, ‘Amili refused to take any government positions. It is probable that he did not want to become entangled in the power struggles of the Safavid court. Instead, he devoted his life to studying, learning, and teaching. He led an extremely productive life and died in 1621 while returning from the hajj. In addition to being a scholar and writer, Amili was also the architect of the Shah mosque in Isfahan. He also made important contributions to the planning of the city of Isfahan under the supervision of Shah Abbas I, who envisioned it as a capital city “with avenues, palaces, public offices, mosques and madrasas, bazaars, baths, forts and

astronomer, engineer, and architect. Muhammad

gardens” (Nasr, “The School of Isfahan” 1996).

[See also Mathematics. ]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berggren, J. L. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1986. al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Musa. Kitab al-jabr wal mugabala. Translated by Rashed Roshdi as AlKhwarizmi: The Beginning of Algebra. Beirut: SAQI, 2009. This is a first critical edition of al-Khwarizmis

algebra, including a study and commentary on the text, as well as full parallel translation in which the original text in Arabic appears side by side with the English translation. Saliba, George A. “The Meaning of a-jabr wa'l-muqabalah” Centaurus 17 (1973): 189-204.

Savitch, Walter. Problem Solving with C++. 7th ed. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2009. NUH AYDIN

‘AMILI, BAHA AL-DIN AL- = (1547-1621)

26 | ‘Amiti, BAHA’ AL-DIN AL-

‘Amili traveled extensively in Egypt, Syria, Hijaz, Jerusalem, and several Ottoman cities between 1583 and 1585. While in Ottoman lands, he

BIBLIOGRAPHY

al-“Amili, Baha’ al-Din. al-Habl al-matin fi ihkam ahkam al-din. Beirut: Dar al-Hadi, 2000.

traveled in the “garment of a dervish,’ performed tagiyah, and hid his Shri identity as a precaution against the political tensions between the Otto-

al-Amili, Baha’ al-Din. Kulliyati ash'ar wa athar-i farisi Shaykh Baha’i. Edited by H. Jawahiri. Tehran: Kitabfurushi-yi Mahmudi, 1962.

mans and the Safavids. ‘Amilfs Kashkul, as well

al-sa’'adatayn. Mashhad: Majma’ Buhuth al-Islamiyyah,

as his other works, contains an account of his wide-ranging travels. ‘Amili was a prolific writer and authored about ninety prose and poetical works. His writings combine religious, philosophical, scientific, and literary genres, revealing a wide range of intellectual and scholarly interests. His important works include Jami-i Abbasi, a work on Shii law, which

contains ‘Amilfs fafawa on various legal issues. The work shows ‘Amili’s competence as a jurist and his meticulous attention to the legal problems of his time.

al-‘Amili, Baha’ al-Din. Mashriq al-shamsayn wa iksir

1993-1994. al-‘Amili,

Baha

al-Din.

Méiftah

al-falah.

Tehran:

Hikmat, 1987.

Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. Baha al-Din al-'Amili and His Literary Anthologies. Manchester, U.K.: University of Manchester Press, 1989.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. “The School of Isfahan.” In The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia, edited by Mehdi Amin Razavi, pp. 239-270. Richmond, U.K.: Curzon Press, 1996.

Stewart, Devin J. “Tagiyyah as Performance: The Travels of Baha’ al-Din al-‘Amili in the Ottoman Empire (991-93/1583-85). Princeton Papers in Near Eastern Studies 4 (1996): 1-70.

‘Amilis most renowned work is Kashkul (The

Beggar’s Bowl), a collection of Arabic and Persian proverbs on the principles and practice of the spiritual path, with clear references to theoretical and practical Sufism. A very fine example of the adab genre of classical Islamic literature, the Kashkul is a medley of philosophical, mystical, religious, literary, and cultural ideas. The work does not follow any systematic order. Instead, it leads the reader through various paths of the traditional worlds of philosophy, mysticism, culture, and literature, as collected and articulated by a prominent scholar of the late sixteenth century.

‘Amili’s other works include Khulasah fi'l-hisab, a short treatise on algebra; Fawa‘id al-samadiyyah, a work on Arabic grammar; Tashrih al-aflak and ‘Urwat al-wuthga, two works on astronomy and the astrolabe; and several short commentaries on the Qur'an and other Shari ‘ah sciences. He

is a widely known figure in the fields of philosophy, literature, and Sufism in Iran and the subcontinent of India.

IBRAHIM KALIN

‘Amiri, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

Abii al-

Hasan Muhammad b. Abi Dharr Yusuf al-‘Amiri al-Nishaburi (c. 913-992 CE), was an Islamic phi-

losopher in the tradition of al-Kindi, who lived in the period between al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. Al-‘Amiri was born in the city of Nishapur, in what is now northeastern Iran, when the proyince of Khurasan was under the control of the Samanids. According to some accounts, after primary education he moved to the city of Balkh to study with the philosopher Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, a student of al-Kindi. Some scholars (e.g., Tabatabat)

have disputed that assumption, arguing that it would require al-‘Amiri to have studied with alBalkhiat a very young age. Nevertheless, al- Amiri echoes al- Kind? in several of his books, in particular, his Kitab al-amad ‘ala l-abad (Book on the Afterlife). Later, al-Amiri traveled further in the Samanid East, to Bukhara, and then to Nishapur

‘AMIRI, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

to study religious sciences; he would remain in Khurasan for many years after. Around 964 he moved to the Persian city of Rayy (Ragha), then under the control of the Buyids, where he interacted with some of the notable scholars in the Buyid court. There are conflicting accounts about a possible interaction with a major contemporary, Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Miskawayh. The biographer Yaqit ibn “Abd Allah al-Hamawi mentions that Ibn Miskawayh attended al-‘Amiri’s lectures in Rayy, and indeed Ibn Miskawyh included excerpts from some of

| 27

massive influence of Ibn Sina, shortly after al-

‘Amiri’s death. However, there is evidence that al‘Amiri was read by such major figures as Mulla Sadra many centuries later.

An initial bibliography of al-Amiri was provided by Brockelmann (744, 958, 961). Rowson

lists twenty-two works explicitly attributed to al‘Amiri in medieval sources and two more by recent scholars. Chief among those is his Kitab alamad “ala l-abad (Book on the Afterlife), which

Rowson edited and published with a translation based on an Istanbul manuscript. In al-Amad,

al-‘Amiri’s works in his book on ethics and moral

al--Amiri himself names seventeen titles he au-

philosophy, titled Javidan Khirad. Yet, Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi talks of Ibn Miskawayh’s failure to

There is evidence that al- Amiri stayed in Rayy for a few years as a protégé of the Buyid vizier Abu 1-Fadl ibn al-Amid, and his son Abi al-Fath.

thored, of which only a few are extant. The majority of them are on various philosophical topics, including commentaries on Aristotle, and a few deal with scientific topics, for instance, the Kitab al-ibsar wa l-mubsar, on optics. His other major compositions include Kitab al-ilam bi-manaqib

Some scholars (e.g., Rowson) have argued that

al-Islam (Book on the Merits of Islam) and an-

the reports of Ibn Miskawayh and al-Tawhidi about al- Amiri may have been skewed according to the politics of the Buyid court, and by the relationship of the respective authors with Abu I-Fadl ibn al--Amid, who was al-‘Amiri’s major patron.

other philosophical composition, Al-sa‘ada wa l-is'ad (On Seeking and Causing Happiness). A facsimile reproduction of a manuscript of the latter title together with notes by Minuwi was published in Germany. Both in Kitab al-ilam as well as Kitab al-sa ada, al-‘Amirt’s chief goal was to justify certain religious teachings according to the philosophical principles set down by the Greek philosophers, in pursuit of which, he occasionally echoed the views of the Mu tazilites. However, his views on certain subjects such as the pre-eternity of the

take advantage of al-‘Amiri’s presence in Rayy.

Al-‘Amiri made two trips to Baghdad between 970 and 975 but was coldly received by the schol-

ars there. During his second stay, he participated in one of Ibn al--Amid’s public debate sessions and got into an argument with the famous grammarian Abi Said al-Sirafi that apparently did not end well. According to al-Tawhidi, he left the city disappointed and by 980 returned to the Samanid court in Khurasan, where he was in contact with

the SamAnid vizier al-"Utbi and stayed for the rest of his years. In addition to influencing Ibn Miskawayh and al-Tawhidi, he also taught several students, chief among them Abii al-Faraj ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Hindi, a secretary of the Buyid ruler “Aud alDawlah. According to Rowson, al-‘Amir''s effect on later philosophers was overshadowed by the

world and on prime matter (hayula) were more in

line with those of the ancient philosophers than with those of his contemporary theologians. His philosophy, like that of the Islamic tradition at

the time, is a mélange of Neoplatonism and Aristotelianism. Yet, he devoted much of his writings to a reconciliation between philosophical and religious thought, arguing that Islam and philosophy are not contradictory, and even providing philosophical proofs for certain religious views

28 | ‘Amiri, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

such as the superiority of Islam to other religions. In his Kitab al-ilam, he includes an introduction to Greek philosophy. This could indicate that the intended audience may not have been very familiar with Greek philosophy, and it would support the claim that the work was aimed at religious scholars. In al-Amad, he argued that faith and disbelief are of essentially different natures, placing the former in the rational faculty and the latter in the faculty of imagination or estimation. Elsewhere he argues that “correct religion” and “sound intellect” are complementary and are both necessary for resolving problems associated with one or the other. He even argued (Kitab al-Ilam, 213-214)

that hadith, the science of Prophetic traditions, is the basis of the other sciences and hence inherently prior to them in importance, because it is the intellect’s first tool. However, in his defense of hadith, he broke with tradition by including “wise sayings” of ancient philosophers and sages, similar to Nasir al-Din al-Tist in Akhlaq-e Muhtashami, three centuries later. There is an echo of some of al-‘Amiri’s philosophical views in the writings of some later philosophers, although only occasionally and not systematically. For example, in his Sharh Hikmat al-Ishrag (Comment of the Philosophy of Illumination of al-Suhrawardi), Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi

Ahmad ‘Abd al-Hamid Ghurab. Cairo: Dar al-Katib al-’Arabi, 1967. Reprinted in 1991.

‘Amiri, Abi al-Hasan al-. Rasd@’il Abi al-Hasan al-‘Amiri wa-Shadharatuhu al-falsaftyah: dirasah wa-nusus [Philosophical treatises and fragments of Abu alHasan al-‘Amiri]. Edited by Sahban Khalifat. Amman, Jordan: al-Jami‘ah al-Urduntyah, 1988.

‘Amiri, Abt al-Hasan al-. Al-sa‘dda wa I-is'ad (On Seeking and Causing Happiness). Edited by Mugtaba Mintiwi. Wiesbaden, Germany: EF. Steiner, 1957-1958. Brockelmann, Carl. Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur [History of Arabic Literature]. Vol. 2. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1943. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1986. Lacroix, M. C. “Education et instruction selon Abt

|-hasan al-‘Amiri: présentation et traduction dun extrait du Kitab al-sa‘ada wa I-is'‘ad? Revue Philosophique de Louvain 87 (1989): 165-214.

Minovi, M. “Az khaza’en-e Turkiyye.” Revue de la faculté des lettres de ?Université de Tehran 4, no. 3 (1957): 60-87.

Rosenthal, Franz. The Classical Heritage in Islam. New York: Routledge, 1992. Rowson, Everett K., ed. and trans.

amad ‘ala al-abad. New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1988. Tabatabai, Sayyed J., Ebrahimi G. Dinani, and Saleh

Nejad. “Abi al-Hasan al-‘Amiri” In Encyclopaedia Islamica, edited by Wilferd Madelung and Farhad Daftary. Brill Online, 2013. .

credited al-Suhrawardi for a particular argument on the topic of the attributes of God. Centuries later Mulla Sadra would eventually trace the

argument to al-‘Amiri. BIBLIOGRAPHY

‘Amiri, Abii al-Hasan al-. A Muslim Philosopher on the

Soul and Its Fate: Al-‘Amiris Kitab al-amad ‘ala l-abad. Edited and translated by Everett K. Rowson. New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1988.

‘Amiri, Abii al-Hasan al-. Kitab al-i‘lam bi mandagqib alIslam

[Book on the merits of Islam]. Edited by

A Muslim Philoso-

pher on the Soul and Its Fate: al-‘Amiris Kitab al-

HADI! JORATI

ANIMALS MustiM

IN ISLAMIC LAW AND CULTURE ‘The wealth and

depth of animal themes in Islamic textual sources, particularly from the premodern period, point to a profound sensitivity to animate life beyond the human sphere. No doubt, in these sources animals are also treated as objects. For example, works of jurisprudence often discuss domestic species in their capacities as assets and grazing

ANIMALS IN ISLAMIC LAW AND MUSLIM CULTURE

animals in their capacities as a source of food and service for humans. Alongside this dimension, however, the tradition also takes the interests of nonhuman animals into serious consideration, often prioritizing them over the interests of human beings. This entry is concerned with the latter dimension of the animal question, that is, animals as subjects. The first part deals with animals in the Qur'an and the Hadith; the second explores the legal protections that Muslims accorded or denied to nonhuman animals and the mechanisms that were used to implement these protections; the third considers how the tradition noticed, or failed to notice, the subjective realities of nonhuman species beyond the legal sphere. Animals in Scriptural Sources. Quranic animal themes have a bearing mostly on the status of nonhuman animals. The Qur'an presents several species as a source of food and service for human beings and discusses humans more than it does any other species. This stance has been prevalently interpreted as an indication of humans’ privileged status. This interpretation, however, fails to take into account many other themes that highlight nonhuman animals’ merit. The Quran not only says (addressing human beings), “There is no creature crawling on earth, nor a bird flying with two wings, but are nations like you” (6:38), but also presents nonhuman ani-

mals as moral and spiritual beings submitting themselves to and willingly obeying God. Because

the Quran

considers spirituality (rather

than rationality) the ultimate criterion that decides any being’s status, it is justified to conclude that it situates nonhuman animals above the vast majority of humankind, since most of the latter are presented as disbelievers. The Hadith expounds on the theme of nonhuman animals’ spirituality, often contrasting humans’ haughtiness to the submission (islam) of nonhuman beings to God. Furthermore, the Hadith engages deeply with the question of

| 29

animal welfare. While authorizing Muslims to kill certain animals for food and to kill the members of five species that are deemed particularly harmful (such as scorpions and mice), it imposes innumerable restrictions on humans’ interactions with other species. Thus, Muslims are disallowed from mutilating, overloading, exhausting, or otherwise compromising animals’ well-being. In cases when killing is permissible, the Hadith urges Muslims to perform it in the least painful method, paying attention both to the physical and the emotional states of the animal. The Hadith

also details Muslims’ obligations toward their livestock and other domestic species. Some Prophetic reports go so far as to present one act of

kindness to a nonhuman animal as a meritorious deed that can wipe out all sins and earn a Muslim the highest reward in the afterlife. In contrast, cruelty to animals is presented as an act punishable by torture in the hellfire. Animals in Islamic Law. Legal rulings pertaining to animals are derived from scriptural teachings and have developed according to the juristic principle of giyds (analogical reasoning). From the various authorizations and interdictions pertaining to animals in the Quran and the Hadith, Muslim jurists derive a number of guiding principles, such as the prohibition of inflicting pain on animals save for slaughtering them for food and the notion of nonhuman animals’ inviolability. Attempts to balance scriptural injunctions and human needs, however, have led to different interpretations of these principles. The major schools of Islamic law unanimously agree on the prohibition of killing animals for no purpose on the one hand and on the permissibility of killing them for food on the other. There is hardly any consensus, however, on whether or not, and to what extent, the permissibility of killing for food can be expanded to include other uses. Jurists from the Hanafi school of law, who are generally the most inclined to prioritize

30 | ANIMALS IN ISLAMIC LAW AND MUSLIM CULTURE

humans interests, consider any material benefit a valid justification for killing nonhuman animals. Thus, even though Islamic law generally prohibits the consumption of the flesh of predators, Hanafis allow the killing of these animals for their hides and other useful body parts. In wars, some Hanafi jurists allow Muslim soldiers to kill the enemy's livestock even when they do not intend to consume the flesh, provided, of course, that they

believe this measure serves the interests of the Muslim army. In contrast, Shafi jurists insist on the impermissibility of killing animals for reasons other than food or self-defense. Some Shafiis not only insist that in wars Muslims are allowed to kill animals only to satisfy their hunger and ward off danger, but also go to great lengths to argue against the opposite view, invoking the principles of nonhuman animals’ inviolability and the prohibition of inflicting unauthorized pain on them. The use of animal parts and products for medicinal purposes is typically examined in the light of dietary laws, even when the medication in question is not for oral consumption. Discussions of this topic often consider whether a given prohibited product may become permissible if it is prescribed as a medication. Jurists generally accommodate these medical needs, except if the product consists of a body part of a swine or a human being. Some, however, are reticent to allow the use of any prohibited substance, invoking a Prophetic report to the effect that God did not place healing properties in prohibited substances. Muslims are also allowed to kill animals which represent a threat to their lives, health, or property. This position is founded on Prophetic reports that recommend the killing of five animal species, called fawasig (transgressors). These are scorpions, mice, ferocious dogs, crows, and kites. As with the permissibility of killing for food, however, many jurists expand the Prophetic teachings through the principle of analogy to include all animals that are deemed to be harmful,

including ones that the Prophet expressly instructed Muslims not to kill, such as ants. Many jurists, however, emphasize that the permissibility of killing any animal is contingent on having the right intention. Some jurists disallow the killing even of animals the meat of which is permissible if the consumption of their flesh is not the primary intended objective. Similarly, in the opinion of some it is permissible to kill harmful animals only if one intends to prevent their harmfulness. To kill an animal in vain, including the species that the Prophet expressly allowed Muslims to kill, is prohibited. From these attitudes it is possible to see that although Islamic law did not prohibit killing, the lives of nonhuman animals was still a matter of deep concern to Muslim jurists. The well-being of living animals was a matter of even greater concern. This attitude can be deduced primarily from the strict prohibition of mutilation and animal fights. Furthermore, although all schools of law allow Muslims to use animals of service and to consume animal products, they often stipulate that none of these can be done in ways that may compromise the well-being of these animals. Thus, Muslims are allowed to use camels and equine for transportation, but they are disallowed from overburdening them with weight and work. Islamic law stipulates that owners of domestic animals must allow lambkins, calves, and other small animals to get their fill of their mothers’ milk before humans consume any. These obligations extend even to animals from which humans do not derive any benefit. For instance, the Maliki scholar al-Dardir (d. 1786) says

that if a blind cat establishes itself in someone's house, that person may not chase it away, since the cat is unable to look after itself. The owner of the house then must provide for and look after the needs of this animal. Expectedly, there are important differences between schools of law in this respect. For instance,

ANIMALS IN ISLAMIC LAW AND MUSLIM CULTURE

for Hanafi jurists, failure to feed one’s animals adequately is religious, but not legal. As such, it entails accountability only in the hereafter. For jurists from the other schools, however, such failure entails legal liability as well, which may amount to losing one’s animals to government institutions. Moreover, when there is a conflict of interests many of these protections are sacrificed. For example, although all jurists agree on the impermissibility of burning animals alive, if one’s comfort is seriously compromised by the presence of bedbugs and is unable to do away with their harm in less cruel ways, as a last resort many jurists would allow that person to burn the insects alive. While making these concessions, however,

jurists typically continue to emphasize their exceptional nature. The qualification of certain liabilities as legal rather than religious should not be interpreted as something that materialized into considerable concrete results, but this was not a meaningless distinction either. Although it is justified to suggest that many violations could hardly be monitored, those which occurred in public spaces fell

| 31

legal discourse. Although Muslim jurists still proscribe mutilation and unjustified killing, they are generally more willing to sacrifice the interests of nonhuman animals for humans’ sake.

Animals in Muslim Culture. As is the case with other traditions, Muslims take variegated interest in other animals. Sufis often display toward them a level of sensitivity that goes beyond legal requirements. Works of zoology reflect a fascination with their physical and psychological constitutions. Works of Qur’anic exegesis go so far as to assign them rationality, accountability, and morality. Theological texts address questions such as animal suffering and resurrection. Some fables borrow animal voices to discuss the plights of nonhuman animals rather than of human beings. The limited scope of this entry focuses this section's discussion on only a few disciplines and works. Biographical works often present kindness toward animals as a distinctive feature of the pious and the generous. Numerous anecdotes in

under the jurisdiction of the market inspec-

works of this genre depict Sufis sharing their food with other animals, treating sick beasts, and freeing caged birds. Some Sufis are careful

tor (muhtasib), who was charged, among other

to treat other animals with dignity, abstaining

things, to keep an eye on the treatment of animals. Among this official’s responsibilities was ordering donkey drivers to lighten the burdens of these animals if he estimated that they were overloaded, banning people from burning lice alive, and, more generally, ascertaining that nonhuman

from using harsh or disrespectful language with them. When harmed by insects, many pious Muslims chose to drive them away through repellent herbs and potions or through prayers. Because of these attitudes, nonhuman animals are often depicted as trusting Sufis to the exclusion of others. Indeed, in Sifi literature the trust of another animal is often interpreted as a sign of a person’s piety. These themes not only point to Stifis unique closeness to the animal world, they also show that Siifis hold other animals in

animals were treated well. Contemporary Muslim jurists are faced with a set of unprecedented challenges. Besides the significant social and political changes which resulted in the disappearance of institutions that used to provide care and protection for many species, Muslim societies have incorporated many institutions, practices, and values that reflect little concern for the well-being of nonhuman animals. These new developments have shaped the

high esteem, Stifis’ views of animals, however, are not without

negative associations. Although some are careful not to deride nonhuman creatures, others hold prejudiced views about them. What some Sufis

32 | ANIMALS IN ISLAMIC LAW AND MUSLIM CULTURE

hold to be base psychological drives are often identified with animal characteristics. Nonhuman animals, particularly dogs and pigs, are thus representative of the inferior and immoral side of human nature. Works of zoology adopt a combined rational and spiritual approach to animals. Motivated by the Quranic invitation to ponder the natural world, authors of such works study animals in their capacities as signs of creation. One of the best known examples of this genre is al-Jahiz’s (d. 869) Kitab al-hayawan (The Book of Animals), in which the author discusses the skills, constitutions, and special features of hundreds of species with the aim of proving God’s existence and illustrating His attributes of perfection, wisdom, and compassion toward the entire creation. An equally well-known work is ‘Allamah Kamal al-Din al-Damir?s (d. 1405) Hayat al-hayawan alkubra (The Comprehensive Source on the Lives of Animals). This is an alphabetically arranged lexicon on animals written with the purpose of correcting misconceptions about them that, the author maintains, have become prevalent during his days. The approach of both authors resulted in fairly informed views and detailed knowledge about the animal world. The descriptions they provide of other species’ behaviors and characteristics are often, though not always, anchored in

close personal observation and Greek literature, particularly Aristotle's writings on animals. Despite a clear sense of fascination, these works still point to an underlying anthropocentric worldview. For example, al-Jahiz is amazed at ants’ capacity of carrying one hundred times the equivalent of their own weight and mastering refined skills that seem to denote complex mental skills. Despite this, human beings stand above these and other animals, he holds, because of their rationality. The prominent Shi7 scholar ‘“Allamah alMajlisi (d. 1700) expresses similar amazement at

the meticulous creation of nonhuman animals.

He finds in the proportion, perfection, beauty, and skills that many species possess a clear expression of God’s grace. The recipients of this grace, however, are not the nonhuman animals, but rather human beings for whose sake, alMajlisi maintains, God created these animals. The most remarkable work on animals in premodern Arabic, Islamic, and perhaps world literature is Ikhwan al-Safa’s epistle The Case of the Animals versus Man Before the King of the Jinn. This narrative consists of a fictional legal suit in which nonhuman animal characters dexterously use scriptural and rational arguments to refute humans’ claims to a superior status. Remarkably, characters on both sides of the dispute cite mainly the Qur'an and the Hadith in support of their claims, yet nonhuman animals’ nonanthropocentric reading of these two texts is consistently more persuasive. Time and again human beings are forced to admit defeat. Their dexterity notwithstanding, nonhuman animals lose their case. This outcome is reached when human beings argue that they are the only species that will be resurrected after death and will continue to live eternally thereafter in utter heavenly bliss, thanks to the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad on their behalf. It is remarkable that, contrary to other scriptural arguments invoked in this fable, this one hardly has any basis in Islamic scriptural texts. Obviously, this unexpected turn of events continues to disappoint and puzzle readers. In spite of its unhappy end, however, this epistle still represents an admirable attempt at questioning anthropocentric presump-

tions and challenging humans self-perceptions. Assessment. Like the members of other societies, Muslims assign to the human race a privileged status that they generally justify by humans’ superior rational faculties. Many have also interpreted the scriptural authorizations to make certain uses of other species as a divine acknowledgement of humans’ uniqueness, Combined with

ANQARAWI, ISMAIL

innate instincts of survival at the individual and species levels, these ideas often resulted in the prioritization of humans’ interests at the expense of the interests of other animals. On the other hand, premodern Muslim societies did not push nonhuman animals to a drastically lower status. Indeed, many texts often hold them in high esteem due to their assumed spiritual nature. Furthermore, in spite of some attempts to prioritize the interests of humans, the overall tradition remains uniquely attentive to the well-being of other animals. The protections it accorded them may still fall short of satisfying all modern sensitivities; however, the mere fact that Muslim jurists took painstaking effort to regulate humans’ uses of other animals, in an epoch when human societies could hardly survive without such uses, is a clear indication of this remarkable attention.

You: Dimensions

of Animals in Islamic Tradi-

tion and Muslim Culture.” In A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics, edited by Paul Waldau and Kimberly Patton, pp. 149-159.

New

York:

Columbia

University

Press, 2006.

Tlili, Sarra. Animals in the Qur'an. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Tlili, Sarra. “The Meaning of the Qur’anic Word ‘dabba: ‘Animals’

or ‘Nonhuman Animals?” Quranic Studies 12 (2010): 167-187.

Journal

of

SARRA TLILI

ANQARAWI,

ISMA‘IL

(d) 1631, CE), a

great theologian-scholar, illuminationist-philosopher, and the most eminent commentator

on

Ramis Mathnawi. Born Ismail Angarawi ibn Ahmad Rusiikh al-Din al-Bayrami al-Mawlawi, and often referred to as Ismail Dede or Ismail Rusukhi, Angarawi was a descendant of a pious family associated with the Bayramt Sufi order. As

Primary Works

the name suggests, he was born in Ankara, where he received his early Islamic education from his father, Ahmad, a recognized local imam, and also learned the Arabic and Persian languages from several town scholars. With the aim of advancing in the formal sciences of Islamic tradition, such as tafsir, hadith, kalam, figh, and hikmah, he had

al-Mawjid. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 1994. Qarafi, Shihab al-Din al-. Al-Dhakhira [The Treasure]. 14 vols. Edited by Muhammad Hajji, Muhammad bu Khubza, and Said A‘rab. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb alIslami, 1994.

Muhammad

[The Manifest

Foltz, Richard. “This She-Camel of God Is a Sign to

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mawardi, Abii al-Hasan al-. Al-Hawi al-kabir fi figh madhhab al-imam al-Shafit [The Comprehensive Book in Shafil Jurisprudence]. 20 vols. Edited by ‘Alt Muhammad Mu‘awwad and ‘Adil Ahmad ‘Abd

Sarakhsi,

| 33

ibn Ahmad

(Book)].

al-. Al-Mabsit

30 vols. Beirut:

Dar al-

Ma'rifa, 1993. Sawi, Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-. Bulghat al-salik li-

aqrab al-masalik [The Wayfarer’s Journey to the Shortest Path]. 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Ma arif, n.d.

Secondary Works

Bousquet, G. H. “Des Animaux et de leur traitement selon le Judaisme, le Chrisitanisme et Islam.” Studia Islamica 9 (1958): 31-48. Foltz, Richard. Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures. Oxford: Oneworld, 2006.

traveled to Egypt around 1599 and remained there,

fully engaged in the pursuit of those sciences, until 1606. At some point during his seven-year sojourn in Egypt, he became actively involved with the religious authorities and muftis (jurisconsults) of Cairo in the resolution of certain

legal disputes. Soon after completing his studies, Angarawi returned to Ankara, where he began to pursue vigorous spiritual training according

to the precepts of the Bayrami mystical order. He eventually received an ijazah (certificate of authorization)

that entitled him to become

the

chief-master (shaykh) of the order. He is also

34 | ANQARAWI, ISMAIL

said to have obtained another ijdzah from the Khalvati order. While in the service of the Bayrami order as its headmaster, Ismail Anqarawi, afflicted with a severe eye disease, moved, upon receiving a spir-

itual message, to Konya, where he had a historic encounter with Bostan Celebi I (d. 1630), then

the chief-master of the local Mawlawi convent (Mawlawikhane).

It was

this crucial meeting,

often characterized in major Ottoman sources as a turning point for Angarawi, which not only led to the restoration of his eyesight but also led him to devote the rest of his life to the study and dissemination of the ideas, rituals, and practices of the Mawlawi mystical order. At the end of his arduous spiritual training, known as ¢ile, under the strict guidance of Bostan Celebi I, he was sent to

mained increasingly active in this highest post of the Mawlawiyah, leaving behind not only a reflective spiritual legacy for his Mawlawi disciples and thereby setting for them certain high standards and guidelines to observe, but also a large number of significant works on a variety of subjects ranging from the Quranic exegesis, hadith interpretation, philosophy, theology to Sufism. Upon his death, he was buried in the courtyard of the Galata convent, which has since been frequented by visitors as the shrine of a saint.

Intellectual

Life and

Influence.

Ismail

convent in Istanbul in 1610. From this time onward, Anqarawi began to be

Angarawis scholarship revolved around three principal areas of Islamic thought: Islamic theology and philosophy, Islamic law, and Sufism. The last field without a doubt took up the most considerable portion of his time and occupied the largest space in his writings. His worldview in general and mystical thought in particular draw mainly on his own fusion of Muhy al-Din ibn al-

recognized, in Mawlawi circles, as dede, meaning

‘Arabr’s (d. 1240) metaphysics

the honorable head of a Mawlawi convent. Moreover, thanks to the efficacious moral guidance he provided to his disciples, the insightful lectures he delivered in the Galata convent, as well as the scholarly works he produced in three languages (Turkish, Arabic, and Persian), he soon gained a wide reputation among Ottoman scholars and Sufis. They conferred on him, due to the profundity of his erudition, the estimable nickname of Rusukhi, a shortened form of Rustkh al-Din, meaning “well-grounded in religious knowledge.” And, because of his monumental commentary on Rumis Mathnawi, his followers and admirers posthumously awarded him the honorific epithet hadrat-i sharih (the eminent commentator). During his nearly 21-year-long term as the head of the Galata Mawlawi convent, Dede Ismail Rusukhi led an intellectually very dynamic and morally quite humble life. So much so that, despite the occurrence of some unpleasant events surrounding him and his gnostic peers, he re-

being (wahdat al-wujid) and Shihab al-Din al-

serve as chief (postnishin) of the Galata Mawlawi

of the unity of

Suhrawardi'’s (d. 1191) theosophy of illumination

(al-hikmat al-ishraq) with Jalal al-Din

Rimi's

(d. 1273) spiritual and moral wisdom, centered on

the reality of love (‘ishq) or, more precisely, the love of God (muhabbatu'llah). Three important works first and foremost appear, among others, to have constituted the backbone of Anqarawi’s intellectual personality: Ibn al-'Arabi’s Nagqsh alfusts (The Imprint of Bezels), which is a succinct

version of the author’s masterpiece

Fusts al-

hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom); al-Suhrawardi’s Hayakil al-nir (The Forms of Light), which is a

brief summary of the author’s magnum opus Hikmat al-ishraq (The Wisdom of Illumination); and Rumi's grand poetic work, Mathnawi. On every one of these works, Angarawi has composed a separate commentary and explained one with the help of the others. With his commentary on Haydakil, Ismail Rusukhi, as notably underscored by several

ANQARAWI, ISMAIL

historians such as Hajji Khalifa, indeed played a formidable role in the transmission and dissemination of Suhraward/s illuminative philosophy among the Ottoman intelligentsia. This is all the more noteworthy given the tumultuous circumstances of his time when philosophy and philosophical disciplines were bitterly denounced by a notorious yet influential group, known as the Kadizadeliler or Fagilar, and their followers. This group, consisting of mainly preachers, also launched a vehement campaign against the Siifis, particularly the representatives of the Khalwati and Mawlawi orders, condemning most of their mystical practices, like supererogatory prayers, audition (sama), and whirling (raqs), as innovations in violation of the Shari ‘ah. In a repudiation of their critiques, Anqarawi composed a short treatise entitled Hujjat al-samda (The Proof for the Legitimacy of Mystical Whirling), in which he fervently defended, from the Shari ah perspective, the legitimacy of the pseudo-innovated practices of the Siifis. On account of it, he was heralded by the two great religious leaders of the time: Saykh al-Islam Yahya Efendi and the chief-master of the Jalwati order, ‘Aziz Mahmiid Huda’, also the spiritual tutor of Sultan Ahmad I. In spite of such high veneration, Angarawi faced at one point in time severe criticism from his own eminent Mawlawi circles, due to his commentary on the so-called apocryphal seventh volume of the Mathnawi, which circulated, according to Katib Celebi (1871-1872), around 1625. Some

of these Mawlawi critics claimed that Angarawi had deliberately commented on this posthumously forged seventh volume in order to appease the Kadizadeliler or appear seemingly good to them. Such allegations, however, were found rather un-

fair and groundless, given that Angarawi, throughout his life, had been in constant confrontation with these notorious people and even condemned them as “heretics” without any fear. Therefore, one may still question the authenticity of the sev-

| 35

enth volume of the Mathnawi and its attribution to Rumi for other important reasons, but not because of Anqarawil’s genuine acceptance of it. (For more detailed coverage of this issue, see Kuspinar [“Ismail Angarawi and the Significance,’ 1996].)

In expounding on various crucial doctrines of Muslim philosophers, Angarawi appears to adopt a conciliatory attitude. While rejecting, on the one hand, the philosophers’ assumption of the eternity of the world on the ground that it is contrary to the basic teachings of Islam, he justifies, on the other, their theory of emanation on the basis of several hadiths that circulated among the Sufis concerning ‘aql (intellect) and galam (pen), and nuir-i Muhammadi (Muhammadan light). Whenever the matter involves an already wellestablished view or position espoused by the eminent Sifis of the past, Angarawi takes issue with the view of the philosophers. For instance, he categorically opposes the philosophers’ theory of the simultaneous creation of the soul with the body, and maintains instead, like his Sufi peers, the creation of the former long before that of the latter. To prove and substantiate his position, Anqarawi makes good use of the arguments developed by the Muslim theologians and philosophers of the past and incorporates them into his own mystical views. (For a thorough examination of this subject, see Kuspinar [Ismail Angarawi on the Iluminative, 1996].)

Works. From Angarawt's prolific and versatile scholarship, there sprang more than thirty works: some dealing with the Qur’an’s hermeneutics and the hadith; some with different subjects of Islamic philosophy and theology; some with Sufism; others with language, grammar, and poetry. His major works include: 1.

Sharh al-Mathnawi (Commentary on the Mathnawi): Anqarawis chief fame rests on his magnum opus Majmwat al-lataifwa matmiarat al-ma Grif (The Collection of

36 | ANQARAWI, ISMAIL

Subtleties and the Hidden Treasure of Knowledge), widely known as Sharh al-Mathnawi. In the early twenty-first century the Sharh of Anqarawi remains among experts the “most complete interpretation” of and “most celebrated commentary” on the Mathnawi. And it is through this work that he has acquired, besides a worldwide recognition, an extraordinary high-ranking status in all Mawlawi circles—so much so that, after his death, his name and works began to be duly cited in the licenses issued for potential Mathnawikhans, i.e., official lecturers on the Mathnawi. The Sharh al-Mathnawi of Anqarawi has so far appeared twice in print: in Egypt (1806, 1835,

together with its analysis in comparison to Jalal al-Din Dawwani's commentary, Shawakil al-hir, appears in Kuspinar (Ismail Angarawi on the Illuminative, 1996).

4.

light verse of the Qur'an. See Kuspinar (2011).

5.

Sharh-i hadith-i arba‘in (Commentary on the Forty Hadiths): This work is an exposition of forty selected hadiths. For an edition in modern Turkish script, along with the original Arabic texts, see Semih Ceyhan (2001).

6.

Zubda al-fuhis fi naqsh al-fustis (The Gist of the Analysis Concerning the Ornament of the Bezels): This is the author’s Turkish

commentary on Ibn al-‘Arabi's succinct Nagsh al-fusus. Besides the original Ottoman edition, printed in Istanbul in 1910, the work has been quite recently published

1845) and in Istanbul (1841 and 1872). In

addition, an abridged version of the work was made available in Arabic by Dede Cengi Yusuf (d. 1669) and published under the

in modern Turkish; see Yilidirim (2005).

title al-Minhdj al-qawi fi sharh al-Mathnawi

A partial analysis of this work also appears in Kuspinar (2008).

in Cairo, 1872. It was also translated, in its

complete form, into Persian by ‘Ismat Sattarzade and published in Tehran in 1970

7.

with the title Sharh-i kabir-i anqarawi bar Mathnawi-yi ma‘nawi-yi Mawlawi. Moreover, in his English-language rendition of the Mathnawi, Nicholson has consulted Angarawis Sharh extensively and referred to it more frequently than other scholars in his explanatory notes.

2.

Minhaj al-fuqara’ (The Guideline for the Dervishes): This work was written as a

manual for Sufi initiates, explaining to them pivotal concepts and practices that are to be observed in their spiritual journey on the Sufi path in general and within the Mawlawi order in particular. In addition to its two printed editions in Ottoman script, one appearing in Bulaq in 1840 and the other in Istanbul in 1869, its modern Turkish transcription by S. Ekici became available in print in Istanbul in 1996, with a second

edition released in 2011. An analysis of the work was published by Erhan Yetik (1992).

3.

Idah al-hikam (The Elucidation of Wisdom): This work is a commentary on alSuhrawardt’s Hayakil. A critical edition of it,

Misbah al-asrar (The Lamp of the Mysteries): This work is a short mystical exegesis of the

Hujjat al-sama@ (‘The Proof for the Legitimacy of Mystical Whirling): This work was published as an annex to the Minhaj al-fugara in Istanbul, 1869. For a study of it, see Akdogan (2009).

8.

Simat al-mugqinin (Spiritual Food for the People of Certainty): Written in Arabic asa commentary on the preface (dibdaja) to the first book of the Mathnawi, this work first offers valuable guidelines on how to treat and read the Mathnawi and then elucidates certain technical terms used by Rimi in the preface.

For a comprehensive list of Anqarawi’s other works, see Kuspinar (Ismail Angarawi on the IIluminative, 1996); Kuspinar (2011); and Yetik (1992).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akdogan, Bayram. Mevleviligin din anlayisinda Misiki (Huccetii's-Sema’). Ankara: Bilge Ajans ve Matbaasi, 2009. ‘Ali, Enver. Samda‘khana-i adab. Istanbul: ‘Alam Matba‘asi, 1309.

ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Elgin, Necati. “Ismail Ankaravi (Mesnevi Sarihi Rusthi Dede).” Anit 30 (1960): 31-36.

Evliya Celebi. Evliya Celebi Seyahatnamesi. ed. 15 vols. Edited and translated into modern

2d by

Z. Danisman. Istanbul: Z. Danigsman, 1971.

Gélpinarh, Abdiilbaki. Mevlanddan sonra Mevlevilik. Istanbul: Inkilap Kitabevi, 1953.

Katib Celebi. Kashf al-Uuniin.

2 vols. Edited by

Serafettin Yaltkaya and Kilisli Rifat Bilge. Istanbul: Ma arif Matba‘asi, 1941-1943.

Katib Celebi (Hajji Khalifa). Fezleke-i Katib Celebi. 2 vols. Istanbul: Ceride-i Havadis Matba‘as1, 1871-

Semih Ceyhan. Hadislerle Tasavvuf ve Mevlevi Erkant: Mesnevi beyitleriyle kirk hadis serhi. Istanbul: Dariilhadis, 2001.

Tahirii1-Mevlevi, trans. (Ankaravi nin)Nisabii’l-Mevlevi

terclimesi. Edited by Y. Safak and I. Kunt. Konya, Turkey: Tekin Kitabevi Yayinlari, 2005.

Yetik, Erhan. Ismail-i Ankaravi, Hayati, eserleri ve Tasavvufi goriisleri. Istanbul: Isaret, 1992. Yilidirrm, Ayhan. Muhyiddin Ibnii'l-Arabi Nakse’lFiists, gerceklerin Ozti: Serh Ismail Rusuhi Ankaravi. Istanbul: Sen Yildiz Matbaasi, 200s.

BILAL KUSPINAR

1872.

Kuspinar, Bilal. “Ankaravi, Ismail Rustikhi’” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3d ed., edited by Kate Fleet, Gudrun Kramer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2007. Kuspinar, Bilal. Ismail Angarawi on the Illuminative Philosophy: His Izahu’l-Hikem: Its Edition and Analysis with Dawwanis Shawakil al-Hur, together with

the Translation of Suhrawardt’s Hayakil al-Nur. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: ISTAC, 1996. Kuspinar, Bilal. “Ismail Angarawi and the Significance of His Commentary in Mawlawi Literature.” al-Shajarah: Journal of the Institute ofIslamic Thought and Civilization 1 (1996): 51-75.

Kuspinar, Bilal. The Lamp of Mysteries (Misbah alAsrar): A Commentary on the Light-Verse of the Qur'an. Oxford: Anga, 2011. Kuspinar, Bilal. “The Legacy of Ibn al-‘Arabi in Ottoman Scholarship and Ankaravi’s Treatment.” Journal of Scientific Thought—Dituria 1 (2008): 93-108.

Kuspinar, Bilal. “The Preface to the Mathnawt: Ismail Ankaravis Commentary.’ In Proceedings of the Third International Mevlana Congress, pp. 303-314. Konya, Turkey: Selcuk University, 2004. Kuspinar, Bilal. “Simat al-Mugqinin (Spiritual Food for the People of Certainty): Ismail Anqarawi’s Arabic Commentary on the Introduction to the Mathnawi.’ In Mawlana Rumi Review, Vol. 3, edited by Dr Leon-

ard Lewisohn, pp. 51-67. Exeter, U.K.: University of Exeter, 2012. Mehmed-Tahir

(Bursali). Osmanl

miiellifleri. 3 vols.

Edited and translated into modern Turkish by A. Fikri Yavuz and Ismail Ozen. Istanbul: Meral Yayinevi, 1974.

| 37

ARCHITECTURE

[This entry contains two

subentries:

Traditional Forms of Islamic Architecture and

Principles of Islamic Architecture. ] TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC

ARCHITECTURE

Traditional forms provide images of the past: they enable a group to envision its origins, and they display its descent. The preservation of some forms and the alteration or obliteration of others are part of the ongoing fabrication, transformation, and maintenance of national, regional, and ethnic identities. The selection of past architectural forms creates a visually complex historical layering of shapes, materials, forms, and functions. “Traditional”

is

thus a relational term, froma given present moment to a directed understanding of the past. Now, as in the past, governments are often the

most active social force in deciding what forms are to be identified as traditional. What is built and where, which buildings are preserved and which are incorporated into the urban fabric, and the aesthetic judgments affecting the quality and use of materials have all been the prerogative of rulers. Each ruling group makes such decisions about the architectural forms of the previous period in its

38

| ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

turn. Forms preserved in this manner over time can serve as emblems of identity, and fabricating national, regional, or ethnic identities in the contemporary world often requires different means, depending on the audience being addressed.

Domes

and

Minarets.

The architectural

element of the dome is recognizable by its distinctive silhouette marked by a high drum, pointed dome, and patterned surface. Historically, Mamlik domes covered mausoleum spaces, serving as memorial markers; contemporary domes cover mosques and signal spaces of communal prayer. The profile of the Timurid domes of Samarkand (1370-1506) has also served later groups in

the fabrication of their dynastic and regional identities. Its distinctive shape, a bulbous pointed dome surmounting a high drum narrower than the dome in circumference, became emblematic of the splendor of Timurid Samarkand. Its brick and glazed tile surfaces and the plain color juxtaposed with writing in high-contrast colors functioned to heighten the visual impact of the domes. The splendors of the buildings, the height of the domes, and their visibility from afar all contributed to the renown of the city and its rulers. They were an especially powerful reminder to subsequent rulers in adjacent lands of the efficacy of architecture in memorializing the name of Timur and his dynastic successors. Two centuries later, the dome of the Taj Mahal, with its profile reminiscent

of Timurid

forms,

was an intentional visual link from Agra to Samarkand and the dynasty from which the Mughals claimed descent. The silhouette of the Taj Mahal’s dome was a sharp contrast to the domes of structures sponsored by previous Muslim rulers in that area. In the early twenty-first century, domes and the structures they surmount represent national or ethnic identities—Uzbekistan, India, and Iran. These forms have become part of the articulation

of the collective memory of each nation. In Uzbekistan, they refer to the Turkic past; in India, the Taj Mahal represents not only a time and place when Muslims ruled, but also the romantic legends that Europeans attached to the structure, ensuring its place in international memory. Identifying these forms as traditional and imbuing them with new meaning is an active, ongoing

social process. One of the most ubiquitous symbols of Islam

throughout the world is the minaret. The most ubiquitous basic form, a tapering, rounded shaft, is found throughout Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Ruling dynasties modified the proportions of this basic form, varying the number of balconies and their placement, as well as materiality and surface ornamentation.

The minaret is more than a clear index of Islam; its shape can be a powerful symbol of political domination. Ottoman building practices offer a rich view of the complex issues raised by the concept of traditional forms. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Ottomans developed a distinctive style of minaret: a tall, tapering tower with a conical top. Usually two, but as many as six, minarets associated with a mosque indicated the sultan’s patronage and construction of the mosque. As the empire expanded into areas that were predominantly Christian, as well as into areas ruled by other Muslim groups, the distinctive Ottoman minaret on the skyline of a city indicated the presence of Ottoman rule. Mosque Form. Anywhere in the world in the early twenty-first century, the Friday mosque with a minaret indicates the presence of a Muslim community. Most Friday mosques have until recently been built following one of three general models. Historically, these forms appeared at specific times and places, but all three, or a combination of their elements, are contemporary today. Each type combines covered and open spaces. In

ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

the early Islamic centuries, most Friday mosques were large enclosed areas that combined a flatroofed, hypostyle sanctuary (haram) with an unroofed courtyard (sahn). Friday mosques of this type were found from the Iberian peninsula to Central Asia. In approximately the eleventh century, an iwan-style mosque was built, combining vaulted iwans (galleries) on two, three, or four

sides of a central courtyard, usually unroofed. Friday mosques of this type are found from Egypt and Turkey eastward to India and Pakistan. The third type, a domed central prayer space with a courtyard, developed later still and is usually associated with Ottoman practice; it is found from the Balkans to Saudia Arabia and Algeria. Mosque forms in other areas, such as in China and Mali, were more localized, differing from city to city. Beginning in the late twentieth century, Friday mosques that combine mosque forms from before the eighteenth century with purely contemporary elements have been built throughout the world, from New York to Jakarta and London to Sydney. In alluding to traditional forms, the builders of these mosques look to the local area as well as to mosque-building traditions elsewhere in the world. The Friday mosque commissioned by the Muslim community in Vosoko, Bosnia, completed in 1980, is an example: thoroughly modern in its reinforced concrete construction, outward appearance, and many aspects of the inside space, its quiet interior, ambient lighting, and the form and presence of the writing flanking the mihrab and on the side wall are all related to mosques in that area built before 1700.

In Europe, in North and South America, and in countries of the Pacific Rim, the question of the form of the mosque and minaret is especially

complex. No local traditions for mosque building exist. In these instances, the bases for selecting appropriate traditional forms involve a range of considerations,

including identification

with a

particular Muslim community in another country,

| 39

with a particular tradition of Islamic learning and the forms associated with it, or with the wishes of the patron. Modern Egyptian mosque design has served as an inspiration for the design of mosques in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in recognition of the role of that city as an Islamic learning center. The new Friday mosque complex in Rome combines elements from several traditions of the Mediterranean, particularly the Umayyad mosque of tenth-century Cordoba and the sixteenthcentury Ottoman mosques in Istanbul.

Tombstones, Screens, Mausolea, and Cenotaphs. Some hadiths and the writings of many Islamic jurists disapprove of marking graves. Nevertheless, throughout the history and world of Islam, graves have been marked in various ways.

Simple tombstones are known as early as the mid-seventh century in Egypt. Later, in Ottoman areas, more elaborate tombstones marked the graves of members of the ruling group; these had sculptural tops in the form of the headdress of the deceased, indicating his rank in the ruling society.

Screens were put around burial sites beginning

in the first century after the hijrah. Putting a screen around a gravesite became a widely practiced tradition. Screens vary in material and design; for example, the screen in the late thirteenth-century tomb of the Mamluk sultan Qalatin is a wooden

mashrabiyah. In the twentieth century, screens

were often made of worked metal, such as that used in the restoration of the tomb of Sayyidah Nafisah in Cairo. Screens keep people away from the cenotaph, except at specific times. In some places, supplicants leave remembrances on these screens, tying strips of cloth or fastening locks of hair on them. Screens are also used around commemorative areas that are not burial sites, for example in the Dome of the Rock. Early records indicate that wooden beams supported drapery that served as a screen around the rock in the center of that commemorative structure.

40 | ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Mausolea are the most elaborate form of grave marking. These enclosed structures are usually built to commemorate people of special status or holiness, such as members of the Prophet’s family, great religious scholars, saints, or members of a ruling group. Mausolea have been built as parts of larger complexes, where the mauseoleum is combined with other institutions such as mosques, khanqahs (religious lodges), hospitals, or madrasahs. Mausolea equally often stand alone. Tomb towers in Khurasan dating to the twelfth century seemed to attest to a practice of building mausolea to punctuate the landscape, standing in relative isolation. Most often, however, mausolea are found in cemeteries outside a city, whereas the mausolea complexes are often located within the city. Notable exceptions to this generalization exist. Ottoman sultans and their families were usually buried in mausolea on the grounds of the mosque, as the faithful are today in parts of Indonesia. In the Mamluk period, mausolea complexes with khanqahs and mosques were built in the northern cemetery outside Cairo. In the countryside, single mausolea as well as mausolea complexes commemorating revered teachers are often found along well-traveled roads and bring people to the site for prayer or study. Materials and shape vary by region and level of patronage. In cities, stone and marble as well as other expensive and permanent materials are used in construction. In the countryside, mausolea for revered teachers are often built of mud brick and adobe, materials that require regular renewal. The fact that many have existed for centuries is testimony to the constant reverence of the believers. Mausolea also vary in shape. In Cairo, for instance, regardless of how elaborate the complex, the mausoleum chamber was usually square. In Ottoman practice the chamber was round or octagonal. The mausoleum of the Ilkhanid Mongol

ruler Oljeitii (r. 1304-1316) in Sultaniya and the

Taj Mahal are more elaborate structures with side chambers off a central room. Regardless of materials, shape, and scale, most mausolea have been domed. The shape of the dome was characteristic of its time and place. In general, high-profile domes in varying silhouettes and materials topping a drum of narrower circumference than the base of the dome are common from Iraq eastward. More rounded domes on drums of approximately equal circumference are found in more western regions. In both areas, conical domes appear in Khurasan in the twelfth century, in Anatolia in the thirteenth, and in Morocco in the twentieth. Found throughout the Muslim world, cenotaphs have a similar boxlike shape. Some also have headstones and/or footstones. They vary widely in material: the cenotaph of Imam Shafit (1178) in Cairo is wood, that of the Tughlug governor Zaki al-Din ‘Umar

(1333) in Cambay is

stone, and that of Mehmet

I (1421) in Bursa is

glazed tile. Often Qur’anic verses are displayed on the cenotaph, as well as the name of the de-

ceased, While cenotaphs are usually placed in the center of mausolea under the dome, the burial vault in the ground, below the floor of the mausoleum, is not necessarily centered under the cenotaph itself. Hammams. Before the late twentieth century,

when water-delivery systems to individual houses rendered

them

obsolete,

hammdms,

or baths,

were located near congregational mosques to serve the requirement of bathing for ritual purity before the Friday prayer. The technology of steam

baths made the hammdam form, particularly the steam room, recognizable throughout the Muslim world, Steam, generated by heating water, flowed through double, pierced walls into a steam room. Usually smaller than the other rooms of the bath, these rooms were roofed by a round dome, which encouraged the circulation of the hot, moist air.

ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

| 41

Domes were punctuated with glass inserts, enabling daylight to enter the room, These functional glass inserts were often made decorative by their shape, color, and pattern of placement. From the outside, the glass inserts of the dome immediately distinguish the hammdm from other domed structures. In addition to the steam room, changing rooms and hot and tepid water rooms are provided. Towels are often dried on the roofs of these buildings, which, aside from the dome, are usually flat. Public hammams were usually supported by the patron of the mosque or by the local governor. Fuel was costly, and the fire necessary to provide continuous steam often served the double purpose of cooking food for distribution to the poor. Unless two separate structures were provided, as they were near the Sultan Ahmet mosque in

city, a prayer space and small hammdm were part of the structure.

Istanbul, men and women used the hammam at

with rare exceptions, are disappearing.

different times. In some places, flags of differing

Domestic Space. The dynastic building traditions for communal structures that serve the Muslim population are richly varied, but domestic architecture is even more richly textured, varying by region, time, and communal group. Regardless of the specific shape, scale, and materials, the space within all these structures throughout the Islamic world was used similarly. The use

colors were flown outside the hammdm to indi-

cate whether men or women could use the bath; in other places, specific days of the week were set aside for each gender. Khans, Caravanserais, and Marketplaces. These traditional forms were part of the trade network; they were located in major cities and between them on the major trade routes. They have modern counterparts in airport terminals, warehouses, and shopping malls, which maintain some of their functions if not forms. Referred to by different terms in different areas, khans and caravanserais mainly served to store goods and to provide temporary housing for traveling merchants. For this reason, most khans and caravanserais were double storied, with animals stabled on the ground floor. These structures also served to safeguard the merchants, their goods, and their animals, and for this reason they were built around a central courtyard, usually with one main entrance. Especially when these structures were situated between cities, and often within the

Covered marketplaces with formal entrances that can be closed and locked are a traditional form throughout most of the Islamic world. Most of these markets consisted of shops selling expensive goods, such as silver, gold, silks, and jewels. The market was closed at night. In Cairo, however, owners and workmen lived in the marketplace, behind and above the shops. Near such marketplaces the great warehouses were located. Today, in many cities such as Isfahan, Cairo, Edirne, or Bursa, some of these traditional buildings have been preserved and incorporated into the modern marketplace. The form of the medieval and premodern two-storied warehouses served a function that has been taken over by other forms and by machinery; these structures,

if not the form of the space separated public from private—that is, the communal, male activities from those of the family. In great houses there were separate rooms to serve these functions, and

separate entrances for males and females. In less

elaborate dwellings, hanging curtains served to distinguish different social spaces. The space designated as private was for women and children and close male relatives, as well as female visitors. The public or communal areas were for men and their male visitors. The area immediately outside the covered dwelling often served as part of the

social space of the house. The tradition of separating these spheres of life did not preclude using the same room or outdoor

42 | ARCHITECTURE: TRADITIONAL FORMS OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

place at different times for different social activities. For example, a courtyard or area immediately outside a door could be family space in the morning and communal or male space in the afternoon or evening. In the twenty-first century,

while some of these social practices have been modified, many remain in place.

[See also Gardens and Landscaping. ]

Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and Meaning, 2d ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.

Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Art and Architecture (The

World of Art). New York: Thames and Hudson, 1998.

Hoag, John. Islamic Architecture. New York: Phaidon Press, 1975.

Holod, Renata, and Darl Rastorfer, eds. Architecture and Community Building in the Islamic World Today. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1983.

Katz, Jonathan G., ed. Architecture as Symbol and SelfIdentity. Philadelphia: Aga Khan Award for Archi-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abu-Lughod, Janet. Cairo: 1001 Years of the City Victorious. Princeton,

N.J.; Princeton

University Press,

1971. Anderson, Benedict R. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London and New York: Verso, 1991.

Asher, Catherine B. Architecture of Mughal India. The New Cambridge History of India, vol. 1, pt. 4. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Bierman, Irene A., Rifa‘at A. Abou-El-Hah, and Donald Preziosi, eds. The Ottoman City and Its Parts. New York: Caratzas Brothers Publishers, 1991. Blair, Sheila, and Jonathan Bloom. The Art and Archi-

tecture, 1980.

Michell, George, ed. Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning, 2d ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 1995. Mitchell, Timothy. Colonising Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988. Mortada, Hisham. Traditional Islamic Principles of Built Environment. London: Routledge Curzon, 2003. Petruccioli, Att. Understanding Islamic Architecture. London: Routledge Curzon, 2003. Rogers, Michael. The Spread of Islam. Oxford: ElsevierPhaidon, 1976.

tecture of Islam, 1250-1800. New Haven, Conn.: Yale IRENE A. BIERMAN

University Press, 1996.

Celik, Zeynap. Displaying the Orient: Architecture of Islam at Nineteenth-Century World’s Fairs. Berkeley: PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

University of California Press, 1992.

Clarke, Emma. The Art of the Islamic Garden. Wiltshire, U.K.: Crowood Press, 2003.

Clevenot, Dominique, and Gerald De George. Splendors of Islam: Architecture, Decoration, and Design. New York: Vendome Press, 2000, Frishman, Martin, and Hasan-Uddin

Khan, eds. The

Mosque: History, Architectural Development, and Regional Diversity, 2d ed. London: Thames and Hudson,

2002. Golombek, Lisa, and Donald Wilber. The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1988.

Goodwin, Godfrey. A History of Ottoman Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1971.

Grabar, Oleg. The Formation ofIslamic Art. New Haven, Conn., and London: Yale University Press, 1973.

Henri, Stierlin. Islamic Art and Architecture: From Isfahan to the Taj Mahal. London: Thames and Hudson, 2002.

Islamic architecture is usually defined as the architecture of Muslims, that is, architecture produced by Muslims. This definition lacks accuracy, however, as not everything that Muslims build is Islamic. Palmer (2008, p. 145) provides a clearer definition: “Islamic architecture is broadly defined as any construction based on the religious principles of Islam. Both religious and secular buildings reflect design principles of Islamic culture.” The defining elements are the Islamic characteristics of the architecture, rather than whether the architect was a Muslim or whether the building was constructed in a Muslim or a non-Muslim land. The general conception of the character of Islamic architecture includes the presence of

ARCHITECTURE: PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

elements such as domes, horseshoe and round arches, tunnel vaults, and richly decorated arabesque and calligraphy, with the absence of any human and animal representation. Islamic architecture is inspired principally by Islam and aims to provide a suitable and comfortable environment in which Muslims can carry out their duties as prescribed by the Quran. The Qur'an, for example, declares that houses should be made resting places: “It is Allah Who made your habitations homes of rest and quiet for you” (16:80). Houses, therefore, should provide com-

fort, calmness, and healthy living, and should fulfill the needs of occupants. This also requires good ventilation, lighting, and spaciousness. Another verse of the Quran directs Muslims to

orient their homes toward the giblah (Kabah in Mecca). Regarding hygiene, Muslims are directed to position toilets away from the direction of the giblah, according to a hadith (saying) of Prophet Muhammad. Islam established a particular lifestyle that is conditioned by specific beliefs, values, and rules. Muslims are asked to be the entrusted servants of God on earth. In order to fulfill this mission, they must obey and respect these values and beliefs. The role of architecture is therefore to provide functional living space and facilities that support this mission. Historically, architecture responded

precisely to this lifestyle with the view of nurturing it. The rule that “there must be neither harm nor the imposition of harm” inhibits the selfinflicting of harm as well as causing harm to neighbors. For example, the right to sunlight, air, and privacy is protected at all times. Building higher than the neighbor is not allowed without permission: “and do not build higher than him (neighbor) to deny him the breeze, unless with his

permission” says an authentic hadith. Courtyard walls and windows should be made higher than a camel rider passing by to prevent him from looking into the house. Islam also calls for cleanliness

| 43

at home as well as in streets and public spaces: “While a man walks along a path, finds a thorny twig lying on the way and puts it aside, Allah would appreciate it and forgive him” explains another hadith (Muslim, Book 34, Hadith 5049).

In addition to the guidelines found in the text of the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, other rules affecting architecture and the built environment were also deduced from Islamic jurisprudence. In this respect, a con-

siderable juridical literature on building was produced. Among the many relevant manuscripts are al-Jidar (The Wall) of Issa ibn Dinar (d. 827 cE), Kitab al-Qadha fil bunian (The Judicial Book

of Buildings) of “Abd Allah ibn “Abd al-Hakam (d. 884 cE), Nafy al-Dharar aan al-Afniya wa alTuruk wa al_judur (The Denial of Damage on Courtyards, Streets, and Walls) of Ibn al-Imam Issa ibn Mussa al-Titly (d. 996 cE), and Kitab al

Talan biahkam albanyan (The Book of Advertisement of Judicial Provisions of Buildings) of Ibn al-Rami (d. 1334 CE). Some of these writers were

builders, such as Ibn al-Rami, who was also an assistant to the judge of Tunis.

Characteristics

of Islamic Architecture.

In formal terms, and as form follows function, Islamic architecture developed a number of key features representing the identity of Islamic culture. The visualization, aesthetics, and design all were integrated to serve cultural purposes and to materialize the Islamic creed. According to Frazer, it is “... the expression of a religion and its view of the world rather than that of a particular people or political or economic system.” (Millon and Frazer, 1964, p. 33). Islamic beliefs have always

shaped the ways that Muslims built, not by outlining a set of rules on how to build, but rather through the many instructions relating to values of privacy, territoriality, rights of neighbors, hos-

pitality to guests, cleanliness, and so on. Such instructions had a direct impact on the way that Muslims have treated and configured their space.

44

| ARCHITECTURE: PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

A practical example can be illustrated by the Islamic house, which employs a series of codes of conduct relating to privacy, defense, and sociability. In mosque architecture, the form, aesthetic, and visualization of both the interior and exterior transmitted behavioral codes aimed at glorifying and emphasizing the presence of the deity and meeting the spiritual needs of Muslims, increasing their contemplation and meditation. Islamic civilization was behind the rise of a large number of building types with distinctive forms and functional properties, for example, the mosque, house, caravanserai, mausoleum, hospital, school, kiosk, and bath (hammdam). Islamic architecture is renowned for its emphasis on the interior aspect of buildings, rather than the exterior. The exterior of the building is usually left simple and modest, without sophisticated decorative work, making most buildings look alike, a pattern that is repeated in most Islamic cities. Residential buildings in particular adhere to this feature. The interior, on the contrary, is embellished with magnificent decorations, furniture, and ornaments. The most important decorative work is centered on functional rooms, halls, and courtyards. The latter represents a common feature in all architectural forms, including the mosque, house, palace, funduq (or caravanserai), and mausoleum. The cells of the building open into it for light and ventilation. There are two reasons for this important feature. The first is to provide the high degree of privacy necessary for the Muslim family, a feature that has inspired the description of Islamic architecture as “the architecture of the veil” (Edwards

et al., 2006). The second aspect has a social dimension relating to social cohesion and unity. The rights of neighbors are respected by abstaining from external embellishment and keeping facades modest and simple. Exterior modesty reduces social tensions, as the buildings of the rich and the poor will look the same. In the interior,

the private space, family and personal tastes are expressed in a variety of styles and colors. Although the hidden character of Islamic architecture is its predominant feature, there are exceptions with richly decorated exteriors, seen mostly in buildings of religious or public nature. The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (691-692),

one of the earliest buildings, contains exterior walls richly decorated with marble and mosaics similar to the interior. The building was built to crown the sacred rock, which is associated with the event of the Night Journey, or the ascension of Prophet Muhammad to the Heavens. The location of the building in the heartland of Christianity and Judaism was another impetus for such rich external embellishment. The building was meant to express the victory of Islam in this land and to communicate its message. Commemorative buildings also usually have richly decorated exteriors. Mausoleums, tombs, and some memorial mosques, because of the nature of their function, needed a high degree of visibility and consequently required the use of extensive decoration. An example of this is Taj Mahal (1631-1648), a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz

Mahal, who died in 1631. The octagonal building was built on a square platform and was adorned with beautifully executed calligraphy and geometric and floral forms, which covered most of the white marble exterior and interior surfaces. This elaborate work aimed to express not only the love of the bereaved emperor for his wife, but also the peacefulness of the grave and the hope of paradise, The Taj Mahal is considered one the seven wonders of the modern world and was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983. An important characteristic of Islamic architecture is its sustainability. The courtyard and terrace are among the first elements to provide good lighting, ventilation, and cooling. The courtyard occupies the central space to which the interior of

ARCHITECTURE: PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

the building opens. Two notable features of the courtyard house should be noted (Edwards et al.,

2006). The first is that the buildings and walls enclose the entire compound. The second is that external walls have no windows or openings, apart from the entrance gate, thus securing greater privacy and reducing the heat of the sun, The terrace is located on the flat masonry rooftop of Islamic houses. In addition to their domestic and social functions, these spaces provided excellent ecological adaptation. The landscaping and the planting of these areas are additional sources of ecological integration in which the natural environment is brought to the building environment. The fountain in the courtyard and the pool in the terrace (in modern houses) function as cooling systems in most Islamic buildings, especially mosques and houses. Islamic architecture is also renowned for its rich ornamentation, which has been admired and appreciated by many Western scholars, including Edward Freeman, who commented: “Its charm consists in the excessive richness and gorgeousness of its buildings, and in the romantic associations with which we invest the Moorish conquerors of Spain and the heroes of the Thousand and One Nights, which make their structures seem rather like fairy palaces than the creations of men like ourselves”

(1849, pp. 270-271). The lavish

decoration is based on non-figurative representations, namely the use of calligraphy and arabesque. Calligraphy in this case is an art of stylized and elaborated handwriting of the Arabic language. Artists first attempted to represent the sacred word of the Qur'an using complex scripts and forms. As the popularity of calligraphy gained momentum, it spread to other works: “Writing not only became an integral part of the decoration of a building, at times of an object, but also indicated its purpose. Calligraphy spread to works other than the Quran and was considered the greatest art” (Ettinghausen, Grabar, and Madina,

| 45

2001, pp. 6-7). The arabesque consists of abstract geometrical forms developed as an alternative to the use of prohibited forms of living beings. According to Dobree, arabesque strives, not to concentrate the attention upon

any definite object, to liven and quicken the appreciative faculties, but to diffuse them. It is centrifugal, and leads to a kind of abstraction, a kind of self-hypnotism even, so that the devotee kneeling towards Mecca can bemuse himself in the maze of regular patterning that confronts him, and free his mind from all connection with bodily and earthly things. (Dobree, 1920, p. 34)

The final feature is related to unity and diversity. As discussed above, the Islamic faith has shaped Islamic architecture, especially on artistic and technical levels, giving it a particular identity and uniformity that have made it distinctive throughout the ages. However, as Islam spread across the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it synthesized some

traditions, trends,

and styles from the Islamized cultures and civilizations. These borrowings, despite their pagan origins, were accepted and were some-

times adapted to suit the Islamic creed. Artistic traditions such as Berber, African, Persian, In-

dian, Chinese, Slavic, Turkic, and others can be easily traced in the regional varieties of Islamic architecture. The regional diversity of mosque architecture provides an example of such variation. A clear distinction, for example, is found between the North African (Berber) mosque, with its hypostyle plan, shebka decorated square minaret, and pointed horseshoe arches, and the Persian aywan plan mosque, with slender circular minarets, Persian arches, pishtaq entrances, and blue tiled surfaces. These regional varieties were integrated within the larger framework of Islamic civilization, as the diverse artistic and technical elements were sheltered under the umbrella of Islam, creating a “diversity within the unity,’ as

46 | ARCHITECTURE: PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Muslim scholars prefer to call it: “Islamic architecture thus promotes unity in diversity, that is, the unity of message and purpose, and the diversity of styles, methods and solutions. Certainly, this renders Islamic architecture so relevant and dynamic, and so consistent and adaptable” (Spahic, 2008, p. 8).

the “sciences of the ancients” (‘ulim al-aw@'il),

that is, philosophical and scientific knowledge deriving from pre-Islamic traditions. In a famous report Aristotle is said to have appeared in a dream to the caliph al-Ma’min (r. 813-833) to

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dobree, B. “Arabic Art in Egypt.” The Burlington Magazine 36 (1920): 31-35.

Edwards, Brian, Magda Sibley, Mohamad Hakim, and Peter Land. Courtyard Housing: Past, Present, Future. Abingdon, U.K.: Taylor and Francis, 2006. Ettinghausen, Richard, Oleg Grabar, and Marilyn Jenkins Madina. Islamic Art and Architecture 850-1250. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.

Freeman, Edward A. A History ofArchitecture. London: Joseph Masters, 1849. Millon, Henry A., and Alfred Frazer. Key Monuments

of the History of Architecture. New York: PrenticeHall, 1964.

Palmer, Allison Lee. The A to Z Architecture: Islamic Architecture. : Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2008. Spahic, Omer. “Towards Understanding Islamic Architecture.’ Islamic Studies 47, no. 4 (Winter 2008): 483-510.

RABAH SAOUD

ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC

TRADITION IN ISLAM

awwal), as he was commonly known, spanned a wide range of topics, including metaphysics, physics, psychology, and logic. He gained prominence as one of the greatest representatives of

Aristotle (fourth

century BCE), known in classical Arabic sources

as Aristitalis or Arist, was the most influential

Greek philosopher in the Islamic world. His works became available to Arabic readers by means of the translation movement in the eight to tenth centuries, which sought to assimilate an unprecedented mass of Greek scientific and philosophical learning. The entire Aristotelian corpus— with the few exceptions noted below—was rendered into Arabic from Greek and Syriac sources. The work of the “First Teacher” (al-mu‘allim al-

impart wisdom. Al-Ma'miin’s vision of Aristotle was viewed by posterity as providing the main impetus for the large-scale translation of ancient sources. His works, which were transmitted, studied, and commented upon, gave rise to a unique and influential tradition of Aristotelianism in Islamic history. The following analysis assesses the broad outlines of the Islamic Aristotelian or Peripatetic tradition.

Background. In late antiquity, roughly from the first century BCE to the sixth century CE, Aristotle’s works were studied and commented upon by Greek philosophers. In the Islamic period a considerable amount of commentarial material from this period was translated into Arabic and studied alongside Aristotle's own works. Though readers of Arabic knew comparatively little about the individual commentators and their views, the late-antique commentarial tradition as a whole played a crucial role in shaping Aristotelianism in Islam. Falsafah (the tradition of Greek philosophy in Islam) drew directly and indirectly from this wellspring of philosophical interpretation. For example, in agreement with the Greek commentators, the falasifah (i.e., the proponents of falsafah; sing. faylasaf) viewed the Aristotelian corpus as a systematic and complete exposition of philosophical knowledge (in contrast, say, to modern scholars who posit significant development and discontinuities in Aristotle's thought). The impulse to read Aristotle's corpus as an internally consistent and complete unit was an important factor in the development of falsafah, for reasons

ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

| 47

discussed below. The commentarial tradition often informed the philosophical context of more specific problems as well. For example, on the

tion of God or Intellect as the craftsman or creator of the cosmos. To the Neoplatonists Plato intended that God, or the One, should be viewed

question of the status of the Aristotelian categories, whether they signify “names” or “things,” the falasifah drew on the views of a long line of Greek philosophers, including Alexander, Porphyry, and Ammonius.

as the efficient or productive cause of the very existence of the cosmos. Though Aristotle was criticized by earlier Neoplatonists for failing to

The commentarial material that was assimilated by the falasifah included the views of the Peripatetics (i.e., the successors of Aristotle, most importantly Alexander of Aphrodisias) as well as the works of Neoplatonists, who took Plato as the highest authority. The Neoplatonists, however, would come to view Aristotle as being fundamentally in agreement with Plato. Beginning with Porphyry in the third century cr, the Neoplatonists studied the Aristotelian corpus in light of Platonic doctrines. Here Aristotle was considered preparatory for studying Plato's higher-order philosophy and theology, particularly as presented in the Timaeus. Toward the close of antiquity there was

an increasing focus on Aristotelian texts

among Neoplatonists. In the fifth and sixth centuries Ammonius founded a commentarial tradition in Alexandria that followed a program of “harmonizing” the views of Aristotle and Plato. Ammonius’ students constituted some of the most important Neoplatonist commentators for falsafah including Philoponus, Simplicius, and Olympiodorus. Commenting on a wide range of Aristotle’s works—including his logic, metaphysics, and physics—the Alexandrians attempted to provide systematic readings of Aristotle's texts in light of the harmonizing project. A central interpretive development that would have a significant impact on falsafah concerned the Aristotelian theory of causes, and more specifically God’s role as a cause of the world. To Aristotle, God, or the Prime Mover, is the ultimate cause of motion in the world, a stance that would be viewed as departing from Plato's depic-

grasp God's true causal role, Ammonius and his successors read, in the spirit of harmonization, various passages in Aristotle in a manner that

supported the view that God, in addition to being the principle of motion, was the principle of existence as well. They engaged in a systematic interpretation of Aristotelian texts to achieve a synthesis between the two authorities. The assimilation of Neoplatonic views, particularly the causal role of God, into the Aristotelian system would have an important parallel in the metaphysics and cosmology of falsafah. The falasifah not only inherited the impulse to read the Aristotelian corpus as an internally consistent unit, they also read Aristotle's philosophy within a Neoplatonist framework. However, with few exceptions, Platos own works were not translated and those that were did not have great impact. In part due to the Neoplatonic works discussed below that were attributed to Aristotle, Aristotle's doctrines were interpreted as directly endorsing Neoplatonic views. In the synthetic works of al-Farabt (d. 950-951),

for example, Neoplatonic views, like God’s being the cause of existence and emanation, were taken naturally to form part of the Aristotelian cosmology. It is not clear how the approach of the Neoplatonist commentators, particularly those following the Alexandrian school, might have filtered into the Islamic world. Notably during the

fifth and traditions works in fall under

sixth centuries there emerged Syriac of translating and studying Aristotle's many regions that would eventually Muslim rule (including Edessa, Nisibi,

Qenneshrin, and Jundisabur). The Syriac tradition

48 | ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

played a crucial role in the translation movement. We know that several Syriac authorities, like Sergius of Résh‘ayana (d. 536) who was ed-

ucated in Alexandria, taught Aristotle’s logic with Neoplatonic interpretations. The Syriac tradition was limited, in that it only studied Aristotle’s logic, and even excluded the Posterior Analytics. But the more comprehensive Alexandrian curriculum and approach to studying Aristotle seems to have continued in one form or another in what would eventually become Islamic lands. Pseudepigrapha. In the context of the lateantique commentarial material, a cluster of independent works falsely attributed to Aristotle but deriving from two preeminent Neoplatonists, Plotinus (d. c. 270 CE) and Proclus (d. c. 485 CE),

needs to be mentioned. The most important work in this regard is the Theology of Aristotle (Kitab Uthulijiya), which is an Arabic translation and reworking of parts of Plotinus’s Enneads (specifically IV, V, VI). The work emerged during the early phases of the translation movement in alKind?’ circle, a group of scholars who were interested in the naturalization of Greek thought in the Islamic intellectual milieu. The Theology of Aristotle is a heavily reinterpreted version of Plotinus. Indeed rather than injecting a hard dose of Neoplatonism, as was once thought, the work tended to Aristotelianize many aspects of Plotinus’s thought. An important example of this concerns, again, God’s relation to the world. In Plotinus'’s metaphysical system, God, or the One, was viewed as utterly simple, beyond description, and even beyond being. Though the One was the primary principle of existence, Plotinus avoided explaining the causal productivity of the One through the notion of self-intellection or efficient causality, since such notions would introduce complexity into the One. Plotinus does however describe the second entity in the Plotinian system of emanated beings, that is, Intellect or Nous, as

acting through self-intellection. Nous in the Plotinian system was the primary instrument of the One’s causality. In the Theology of Aristotle we find, however, that nous is often assimilated to the One of Plotinus. Resultantly the overall conception of God is no longer that of an ineffable entity beyond being, but that of a creating and selfintellecting principle. This, of course, comes close to Aristotle's own view of God as the self-thinking cause of motion and even closer to the commentators’ view of Aristotle’s God as a self-intellecting cause of existence. Moreover the Theology of Aristotle streamlines the Plotinian categorization in which Being properly begins with nous, while the One stands beyond being, a view that fits uneasily within an Aristotelian system. The precise intellectual context of the emergence of the “Arabic Plotinus,” which includes the Theology of Aristotle and a few other works, remains unsettled. It has been argued that even the Kindi circle may have been aware of its misattribution to Aristotle. Avicenna mentions doubts that were circulating regarding the work's attribution to Aristotle, though he did write a commentary on the work. The philosophical content of the work and its precise influence on falsafah, particularly on the Aristotelians, requires further investigation. Another set of works attributed to Aristotle constituted the “Arabic Proclus; most importantly Aristotle’ Book of the Exposition of Pure Good (Kitab al-idahfial-khayr al-mahd) or Liber de causis as it was known in the Latin world. As was the case of the Theology of Aristotle, the Liber de causis was a heavily reinterpreted version of Proclus’s Elements of Theology and, in fact, parallels the former work in many ways. Notably the complex Proclean hierarchy of beings found in the Elements is reduced to that set out in the Theology of Aristotle (i.e., God, Intellect, and Soul). Once again we find a streamlining of the Neoplatonic system.

ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

Translation. It is important to note that Arabic readers

accessed

Aristotle

almost

exclusively through translations. Before commentaries and pseudepigraphic material shaped Arabic readings of Aristotle, Aristotle's texts were themselves

subject to transformation, interpretation, and at times distortion through translation. The translations of the Aristotelian corpus, which was intensely conducted for nearly two centuries, went through an important process of linguistic and interpretive evolution. The following, which cannot do justice to the complexity of that evolution, sketches an outline of the phases of translation. The focus is mainly on extant and edited sources. The translation movement, which was in full steam during the ninth and tenth centuries, can be divided into three stages: works rendered by

| 49

al-hayawan which includes De Generatione Animalium (edited by Jan Brugman and H. J. Drossaart

Lulofs) and De Partibus Animalium (edited by Remke Kruk) have been attributed to Ibn al-Bitrig. To this family of translations one can add Parva Naturalia (edited by R. E. Hansberger) and the Neoplatonic texts: a Neoplatonic paraphrasis of De Anima

(edited

by Riidiger Arnzen),

the

Theology of Aristotle, and Liber de causis, all of which were attributed to Aristotle. Another set of translations belonged to Hunayn ibn Ishaq and his circle. These included the logical works, Categories, De Interpretatione, and Prior Analytics (edited by Badawi in Mantigq).

(1) the “circle of al-Kindi,’ (2) Hunayn ibn Ishaq

Badawis editions of the Posterior Analytics and Topics are translations of the Baghdad school (see below) based on Syriac translations made by Hunayn’s associates. Hunayn’s son Ishaq trans-

(d. 873) and his circle, and (3) the Baghdad

lated the Physics (edited by Badawi in al-Tabia).

school of Aristotelians. It should be noted that sporadic translations were made in the eighth century as well. Aristotle's Categories, De Interpretatione, and Prior Analytics, and Porphyry’s Isogage were translated, most of which are attributed to the efforts of Ibn al-Muqaffa (d. c.

There is also a copy of the De Anima (edited by Badawi in Aristutalis ft al-nafs) that may come from this set of translations. The final family of translations belongs to the Baghdad school. Abt Bishr Matta translated the Posterior Analytics (edited by Badawi in Mantiq)

756) (edited by M. T. Danish’pazhuh). The Topics

as well as the Poetics (edited by Jaroslaus Tkatsch).

was also translated during the reign of al-Mahdi

Yahya ibn ‘Adil, head of the Baghdad school after Abu Bishr, translated the Topics from Hunayn’s Syriac translation and the Sophistici elenchi, both of which are edited in Badawi, Mantigq. Abt ‘Ali ibn Zur‘a translated a compendium of the Nichomachean Ethics, called Ikhtisar al-Iskandaraniyyin

(r. 775-785) and the Physics in Hartin al-Rashid’s (r. 786-809), both of which are no longer extant.

The extant Arabic version of the Rhetoric (edited

by M. C. Lyons) seems to date from this period as well. From the reign of al-Mamtn and to the tenth century, the translation movement operated at full tilt. A first cluster of texts, sharing philological and doctrinal similarities, is attributed to members of the Kind? circle. This includes the Metaphysics, most of which is preserved in Averroés’ long commentary on the work (edited by Maurice Bouyges). De Caelo (edited by ‘Abd alRahman Badawias Aristitalis fi al-sama’), Meteorologica (edited by Casimir Petraitis), and Kitab

(edited by Anna Akasoy and Alexander Fidora).

Aristotle’s Politics was not translated.

Aristotelianism in Islam. Aristotelianism, in the broad but specific form determined by the above context, was the dominant trend among the falasifah over the duration of the formative or classical period (i.e., ninth to twelfth centuries), The primary sources as summed up above for the

formation of the Aristotelian tradition in Islam included: (1) translations of Aristotle’s works;

50

| ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

(2) late-antique

commentarial

textual

material;

(3) pseudepigraphic material, particularly the Theology ofAristotle and Liber de causis. These ingredients, found in various authors in varying proportions, contributed to the making of the Peripatetic school (translated as al-Mashsha@iyya) in the for-

mative phase of falsafah. A distinct Peripatetic tradition first emerges during the tenth century with the group of scholars, translators, and philosophers known as the Baghdad school of Aristotelians. The school was founded by Abi Bishr Matta, who we met above in the translation movement. Members of the school viewed themselves as resurrecting Aristotle’s true teachings. Its most important mem-

bers included al-Farabi and his student Yahya ibn ‘Adil (d. 974). Al-Farabi became the most impor-

tant source before Avicenna for the development of Aristotelianism in Islam. After Avicenna Aristotelianism or the Peripatetic tradition in Islam was chiefly represented by Avicennas works and doctrines. Al-Farabi. Al-Farabi, known as the “Second Teacher,’ set out to reconstruct an Aristotelian system based on the Alexandrian tradition noted above. He viewed himself as heir to a long line of Greek interpreters and as the first to resuscitate the proper study of (Aristotelian) philosophy in Islam. He continued the late-antique tradition but significantly modified and refined the Aristotelian system. In addition to his highly influential propaedeutic works and commentaries on Aristotelian texts, al-Farabi authored independent works that synthesized various traditions of thought into the Aristotelian system. His most important synthetic works include The Principles of the Opinions of the Inhabitants of the Perfect State (Mabadi’ ara ahl al-madina al-fadila) and The Principles of Existing Things (Mabadi' al-mawjidat). Al-Farabis propaedeutic and commentarial works advanced, and in many ways instituted, the Alexandrian approach to the study of Aristotle,

which began with the Organon. Going beyond

the previous Syriac tradition, al-Farabi included the study of the Posterior Analytics, a work central to the Aristotelian view of knowledge and the philosophical sciences. His version of the Organon included Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics. Al-Farabi commented on the entire Organon, as well as Porphyry’s Isagoge, which was used to introduce the Organon in the Neoplatonist curriculum. Most of his commentaries are now lost. Due primarily to his efforts, the canonical version of the Arabic Organon became: Isagoge, Categories, De Interpre-

tatione, Prior Analytics, Posterior Analytics, Topics,

Rhetoric, and Poetics. Importantly the influence of Aristotelian logic on Islamic thought was broad. Beginning with al-Ghazali (d. 1111) Aristotelian logic, in some form, was not only assimilated by kalam (speculative theology in Islam), but even penetrated the “transmitted sciences,” such

as law (figh). An important aspect of al-Farabi’s thought concerns cosmology, specifically the integration of emanation into an Aristotelian system. More-

over, in addition to the Aristotelian and Neopla-

tonic material, al-Farabi assimilated scientific material from Ptolemy's Planetary Hypotheses. Specifically he sets out the streamlined Plotinian scheme of emanation, noted above, in which God, as the First Cause (of existence), transmits

being to the First Intellect by means of selfintellection. The First Intellect, as a “secondary cause,’ then transmits being also by intellection to a second intellect, and the process repeats itself until it reaches the tenth intellect, the Active Intellect (al-‘aql al-fa‘al), which governs the sublunar world. From the First Intellect onward the intellects engage in multiple acts of intellection, which give rise not only to a subordinate intellect but also to a soul and body of the heavenly spheres. Al-Farabi maps the nine spheres belonging to the nine intellects (minus the Active Intellect) onto the astronomical spheres posited in

ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

Ptolemaic astronomy (ie., the spheres of the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, and so on). The importance of al-Farabi’s synthesis of emanation and astronomy within the Aristotelian system went beyond cosmology. Metaphysics, for example, now dealt with God’s cosmological role as the First Cause along with the mechanics of emanation. This of course was a shift from Aristotle’s cosmology, which focused on motion and change, and his metaphysics, which did not directly address such questions. Still emanation was assimilated into the basic Aristotelian framework of movers and intellects so seamlessly by alFarabi that it did not seem to later Peripatetics (at least in the Islamic East) that the First Teacher

was Neoplatonized in any way. Al-Farabrs cosmology, which included the Active Intellect, would have important consequences for psychology and epistemology as well. Here, building on late-antique views of Aristotle's theory of the soul and intellect, al-Farabi develops a systematic psychology and epistemology that he ties together with the emanative scheme. The Active Intellect is viewed as transmitting to individuals the higher realities, specifically intelligible forms, which one arrives at through the tools of logic and the philosophical sciences. The main outlines of al-Farabi’s synthesis would bear importantly on Avicenna, to whom we turn next. Avicenna. Avicenna was the most influential Aristotelian in the later Islamic tradition. The fol-

lowing discussion is limited to outlining his major works and their influence. The analysis of his thought is left to another entry. Avicenna’s most important work is his multivolume al-Shifa, which includes logic (i.e., the Arabic Organon), natural philosophy (including his version of the Physics, De Caelo, and other Aristotelian physical treaties), the mathematical sciences, psychology, and metaphysics. Though the Shifa’ was a reworking of Aristotelian philosophy, Avicenna saw himself as advancing an original system that was

| 514

free of the interpretive accretions in the Greek tradition. He also saw himself as clarifying confusions regarding Aristotelian philosophy in the previous Arabic tradition. For example he took exception to the interpretations of some mem-

bers of the Baghdad Aristotelians, though he held al-Parabi in high regard. Avicenna would be recognized as the most important and authoritative representative of the Peripatetic tradition in Islam. His works gained enormous popularity and circulation among the intellectual elite, including the faldsifah, the mutakallimin (i.e., the practitioners of kalam),

and scholars working in various fields of the exact sciences. His distinctions and doctrines had a decisive influence not only on later falsafah, but on kalam, science, and even mystical thought. Arguably Avicenna’s most influential contribution concerned the essence-existence distinction along with the attendant modal distinctions, namely necessary in itself and possible in itself/ necessary through another. Avicenna redefined the fundamental principles of metaphysics and cosmology in the Islamic intellectual tradition by means of these sets of distinctions. The designation “necessary in itself” (wajib al-wujid bidhatihi) applied only to the First Cause, whereas all other existents were labeled “possible in itself”

but “necessary through another,” that is, through ultimately the Necessary Existent. The distinctions provided a new framework for Avicenna to advance a novel approach to the proof of God’s existence, which would be highly influential in falsafah and kalam. The set of distinctions also allowed him to explain emanation in a more systematic fashion. By viewing the world as wholly contingent, Avicenna’ cosmology took the earlier Neoplatonic view of God as a productive cause to its logical conclusion. Avicenna’s views would be later criticized by Averroés (see below).

In addition to the Shifa’, Avicenna wrote shorter works, most importantly the Pointers and Reminders

52 | ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

(al-Isharat wa-l-tanbihat), which attracted the at-

tention of commentators in the later period. In fact Avicenna advanced an entirely new corpus of Peri-

patetic works. An important consequence of the rising status of Avicenna, or the “Prime Master” (al-

Shaykh al-Ra’s) as he would be called, is that Aristo-

tle’s original works would eventually fall out of circulation, and Aristotelian philosophy would be sought primarily in the works of Avicenna. Post-Avicennan Thought. Falsafah, and specitically the Islamic Aristotelians, had an important influence on the development of kalam and other areas of knowledge. As mentioned, Avicenna was the most influential Aristotelian in this regard. His prominence is evidenced in al-Ghazali’s famous attack on falsafah in the Incoherence of the Philosophers (Tahafut al-falasifah), which is a focused critique of the major doctrines of the Aristotelians, and specifically of Avicenna. However, rather than banishing philosophy from Islamic thought, as it was once held, Ghazali served to assimilate many aspects of Avicenna’s philosophical system, including elements of the latter's psychology and cosmology. The study of falsafah, and particularly Avicenna, continued not only among the falasifah but also among the mutakallimin. Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210), for example, wrote

a complete commentary on Avicenna’s Pointers,

which spurred a tradition of later commentating and debate, including the response of Nasir al-Din

works and commentaries on logic, semantics, dialectic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, and theology were produced in this period. Spanish Aristotelians. The emergence of Aristotelianism in the Islamic West, and specifically Muslim Spain, owes a great deal to al-Farabi. Ibn Bajja (Avempace;

d. 1139), for example, wrote

numerous commentaries on al-Farabi’s logical works. Ibn Bajja adopts the Alexandrian curriculum and the scheme of emanation through alFarabi’s introductory and synthetic works. Ibn Bajja also comments on Aristotle's texts, including important glosses on Aristotle’s works of natural philosophy, including parts of the Physics and Meteorology. Ibn Bajja breaks new ground in seyeral areas of natural philosophy, including, for example, the introduction of a theory of “dynamics” into Aristotle's view of motion. Averroés (Ibn Rushd; d. 1198) was the most

important Aristotelian in the Islamic West. He is viewed as advancing a “purer” form of Aristo-

telianism than his Neoplatonized predecessors. Averroés opposed the synthetic Neoplatonized tradition of Aristotelianism in the East, reserving his harshest criticisms for Avicenna. While the Eastern tradition, best exemplified by Avicennas independent works, tended to move away from the direct interpretation of Aristotle’s texts, Averroés devoted himself to producing numerous commentaries on Aristotle's most

al-Tisi (d. 1274).

important works, including the Posterior Ana-

After Avicenna authors in the Islamic East continued the falsafah tradition. Some, like Avicennas students Bahmanyar (d. 1066) and Lawkari

lytics, Physics, De Caelo, De Anima, and Metaphysics. Averroés follows the lemma-by-lemma tradition of commentating established in late antiquity, making his commentaries an important witness for Arabic translations of Aristotle. He drew extensively from the ancient commentators, including Alexander, Themis-

(d. after 1109), wrote works that modified and

advanced the Avicennan tradition. The philosophical content and value of postclassical works have yet to be assessed. As such, the ultimate fate of Aristotelianism in later thought requires further investigation. It should be noted that a vibrant tradition of “rational sciences” flourished in the postclassical period. Independent

tius, and Philoponus.

Averroés rejected some of Avicenna’s most important doctrines, including the latter’s proof for the existence of God, the essence-existence

ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

distinction, and emanation. In his response to

Ghazali, entitled the Incoherence of the Incoherence (Tahafut al-tahafut), Averroés concedes some of Ghazali’s criticisms but argues that the latter has not refuted Aristotle’s philosophy but only the Neoplatonized version advanced by Avicenna and his followers. Averroés even accuses Avicenna of being influenced by kalam, specifically regarding God’s causal role in emanation. As noted above Avicenna considered the world as wholly contingent and as deriving its existence from the “necessary in itself? a designation that applies only to God. Existence was viewed by Avicenna as overflowing or emanating from God by His activity of self-intellection. Averroés, however, found this view closer to the kalam view of creation ex nihilo than to Aristotle. In Averroés’ mature view God was not the only necessary being; the eternal heavenly bodies and the cosmos in general were necessary in itself. Averroés’ critique is based on his attempt to return to the foundational principles of the Aristotelian system regarding essence, existence, and motion.

Bibliography on Islamic Philosophy Boston and Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1999.

Translations and Editions of Arabic Aristotle

Akasoy, Anna A., and Alexander Fidora, eds. The Arabic Version of the Nicomachean Ethics. With an Introduction and Annotated Translation by Douglas and

Leiden,

1954. Badawi, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, ed. Aristitalis fi al-sam@ wa-

al-athar al-‘ulwiyya. Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahdah alMisriyah, 1961. Badawi, “Abd al-Rahman, ed. Mantiq/Arista. 3 vols. Cairo: Maktabat a-Nahdah al-Misrtyah, 1948-1952.

Bouyges, Maurice, ed. Tafsir ma ba‘da al-tabi ah |Averroés Great Commentary on the Metaphysics]. 3 vols. Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1938-1952. Brugman, Jan, and H. J. Drossaart Lulofs, eds. Generation

ofAnimals: The Arabic Translation Commonly Ascribed to Yahya ibn al-Bitrig. Leiden, Netherlands:

Brill,

1971. Danish’ Pazhth, Muhammad Tadj, ed. Al-Mantiq li-Ibn

al-Mugaffa. Tehran: Anjuman-i Shahanshahi-i Falsafah-‘i Iran, 1978. Kruk, Remke, ed. Fi a‘d@ al-hayawan: al-maqalat 11-14 min Kitab al-hawayan |The Arabic version of Aristotle’s Parts of Animals]. Amsterdam: Mujima al-Ilum al-Malaki al-Hulandi, 1979.

Lettinck, Paul. Aristotles Meteorology and Its Reception in the Arab World: With an Edition and Translation of Ibn Suwar’s “Treatise on Meteorological Phenomena” and Ibn Bajja’s “Commentary on the Meteorology.” Boston and Leiden, Netherlands: Brill 1999.

Leiden, Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 1994.

Daiber, Hans. Bibliography of Islamic Philosophy. 2 vols.

Boston

wa-al-mahsts” li-Ibn Rushd; “al-Nabat” al-mansub ila Aristutalis. Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahdah al-Misriyah,

Lettinck, Paul. Aristotles Physics and Its Reception in the Arabic World: With an Edition of the Unpublished Parts of Ibn Bajja’s Commentary on the Physics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dunlop.

| 53

Netherlands:

Brill,

2005. Arnzen, Riidiger. Aristoteles’ De anima: eine verlorene spdatantike Paraphrase in arabischer und persischer Uberlieferung. Leiden, Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 1998.

Badawi, ‘Abd al-Rahman, ed. Aristitalis. Al-Tabiah, tarjamat Ishaq bin Hunayn. 2 vols. Cairo: al-Dar alQawmiyya li-I-Tiba'a wa-l-Nashr, 1964-1965. Badawi, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, ed. Aristatalis, fi al-nafs, “alara’ al-tabtiyah” al-mansab ild Flitarkhus; “al-Hass

Lyons, M. C. Aristotles Ars rhetorica: The Arabic Ver-

sion, a New Edition with Commentary and Glossary. Cambridge, U.K.: Pembroke Arabic Texts, 1982. Peters, FE. E. Aristoteles Arabus: The Oriental Translations and Commentaries of the Aristotelian Corpus. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1968.

Petraitis, Casimir, ed. The Arabic Version of Aristotle's Meteorology: A Critical Edition with an Introduction and Greek-Arabic Glossaries, Beirut: Dar El-Machreq, 1967.

Schoonheim,

Pieter Leendert, ed. Aristotle’ Meteor-

ology in the Arabico-Latin Tradition: Critical Edition of the Texts, with Introduction and Indices. Boston and Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2000. Tkatsch, Jaroslaus. Die arabische Ubersetzung der Poetik

des Aristoteles und die Grundlage der Kritik des griechischen Textes. 2 vols. Vienna: Hélder-PichlerTempsky, 1928-1932.

54 | ARISTOTELIANISM/PERIPATETIC TRADITION IN ISLAM

Translation Movement

Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbasid Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th centuries). London and New York: Routledge, 1998. ‘The

authoritative study on the emergence of the translation movement.

Studies on Aristotelian Thought and Figures Adamson, Peter, and Richard C. Taylor, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. A good survey of the major figures offalsafah focusing on the classical period. Black, Deborah L. Logic and Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Philosophy. Leiden, Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 1990. An excellent study

of the development and nature of Aristotle's Organon in Arabic. Davidson, Herbert A. Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes

on Intellect: Their Cosmologies, Theories of the Active Intellect, and Theories of Human Intellect. New York: Oxford

University Press, 1992. A comprehensive

work on Aristotelian cosmology and psychology in Islam. McGinnis,

Jon. Avicenna.

Oxford

and

New

York:

Oxford University Press, 2010. A systematic introduction to Avicenna’s philosophy. Vallat, Philippe. Farabi et lécole dAlexandre: des prémisses de la connaisance a la philosophie politique. Paris: Vrin, 2004. Wisnovsky, Robert. “The Nature and Scope of Arabic

Philosophical Commentary in Post-classical (ca. 11001900 AD) Islamic Intellectual History: Some Preliminary Observations.” In Philosophy, Science, and Exegesis in Greek, Arabic and Latin Commentaries, edited by Peter Adamson, Hans Baltussen, and M. W. F. Stone. 2 vols., vol. 2, pp. 149-191. London: Institute of Classical Studies, 2004. BILAL IBRAHIM

ARITHMETIC = Arithmetic is a necessity for the smooth functioning of almost any civilization. Medieval Islamic nations used calculation for everyday needs such as commerce, currency exchange, and weights and measures. But there

were also several applications unique to Islam. These included the ‘ilm al-fardid, the science of determining the shares of an estate legally owing to the survivors; and the determination of the zakat. However, the most intense demands on arithmetic were needs in the sciences—especially astronomy—for handling the lunar calendar and predicting the motions of the heavenly bodies. It was from mathematicians and astronomers that

most of the innovations came. Our Hindu-Arabic decimal system of numeration originated in India, as attested by the titles of arithmetic texts by the earliest Islamic authors such as Muhammad ibn Misa al-Khwarizmi (early ninth century), Abu al-Hasan al-Uqlidisi (mid-tenth century), and Kushyar ibn Labban (1000 CE). Arithmetic texts contained explana-

tions of the four basic arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (and frequently square and cube root extraction) in decimal numeration and often in

the astronomers’ preferred sexagesimal numeration. Al-Khwarizmrs instructions found their way into Europe and are the origin of the word algorithm. The operations were sometimes carried out using a dust board, and sometimes with pencil and paper. Although most arithmetic methods were borrowed from India as early as the seventh century, they were enhanced and developed in various ways. The extension of the decimal system to include fractions as well as whole numbers is found as early as the mid-tenth century with al-Uglidisi and later authors such as al-Samawal (1170 CE)

and Jamshid ibn Mas tid al-Kashi (early fifteenth

century). Methods for calculating roots beyond second and third order, usually relying on the binomial theorem, were developed by scientists such as ‘Umar Khayyam (1100 cg) and al-Kashi.

Indeed, the understanding of n-th roots as numbers (rather than geometric magnitudes) by Khayyam and other mathematicians such as

ASH ARi, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

Muhammad

ibn ‘Tsé ibn Ahmad

al-Mahani

(ninth century) and Abt Bakr al-Karaji (1000 CE)

has sometimes been credited as the birth of what

we now Call the real number system. In addition to the serious business of solving practical problems, arithmetic was the basis of a number of recreational interests in Islamic math-

ematics. These included studies of amicable num-

| 55

Very little is reported about al-Ashiari’s early life; however, scholars believe his connection to the early disciple Abi: Musa al-Ashiari is indisputable because the eminent Sunnt historian Ibn ‘Asakir (d. 1175) devoted a lengthy section of his

book Tabyin kidhab al-Muftari (Exposition of the Fabricator’s Lies) to proving this claim. Ibn ‘Asakir’s

bers (pairs of numbers so that the divisors of each

Tabyin is an apologetic work that attributes a position of sainthood to Abt Missa al-Ash‘ari. Through

number add up to the other number), notably by

several hadiths (narratives), Ibn ‘Asakir describes

mathematician

the future importance of Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari’s

Thabit ibn Qurrah

(ninth cen-

tury). There was also a flourishing tradition of magic squares (square grids containing numbers so that the numbers in each row, column and

family, which is then fulfilled in the person of Abii al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari. As a proof of the latter’s genealogical connection to Abu Misa, Ibn ‘Asakir

diagonal sum to the same quantity), beginning in

refers to him as “Abt al-Hasan ibn Isma’ll ibn Ishaq

the tenth century.

ibn Salim ibn Ismail ibn Abdullh ibn Misa ibn Bilal ibn Abt Bardah ibn Abi Misa al-Ashiari.” The use of “ibn” preceding Abu: Musa identifies

BIBLIOGRAPHY

All, who was later known as Abt al-Hasan, as a Berggren, J. L. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1986. The chapter on arithmetic in this volume describes in some detail certain arithmetic procedures found in the works of Kishyar ibn Labban and Jamshid al-Kashi. Rashed, Roshdi. The Development of Arabic Mathematics: Between Arithmetic and Algebra. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer, 1994. A collection of studies

on Arabic arithmetic and algebra, including the extraction of n-th roots and amicable numbers. GLEN VAN BRUMMELEN

ASH‘ARI, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

Abi

“son” of Abt Misa al-Ash‘ari. Religious Training and Conversion. According to Taj al-Din al-Subki (d. 1369) and Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi (d. 1442), Abt

al-Hasan

al-

Ash‘arts father, Ismail, was a follower of the Hanbali school within Ahl al-Sunnat wa-al-Jama ‘at

(Sunni Islam), The early education of his young son was directed by the Hanbali teachers Zakariya ibn Yahya al-Saji and influenced by Abu Ishaq alMarwazi and other scholars of Ahl al-Sunnat. The historians Mahmiid al-Alusi(d. 1854) and al-Maqrizi report that after the death of Abt al-Hasan alAsh‘aris father, his mother married the famous

al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, originally known as Ali ibn

Mu tazili scholar Abt ‘Ali al-Jubba7 (d. 918). And

Ismail al-Ash‘ari, was born in 860 or 870 CE in

in his book al-‘Umad (The Supports), al-Ash‘ari admits that he belonged to the Mu tazili group of scholars until he was forty years old. Al-Ash‘ari's conversion from the Mu tazili view of theology to the traditional view of Ahl al-Sunnat wa-al-Jama‘at has been a subject of dispute. Ibn ‘Asakir provides the actual narration by Abu alHasan of a series of dreams in which the Prophet guides him not to leave the rational kalam

the city of Basra, in what is now southern Iraq. Eventually he moved to Baghdad, where he died in 935. A prominent

Muslim

theologian,

al-

Ash‘ari founded the Sunni theological school of Ash‘arlyah, which rejected the excessive rationalism of the Mu'tazilah but applied a rational methodology to the study of traditional theology.

56 | ASH ARI, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

entirely but to direct it toward the defense of the original message of Islam contained in the Quran and in hadith. These dreams point to the

spiritual and intellectual struggle al-Ash‘ari went through after his withdrawal from the Mutazili school and before he joined Ahl-al-Sunnat, and they tell a story similar to that of Abi Hamid alGhazali when he turned away from the Ash arite school to adopt Sufism. Several modern scholars, however, consider this narrative a mythical work

composed to defend the Ash’ari kalam (application of reasoning to orthodox theology) school. There is no doubt that al-Ash‘ari’s new school of thought attempted to take an intermediary position between blind imitation of tradition and pure

rational

argumentation

that ignores

the

Quran and hadith. Al-Ash‘ar’s book al-Ibana

‘an usil al-diyana (The Elucidation of Islamic Foundations) is representative of this period of

his life. Works. Although Ibn ‘Asakir says that alAsh’ari composed more than two hundred books during his lifetime, only seven are extant. In al-'Umad, al-Ash‘ari names the titles of about fifty books he authored. Al-‘Umad itself is lost, but Ibn ‘Asakir preserved two of its chapters in his Tabyin. In his Muannafat al-Ash‘ari, Ibn Furak (d. 1021) provides the titles of ninety-eight works by al-Ashvari, including polemics that criticize

The seven works by al-Ash‘ari that survive are al-Ibana; al-Luma‘; Risdla fi Istihsan alkhawd fi ‘ilm al-kalam; Magalat al-Islamiyin (Accounts of the Muslims); a short treatise on

tawhid; Shajarat al-yaqin; and the prologue of his Tafsir al-Qur’dn. His book al-khawdfi ‘ilm al-kalam and Magalat al-Islamiyin would seem to have been written during al-Ash‘ari’s Mutazili period, since Maqalat reports the beliefs of the various theological schools while not disparaging Muttazilism. In al-Khawd, Al-Ash‘arl criticizes the Hanbali school. His other works are reported to have been composed after his conversion. Although al-Ash‘ari eventually retired his Mu tazali thought, there is no doubt that he kept the school’s methodological approach in his arguments. His book al-Luma’ is the best example of his use of a rational analytical method to provide evidence for the basic themes of the traditional theology of Ahl al-Sunnat waal-Jama ‘at. Nevertheless, the strict theologians of this group, who considered themselves followers of al-salaf al-salih (the venerable

fore-

bears), did not approve of this method. One of these

theologians

was

al-Barbahari

(d. 941),

al-

who held an important position among the Salafis of Baghdad, and who did not approve of al-Ash‘art ‘s work, al-Ibana when it was reportedly presented to him in Baghdad. This explains why al-Ash‘ari's theology in al-Ibana differs re-

Warraq, among others. Al-Ash‘ari also wrote a book in response to Aristotle’s Heavens and the World, Al-Ash‘ari was a historian of kalam and wrote several books in the field, the best example of which is his famous Magqalat al-Islamiyin. He also composed works onfiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the science of analogy, and wrote a long work on the Quran. Interestingly, Ibn Furak does not list al-Ibana among Ashiar''s works, but it is mentioned by Ibn ‘Asakir and historians after him.

markably from his theology in al-Luma’. It is undoubtedly problematic to reconcile al-Ibana with al-Ashari’s important work, al-Luma’. While al-Luma’ is written systematically and presents rational proofs for traditional theology, al-Ibana follows the Salafi method of relying on quotes from the Qur'an and hadith. Several scholars therefore assume that al-Ibana is a forgery; others argue that it was written immediately after al-Ash‘ari’s conversion to Hanbali theology. In contrast, Western scholars

the works of al-Jubbai, Abii Hashim, Abi al-

Hudhayl al-’Allaf (d. 849), and Muhammad

ASH ARI, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

consider al-Ibana one of al-Ash‘ari’s later works that decisively moved him away from his Mutazili thinking and toward the Hanbala tradition. The dreams that al-Ash‘ari reported in connection with his conversion suggest that his new analytical method included a defense of traditional theology while remaining loyal to rational methodology. Moreover, reading both al-Ibana and al-Luma’ reveals that the difference between the two works lies not in their theological subjects—except on the issue of anthropomorphism—but rather in their method of argumentation. Some scholars, however, believe that al-Ibana was written by a Salafi theologian who intended to relate Ash‘ari theology to the Hanbalt school.

Theology. The tenets of al-Ash‘ari’s theology are introduced in his book al-Luma’,, in which he reacts to the five basic principles of

Mutazilism: (1) Whereas the Mu tazilah held that God’s

only attribute was His essence, al-Ash ari argued for the existence of other eternal attributes, such as “sitting on the throne,’ meaning a heavenly throne from which God will judge the people on the last day. Al-Ash‘ari argues for the existence of eternal attributes other than God. These attributes exist as long as God exists, and although they are not part of Him, they are also not “other.” They are eternal, for if they were not eternal they would be contingent, and then change would have to be attributed to God. This concept of understanding the divine attributes is very similar to the theology of Ibn Kullab (d. c. 853).

Al-Ash‘ari considered God's speech to be eternal and provided many arguments to prove that the Qur'an must, therefore, also be eternal since it

includes divine speech. His main argument for the eternity of divine speech is that God must have spoken from eternity, for if He had not, He

| 57

would be unable to speak from eternity. If this were true, His eternal inability would prevent Him from speaking at any time. (2) Because they claimed that God was not corporeal, the Mu'tazilah also denied that God could be seen. Al-Ash/arl agreed that God could not be seen in this world, but he claimed that God could be seen in the world to come. His primary proof was the Qur'an 75:22-23, which speaks of a vision with the eyes for those who enter paradise. His argument was that sight is not restricted to contingent things, because if this were true we would be able to see all contingent things (for example, the soul). But we cannot see all contingent things. Therefore, if sight is not restricted to the contingent, then there is no reason why we cannot see the eternal. (3) Al-Ash‘art contended that God’s will is

eternal and therefore contains all possible willed things. Thus, all that happens in the world, whether good or evil, is done according to God’s will. To explain the nature of human will and action, al-Ash‘arl adopted the theory of kasb, which was proposed by Ibn Kullab. According to this theory, an act is divided between the actual act exercised by the human and the real act done by God within his decree. For al-Ash ari and Ibn Kullab, God is the only “real” actor, because every act (good or evil) is included in His overall plan for the world, while human beings carry out each “actual” act through a power that is given to them by God at the time of the act. Moreover, human beings lack the power to control the consequences of their

actions. Thus, al-Ash‘ari believed that it was absurd to say that humans have free will, because humans have no control over whether their actions will achieve the ends that they intend. The unbeliever, for instance, cannot perceive the evilness of an evil act and does not believe that the act is wrong. And yet, according to kasb theory, even though human agents do

58 | ASH ARI, ABU AL-HASAN AL-

not know or control the intentions of their act, they are nevertheless responsible for the act because they choose to acquire and exercise it. God is the only real actor because He provides the power to act and because He is the only one who can achieve its intention. In contrast, the human acquires the act according to his or her will but has neither the power to produce it nor the ability to control its intention. (4) On the issue of reward and punishment,

thing else—“not God but not other than Him.” In addition, Ibn Kulab believed that a “real” act and its intention come from God, that humans acquire acts according to free will, but that human will is part of God’s overall plan. Because of the similarities in the thought of the two scholars, theologians are divided with respect to the originality of al-Ash‘ari’s school. Moreover, too few of either his works or those of Ibn Kullab have survived to enable an accurate

al-wa‘d wa al-wa‘id, al-Ash’ari rejected the Mu tazili doctrine that God is obligated to punish sinners who do not repent and to reward those who are just. He argued that it is impossible to derive from the Quran a definite position on

comparison.

this issue, because God forgives all sins (39:53).

(d. 1037/8), Sumnani (d. 1052), al-Juwayni Imam

Here it is clear that al-Ash’ari defended God’s mercifulness, whereas Mu'tazilism emphasized God’s justice and thereby reduced the possibility for mercy. (5) In the chapter on faith, al-Ash‘ari argued that believers who commit sins are infidels through their sins but remain believers through their belief. His aim here was to criticize the Mu tazili concept that believers who commit serious sins are neither believers nor infidels. In contrast, al-Ash’arl argued that such a person would be punished for the evil he or she committed but would also be rewarded for having had faith in God. His discussion of reward, punishment, and faith is influenced by the Murjii position of delaying judgment and allowing room for God's mercy.

The School of Ash‘ariyah. Although alAsh‘ari is considered the father of the Ash‘ari

theological school, many scholars attribute his theories to Ibn Kullab. Ibn Kullab was a scholar of Ahl al-Sunnat wa-al-Jama‘ah and established

the Kullabiya school. He was also one of the earliest to suggest that God’s attributes are not identified

with

His essence

but are some-

Although al-Ash‘ari did not show great originality, Ash‘arism took a more rational and systematic approach through scholars such as al-Baqillani (d. 1013), Ibn Fuarak (d. 1015/6), al-Baghdadi al-Haramayn (d. 1085/6), and al-Ghazali (d. 1111).

The works of al-Baqillani take a purely rational approach to Ashari doctrines, producing not only a well-systemized Ash ari theology but also reducing the gap between Ash’arism and Mutazilism. This approach, in turn, drew a clear line between Ash‘ariyah and Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama‘ah. It was

probably through al-Baqillanis work al-Tamhid that Ash‘arism was definitively separated from the Hanbali school and became associated with the Shafit school of law. The early Ashvari school did not spread quickly at first because of the Shi 1attack on Baghdad (950

cE) and the establishment of the Biyid Shi ‘ah dynasty, which lasted about a hundred years and was replaced by the Turkish Sunni dynasty of the Seljuks. Early Ash‘arism also suffered attacks from the rival Maturidi school, which also developed rational approaches to orthodox Islam but adopted the views of the Hanafi school of law. It was said that al-Baqillani held many debates with them.

In order to suppress the learning of ShT‘ism and Muatzili theology, which flourished in the Btyid period, the Seljuks built several ShafiT schools in some of the important centers of the empire such

ASH ARISM

as Nishapur and Baghdad. These schools were named after the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk and were considered the first academic centers in the region. The Nizamiyah of Nishapur was famous for its support of the Ash‘ari theology, which the Seljuks believed was a threat to Shrism. The Nishapur school inspired devotion to Ash‘arism in the Far East through its well-known Ash‘ari theologians, such as Imam al-Haramayn ‘Abd al-Ma‘ali al-Juwayni (d. 1085) and Abi: Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Al-Juwayni seems to have been the first

director of the school to promote the learning not only of rational kalam theology but also of philosophy. Al-Ghazalt’s work al-Igtisad fi alitigad (The Just Mean in Belief) contributed im-

mensely to the reform of Ash‘arism. His teaching in the Nizamiyah of Baghdad lead to the spread of Ash’ari theology in the west of the empire, where Shi ism still influenced Baghdad, Syria, and Egypt. Al-Ghazali rejected the concept of God as “seated on the throne” and confirmed the immateriality of God, which denies submitting Him to place and time. Thus, Ash‘arism moved toward achieving an important rational traditional approach to theology that attracted many intellectual scholars in different regions of the Muslim world.

Husein, Fawgiya. Al-Ibana

| 59

‘an U-ul al-Diana. Cairo:

Dar al-Ansar, 1977.

Ibn ‘Asakir, ‘Ali ibn al-Hasan. Tabayyinn Kadhib alMuftari. Damascus: Tawfig Press, 1928 (1347 AH).

Klein, W. C. The Theology of al-Ash‘arii: Al-Ibana. New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1940 (Klaus Reprint Corp.: 1967). Leaman, Oliver. Brief Introduction to Islamic Philosophy. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press, 1999. Macdonald, D. B. Development of Muslim Theology, Ju-

risprudence, and Constitutional Theory. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903.

McCarthy, Richard Joseph. The Theology of al-Ash‘ari: The Arabic Texts of al-Ash‘ari’s Kitab al-luma‘ and Risdlat istihsan al-khawdfi‘ilm al-kalam. Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1953. With briefly annotated

translations, and appendices containing material pertinent to the study of al-Ash/ari. Spitta, Wilhelm. Zur Geschichte: al-Ash‘aris. Leipzig, Germany: J. C. Heinrichs, 1876.

Tritton, Arthur S$. Muslim Theology. London: Published for the Royal Asiatic Society by Luzac, 1947.

Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period of Islamic Thought. Oxford, U.K.: Oneworld Publications, 1998. MAHA ELKAISY-FRIEMUTH

ASH‘ARISM The largest Sunni theological school, known as Ash‘arism or al-Asharlyah, is named after its founder, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash/ari,

The most influential members of the Ash‘ar1 school,

who lived in the late ninth and early tenth centu-

who led to the spread of Ash‘arism throughout the Islamic empire, are Abu Bakr al-Baqillani, Abu Bakr

ries (873-935). Little is known of al-Ash‘ar'’s per-

(d. 1027), ‘Abd al-Qahir ibn Tahir al-Baghdadi, al-

sonal and scholarly life. In the traditional sources he is usually described as having changed his position in Islamic theology at the age of forty. He left

Sumnéani, al-Juwayni, al-Ghazali, Muhammad ibn

his Mu'tazili teacher Abt ‘Ali al-Jubba7 (d. 916)

Timart (d. c. 1030), al-Shahrastani (d. 1153), Fakhr

over a theological dispute on divine grace and human responsibility (exemplified by the famous

Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Ibn Furak, al-Isfara’ini

al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209), al-Iji (d. 1355), and Sayyid Sharif Jurjani (d. 1413).

story of three brothers with different eschatological fates) and accepted the authority of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855). Contrary to Mu'tazili views,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ghurabah, Hammiidah. Al-Ash‘ari. Cairo: Majma’ al-

Hay’ah Buhuth al-‘Ammah li-Shu'‘Gn al-Matabi'alAmiriyah Islamiyya, 1973.

he affirmed that God was all-powerful, that His Attributes were eternal with Him, and they were neither the same as the Divine Essence nor other than It. However, he continued to be in favor

60 | ASH ARISM

of engaging in theological discourse using the Mu tazill approach and adapting Sunni doctrines using their systematic methodology. Al-Ash‘ari still adhered to the principles of the traditionalist

they were not recognized as masters of a school by later Sunni theologians. With the exception of the followers of the Hanafi theologian Abu Manstr

Sunni majority

Sunni theologians were regarded as Aslvarite, or Ash‘ari, though they departed from him on some

(Ahl al-Sunnat

wa-al-Jama@ at),

but despite opposition he continued to defend

the necessity of using rational argumentation, which was widely practiced by the Mu'tazilites, in justifying these principles. Following his conversion to Sunnism, partly in order to respond to criticisms, al-Ash‘ari wrote a short treatise in favor of the argumentative method in Islamic theology (kalam). In this book he argued that the absence of direct applications of deductive method in the Qur'an and sunnah

was related to the lack of contacts with foreign ideas and beliefs at the time of the Prophet. However, later confrontations and debates with members of other religions and schools of thought pushed Muslims to use new methods to defend and strengthen the tenets of their faith. Al-Ash‘ari also developed an intermediate approach in the

al-Maturidi (d. 944) in Central Asia, almost all

points.

Al-Ash‘arTls immediate students were not influential in the history of Ash‘arism, but the following generation, among them Abt Bakr alBagillani (d. 1013), Ibn Frak (d. 1015), Abii Ishaq

al-Isfarayint (d. 1027), and “Abd

al-Qahir

al-

Baghdadi (d. 1037), played a major role in the further crystallization of the school. Al-Baqillani, for instance, was regarded as the second founder, due to his contributions in rationalizing the Ash/arite school through his doctrines of atomism, nonexistence, and other foundational concepts. According to his theory, anything “other than God” (masiwallah)

is made

of atoms

and accidents,

al-Muhasibi (d. 857), and Abi al-‘Abbas al-

which make them changeable. Since the accidents cannot exist permanently, their holding atoms would dependently be transients (fani) and would thus be in need of a non-dependent existent. Al-Baghdadi further developed Ash‘arism by refining its technical terms, while Ibn Firak combined and systematized al-Ash‘ari’s partial theological views in his book Mujarrad magqalat al-Ashari. Although Ashvarite scholars suffered for a while from the persecution of Buwayhid sultans and the Seljuk vizier al-Kundiri in the eleventh century, their conditions rapidly changed after gaining wide support among the Seljuks during the time of the famous intellectual vizier Nizam al-Mulk (d. 1092). He established the Nizamiyah School in Nishapiir, where Ash‘arite views were officially taught; these teachings subsequently spread to other parts of the Islamic world, as far away as North Africa and Muslim Spain. At this time, leading Ash‘arite thinkers were Imam al-

Qalanisi (d. late ninth or early tenth century), but

Haramayn al-Juwayni (d. 1085) and his student

issue of human will (iradah) and predestination (qadar),

and formulated

a somewhat

obscure

theory that is known as acquisition (kasb). In this

theory, human actions are “acquired” by human beings but are essentially created by God. Human capacity of acquisition of good or bad actions, for al-Ash‘ari, is the basis of reward or punishment. However, since this acquisition was dependent on God's will and permission, the acqusition theory was found ambiguous in terms of freedom of will by most historians of thought. In combining Sunni doctrines with Mu'tazili methodology, al-Ash/ari is regarded as the founder of the first and later dominant theological school among Sunnis. There were some other independent scholars who tried partly to apply rational methodology to Sunni doctrines before al-Ash‘ari, such as Ibn Kullab (d. 854), al-Harith

ASH ARISM

Abt: Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111), both of whom headed the Nizamiyah School. Al-Juwayni and

al-Ghazali imported some philosophical terms and topics into Ash‘arite theology and legitimized the use of formal Aristotelian logic in both Islamic theological and legal theories. Al-Ghazali’s absorption of philosophical discourse into Islamic disciplines is analogous to al-Ash‘ari'’s transmission of Muttazili kalam methodology to the Sunni schools. Al-Ghazali legitimized Aristotelian logic by comparing it to chapters dealing with the principles of reasoning (nazar) or dialectics (jadal) in Ash‘ari tradition, and he suggested that logic did not belong only to philosophy. Nevertheless, al-Ghazali’s interest in philosophy, although he was critical and on some points severe, legitimized the logico-philosophical discourse in Ash‘arism. Other major Ashvarites of the twelfth century,

Abii al-Qasim al-Ansari (d. 1118) and Abt al-Fath al-Shahrastani (d. 1153), followed the example set by

Ghazali. A philosophical trend dominated among the so-called modern or later theologians (almuta akhkhiran), which gained in strength with the works of the independent-minded thinkers Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1210), Sayf al-Din alAmidi (d, 1233), and Qadi al-Baydawi (d. 1286). Later, Ash‘arite thought came under the influence of Avicennan Neoplatonist cosmology and gradually absorbed the Islamic philosophical tradition in Sunni theology after a major but ineffective stand by the well-known

philosopher

Ibn Rushd (d. 1198), These scholars of the post-

Ghazalian Ash‘arites advanced further in interweaving Sunni theology with philosophy by including most physical and metaphysical issues of philosophy in their works. As a result, theology became a combination of Ash‘arite thought with Avicennan interpretation of Aristotelian philosophy, absorbing earlier Muslim philosophical tradition within its theological framework. This transformation gave Ash arite theology a less

| 61

polemical and more theoretical nature within a broader framework dealing with all metaphysical issues and methodological principles of Islamic thought. A survey of the thirteenth- and fourteenthcentury Ashvarite sources provides some clues about this transformation from a creed-based content to philosophical theology. Conceived as a discipline of general principles, Islamic theology became the source of all other scholarly activities. According to this approach, all Islamic disciplines draw upon theology, but it draws upon none, because in building a theoretical system for Islamic beliefs and providing a framework for other Islamic disciplines, post-Ghazalian Ash arite theologians did not want to be dependent on other fields. Theology was to be kept self-sufficient and independent from any further base of knowledge, and thus it was not admissible to have subjects of the highest religious disciplines to be exposed by some other foreign disciplines, such as philosophy or logic. The Ash‘arites of this later period dealt with wider issues of metaphysics and science, used Aristotelian logic heavily in their argumentation method, and began to quote Muslim philosophers in their works. For this reason, they regarded kalam as a discipline of general principles (al-‘ilm al-kulli) with the highest position (ashraf al-‘ulim) in the hierarchy of Islamic sci-

ences. This new approach of including all essential conceptions and discussions in Islamic theology, especially with the syntheses of Fakhr al-Din alRazi, resulted in a more sophisticated period of interpretation and explanation in the fourteenth century. The theological texts of Ash‘arites such as Shams

al-Din

al-Isfahani

(d. 1348), Adud

al-Din al-]ji (d. 1355), and his students Sa‘d al-Din al-Taftazani (d. 1390) and Sayyid Sharif al-Jurjani

(d. 1413) were mostly in the form of commentar-

ies, which analytically expanded the views of the post-Ghazalian Ash‘arism by comparing them to early Ash‘ari and Mu tazili opinions, explaining

62 | ASH ARISM

their differences from or similarities to Muslim philosophers, and finally arguing their own agreements or disagreements with them. In the fifteenth century the North African scholar and Siff revivalist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Saniisi (d. 1490) and the Iranian theologian Jalal al-Din al-Dawani (d. 1502) were among well-

known Ash‘arites. Ottoman thinkers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, though officially Maturidite, also contributed to this philosophical production by their commentaries and marginal notes on the works of the Central Asian Ash arites mentioned above. The Ash‘arite school continued to exist in the seventeenth century in the works of Egyptian theologian Ibrahim al-Lakani (d. 1631)

and Indian scholar Abd al-Hakim al-Siyalkuti (d. 1656).

After a continuous modernization process in the Muslim world of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Sunnis from both the Ash/arite and Maturidite traditions, such as Muhammad

‘Abduh

(1849-1905)

of Egypt, Shibli Nu'mani

(1857-1914) of India, and Izmirli Ismail Hakki (1868-1946)

of Ottoman

Turkey,

attempted

a

methodological renovation within Islamic theological thought. During this period of modernity, sectarian concerns weakened among Muslim intellectuals, since they took a more eclectic and broader approach in order to strengthen their faith against the challenges of the age. Contemporary theologians followed their independent predecessors in detaching themselves from a strict identification with a particular school of thought, but Ash‘arism has continued to maintain its existence in Sunni societies of the Muslim world. Following the Mutazili, Ash‘arite thinkers dealt with the main theological issues of Islamic faith, including arguments for the existence of God, divine unity, revelation, prophecy, and eschatology. They aimed to refute the opposing views of other religions and philosophical schools

using a rational dialectical method. But they also discussed the controversial issues of theology, which were first raised by the Mutazili, such as the existence of attributes of God (sifatullah), the nature of divine speech (kalamullah), the possibility of seeing God in the future life (ru'yatullah), the question of divine omnipotence and human free will (iradah), and the fate of a believing sinner

(murtakib

al-kabira).

In Ash‘arite

the-

ology, God has eternal attributes such as knowledge, speech, and sight, which are essential for His knowing, speaking, or seeing. Since it belongs to His eternal attribute of speech, the Qur'an was uncreated (qadim). Unlike Salafis and their theo-

logical forebears among certain Hanbalites, later Ash‘arites did not oppose the metaphorical interpretation of corporeal terms attributed to God in the Qur'an. As for the question of free will and predestination, Ash‘arites took a middle position between the Mu'tazilites and Jabrites in empha-

sizing God’s creation of human acts, which is chosen by each person freely. The Asharites differ from Mutazilites with regard to the question of whether reason or revelation is paramount. The Muttazilites suggested that reason was more fundamental and to be preferred, and that revelation must be interpreted in conformity with reason. The Ash‘arites regarded revelation as the source of ultimate truth and reality, and believed that reason should confirm what was given by revelation. For them, admitting the necessity of rationalizing faith is not the same as accepting pure reason or analytic thought as being the sole source or basis of Islam as a religion. Rationalizing the basic principles does not require one to question the validity or truth of the principles established in the Quran and the sunnah. The Ash arites, therefore, never presented reason as the higher criterion to determine what is good and what is bad. Goodness and badness of actions (husn and qubh) are mere accidents (a'rad). Actions in themselves are neither good

ASTROLABE

| 63

nor bad; it is Divine Law and Command that gives them that quality. Ash’arism is quite close to Maturidism, the second Sunni theological school. There are some differences of views between the two, but they are usually regarded as methodological and nonessential. The Ash‘arites, for instance, rejected God’s bringing into existence (takwin) as a Divine Attribute, the eternity of Divine Actions, and human responsibility of believing in the existence and unity of God through rational arguments in the absence of divine revelation, which are among the Maturidi theses. Maturidism is preferred by most Hanafites. Ash‘arism, however, became the basis of belief in the Arab world and Indonesia among the Malikis and Shafiis within larger Sunnism, but Hanbalis continued to reject the methodology of rational argument and claimed to rely

eenth century. It is a model of the celestial sphere that one can hold in one’s hand. The two-dimensional astrolabe is achieved by a stereographic projection of the three-dimensional celestial sphere onto the plane of the celestial equator. The celestial part, called the rete (Ar., ‘ankabat), bears pointers for various prominent stars and a ring for the ecliptic (falak al-burij), or apparent path of the sun among the stars. The terrestrial part consists of a series of plates (safa‘ih) for selected latitudes, bearing markings for the

on scriptural sources.

of the sun or star using an altitude scale (qaws alirtifa). The marker on the rete for the sun on the ecliptic or for the star is then placed over the appropriate altitude on the plate corresponding to the latitude of the observer. The instrument then shows the instantaneous configuration of the heavens relative to the horizon of the observer. Rotation of the rete corresponds to the passage of time,

BIBLIOGRAPHY Allard, Michel. Le probleme des attributes divins dans la

doctrine dal-As ari et des ses premiers grands disciples. Beyrouth: Dar el-Machreg, 1965. Frank, Richard M. “The AS‘arite Ontology: I Primary Entities.” Arabic Science and Philosophy 2 (1992):

7-37.

and altitude circles (mugantarat) up to the zenith

(samt al-ra’s). The ensemble

is crowned

by a

“throne” (kursty) to which is attached some sus-

pensory apparatus (‘i/dqa). On the back is a diametrical rule with sights called the alidade (‘iddda) with which one can measure the altitude

with 360° equivalent to 24 hours. Thus a rotation

Frank, Richard M. Al-Ghazali and the Ash‘arite School.

Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1994. Gimaret, Daniel. La doctrine dal-Ash‘ari. Paris: Cerf,

1990. Makdisi, George. “Ash‘ari and the Ashvarites in Islamic

Religious History I-II” Studia Islamica 17 (1962): 37-80 and 18 (1963): 19-39.

Makdisi, George. “The Non-Ash‘arite Shafiism of Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali.” Revue des etudes islamique 54 (1986): 239-257.

M. SAIT OZERVARLI

ASTROLABE

meridian (khatt nisfal-nahar), the horizon (ufuq),

The astrolabe was by far the most popular astronomical instrument in the Islamic world from the eighth century to the eight-

between two different configurations measures the time elapsed. The principal use of the astrolabe, in addition to teaching astronomy, is for timekeeping by the sun and stars, which was one of the major interests of Islamic astronomy. Since the configuration of the ecliptic relative to the horizon was deemed significant in astrology, an astrolabe with the appropriate markings could also serve to establish the basic layout of the astrological houses for compiling a horoscope. The Muslims first encountered the astrolabe— a Greek invention—in the city of Haran (in what is now southeastern Turkey) in the eighth cen-

tury. The earliest surviving Islamic astrolabe, from late eighth-century Baghdad, is a simple

64 | ASTROLABE

device without decoration and without markings

in one vol., London: The Holland Press, 1976. Full of

on the back beyond the altitude scale. During the ninth and tenth centuries, Muslim astronomers devised many scales and tables that were incorporated on the backs of the astrolabes. The splendid instrument ofthe astronomer al-Khujandi, made in Baghdad in 984 cg, demonstrates how the Islamic tradition had incorporated new

errors and long out of date, but still unsurpassed. King, David A. In Synchrony with the Heavens: Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization. 2 vols. Leiden, Nether-

artistic elements

(two felines by the throne

and a quatrefoil and zoomorphic pointers on the rete) and new technological developments (a trigonometric grid, an honorary quadrant for Baghdad, and various astrological scales) on the back. In the ensuing centuries up to the fifteenth, Muslim astronomers made further contributions to the art of astrolabe making. The most significant of these was the universal astrolabe of the eleventh-century Andalusian scholar ‘Ali ibn Khalaf. With this innovation, the operations of a standard astrolable could be achieved for any latitude. The magnificent instrument of Ibn al-Sarraj, constructed in Aleppo in 1328 CE, is the most sophisticated astrolabe ever made: it can be used universally in five different ways. The most prolific of the various later schools of instrument making that developed between Fez and Lahore was the school of Isfahan in the seventeenth century, where the production of beautiful “scientific works of art” flourished, even though serious and innovative scientific activity had ceased. Several hundred Islamic astrolabes survive to this day, most rather late, but the early examples suffice to confirm the artistic and technological competence and ingenuity of Muslim astrolabists.

[See also Astronomy. |

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gunther, Robert 'T. The Astrolabes of the World. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1932. Reproduced

lands: E. J. Brill, 2004-2005.

The second volume

contains numerous descriptions of astrolabes as well as a comprehensive list of Islamic instruments arranged chronologically by region. Mayer, Leon A. Islamic Astrolabists and Their Works. Geneva: A. Kundig, 1956. Still a reliable guide. David A. KING

ASTROLOGY _1o say that a belief in astrology is a feature of the popular culture of the modern Islamic world is to make a trivial statement, for this is true of practically all world cultures. It is a nontrivial exercise, however, to study the distinguishing features of the Islamic astrological tradition, including the role it has played in blending and modifying and then transmitting outward all the various elements that it drew from a host of classical foreign cultures, as well as the attitudes that Islam displayed toward astrological doctrines and practices. A study of this kind suffers from an inherent limitation—a large number of primary Arabic astrological sources are no longer extant; moreover, a large number of those that are preserved still await scholarly examination. Many of our present views and conclusions must thus remain tentative, and this discussion is no exception.

By the eighth century cE, astrology had emerged as a distinct discipline in Islam—a discipline born out of a creative blending of the Hellenistic traditions of Iran, India, Mesopotamia, and the eastern Mediterranean. All these traditions share certain fundamental features. They all presuppose a geocentric finite universe in which celestial bodies exercise an influence on the terrestrial world. They all accept some version of Aristotelian physics, believing variously that astral influences determine

ASTROLOGY

all motions of the four sublunar elements—earth, water, air, and fire—and that these influences signify trends that may be altered by future influences, or by supernatural or human intervention, or that these influences simply manifest divine will.

Eastern Emphases. With these characteristic features, astrology is evidently a Hellenistic invention, a system based on Greek astronomy and physics, mixed with elements drawn from Babylonian celestial omens and Egyptian demigods. This Hellenistic astrology reached India in the second century CE, where it underwent local modifications; it was then transmitted as a transformed entity to Sassanian Iran in the following century. Through an assimilative process in Iran, the Greco-Indian astrological tradition underwent further modifications, now integrated with both indigenous Iranian and additional Greek elements. Thus developed a Greco-Indo-Iranian astrological tradition that finally became part of the cultural booty of conquering Islam. In Islamic civilization this complex phenomenon of transmission becomes even more intri-

cate: texts were translated into Arabic not only from Pahlavi and Sanskrit, but also from Syriac and directly from Greek. Thus the Islamic astrological tradition displays not only certain characteristically Hellenistic features but also elements contributed locally by India and Iran. Unlike what occurred in many other sciences, Eastern elements remained strong in Islamic astrology. Thus, despite their intimate relationship and similar routes of transmission, the science of astronomy underwent in Islam a thorough Hellenization, whereas astrology continued to show a dominance of characteristically Indo-Iranian features, with emphases on interrogational, military, and political astrology. Categories. Experts recognize four broad categories of astrological practice: genethlialogy, which relates all aspects of an individual's life to

| 65

the situation of the heavens at the moment of his nativity; catarchic astrology, which consists of determining on the basis of the celestial configurations whether a given moment is auspicious (sa‘d)

or inauspicious (nahs) for a particular activity; general astrology, which is concerned with periodic heavenly situations (eclipses, planetary conjunctions, equinoxes, etc.), relating them to events

affecting large numbers of people, nations, or the whole world; and interrogational astrology, which answers specific questions on the basis of the heavenly configuration at the time of the query. Genethlialogy (mawalid) had already reached its high point in the work of Dorotheus of Sidon, written in about 75 CE This work includes a num-

ber of historic innovations in the techniques of horoscope casting—horoscopes being diagrams of the signs of the zodiac based on the aspects of celestial bodies at a given moment. One of

the Dorothean innovations is the system of lots (Arabic, siham, sg. sahm)—points whose distance

from some specified points in the horoscopic diagram equals the distance between two planets. Another is the introduction of the prorogator (Arabic, al-haylaj, whence Latin alhyleg), a point on the ecliptic that determines the life of the native. Dorotheus had spoken also of continuous horoscopy; this assumes that, even though an individual’s basic natal horoscope is generally valid, new horoscopes must be cast at periodic intervals and compared with the base horoscope to generate specific predictions for the next period. All these Dorothean features are found in Islamic astrology; but here they are further fortified by the Harranian version of the Neoplatonic doctrine of astral influences, cast in terms of Aristotelian physics, and creatively blended with Indian and Iranian elements. An outstanding example of this blending is found in the writings of Abt Ma'‘shar (d. 886), Islam’s most influential as-

trologer. For example, as compared to the two principal lots of the Greeks—the Lot of Fortune

66 | ASTROLOGY

and the Lot of the Demon—Abii Ma’'shar could enumerate well over a hundred lots. Similarly, the complicated rules governing the prorogator are here made even more elaborate. A variation on or adjunct to the prorogator was the Lord of the Year, the strongest planet in the horoscope. Again, the techniques of determining this planet were further refined by Arab astrologers. It is interesting to note the grafting of Iranian political and continuous astrology onto the Hellenistic base of the Islamic tradition. For example, among the thirteen lots employed by the astrologer Masha’allah (d. c. 815) in his Kitab almawalid al-kabir (Great Book of Nativities), one

finds also the Lot of Political Power (sahm al-

sultan), taken from the Sassanian tradition. Sim-

ilarly, Arabic horoscopes frequently include the Lot of Warfare (or Soldiering)—a lot that had re-

ceived a distinct emphasis and development in India, growing into an entire field of military astrology (yatra) and reaching Islam through circuitous routes. Indian as well as Harranian features of Islamic astrology are evident also in the elaborate rituals that Arabic writers devised to avert or alter the influences of the planets; these rituals include mysterious invocations, prayers,

and animal sacrifices. Islamic catarchic astrology is likewise a combination of the Dorothean and Indian systems. Treated under the general classification of ahkam al-nujim (judgments of the stars, hence the term “judicial astrology”), a whole genre of ikhtiyarat (choices) literature exists in the Arabic astrological tradition. Indeed, “choices” is a happy title for this activity, since it presupposes free will on the part of the subject: he is free to choose the best time for commencing an activity, with the time being judged from the horoscope. This may be one reason that catarchic astrology enjoyed a relatively wider acceptance in Islam. In one notable instance, the “Abbasid caliph alMansir consulted as many as four astrologers—

Nawbakht, Mashda’allah, al-Fazari, and “Umar ibn al-Farrukhan—to determine an auspicious

moment

for the founding of his new capital

Baghdad; they chose 30 July 762.

The credit for developing techniques of applying horoscopy to general astrology, the third broad category of astrology, belongs to Sassanian Iran. It arose out of the blending of Hellenistic continuous astrology with the Zoroastrian belief in the twelve-thousand-year cycle of the creation and destruction of the material world, thereby

becoming a potent device for all kinds of chiliastic propaganda. Indeed, many an Arabic astrological history culminates in an absolute future victory for the author’s chosen party. Given the millennial aspects of general astrology, it carried a particular appeal for the Ismailis, who predicted the emergence of the Hidden Imam at the moment of certain planetary conjunctions, and even the revelation of a new Shariah and the beginning of a new cycle of seven imams. The chiliastic writings attributed to the alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan (probably eighth century) constitute a tantalizing example of this kind of astrology. Interrogations (mas@il), the final category of astrology, saw its greatest development in Islam. This astrological practice determines the answer to the question from the horoscope of the moment when the query is formally presented to the astrologer. Experts believe that interrogational astrology first appeared in India, where it developed as an extension of divination, and then reached Islam via Sassanian versions. An outstanding Arabic work in this field is that of Ab Ma’‘shar’s pupil Shadan, a collection of examples called Mudhakarat (Studies), which constitutes a rich

sample of the highly developed interrogational activities of Islamic astrologers. Recently, a few interrogational texts of Masha allah have been subjected to a critical analysis that throws into relief the eclectic nature of the astrologer’s enterprise. Their topics include

ASTROLOGY

the intention of the inquirer, finding buried treasure, travel, marriage, debts, clipping nails and hair, cutting out new clothes, manumission of slaves, childbirth, political power, and many more. Here

all topics, except political power, are derived from the catarchic aspect of the Greek astrological tradition. Thus, following the Indians, a Greek tech-

nique is appropriated for a different purpose and mixed with Sassanian elements. From the tenth century, Arabic innovations in

all four categories of astrology began to travel outward to other cultural areas: first to Byzantium, then to the Latin West, and finally to India. A great many Arabic astrological texts were translated into Latin: the Europeans knew Abu Ma shar as Albumasar, Alial-‘Imrani as Haly Imrani, Abu ‘All al-Khayyat as Albohali, Sahl ibn Bishr as Zahel, and Abt Bakr al-Khasibt as Abubather.

Indeed, Islamic astrology has profoundly influenced the astrological traditions of both India and the West. Attitudes Toward Astrological Practices. According to a hadith in al-Bukhari, the Prophet had denounced the astral cults of the pre-Islamic Arabs; this must have created in Islam an ethos unfavorable to the growth of an astrological tradition. But a tradition did grow, and it came under heavy fire from religious circles. Genethlialogy and general astrology in particular were the targets of opposition, primarily because they were considered to offend the idea of free will and human responsibility on the one hand, and God's infinite power on the other. Although these astrological practices received strong support from the Shris, especially those of the Ismaili persuasion, they were eventually abandoned by sober thinkers and now survive only in popular culture. Catarchic and interrogational astrology do leave room

for free will; therefore, these enjoyed a longer and flourishing career in the Islamic world. Nonetheless, general attacks on all things astrological have never ceased in the Islamic world.

| 67

The great sage Ibn Sina wrote an entire work

against astrology in the eleventh century; some nine hundred years later, the modern poetphilosopher Muhammad Iqbal elegantly mocked the very enterprise of the astrologer: How can it transmit my fate? A star!

Humiliated, helpless In the infinite vastness of the heavens!

[See also Astronomy; Numerology. ]

Geomancy;

Magic; and

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fahd, Toufic. “Ikhtiyarat” In First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, vol, 3, pp. 1063-1064. Leiden, Neth-

erlands: E. J. Brill, 1987.

Pahd, Toufic. “Kihana. In First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, vol. 5, pp. 99-101. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1987.

Fahd, Toufic. “Nudjim.” In First Encyclopaedia ofIslam, 1913-1936, vol. 8, pp. 105-108. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1987.

Hasnawi, Ahmad Muhammad, Jamal, and Maroun

Aouad.

Abdelali ElamraniPerspectives arabes et

médiévales sur la tradition scientifique et philosophique grecque: Actes du colloque de la STHSPAI. Paris: Institut du monde arabe, 1997. Contains article

on Islamic astrology by David Pingree. Kennedy, Edward Stewart. Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World. Aldershot, U.K., and Brookfield, Vt.; Ashgate, 1998. MacDonald, D. B.“Sihr” In First Encyclopaedia ofIslam,

1913-1936, vol. 7, pp. 409-417. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1987.

Michot, Y. J. “Ibn Taymiyya on Astrology: Annotated Translation of His Three Fatwas.” Journal of Islamic Studies 11, no. 2 (2000): 147-208.

Pingree, David. “From Alexandria to Baghdad to Byzantium: The Transmission of Astrology.’ International Journal of the Classical Tradition 8, no. 1 (Sept 2001): 3-37.

Saliba, George. A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories during the Golden Age of Islam. New York: New York University Press, 1994.

S. NOMANUL HAQ

68 | ASTRONOMICAL TABLES (Zi/)

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES (ZIJ)

A zi

is a handbook intended for the practice of astronomy, designed to enable the prediction of positions of astronomical bodies and celestial events such as eclipses. The word derives from the Persian for a thread or cord, which the many numerical tables in zij resembled. These tables were constructed to give a user with only basic arithmetic skills the ability to perform the most important

predictions

in astronomy

and

as-

trology. Although some zij contain substantial theoretical content, their primary purpose was not to instruct, but rather to provide a practical aid to the working astronomer. Well over two hundred zij (of which over one hundred are extant) are known to have been com-

posed from the eighth century cE onward. In addition to the zij, many sets of tables were composed to handle specific topics. These included the determination of time of day from the altitude of the sun, the direction of Mecca

(the

qiblah), the appearance of the lunar crescent after the new moon to signal the beginning of the month, ephemerides, and tables of “auxiliary” trigonometric functions that could be combined in various ways to solve a variety of problems. However, the zij was the central repository of astronomical tables, usually containing over fifty and often many more. So, the zij served as a statement by the author of what topics and approaches he favored. Typical Contents of zij. Although the theoretical foundations of zij varied over the centuries, their contents and applications were somewhat consistent. They open with the preliminary mathematical tools necessary for the later work. ‘These usually included trigonometric tables, almost always relying on the sine function (originating in India) rather than the Greek chord function. Tables of spherical trigonometry and astronomy followed, mostly for the purpose of converting between several coordinate systems

on the celestial sphere, and also for related topics such as the calculation of the time it takes certain arcs of the ecliptic to rise above the horizon (significant for astrology). Many zij also include conversions between different calendar systems, in order to adapt the user’s calendar properly to

the astronomical tables that follow. The heart of any 2ij is its set of tables of the motions of the planets. The motions of the stars are simple; they are carried in circles at a constant speed of one revolution per day by the rotation of the celestial sphere. However, the sun, moon, and

five visible planets exhibit more complicated motions. The sun makes an annual path through the stars along a great circle called the ecliptic; its velocity varies slightly over the course of the year. zij tabulate this motion by (a) stating the sun’s position at a fixed moment in time (called the epoch); (b) providing a “mean motion” table to give the sun's displacement from the epoch position as a function of the amount of time that has passed, assuming that it travels at a constant speed; and (c) tabulating an “equation” that corrects for the sun’s varying velocity. The three terms are combined to give the sun’s true position

on the ecliptic. The moon's and the planets’ positions along the ecliptic are tabulated similarly, except that there are two equation terms rather than one. The motions of the moon and the planets above and below the ecliptic are also tabulated; however, other than the moon (for the purpose of eclipses), these planetary “latitudes” were usually an afterthought.

In addition to these fundamentals, zij also tabulate a variety of celestial phenomena,

most of

which may be determined from the planetary motions. The most obvious of these is eclipse prediction; and since different observers on the earth's surface see the moon in different places in the sky, this implies a tabulation of the effects of parallax as well. Tables for the stations, instants

in time when planets stop before temporarily

ASTRONOMICAL TABLES (ZiJ) | 69

reversing the usual direction of their paths through the fixed stars, appear in many zij. One also finds catalogs of the positions of the fixed stars, tables of geographical coordinates, and tables related to various concerns in mathematical astrology.

Constructing a set of tables of this complexity is not a project to enter into lightly. Various computational schemes were developed to make the task easier, both for the author and for the reader. Interpolation techniques were implemented, both to aid the reader in finding values of functions between entries in a table and to generate approximate table entries. Generally a variant of linear interpolation was applied, but instances exist of the use of second-order interpolation. Various other computational techniques were applied, including iterative procedures likely derived from Indian sources to solve difficult equations, “displacements” of table entries to make the tables resistant to errors commonly made by table users, and schemes to tabulate functions of two or more arguments without having to produce large two-dimensional grids of entries.

The Sindhind Tradition. Islamic astronomy began with the arrival of science from the East, particularly from India and Iran. ‘The earliest Islamic zij were influenced in particular by works written by Brahmagupta; the Zij al-Arkand (735 cE) and the Zij al-Shah (790 cz) show influences

from his Khandakhddyaka. A separate tradition began with the arrival of an Indian astronomical text (known as a siddhanta), brought to Baghdad

as part of a diplomatic delegation in the 770s. This work, probably based on Brahmagupta’s Brahmasphutasiddhanta, inspired several treatises. The earliest, by al-Fazari and Yaqub ibn Tariq (no longer extant), were based on their translation of the Indian text into the Zij alSindhind. The most influential of the zij in the Sindhind tradition was the one prepared by alKhwarizmi in the early ninth century. Its trans-

mission, especially to al-Andalus and onward to

Europe, is extremely complex, extending as far as the nineteenth century. The Sindhind zij rely mostly on Indian astronomical theory, which in turn may originate in pre-Ptolemaic Greek astronomy. However, the Greek influence is obscured by an entirely different approach to the use of geometric models (more empirical, less axiomatic) and an array of new computational methods, One also finds in these zij evidence of Iranian influence, such as the use of the Persian calendar. The extant versions of al-Khwarizmi'’s zij, which date from tenthcentury al-Andalus and afterward, also contain mixtures of interpolations from later cultures. Ptolemaic and Eastern Islamic zij. In eastern Islam, the ninth century saw a migration away from Indian influence, provoked by new translations of Claudius Ptolemy's Almagest and Handy Tables. But while the theoretical advantages of Ptolemy’s works were clear, they were seven centuries out of date and written in a different location. This provoked a systematic program of observations to correct the astronomical parameters

embedded in Ptolemy’s tables, leading to Yahya ibn Abi Mansir’s Mumtahan (“Verified”) Zij (828-829

cE). The movement

toward Ptolemy

continued with Habash al-Hasib; his last zij, based

on the same observational program, contains little remaining Indian influence aside from some of the computational methods. The most influential early Ptolemaic zij may have been al-Battant's Zij al-Sabii—as with al-Khwarizmi, its effects were felt more in al-Andalus and Europe than in eastern Islam, The decades around 1000 cE, full of intellectual ferment and transformation, made their

mark on the zij tradition. Abii 1-Wafa’s Almagest was a leading example of a new approach to the mathematical foundations of astronomy; it included the tangent function as a significant tool, as well as a reinvented spherical trigonometry

70 | ASTRONOMICAL TABLES (Zij)

and astronomy. Many of the innovations of this creative era are found in one of the most sophisticated of all zij, al-Birtini’s Qantin al-Mas tdi.

Zij continued to be produced for several centuries; the two major loci of activity surrounded observatories. Nasir al-Din al-Tisi, founder of

the thirteenth-century Maragha observatory, composed one of the most influential texts of his generation, the [/khani Zij. Although al-Tasi was one of the most active scholars in the movement to replace Ptolemy with new models of planetary motion, al-Tusi’s zij remained Ptolemaic. The only extant zij to incorporate the new models was Ibn al-Shatir’s fourteenth-century Zij al-Jadid, influenced by several members of the Maragheh observatory. The pinnacle of the zij tradition occurred at Ulug Bey’s observatory in Samarkand in the early fifteenth century. Jamshid al-Kashi had already composed his Khaqani Zij, full of novel theoretical insights, when he arrived at the observatory. Evidence of al-Kashi’s advances may be found throughout Ulug Bey’s own Sultani Zij, the most accurate and perhaps the most dominant of all zij in eastern Islam. Al-Andalus and the Maghrib. While there was fluidity between sub-traditions in eastern Islam, al-Andalus and the Maghrib stood somewhat apart. The zij of al-Khwarizmi and al-Battani had a large impact in al-Andalus, while slightly later important zij such as Abii ‘l-Wafa’s and alBirunt’s did not. We do know that some of the mathematical innovations of the tenth century in the East found their way into the work of Western eleventh-century scholar Ibn Mu‘adh, author of the Tabulae Jahen. The foundational Andalusian

zij was the Toledan Tables (1070 CE), written by a

group led by Said al-Andalusi. Several innovations were proposed by al-Andalusi, Ibn alZarqali, and their collaborators. Most important among these was trepidation, a proposed variation in the rate of the precession of the equinoxes; the Andalusian tradition of trepidation was dis-

tinct from its predecessors and considerably more

developed. The two leading figures in the following century were Ibn al-Kammad and Ibn al-Ha im, both authors of zij in the spirit of Ibn al-Zarqali. In the thirteenth century the Andalusi tradition spread to the Maghrib; major zij authors in North Africa include Ibn Ishaq and Ibn al-Banna. Both the Western and Eastern traditions were strong and long-lived; through their influence on Europe, Western zij had a significant impact on other cultures.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kennedy, E. $. On the Contents and Significance of the Khagani Zij by Jamshid Ghiyath al-Din al-Kashi. Frankfurt: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science, 1998. This slim volume is a guide to the con-

tents, still partly unexplored, of one of the most powerful and creative zij. Kennedy, E. S. “A Survey of Islamic Astronomical Tables.” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46, no. 2 (1956): 123-177. This standard work

surveys over one hundred zij and provides detailed abstracts of the contents of twelve of the most important works. King, David A., Julio Sams6, and Bernard R. Goldstein,

“Astronomical Handbooks and Tables from the Islamic World (750-1900): An Interim Report.” Suhayl 2 (2001): 9-105. A considerable extension of Kenne-

dy’s 1956 survey of astronomical handbooks, accounting for much recent scholarship. King, David A. In Synchrony with the Heavens. Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization. Vol. 1: The Call of the Muezzin. Leiden, Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2004. A collection of studies of medieval

Islamic

tables related to the problem of determining the time of day from the altitude of the sun. Nallino, C. A. Al-Battdni sive Albatenii Opus astronomicum (al-Zij al-Sabi). 3 vols. Milan: Ulrich Hoepli, 1899-1907. Latin edition of and commentary

on al-Battani'’s zij. Neugebauer, Otto. The Astronomical Tables of alKhwarizmi. Copenhagen: Muksgaard, 1962. A translation of al-Khwarizmi’s zij from the Latin version edited by Heinrich Suter, with extensive commentary,

ASTRONOMY

Sedillot, L. Prolégoménes des Tables Astronomiques dOloug Beg. 2 vols. Paris: Firmin Didot, 1847/1853.

An edition of and commentary upon part of Ulug Bey’s Sultani Zij. GLEN VAN BRUMMELEN

| 71

experts from China and India. It is evident, then, that al-Battani's claim is hardly exaggerated.

Origins to Ptolemaicization. The origins of Islamic astronomy are intricately eclectic. The earliest Arabic treatises on this subject, sets of astronomical tables known as the zij, were written

in the first half of the eighth century cE in Sind ASTRONOMY

One of the greatest astrono-

mers of Islam, al-Battani (Albatenius, Albategni, or Albategnius of the Latin West, d. c. 929 cE),

declares that astronomy is the most noble of the sciences, elevated in dignity, and second only to the science of religious law (Sayili, 1960, p. 15). This praise of the discipline is not merely a practitioner’s claim; it also embodies a historical truth. Indeed, astronomy is the only natural science that escaped the censure of the medieval Muslim opponents

of secular sciences (ulim al-awa il)

and found a home in mosques, receiving the blessing of mainstream religious circles; it is virtually the only Islamic hard science that lasted well into the modern period, continuing vigorously and fruitfully long after the Mongol sack of Baghdad, when much of Islamic scientific activity began to decline. Moreover, because of its traditional link with astrology and its utility in matters such as calendar reform, the determination of the direction of prayer (qiblah), and the calculation of the times of daily prayers, Islamic astronomy enjoyed the enthusiastic and undiminished patronage of rulers and nobles throughout its history. In the internal perspective of the science, astronomy is owed credit for the birth of trigonometry and other important developments in mathematics, particularly in quantitative techniques and geometry, since all these mathematical disciplines were originally subservient to the needs of astronomers. Finally, it should be noted that astronomy was a truly international enterprise of Islam, a collaborative effort involving people throughout the Islamic world, including

and Qandahar.

These treatises were based on

Sanskrit sources, but they have been found to incorporate some Pahlavi material as well. Such derivations from Indian and Iranian works, which constitute the first phase of Islamic astronomy, introduced many concepts of Greek mathematical astronomy to the Arabic world— concepts that were largely non-Ptolemaic, having already reached India and Iran through circuitous routes and having been modified by local traditions. A further infusion of Indian and Iranian material marks the second phase of Islamic astronomy, but this was also the time when the works of the famous Greek astronomer Ptolemy (d. 161 CE) and the Pahlavi Zik-i Shahryaran (Arabic, Zij al-Shah) were translated into Arabic.

This activity took place during the reigns of ‘Abassid caliphs al-Mansur (1. 754-775 CE) and Hartn al-Rashid (r. 786-809), a period that also

saw the emergence of a sustained Sindhind Arabic tradition growing out of the translation of a Sanskrit astronomical text, presumably entitled Mahasiddhanta. During the early “Abbasid period, three astro-

nomical systems were thus pursued concurrently: the Indian (Sindhind); the Iranian (Zij al-Shah);

and the Ptolemaic. These systems were in conflict at many points, and the Islamic astronomical activity of this period is characterized by constant efforts to reconcile them. Astronomers soon concluded that the Ptolemaic system was superior to all others known to them. Thus, with al-Battani marking the turning point, by the beginning of the tenth century Islamic astronomy had undergone a complete Ptolemaicization: newer and

72 | ASTRONOMY

better Arabic translations of Ptolemy's Almagest made by the Nestorian Christian Ishaq ibn Hunayn (d. 910/911 CE) and the “pagan” Thabit ibn Qurrah (d. 901 CE) were available; Ptolemy’s Plan-

etary Hypotheses had also been rendered into Arabic by Thabit; and the Sindhind and Shah traditions were finally relegated to history. The story of Islamic astronomy from this point is characterized by what historian of science Thomas Kuhn would describe as “puzzle-solving” within a Ptolemaic paradigm. Muslim astronomy in Spain was very impor-

tant, in both the production of instruments and in compilations of celestial tables: Ibn al-Raqqam (d. 1315) improved gnomonics and sundials; the Andalusian polymath Abu al-Salt Umayyah ibn Abu al-Salt (d. c. 1134) was probably responsible

for the diffusion of the astrolabe in the Mashriq; and the most famous Arab Spanish astronomer, Ibn al-Zargali (Azarquiel; d. 1100), seems to have been the first to design a universal astrolabe. The Toledan Tables (zij) were compiled about 1069 by a group of Toledan astronomers, led by Abi alQasim Said and including Ibn al-Zarqali. The Toledan Tables were also very influential in Western Europe until the scientific revolution because they supported the so-called theory of trepidation (i.e., that the obliquity of the ecliptic and the velocity of procession are not constant). Obviously, the zij were also very useful for astrological predictions, and prominent astrologers like alMaghribi (d. 1283) introduced some innovations

in them, especially to correct calendars.

Theoretical Innovation. Let us now, following the lead of contemporary historians, set up the theoretical problem to which these different systems offered different solutions. Consider two rotating wheels. A larger wheel (the deferent, alhamil) has a stationary center E and a point S on its

rim. Let S, namely the point rotating on the circumference of the deferent, be the center of a smaller wheel (the epicycle, al-tadwir). Let P be a

point on the rim of the smaller rotating wheel. Then, if P’s rate of rotation is properly adjusted, it will appear to an observer at E, the center of the deferent, as periodically advancing and receding as the wheels turn. Ifin this arrangement S represents the sun, E the earth, and P a planet, then this ancient geocentric model of wheels upon wheels provides a valid if simplified explanation of the looped paths of the planets as seen from the earth. In practice, however, this mechanism needed adjustments to bring it into accord with the observed planetary motions. Indeed, Ptolemy managed to make a drastic improvement in the correspondence between theory and observation by introducing into the arrangement a geometric device known as the equant (mu ‘addal al-masir). Ptolemy shifted the earth a small distance from the center of the deferent E to, say, E, —thereby making the deferent eccentric with respect to the Earth. Furthermore, from E he displaced the center of the uniform motion of S to a rigorously calculated point O. Thus the motion of S was uniform with respect neither to E nor to E. but with respect to an imaginary point O, and this O was Ptolemy’s fateful equant. Ibn al-Haytham (known as Alhazen in Latin, d. 1039), the scientific giant of Islam, wrote an

attack on Ptolemy’s planetary theory: if Ptolemy’s system was not merely an abstract geometrical model but represented the real configuration of the heavens—as Ptolemy had claimed it did— then it violated the accepted classical principle of uniform velocity for all celestial bodies, a principle that the Greek astronomer had himself espoused. Indeed, in his Planetary Hypotheses, Ptolemy had conceived of the observed motions of the planets as produced by the combined motions of corporeal spherical shells in which the planets were embedded. The idea of an eccentric celestial shell was unacceptable to Ibn al-Haytham, as it was to many astronomers who shared his views.

ASTRONOMY

The subsequent history of Islamic mathematical astronomy is a chronicle of attempts to modify the Ptolemaic system so that it would accord more accurately with observations, while at the same time preserving the principle of uniform circular motion.

| 73

for Mercury, by far the most errant planet visible to the naked eye. In the middle of the fourteenth century, the astronomer Ibn al-Shatir, a muwaqqit (timekeeper) at a mosque in Damascus, further refined the al-Tiisi innovations and man-

cized Ptolemaic theory, charging it with not truly representing the physical structure of the uni-

aged to develop new models for the Moon and Mercury that were far more accurate than those of Ptolemy. Historians have pointed out that the mathematical devices created by the Maragheh scientists and the planetary models constructed by the

verse. Ibn Ishaq al-Bitrtiji (d. 1204; a disciple of

muwagqit reappear two centuries later in the

Ibn Tufayl) used notions

work of Copernicus. In particular, Copernicus’s models of the Moon and Mercury have been found to be identical with those of Ibn al-Shatir;

In Muslim Spain, scientists and philosophers like Ibn Bajjah (d. 1139), Ibn Tufayl (d. 1185), and the famous Averroés (Ibn Rushd, d. 1198) criti-

taken from NeoPlatonic rather than Aristotelian dynamics (like the impetus theory) to better explain the transmission of the daily rotation from the Prime Mover to the planetary spheres. Finally, the Andalusian al-Zargali (d. 1087) seems to have been

the first astronomer to dispute the notion of an astronomy based on circles—introducing a new astronomy of noncircular curves. It was more than two centuries after Ibn alHaytham that Nasir al-Din al-Tiisi, the head of the celebrated Maragheh observatory built by Hiilegii Khan in 1259, inaugurated outstandingly successful efforts along these lines. Al-Tusi appears to have been the first to recognize that if one circle C1 with a diameter D rolls inside another circle C2 with a diameter 2D, then any point on the circumference of Ci describes the diameter of C2. In modern terminology, this device can be considered to be a linkage of two equal and constant-length vectors with constant angular velocity (one moving twice as fast as the other); this is the famous “Tusi couple.” By means of this device, the observed phenomena were explained by Maragheh astronomers solely in terms of a combination of uniform circular motions. The apex of these Maragheh techniques is embodied in the work of Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1311), who, eliminating the Ptolemaic equant,

constructed a highly accurate geometrical model

moreover, both astronomers employ the Tisi couple, and both eliminate the equant in essentially the same manner. Here the possibility of historical transmission has not been ruled out. Observational Astronomy. Characteristic of the Islamic astronomical tradition is the separation of theoretical exercises from observational activity. Observational astronomy thus followed its own course, guided by the Ptolemaic concept of testing (mihnah or i'tibar), which requires con-

stantly renewed corrections of the observational data collected by preceding generations. Thus from the early ‘Abbasid period, astronomical observation was pursued intensively in Islam, with numerous observatories built over the centuries throughout the Islamic world from Baghdad to Samarra and Damascus, and from Egypt to Persia and Central Asia. Lunar and solar eclipses, meridian transits of the sun, transits of fixed stars, planetary positions, and conjunctions—these were all part of the observational repertoire of Islamic astronomy. Among the observatories, the one at Maragheh is distinctive. Indeed, it is regarded as the first observatory in the full sense of the word. It employed a staff of about twenty astronomers, including one from China; it was supported by a

74

| ASTRONOMY

library and a workshop for storing, constructing, and repairing astronomical instruments. These instruments included a mural quadrant and an armillary astrolabe, as well as solstitial and equinoctial armillaries; also included was a new instrument constructed by the Damascene al-‘Urdi, which had two quadrants for simultaneous measurement of the horizon coordinates of two stars. Historians have noticed striking similarities between al-‘Urdi’s observational devices and those of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (d. 1601),

even though the results of the latter are unprecedentedly precise. Long after the Copernican revolution, Islamic observational astronomy continued in the geo-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ilyas, Mohammad. Islamic Astronomy and Science Development: Glorious Past, Challenging Future. Selangor, Malaysia: Pelanduk, 1996. Kennedy, E. S. “The Arabic Heritage in the Exact Sciences.” Al-Abhath 23 (1970): 327-344. Provides ac-

cessible technical information. Kennedy, E. S. “The Exact Sciences in Iran under the Saljuqs and Mongols.’ In The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 5: The Saljug and Mongol Periods, edited by J. A. Boyle, pp. 659-679. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. Provides accessible technical information. Kennedy, E. S. “The Exact Sciences.” In The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljugs, edited by Richard N. Frye, pp.

378-395.

Cambridge:

Cambridge

University

centric Ptolemaic tradition. In the 1570s a major

Press, 1975. Another source for accessible technical

observatory was built in Istanbul. Then, in imitation of the Samarkand observatory founded by Ulug bey in 1420, the Indian Maharaja of

information. Kennedy, E. S. “The History of Trigonometry.” Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 31

Amber (1693-1743) built as many as five differ-

ent observatories—at Jayapura, Ujjain, Delhi, Mathura, and Varanasi (Benares)—with the purpose of harmonizing Indian astronomy with the Islamic Ptolemaic tradition. The later Islamic observatories were not altogether fruitless exercises, because they contributed many observa-

tional techniques, instruments, and organizational features to European

astronomy.

Even

though Islamic astronomy did not take the daring philosophical step of breaking out of the geocentric Ptolemaic system, it has to its credit numerous

great achievements:

(1969). A fuller account of the history of trigonometry; also addresses the question of the transmission

of Islamic astronomical theories to the West. Kennedy, E. S. “Late Mediaeval Planetary Theory.” Isis 57, NO. 3 (1966): 365-378. Classic paper.

King, David.“The Astronomy of the Mamluks.” Isis 74, no. 4 (1983): 531-555. A rich and very useful work on

the state of the subject during the period under consideration. King, David. Islamic Mathematical Astronomy. London: Variorum Reprints, 1986. King, David. In Synchrony with the Heavens: Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization. Leiden, Netherlands, and Boston: E. J. Brill, 2004.

it gave to the

King, David, and Julio Sams0. Astronomical Handbooks

world of science the astronomical observatory; it created trigonometry; at Maragheh it developed new instruments and powerful mathematical techniques; and it constantly improved and corrected astronomical parameters. By the consensus of historians, Islamic astronomers were the best of their age.

and Tables from the Islamic World (750-1900). Barce-

[See also Astrolabe; and Science. ]

Astrology;

Mathematics;

lona: Universitat de Barcelona, 2001. Pingree, David. “Ilm al-Hay’a.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam, new ed., vol. 3, pp. 1135-1138. Leiden, Netherlands, and Boston: E. J. Brill, 1960. A lucid and com-

prehensive survey of Islamic astronomical tradition. Pingree, David. “The Greek Influence on Early Islamic Mathematical Astronomy.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 93 (1973): 32-43. A scholarly essay

that covers the early history of the field; includes an extensive survey of the literature.

ATOM AND ATOMISM

Pingree, David. “Masha‘allah. In The Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie, vol. 9, pp. 159-162. New York: Scribner, 1970-

1980. A very useful account of an early astronomer. Sabra, A. I. “The Andalusian Revolt against Ptolemaic Astronomy.” In Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences: Essays in Honor of I. Bernard Cohen, edited by Everett Mendelsohn, pp. 133-153. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984. An important work on the attempts of Spanish Muslim astronomers to improve upon the Ptolemaic system.

Sabra, A. I. “The Scientific Enterprise.” In The World of Islam, edited by Bernard Lewis, pp. 181-199. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. A brief but rigorous ac-

count of Islamic astronomy. Sams6 Julio. Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalus and the Maghrib. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2007. Sams6, Julio. Islamic Astronomy in Medieval Spain. Aldershot, U.K., and Brookfield, Vt.: Variorum, 1994.

Sayili, Aydin. The Observatory in Islam. Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1960. A comprehensive social and intellectual history of the subject. Vernet Ginés, Juan. La ciencia en al-Andalus (Science

in Muslim Spain). Seville, Spain: Editoriales Andaluzas Unidas, 1986. S. NOMANUL HAQ

Updated by MassiMoO CAMPANINI

ATOM AND ATOMISM = Atomism affirms that the through and through division of matter results in indivisible parts. Their indivisibility is not merely physical, that is, due to their exceptional hardness or imperviousness, but rather is conceptual. Their indivisibility is necessary and essential because of what they intrinsically are. Pre-Islamic forms of atomism were found among the ancient Greeks—Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicurus are its leading exponents—and among the Nyaya-Vaisesika of India. Two varieties of atomism are found in the Islamic milieu: kalam atomism, upheld by Muslim “theologians”; and the atomism of the physician philosopher Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyd al-Razi (d. 925).

| 75

Kalam Atomism. The origins of kalam atomism are not clear. Unlike the case for Arabic Aristotelian natural philosophy, they do not lie in the translation of Greek texts into Arabic during the eighth to tenth centuries cE. Some scholars hold that they lie in oral transmission from Dualist and Bardaisanite atomism, about which very little is known. Early kaldm practitioners held three views on the question “What is body?”: (1) it is constituted from interpenetrating corporeal qualities such as color, sound, taste, and so on; (2) it arises from the combination of specific

incorporeal qualities such as color, sound, taste, and so on; (3) it is constituted from corporeal

atoms and inherent incorporeal qualities such as color, sound, taste, and so on. This third view, which was to become dominant, held that the through and through division of bodies resulted in indivisible parts (ajza’) or atoms (sing. al-juz’ alladhilayatajazza’; also al-jawhar al-fard). The early kalam practitioner Abi al-Hudhayl al‘Allaf (d. 841) is attributed with three arguments

for atomism. The first, which is Eleatic in inspiration if not origin, argues that traversal of a distance requires first traversing half the distance. This in turn requires traversing half of this half-distance, and so on. If there were no limit to division into half-distances, traversal could never begin. Division must therefore be limited, and the least part that emerges is the atom. The second argues that the smallness or largeness of objects derives from lesser or greater number of parts. If there were no limit to division, both would have infinite parts. Hence a mustard seed could have the same or even more parts than a mountain. This argument was earlier formulated by the Greeks and the Indians. The third argues that if adhesion, which binds the parts of a body into a whole, were removed, indi-

visible parts would result. Ibn Sina attributes this argument to Democritus. Abii al-Hudhayl’s nephew, Ibrahim al-Nazzam (d. c. 835-845) was an anti-atomist, although he

76 | ATOMAND ATOMISM

too belonged to the kalam tradition. He challenged his uncle’s arguments by proposing a solution to the half-distances argument, as well as constructing counterarguments and challenges. Instead of the conclusion that motion is only possible because there is a limit to division, alNazzam proposed the theory of leaping (tafra). He argued that not all half-distances of an interval are traversed. Rather, some are traversed while others are leapt over. Therefore a limit to division is not necessary. Moreover, al-Nazzam challenged Abi al-Hudhayl’s arguments with the millstone puzzle. In a millstone, whose circumference is say one hundred units, and in which there is an inner circle, say of ten units, both circumference and circle complete a rotation together. The former moves through one hundred units while the latter moves through ten units. For al-Nazzam, the explanation for this is that in

the time the inner circle moves one unit, the circumference moves one unit and leaps over nine units. Abt al-Hudhayl responds that the explanation for this is that the circumference moves ten units in ten instants while the inner circle moves for an instant but pauses for nine instants. But, al-Nazzam counters, Abt al-Hudhayl’s explanation entails the disintegration of the moving millstone, for parts that were contiguous at the start of motion cease to be contiguous during motion!

Abi al-Hudhayl’s use of “instant” in explaining the millstone puzzle refers to the notion of a temporal indivisible. Similarly, his notion of motion as movement during some instants and pauses during others entails an indivisible part of motion, which, in turn, implies an indivisible part of space. These further indivisibles are consistent with Aristotle's critique of atomism, namely, indivisible parts of matter entail indivisibles of space, time, and motion. Challenges by al-Nazzam and other critics of atomism highlighted problems arising as a result of a limit to division. If atoms constitute the

three-dimensional extended body, does the atom itself have three dimensions and extension? If so, why can it not be further divided? Early kalam atomists responded by denying that the atom had dimension and extension. But this raised the problem that Aristotle had raised in his critique of atomism: How can unextended atoms constitute extended bodies? In response to such concerns, a reformulation of atomism was taken up at the beginning of the tenth century by the Mu tazili theologians Abt ‘Ali al-Jubba‘I (d. 915) and his son Abi Hashim al-Jubbai7 (d. 933). This

resulted in the systemization of the early kalam atomism and the establishment of “classical” kalam atomism. The atom was now characterized as “space-occupying” (mutahayyiz), an attribute predicated also of bodies. Hence atoms, like bodies, fill space, measure space, and form larger entities by combining. The notion that space may be empty or void or filled with atoms, is implicit here, and is another important feature of the at-

omism of classical kalam. However, the reformulation continued to maintain the view that atoms lack dimension. Yet they were now said to have intrinsic bulk (hajm) and magnitude (hazz min al-misaha). With this reformulation, the kalam

atom becomes very much like Epicurus’s minimal part (elachiston). Like the minimal part, the atom has minimal magnitude, but being minimal, it is indivisible. In modern terms, the kalam atom is analogous to the quantum, which is a least or minimal magnitude.

Classical kalam atomism endeavors to be an explanatory system for the phenomenal world. Thus, Sabra considers it as an alternate philosophical system, opposed to the “Hellenizing falsafa” of the Arabic Aristotelian philosophers. Apart from atoms, kalam ontology consists of accidents (‘arad), requires space and time, and affirms God as the creator of these entities. Atoms, which are homogenous, have properties associated with spatial occupation, The burden of explaining all other

ATOM AND ATOMISM

qualitative phenomena falls upon accidents. For the Mu'tazilis,

some

accidents,

such

as color,

endure; others, such as sound, last only for an instant. For the Ashvaris, all accidents last only for an instant and therefore require God’s continual creation. The Mu'tazili Ibn Mattawayh (fl. first half of eleventh century) specifies twenty-two classes of accidents: color, taste, odor, sound, heat and cold, and pain, which we sense immediately; spatial location, which we know necessarily; life, the power of autonomous action, force, and humidity and dryness, which inhere in single atoms; combination, which inheres in two atoms; and conviction, desire and loathing, willing and aversion, and opinion and reason, which belong to the living body—we know these all through proof— and the accident of annihilation, which we know through revelation. Thus the human being is explained as an entity constituted in a specific manner out of atoms and accidents, including the

accident of life inhering in each atom, which thereby provides the ground for further capacities such as knowing, reasoning, and willing. While there are some differences, most of these accidents are affirmed by both Mu'tazilis and Ashiaris. The accident of autonomous action is a significant exception. The Mutazilis affirm it, for it provides the basis for their position that human beings have agency as a result of God having created this accident in them. Thus, they can create some accidents, such as sound or motion. The Ash/aris deny it, reserving agency solely for God, who acts essentially and not through a created accident of autonomous action. Agency is voluntary. Kalam

cosmology therefore denies natural agency, although the Mu'tazilis affirm secondary causation (tawallud), such as in projectile motion in which, after the initial imparting of force by a voluntary agent, motion is secondarily generated at each subsequent instant. For the critics of atomism, indivisible parts of space, which imply discrete cellular space rather

| 77

than continuous Euclidean space, led to geometrical challenges, such as the possibility of smooth circles (discrete space entails a serrated line for the circle), diagonals whose length is not an integer,

and so on. There were also other challenges, such as the millstone puzzle raised by al-Nazzam. Ibn Sina (Avicenna;

d. 1037) mentions

these chal-

lenges in his refutation of atomism in Book 3 of his Kitab al-Shifa’. Ibn Sina’s refutation was extremely influential for subsequent generations. In his Tahafut al-falasifah, al-Ghazali (d. 1111) refrains from discussing atomism because, “they [i.e., the falasifa| have geometrical arguments. ..that would take us too long to elaborate.” Fakhr al-din al-Razi (d, 1210) was also persuaded by Ibn Sina’s refutation, which he adopted in his earlier works. However, he refutes Ibn Sina’s arguments against atomism in his later works and defends atomism by presenting counterarguments as well as new argu-

ments. Both Ibn Sina’s arguments and al-Razi’s counterarguments continue to be discussed in later kalam works, the most significant of these being the school text Kitab al-mawagif fi ‘ilm alkalam by ‘Adud al-din al-Ijf (d. 1356).

Abt Bakr al-Razi’s Atomism. Very little is known about Abt Bakr al-Razi'’s atomism. It has been reconstructed by analyzing the few fragments preserved in hostile sources such as the Zad al-musGfirin of Nasir-i Khusraw (d. c. 10721078). Al-Razi held that there are five eternal enti-

ties: God, soul, space, time, and matter. In this

scheme, matter is atomistic, and bodies are constituted from atoms interspersed with void spaces, which thereby explains properties such as heaviness or lightness. Unlike the Epicurean-like atoms of kalam, al-Razi’s atoms are Democritean, having extension and dimension, thus avoiding some of

the difficulties that kalam atomists faced. However, the fragments do not indicate how al-Razi may have addressed Aristotle's critique of Democritean atomism, or how his atomism explained

the phenomenal world.

78 | ATOM AND ATOMISM

BIBLIOGRAPHY Baffioni, Carmela. Atomismo e antiatomismo nel pensiero islamico. Naples: Istituto universitario orientale, 1982.

Dhanani, A. The Physical Theory of Kalam. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1994. Dhanani,

A. “Problems

in Eleventh-Century

Kalam

Physics.” Bulletin of the Royal Institute of Interfaith Studies 4, no. 1 (2002): 73-96.

Frank, R. “Bodies and Atoms: The Ash‘arite Analysis.” In Islamic Philosophy and Theology: Studies in Honor of George F. Hourani, edited by Michael Marmura and George Faldo Hourani. Albany: State University of New York, 1984.

Ibn Mattawayh. al-Tadhkira ft ahkam al-jawahir wa l-a‘rad. Edited by Daniel Gimaret. Cairo: Institut Frangais d’Archélogie Orientale, 2009. Ibn Sina. al-Shifa@: al-tabi iyat, al-Sam@ al-tabii. Edited by Sa‘id Zaid. Cairo: Hay’a al-Misriya al-‘Amma lilKitab, 1983. Pines, Shlomo. Studies in Islamic Atomism, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1997.

Sabra, A. “Kalam Atomism as an Alternative Philosophy to Hellenizing Falsafa.” In Arabic Theology, Arabic Philosophy: Essays in Celebration of Richard M. Frank, edited by J. Montgomery,

pp. 199-272.

Dudley, Mass.: Peeters, 2006. van Ess, J. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra. Berlin and New York: De Gruyter,

1991-1997. ALNOOR DHANANI

AWLIYA CHALABI

(1611—-c. 1684), renowned

traveler and author of Ottoman travelogue. Born in Istanbul, Chalabi ’s personal name is unknown; Awliya is his pseudonym, which he adopted out of respect for his teacher, the court imam Awliya Mehmed Efendi. His family was from Kiitahya; his father, Darwish Mehmed Zilli (d. 1648), was

the chief jeweler of the palace. His family owned many properties in various cities: a house in Kiit-

ahya, in Bursa, and at Manisa, an estate in Sandikli, four shops in the Unkapani district of Istanbul, as well as two houses there, and a vineyard in

Kadikéy, on the Asian side of Istanbul. This list of properties gives some idea of Awliya’s economic status, which made it possible for him to follow his desire to travel. His mother was related to some eminent Ottoman statesmen and grand vizier families. Because of the family’s wealth, Awliya Chalabi received an excellent education. After his elementary schooling, he was educated for seven years at the madrasah of Shaykh al-Islam Hamid Efendi and after madrasa education he continued his education at Enderun School in Topkapi Palace. After this auspicious beginning, he was presented by the silahddr Melek Ahmed Agha to Sultan Murad IV, at whose command he was admitted to the palace, where he received more extensive training. In 1638, he was appointed a sipahi of the Porte. Awliya Chalabi served several Ottoman dignitaries in different provinces; his various jobs included, among others, muezzin (who issues the call to prayer), secretary, entertainer, special envoy, and inspector. Due to the mobility of the statesmen whom he served, Awliya’s professional life took him to almost every corner of the Ottoman Empire and into some nearby territories. Although he was a wealthy man, he never married. For information on his life and experiences, we are dependent solely on his book. According to his writings, he was a skilled horse rider and player of the jirid game, an agile and active person; due to his gentle and kind character, he could easily become close friends with others, and he was a master of the art of dinner-table conversation and a humorist. Though he had many friends among high-ranking statesmen, he never sought a post in the government. However, he accepted some temporary government assignments to cover his and his relatives’ expenses during his travels. He also attended the envoys of ambassadors, which enabled him to travel with them at no expense. When he took part in expeditions, he received a percentage

AWLIYA CHALABI

| 79

from the state booty. All of these sources appear to

came to Sivas. He also continued his travels in the

have formed his income. He died around 1685,

company of Malak Ahmed Pasha (c. 1604-1662);

most probably in Istanbul or Egypt. His Work: Seyahatname (Book of Travels). Awliya began his travels after a dream (in August

he went through the Ottoman West, through Iran and Iraq, and joined campaigns against the Russians and Kazakhs. In the company of Fazil Ahmet

1630), in which he saw Prophet Muhammad, who

Pasha (1635-1676), he went to Austria and partici-

smiled and said to him, “You have my intercession, my traveling and my visiting, off with you now.’ He began his record of his travels in Istanbul, taking notes on buildings, markets, customs, and culture; in 1640, he began his first journey outside the city. These journeys continued for a period of almost forty years until 1676. His collection of notes from his travels, in which he described a series of long journeys within the Ottoman state and in the neighboring areas, undertaken sometimes as a private individual, sometimes in an official capacity (either as part of the retinue of Ottoman dignitaries or on his own), formed a huge ten-volume work called the Seyahatname or the Tarikh-i Seyyah (Traveler's Chronicle). This book is the most important single text of Ottoman travelogue literature. It is the largest work of its kind in Islamic literature, and perhaps in world literature, a literary source of unique richness. It is also one of the first and most compelling examples of travel writing. Awliya wrote in a clear and direct style, peppering his account with personal insights and perceptions. He is noted for having collected phrases from different languages as he traveled in each

pated in the capture of Nové Zamky Fortress. Later, he went on to Venice by way of Herzegovina and visited sites in the surrounding countryside. From there he traveled to Hungary. With Ambassador Kara Mehmed Pasha, he went to Vienna and traveled through the German interior. He also visited Bohemia and Switzerland. He went to the Crimea and the Caucasus and traveled to the shores of the Volga, visiting the Fortress of Azoy, Feodosiya, and Bakhchesaray. Awliya left Istanbul in May 1671. He went to Izmir by way of Bursa, Kiitahya, and Afyon. From there he sailed along the shores of the southern Aegean and the Mediterranean, going on to Damascus by way of Adana, Marash, Antep, and Kilis. He joined the hajj caravans, which traditionally gathered in Damascus and journeyed over the Arabian Desert to the sacred lands. He performed the hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) and wrote about his experience; he then crossed the Red Sea to reach Cairo. From there he continued to Alexandria and set out on a journey through Africa. He followed the Nile to Sudan. He wanted to see the source of the blessed Nile and so traveled beyond the Ottoman border into the African interior. He returned by way of Abyssinia to Egypt. After forty years of traveling, it seemed there was no place left within and around the borders of the

region. His notes are widely accepted as a valuable guide to the culture and lifestyle of seven-

teenth-century Ottoman society. Awliyd first visited and described the neighborhoods of Istanbul. He traveled to the Asian part of the Ottoman state. He participated in the Cretan campaign with Yusuf Pasha. He went to Erzurum,

Azerbaijan, and Georgia as a member of Defterdarzade Mehmet Pasha’ entourage, and to Damascus with Murtaza Pasha. After visiting cities in Syria, Palestine and the Anatolian southeast, he

Ottoman state that he had not seen. Awliya Chalabi is an imaginative writer with

a marked desire for the wonderful and the adventurous. His work provides us with very rich information on cultural history, folklore, and geography, not only for Turkish and Ottoman society, but also for other nations and people of that century. The attraction of the work lies not least

80 | AWLIYA CHALABI

in the fact that it reflects the mental world of the seventeenth-century Ottoman Turkish intellectu-

als in their attitudes toward the West, and it sheds some light on the administration and inner organization of the Ottoman state of that time. In his ten-volume Seyahatname, he describes

the following places: I.

II.

‘The city of Istanbul and its hinterland (1630);

eight or nine years and wrote his Seyahatname. The last date he mentions is 12 July 1676, although he knows of events that took place in 1682 and later. He seems to have spent the last year of his life either in Istanbul or Egypt editing his book, which had probably been written incrementally over a long period and required a final redaction, which Awliya, as the manuscript shows, never fully completed.

Anatolia (Bursa, Izmit, Sinop, Samsun, Trabzon, Erzurum, Amasya), Abkhazia,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Crete, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and so on (1640);

II.

Konya, Antakya, Syria (Hama, Hums, Damascus), Palestine, Gazza, Kayseri, Sivas, Rumelia (Balkan Peninsula), Bulgarian cities, Filibe, Edirne, and so on (1648);

IV.

Eastern Anatolia, Diyarbakar, Mardin, Van, Iran (Tabriz, Hemendan, Kirmanshah). Baghdad, Basra, and so on (1655);

V.

Anatolia (Van, Bursa, the Dardanelles), Baghdad, Basra, Hungary, Russia,

Adrianople, Moldavia, Transylvania, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Sofia (1656);

VI.

Transylvania, Albania, Hungary, Ujvar, Belgrade, Herzegovina, Ragusa (Dubrovnik), Montenegro, Kanizsa, Croatian military campaigns in Hungary

VII.

with Kose Ali Pasha (1663-1664); Austria, Hungary, Buda, Temesvar (Banat, Rum, Timisoara), Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia, the Crimea, Kazak, South Russia, the Caucasus, Daghestan, Azak (1664);

VIII.

IX.

Azak, Kafa, Baghcesaray (Crimea), Ackermann, Edirne, Istanbul, Crete, Macedonia, Greece, Athens, Salonika, the Dodecanese, Peloponnesus, Albania, Valona, Elbasan, Ochrida, Manastir,

Celebi. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2004.

Eren, M. Evliya Celebi Seyahatnamesi Birinci Cildinin Kaynaklari Uzerinde Bir Arastirma. Istanbul: istanbul Universitesi Edebiyat Fakiiltes Matbaasi, 1960.

Evliya Celebi. Evliya Celebi Seyahatndmesi. 10 vols. Istanbul: Yap: Kredi Yayinlari Ltd. Sti., 1996-. Hagen, Gottfried. “Evliya Celebi (Mehmed Zilli)” In Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Gabor Agoston and Bruce Masters, pp. 209-210. New York: Facts On File, 2009.

Kreiser, Klaus. “Evliya Celebi.” October 2005. http:// www.ottomanhistorians.com. Kuban, Dogan. “Istanbul of Evliya Celebi.” In Istanbul An Urban History: Byzantion, Constantinopolis. Istanbul: The Economic and Social History Foundation of Turkey, 1996. Mordtmann, J. H. “Ewliya Celebi.” In the Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, edited by B. Lewis, Ch. Pellat, and J. Schacht, Vol. II, pp. 717-720. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J, Brill, 1991.

Rosenfeld, B, A., and E. Ihsanoglu. Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civiliza-

Edirne, Istanbul (1667-1670);

tion and Their Works (7th-i9th c.). Istanbul: IRCICA,

(Pilgrimage to Mecca) southwest Anatolia, Smyrna, Rhodes, south Anatolia, Syria,

2003, No. 1167,

Medina, Mecca, Suez (1671);

X.

Dankoff, R. “An Evliya Celebi Bibliography.’ http:// www.bilkent.edu.tr/~tebsite/kaynaklar/evliya.pdf. Dankoff, R. An Ottoman Mentality: The World of Evliya

Egypt (with historical excursus), Cairo, Upper Egypt, Sudan, Abyssinia (1672).

Tekin, Sinasi, and Géniil Alpay Tekin. The Seyahatname ofEvliya Celebi, Book One: Istanbul; Introduction by Fahir Iz (facsimile of Topkapi Sarayi Badat 304, part I, folios 1a-106a). Sources of Oriental Lan-

guages and Literatures 11, Cambridge, Mass.: Har-

In 1671-1672, as soon as Awliya had performed the hajj, he settled in Cairo, where he stayed for

vard University Press, 1989. SALIM AYDUZ

AZHAR, AL- | 81

AZHAR,

AL- _ Situated in the historic heart

of Cairo, al-Azhar is the greatest mosque-university in the world today. Gradually adjusting to modern challenges since the 1870s, the millennium-old Azhar remains a focal point of Islamic religious and cultural life for Egypt and the Arab and Islamic worlds. The First Nine Centuries (to 1872). AlJawhar al-Siqilli conquered Egypt for the Fatimid caliph al-Muizz in 969, founded Cairo as the new capital, and in 970 began constructing al-Azhar as the dynasty’s official mosque. Organized instruction began there in 978. Al-Azhar became one of several Cairo missionary centers for the Fatimids, Ismaili Shiis who claimed to be the true imams, Salah al-Din and his Ayyubid heirs downgraded al-Azhar after restoring Egypt to Sunni Islam in 1171. But sultans and emirs of the Mamluk

era

(1250-1517) patronized and restored the now Sunni

mosque, and the Mongol sack of Baghdad (1258) and the loss of Islamic Spain (1492) enhanced al-

Azhar’s religious and cultural centrality. Although the Ottoman conquest of 1517 diverted power and patronage to Istanbul, al- Azhar gradually emerged as the preeminent seat of Arabic-Islamic learning. It also provided a vital link between Egypt's Arabic-speaking population and the Turkish-speaking military elite. By the late seventeenth century, the shaykhs of the mosque were choosing their own head—the shaykh alAzhar. Although the Ottomans followed the Hanafi school of law, Shafi shaykhs, the predominant school in Cairo and the Nile Delta, monopolized the post from 1725 to 1870. During

the French

occupation

(1798-1801),

Azharis rallied the population against the French,

who bombarded and desecrated the mosque. In 1805, the Azhari ‘ulama@ backed Muhammad (Mehmed in Turkish) “Ali and his Albanian troops in deposing the Istanbul-appointed governor. Later Muhammad ‘Ali moved to subordinate al-

Azhar. He ignored the ruler’s obligation to consult the ‘ulama’, chose the shaykhs al-Azhar himself, played Sufi leaders off against the shaykh al-Azhar, and confiscated many religious endow-

ments, Al-Azhar had no formal admissions procedures, classrooms, desks, grade levels, academic departments, required courses, written examina-

tions, grades, or degrees. Professors lectured from a favorite pillar of the mosque to students gathered at their feet. Memorization and commentary were the means of instruction. Quranic exegesis, hadith, and jurisprudence were taught in the morning; grammar, rhetoric, and other “auxiliary sciences” after the noon prayer; and nonessential subjects after the sunset prayer. Many Azharis were active Sufis as well as ‘ulama’.

Students from outside Cairo joined riwaqs,

which were supported by endowments. Each riwaq had its shaykh and bread allowance, and larger ones had libraries, lavatories, and living quarters. Around 1900, there were three riwaqs for Lower Egyptian students and one each for students from El Faiytim, central Egypt, and Upper Egypt. There were riwaqs for Kurds and Berbers, and for students from regions as far as Afghanistan and Java. The Upper Egyptian and Maghribi riwags were Maliki, the Lower Egyptian ones Shafii, and the Syrian one Hanafi. The few Hanbalis had a riwaq of their own.

Resistance and Reform from Isma‘il to Nasser, 1872-1952. State reformers from Muhammad ‘Ali

on bypassed al-Azhar to found “modern” schools, a printing press, an official journal, and Westerninspired courts. The departure of progressive

Azharis like Rifaah Rafi al-Tahtawi, Muhammad ‘Abduh, and Sa‘d Zaghlil to work for the state reinforced al-Azhar's conservatism. Beginning in 1872, state reformers tried to overhaul al-Azhar,

and later, competition with state-school graduates for jobs fostered a reformist minority inside al-Azhar.

82 | AZHAR, AL-

Khedive Ismail (r. 1863-1879) installed the first

non-ShafitT in 145 years as shaykh al-Azhar:

Muhammad al-‘Abbasi al-Mahdi, a Hanafi, who served concurrently as grand mufti of Egypt. In 1872, Ismail instituted an oral examination for

the ‘alimiyah degree, which became the prerequisite for teaching at al-Azhar. Because of al-Mahdi's identification with the khedive and the Turkish elite, he was replaced during the ‘Urabi revolt of 1881-1882 by a Shafii shaykh al-Azhar. Several Azhari shaykhs were outspoken advocates of the revolt, With the British occupation and the restoration of Khedive Tawfiq, al-Mahdi regained his post. In the 1890s Khedive ‘Abbas II Hilmi installed

a Hanafi shaykh al-Azhar, appointed Muhammad ‘Abduh to a supervisory council for al-Azhar, and proceeded to establish a central library, standardized salary scale, and network of preparatory religious “institutes” under al-Azhar. But Abbas and ‘Abduh quarreled, ‘Abduh resigned from the council, and the reforms stalled. Ismail had opened a School of Law and the Dar al-Ultim teachers’ college to bypass al-Azhar. The School for Qadis (1907) and the state-run Egyptian University (1925) dealt further blows to job prospects for the unspecialized Azhari graduates. King Fu'ad (r. 1917-1936) courted al-Azhar

to support his caliphal ambitions after Turkey abolished the caliphate in 1924 and as a counterweight to Sad Zaghlil’s and the Wafd Party’s following in the Egyptian University and state schools. The Wafdist-Liberal Constitutionalist cabinets of 1926-1928 brushed aside the king’s candidate

for shaykh al-Azhar, Muhammad al-Ahmadi alZawahiri, in favor of Muhammad Mustafa alMaraghi, a Hanafi and an admirer of ‘Abduh. But King Fu'ad suspended the 1923 constitution and reinstated al-Zawahiri. Hasan al-Banna’s founding of the Muslim Brotherhood

(al-Ikhwan al-Muslimitin)

in 1928

raised a fundamental challenge to the claims of al-Azhar and its ‘ulamd’ to speak for Islam. Both al-Banna and later Brotherhood radical Sayyid Qutb graduated from Dar al-‘Uliim, which taught math, science, geography, and history alongside religious subjects. As a mass youth movement from the later 1930s, the Brotherhood’s “Islam of

the effendis”—the graduates of state schools— challenged that of the shaykhs produced by al-Azhar. In the 1930s, decrees pressed al-Azhar into the

Western-inspired molds, making it a university (jami ah) as well as a mosque (jami ), with colleges of theology, Shartah, and the Arabic language, each with a state-appointed dean. As Fu ad’s bid for autocracy faded, al-Maraghi returned as shaykh al-Azhar in 1935. He sent Azharis to study

in Europe and encouraged dialogue with Shiis. But his deposition had taught him caution, and he took care to cultivate young King Farouk (r. 1936-1952).

Nasser and the Reform of 1961. President Gamal Abdel Nasser found the reformist shaykh al-Azhar he wanted in Mahmid Shaltit (19581963), and in June 1961 had Speaker Anwar al-

Sadat ram a bill for radical al-Azhar reform

through a surprised parliament in a single night. A withering press attack on the ‘ulamd@ followed. The Azhar Reform Law reduced its faculty to salaried employees affiliated to the Ministry of Awqaf. Under the shaykh al-Azhar (or grand imam or rector), there was a Supreme Council, an Academy of Islamic Research, a Department of Cultural and Islamic Mission, al-Azhar Uni-

versity, and the pre-collegiate institutes. Of the three traditional colleges, that of Arabic Studies became the most secular, the College of Shariah added qanun (secular law) to its purview, and the

College of Theology introduced social science and Western language requirements. Adding col-

leges of engineering, medicine, commerce, science, agriculture, and education, and—in 1962—a

AZHAR, AL-

College of Islamic Women (literally “Girls”), were radical measures. Situating the new colleges on a separate campus in the developing suburb of Madinat Nasr, far from the mosque and tradi-

tional colleges, lessened the inevitable friction between old and new. Thus tamed, al-Azhar provided religious legitimacy for Nasser’s repression of the Muslim Brothers, promotion of Arab nationalism and socialism, and rejection of Saudi Arabia's bid for Islamic leadership. From the late nineteenth century on, the sons of privileged families deserted al-Azhar for state or private schools offering better career prospects. A survey of al-Azhar and Cairo University seniors in 1962 showed that the Azharis were generally poorer, more provincial, more rural, and from less educated families than their Cairo University counterparts. The balance of numbers shifted away from the Azhar system until the 1970s. By 1960 al-Azhar had grown to 6,145 stu-

dents, but Cairo (formerly the Egyptian) University had 27,973 students, and there were three new

state universities as well. In 1970-1971 only 1 percent of Egyptian primary-school students, 2 percent of secondary students, and 5 percent of college students (in al-Azhar’s three original colleges) were in its religious schools. Nonetheless, al-Azhar graduates were prized as teachers and preachers throughout the Sunni Islamic world. Foreign student enrollments at

| 83

economy, and making peace with Israel. Hosni Mubarak (r. 1981-2011) enlisted al-Azhar to legit-

imate his war on Islamist radicals bent on overthrowing the regime. Shaykh

al-Azhar

‘Abd

al-Halim

Mahmid

(1973-1978) used funds from Saudi Arabia and

Kuwait

to expand Azhari enrollments

on all

levels. By 1990 al-Azhar had 160,000 university

students

taking year-end examinations,

com-

pared to 600,000 in state universities. By 2010 there were over 300,000 students in the Azhar

university system. Mahmiid allowed al-Azhar’s Academy of Islamic Research to ban controversial liberal books, such as certain novels by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz (Najib Mahfiz) and Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. The addition of “modern” subjects and colleges to al-Azhar in 1961 better equipped its graduates to join the popular Islamist discourse at which the Muslim Brothers had long excelled. In the 1990s, Azharis persuaded some imprisoned Islamists to repent their resort to violence, giving alAzhar more leverage in state affairs. Appointed the year after Sadat’s assassination, Shaykh al-Azhar Jad al-Haqq ‘Ali Jad al-Haqq (1982-1996)

pleased the regime with fatwas

against extremism. But he also issued conservative fatwas on women’s rights and charging of interest on loans, which the government countered with

opposing fatwas from Grand Mufti Muhammad

both al-Azhar and the state universities increased

Sayyid Tantawi (1986-1996). When Jad al-Haqq

rapidly under Nasser, reflecting his ambitions in

died in 1996, Tantawi succeeded him as shaykh alAzhar and continued producing fatwas the regime

the Arab, African, and Islamic worlds. Al-Azhar’s

In the 1970s,

desired down to his own death in 2010. Since the 25 January 2011 revolution, al-Azhar’s relationship to the state, the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, and Salafi Islamists has been up for continual renegotiation. Shaykh “Umar ‘Abd alRahman, the graduate and former teacher at alAzhar who inspired the New York World Trade

Anwar al-Sadat used al-Azhar to bless his switch

Center bombers in 1993, had been repudiated by

from Soviet to American support, liberalizing the

al-Azhar. But after Muslim Brother Muhammad

foreign student enrollments in the Nasser era peaked at 4,291 in 1955, then tapered off to 2,500

in 1972, just after his death. In 1990, al-Azhar

campuses hosted about 6,000 foreign students from seventy-five countries. Al-Azhar from Sadat and Mubarak to the 25 January

2011

Revolution.

84 | AZHAR, AL-

Mursi was elected president in 2012, he called for

repatriating the imprisoned shaykh. Shaykh alAzhar Ahmad al-Tayyib has made clear, however, the long-standing view of most Azharis that their institution, not the Muslim Brothers or the Salafis, who often lack formal religious education, is best prepared to provide the Egyptian public with authoritative guidance on Islam. [See also ‘Abduh, Muhammad;

Education; and

Universities. |

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Badrawi, Malak. Al-Azhar and the Arab World: Moulding the Political and Ideological Consciousness. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005. Costet-Tardieu, Francine. Un réformiste a l'Université al-Azhar: Oeuvre et pensée de Mustafa al-Maraghi (1881-1945). Paris: Karthala, 2005.

Delanoue, Gilbert. Moralistes et politiques musulmans dans lEgypte du XIXe siecle (1798-1882).

2 vols.

Cairo: Institut francais darchéologie orientale, 1982. Eccel, A. Chris. Egypt, Islam, and Social Change: Al-Azhar in Conflict and Accommodation. Berlin: K. Schwartz, 1984.

Hatina, Meir. ‘Ulama’, Politics, and the Public Sphere: An Egyptian Perspective. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2010.

Husain, Taha (Husayn, Taha). The Stream of Days: A Student at the Azhar. 2d ed. Translated by Hilary Wayment. London: Longmans, Green, 1948. Jomier, Jacques. “Al-Azhar.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2d ed., vol.1, edited by H. A. R. Gibb et al., pp. 813-821. Leiden: Brill, 1960.

Reid, Donald Malcolm. Cairo University and the Making of Modern Egypt. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Shafshak, Mahmoud. “The Role of the University in Egyptian Elite Recruitment:

A Comparative Study

of al-Azhar and Cairo University.’ Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1964. Skovgaard-Petersen, Jacob. “al-Azhar, Modern Period.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam, 3d ed., vol. 3, edited by B. Lewis et al., pp. 185-188. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2007.

“Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs.” www.elazhar.

com “University of al-Azhar.” www.azhar.edu.eg Zebiri, Kate. Mahmud Shaltit and Islamic Modernism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Zeghal, Malika. “The ‘Recentering’ of Religious Knowledge and Discourse: The Case of al-Azhar in Twentieth-century Egypt.’ In Schooling Islam: The Culture and Politics ofModern Muslim Education, edited by Robert W. Hefner and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, pp. 107-130. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2007. DONALD MALCOLM REID

BAHMANYAR B. MARZUBAN

(4.1066),

Abt al-Hasan Bahmanyar b. al-Marziban ‘Ajami Adarbayijani is one of the major figures of the Avicennan school of philosophy. Very little is known about his life and how he came to meet Ibn Sina. What is certain is that he was one of Ibn Sina’s choice students and close friends. In al-Mubabathat,

Ibn Sina refers to Bahmanyar

several times as “like a son for me...and even dearer than a son.” Ibn Sina also notes that most of the questions he answers in the Mubabathat were put to him by Bahmanyar himself along with other students. It is probable that Bahmanyar edited some of Ibn Sina’s philosophical works based on their class discussions and private conversations,

Bahmanyar wrote a number of works to explain his teacher’s key ideas in metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, psychology, and other branches of traditional philosophy. His major works that have survived include Kitab al-Tahsil, which is a summary of Ibn Sina’s Peripatetic philosophy; Risalah fi maratib al-mawjudat, which deals with degrees of existing beings; Risalah fi mawdu ‘ilm ma ba‘da I-tabi ah, which expands on the meaning of metaphysics; and Ta liqat, which are based on his notes from Ibn Sina’s classes

covering the key concepts of metaphysics, physics, and logic. Bahmanyar’s most important work in Peripatetic philosophy is Kitab al-Tahsil. The book is an exposition of his teacher’s ideas based on “the conversations that took place between me and him (i.e., Ibn Sina), plus what I have acquired through my own thinking about the details [of Ibn Sina’s teachings] that go hand in hand with the principles.” Kitab al-Tahsil is divided into three parts or

“books.” The first part deals with logic and consists of three sections. The topics discussed include the definition and use of the science of logic; single and composite terms; demonstration; the categories of genus and species; univocal and equivocal terms in logic; predication; the categories of substance, quantity, quality, place, and position; and the concepts of prior and posterior in propositional logic, The last part deals with the use of words, judgment, predication, and negation. The second book of logic covers analogical reasoning (qiyas). The third book of logic examines demonstration

(burhdn) and other related

subjects such as propositions, concept (tasawwur) and judgment (tasdiq), definition (hadd),

and sophistry.

85

86 | BAHMANYAR B. MARZUBAN

The second book of al-Tahsil is devoted to meta-

physics (ilm ma bad al-tabi ah). Here, Bahmanyar gives a full account of Avicennan metaphysics. He defines the subject matter of metaphysics as existence (al-wujtid) and its modalities, Specific modalities of existence are investigated in such sciences as mathematics and physics. While these particular sciences deal with existence insofar

as it is a number or a physical object, metaphysics deals with existence-qua-existence without breaking it down to particular modalities. Bahmanyar’s discussion of the major themes of Avicennan metaphysics includes the predication of existence to individual entities through equivocality rather than univocality, and the division of existence into necessary, contingent, and impossible. He also investigates the difference between “thing” (shay) and existence, substance and accident, hylomorphism (matter and form), and the

criticism of atomism. He devotes the second section to the analysis of the ten Aristotelian categories. Bahmanyar analyzes the order of being in terms of causal relations and as processes of actu-

alization. His noetics follows the outlines of Ibn Sina’s philosophy. True to the spirit of Neoplatonic intellectualism, Bahmanyar holds that the five senses can perceive only physical objects, whereas the intelligibles can be known though the intellect, which leads him to the conclusion that intellectual cognition rather than sense perception is the primary source of reliable knowledge. The third book of al-Tahsil is subtitled “Knowledge of the States of the Essences of Beings.” Here, Bahmanyar provides a brief discussion of theology and then takes up again the issue of God’s absolute unity vis-a-vis the apparent multiplicity of the world. He also analyzes the impossibility of God’s being a corporeal substance; the unity of intellect, intelligible, and intellection in God, the Avicenna doctrine that God intellects everything else by intellecting His own essence; that God

knows things “ina simple [i.e., universal] manner”; and finally God’s names and qualities. It is in this part of al-Tahsil that Bahmanyar gives an account of natural philosophy and discusses nature, simple and composite objects, motion and its types, and generation and corruption. The other issues discussed include the active intellects and their numbers, the goal of celestial movements, Divine Providence and the place of evil in it, the notion that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the eventual relativity of evil. Bahmanyar’s concept of the science of the soul (‘ilm al-nafs) is presented in the last part of alTahsil. Bahmanyar gives a succinct and lucid summary of the traditional proofs for the existence of the soul. He analyzes the faculties of the soul including appetite and reproduction and then turns to the intellect and its types. This discussion is followed by an analysis of intellection, thinking, and the nature of intelligible substances. The last two issues he discusses are the transmigration of souls and the immortality and final resurrection of the soul. Like his teacher and other Peripatetics, Bahmanyar rejects transmigration on

philosophical grounds. His closing argument, which takes us back to the ultimate purpose of the book, is that true happiness is grounded in spiritual and intellectual perfection rather than in bodily pleasures. [See also Ibn Sina.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bahmanyar. Fi maratib al-mawjudat. In Behmenjar ben el-Marzuban, der persische Aristoteliker aus Avicennas Schule: Zwei metaphysische Abhandlungen von ihm. arabisch und deutsch mit Anmerkungen, edited and translated by S. Poper, pp. 17-47. Leipzig: L. Voss, 1851.

Bahmanyar. Fi mawdi’ al-' ma bad al-tabi ah. Edited and translated by S. Poper. Cairo: 1911. Bahmanyar. Kitab al-Tahsil. 2d ed. Edited by M. Mutahhari. Tehran: Intisharat-i Danishgah-i Tehran, 1375 AH.

BANU MUSA

A selection from the Tahstl has been translated into English by Everret Rowson in Anthology of Philosophy in Persia, edited by S. H. Nasr and M. Amin Razavi, Vol. 1, PP. 334-350 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

| 87

who rendered many Greek scientific manuscripts into Arabic. Muhammad is said to have traveled to Anatolia to seek works of ancient writers and

ibn Musa ibn Shakir, and al-Hasan ibn Misa ibn

brought back Thabit ibn Qurra to Baghdad. They also brought Qusta ibn Luga from Byzantium to Baghdad. Bani Misa spent most of their wealth improving the sciences of the time and buying or translating important works of ancient civilizations. The Banu Misa brothers played a key role in the development of mathematical sciences. They were among the group of Islamic mathematicians in the first half of the ninth century who developed the mathematics inherited from previous civilizations, especially the Greeks, thus laying the foundation of the Arabic school of mathematics. Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Sanad ibn ‘Ali, and Thabit ibn Qurrah were their close friends and they exchanged ideas with the famous astronomers of their times. They opposed the philosopher Abi Ya‘qiib al-

Shakir (in order of seniority). After the death of

Kindi, criticized his work on astrolabes, and influ-

their father, the Caliph al-Mamin

enced the Caliph al-Mutawakkil against him. By the instruction of al-Ma’miin, Muhammad

Janssens, Jules, “Bahmanyar ibn Marzuban: A Faithful

Disciple of Ibn Sina?” In Before and After Avicenna: Proceedings of the First Conference of the Avicenna Study Group, edited by David C. Reisman, pp. 177-198. Leiden: Brill, 2003.

Rahman, F. “Bahmanyar’ In Encyclopedia ofIslam 2nd ed. (Elz), edited by P. J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, Vol. I, 926a. Leiden: Brill, 2003. IBRAHIM KALIN

BANU MUSA The sources give no exact information on the birth and death dates of the three Bant (sons of) Misa brothers, Abu Jafar

Muhammad ibn Misa ibn Shakir (d. 872), Anmad

(r. 813-833)

placed the three brothers under the guardianship of Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, the astronomer and astrologer. Yahya ibn Abi Mansur took over their education and soon the Banu Misa excelled in the sciences, particularly in mathematics, astronomy, geometry, science, music, and engineering. Their

scientific works are jointly attributed, although each had their own areas of expertise—Muhammad mainly in mathematics, astronomy, logic and philosophy; Ahmad in mechanics; and al-Hasan in

geometry. They are best known for their achievements in mechanics. Banti Misa were also patrons of translation of Greek scientific works. They became the most active members of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and with Misa al-Khwarizmi led its scientific research. The translator of medical works, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, and later the scientist and translator, Thabit ibn Qurra, also worked with the Banti Misa. They organized a group of translators

and Ahmad

made observations

and measure-

ments in both Baghdad and Samarra (the last in 860). To measure a degree of latitude of the Earth, they went to desert regions in northern and southern Mesopotamia and made precise measurements. They calculated the circumference of the Earth at 38,400 km. They made var-

ious observations of the sun and the moon from Baghdad and measured the length of the year, obtaining the value of 365 days and 6 hours. They observed the star Regulus in Baghdad in 840-841 CE, 847-848 CE, and 850-851 CE.

Works. Not all of the works of the Bani Mtisa brothers have survived, and some of the works Ibn al-Nadim and Ibn al-Qifti attribute to them have

not been fully established as theirs. Also, we do not know which books were written by which brother either individually or in collaboration. The works of the Banti Musa brothers are as follows:

88

| BANU MUSA

Kitab al-hiyal (The Book of Ingenious Devices). This is most probably a work of Ahmad. The treatise, in the form of a catalogue of machines, is a large illustrated work on mechanical devices including automata. Some of these inventions include: valve, float valve, feedback controller, automatic flute player, a programmable machine, trick devices, and self-trimming lamp. The book describes and explains a total of 100 devices in great detail, 73 of which are trick

vessels and the other 15, automatic control systems. All are generally based on aerostatic and hydrostatic pressure principles. The book provides the first examples of various mechanical elements, technical drawings, logic and command systems, and especially automatically controlled systems. The devices were designed to be partly informative and partly entertaining. Their mastery of delicate controls was unsurpassed until fairly recent times. Kitab marifat misadhat al-ashkal al-basita wa'l-kuriyya (The Book on the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures). The most significant geometrical treatise in which they made important mathematical contributions, this work became well known through its translation into

Islah Kitab al-Makhratat li-Abuliniyis (Revision of “Conic Sections” of Apollonius). This is a recension of Apollonius’ Conics that was translated into Arabic by Hilal al-Himsi and Thabit ibn Qurrah. This recension was probably prepared by Muhammad. Other

works.

Sadr

li-Bani

Misa _ li-kitab

Abiltnyts fi'l-Makhritat (Preface by Banu Musa to the Book of Apollonius on Conic Sections); Qawl Ahmad ibn Shakir fi tathlith al-zawiya (Reasoning of Ahmad ibn Shakir on Trisection of an Angle); Kitab al-shakl al-mudawwar al-mustatil

(Book on an Oblong Round Figure); Kitab alshakl al-handasi al-ladhi bayyanahi Jalinis (Book on a Geometric Proposition Proved by Galenus); Ruyat al-hilal ‘ala ra’y Abi Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Masa ibn Shakir (Visibility of the Crescent According to the Opinion of Abt Ja far Muhammad ibn Misa ibn Shakir); Kitab al-darajat fi tabaialburtj (Book of Degrees on the Nature of Zodiacal Signs); Kitab harakat al-aflak (Book on the Motion of Celestial Spheres).

Kitab

al-haya (Book

of

Astronomy)/Kitab harakat al-falak al-ala (Book

on the First Motion of Celestial Sphere) by Muhammad; Kitab bayyana fihi bitariq ta’limiwa madhhab handast annahu laysa ft kharij kurat

Latin by Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114-1187), titled

al-kawakib al-thabita kura tasia (Book on the

Liber trium fratum de geometria. The treatise considers problems similar to those considered in the two texts by Archimedes, namely “On the measurement of the circle” and “On the sphere and the cylinder.” Al-Ashkal allati yuhtaju ilayha fi tashil kitab Abilinyis fil- Makhritat (Propositions Which Are Needed to Simplify the Understanding of the Book of Apollonius on Conic Sections). Kitab fi ‘amal al-asturlab (Book on the Con-

Mathematical Proof by Geometry That outside the Sphere of Fixed, There Is Not a Ninth Sphere)

struction of Astrolabe). This is a treatise about

making and using astrolabes. Kitab fi'l-qarastiin (Book on Lever Balance). This is a treatise on the balance theory and its instruments.

by Ahmad; Kitabftawwaliyyat al-Glam (Book on the Beginning of the World) by Muhammad; Kitab al-masala allati alqaha ‘ala Sanad ibn ‘Ali (Book on a Question Proposed by Him to Sanad

ibn “Ali) by Ahmad; Kitab al-masala allati jarat bayna Sanad wa bayna Ahmad (Questions Dis-

cussed between Sanad ibn “Ali and Ahmad); Zi, by Ahmad; Zij, written by the three Banti Misa; and Kitab fi sanat al-shams (Book on Solar Year). BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmad ibn Misa ibn Shakir. Bani Misa ibn Shakir: Texts and Studies. Collected and reprinted by F. Sezgin,

BATTANI, AL- | 89 et al. Natural Sciences in Islam 40. Frankfurt: Insti-

tut fiir Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften, 2001. Ahmad ibn Misa ibn Shakir. The Book ofIngenious Devices [Kitab al-hiyal] by the Band (sons of) Masa ibn Shakir. Translated and annotated by Donald R. Hill. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: D. Reidel. 1979.

1981.

Bir, Atilla. “Kitab al-Hiyal” of Bani Masa bin Shakir: Interpreted in Sense of Modern System and Control Engineering. Studies and Sources on the History of Science 4. Istanbul: IRCICA, 1990.

Al-Dabbagh, D. “Band Misa.” In Dictionary ofScientific Biography. Edited by C. C. Gillispie, Vol. 1, pp. 443446. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981. J. J., and E. E Robertson.

“Bani

Qurrah.

Al-Battani was likely the son of Jabir ibn Sinan al-Harrani, who was a productive astronomical instruments maker, Al-Battani made accurate astronomical observations in the period between 877

Ahmad ibn Misa ibn Shakir. Kitab al-hiyal. Critical edition of the Arabic text and introduction by Ahmad Yisuf al-Hassan. Aleppo, Syria: Publications of the Institute for the History of Arabic Science,

O'Connor,

them arose famous scholars such as Thabit ibn

Misa

Brothers.” MacTutor History of Mathematics, November 1999. http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/

Biographies/Bant_Misa.html. Rashed, R. Les Mathématiques infinitésimales du IX* au XF siécle. Vol. 1, Fondateurs et commentateurs: Bani Masa, Ibn Qurra, Ibn Sinan, al-Khdazin, al-Quhi, Ibn

al-Samh, Ibn Had. London: Al-Furqan Islamic Heri-

and 918 CE in Raqqa. Based on these observations, he wrote his famous zij (astronomical handbook with tables), which later became known as al-Zij al-Sabi. According to Ibn al-Nadim in his al-Fihrist, there were two versions of this zij. In the Islamic period, many Zij were written based on al-Zij alSabi, such as al-Zij al-Jami’ by Kishyar ibn Labban, al-Zij al-Fakhir by Nasawi, al-Zij al-Kamil by Abi Rashid Daneshi, and al-Zij al-Mugqtabas by Ibn Kammad (Kennedy, p. 167).

Three translations of this zij were made into Latin. It was first translated by Robertus Retinensis or Ketenensis and later by Plato Tibastinus. Finally C. A. Nallino published the third Latin translation in Milan (in three volumes). The third

volume, which contains an edition of the Arabic text, was

published in 1899; the first volume,

containing the Latin translation of the zij, was

tage Foundation, 1996.

Rosenfeld, B. A., and E. Ihsanoglu. Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars ofIslamic Civilization and Their Works (7th-19th c.). Istanbul: IRCICA,

2003. SALIM AYDUZ

BATTANI, AL- Abi ‘Abd-Allah Muhammad ibn Jabir ibn Sinan al-Raqqi al-Harrani al-Sabi

al-Battani was born in Harran near present Urfa (in Turkey) before 850 cE and died in 929 CE near

Samarra’ (Iraq). The Latin version of his name is Albategnius, Albategni, or Albatenius. His family belonged to the Sabian sect (star worshippers), but he was a Muslim, as is apparent from his

published in 1903; and the second volume, com-

mentary with notes, appeared in 1907. These three volumes were later reprinted in Frankfurt in 1969. Al-Zij al-Sabi consists of fifty-seven chapters based on the Ptolemaic tradition. As mentioned in its introduction, the zij was composed in order to correct some mistakes of Ptolemy. Al-Battani proved that an annular solar eclipse is possible (in chapter 30), while Ptolemy considered it impossible. In chapter 56, he described horizontal and vertical sundials. In chapter 57, he described an instrument named al-bayda (the egg), which was a marble disk to represent the unequal hours, and other instruments including

given name Muhammad and his title Abu “Abd-

the triquetrum and mural quadrant. He measured the Earth’s orbital inclination

Allah. Sabians had inherited the Mesopotamian legacy of mathematics and astronomy. Among

known today is 23°, 4”. He also calculated the

equal to 23°, 35” (chapter 4); the true value

90

| BATTANI, AL-

length of the solar year equal to 365 days, 5

BIBLIOGRAPHY

hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds; the true value

Bagheri, Mohammad. “Battani’s Version of Trigono-

known today is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes

metric Formulas” Tahgigat-i Islami 7, no. 2 (1992):

and 46 seconds. Since the lunar months in the

176-169.

Muslim calendar begin with the sighting of the lunar crescent, he obtained the following criterion for observation of the lunar crescent (chapter 41): if the longitude difference between moon and sun at least is 13°, 66” and moons delay after

Hartner, Willy. “Al-Battani? In Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Vol. 1. Edited by Charles Coulston Gil-

sunset is at least 43.2 minutes, the lunar crescent

Ibn al-Nadim. The Fihrist ofal-Nadim: A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim Culture. 2 vols., edited and translated by Bayard Dodge. New York: Columbia Uni-

will be visible. (For more on al-Battani’s procedure, see Hogendijk, 1988.) His other available work is a treatise on trigonometry, Tajrid usil tarkib al-juyub (Abstract of the Principles for Composing Sine Tables), which Brockelmann mistakenly attributed to Kushyar. In this treatise, the geometric and trigonometric methods for finding the chords of one-sixth, one-third, one-quarter, and one-tenth of a circle based on the formulas for the chords of half an arc, the sum of two arcs, and the difference between two arcs are described. This treatise is extant in Istanbul as MS Carullah 1499/3 (see Bagheri, 1992). This is actually a fragment of al-Zij al-Sabi (chapter 3).

Works. Al-Battani also wrote Sharh Kitab alarbaa li-Batlamiyis (Commentary on Ptolemy's

lispie. New York: Scribner, 1981, pp. 507-515.

Hogendijk, Jan P. “New Light on the Lunar Crescent Visibility Table of Ya‘qtib ibn Tariq.” Near Eastern Studies 47, no. 2 (April 1988): 95-104.

versity Press, 1970.

Ibn al-Qifti, Jamal al-Din. Ibn al-Qiftis Ta'rikh al-

hukama’. Edited by J. Lippert. Leipzig: Theodor Weicher, 1903.

Kennedy, E. S. A Survey ofIslamic Astronomical Tables. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 46, part 2, pp. 121-177. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1956; reprint, 1989. Nallino, C. A. “Al-Battani,’ In Encyclopedia ofIslam, 2d ed. Vol. 1. Leiden, the Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1986.

Nallino, C. A. Al-Battani sive Albatenii Opus Astronomicum

(al-zij al- Sabi). 3 vols. Milan:

Rosenfeld, B. A., and E. Ihsanoglu. Mathematicians, Astronomers, and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and Their Works (7th-19th c.). Istanbul: IRCICA,

2003. MARYAM ZAMANI

Tetrabiblos) (Hartner, 1981).

In al-Fihrist the following works by al-Battani are mentioned, but they are also chapters of al-Zij al-Sabi. Risalah fi tahgiq aqdar al-ittisalat (Treatise on the Determination of the Magnitudes of Conjunctions). This is chapter 54 of the al-zij al-Sabi.

Kitab ma‘ifat matali‘ al-burij fi ma bayna arba‘ al-falak (On the Ascensions of the Zodiacal Signs between the Quadrants of the [Celestial] Sphere). This is chapter 55 of al-Zij al-Sabi that deals with finding tasyir (prorogation), which is used in astrology, and ascensions of the points on the ecliptic not situated on one of the four pivots (Arabic, autad) in a given moment.

Ulrich

Hoepli, 1899-1907.

BAYT AL-HIKMAH

The Bayt al-Hikmah,

or House of Wisdom, constituted the institutional

expression of the political, social, and intellectual aspirations of the “Abbasid caliphs in their new capital Baghdad. The city itself was founded twelve years after the victory, in 750 CE, of the ‘Abbasid revolution, and its conception, design,

and execution all consciously expressed its position at the crossroads of anew, multi-confessional,

multi-ethnic

empire.

Formally known

as the

Madinat al-salam (the City of Peace), imperial

Baghdad was initially laid out as a perfect circle,

BAYT AL-HIKMAH

| 91

in keeping with Caliph al-Mansiir’s deep interest in the geometric teachings of Euclid and symbolically placing the “Abbasid rulers at the very center of their dominions.

the ‘Abbasids sanctioned the subsequent tion movement from the Greek, but the tion itself took no direct part in it. More sive assessments of the Bayt al-Hikmah

The Bayt al-Hikmah served as Baghdad’s royal library or repository of valuable texts, not unlike those maintained by earlier Persian and Arab rulers. This focus on preservation can be seen in the other terms applied to the same institution.

found in Balty-Guesdon (1992) and, particularly,

Ibn al-Nadim’s Fihrist, for example, at one point mentions the Storehouse of Wisdom under Caliph Harun al-Rashid (1. 786-809 cE), although else-

where he uses the term Bayt al-Hikmah. Another scholar refers to the Storehouse of the Books of Wisdom. By securing its place as rightful guardians of the world’s collected knowledge, the new ‘Abbasid dynasty sought to bolster its claim to world leadership. Thus, the Bayt al-Hikmah was a powerful ideological weapon in the consolidation of power after the turmoil of the revolution. The full scope and function of the Bayt alHikmah under the Abbasids remain controver-

sial. Nothing has survived of ‘Abbasid Baghdad, making any physical reconstruction of its structures and institutions impossible, while the literary record of the activities at the Bayt al-Hikmah is subject to wide interpretation. As a result, scholars are divided over the Bayt al-Hikmah, in particular over its role in the widespread translation of Greek, Syriac, and other learned traditions into Arabic and the remarkable rise of Islamic experimental science and philosophy that accompanied it. Dimitri Gutas (1998), for example, argues that

the “very scanty reliable reports” provide little support for the Bayt al-Hikmah as much more than an antiquarian library, adopted from earlier Sassanian practice and now dedicated to translating works of Persian history and culture into Arabic, with some later expansion to include mathematics and astronomy. In this view, the early translations from Pahlavi into Arabic under

translainstituexpancan be

in Eche (1967). Similar views are reflected in one

of the field’s standard reference works (Rekaya, 1986).

The Bayt al-Hikmah is best understood in the context of the social and intellectual challenges unleashed by the momentous shift eastward of the locus of Islamic power and influence with the coming of the “Abbasids and their overthrow of the Umayyads, based in the Arab stronghold of Damascus. With the victory of the ‘Abbasids came the challenge of administering a vast and growing land empire in which Muslims initially represented a minority of the population. In particular, the caliphs had to take into account the interests and values of a large number of Persianspeakers, both Zoroastrians and recent converts to Islam. Persian-speakers had played an important part in the rebellion against the Umayyads, and now they were given prominent places in the new regime.

Imperial Zoroastrian tradition was steadily integrated into “Abbasid courtly life, and the new rulers also set out to valorize ancient Persian learning by linking it to the later triumphs of classical Greece. The great social thinker Ibn Khaldun still credited this notion six centuries later: “The intellectual sciences are said to have come to the Greeks from the Persians, when Alexander [the Great] killed Darius and gained control of the Achaemenid Empire. At the time, he appropriated the books and sciences of the Persians.” Beyond Passive Knowledge. Other important ‘Abbasid subject populations included Nestorians, Syrian Jacobites, and other eastern Christians, as well as Jews and pagans. With these populations came important intellectual institutions and centers—Edessa, Mary, Jundishapur, and

92

| BAYT AL-HIKMAH

Harran, among others. All presented the new rulers with valuable pools of linguistic talent, scientific learning, and philosophical knowledge. Harnessing these forces, with Arabic as the new lingua franca of global scholarship, then became the central goal of what might be called the state cultural policy of the “Abbasid dynasty. Several other factors combined to incite ‘Abbasid society to intellectual endeavors that went well beyond the passive safeguarding of ancient knowledge in the Bayt al-Hikmah. The expansion of the Muslim empire erased many of the political barriers that had long separated some of the world’s richest traditions, while improvements in communication eased the flows of information and ideas. Hellenistic Greek learning could intermingle with the teachings of the star-worshipping Sabaeans. Zoroastrian scholars could consider the astronomical poems of the Hindus and traditional Arab systems of orientation and timekeeping. The “dualist” Christian sects, much persecuted under Byzantine rule, were now free to practice and write openly. The new technology of papermaking, originally developed in China and carried to the Muslim lands via Central Asia, provided a resilient and relatively inexpensive medium for the recording and exchange of information and helped create a rich culture of the book, with its commercial and intellectual heart in Baghdad. The imperial capital, which featured a glorious stationers’ market, the Suq al-warraqin, and a cohort of skilled bookbinders, scribes, and calligraphers, became known for a particularly fine grade of paper. Some Byzantine sources even refer to paper as bagdatixon, a clear reference to the role of the ‘Abbasid metropolis in its production. Improved roads—oflicial markers showing the distance to the capital Baghdad have been uncovered as far away as the Caucasus—and increased security meant that scholars were able to travel far and wide in relative safety to promote their ideas in person, to teach, and to debate colleagues.

Meanwhile, the ‘Abbasid court’s interest in knowledge about the farthest edges of empire created demands for better maps and navigational devices and led to new learned disciplines at which the Arabs soon excelled: scientific geography and anthropological travel writing. Finally, the specific demands of Muslim ritual, in particular knowledge of the correct daily prayer times, the start of the lunar month of Ramadan, and determination of the hajj pilgrimage route and the direction of Mecca in which to pray, sacrifice animals, or align the dead, demanded a sophisticated understanding of the physical world and its properties. This was all the more the case with the steady expansion of the Muslim presence, from North Africa and the Iberian peninsula to the Indian subcontinent. The old, pre-

Islamic Arab folkways of telling time, date, and direction were accurate enough in the relatively confined spaces of the early Muslim world, but expansion into great empire required recourse to

mathematical and astronomical techniques to resolve these problems over great distances.

Likewise, the classic algebraic text of Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780-c. 850 CE), later

translated into Latin as The Book of Addition and Subtraction, took its inspiration from the complex rules of inheritance under Islamic law. The pursuit of medicine and the development of new surgical techniques, drugs, and other treatments followed Quranic injunction to heal the sick and to care for the weak. In these ways, science addressed important problems in daily religious practice.

Leading Figures. Scientific activity and philosophical inquiry were in no way limited to activities in and around the state-sponsored Bayt al-Hikmah, for the pursuit of knowledge and the glories of scholarship were integral to the upper echelons of ‘Abbasid society in general. Individual caliphs, most notably al-Rashid and alMa‘min

(r. 813-822 CE), took an active part in

intellectual life and personally intervened in some

BAYT AL-HIKMAH

of the leading scientific and metaphysical controversies of the day, Al-Ma'miin is generally credited with expanding the reach of the Bayt alHikmah and related institutions to grapple with leading problems in mathematics and astronomy, questions in which he took considerable personal interest. Yet, senior ‘Abbasid bureaucrats, military officers, leading merchants, and even court concubines also supported scholars and contracted for translations into Arabic of prized texts as a way to win prestige, garner wealth, and secure social advancement. This fostered a creative and competitive environment among the learned and their backers, which ensured the production of high-quality intellectual work. Here, too, the most important activities did not involve the passive preservation and translation of existing knowledge, as safeguarded in the royal storerooms, but instead encompassed innovative inquiries, original scientific experiments, and creative philosophical explorations that advanced learning well beyond the rich legacies left behind by earlier empires. Early, less sophisticated translations soon gave way to better, more complete versions as stan-

| 93

Their chief objection lay with Ptolemy’s willingness to violate the cardinal requirement of classical astronomy as laid down by Plato and Aristotle and accepted for two thousand years: that all planetary motion was in the form of perfect, uniform circles. Muslim scholars demanded that any cosmology account for the observed scientific data and, at the same time, remain in accord with its own internal rules and representation of reality. Such a science, they argued, had to be both predictive and consistent—hallmarks of the modern scientific method. Scholars in the shukuk tradition also responded with proposed revisions to Ptolemaic astronomy, offering everything from modest improvements to wholesale overhaul of the entire system. In addition to addressing the shortcomings of classical astronomy, this tradition helped later Arab scientists mount the first serious challenges to the authority of Aristotle's physics. It also produced at least two approaches that Copernicus used later in his successful challenge to classical cosmology. Among the leading scholars associated with the Bayt al-Hikmah and the accompanying ‘Abbasid movement for knowledge were the mathematician and astronomer al-Khwarizmi; the Peripatetic philosopher and physician Abu Yusuf Ya qub

dards and learning steadily evolved. Many of the best translations incorporated new research and new approaches, producing a recognizable body of Arab and Muslim science. Arabic reworkings of Ptolemy's Almagest, for example, introduced much-improved observational data and new techniques, including a more accurate calculation of the solar year and the use of elegant trigonometric functions in the place of cumbersome chords. This resulted in an Arabic version that effectively supplanted the Greek “original” Extensive study of the text by Arab and Muslim astronomers and philosophers also laid the founda-

works; his son, Ishaq ibn Hunayn (c. 830~c. 910

tion for the shukuk literature, beginning in the

cE); and Thabit ibn Qurrah (826-901 CE).

mid-eleventh century, that challenged both Ptolemy’s methodology and his underlying cosmology, centuries before the Copernican Revolution.

As with any royal institution, the Bayt alHikmah relied heavily on the interests and fortunes of the individual caliphs. Al-Rashid, al-Ma mun,

ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (c. 800-870 cE); the astron-

omer and poet Sahl ibn Hartin (d. 830 cE); the

polymath Banu Musa brothers, whose expertise encompassed mathematics, astronomy, and complex mechanical devices; and the astronomer Habash al-Hasib (d. after 869 CE), who intro-

duced trigonometric functions unknown to the Greeks, Other central figures include Hunayn ibn Ishag (809-873 CE), most famous for his exten-

sive medical translations as well as for original

94

| BAYT AL-HIKMAH

and their immediate successors encouraged the

work in and around the House of Wisdom. Over time, however, geopolitical setbacks, imperial decadence, religious controversy, and other factors began to undermine royal support. What was left of Baghdad's rich literary culture was destroyed along with the rest of the city by the Mongol invasion of 1258, although the astronomer Nasir al-Din al-Tiisi was said to have saved as many as 400,000 manuscripts that then formed the basis for important scientific achievements under the new Ilkhanid rulers. Assessment. Much of the debate over the Bayt al-Hikmah is essentially discursive, with evalua-

tions of the scope and importance of the institution itself shaped by broader assessments surrounding Islamic science and philosophy—its origins and antecedents, its longevity, and its place within the global history of ideas. Those who place emphasis on the Persian origins of Islamic scholarship, for example, will see the history and role of the Bayt al-Hikmah very differently from others who may stress autonomous, pre-Islamic Arab learning, or an inheritance from Syriac or Greek traditions. The controversy is also colored by the tendency of many historians to see the development of Islamic science through the lens of the Western experience. This is particularly noteworthy in the search for recognizable institutions that could explain the phenomenon of undoubted Islamic scientific achievement without having to recognize its substantial epistemological, religious, and social differences from the European forerunner

of today’s “modern” science. It also provides a seemingly plausible explanation for the decline of that same tradition by linking it with the historical collapse of the Bayt al-Hikmah and of other, similar establishments. Today, the Bayt al-Hikmah survives as a powerful symbol, particularly in the Muslim world, of great achievement in science, philosophy, and

learning in general, and of the fundamental contributions made by Arab and Muslim scholars to world civilization. Web sites and other online communities have adopted the name with particular enthusiasm, ensuring its viability well into the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Balty-Guesdon, M.-G. “Le Bayt al-hikma de Baghdad.” Arabica 39, no. 2 (July 1992): 131-150.

Bloom, Jonathan. Paper before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World. New Haven, Conn..: Yale University Press, 2001. Eche, Youssef [Yisuf ‘Ishsh]. Les bibliothéques arabes

publiques et semi-publiques en Mésopotamie, en Syrie et en Egypte au moyen age. Damascus: Institut francais de Damas, 1967.

Goodman, L. E. “The Translation of Greek Materials into Arabic.” In Religion, Learning and Science in the ‘Abbasid Period, edited by M. J. L. Young,

J. D.

Latham

York:

and R. B. Serjeant, 477-497.

New

Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbasid Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th Centuries). London and New York: Routledge, 1998.

Ibn Khaldtn. Mugaddimah: An Introduction to History. 3 vols., translated by Franz Rosenthal. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1967.

Ibn al-Nadim. The Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim: A TenthCentury Survey of Muslim Culture. 2 vols., edited and translated by Bayard Dodge. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.

Lassner, Jacob. The Topography ofBaghdad in the Early Middle Ages: Texts and Studies. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Science and Civilization in Islam. Lahore, Pakistan: Suhail Academy, 1983.

Rekaya, Mohamed. “Al-M@‘miin.” In Encyclopedia of Islam, Vol. 6, edited by C. E. Bosworth, 331-339. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill, 1986.

Sabra, A. I. “The Andalusian Revolt Against Ptolemaic Astronomy: Averroes and al-Bitruj” In Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences: Essays in Honor of I. Bernard Cohen, edited by Everett Mendelsohn, 133-154. London: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

BIOETHICS Saliba, George. Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007. Sayili, Aydin. The Observatory in Islam and Its Place in the General History of the Observatory. Ankara: Tiirk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1988. JONATHAN LYONS

BIOETHICS The term “bioethics” designates the ethical considerations emerging at the interface of the life sciences and their application and research, such as biology, biotechnology, and medicine, and their implications on human and animal life as well as the environment. Bioethics is a field of study reflecting the philosophical, social, legal, and religious dimensions of these applications. As a branch of applied ethics, bioethics permeates several strata, such as academia, public policy, law, and clinical practice, as well as the individual, professional, and communal spheres. Scope. Being concerned with key questions of human existence, bioethical considerations may be as old as the first reflections on medical care. Terminologically and as a distinct field of study, however, bioethics is a newcomer that seems to have evolved in the Western industrialized countries, notably in the United States, in the 1960s. Its emergence has been triggered by the ethical implications of the rapid and unprecedented developments and possibilities in the life sciences and new technologies and their possibilities (organ transplants, life-support machines), accompanied by internal societal change that predominantly came to question scientific, professional,

and medical authority. Bioethics needs to refer to meta-ethical systems for answers on the dimensions of health and illness, life, reproduction, and death. As different religious, ideological, and cultural affiliations may lead to different answers, bioethics has an innate potential for diversity and accounts for a

| 95

plethora of diverse readings. It is therefore common to talk about Western secular, Catholic, Hindu, Islamic, and other bioethical models, which may provide diverging answers to pervasive issues of contemporary bioethics. Attempts to unify these meta-ethical systems through values claiming universality, such as the autonomy-based Beauchamp/Childress approach, have neither led to curbing that diversity, nor to defying the need to resort to a meta-ethical system for answers. Islamic Bioethics. Bioethics (retrospectively translated into Arabic as akhlaq tibbiyyah or adab al-tabib with reference to medical practice; or simply as al-fiqh al-tibbi, medical figh) has always been part of societal and scholarly discourse in the world of Islam in as far as related problems known in the past were subject to scrutiny.

As a field of scholarly reflection, bioethics in Islam has gained terrain with the overall perceivable Islamic resurgence since the 1980s. The growth of literature in the field testifies to this phenomenon. The translation of the term “ethics” as akhlaq should not mislead with regard to the sources of Islamic bioethics or its characteristics. There is no noteworthy independent and distinct branch of ethics among the Islamic sciences, even though a theological, philosophical, and Sufi tradition of ethics has been named. In the absence of a bifurcation between law (figh) and ethics (akhlaq) in the Islamic legal tradition, ethics is considered to be a result of the correct implementation of the law. The lego-philosophical discourse between the different schools of thought (the Mu'tazilah, Ash’artyah, and Maturidiyah) on whether it is possible to declare something as good or bad by

reason (al-tahsin wa I-taqbih al-‘agliyan) is decisive with regard to bioethics as well. The Ash‘ari view, which may have gained more prominence due to its acceptance through the majority Sunni

schools of law, states that the human mind is not able to determine what is good or bad, right or

96 | BIOETHICS

wrong, other than through the communication of the Lawgiver, Allah. The Matiridi view, which has ben absorbed into Hanafi legal thought, saw the possibility of the human mind understanding good and bad in things and actions, but did not deny the necessity of the Lawgiver’s communication, as the limited human perception may still differ. Even the Mu tazili approach, which states that the human being is able to recognize the good and bad in actions independently of the Lawgiver’s communication and which may be inferred to recognize the ontological good or evil in things, does not deny the necessity of abiding by the legal rule as communicated through its sources. Therefore, and in accordance with the importance of Islamic law to decide on any human action, questions under the scope of bioethics in Islam are subject to be answered by Islamic jurisprudence (figh). Contemporary works on Islamic bioethics do equivocally acknowledge the importance of Islamic law to determine bioethical implications. This is in contrast to the different positions taken in the discourse on the compatibility of Islam and science and the objectivity or neutrality of science. Islamic legal discussions on bioethics are therefore characterized by the general characteristics of Islamic law. According to Islamic law, an action is defined as either obligatory, recommended, optional, discouraged, or prohibited. Given the nature of the Islamic legal rule in matters of legal deduction (ijtihad), the large majority of legal verdicts on bioethical questions is non-definitive (zhanni) and allows for a difference of scholarly opinion (ikhtilaf). Questions of bioethical relevance have always been part of individual legal verdicts (ifta’) and are also subject to discussion by the figh councils (al-majami al-fiqhiyyah) since their relatively recent inception. However, apart from the

random recommendation and individual observance, Islamic bioethics is hardly found in policy making in the Islamic world today. This phenom-

enon is another manifestation of the overall fate of Islamic law in the contemporary setting. What needs to be observed in the discussion on Islamic bioethics with regard to the different strata, the individual, public policy, and health care strata, vis-a-vis the injunctions of Islamic law is the lack of institutionalized observation of fiqh in these spheres, thereby leading to a disparity between the demands of Islamic law and the actual bioethical practice in the Islamic world in many cases. Islamic bioethics: Past experience. Given the preoccupation with sciences and the flourishing of medicine in the medieval and pre-modern Islamic world, Islamic literature is rich in works on professional medical ethics. The Kitab Adab altabib (Book on the Physician’s Ethics), by Ishaq ‘Ali al-Rahawi in the first quarter of the eleventh century, is considered to be the earliest surviving treatise dedicated to medical ethics in the Islamic world. The book reflects the standard of professional medical ethics in the Islamic world at that time.

It is vital to allude to the existence of at least two different medical traditions side by side that may have had an impact on medical ethics, the Greek yundani medical heritage, personified by professional medics, and the tibb nabawi or Prophetic medicine, predominantly cultivated by scholars of the law, the fuqaha’. Both approaches have sometimes been blended together. While the Greek medical tradition with its own approach in ethics and mannerism has been preserved in the writings of the outstanding polymaths and physicians al-Razi (d. 925), Ibn Sina (d. 1037), and many others, tibb nabawi, the conglomerate of Prophetic advice with regard to medical care and treatment, has become prominent through the writings of Muslim scholars with a stronger background in the Islamic sciences and an outstanding expertise in Islamic law, such as the Hanbali scholar Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyah (d. 1349). Their

intention may have been to counterbalance the

BIOETHICS

| 97

influence of Greek philosophy in the Islamic societies of their times. The particular ethics and mannerisms must have been coexisting, with the literary genre of adab literature reflecting an Islamized version of the Greek ethical code, but probably rather in form than in content. It cannot, however, be denied that the actual practical bioethical implications in Islamic societies, questions of medical practice (and medication) related to the public and administrative strata such as quality assurance and liability, were regulated by the demands of Islamic law and monitored by its institutions, most prominently

vated lifestyle contributing to the avoidance of disease (where Islamic legal rules on personal and public hygiene, sexual activity, and diet unfold their potential), and a functioning public health care system with hospitals run as endowments (awqdf) that integrate treatment and medical education, and finally hisbah as an Islamic authority to monitor and regulate its practice. On the basis of the Islamic texts and sources of Islamic law, the beginning and termination of life are predestined and cannot be manipulated. Death is an unchangeable certainty; “and every

the qadi al-hisbah. Islamic views on health and illness. Health

Seeking medical treatment does not interfere with this principle and is understood in a circumstantial rather than a cause-effect relation. However, a difference of opinion exists on the outward assessment of this beginning and end, as they are subject to human ratiocination. Discussions on abortion (particularly with regard to legal liability) are pervasive even in the early figh compendia, with the general tenor that abortion without utter necessity, in this case the endangering of the mother’s life, is not permissible after the decisive in-breathing of the soul

and illness are integral parts of Islamic thought and culture. While illness gains the meaning of a test and enduring it will lead to otherworldly reward and expiation of sins, the human body is considered

to be an entrusted good (amdanah)

with its own rights for proper care (rest, nutrition, hygiene). The ultimate owner of this entrusted good is its Creator, God, not the human being himself. While prevention of disease and harm is a major effect of leading an Islamic lifestyle and therefore takes a prominent position, illness has its particular metaphysical function. In case of illness, medical treatment may take the variety of legal values between obligation and prohibition, under consideration of the gravity, circumstances, and medication administered.

Substances considered as impure by Islamic law are generally not allowed in medication, with exceptions in cases of utter necessity, and some disagreement on the permissibility of alcohol and other intoxicating drugs for particular cases. Accordingly and depending on the respective verdict, medical treatment may be regarded as a rewardable, optional, or even punishable act. The field of bioethics is the most suitable field to showcase the holistic characteristic of the Islamic way of life with its interplay of a religiously moti-

living being shall taste death” (Qur'an, 3:185).

(rth) has taken place. Abortion prior to this is per-

missible with restrictions according to some legal schools; the Maliki school prohibits any form of abortion after insemination has taken place. Inbreathing of the soul takes place at 120 days or, according to a divergent view, 40 days after conception. Contraception takes different verdicts according to the means taken; generally any tem-

porary measure undertaken to prevent the fertilization of ova may be permissible in analogy to a Prophetic hadith allowing coitus interruptus (‘az/),

while measures preventing the nidation of a zygote (such as the contraceptive coil) are debated. Steri-

lization as a permanent measure is not considered

permissible. Artificial insemination and “test-tube

babies” are overwhelmingly permitted, under the condition that the two parties involved, sperm

98 | BIOETHICS

and ovum donor, are alive and legally married at the time of implantation. Introducing a third party (in the form of a surrogate mother or donor of sperm or ovum other than the parties legally married) into this procedure is generally seen as transgressing the limits of permissibility. Human cloning has been widely discussed; this potential way of asexual reproduction is generally seen as a prohibited interference into the very nature of procreation by Sunni scholars, with some Shiah Imamiyah scholars advocating the potentials. Stem cell research, often hailed as the future answer to hitherto incurable diseases like Alzheimer’s, is controversially discussed based on the origin of the stem cells, particularly the source of embryonic cells. Less difference of opinion exists with regard to euthanasia (“mercy killing”), which is unanimously prohibited. As the decision on a person's life or death rests with the Creator, even the fatally ill are advised to bear their fate with patience; a deliberate ending of one’s own or others’ lives is not condoned. Brain death has been considered as one of the signs of death in a person (next to stopping of cardiac function) by the Islamic Figh Council, but a substantial difference of scholarly opinion exists. Autopsy and dissection are predominantly shunned by Muslim jurists as they are considered to be a trangression against the inviolability (hurmah) of the deceased. Exceptional permission applies according to some scholars for the necessity (dartirah) of criminological evidence or for educational purposes. On similar grounds organ donation is, although generally practiced in the Islamic world today, still debatable. While living donors of kidneys and blood are generally accepted, controversy still exists on the possibility of willing the donation of one’s own organs or de-

ciding on a relative’s organs to be removed after death or even dissecting the deceased to remove their organs for transplantation. Being praised as

a life-saving act from some, others argue the lack of ownership and right of disposition over the body, as well as its immunity (hurmah), as the body is regarded as an entrusted good (amanah) that ultimately belongs to its Creator. Numerous other issues have been controversially discussed and may only be alluded to, such as female circumcision, AIDS, premarital genetic screening, transgender operations, cos-

metic operations, cross-gender treatment, and professional secrecy, as well as topics transgressing the medical field, such as genetically modified food, etc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atighetchi, Dariusch. Islamic Bioethics: Problems and Perspectives. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer, 2007. Beauchamp, Tom L., and James F. Childress. Principles

of Biomedical Ethics. 5th ed. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Deuraseh, Nurdeng. Preservation of Health in Islamic Law. Kuala Lumpur: ITUM Press, 2009.

Moazam, Farhat. Bioethics and Organ Transplantation in a Muslim Society: A Study in Culture, Ethnography, and Religion. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006. Porrmann, Peter E. Medieval Islamic Medicine. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. Rahawi, Ishaq ibn ‘Ali al-. Adab al-Tabib [The Physicians Ethics]. Edited by Murayzin Said ‘Assiri. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Markaz al-Malik Faysal lilBuhith wa-al-Dirasat al-Islamiyyah, 1992. Rahman,

Fazlur. Health and Medicine in the Islamic

Tradition: Change and Identity. New York: Crossroad, 1989.

Rispler-Chaim, Vardit. Islamic Medical Ethics in the Twentieth Century. Leiden, Netherlands, and New York: Brill, 1993. Sachedina, Abdulaziz. Islamic Biomedical Ethics: Prin-

ciples and Application. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Siba‘, Zuhayr Ahmad al-, and Muhammad ‘Ali al-Bar. al-Tabib, adabuhu wa-fighuhu [The Physician, His Ethics, and Fiqh]. Damascus: Dar al-Qalam, 2005. ANKE BOUZENITA

BIOLOGY

BIOLOGY Living beings and their study have been at the center of humanity’s attention for tens of thousands of years. Long before the first domestication of animals, wall paintings in caves have left testimony of Ice Age hunters’ acute and accurate observation skills regarding their prey and predators. In antiquity the description of animals, plants, and minerals became a genre of writing, from Aristotle's Historia animalium (History of Animals) and Theophrastus’s Historia plantarum (Enquiry into Plants) to Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis historia (Natural History). Until the term “biology” gained wider currency in the early nineteenth century, studies of the realms of nature would be known either individually— as the study of animals, plants, and minerals, respectively—or collectively as natural history, which included minerals, rocks, and crystals, while generally only animals (and possibly plants) were thought of as being alive. On the Arabian Peninsula, the population had been involved in cultivating animals and plants long before the advent of Islam, and the knowledge of organisms’ characteristics and properties was used in agriculture as well as medicine. In pre-Islamic poetry animal imagery played an important role, as was the case in the Quranic texts,

containing some fifty injunctions to study the realm of nature. Several stirahs are named after

With

the expansion

of the Islamic

| 99

world

beyond the Arabian Peninsula, documenting and teaching the Arabic language to non-native speakers led to the creation of a burgeoning philological literature. In this context one of the oldest extant works on animals, the grammarian Qutrub’s Kitab ma khalafa fthi |-insan al-bahima ftasm@ al-wuhish wa-sifatiha (On the Difference between Humans and Beasts Regarding the Names of the Wild Animals and Their Properties) con-

tains an extensive list of terms used in classical Arabic to denote species of animals, their body parts, behavior, and so forth. Muslims and their dependents came into contact with a wider variety of living species, and at the same time began to appropriate translated scholarly works in the conquered domains and from beyond their confines, from the Atlantic coast to the Indian Ocean and the mountainous regions of west and central Asia. Of particular importance in this process was the systematic translation of Ancient Greek sources in ninthcentury Baghdad under the “Abbasid caliph alMa’miin

(r. 813-833) and his successors, espe-

cially of Aristotle’s works. His Historia animalium became a central source and model for books on animals written by Muslim authors over the following centuries, such as the Kitab al-hayawan by Jahiz from Basra (781-868/9). At the time when

animals such as the cow (Bagarah, 2), herd ani-

Aristotle’s “Treatise on Plants” (attribution not

mals (An‘am, 6), the bee (Nahl, 16), the ant (Naml, 27), the spider (‘Ankabit, 29), the elephant (Fil,

certain, see below), Theophrastus’s “Causes of Plants,” and Dioscorides’s Materia medica became

105)—with only one stirah carrying the name of a

available

in Arabic,

the scholar Abi

Hanifah

plant, the fig (Tin, 95), and one that of a mineral,

Dinawari (d. c. 894-903) compiled an extensive

iron (Hadid, 57). The account of God’s uncon-

Kitab al-nabat (Book on Plants), drawing on a number of earlier Arabic sources, now lost, making his the earliest Arabic botanical work of which a substantial portion survives. The emphasis in Dinawari’s sources was on lexicographic, taxonomic approaches, classifying the flora mostly of the Arabic-speaking world ac-

strained creative liberty is a central element in religious as well as philosophical thought about processes in the natural world, from Abt al-Hasan al-Ash‘arl (873-935) to Abi Hamid al-Ghazali (c. 1058-1111) and beyond. Among God's creatures

a class of spirits created from fire (jinn) are also included among the animals (hayawan).

cording to appearance or human use. Dinawari

100 | BioLoOGy

himself began his six-volume work with expositions of cosmological and agricultural aspects before describing individual species of plants and their uses. He concluded with an alphabetical dictionary with short descriptions that would be the basis for the inclusion of plant names in later dictionaries of Arabic such as Ibn Manzitr’s mas-

naturae, elaborated extensively by the tenthcentury philosophers known as the Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa’) in their epistles Rasdil. Most scholars agreed that plant and animal species did not change over time, though some authors accepted a limited change, such as the transformation of thyme into mint mentioned by,

sive Lisdan al-‘Arab (thirteenth century). In the contemporary works on the classification of the sciences in early Islam, the science of minerals, plants, and animals (ilm al-ma‘adin wa-lnabat wa-l-hayawan) was subsumed under the wider category of philosophical sciences, within a sub-group called the “science of nature” (‘ilm al-tabia), which in Khwarizmi’s tenth-century Mafatih al-‘uliim (Keys of the Sciences) also included medicine, meteorology, and alchemy. The proximity of natural history with medicine and agriculture on the one hand, and language and literature on the other, was to remain a common feature in the literature produced in the Islamic world, just as was the case in Europe until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when biological disciplines began to gain autonomy from medicine and divinities. In contrast with the classical model of Aristotle, who explained nature as acting out of its inherent telos, Muslim writers

The origin and reproduction of animals had been an important problem since antiquity. Offspring were thought to be generated either from two parents of the same kind (generatio univoca) or out of a different type of matter (generatio aequivoca). While Aristotle had limited the latter to lower animals, Muslim writers such as the Ikhwan al-Safa affirmed spontaneous generation as the origin even of human beings, in the guise of the first man and woman, while thinkers such as Ibn

such as Jahiz and Qazwini (1203-1283) empha-

Tufayl (c. 1105-1185) and Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288)

sized the role of animals in God’s plan of creation, generally in relation to humanity and mediated through the realm of angels. In accordance with Aristotle, however, most Muslim writers subscribed to the ideas that all growing organisms (plants, animals) partake in a vegetative soul (nafs nabatiyya), all moving organisms possess an animal soul (nafs hayawaniyya), while only humans have a rational soul (nafs natiqa). Also following Aristotle, Muslim

used the concept of current spontaneous genera-

scholars such as al-Farabi (872-950) described or-

for example, Ibn Sina (Avicenna, c. 980-1037),

following the pseudo-Aristotelian Fi /-nabat (Book of Plants), most likely written by the first-

century Neo-Pythagorean philosopher Apollonius of Tyana. More limited modifications and environmental adaptations, on the other hand, were quite widely accepted and corresponded to experience from agriculture and parasitology; thus, Jahiz described lice that take on the color of

their host’s hair.

tion as a model for their philosophical narratives, exploring the acquisition of mundane and spiritual knowledge in a person generated without parents. The teaching of anatomy and physiology was by and large based on the works of Galen (129-

after 200), though, in contrast with the majority of writers in the medieval West, Muslim scholars like Muhammad ibn Zakariyah al-Razi (865-925)

ganisms at the transition between minerals and

and his contemporary al-Farabi wrote treatises that even in their titles expressed a “rejection”

plants (lichens) and between plants and animals

(radd) or “doubt” (shukiik) regarding Galen’s doc-

(date trees, worms/snails). The continuity among living species conformed to the concept of a scala

trines. Their trend was to rehabilitate Aristotle’s teachings, half a millennium older than Galen's,

BIOLOGY

as did Avicenna, who dismissed Galen’s criticism of Aristotle's insights as “nonsense” (taskhif). Later physicians made specific discoveries through careful observation, as was the case with ‘Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (1162~-1231/2) studying the skeletons of humans who had perished during an epidemic in Alexandria, where he found that the lower jaw consisted of a single bone, not composed of two separate parts, as the traditional literature had claimed. Dissection of human bodies, on the other hand, does not seem to have been performed in the Muslim world prior to the nineteenth century—neither do anatomical writers own up to such a practice, nor do their works warrant any assumption that their authors had engaged in it. This assessment includes, for example, Avicenna, who in his encyclopedic Canon of Medicine insisted on the necessity of anatomy. Physiological concepts followed mostly the Hippocratic and Galenic scheme of the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile),

whose balance determined the individual’s state of health. Intervening in the ratio between those humors thus remained the basis of medical practice well into the modern era. The development of

| 101

are of a more encyclopedic, literary character, compiling and only occasionally correcting all kinds of information on animals taken from a variety of sources, including religion and mythology, not unlike many later books on animals produced in the European Renaissance. In several cases works produced by Muslim writers were used extensively by Latin authors such as Albertus Magnus (c. 1200-1280), who drew on a work lost in Arabic, the Liber sexaginta animalium (Book of Sixty Animals), probably written by al-Razi. Likewise, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (1194-

1250), a passionate falconer, studied Arabic texts

that in their turn were based on earlier sources from Byzantium, Persia, and beyond. The literature on plants represents a similar cauldron where a wide range of sources was elaborated in a more systematic fashion, partly as chapters in encyclopedic works such as the epistles of the Ikhwan al-Safa’, partly in separate treatises and expanded with new knowledge acquired from across the world of Islam and beyond, especially in central and eastern Asia. The medical relevance of knowledge about plants was very much appreciated by Muslim scholars, for example,

was

Abi Rayhan al-Birtini (937-1048), who during

discussed intensely, based on an ancient tradition

his extensive travels acquired broad knowledge of plant species of which he described some 750, quoting works by about 100 authors as sources for his Kitab al-Saydana fit |-tibb” (Medical Phar-

embryos, hidden

from direct observation,

discussing the origin and role of seminal fluids both in the male and, as was generally accepted,

the female partner. The sequence of organ formation was discussed in the context of Galen's modifications of Aristotle’s hierarchy between the three “main organs” (liver, heart, brain), lead-

macy). In addition to pharmaceutical interests, agriculture and gardening played an important role in Islamic civilizations. An important early

ing Avicenna to develop a coherent hypothesis

source is the Kitab al-filaha al-nabatiyya (Naba-

describing embryogenesis. The empirical content of literature on animals and plants appears to be more significant than that of human anatomy and physiology, Thus Jahiz criticized Aristotle for including hearsay in his Liber animalium, with the suggestion to rectify errors thus incurred through his own firsthand knowledge. Yet most of the later works on animals

taean Agriculture) written on the basis of Meso-

potamian sources by Abii Bakr ibn Wahshiyya in the year 903. In Muslim Spain a more extensive

school of agricultural writing developed in the tenth century. Abt 1-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Albucasis, 936-1013, today better known as a surgeon)

wrote a compendium on agriculture (Mukhtasar kitab al-filaha), and several later works in this

102

| BIOLOGY

tradition were translated into the Castilian and Catalan languages. The study of the living cultivated by scholars in the Muslim world during the first centuries of Islam can thus be seen as part of the pursuit, transmission, and advancement of knowledge in the EurasianMediterranean world across the millennia. While the emphasis lay on preserving the accumulated

Khwarizm (present-day Uzbekistan) and received his initial education from a Khwarizmian prince, Abi Nasr Mansir ibn ‘Iraq al-Gilani. For the rest of his life, he worked as a scientist under the patronage of different rulers during the age of the ‘Abbasid caliphates in Baghdad (750-1258). These

rulers included the prominent dynasties of the Samanids

(819-999)

and later the Ghaznavids

wisdom of past civilizations, the Muslims showed, if

(977-1186). To further his education, obtain new

anything, a greater openness to criticism and innovation than their neighbors in Europe. They systematized and scrutinized a wide range of material, complemented with their own experiences and observations, and with their writings influenced the surrounding civilizations in their turn.

patronage, and escape political upheaval that

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bayraktar, Mehmet. Islamda Evrimci Yaratilis Teorisi. 2d ed. Ankara: Kitabiyat, 2001.

Eisenstein, Herbert. Einfiihrung in die arabische Zoographie: Das tierkundliche Wissen in der arabisch-islamischen Literatur. Berlin: D. Reimer, 1991.

Encyclopaedia of Islam. 2d ed. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1960-2009.

Fahd, Toufic. “Botany and Agriculture? In Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by Roshdi Rashed, vol. 3, pp. 813-852. London: Routledge, 1996.

Foltz, Richard C. Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures. Oxford: Oneworld, 2006. Nabielek, Rainer. “Biologische Kenntnisse und Uberlieferungen im Mittelalter (4.-15. Jh.).” In Geschichte

der Biologie: Theorien, Methoden, Institutionen, Kurzbiographien, 3d ed., pp. 80-160, esp. pp. 110-140. Heidelberg and Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 2000. Savage-Smith, Emilie. “Attitudes Toward Dissection in Medieval Islam.” Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 50 (1995): 67-110. HAKAN ERTIN and RAINER BROMER

took place from 996 to 998, al-Biruni traveled to

various places such as Bukhara, led by the Samanid ruler Mansur II (son of Nth), where he received the patronage of the Samanid prince Qabus ibn Voshmgir. Thereafter, he traveled to Gorgan, a city close to the Caspian Sea. Eventually he returned home in 1004 and enjoyed the support of Abul Abbas Mamutn. When Sultan Mahmitd Ghaznawi (971-1030) captured Iran in 1017, al-Birtini was taken to the sultan’s court in

Ghazna (present-day Afghanistan), where he continued to receive the patronage of succeeding Ghaznavid kings, including Mahmiid’s son Mas‘ud (r. 1031-1041)

and

later Mahmiid’s

grandson,

Maw dud (r. 1041-1048). He died at the age of

seventy-five, having authored more than 150 works, including a monumental book on India, six hundred pages of which was translated into English (Boilot, 1955).

Al-Birtni’s works include thirty-five books on astronomy, including The Mas‘tidic Canon of Astronomy (al-Qaniin al-mastdi fil-haya wa'lnujum), which contains a new variation on Ptolemy’s Almagest; four works on astrolabes, including the Exhaustive Book on Astrolabes (Istiab al-wujith al-mumkinah fi san‘at al-asturlab), in which he omits philosophical speculations not relevant to astronomy and applied mathematics;

many works on astrology, including The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology BIRUNI,

ibn Ahmad

AL-

Abi al-Rayhan

Muhammad

al-Birini (973-1048) was born in

(Kitab al-tafhim li-awa’il sind‘at al-tanjim), two-

thirds of which includes extensive discussions on

BIRUNI, AL-

| 103

mathematics, astronomy, geography, and chronology, as well as instructions on how to construct an astrolabe; five works on chronology;

similarities in both the theology and praxis of the religions he examines, including Hinduism, Greek mythologies, Christianity, and Sufi Islam (Rosen-

two on time measurement; nine on geography,

thal, 1976). The rich content of Kitab al-Hind is

including Al-Athar al-bagiyah ‘an al-qurin al-

covered in eighty chapters organized under the categories known to Muslim readers at that time: the Deity; the ontology of created sensible and intelligible entities; the soul and related topics such as heaven, hell, and salvation; various senses of law

khaliyah (The Chronology of Ancient Nations) and

Kitab

tabdid

nihayat

al-amakin

litashih

masafat al-masakin (The Determination of the Coordinates of Positions for the Correction of Distances between Cities). In the latter, al-Biraini

discusses methods of determining the direction of Mecca along the local horizon at Ghazna. AlBiruni authored ten works on geodesy and mapping theory; fifteen on mathematics (eight of which focused on arithmetic, five on geometry, and two on trigonometry); two on mechanics; two on medicine and pharmacology, including the Book of Pharmacy and Materia Medica (Kitab al-saydana), in which he specifies the necessity of direct experimentation on drugs prior to their classification as well as the linguistic issue of transliterating the non-Arabic names of drugs into the Arabic language, which lacks the copula; one work on meteorology; two on mineralogy and gems, including the Book ofPrecious Stones (Kitab al-jam@hir fi ma rifat al-jawahir); four on history; two on India, including the Book of India (Kitab al-Hind); three on religion and philosophy; sixteen literary works, one of which discusses shadows (The Exhaustive Book on Shadows [Kitabft

ifrad al-magal fi amr al-zilal]); two on magic; and nine other texts. Of his works, only twenty-two survive, including six of his works on astronomy. This article focuses on al-Birtini’s methodology and salient doctrines in the context of some of his writings on India, mathematics, and geology. The Methodological Significance of alBirdini’s Book of India. Al-Birtini’s Book of India (Kitab al-Hind) reveals a number of unique methodological perspectives in the comparative and cultural studies of religion. Franz Rosenthal states that al-Birtini presupposes universal-archetypal

as well as varieties of religious praxis such as idol worship; customs related to sacrifices; sacred space and pilgrimages; and dietary laws and fasting. Kitab al-Hind contains at least four of al-BirtinT’s pioneering achievements. First, al-Birtini adopts

a universal sense of Islamic vision in the scientific study of various societies: a vision beyond the limits of praising a monotheistic creed and a call to Islam. He may be viewed as a Muslim with a global vision to care for all humanity, providing a sympathetic empirical witness of shahadah (the Muslim profession of faith in one God, Allah), extending to nonmonotheistic creeds. To transcend his own personal context, he studied Sanskrit and learned directly from Indian experts. He warned the Muslim reader that Hindus have a very special Weltanschauung of their own, which of course includes prejudices against aliens; however, he notes that Muslims should realize that biases against aliens are common to all cultures. A second value of this work is his implication that Muslims can construct a meta-Greek conceptual framework that is applicable to Greek, Indian, and Zoroastrian traditions, as well as to their own. Another example of his interest in other cultures is found in his book The Chronology of Ancient Nations, in which he provides one of the most detailed accounts of the Jewish calendar in the Middle Ages (Saliba, 2013).

Third, in Kitab al-Hind al-Biriini criticizes Sultan Mahmiid’s brutal mistreatment of Indians and lack of concern for Indians’ sacred spaces. Al-Biruni was one of the first Muslims to preach tolerance for

104

| BIRUNI, AL-

the sacred spaces of other religions. Finally, the fourth important feature of this work is his recognition that one can learn much from an alien, meaning non-Greek and non-Muslim, culture. To that end, he takes delight in the refinements of Indian uses of “time” in his text. The paradigm of Indian philosophies of time is revealed in their complex visions of seasons, mythologies, and rituals. Gholam Youssefi remarks that for al-Biruni, the philosopher is the true treasure of India, rather than the physical treasure (gold) taken from the Indian temples by Mahmid II. The philosopher’s gold, such as a knowledge of the heavens and the Earth, is transmitted to all humanity for future generations, while the physical gold stolen by one sultan is stolen by subsequent sultans (Youssefi, 1976).

Exact and Empirical Disciplines: Methodology and Doctrines. In the dialogue between theory and observation in science, al-Biruni prioritized empirical observation. Consequently, he challenged both Aristotle and Ibn Sina. In his book entitled Questions and Answers

(al-As@ila wal-

ajwiba), al-Birtni disputes Ibn Sina’s stance on

the fundamental problems of the nonempirical implicit dogmas of Greco-Islamic Aristotelian-Ptolemaic astronomy, This system is supposed to be the model of “natural philosophy” (tabiiyat, physike) concerning the study of sensible-movables, specifically an examination of the features of bodies discernable by sense perception. However, from its inception, Aristotelian-Ptolemaic astrophysics presupposed several nonempirical parameters, such as the synthetic a priori view of Euclidean geometry, the teleological account of mover-moved relations, and the dogma of the geocentric doctrine concerning the circular motions of the heayens. Al-Birtini questions Ibn Sina on some of these nonempirical presumptions of science. There is an explicit self-appraisal by al-Birtini that he indeed is a “true” scientist, while Aristotle and Ibn Sina are “philosophers.” However, as Ibn Sina states, the idea of what constitutes a “science

of nature” (‘ilm tabiiyat, physiké, naturalis) belongs to philosophy, and science cannot philosophize about itself. Although al-Birunt’s inquiries illustrate the excellence of his empiricism, it is

questionable whether his critique is applicable to the philosophical foundation of the Greco-Islamic classification of sciences, which, for example, delineates between syntactical meta-axioms of logic and mathematics on the one hand, and specific observation-based, contingent theorems of physics on the other. Al-Birini’s own study of astrophysics, alQanin, like Ptolemy’s Almagest, contains theoretical derivations of astronomical parameters, as well as tabular functions to facilitate the computation of planetary positions. However, al-Biruni does not provide any new theoretical axiom to replace Aristotelian-Ptolemaic research on astrophysics. His contribution lies in further mathematical computation of observable data rather than relying on astronomical tables (zij). For instance, in the discussion devoted to the trigonometric

functions

used in astronomy,

al-Birtni

defines the irrational number pi as the result of the division of two other numbers (the circumference of a circle and the diameter), instead of

defining it as a geometric ratio (Saliba, 1990).

In the sciences, his contributions lie in both the delivery of specific new data as well as in the furtherance of observational techniques. For example, in his work on gems, al-Birtini investigates both the physical nature as well as the societal significance of gems. He lists more than one hundred minerals, including precious stones and metals, based on data from China, India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Byzantium, Egypt, Mozambique, and the Baltic region. He is meticulous in his measurement of the density of the minerals and invents a new method for weighing the water displaced by specimens to arrive at numerical values for eighteen minerals. Moreover, he discusses how the use of gems, such as diamonds, deciphers

BiRUNI, AL-

the necessary economic dimension of a society (Saliba, 2013). He was one of the first scientists

who considered not only the physical and logical structure of science but also the societal impact of science and technology. Besides his refinement of the computational

and empirical dimensions of mathematics and empirical procedures, al-Birtini’s remarkable contributions include extensive specific and technical scientific calculations. Using accepted methods of computing the height of a mountain, he came up with a way to calculate the radius of the Earth. He realized that a line from the center of the earth to the mountaintop, from the mountaintop to a point on the horizon, and from the horizon back to the center of the earth would form a right triangle. So he reasoned that if he climbed to the top of the mountain and measured the angle at which the horizon dipped below a horizontal line of sight, he could use the law of sines to locate the point on the horizon and then calculate the radius of

| 105

toms, Laws and Astrology of India About A.D, 1030. Translated by Edward C. Sachau. 2 vols. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co., 1910. Available at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/Idpd_5949073_001.

Ali, Jamil, trans. The Determination of the Coordinates of Positions for the Correction of Distances between Cities: A Translation from the Arabic of Kitab tahdid nihayat al-amakin litashith masdafat al-masdkin. Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1967.

Berjak, Rafik, and Muzaffar Iqbal. “Ibn Sina-al-Biriini Correspondence.

Islam

and

Science

1 (2003):

91-114. Al-Birunis Book on Pharmacy and Materia Medica. Edited and translated by Hakim Mohammed Said. 2 vols, Karachi: Hamdard Academy, 1973. Originally published as Kitab al-saydana fi'l-tibb. Kennedy, E. S. A Commentary upon Birtini’s Kitab tahdid al-amakin: An 11th Century Treatise on Mathematical Geography. Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1973.

with, the equivalent of 6,339.6 miles, is only 17.2

Kitab al-jamahir fi ma'rifat al-jawahir. Edited by F Krenkow. Hyderabad, India: Matba‘at Jam‘tyat D@irat al-Ma arif al-‘Uthmaniyah, 1936. Al-ganin al-mas tdi fil-hay'a wa'l-nojim. Edited by S. H. Barani. 3 vols. Hyderabad, India: Matba‘at Jam‘tyat Dairat al-Ma‘arif al-"Uthmaniyah, 1954-

km less than NASA's current estimate of the polar radius of the Earth. Also, from al-Birtint’s obser-

Sachau, C. Edward, trans. The Chronology of Ancient

the Earth (Barani, 1951). The figure he came up

vations of the Sun recorded between

829 and

1019, present-day astronomers have been able to

1956.

Nations.

London:

W. H. Allen, 1879. Lacunae

in

Sachau’s text have been filled by J. Fiick, “Sechs Erganzungen zu Sachaus Ausgabe von al-Birtini’s Chronologie orientalischer Volker,” in Documenta

calculate the rate of acceleration of the Earth’s rotation and the rate of change of its axial tilt at that

Islamica

time (Newton, 1972).

69-98, and by K. Garbers, “Eine Erganzung zu Sa-

The extent of al-Biriini’s technical as well as methodological achievements in mathematics, the sciences, and special disciplines, such as the comparative study of religions, make him as sig-

chaus Ausgabe von al-Birtini’s Chronologie orientalischer Vélker” in Documenta Islamica Inedita (Berlin: Akademie- Verlag, 1952), 45-69.

nificant as Ibn Sind (980-1037), Jalal al-Din Rumi

Barani, S. H. “Muslim Researches in Geodesy.’ In Al-

(1207-1273), and Ibn Khaldiin (1332-1406).

Inedita

(Berlin: Akademie-Verlag,

1952),

Secondary Sources Birtint Commemoration

Volume,

35-41.

Calcutta:

Iran Society, 1951.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boilot, D. J. “Bibliographie @al-Bériini, corrigenda et addenda.” Mélanges de l’institut Dominicain détudes orientales du Caire 3 (1956): 391-396.

Primary Works

Alberuni’s India: An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Cus-

Boilot, D. J. “Uoeuvre d’al-Bériini: Essai bibliographique.” Mélanges de l’institut Dominicain détudes orientales du Caire 2 (1955): 161-256.

106 | BIRUNI, AL-

Newton, R. R. “The Earth’s Acceleration as Deduced

(Toledo,

1217). The Kitab fi I-hay'a was

also

from al-Bériini’s Solar Data.” Memoirs of the Royal

translated into Hebrew by Mosheh b. Tibbon in

Astronomical Society 76 (1972): 99-128.

1259, and one of the manuscripts of this Hebrew

Pingree, David. “Biriini, Abt Rayhan: ii. Bibliography.” In Encyclopaedia Iranica, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, vol. 4, fasc. 3, 276-277. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1990. Rosenthal, Franz.

“Al-Birtint between

Greece

and

India.” In Biriint Symposium, edited by Ehsan Yarshater, 1-12. New York: Columbia University, Iran

Center, 1976.

Saliba, George. “al-Birtini” In Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, 2013. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/66790/al-Biruni/300080/Works.

Saliba, George. “Biraini, Abti Rayhan: iii. Mathematics and Astronomy.’ In Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 4, fasc. 3, 277-279. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul,

1990. Saliba, George. A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories during the Golden Age of Islam. New York: New York University Press, 1994.

Youssefi, Gholam

Hossein.

“Abu-Reyhan

Birtini: A

translation states that he was a judge. Besides, a late-fifteenth-century Moroccan source calls him a faqih (jurist). His name, al-Bitruji, may be a corruption of al-Bitrawshi, derived from Bitrawsh, a village in Fahs al-Ballit (Cordoba province). Work. The Kitab [murta ‘ish] fil-hay'a (A [Revolutionary] Book on Cosmology) is extant in two

Arabic manuscripts: Escorial 963 and Istanbul, Topkap1 Palace Library, III, Ahmed, MS 3302. Goldstein

(1971) published

a facsimile

of the

former manuscript, with variants from the latter. As mentioned above, the work was translated into both Latin and Hebrew [see Carmody (1952)

for a critical edition of the Latin translation and Goldstein (1971) for a critical edition of the

Lover of Truth? In Birtini Symposium, edited by

Hebrew

Ehsan Yarshater, 13-26. New York: Columbia Uni-

retranslated into Latin by Calo Calonymos (1286-

versity, Iran Center, 1976.

translation].

Tibbon’s

c. 1328) (printed in Venice, 1531). PARVIZ MOREWEDGE

translation

was

A modern Eng-

lish translation and commentary can be found in Goldstein (1971).

BITRUJi, AL-

Abi Ishaq [ibn] al-Bitriji (fl.

1185-1192), or Nir al-Din Abi Jafar Ibrahim b.

Yusuf, known in Latin Europe as Alpetragius, was a famous Andalusian cosmologist.

Chronology. Next to nothing is known about al-Bitrtiji’s life, but he seems to have lived in the second half of the twelfth century. He was probably a disciple of the philosopher Ibn Tufayl (d. c. 1185) who was already dead when al-Bitruji wrote his Kitabft l-hay’a (A Book on Cosmology). On the other hand, MS Escorial 1636 (1192) contains an anonymous

treatise on

tides, the Kitab al-madd wa I-jazr, which seems to borrow ideas from Kitab fi I-hay'a, alBitraji’s only extant work. A third, more reliable chronological reference is the date of Michael Scot’s Latin translation of al-Bitrijrs book

Historical Context and Sources. Al-Bitriji’s book should be considered as the best result of the efforts made by Andalusian Aristotelian philosophers of the twelfth century (Ibn Bajjah, Ibn Tufayl, Ibn Rushd,

and Maimonides)

to solve

the physical difficulties posed by the geometric models of Ptolemy's Almagest and to give a physical description of the cosmos in agreement with the physics available in the twelfth century. The book deals with hay'a (cosmology) and not with mathematical astronomy. It has, at least, two precedents in al-Andalus: first, an attempt to de-

scribe the cosmos physically along the lines of Ptolemy's Planetary Hypotheses (sizes and distances

of the planets),

which

was

written

by

Qasim b. Mutarrif al-Qattan (tenth century), and

second, a book by an anonymous Toledan author of the second half of the eleventh century that

BITRUJI, AL- | 107

seems to represent the earliest Andalusian at-

tempt to criticize the Almagest from a physical point of view (Saliba, 1999).

The aforementioned philosophers who preceded al-Bitriji did not succeed in their attempts to design physically acceptable planetary models. Al-Bitriji seems to be the only one to present alternatives to Ptolemys astronomy, though not very successful ones. His astronomical sources were limited: he had probably read the Almagest, but had not understood it properly. In al-Bitriji's opinion, Ptolemy was a brilliant mathematical astronomer able to create imaginary models that could predict planetary positions but that were totally unreal. He had possibly read Theon of Alexandria's Commentary on the Almagest. Recent research by J. L. Mancha clearly shows that he had some knowledge of the astronomical system designed by Eudoxus of Cnidus (c. 408-c. 355 BCE),

although we do not know which source was available to him. It is also evident that he was familiar with the treatise on the motion of the fixed stars by the great Toledan astronomer Abi Ishaq ibn al-Zarqalluh (d. 1100). As a result of his reading

Jabir b. Aflah’s Islah al-Majisti (Revision of the Almagest), he revised the problem of the order of the planets in the solar system. In his work, Jabir discussed the Ptolemaic order (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun)—because Mercury and Venus have no perceptible parallax in spite of being nearer to the Earth than the Sun and because there were no records of the transits of Mercury or Venus on top of the solar disk—and proposed a new planetary order (Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus), while

al-Bitriiji preferred Moon, Mercury, Sun, Venus and explained the lack of transits by suggesting that both Mercury and Venus had their own

sources of light. Al-Bitrajis Astronomical System. Al-Bitrujis book describes the first non-Ptolemaic astronomical system since Ptolemy, although—as al-Bitraiji acknowledges—the results he obtains

are only qualitative. Being a good follower of Aristotle, his system is homocentric and the celestial bodies are always kept at the same distance from the center of the Earth, but he still uses eccenters and epicycles that are placed on the surface of the corresponding sphere and in the area of the pole. He seems to adapt ideas derived from Ibn al-Zarqalluh’s trepidation models and not all his circular motions have centers that coincide with the center of the Earth.

Al-Bitruji’s system is original in his attempt to explain the physical cause of celestial motions and the transmission of energy from a first mover, placed in the ninth sphere, toward the inner spheres. The ninth sphere rotates with the fastest motion, from east to west, 360° every twenty-four hours. This motion is transmitted to the inner spheres and it becomes progressively slower as it approaches the Earth. This kind of idea was already present in Ibn Rushd’s work. The transmission of motion toward the inner spheres is explained by using ideas derived from Neoplatonic (not Aristotelian) dynamics, and al-Bitruji uses the impetus theory (developed by John Philoponus in the sixth century) to explain this transmission: the first mover impresses a “violent inclination” (mayl gasri) in the inner spheres in the same way as an archer exerts force on an arrow that will move even when it has lost all contact with its own mover (bow). It is interesting to note that al-Bitruji

applies the same dynamics to the sublunar and the celestial worlds, contradicting the Aristotelian idea that there is a specific kind of dynamics for

each world. The force of the first mover reaches the sublunary world: it attains the sphere of fire where it produces the rotation of objects similar to stars (ashbah al-kawakib, similibus stellarum); it

also attains the spheres of air and water, being the cause of tides. Similar ideas can also be found in

Ibn Rushd. Another Neoplatonic idea used by Ibn Rushd and al-Bitriiji to explain this transmission of motion

108 | BITRUJI, AL-

is that the celestial spheres feel a “passion” or “desire” (shawg, desiderium) to resemble the most perfect sphere of the first mover, and this leads them to imitate its motion, in an attempt to reach perfection (kamal). The spheres nearest the first mover are those that most resemble the ninth sphere and they are, therefore, the fastest ones. Motion will slow down progressively the farther away one travels from the first mover and approaches the Earth. Shawg seems to derive from tashawwugq, developed, in a similar way, by the Eastern Neoplatonic philosopher Abii al-Barakat al-Baghdadi (d. 1164) whose

ideas may have been introduced in al-Andalus by his disciple Abii Sa‘d Isaac, the son of Abraham b. ‘Ezra (c. 1092-c. 1167).

Impetus and shawq were used by al-Bitraji in his attempt to explain how a motion transmitted by the unique first mover can produce, in each one of the inner spheres, two different motions in opposite directions and on different planes: that is, the daily motion of 360° on the plane of the equator from east to west (the rotation of the Earth) and the motions in longitude of the celestial bodies on the plane of the ecliptic from west to east. These motions in longitude are very slow in the case of the fixed stars (about 52" per year) but become progressively faster as the center of the system is approached: a complete revolution every thirty years in the case of Saturn, every twelve years in the case of Jupiter, and so on, until the Moon is reached, whose revolution takes place in slightly more than twenty-seven days. Al-Bitrujr gives a clever explanation: the perfect motion transmitted by the first mover is the daily motion and the motions in longitude can be explained as a “delay” (taqsir, incurtatio) in this first motion that becomes more and more apparent the farther away the planetary sphere is from the first mover. Al-Bitruji builds his geometric models on this theoretical basis and, although there is, occasionally, some ingenuity in them, they are clearly insufficient and difficult to understand. In the case of

the fixed stars, the model he describes intends to justify a variable velocity in the precession of the equinoxes, an echo of Andalusian theories on the trepidation of the equinoxes. This model has recently been interpreted by Mancha who shows that the influence of the Zarqallian tradition is combined with the use of a Eudoxian couple that produces a hippopede (a curve shaped like the figure eight). As for the planets, each one moves near the ecliptic but its motion is regulated by the pole of each planet, placed at a distance of 90° from the planet itself. This pole rotates on a small polar epicycle whose center moves, as a result of taqsir, ona polar deferent. Deferents and epicycles allow alBitriji to justify, in a way similar to that of Ptolemy, the irregularities of planetary motions (direct motion, station, and retrogradation). The problem is that al-Bitruji also tries to explain, using the motion in anomaly (rotation of the pole of the planet on the polar epicycle), the changes in planetary latitude, and this is something that cannot be accepted simply because the periods of recurrence in anomaly and in latitude are not the same. Tagqsir, therefore, corresponds to the planetary motion in longitude produced by the displacement of the center of the epicycle on the polar deferent. On the other hand, it seems that alBitruji identifies shawq with anomaly. As the shawg tries to imitate the rotation of the first mover, the motion in anomaly should be opposite to that of the motion in longitude. If alBitruji is following Ptolemy, he should have realized that mean motions in longitude and anomaly take place in the same direction. Opposite directions only appear in the case of the Moon, and al-Bitruji emphasizes this fact and feels that his theory is confirmed by it. Another problem is that the shawq should diminish in planetary spheres as they are farther away from the first mover and, consequently, the mean motion in anomaly should also slow down. This is the case with the three superior planets (Saturn, Jupiter

BOTANY

and Mars). However, the opposite is the case

with the inferior planets (Venus and Mercury) and the Moon, and al-Bitriji makes no commentary on it.

Influence. The Kitab fi I-hay'a was a success, but it did not deserve it. Michael Scot’s Latin translation was known and used in Europe be-

tween the thirteenth and the sixteenth centuries. It was accepted in scholastic circles where it was incorrectly considered a valid alternative to Ptolemy’s Almagest. The work was also known in the Islamic East: MS Escorial 963 was copied in 1281 by an Egyptian Copt and, it may have been introduced in Egypt by Maimonides during his stay in Fustat (old Cairo) from 1165 to 1204. This

Eastern transmission of the text may have had important

consequences:

the great astronomer

from Damascus Ibn al-Shatir (d. 1375) gives, in

the prologue of his Nihayat al-sul, a list of the astronomers who designed geometric models different from those of Ptolemy. Among them, he mentions a certain al-Majriti. As there is no evi-

| 109

Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences 35

(1985): 124-147. Cortabarria Beitia, Angel. “Deux sources arabes de S. Albert le Grand: al-Bitriiji et al-Battani.” Mélanges de l'Institut Dominicain d’Etudes Orientales 15 (1982):

31-52. Kennedy, E. S. “Alpetragius’s Astronomy.’ Journal for the History of Astronomy 4 (1973): 134-136.

Mancha, J. L. “Al-Bitriji’s Theory of the Motions of the Fixed Stars.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 58, no. 2 (2004): 143-182. Reprinted in J. L. Mancha,

Studies in Medieval Astronomy and Optics (Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2006). Sabra, A. I. “The Andalusian Revolt against Ptolemaic Astronomy. Averroes and al-Bitraji.” In Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences: Essays in Honor of I, Bernard

Cohen, edited by Everett Mendelsohn,

133-153. Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge

University

Press, 1984.

Saliba, G. “Critiques of Ptolemaic Astronomy in Islamic Spain.” al-Qantara 20 (1999), 3-25. JULIO SAMSO

Yale University Press, 1971. See the important review

BOTANY Botany in the Islamic world was a practical and experimental activity and a field of scientific study. Knowledge of botany was based on two major sources: the classical works and the flora of the different natural environments. Sources. Classical heritage sources included classical Greek texts and later works on theoretical botany, materia medica, and agronomy translated into Arabic. Theoretical botany. Theoretical botany included the following topics: the genesis of plants, their parts and physiology, their reproduction and growth, their qualities—organoleptic, nutritional, therapeutic, or other—and origin, the concepts of genus and species, and the classification of genera. Theoretical botany was mainly

by Richard

based on De plantis by Aristotle (384-322 BCE)

dence that Maslamah al-Majriti ever designed this kind of model, the scholar George Saliba wonders whether Ibn al-Shatir confused alMajriti and al-Bitruji (private communication).

BIBLIOGRAPHY Sources

Carmody, Francis J., ed. Al-Bitraji, De motibus celorum: Critical Edition of the Latin Translation of Michael Scot. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1952. Review by E. S. Kennedy in Speculum 29, no. 2 (1954): 246-251.

Goldstein, Bernard R., trans. Al-Bitriiji: On the Principles of Astronomy. New Haven, Conn., and London:

Lorch

in Archives

Internationales

d Histoire des Sciences 24 (1974): 173-175.

Secondary Literature

Avi-Yonah, R. S. “Ptolemy vs. al-Bitriji: A Study of Scientific Decision-Making in the Middle Ages.”

and Historia plantarum and De causis plantarum by Theophrastus

(c. 370-c.

287 BCE). In the

Muslim world, Aristotle's treatise was not known in its original form, but in the revised version by

110

| BOTANY

Nicholas of Damascus (c. first century BCE-first century CE ). It is unknown which of Theophrastus's works were translated into Arabic. Materia medica. The main source on materia medica was the treatise De materia medica by Dioscorides (first century CE). The five-book version of this work devotes a chapter to each ma-

etal, animal, and mineral) and are listed in alphabetical order by name within each category. Each materia medica is measured on a scale of four degrees of hotness, coldness, wetness, and dryness. No descriptions are included, and properties and therapeutic effects are expressed according to a theoretical system materialistic in

teria medica (there are 1007 chapters in the whole

nature (particles).

work, with 700 plants, c. 150 animals or parts of animals, c. 150 minerals and others). Each chapter proceeds according to a typical format: description of the materia, major properties and applications, falsifications (with methods to detect them), and other possible uses (cosmetic, veterinary, and economic). The major characteristics of plants are described, rather than a systematic or complete description. Plants are classed according to their therapeutic and not botanical properties: they are grouped by these properties, and all resulting groups are ordered so as to create a scala naturae based on the cultural values the properties were credited with—from a hot, dry, and polychrome

Botanical illustration. Polychrome representations of plants are found in Greek manuscripts such as Dioscorides’s and Galen's treatises. Illustrated manuscripts by Dioscorides are numerous and can be divided into three recensiones, the most ancient of which is probably the manuscript of the Bibliotheque nationale de France, graecus

materia

(iris) to its opposite,

“the black with

which we write” (that is, soot), which is cold,

humid, and colorless. Plant names played a certain role in this classification system. Plants with similar names were grouped because they either were based on botanical or therapeutic similarity or, if not grouped, could be confusing. The treatise was followed by two shorter works ascribed to Dioscorides, De venenis and De venenatis ani-

malibus, the first of which includes toxic plants. The major treatise on materia medica by Galen (129-c. 216 CE)—De

simplicium

medicamento-

rum temperamentis et facultatibus—was also translated into Arabic. It is divided into two major parts: theoretical (Books I-V) and analytical (Books VI-XI). The first part is theoretical

and is discursive, The analytical part is organized differently from Dioscorides’s work: the materiae medicae are divided by natural kingdom (veg-

2179 (ninth century, possibly Syria-Palestine or

southern Italy). Typically, representations in this manuscript closely correspond to the description of the plants in the text. The illustrations are visualizations of the descriptive elements of the plants (botanical keys), which were added in an unrealistic way, without proportions. Agriculture and agronomy. Besides the socalled Nabatean agriculture encyclopedia from the Syriac world, the sources of Islamic knowledge of classical botany were the Ge6rgika attributed to Democritus

(in fact, Bolos of Mendes,

Cc. 200 BCE) and the agronomical treatises by Ana-

tolius of Berytos (Vindonius Anatolius, d. 360 CE) and Cassianus Bassus (sixth century CE).

Non-native floras. At its zenith, the Islamic

world covered, and was in contact with, different natural environments. From the China Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, there is a broad range of environments, from arid zones such as the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts to fertile regions such as the Euphrates and Tigris valleys; from coastal areas along the China Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and the Mediterranean to the mountain chains of the Himalayas, the Zagros

Mountains, the Anti-Taurus and Taurus Mountains, and the Atlas Mountains in North Africa,

BOTANY

| 111

each of which had a specific flora. The different

and the West. In the East, a personage named

biota from China to the Mediterranean were crossed and connected by the Silk Road. Plants— often in the form of their dried parts—were traded along the Silk Road and used for medicinal, alimentary, or economic purposes. The plants and their derivatives traveled together with some information on their places of origin, environment, cultivation methods, or uses. Often, however, this information was distorted and native areas were confused with the harbors, caravansaries, and marketplaces through which the plants entered the Islamic world.

al-Natili (tenth century)—considered to be the

The Assimilation Process. The assimilation of botanical knowledge into the Islamic world went through four phases of translation. The translations. In the first phase, Greek texts were translated into Syriac. These translations were begun by Sergius of Resaina (d. 536 CE) in the sixth century, who translated Books VI to XI of Galen’s treatise. This version was revised by

teacher of Ibn Sina (980-1037 CE), but not neces-

sarily correctly—revised Hunayn and Istifan’s second translation in the late tenth century. In the West, the Umayyad caliph “Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912-961) in Cordoba received in 948 CE a man-

uscript of Dioscorides’s Greek text from a Byzantine emperor who cannot be identified (contrary to modern historiography) because of conflicting information in the report of the fact by Ibn Juljil (c. 944-c. 994). Nikolaos, a Byzantine monk who

had been sent from Byzantium upon request of the caliph, and local scholars revised the first translation by Hunayn and Istifan. Contrary to a widely diffused affirmation of modern historiography, they did not produce a new translation. In the fourth phase, two new translations of Dioscorides’s De materia medica were made in the eastern emirates of Hisn, Kaifa, and Mardin,

possibly on the basis of Hunayn’s Syriac transla-

Hunayn ibn Ishaq (808-873) in the ninth century

tion. The first was translated from 1148 to 1174 and

at Baghdad. Hunayn also translated Dioscorides’s treatise into Syriac, either alone or in collabora-

the other from 1152 to 1176.

tion with another scholar. In the second phase, Greek works were translated into Arabic. An 2009 analysis has shown that Dioscoridess De materia medica was first translated (the most ancient form of the trans-

lation is identified as Vetus translatio) possibly in the early ninth century. Hunayn may have used it for his translation. In collaboration with the Christian Istifan ibn Basil (ninth century), Hunayn

translated the work twice: in one translation, each scholar translated a part (Hunayn Books I-IV of Dioscorides and Istifan Book V and the two pseudepigraphic treatises) and, in the other, Istifan translated the whole work (with the two inau-

thentic treatises) and Hunayn revised it. The latter also translated books VI to XI of Galen's treatise. In the third phase, the Arabic translations of Dioscorides’s works were revised in both the East

The botanical lexicon. The translation of plant names and technical terms has received much attention in modern historiography. Many such names and terms in the Arabic versions of the Greek treatises are often just transliterations of their Greek form. Modern scholars have inferred that the first-generation translators did not know the authentically Arabic equivalents of these names and terms, and, consequently, used transliterations as a way to escape the impossibility of translating them. A closer examination shows that transliterations often went together with authentic translations (one of them being used in the title about the plant and the other in the description of the plant). The translators did not necessarily ignore the authentic Arabic equivalent of the names, but kept the Greek terms because they had a precise function in the structure of the text. Arabizing

112

| BOTANY

This was the case, in fact, not only with the repeated translations of Dioscorides’s text, but

ical analyses in the way of Aristotle and Theophrastus, plant science in the Islamic world, as in the Greek-speaking world, mainly came from

also with the original Arabic treatises (discussed

Dioscorides.

below), which used only Arabic plant names. As a

Botany. As a result, botanical knowledge was transferred from natural science and agriculture to therapeutics and pharmaceutics, and took the form of major materia medica and pharmaceutical encyclopedias containing monographic chapters on plants. Dioscorides’s system of botanical taxonomy

them would have caused a loss of information.

consequence,

Arabization made it necessary to

revise Dioscorides’s plant classification (relying on similarities in plant names as well as other things) in favor of the alphabetical order used in Galen's treatise. Diffusion of the classical works. Aristotle's De plantis does not seem to have circulated widely, as it is known only through Syriac fragments, one Arabic manuscript, and citations in other Arabic works. As for Theophrastus, no Arabic manuscript of his works seems to have been preserved— hence the uncertainty about which of his two

tenth or eleventh century ce. Chapters on plants in materia medica and therapeutic encyclopedias were listed in alphabetical order by plant name, resulting in a loss of information. Tabular presentations, like that in Taqwim as-sihha by Ibn Butlan

botanical

(see above).

(d. c. 1038), increased such loss as it almost elimi-

Similarly, Hunayn’s Syriac version of Dioscorides’s De materia medica seems lost, as well as the possible Vetus translatio, Hunayn and Istifan’s Arabic versions are known through several manuscripts—

nated botanical data. Experimental botany. As early as the eighth century CE, Abd al-Rahman I (756-788 cE) successfully conducted experiments aimed to transfer nonnative plants from the Eastern Mediterranean to al-Andalus and to acclimatize them for the al-Rusafa garden in Cordoba. Later on, inhabitants of the Islamic world received plants (in the form of dry samples, fruits, cuttings, or

treatises was

translated

many more than previously thought—some of which are now dismembered. Galen's treatise did not circulate as widely as Dioscorides’s. Representations of plants were reproduced with some exactness in a corpus similar to that of manuscript graecus 2179. Preserved manuscripts—illustrated or not— hint at a typical transformation in the circulation and assimilation of Dioscorides’s work with three major trends: an increased Arabization of the language, particularly plant names; in thirteenthcentury Baghdad, a return to ninth-century textual versions and illustrations characterized by the production of large-size, lavishly illustrated deluxe copies; and a gradual diffusion of the text eastward, up to the northern Indian continent.

Islamic Developments. Although scientists such as Ibn Sina in the Kitab al-shifa’ and Ibn Bajjah (1021-1058) in the Kitab al-nabat devel-

oped some theoretical botanical and philosoph-

(discussed

above)

was

abandoned

around

the

seeds) from other areas and biotas through con-

tact with the many populations neighboring the Islamic countries, travelers and diplomatic missions, traders along the Silk Road, and other kinds of exchanges. They acclimated a great variety of plants for different purposes, such as alimentary (for example, eggplant), medicinal (for example, ginger), and economic (for example, cotton).

Medical botany. Dioscorides’s text (based on Eastern Mediterranean flora) acted as a catalyst

by attracting traditional knowledge from different cultures and linked to different environments (from Persia, India, and China, for example).

Such knowledge was amalgamated into the treatise and gradually replaced the species originally

BOTANY

mentioned in the treatise in such a way that later treatises of materia medica and therapeutics reflected more closely the flora of the environments covered by the Islamic empire and the products in use by its populations. As in Dioscorides’s original work, each materia medica was analyzed in a chapter that included a description of the plant together with its illustration. Given the great variety of environments covered by the Islamic empire and the many origins of vegetable nonnative products used in the empire, works of materia medica and therapeutics were encyclopedic in nature, from texts by Ibn Sina and al-Birtini (973-1048) in the East to works by al-Ghafiqi (twelfth century cE) and Ibn alBaytar (1197-1248) in the West.

Al-Kindi

(801-873)

created

a mathematical

system on the properties of plants (organoleptic and medicinal)

and their mixtures, which was

based on Galen's four-degree system. Similarly, Ibn Sina developed the concept of hidden property. Floristic research. The transliteration of the Greek names of plants in Hunayn and Istifan’s translations of Dioscorides’s text generated much erudite research aimed to identify the exact Arabic names of the plants described by Dioscorides. This was particularly the case in Cordoba during the reign of ‘Abd al-Rahman III. Such work soon evolved from lexicological to floristic research and eventually aimed to identify the local equivalents of the Mediterranean spe-

| 113

particularly in Andalusia. Among the many authors, one could quote Abt al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Cérdoba,

936-1013),

Ibn Wafid

(Toledo, d. c.

1074), al-Tighnari (Granada, d. c. 1087 cE), Ibn Bassal (Cordoba, d. 1105), or Ibn Luyun (Almeria,

1282-1349).

The arts. Simple representations of plants in the Greek style appear in many pavement mosaics in Syria and Palestine. The technique was further developed in the mosaics decorating the Damascus mosque, resulting in a realistic and illusionist effect. The translation movement introduced scientific representations whose style soon evolved toward stylization, symmetry, and dense color without shade or nuances. Nevertheless, during the early thirteenth century, there was a revival of Greek-like scientific representations. In a work like al-Ghafiqi’s, which probably did not originally contain illustrations, these different styles merged. Plants generated new forms of art, from the garden—particularly illustrated by Granada’s Alhambra—to floral motives on ceramic and tiles, and natural contexts in manuscripts, such as those containing the tales of Kalila wa Dimna or the adventures of Abii Zayd in al-Harirl's Maqamat. Interestingly enough, artists seem to have transferred plant representations from different genres to various media, possibly from scientific books of plants to literary works and from botanical albums to mosaics.

cies mentioned in Dioscorides’s work. In so doing,

this research inventoried the flora of the different environments where these works were compiled. Agronomy.

Experiments aimed to acclimate

nonnative plants and applied research to increase food production and quality and to satisfy the growing needs of the population of the Islamic world, together with technology and engineering, particularly in the field of hydrology, contributed to the development of new agricultural practices illustrated by a wealth of specialized treatises,

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abiial-Khayr. Kitab al-Filaha: Tratado de agricultura. Edited and translated into Spanish by Julia Ma Carabaza. Madrid: M.A.E., Agencia Espafiola de Cooperacion Internacional, 1991.

Ben Mrad, Ibrahim. Ibn al-Baytar: Commentaire de la “Materia Medica” de Dioscoride. Carthage, Tunisia: Beit al-Hikma, 1990.

Collins, Minta. Medieval Herbals: The Illustrative Traditions, British Library Studies in Medieval Culture.

114

| BOTANY

London: British Library; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.

Dietrich, Albert. Die Dioskurides-Erklarung des Ibn al-Baitar: Ein Beitrag zur arabischen Pflanzensynonymik des Mittelalters. Gottingen, Germany: Van-

Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993.

Dietrich, Albert. Dioscurides Triumphans: Ein anonymer arabischer Kommentar (Ende 12. Jahrh.n. Chr.) zur Ma-

teria medica. 2 vols. Gottingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1988. Lulofs, H. J., and E. L. J Poortman,

eds.

Nicolaus Damascenus. De plantis: Five translations. Amsterdam and New York: North-Holland, 1989.

Dubler, César E. La “Materia medica” de Dioscorides. Barcelona: Tipografia Emporium, 1953-1959.

Fahd, Toufic. “Botany and Agriculture.” In Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by Roshdi Rashed and Régis Morelon, vol. 3, pp. 813852. London and New York: Routledge, 1996.

Hamidullah, Muhammad. Le dictionnaire botanique d‘Abi Hanifa ad-Dinawari compiled according to the citations of later works. Cairo: Institut Francais dArchéologie Orientale, 1973.

Lewin, Bernhard. Aba Hanifa ad-Dinawart: Kitab al-nabat. Fifth part. Uppsala, NY: Lundequistska; Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, 1953. Sadek, Mahmoud.

The Arabic Materia Medica of Di-

oscorides. Québec: Editions du Sphinx, 1983. Said, Hakim Mohammed, and Sami Khalaf Hamarneh,

eds. Al-Birinis Book on Pharmacy and Materia Medica. 2 vols. Karachi, Pakistan: Hamdard National Foundation, 1973 (reprint 1982).

Sams6, Julio. Las ciencias de los antiguos en al-Andalus. Madrid: Editorial MAPFRE, 1992.

Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums. Vol. 4, Alchimie, Chemie, Botanik, Agrikulturbis ca.

430 H. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1971.

Tignari, Muhammad b. Malik al-. Kitab zuhrat albustan wa-nuzhat al-adhan (Esplendor del jardin y recreo de las mentes).

logne: E. J. Brill, 1972.

Ullmann, Manfred. Untersuchungen zurar abischen Uberlieferung der Materia medica des Dioskurides. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, 2009.

denhoeck & Ruprecht, 1991.

Dietrich, Albert. Die Ergdnzung Ibn Gulgul’s zur Materia medica des Dioskurides: Arabischer Text nebst kommentierter deutscher Ubersetzung. Gottingen,

Drossaart

Ullmann, Manfred. Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam. Leiden, Netherlands, and Co-

Edited and translated

Spanish by Expiracién Garcia Sanchez.

into

Madrid:

Varisco, Daniel Martin. Medieval Agriculture and Islamic Science: The Almanac of a Yemeni Sultan. Vol. 6, Publications on the Near East. Seattle, Wash.., and London: University of Washington Press, 1994. ALAIN TOUWAIDE

Bursevi, IsmMAIL HAKKI

(1653-1725),

born in Aydos, present-day Bulgaria, was a famous Ottoman scholar, Stiff master, poet, calligrapher, and musician. He grew up in a religious-scholarly environment and was trained in both Sharfah sciences and Sufism under the guidance of the famous Jalwati shaykh Osman Fazli [ahi (d. 1691). After completing his formal studies, Bur-

sevi went into a period of spiritual retreat (khalwah) for ninety days. After serving for a number of years under his spiritual master, he was appointed as a preacher in the order, giving lectures on religious and spiritual issues. He was appointed by his master as a khalifah (spiritual functionary) in 1675, and went to Skopje, Mace-

donia, for six years. Being an outspoken preacher, Bursevi was forced to leave Skopje because of quarrels he had with some religious and political figures. After his years in the Balkans, Bursevi moved to Bursa in 1685 (hence his title “Bursevi”). It

was here that Bursevi became a well-known scholar, commentator, preacher, and eventually a shaykh of the Jalwatiyah order (hence his other title, “Jalwatt”), founded by two prominent Otto-

man Stfis, Shaykh Uftade and Aziz Mahmud

Cientificas,

Hidayi. While serving as the spiritual master of the order in Bursa, he began to compose his

Touwaide, Alain. Farmacopea araba medievale: Codice

voluminous Qur’anic commentary called Rah al-

Consejo

Superior de Investigaciones

2006.

Ayasofia 3703. 4 vols. Milan: Antea, 1992-1993.

bayan fi tafsir al-Quran, which took twenty-three

Bursevi, ISMAIL HAKKI

years to complete. He went on the pilgrimage sev-

eral times. He also lived in Damascus for about three years. He died in Bursa, where he is buried next to the Muhammadi Mosque that he himself had built. His tomb is one of the central attractions for visitors in present-day Bursa. A prolific writer and scholar with wide interests, Bursevi wrote over one hundred books and treatises in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. He is

| 115

Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad combines in himself both prophecy and sanctity. The aspect of prophecy refers to the Sharrah, or religious and legal obligations; the aspect of sanctity refers to “truth” in the spiritual and metaphysical sense of the term. Bursevi was a man of moderation in

Sufism and openly critical of some Siifis, such as

best known for his works in the fields of Quranic

Mansur al-Hallaj who had said, “I am the Truth!) because he believed they had unveiled the secrets of the spiritual path.

commentary and Sufism, but he also wrote on

Bursevi's commentary on the Qur'an occupies

hadith, jurisprudence, kalam, grammar, literature, and history. As is the case with other prominent Ottoman Sifis, Bursevi’s thought reflects the heavy influence of Ibn al-'Arabi, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, and Rumi. Combining several Sift and scholarly perspectives, he gracefully blended various spiritual and philosophical ideas in his widely circulated books. His commentary on Rumi's Mathnawi is of particular importance because of its philosophical depth and literary quality. Bursevi was a loyal follower of Ibn al-’Arabi in metaphysical Sufism. He defended the “transcendent unity of being” (wahdat al-wujiid), and explained the cosmological structure of the universe and the stages of the spiritual path by employing a clearly Akbarian terminology. For Bursevi, the apparent multiplicity of created forms is a veil hiding the underlying unity of the world of creation. The world should not be taken as an absolute in itself. It is underlined by the principle of unity that goes back to God’s creative power. The source of all beings is one and ontologically they cannot claim to have an existence independent

an important place in the history of Sufi exegesis. It is also one of his most widely circulated works. In the commentary, Bursevi combines his indepth knowledge of traditional sciences with Sufi expositions, stories, and poems. As a scholar and spiritual teacher, he addresses the general public through religious and ethical exhortations. But he also explicates the more difficult and sophisticated issues of philosophical mysticism as articulated by Ibn al-‘Arabi and Rumi. By addressing both the average person and the intellectual elites, Bursevi shows the range of his scholarship as well as his concern to reach out to various audiences—a fact that can be seen in metaphysically inclined Sufi orders from the Balkans and Turkey to the subcontinent of India. Bursevi led a spiritual order and thus interacted with the people around him. Some of his works are in the tradition of tuhfah (gift) writings, which are short treatises written in response to questions and/or in honor of certain people. Most of Bursevi’s tuhfah writings are about the philosophical aspects of Sufism and the practical

of God. In terms of man’s spiritual journey on earth, Bursevi adopted and further elaborated Ibn al‘Arabi’s central concept of the “Muhammadan truth” (al-hagigat al-muhammadiyah), which functions as a cosmological and metaphysical principle in the creation and sustenance of the universe.

questions of pursuing a spiritual life. Bursevi'’s Kitab al-natijah belongs to the genre of waridat (literally, the plural of “that which comes”) writings, in which the author explains the

spiritual states and inspirations that have “come” to him from heaven. Bursevi's waridat works include a considerable range of subjects, from commenting upon a famous poem or wisdom saying

116 | Bursevi, ISMAIL HAKKI

to pure metaphysics and cosmology. Bursevi also authored a commentary on Nawawis “Forty Hadith” from a Siff point of view. Bursevi has influenced generations of Siifis and scholars, from the Ottoman period to modern Turkey. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ayni, Mehmet Ali. Ismail Hakki: philosophe mystique, 1653-1725. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuth-

ner, 1933. Bursevi, Ismail Hakki. Divan. Edited by M. Yurtsever. Bursa, Turkey: Arasta Yayinlart, 2000.

Bursevi, Ismail Hakki. Kirk Hadis Serhi. Edited by Sami

Erdem. Istanbul: Insan Yayinlar1, 1998. Bursevi, [Ismail Hakka. Kitabii’n-netice. 2 vols. Edited

by A. Namli and I. Yavas. Istanbul: Insan Yayinlari,

1997. Bursevi, Ismail Hakki. Rah al-bayan fi tafsir al-Qur an. 10 vols. Istanbul: Mektebet-i Eser, 1969.

Bursevi, Ismail Hakka, Ruh al-Mathnawi. 2 vols. Istanbul: Matba-y1 Amire, 1870. Bursevi, Ismail Hakki. Tuhfe-i Ataiyye. Edited by V. Akkaya. Istanbul: Insan Yayinlari, 2000. Kalin, Ibrahim. “Ismail Hakki Bursevi.” In The Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy, edited by Oliver Leaman, Vol. 1, pp. 88-90. London: Continuum, 2006.

Namli, Ali. Ismail Hakki Bursevi: Hayati, Eserleri ve Tarikat Anlayis1. Istanbul: insan Yayinlari, 2001. IBRAHIM KALIN

BUZJANI, ABU-L-WAFA’

(940-988 cz),

Iranian mathematician and astronomer. Buzjani was one of the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of the tenth century. Abti-l-Wafa’ Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Ismail ibn ‘Abbas al-Buzjani was born in Buzjan

seven years after Ali ibn Buya succeeded to the throne. His birthplace was a small town near present-day Turbat Jam, located in the Khorasan province of northeastern Iran. The earliest account of his life is presented by his contemporary Ibn al-Nadim. Abu-l-Wafa’ learned arithmetic

and geometry under Abi ‘Amr Maghazili and Aba ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ghanbasa, his paternal and maternal uncles. At the age of twenty, about 959-960, he moved to Baghdad,

which ruler, Wafa’ work

was already under the control of the Buyid and soon became a leading scholar. Abu-ldid most of his astronomical observation under the patronage of Izz al-Duwla

(Bakhtyar ibn Muiizz al-Duwla) in Bab al-Taban, during the period 976-977.

Since al-Fihrist had been composed ten years before Buzjant's death, the date of his death is not recorded by its author, Ibn al-Nadim. In some other sources two dates are reported: 997 by Ibn

al-Athir and Ibn Khallikan quoting from him, and 998 by Ibn al-Qifti.

Abii-l-Wafa

collaborated with some

of the

other scholars of his time. In 997, when he was in

Baghdad, he observed the lunar eclipse that occurred on May 24 of that year simultaneously with al-Biriini, who observed the same phenomenon in Kath (now located in Karakalpak, Uzbekistan).

The time difference obtained

be-

tween the observations led to the calculation of the longitude difference between the two cities. In correspondence with Abu ‘Ali al-Hububi, Abu1-Wafa provided a different formula for calculating the area of a triangle, similar to that given by Heron, and Abt Nasr Mansur ibn “Ali ibn Iraq reported this correspondence in his Fi ma‘rifat al-qusiyy al-falakiyya.

Introduction of the Fundamental Theorems of Trigonometry. As al-Biriini writes, the invention of shakl al-zillt (the tangent theorem) is in-

disputably due to Abu-l-Wafa’, who introduced it for the first time in his Majisti among his many other innovations in trigonometry. But for the shakl al-mughni (the sine theorem), a debate

arose between the claimants for its invention. Al-Birunt discussed the inventors of the shakl almughni and gave a clear exposition of the contributions of each of them. Abii Nasr Mansir ibn

BUZJANI, ABU-L-WAFA’

‘Iraq, in order to solve the problem of the azimuth of qiblah (the direction of Mecca), wrote his trea-

tise al-Sumut (The Azimuths) for al-Sijzi in which

he proved the shakl al-mughni implicitly, but for solving other problems in the book, he only applied the Menelaus Theorem. When Abi-I-Wafa’, in Baghdad, became aware of the al-Sumit, he asked al-Biriini for a copy of it, and al-Biriini sent him the treatise. In response to al-Biriini, Abi-IWafa mentioned that he knew another method for calculating the azimuth of giblah that was simpler than what Abu Nasr had used. When Abu Nasr was informed about Abi-l-Wafa’s assertion, he sent an independent treatise on shakl al-mughni to al-Birtini. A year after the correspondence between Abu-l-Wafa’ and al-Biriini, Abu-l-Wafa’ sent seven books of his Majisti to alBirtini, in which he had proved the shakl almughni and applied it to all the problems of the treatise.

After further discussion of the others who claimed the invention of the theorem, al-Biruni concluded that his master and patron Abu Nasr was the one who first introduced and used it. However, it is worth noting that Abu Nasr did not introduce the shakl al-mughni in al-Sumut as a new method for solving problems and that it was

Abi-l-Wafa’ who, after studying Abu Nasr’s book, made explicit introduction and applications of

the theorem. Discovery of the Moon’s Variation. From 1836 to 1871 a discussion about the discovery of

the moon’s “variation” was in progress among a number of scientists in the Académie des Sciences of Paris. On February 28, 1836, Sédillot, after translating a section of Majisti, asserted that Abii-l-Wafa’ had discovered the variation of the moon before Tycho Brahe. In order to determine who was the discoverer of the phenomenon, the Académie designated four of its members (Biot, Arago, Damoiseau, and Libri) to research the problem and ask two questions:

| 117

“Why did Abii-l-Wafa’’s successors not mention anything about the variation?” and “Was the variation appended to Majisti after the discovery by Tycho Brahe?” On March 14, Sédillot answered the objections by comparing the corresponding fragment of Tycho Brahe’s book, which was appended to the Frankfurt edition, with Majisti. He then added that the Muslim scholars whose works had survived all lived before Abu-l-Wafa’, and that the zijs (astronomical tables) composed after him were based on the zij of Ibn Yiinus (d. 1009).

At the same time Libri sent a message to the Académie and declared that Sédillot’s account could not be authoritative. Libri argued that the investigators were not supposed to consider all of the Muslim astronomers living before Abi-|Wafa’, and also that Ibn Ytinus, who recorded the observations of 1003 in Zij kabir hakimi, could have been aware of the discovery prior to others. In April 1838, Libri raised more objections against Sédillot, leading to a serious confrontation between them, The committee of the Académie formed in 1836

for examining the problem was dissolved in 1842. Collaborating with the senior orientalist Munk, Biot composed some articles rejecting Sédillot’s interpretation of Majisti. Biot, Munk, de Slane, and Reinaud together silenced any further discussion of the matter by translating the chapter of Majisti related to the moon's motion. Despite their logical treatment, there exists some ambiguity in their interpretation. Fifteen years later, Chasle submitted a letter to

the Académie, supporting Sédillot’s idea. On October 9, 1871, the proposal of some of the Académie members to acquire a complete codex of the Majisti was accepted by the government, but their attempts to obtain one were unsuccessful. On October 11, Bertrand published an article in Journal des Savants claiming that Abti-l-Wafa’ had not discovered the variation but merely

118 | BUZJANT, ABU-L-WAFA

prepared another approach for presenting Ptole-

my’s method.

Grahie | b) Crd

Eventually, in June 1892, Baron Bernard Carra

de Vaux carried out a careful investigation on the debate and showed that Sédillot’s idea had not been correct. In spite of all the attempts to attribute the discovery to Tycho Brahe, in 1893 Nau revealed

that Abu-l-Faraj ibn al-Ibri (Bar Hebreus, 12261276) had mentioned the variation of the moon

many years before Brahe, which now implies that the real medieval roots of the discovery deserve to be investigated more thoroughly and precisely. A crater on the moon was named after Abu-l-Wafa’ to honor his scientific achievements. Extant Works.

1. Majisti in seven books, each consisting of parts (nat) and each part divided into chapters (fasl). The text was edited from its sole manuscript and published in March 2010. Abu-l-Wafa’ included all his achievements in trigonometry in three parts of the Majisti: parts 5 and 6 of the first book, on the trigonometric magnitudes (functions) sine (Sin), cosine (Cos), tangent (Tan), and

z

Crd

equivalent to

z

2) ;

a

a

sing = 2sin—.cos—

2

2

For calculating the subtraction and addition of arcs, Abi-l-Wafa’ used two geometrical methods

and gave these formulae: Sin’a —Sin’a - Sin*b

a) Sin(a+b)=

+,/Sin°b—Sin*a . Sin’b b) Sin(a+b)=Sina-Cosb+Sinb:Cosa

In a plane triangle right-angled at B, Abu-lWafa’ proved: ae = ae Sinb R

, called the “rule of four

quantities”

py

at TanA

Si aa R

, known as the “plane form”

of the tangent theorem

cotangent (Cot) (initial capitals denote the sexa-

gesimal system), and the first part of the second book, on the fundamental theorems. The first use of R = 1(R being the radius of the circumscribed circle) appeared in the Majisti. Abt-l-Wafa’ calculated Sint and tabulated Sin, versine (Vers) (=1—Cos), Tan, and Cot values for 1° to 90° with intervals of 15 minutes.

He proved a number of useful relations, among which are:

4) 2R-Crd(1go’ -20) _ oT R

Cra

2

pe

to CULE

OG

i

ail fe

N/a

equivalent

and then concluded the following corollary: Cosb i Cosc Cosa —

R

Abi-l-Wafa’ also proved and applied the sine

theorem in a spherical triangle:

Sina

Sinb _ Sinc

Sind

SinB

SinC

The spherical case of the tangent theorem needs more explanation. Consider that arcs arc AM and arc AN of two great circles on the surface of a sphere intersect at A and are cut off by two other arcs of great circles arc BC and arc DE such that arc BC | arc AN and DE 1 arc AN (Figure 1).

BUZJANI, ABU-L-WAFA

Figure 1: The spherical case of the tangent theorem. Then Simarc A

| 119

5. Jawab Abial-Wafa Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Buzjant amma saalahu al-fagih Abu ‘Ali al-Hasan ibn Harith al-Hububt ‘an ‘tad masahat al-muthallath bi-dilala al-adla’‘ bidiin ma rifa al-irtifa’ (Abt-1-Wafa’s Response to the Request of Abt “Ali al-Hubibi on Calculating the Area of a Triangle by Its Sides without the Height Given). Abti-l-Wafa’ provided the following formula for calculating the area of a triangle with the given sides a, b, and c:

sslanarc. 3G

Sinarc AE. Tan arc DE

2. Kitab fi ma yahtaju ilayhi al-sani’ min a mal al-handasa (Book about What Is Needed

by the Artisan for Geometric Constructions) in eleven chapters. The treatise was translated twice into Persian, once by an anonymous trans-

lator and the other time by Abii Ishaq Kibunani. There are also two commentaries, one by Kamal al-Din ibn Yunus in Arabic and the other by Muhammad Bagqir Yazdi in Persian. One of the Persian translations was edited and published with a French translation and provided with an introduction in both languages in Tehran (2010).

3. Kitab al-mandazil fi ma yahtaju ilayha alkuttab wa al-‘ummal

min ‘ilm al-hisab (Book

about What Administrators and Secretaries Require of the Science of Arithmetic) in seven parts (manzil), and each part in seven chapters (bab). Since this was merely a handbook of arithmetic for secretaries, administrators, and merchants, Abi-l-Wafa’ did not give proofs for the calculations. The work was edited and published with a comprehensive introduction and useful comments by A. S, Saidan in 1971. 4. Risdla fi tarkib ‘adad al-wifq fi-l-murabba at

The only manuscript of the treatise was facsimiled and published with an English translation and the history of the problem in 1979.

6. al-Madkhal ila sandat al-arithmatiqi (An Introduction to the Art of Arithmetic). A manuscript of the treatise is preserved in Rampur, India. 7. Risala fi al-nisba wa-l-ta‘rifat (Treatise on the Ratio and Definitions). A manuscript of this treatise exists in Tehran. 8. Risala ft jam‘adla@ al-murabba‘at wa-lmuka ‘abat (Treatise on the Addition of the Sides

of Squares and Cubes), Abu-l-Wafa’ composed this treatise in response to Yahya ibn Sahl. A manuscript of it is kept in Holy Shrine Library of

Meshed, Iran. 9. Risalafi iqama al-burhan ‘ala al-d@ir min al-falak (Treatise on Determination of the Passed Hours of a Day). The treatise was published in

1948 in Hyderabad.

Lost Works. The following works of Abt-lWafa have not been found yet. Ibn Nadim reports on nos. 1 to 7 in al-Fihrist: 1.

(A Treatise on the Combination of Numbers in

Magic Squares). The only extant manuscript of the treatise was edited and translated into French in 1998.

Kitab tafstr al-Khwarazmi fi-l-Jabr wa-lmugabala (A Commentary on the Algebra of Khwarizmi)

2.

Kitab tafsir kitab Diufintus fi-l-Jabr (A Commentary on the Algebra of Diophantus)

120 | BUZJANI, ABU-L-WAFA

3.

Kitab tafsir Ibirkhus fi-l-Jabr (A Commentary on the Algebra of Hipparchus)

Carra de Vaux, B. “LAlmageste d@Abi’lwéfa Albtizdjani””

4.

Kitab fima yanbaghi ‘an yuhfaz qabl kitab arithmatigi (On What Should Be Studied

Golchin Ma‘ani, Ahmad. Fihrist-i Radawi. Vol. 8. Meshed: Astan Quds Radavi, Sazman-e “‘Umtr-e

before Arithmetic)

5.

Kitab al-barahin ‘ala ma ista‘mala Diufintus fi kitabihi Istikhraj dil’ al-muka‘ab wa mal al-mal wa ma yatarakkabu minha (Proofs of What Diophantus Applied in His Book on Deriving the Square of a Cube)

6.

Kitab al-kamil (The Perfect Treatise), on the

movement of heavenly bodies 7.

Al-zij al-wadih (The Plain Astronomical Tables)

8.

Kitab al- amal bi al-jadwal al-sittini (Treatise on Using the Sexagesimal Table), mentioned by Ibn al-Qifti

9. 10.

Sharh kitab al-Uglidis, mentioned by Ibn alQifti Kitab fi istikhraj al-autar (On Deriving the Chords), mentioned by Ibn Khallikan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Works

Abi Nasr ‘Iraq. “Fi ma'rifat al-qusiyy al-falakiyya.” Ras@il Abi Nasr Mansur ibn ‘Iraq. Book 8, pp. 1-13. Hyderabad, India: Matba‘at Jam‘tyat D@irat alMa arif al-‘Uthmaniyah, 1948.

Buzjani, Abi-l-Wafa. Ketab al-nejdrat. Edited and translated into Persian by J. Aghayani-Chavoshi. Tehran, Iran: Markaz-i Pazhiihishi-i Miras-i Maktib, 2010. Buzjani, Abi-l-Wafa’.. Majistt Abi al-Wafa’ al-Buazjani. Edited by Ali Moussa. Beirut: Markaz Dirasat alWahdah al-‘Arabiyah, 2010. Buizjani, Abi-l-Wafa’. “Risdla fi Iqama al-burhan ‘ala al-dair min al-falak.” Rasa’il al-Mutafarriga fi alHay'a. Hyderabad, India: Osmania Oriental Publications Bureau, 1948.

Ibn al-Qifti. Tarikh al-hukama@’. Edited by Julius Lippert. Leipzig, Germany: Dieterich’sche Verlagsbuch-

Journal Asiatique, 8e série, 19 (1892): 408-471.

Farhangi wa Kitabkhaniha, 1971.

Ibn al-Athir, ‘Izz al-Din. Al-kamilftal-tarikh. Edited by Muhammad Yusuf al-Daqqaq, Vol. 6. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 1987.

Ibn al-Nadim, Muhammad ibn Ishaq. Kitab al-Fihrist. Edited by Gustav Fligel. Leipzig, Germany: F. C. W. Vogel, 1871. Ibn Khallikan. Ibn Khallikan’s Biographical Dictionary. Translated by Baron MacGuckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868. Kennedy, Edward Stuart, and Mustafa Mawaldi. “Abi-1Wafa’ and the Heron Theorems.” Journal for the His-

tory of Arabic Sciences 3, no. 1 (Spring 1979): 19-30.

Aleppo, Syria: Institute for the Arabic Sciences, Aleppo University Press.

Munk, Salomon. “Nouvelle note concernant la part quont eue les Arabes a la découverte des inégalités du mouvement de la lune.” Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l’'Académie des Sciences 16 (1843): 1444-1448. Paris: Gauthiar- Villars.

Nau, Francois. “La troisiéme inégalité lunaire dans Aboulfaraj (Bar Hebereus).” Bulletin Astronomique 10 (1893): 259-264.

Oppolzer, Theodor R. von. Canon der Finsternisse. Vienna: Kaiserlich-K6niglichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1887. Qurbani, Aba al-Qasim, and Muhammad ‘Ali Shaykhan. Bizjantnamah: sharh-i ahval va ds dr-i

i buzurg-i Irani. Tehran, Iran: Intisharat va Amizish-i Inqilab-i Islami, 1992.

Saidan, Ahmad Salim. Tarikh ‘ilm al-hisab al-‘arabi. Vol. 1. Amman, Jordan: Jam‘iyat ‘Umal al-Matabi‘ alTa awinia, 1971.

Sédillot, L. A. “Recherches nouvelles pour servir a Phistoire de lastronomie chez les Arabes: Découverte de la variation par Aboul-Wefa, astronome du Xe siecle.” Journal Asiatique 16 (1835): 420-438. Sesiano,

J. “La

traité

d’Abul-Wafa

sur

les carrés

magiques.’” Zeitschrift fiir Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften. Band 12 (1998), pp. 121-244.

handlung, 1903. Secondary Works Bertrand, J. “La théorie de la lune d’Aboul-Wefa” Journal des Savants (October 1871): 457-474.

Sezgin, Puat. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums. Vol. 5, Mathematik. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1974. YOUNES MAHDAVI

CALENDARS The word “calendar” refers to different systems of organizing time. In older Islamic sources, the word tarikh was used for “calendar, but later it was called taqwim. The calendar is thought to have originated from ancient agricultural patterns. The repeating motions of the heavenly bodies led human beings to establish a template for recording time on the basis of these motions.

The description of different calendars, their

important occasions, converting one type of calendar to another, and other related calculations were the subject of the most important genre of mathematical astronomy in the Islamic period, zij. In almost all zij the first chapter is devoted to calendars. The different types of calendar systems formed throughout history can be classified according to their dependence on lunar or solar motion as either solar (totally independent of lunar motion) or lunar (although not purely lunar because they use the “solar day”). There is also a lunisolar system, which is basically lunar but uses an intercalation system to align the seasons with the calendar. Lunar Calendars. From the astronomical point of view, there exist different types of “lunar month.”

The one that has been used in calendars is the synodic month, which is defined as the time between two consecutive conjunctions of the moon with the sun—that is, the period between two successive new moons. This type of month is longer than others, a bit more than 29.5 days on average. In practice, the observation of the new moon in the western sky at the moment of sunset indicates the beginning of the lunar month, but in calculation, the precise moment of conjunction is considered as the beginning of the lunar month. By contrast, the beginning of a solar year requires accurate calculations, because a solar month is a mathematically defined amount (almost one-twelfth of a solar year) and its beginning has no visible manifestation. Perhaps the visibility of the new moon was humankind’s motivation for using a lunar calendar. The complications involved in the visibility of the new moon were one of the major concerns of timekeepers and astronomers in the medieval Islamic period. A pure lunar calendar is not synchronized with the natural seasons. This gave rise to some complications in ancient times, and led to some unusual solutions, such as what is called nasi (lunar intercalations) in the Quran.

121

122

| CALENDARS

The Islamic lunar calendar, which is the official calendar in many Islamic countries, is one of the

most famous lunar calendars. The beginning of this calendar is the first day of the month of Muharram of the year of Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina (18 July 622). Each lunar year contains twelve months of twentynine or thirty days, or in other words, 354 or 355

days. The Hebrew calendar is another example of a lunar calendar, one that has been harmonized with the sun’s revolution. To make this calendar follow the seasons and have its religious occasions fall at the same time of year, seven leap months are inserted during the course of nineteen years. In this calendar, five of the months always have thirty days, five others always have twenty-nine days, and two of them vary between twenty-nine and thirty days. Therefore the length of a regular calendar year varies between 353 and 355 days, and

the length of a leap year varies between 383 and 385 days. The Chinese-Uighur calendar, another example of a lunisolar calendar, was in use in East Asia and for some centuries in Persia under Mongol rule. Other examples of lunar calendars have been in use in East Asia, India, and other parts of the world.

Solar Calendars. Solar calendars are based on the revolution of the Earth around the sun. A solar year can be defined in different ways, but the tropical year, which is the base of a solar calendar, is the time the Earth takes to pass one of the equinoctial points twice, and is 365.2422 days on average. Different calendars have been designed at different times on the basis of the sun's apparent motion in the sky. The most important difference among these calendars is in the determination of the length of the year. Since determining the actual length of the year requires accurate astronomical calculations, the determination of intercalation periods for the adjustment of the solar calendar is quite complicated. Valuable efforts were made in this regard in the Islamic period.

In some solar calendars, such as the Egyptian (Coptic) and the Yazdgerdi, the length of the solar year was taken as 365 complete solar days. These calendars contained twelve months of thirty days plus five extra days. These extra five days were usually added to the end of the year, but sometimes they were added to the end of the eighth month. Since the length of the year in these calendars was less than the real time of the apparent motion of the sun in the sky, these calendars lagged one day behind the real motion of the sun every four years. In some other solar calendars, such as the Julian, the length of the year was determined to be 365.25 days. Although such calendars followed the real motion of the sun better, they still needed adjustment. Iranian calendars, in which the moment of the vernal equinox is considered the beginning of the year, manifest even greater problems. The kharaji calendar can be counted as one of the solutions to these problems. This calendar was formed during the reign of Yazdgird III (632651/52) in order to harmonize the official calendar

with the harvest times and therefore to ease the tax-collecting process. The Gregorian calendar, which is used in many parts of the world, has been created to correct the intercalation of the Julian calendar. The same

reason led to the development of one of the most famous calendars during the Islamic period, under the reign of the Seljuk ruler Jalal al-Din Malikshah (d. 1092), whence it is called the Maliki

or Jalali calendar. This calendar is the basis of the

solar hijri calendar, which is now the official calendar of Iran and Afghanistan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Akrami, Musa. “The Development of Iranian Calendar: Historical and Astronomical Foundations.’ http:// arxiv.org/abs/1111.4926. Kennedy, E. S. “Al-Khwdrizmi on Jewish Calendar”

Scripta Mathematica 27 (1964).

CAUSE AND EFFECT | 123 van Dalen, Benno. “The Chinese-Uighur Calendar in Tust'’s Zij-i Ikhani? Zeitschriffiir t Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften 11 (1997). SAJJAD NIKFAHM

CAUSE AND

EFFECT

Cause ((illah or

sabab) and effect (ma‘lal or musabbab) play a crucial role in understanding the differences and tensions between philosophical and theological doctrines about God, nature, and man in Islamic

intellectual history. The terms indicate the relation between a cause and its effect, that is, causality (Cilliyya or sababiyya). Sources. Aristotle's doctrine of four causes and the Neoplatonic conception of cause can be seen as the two major sources of philosophical discussions in Islam. In the Posterior Analytics, Aristotle makes proper knowledge about something contingent on knowing its cause: “We think we have knowledge of a thing only when we have grasped its cause” (A Post. 71 b 9-11; cf. APost. 94a

20). The notion that proper knowledge is knowledge of the cause is repeated in the Physics: “We think we do not have knowledge of a thing until we have grasped its why, that is to say, its cause” (Phys. 194 b 17-20). Aristotle criticizes the pre-

Socratic philosophers’ explanations of change,

which were based on material or formal causes, and offers his general account of the four causes in Physics 11.3 and Metaphysics V.2. For him, when we ask about the “why” of a certain thing or event, our different and sometimes obscure answers confirm one of four aspects: (1) material cause, which explains what something is made of; (2)

implications of the three basic principles of the metaphysics of Plotinus (d. c. 270), that is, “the

One” (or, equivalently, “the Good”), Intellect, and Soul. For Plotinus the One is the absolutely simple first principle of all. It is both “self-caused” and the cause of being for everything else in the universe. He answers the question “How do we derive many from the One?” through the doctrine of emanation, and explains the One’s being the cause of the universe in general, and of the world of generation and corruption in particular, by means of the secondary causes, Intellect and Soul. Aristotle’s ideas on causality and recon-

ciling them with the Plotinian or Neoplatonic interpretation of Platos philosophy are among the main problems of the Greek Neoplatonist thinkers—especially the school of Alexandria—and their commentaries on the Aristotelian corpus. The Neoplatonist commentary tradition on Aristotle focuses mainly on the final and the efficient causes. Both are external causes, as, unlike matter and form, they are not constituents of the thing itself. Neoplatonist philosophers, such as Ammonius Hermiae (fl. c. 500), interpreted the Aristotelian

concept of energeia or entelekheia as meaning that everything tries to reach its perfection (teleiotes). They combined this idea with the notion of final causality and created a hierarchical cosmology in which things are ranked according to their position with regard to the final cause of all being, which is the One or God. Therefore, in this conception, a more perfect being is regarded as more perfect in terms of its existence, and a more perfect being passes the existence it receives from what is above it in the cosmic hierarchy down to what is

which is the intended purpose of the change.

immediately below it. Although it is easy to follow the impact of Aristotle’s conception of causality on the philosophical circles in Islam through the translation of his corpus, especially his Physics and Metaphysics,

As for the Neoplatonist notion of causality, it should be referred first to the strong causal

the situation is much more complex in the case of the Neoplatonist notion of causality and its traces

formal cause, which explains the form or pattern to which a thing corresponds; (3) efficient cause,

which is what we ordinarily mean by “cause,” the original source of the change; and (4) final cause,

124

| CAUSE AND EFFECT

in Islamic philosophical tradition. On the one hand, Plotinus’s Enneads IV-VI (On the One, In-

tellect, and Soul) and the Elements of Theology of Proclus (d. 485) were among the first works trans-

lated into Arabic in the ninth century. They were reworked,

attributed to Aristotle, and entitled

Uthalajia Aristutalis (Theology of Aristotle) and the Kitab al-idah li-Aristitalis ftal-khayr al-mahd (Book of Aristotle's Exposition of the Pure Good, known in Latin as Liber de causis or the Book of Causes) respectively. The metaphysical causality between the First Cause and the universe through the intermediary causes according to the Neoplatonist emanationist schema is the main theme of these two works. On the other hand, Neoplatonist commentaries on Aristotle were as effective as these pseudo-Aristotelian treatises in the transmission of the Neoplatonist notion of causality into the Islamic philosophical tradition, and Islamic philosophers inherited the problems

these commentaries had raised in the context of causality. Evolution. Al-Kindi (d. c. 866) usually identi-

fied as the first philosopher in the tradition of falsafah in Islamic history, provides the preliminary discussions on the concepts of cause and effect in metaphysical and particularly cosmological contexts. Since al-Kindi and his circle played a crucial role in the transmission of Aristotle’s Metaphysics and the pseudo-Aristotle’s two works— Theology of Aristotle and the Book of the Pure Good—into Arabic, his conception of causality bears the stamp of the Neoplatonist endeavor of reconciling Aristotle with Plato. Al-Kindi devotes his most significant work of metaphysics, Fi alfalsafa al-ila (On First Philosophy), to “first phi-

losophy,’ or metaphysics, and he describes it as “the noblest part of philosophy and the highest in degree.” Moreover, he argues that first philosophy is “the science of the First Truth, Who is the cause of all truth” (Pormann and Adamson, 2012, p. 10). For al-Kindi the main attribute of the First Truth

is oneness, and “bringing something to be” necessitates imposing unity of a certain kind. In particular, he believes that God is an “agent” or efficient cause. He expresses this view in a separate work, Fi al-fa‘il al-hagq al-awwal al-tamm wa al-faiil alnaqis alladhi huwa bi al-majaz (On the True, First, Complete Agent and the Deficient Agent that is [only an Agent] Metaphorically). The “true agent,” al-Kindi says, is one who acts alone without being acted upon; in other words, the true agent is absolutely active, and in no way passive. On the other hand, created things are only agents in a metaphorical sense, because they can only, or must only, transmit the agency of God—who is an efficient cause, not just a final cause of motion as Aristotle believes—to the next link of the causal chain. The emanationist metaphysics and cosmology of al-Farabi (d. 950/51) provide us with the de-

tailed explanation that al-Kind?’s conception of causality lacks. In his Mabadial-mawjtdat (The Principles of Beings), al-Farabi provides an original synthesis of the Aristotelian metaphysics of causation and a highly developed version of Plotinian emanationism along with Ptolemaic astronomy, explaining the universe on the basis of six principles of being (mabadi’?): (1) the First Cause (al-awwal), (2) the Secondary Causes (al-

thawani), (3) the Active Intellect (al-‘aq] al-fa“al), (4) Soul (al-nafs), (5) Form (al-stirah), and (6)

Matter (al-mddda). Al-Farabi reinterprets Aristotle’s causation of motion as a causation of being and intellection. The First Cause, of which alFarabi says, “one should believe this is God,’ is the incorporeal First Mover, in that the celestial spheres move out of desire for It. This First Cause,

in thinking Itself, emanates the incorporeal being that is the first intellect. The First Cause mediates Its creative activity through these secondary causes to the lowest celestial intellect, the ninth one, and of these secondary causes al-Farabi says, “One should believe they are the angels.” Every celestial intellect is the cause of two things: the

CAUSE AND EFFECT

| 125

intellect immediately below it, and its own sphere.

God’s omniscience in his Sharh li-kitab Aristitalis

While the first intellect is associated with the first heaven, the second intellect is associated with the sphere of the fixed stars. Each intellect thereafter is associated with one of the “planets” known in

fi al-‘ibara (Commentary on Aristotle’s De interpretatione). His approach to this problem is also striking, not only because he is a major interpreter of causality in human actions in the Islamic philosophical tradition, but also because of the conclusion he reaches. Al-Farabi argues that if all future events were predetermined, human free will and deliberation would be invalid, and thus whatever punishment human beings experienced for their actions would be unjust. This would severely damage the social and political purpose of religion.

al-Farabi’s time: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun,

Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. The final intellect, which al-Farabi calls the Active or Agent Intellect (al-‘aql al-fa“al) and identifies with the Holy Spirit, causes the existence of all the beings in the sublunar world, starting from the four elements up to the rational animal (humans). As

for the last three principles of being—namely the Soul, Form, and Matter—though they are not corporeal beings, they can exist in corporeal beings. While the Soul is the principle of living, motion, and intellection in celestial beings, it provides intellection, sensation, desire, and imagination in rational animals, and appears in non-rational beings as their biological faculties. Form and Matter, on the other hand, constitute the formal and material causes of natural bodies. In spite of the strong deterministic implications of al-Farabi’s conception of cause and effect at the metaphysical and cosmological levels, he has some doubts about the necessary character of causal relations in the sublunary world and human actions in particular. In a treatise where he investigates the epistemological validity of astrological predictions, al-Farabi clearly describes the relation between a physical cause and its effect (for example, fire and its burning, or ice and its cooling) as “possible/contingent at most” (al-mumkin ala al-akthar). For him, what we experience

and observe are those kinds of causal relations, and when the degree of certainty decreases, such as in the “equally possible/contingent” (al-mumkin ala al-tasawi), and the “rarely possible/contingent” fi al-nadra) cases, our scientific pre(al-mumkin dictions lose their powers of explanation and generalization. Moreover, al-Farabi discusses the contradiction between human free will and

Ibn Sina (d. 1037) is the author of the most

comprehensive interpretation of causality in Islamic philosophical tradition. He devotes a separate book of the Metaphysics (al-Ilahiyyat) of his famous al-Shifa‘ (The Healing) to the discussion of causality (VI1-5). Ibn Sina’s comprehensive

metaphysical system interrelates cause and effect with his two famous distinctions, between existence and essence (wujtid, mahiyah) and between

necessity and contingency (wujib, imkan). He gives them a central role in his investigations of many important problems, such as the existence of God and His relation with the universe. Before he presents a technical division of the four causes (material, formal, efficient, final) and their states,

Ibn Sina connects his examination of causes to the primacy of the concept of “existent” (mawjud), and asserts that cause and effect are among the consequents (lawahiq) of an existent qua existent (mawjud bi ma huwa mawjud). In parallel with the division of existent things into that which is necessary and that which is possible or contingent, Ibn Sina argues that any being is also either uncaused or caused. If uncaused, it would then be the first cause of all other beings, that is, the necessary of existence in itself, which can be imagined to exist entirely on its own without any causal relation, If caused, it means that its existence can be conceived only through another,

126

| CAUSE AND EFFECT

which is not itself caused, and Ibn Sina identifies this caused existent with that whose existence is possible or contingent (mumkin al-wujud). Ibn Sina includes his distinction between essence and existence in his analysis of causality at this stage. First he divides the four causes into two groups:

The true agent is always prior in existence to its effect even if it is not prior to it in time, whereas an accident agent is prior in time to the effect and requires matter to act. A true agent is also supe-

immanent causes (form and matter), and tran-

rior to its effect, while the accident agent may be of the same species. Thus, Ibn Sina demonstrates the relation of God with the universe according

scendent causes (efficient and final causes). Since

to essence causality. He argues that the existence

in every existent, except “that which is necessary

of God alone necessitates the existence of His effect, that is, the universe, and that the priority of

in existence in itself” (wajib al-wujtd bi-dhatihi),

a thing’s essence is distinct from its existence, the First is that thing’s efficient cause by converting its possible or contingent essence to the status of “that which is necessary in existence through another” (wajib al-wujiid bi-ghayrihi). The First is also the final cause of the essence of the possible of existence, for its perfection originates from the First as final cause. Thus Ibn Sina combines the Neoplatonic conception of efficient cause with Aristotle’s emphasis on the final cause. Furthermore, his analysis proves the existence of “that

which is necessary in existence in itself” by arguing that an infinite number of efficient causes is impossible, and thus solves the problem of multiplicity in the First as both an efficient and a final cause. For Ibn Sina, another important issue about

causality is the nature of the efficient cause and its relation to its effect. By “agent” or “efficient cause” he means a cause that bestows existence separate from itself and not simply a principle of motion. For him, “that which is caused requires some thing which bestows existence upon it continuously as long as it continues to exist” (V.1). Ibn Sina points out the difference between two kinds of causality in regard to the efficient cause: that which pertains to essences (dhdati), and that which pertains to accidents (aradi). While the ac-

cident causes precede the existence of their effects and can constitute an infinite series, the essence

causes are transcendent and immaterial causes, finite in number, simultaneous with their effects.

God to the universe is in existence, not in time.

For Ibn Sina the creation of the universe, as an eternal process, proceeds necessarily from God by emanation. Critique and Defense. The philosophical conception of causality has a central place in the severe criticisms of philosophy put forth by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111), expressed in his famous Tahdfut al-falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers). Among the twenty discussions of the Tahdfut, the first discussion, which deals with the philosophers’ conception of metaphysical causality, and the seventeenth, which focuses distinctively on the theory of causation as a physical matter, should be noted. Although alGhazali’s own conception of causality exhibits some important shifts throughout his career, it can be said that his primary objective is to demonstrate that God is the only efficient cause of all events in His creation, and to show that His will cannot be restricted by any necessary causal connection, either metaphysical or physical. Therefore he first rejects the philosophers’ theory of emanation, for it leads people to see God’s creation as an eternal and necessary process. The very first sentence of the seventeenth discussion shows alGhazali’s point of view about the physical theory of causation: “The connection between what is habitually believed to be a cause and what is habitually believed to be an effect is not necessary in our view.’ Even if al-Ghazali does not negate the existence of causal connections, he argues, as an Ash‘ari

CAUSE AND EFFECT

| 127

theologian, that the connection could be different, even if it never was and never will be different as a

period of Islamic philosophy. In the case of Sadra, the elements of this syncretism are Ibn Sina’s

result of God’s Will and His deliberate choice between alternative worlds. Whatever God’s Will, which is distinct from the Divine Essence, decrees, it comes about through the attribute of Divine Power. The eternal Will decrees that all created existents and events follow a uniform course, and He will never change His habit, as He has revealed

theory of causation, Suhrawardi’s (d. 1191) skepti-

(see, for example, Quranic verse 33:62, 35:43). But

this habitual course is not in itself necessary, and the eternal Will that decrees this uniform, habitual course also decrees its disruptions at certain moments of history. These disruptions are the miracles that God creates on behalf of His prophets. Al-Ghazalrs refutation of the philosophical conception of causality was answered by Ibn Rushd (d. 1198) in his Tahdafut al-tahdafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence). Ibn Rushd, who

accuses al-Ghazali’s position of being sophistic, affirms that things have essential attributes or natures, by which we can define and differentiate them from each other. Therefore, the denial of causation makes philosophical and scientific knowledge impossible and absurd: “Denial of cause implies the denial of knowledge, and denial of knowledge implies that nothing in this world can be really known, and what is supposed to be known is nothing but opinion.” However, the cases in which a thing does not act according

cism about the Aristotelian-Avicennan concept of knowledge and science, and Ibn al- Arabi's (d. 1240) doctrine of the unicity of being (wahdat

al-wujid). Although Sadra explains the Godworld relation as a causal process and sees Him as the sustaining and existentiating cause of the world, he also stresses the inadequacy of the language of causation in the context of the divine world. For Sadra, the totality of being is a singular reality, and all that exists is the Divine Being that functions in the disclosure of being as a flow. All that is other than God does exist in reality, and things exist not because God causes them to exist, but because He exists. Sadra emphasizes that the Divine Being, as a singular modulated reality, manifests Himself through continuous divine acts, and there is no causal relationship other than the “preparations” (mu ‘iddat) for divine agency that are in constant motion. Therefore the world is a process emanating from God and as such is purely relational; however, the hierarchy of being in the world order is organized through the concept of intensification and intensifying motion. Thus the different degrees of being are differentiated by the degree of their intensity and their participation in being.

to its nature (for example, fire does not cause cotton to combust) do not mean that its nature is

removed. For Ibn Rushd, such a case can be explained through our ignorance about the undetermined relations between cause and effect. Therefore Ibn Rushd excludes the miracles of the prophets from philosophical discussion, and

evaluates them as a matter of faith. Even he is not a direct critic of the AristotelianAvicennan conception of causality, Mulla Sadra (d. 1641) should be mentioned as a good example of the syncretic character of the postclassical

BIBLIOGRAPHY Adamson, Peter, and Peter E. Pormann. The Philosoph-

ical Works of al-Kindi. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2012.

al-Farabi. “Al-Nukat ff ma yasihhu wa ma 1a yasihhu min ahkam al-nujiim.’ In Risalatan falsafiyatan. Edited by Jafar Al Yasin. Beirut: Dar al-Manahil, 1987, 45-65. al-Farabi. Kitab al-Siyasa al-madaniya: al-mulaqqab bi al-Mabdadi’ al-mawjtdat. Edited by Fawzi M. Najjar. Beirut: Imprimerie Catholique, 1964. al-Farabti. Sharh al-Farabi li-kitab Aristatalis fial-ibara. Edited by Wilhelm Kutsch and Stanley Marrow. Beirut: Librairie Orientale, 1960.

4128 | CAUSE AND EFFECT

al-Ghazali. Incoherence of the Philosophers = Tahafut al-falasifa: A Parallel English-Arabic Text. Edited and translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1997.

Griffel, Frank. Al-Ghazalis Philosophical Theology. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, Ibn Rushd. Averroes’ Tahafut al-Tahafut. (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) Translated by Simon van den Bergh. 2 vols. Oxford and London: Oxford University Press and Luzac & Co., 1954.

Ibn Sina. Al-Ilahiyat min al-Shifa’ = The Metaphysics of The Healing: A Parallel English-Arabic Text. Edited and translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Utah:

Brigham Young University Press, 2005.

Rizvi, Sajjad H. “Mulla Sadra and Causation: Rethinking a Problem in Later Islamic Philosophy.’ Philosophy East and West 55, no. 4 (October 2005): 570-583

Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Muhammad

ibn Ibrahim. Al-

Hikmah al-muta‘@liyah fit al-asfar al-‘aqliyah alarba‘a. Edited by Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar, 3rd ed. 9 vols. Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1981. Wisnovsky, Robert. Avicenna’s Metaphysics in Context. London: Duckworth; Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2003. M. CUNEYT KAYA

CHALABI,

HEZARFEN

AHMET

The

first recorded person to fly with eagle’s wings between two continents. We do not know the dates of Ahmet Chalabi’s birth and death. Due to his ability in many sciences and arts, he is known as

Do#ancilar square in Uskiidar on the other side of the strait. According to Awliya Chalabi, who witnessed the achievement, the famous Turkish flier used al-Juharis calculations with some correc-

tions and balancing adjustments, all derived from studying the eagle in flight. For this feat, Sultan Murad IV (r. 1623-1640)

awarded Hezarfen a sack of gold pieces. The sultan himself and other statesmen witnessed the event from the Sinan Pasha mansion in Sarayburnu, next to Topkapi Palace. Although Sultan Murad was initially impressed by the accomplishment, he later became frightened by Hezarfen’s skills, stating, “This is an intimidating person. He is capable of doing anything he wishes. It is not right to keep such people” (Chalabi, Sayahatname), and consequently sent him into exile in Algeria. Hezarfen Ahmet Chalabi died there on an un-

known date. According to modern scientific calculations, it would be almost impossible to fly 3200 meters between Galata Tower and Uskiidar using an eagle’s wings and one’s muscles to mimic a bird’s flight. Most probably, Hezarfen glided with the help of a strong wind during his flight. None of the contemporary accounts, other than Awliya Chalabr’s, mention this event, so most people believe it to be fictitious.

hezarfen ([man of] a thousand skills), that is, a

“polymath.” Most of the information about his life is based on Awliya Chalabi’s Sayahatname (A Book of Travel),

Hezarfen Ahmet Chalabi used eagle feathers stitched to his wings to fly. After nine experimental attempts and exercises in the Okmeydan1 district of Istanbul, he finally decided on the shape of his wings and method of flight. His most famous flight took place in 1638 from the Galata Tower on the European side of Istanbul. With the help of a southwesterly wind, he successfully landed in

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chalabi, Awliya. Evliya Celebi Seyahatndmesi: Topkap1 Sarayt Kiitiiphanesi Bagdat 308 numarali yazmanin transkripsiyonu, dizini. Vol. I, edited by Yiicel Dagh, Seyit Ali Kahraman, and Robert Dankoff, p.359. istanbul: Yapi Kredi Yayinlan, 2003.

Kagcar, Mustafa. “Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi.” In islam Ansiklopedisi Genel Miidiirliigii, edited by Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi, vol. 17, p. 297. Istanbul: Tiirkiye Diyanet Vakfi, 1998.

Kansu, Yavuz. “Plan6r.’ In Tiirk Ansiklopedisi, vol. 27, pp. 54-55. Ankara, Turkey: Milli Egitim Bakanligi, 1978.

CHANGE AND MOVEMENT

Kansu, Yavuz, Sermet

Havacilik

Tarihinde

Sens6z, and Yilmaz Oztuna.

Tiirkler, pp. 36-38. Ankara,

Turkey: Hava Kuvvetleri Basimevi, 1971.

Terzioglu, Arslan. “The First Attempts of Flight, Automatic Machines, Submarines and Rocket Technology

in Turkish History’ In The Turks, edited by H. C. Guzel Ill, pp. 804-810. Ankara, Turkey: Yeni Tiirkiye Yayinlari, 2002. SALIM AYDUZ

CHANGE AND MOVEMENT = Movement and change, used interchangeably at times, have preoccupied Muslim philosophers and scientists in several ways. First, the debate regarding how

change happens in the natural world has been largely inherited from Greek philosophy, but the Muslim philosophers had to make a number of adjustments within the context of their new ontology, which assumed

the world to have been

created, Although Aristotle's framework of actuality and potentiality was accepted, it was applied to substances rather than to existence as a whole. Second, the problem of change in relation to substance has caused philosophical conundrums because Aristotle defined fixed substance as metaphysical actualities. Ibn Sina and Suhrawardi, among others, rejected change in the category of substance but also struggled to provide a logical explanation for quantitative change. Third, the

question of change and movement is closely related to one of the key themes of Islamic (and much of medieval Christian and Jewish) meta-

physics, that is, the relationship between God as

the eternal and unchanging and the created world of change and transience. The way in which a phi-

losopher explains the concept of movement and change has implications for scientific, theological, and metaphysical questions all at once. The Greek Background. The Greek thinkers took note of two seemingly contradictory phenomena: change and movement observable in the

| 129

external world on the one hand, and what is deemed to be unchanging and permanent perceived by the mind on the other. Heraclitus had defined perpetual change as the true nature of the visible world. The constant change of things suggests that things are essentially different without a unifying principle. Fire best exemplifies the continuously changing structure of the world: it constantly burns, moves up and down, changes its color, and so on. But it is the flowing river “into which we cannot step twice” that has become the most famous parable to epitomize Heraclitus’s philosophy of constant change. Yet this is an incomplete and misleading interpretation of this Greek philosopher because Heraclitus posits “Logos” as the ultimate principle that unites and orders all differences in the universe. Heraclitus seems to point out that the senses are misleading in grasping the true nature of things; we need to use our reason, the Logos, to see the underlying unity and harmony of things. Parmenides rejected change as a logical notion to explain the reality of things. His famous doctrine of Being as permanence was based on the premise that Being is and cannot become what is not. Parmenides conceived negative predication as vanishing out of existence. When we say “the tree is not man,’ the negation here does not mean that “tree does not exist.’ But Parmenides accepted affirmative proposition as meaningful statements. Thus Being cannot

become into what it is not. As he put it, “... That which is uncreated and imperishable, for it is entire, immovable and without end. It was not in the past, nor shall it be, since it is now, all at once....” Parmenides denied void by using the same principle: Since Being is everywhere and nothing can be outside of It, there cannot be void. Consequently, because there is no void, there is no empty space for Being to move into. Thus the impossibility of change

and movement is proven once more. But this conclusion, convincing as it was for Parmenides and his followers, created an impasse in Greek philosophy.

130

| CHANGE AND MOVEMENT

Empedocles sought to overcome this impasse by proposing four unchanging and indestructible elements—earth, air, fire, and water—that would account for change and permanence at the same time. These four archetypal elements never change but produce change and movement through various combinations and compositions. Like Parmenides’s Being, these four elements cannot be created or destroyed, but individual entities can be created by the rearrangement of them. Thus change is the different arrangements and compositions of the four unchanging elements and movement is the spatial transposition

of things composed as such. The Greek atomists, and Democritus in particular, explained the world to be a totality of eternally existent and unchanging atoms. Atoms, though uncreated and unchanging, behave as the principle of change and movement in that their various combinations give rise to qualitative and quantitative change. Plato took both Heraclitus and Parmenides seriously and sought to incorporate their main points into his thought. He acknowledged the reality of change in the world but did not think that this would serve as a sound basis for knowledge. There had to be a permanent and unchanging realm from which we can obtain the true knowledge of things. Change and permanence were clearly related but Plato saw a hierarchy between the two. The way he formulated the problem gave a new meaning to movement and change. The problem was now incorporated into the larger question of the status of the Platonic Forms and their relation to the world of contingent and impermanent beings. Furthermore, Plato held in the Timaeus that the Demiurge created the world at a particular point in time, which the Muslim Platonists took to be a proof for the createdness of the world. If the world is created, then all the things that move in it must have a beginning and an end, To explain how this happens becomes a primary task of Islamic metaphysics.

Aristotle dealt with movement as a natural philosopher in his Physics and thus minimized the metaphysical component of the problem. Aristotle introduced the potentiality—actuality framework in order to overcome the old “being versus becoming” dilemma in Greek philosophy. The definition of movement as emerging from potentiality

into actuality, which became the standard definition of movement during the Middle Ages, accommodates both permanence (being) and change (becoming) in the natural world. But Aristotle's

Metaphysics, which the Muslim philosophers read along with his scientific works, reintroduced the issue, this time with a larger metaphysical question. His “Unmoved Mover” terminates the infinite chain of causes and traces all movement in the universe to a principle that, in contrast to other beings, does not need another agent to move it. While Aristotle held the universe to be eternal, his Muslim,

Christian, and Jewish followers

inter-

preted the Unmoved Mover argument as a proof for the existence of God as the creator of the universe. The problem of movement thus became one of the key themes of the metaphysics of creation.

Kalam Views on Movement. Greek atomism largely shaped the course of kalam (dialectical theology) thinking on natural philosophy. In contrast to the Greek atomists, however, kalam thinkers used atomism to prove the createdness of the world. They held that the atomistic structure of the world establishes the existence of a transcendent power to create and delimit these most fundamental components of the universe. When we accept that matter is indivisible ad infinitum, then we also admit that there must be a primary cause that grants atoms their limitation and composition,

The Mu'tazilite concept of movement is closely related to their idea of atom and kawn, which denotes an entity's being in a particular position in space. The essential characteristic of atoms is that they occupy space (mutahayyiz) and are thus

CHANGE AND MOVEMENT

concrete entities with certain qualities and definite position. Atoms cannot exist without this kawn. In the words of Abii Hashim, “The atom cannot exist unless it occupies space and it cannot

occupy space unless it is spatially present [in a particular position]; and it cannot be spatially present in a position save by virtue of a kawn.” To occupy space means to be in a particular position and not in another. This is called kawn, that is, “to be present in a place” or “to exist concretely in a position.” The Mutazilites regard movement as one of the attributes or states of the atoms, on the one hand, and the modifications of the various akwan, on the other. Movement is defined as an atom’s being (kdain) in one position after

having been in another. A corollary of this version of atomism is that movement and change can occur only in the alteration of “accidental attributes” and be predicated only of composites. Thus, movement and change means that the present composites of atoms become altered through the passing away of certain attributes and their assuming new ones while atoms themselves remain unchanged. The classical kalam thinkers adopted Aristotle’s view that movement is a “homonym” (ishtirak-i lafzt) used for two different meanings. First is the direction of the moving thing to its targeted place by means of which it remains always “medial” (mutawassitan) between the be-

ginning and the end. This is called “medial movement” (al-haraka bi al-ma‘nd al-tawassut).

On the one hand, this movement involves some kind of “transformation” in the moving thing because at every instance that the body traverses it reaches another point and thus differs from the previous time instances. This medial movement exists “objectively” in the external world. On the other hand, the moving body possesses two characteristics during its act of movement as a whole. First, it is always in change when moving from one point to another. Second, it

| 131 }

displays a certain “continuity” because the body itself is always at some point. Hence, the moving body in regard to its being is continuous, but in regard to the distance it passes it is “flowing” (sayyala). This type of movement as a whole leaves upon the mind the impression that body’s act of moving is a static and continuous whole. This movement is called “passage” (qat’) and can exist only in the mind. The kalam thinkers accepted four categories in which movement occurs. These are “place” (ayna), “quantity” (kam), “quality” (kayf), and “position” (wad'). Spatial movement from one point to another is called “transportation” (naqla). The

quantitative movement (kammiyya) is the gradual passage from one quantity to another, like the passage of the prime matter (hayila) and the form (surah) and takes place in terms of concentration and increase. The qualitative movement is called “transformation” and signifies a thing’s movement from one attribute to another. The “positional” movement is restricted to the circular movement because it is a thing’s movement from one position to another within its own limits. Movement occurs only within these four categories. Movement means change in one of the attributes of these four categories. Change in the category of substance is strongly rejected on the ground that movement in substance means origination and corruption, that is, something changing substantially and thus becoming other

than itself. Ibn Sina. Like the kalam thinkers, the philosophers including al-Kindi and al-Farabi defined movement

in terms of change, transformation,

and transposition. But what this “change” is precisely, however, has been a matter of intense debate. The key question is how something remains the same while undergoing quantitative change and/ or moving from one point in space to another. Answering this question requires taking into account Aristotle’s fixed substances, on the one

132 | CHANGE AND MOVEMENT

hand, and the constantly changing accidents on the other. Ibn Sina takes nature as the principle of movement and change because nature refers to the innate qualities and basic properties of physical beings in the natural order. To delineate this, he divides natural entities into two groups: “natural beings” (al-mawjudat al-tabiiyyah) and “artificial/

crafted beings,” that is, things made by humans (almawijudat al-sind iyyah), The first group of beings contains in themselves the principle of movement and rest whereas the second group is set in motion or rest by external causes. If something has its own cause of movement, it is classified as a “natural being.” But natural-corporeal beings are also set in motion by either internal or external causes. For instance, the prime matter (hayula), in order to

become a particular being, needs a form to “move,” that is, actualize it as a concrete entity. This confirms the standard definition of movement as the gradual emergence of something from potentiality into actuality. If the “emergence” happens gradually, it is called “transposition” and “spatial movement” (naq!). When it is instantaneous or sudden,

it is called “origination” (kawn) and “corruption” (fasad), which applies to substances and newly emergent beings only. Following Aristotle’s lead, the Muslim philosophers defined time as the measure of motion as it happens in stages or at once. As physical beings move, each of their successive points provides a measure of time. But it is the spherical movement of the celestial beings that define time in the sublunar world. To maintain order and balance in the universe, the stars must have a fixed movement, that is, the perfect cyclical movement that is not affected by the generation and corruption of the world of contingent beings. Like other Peripatetic philosophers, Ibn Sina rejected movement and change in the category of substance because he held that origination and corruption take place between two opposites,

that is, existence and non-existence. Substances do not “move” in the standard sense of the term because that would change their fundamental nature and lead to origination and corruption rather than transposition and spatial motion. Furthermore, if change happens in substance, then the accidental properties that are attributed to a stable substance would also be destroyed. For Ibn Sina and his followers, change in the Aristotelian sense of the term occurs only in accidents. The Brethren of Purity. The Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa’) identifies six types of movement: origination and corruption, increase

and decrease, and transformation and transposition. Origination is the coming of something into existence out of non-existence or from potentiality into actuality; corruption is the opposite. Although origination is a type of movement in this limited sense, it applies primarily to the creation of substances. Increase and decrease refer to quantitative change when something increases or decreases in a certain type of quantity. Transformation is the change of a being’s qualities from, say, one color or smell to another. Finally, movement as transposition refers to the motion of a particular being from one point in space to another. This type of movement does not bring about any change in the essential qualities of the thing that moves. Mulla Sadra’s Substantial Motion. The debate over movement and change takes a drastic turn with Mulla Sadra’s introduction of the

concept of “substantial motion” (al-harakat aljawhariyyah), which, in contrast to theologians and philosophers, allows change in the category of substance (jawhar). Sadra defines movement as the continuous renewal and lapse of a physical body in motion as a whole. When a physical body moves from point A to point B, it does so with all of its substantial and accidental properties. But this is possible only if change and permanence are held together in the act of motion. Sadra makes

CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

use of his ontology to substantiate this point: the immediate cause of every motion should be something whose quiddity (méahiyah) is stable but whose being (wujiid) is ever-changing. In other words, “The immediate cause of motion has to be something with a stable essence and continuously changing being (thabitat al-mahiyah mutajaddid al-wujad) ... the immediate cause of all kinds of motion is no other than nature (al-tabi ah). This

nature is the substance by which things subsist and become actualized as a species.” Sadra further argues that every natural body carries the principles of change and permanence in itself simultaneously. Nature remains as an enduring property in physical bodies while it changes at every moment. Considered in regard to permanence, nature functions as the principle of preservation of species. When considered in regard to change and renewal, it refers to the renewal of physical bodies and the origination of created beings. With nature functioning in this way, substances are not immune from change and do not become dissolved when subjected to change. By contrast, Ibn Sina had held that because substance is a stable substratum to which accidental qualities are ultimately traceable, change in substance would amount to the dissolution of that particular thing. For Sadr, a stable substratum is not needed to support the “general existence” of a physical body and thus change in substance does not lead to destruction or “corruption.” By arguing for change in substance, Sadra goes beyond the established framework of Aristotelian natural philosophy and turns substance (jawhar) into a “structure of events” and a “process of change.” This view does away with Aristotle's fixed substances and introduces a new ontology of physical beings in nature. For Sadra, substance is not a “thing” or “entity.” Moving between change and permanence, substance, like the rest of the world of nature, oscillates between existence and nonexistence at every instant. “Nature” is not reducible

| 133

to quantity because every change in the world of nature, whether positional, spatial, or temporal, is a result of an “existential transformation” in the very substance of things. As substances move toward their “telos” (ghayah), they too realize their potential and thus display constant dynamism. Because time is the measure of motion, Sadra’s view

of substantial motion makes time an intrinsic property of things rather than a reflection of the cyclical movement of celestial bodies. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dhanani, Alnoor. The Physical Theory of Kalam Atoms, Space, and Void in Basrian Mu'tazili Cosmology. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1994.

Frank, R. M. Beings and Their Attributes. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1978.

Ibn Sina. Kitab al-Najat. Edited by M. Fakhri. Beirut: Dar al-Afaq al-Jadidah, 1985.

Ibrahim Kalin. “Between Physics and Metaphysics: Mulla Sadra on Nature and Motion.” Islam and Science 1 (2003): 65-93.

Ikhwan al-Safa’. Ras@ilIkhwan al-Safa’. Edited by ‘Arif Tamer. Beirut: Manshurat ‘Uwaydat, 1995. Originally published in 1415.

Rahman, Fazlur. The Philosophy ofMulla Sadra. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975.

al-Razi, Fakhr al-Din. al-Mabahith al-Mashriqtyah. Edited by M. al-Baghdadi. Beirut Dar al-Kitab al“Arabi, 1990. Shirazi, Sadr al-Din. al-Hikmah al-Muta dliyah fi al-asfar al-aqliyah al-arba‘ah. Edited by M. Rida al-Muzaffar. Beirut: Dar Thya al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1981. al-Tahanawi, Muhammad. Kashshaf Istilahat al-funin. Edited by A. H. Basaj. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al‘Imiyah, 1998. IBRAHIM KALIN

CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY § Chemistry in the traditional Islamic world may be divided into alchemy and chemistry. The underpinnings of such a division, however, were not present in the medieval Islamic world, as both

134

| CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

were referred to as al-kimiya’, where the al is simply the definite article in Arabic. To Englishlanguage readers, this al distinguishes between science, chemistry, and pseudoscience, alchemy. In the medieval world, many treatises dealt with work that would be considered at once both alchemy and scientific chemistry. For this reason, in this entry, the word “alchemy” refers to both subjects and should be understood through context as it was during the medieval period. In its beginnings, al-kimiya literature in Arabic was drawn from Greek, Indian, and Persian sources. Hermes, as well as Aristotle and other Greek philosophers, was quoted in medieval Arabic literature on alchemy. On the other hand, through translation, the alchemy of the Islamic world directly influenced the creation and development of alchemy and what would become modern chemistry in the medieval Latin world. It is said that the roots of alchemy are in Egypt. The Corpus Hermeticum, or works attributed to Hermes, formed the basis of this original alchemy. As sources, Greek alchemical literature played the greatest role in the initial development of Arabic alchemical literature. For example, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are all named in works of the Islamic world as authors of alchemical works or pioneers in the field. Although Hermes holds a mythical place in alchemy, the works of later Egyptian writers, such as Zosimus (fl. c. fourth century), have also been recorded in

both alchemical and literary works. Alchemy in the Muslim world was formed primarily through a synthesis of earlier knowledge and subsequently developed by medieval scholars. The influence of Greek literature is most prominent, but the translation movement and medieval trade routes provided extensive channels of communication in alchemy, both through the introduction of instruments and theories.

Major Figures. The Islamic tradition developed legendary stories about earlier scholars. Yazid ibn

Mu‘awiyah, the second Umayyad caliph, is said to have been an erudite scholar who authored a work on alchemy. Ja far al-Sadig, a renowned early scholar of Islam and the sixth Shi7 imam, is also said to have been a famous alchemist. In medieval literature, he was described as a teacher of Jabir ibn

Hayyan.

Jabir ibn Hayyan was a semilegendary intellectual from the ninth century. Despite questions of his authenticity, which surround him as an individual and his works, Jabir’s works and their legacy maintain a strong presence in subsequent alchemical literature throughout the Islamic world and the Latin world. Historically, all works attributed to Jabir came to be known as the Jabirean Corpus.

This corpus of works includes the Kitab al-mizan, or Book of the Balance, and Kitab al-ahjar, or Book of Stones. Jabir’s works include not only topical works but also compendiums, such as the Kitab al-sabin, or Book of Seventy, in which the Kitab al-ahjar was included. Jabir developed a practical alchemy, which was less interested in theory and would become emblematic of Islamic alchemy. The methods he developed and refined served as a standard in alchemical investigation. Jabir stated that metals had a zahir, or outward, aspect and a batin, or

inward and hidden, aspect. In identifying metals, Jabir followed his Greco-Roman predecessors in using a two-part system based on the temperaments of Greek humoral theory: hot and cold, moist and dry. Combinations of these two aspects were used to describe the zahir and batin aspects

of a metal. For example, Jabir labeled mercury as cold and humid. Jabir is important as his numerous treatises became the standard of alchemy. Moreover, his work was not simply a rehashing of earlier Greek knowledge. Besides Jabir’s devotion to alchemy, his practical approach to the subject allowed for a rational methodology.

The popularity of alchemy and its importance in the Islamic world can be seen in al-Kindi (d. c. 870).

CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

Al-Kindi, one of the most famous Neoplatonists of the Islamic world, was also an alchemist. Even so, he was a practical alchemist who was generally in opposition to the transmutative nature of the more

esoteric side of alchemy. In his book Risala fi kimiya al-‘itr, or Treatise on the Chemistry of Perfumes, al-Kindi describes distillation, an important process in the making of perfumes. It is also important to emphasize that this was practical alchemy whose purpose was the creation and manipulation of perfumes. Other works of his, such as the Risdla fi al-‘itr wa anwa i-hi, or Treatise on Perfumes and Their Types, and the Risala fi anwa al-hijara wa-l-jawahir, or Treatise on the Types of Stones and Jewels, represent al-Kindi’s practical focus on alchemy. Abi Bakr al-Razi (d. c. 930), the well-known

medieval physician and scholar, was also an accomplished alchemist. Al-Razi was the stereotypical practical alchemist, who was more interested in experiment and production than theory. His most important work in alchemy was the Sirr al-asrar, or Secret of Secrets, which demonstrated al-Razi's pragmatic approach to alchemy. The Sirr

al-asrar divides the study of alchemy into drug components and origins, equipment used in experiment and work, and techniques involved in alchemy. Al-Razi helped establish practical alchemy. His Sirr al-asrar was fundamental in this development. Without problematizing the esoteric aspects of alchemy, he created a practical manual for alchemy, which Donald Hill described as foreshadowing the laboratory manual. This work exhibits important characteristics of Islamic alchemy in the manual’s preponderance of theory, experiment, and pragmatic approach, represented by its chapters on alchemical information, how to manipulate substances, and the instruments re-

quired to do so. The medieval polymath Ibn Sina (d. 1037) was

most famous for his works in philosophy and

| 135

medicine, but he wrote treatises on many subjects, including alchemy. As with al-Razi, Ibn Sina was focused on the practical pursuit of knowledge in alchemy. In his Risalat al-iksir, or Treatise on Elixirs, Ibn Sina lays the foundation of alchemical thought. Despite contention over the authenticity of this treatise, Ahmed Atech and Georges Anawati argue that it is authentic.

Atech has shown that Ibn Sina’s philosophical work, the Shifa’, or The Healing, and his work on

minerals, Kitab al-ma adin wa-l-athar, or Book of Minerals, which shows his stance against trans-

mutation, do not contradict Ibn Sma’s Risalat al-iksir. This provides important insight as Ibn Sina’s alchemical treatise includes a discussion on techniques followed by preparatory methods for substances, their compositions, and a final section on elixirs. Ibn Sina, therefore, supported a practical alchemy that focused on analysis to understand the properties of substances, production, and the changing of a substance and its properties.

Abi al-Rayhan al-Biriint (d. 1048) also partici-

pated in the alchemical tradition. His salient contribution was his application of a proto-scientific

method. This experimental method was used in his laboratory work, building upon his predecessors Jabir and al-Razi. He derived the specific gravity of many minerals, such as gold and silver, through experimentation. Many of al-Biriint’s calculations were either the same as or very close to modern calculations. The instruments used by alBirtint provide a perspective on the experimental

process used in determining the characteristics of different substances. The medieval historian Ibn Khaldiin (d. 1406),

like Ibn Sina, supported a critical approach to alchemy. In his now famous Mugaddimah, or Introduction, he wrote two chapters on alchemy. Although in his first chapter, chapter 23, he outlines alchemy, in the second, chapter 26, he begins a thorough refutation of alchemy in society. What

136 | CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

Ibn Khaldiin opposes is not alchemy, but the

Alcohol (derived from the Arabic word al-kuhl,

social situation caused by it. He claims it was used by charlatans who were unsuccessful at making a living. He specifically refutes alchemy in its transmutative endeavors. In other words, the object of refutation was the group of alchemists focused on transmutation and not practical alchemy.

a word used for black distillates) was a subject of study in medieval works of the Islamic world. These works focused on the distillation of wine, such as those of al-Kindi and al-Zahrawi. However, in perhaps the first historical instance, Jabir observes in boiled wine and salt and similar substances the flammable nature of alcohol. Ibn Badis (d. 1061) also makes note of alcohol’s properties in his description of how to use wine to manipulate silver for use in writing. Alkalis (derived from the Arabic word al-gallt, a type of soda) were also popular subjects of study and exposition in alchemical texts. Natron, or crude sodium carbonate, and plant ash were

Industrial Chemistry—Techniques and Substances. In contrast to traditional alchemy and its focus on transmutation, practical alchemy focused on the application of alchemical principles and techniques. In this sense, all practical alchemical knowledge would be a part of what is now considered chemistry. Chemical theories included those on metallurgy by Jabir. In his explanations, Jabir was systematic and clear. Alchemical processes included laboratory techniques and working with substances such as alcohols, alkalis, and acids, the development of soaps and perfumes, the refinement of petroleum, the production of glass and paper, and ceramics. Laboratory techniques are highlighted in the Sirr al-asrar of al-Razi. For example, some of the techniques al-Razi outlines in his Sirr al-asrar are distillation (taqtir), sublimation (tasid), purifica-

tion (istinzal), assation (tashwiya—a type of roasting or baking), coction (tabkh), a type of tashwiya used to eliminate unwanted substances, amalgamation (talghim), and washing (ghasl). Al-Razi's treatise

also discusses

other processes

such

as

combining substances (tamzij, literally mixing or blending) or changing their natures. Distillation was an important and popular process in the medieval Islamic world. The distillation of wine is discussed by al-Kindi in his Risala fi kimiy@ al-‘itr. Similarly, Abi al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (d. c. 1013), the Andalusian physi-

cian famous for his al-Tasrif, described the distillation of vinegar and wine. By the thirteenth century, al-Dimashqi (d. 1327) was writing of

using a hot-air oven for the distillation of flowers to make rose water.

used as the sources for sodium carbonate (soda)

and potash. Natron, al-qali (salsola soda), caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), and lime (kils), both

derived and collected, were especially important as alkalis in the production of glass, glazes, and soap. In addition, the Islamic world pioneered work in acids, such as inorganic, or mineral, acids. One text attributed to Jabir, Sundiq al-hikma, or The Chest of Wisdom, describes the preparation of nitric acid. The Jabirean corpus incorporates discussions of many acids. Besides Jabir, al-Razi among others discusses multiple methods of preparation for these acids, which included inorganic acids like sulfuric acid (z@j or rath al-zaj) and hydrochloric acid (rth al-milh) and organic acids like vinegar. The prominence of work in alchemy and specifically of that on acids can be seen in the historian al-Mas‘tdi’s (d. 956) description of

chemical recipes in his work. As with twenty-first-century society, petroleum (naft) was a part of the medieval Islamic world on many levels. Crude oil (“black naft”) was often refined into a distillate called “white naft.’ The preparation of white naft is explained in detail in al-Razi's Sirr al-asrar. Al-Dimashqi discusses where naft is produced and includes

CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

a note on the flammable nature of the stones used to produce it.

Industrial Chemistry—Commercial Products. Alchemy was used extensively for commercial use in the Islamic world. Industrial chemistry was extremely popular, especially in its relationship to the making of perfumes, ceramics, glass, and paper. The Islamic world was cosmopolitan and the development of commercial goods required refined processes that helped the development of medieval alchemy. The production of oil became an important part of medieval Islamic society. Production of white naft was needed for the heating of substances in alchemical work, both for use in experiments and in the creation of drugs. Besides its use as a fuel and in medicine, it was also useful in military matters as it was flammable. For this reason, Oil wells were developed to harvest naft. Another product whose use continues to this day is perfume or ‘atar. Distillation was also important in the production of perfume. This process involved extracting smells and scents from various plants. Centers for distillation of these substances were present throughout the Islamic world. Historians have stated that this was an industry unique to the Islamic world as it was absent in neighboring civilizations. Its popularity in the Islamic world also led to the development of multiple distillatory methods, such as the use of ovens described by al-Dimashqi as mentioned above. The commercial products were traded throughout the Islamic world to India and East and Southeast Asia. The glass industry also flourished in the Islamic world. Manganese dioxide was used by glassmakers to create transparent glass. This chemical technology was addressed by Jabir and the

alchemists who followed him. This key ingredient of manganese dioxide along with sand and al-qali became a standard in glassmaking. Alchemical literature also shows that metallic oxides were

| 137

used in glassmaking to color glass. Chemical technology was used in the production of glazes as well, similarly utilizing metallic oxides for the creation of transparent surfaces on pottery. The coloring of glazes included processes of oxidation and reduction, involving ferric oxide and ferrous oxide, One interesting development in ceramic glazing was the ability to imitate Chinese porcelain. Alchemists in the Islamic world were able to reproduce a color and style similar to the whitecolored porcelain of Chinese-style pottery. This reproduction was possible through a combination

of the chemicals used in two different glazes. Abi al-Qasim

al-Qashani

(also written

al-Kashani,

d. 1337) wrote of these ceramic techniques in the

fourteenth century. As with ceramics, chemical technology in inks and dyes played an important role in the development and commercial production of these fields. Information detailing these different fields can be found in al-Mu‘izz Ibn Badis’s (d. 1025)

work on ink for writers and Ibn al--Awwam’s (d. c. twelfth century) work on dyes. Ibn Badis’s treatise also discusses methods and techniques of papermaking. Finally, there is soap. Besides the addition of scents using the perfume technology perfected in the Islamic world, the bar soap was another innovation of the Islamic world. The chemical mixture required for its creation was normally olive oil and al-qali. Recipes to make bar soap are extant as far back as al-Razi, Al-Razi also explains how to produce glycerin using olive oil. The continued prominence of soap is seen in the work of Daiid al-Antaki (d. 1599) in which he provides

a detailed outline of soap production in the six-

teenth century. Medicine. In the Islamic world, alchemy was not limited to transmutation and use in industry. An important contribution of the Islamic world to the alchemy of the West was macrobiotics.

138 | CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

The practical alchemy of the Islamic world, besides being heavily utilized in the creation of

commercial goods and substances, was also used in medicine. Although not all alchemists were equally interested in medicine, pharmacology and the use of other substances played an important role as early as the Jabirean corpus, Jabir’s discus-

sions on medicine and alchemy were the first in the Eurasian West, which some historians have linked to the ancient alchemical tradition of China as Chinese works on medicine, such as the early classic dated to the second century BCE, the Huangdi neijing, or the Yellow Emperors Inner Classic, discuss life-cultivation methods. Elixirs (al-iksir) were an example of a new tradition related to elongating life. Although elixirs were used in transmutative alchemy, medicinal elixirs were developed for use as a rejuvenating drug or therapy. Unknown to Greek or Egyptian civilizations, they became a popular mode of drug. It should be noted that this alchemical medicine required experiment and was based on practical alchemy in spite of the elixir’s motif of eternal life in its original manifestation. Legacy in and Influence on Europe. The legacy of Islamic alchemy in the Islamic world is a complex story. The study of alchemy, in its practical and industrial nature as well as its transmutative nature, continued throughout the Islamic world. However, by the seventeenth century, Paracelsus’s (d. 1541) work on medicine was trans-

lated into Arabic as al-Tibb al-jadid al-kimiya't alladhi ikhtara‘a-hu barakalsts, or The New Alchemical Medicine Created by Paracelsus, and brought into the Islamic world. Paracelsus has been noted by many scholars as the alchemist who

introduced

chemical,

or

mineral-based,

medicine. He is also credited as a staunch supporter of breaking from tradition. Despite this apparently unique and iconoclastic perspective, Paracelsus along with Francis Bacon and Antoine

Lavoisier

(d. 1794) were

linked to the alchemical tradition of the Islamic world. Jabir, al-Razi, Ibn Umayl, and Ibn Sina were especially important to the development of alchemy and chemistry in the Latin world. These writers from the Islamic world were known as princes of the art of alchemy in the medieval Latin world. In other words, the foundations of the medieval alchemy of transmutation and industrial chemistry in the Latin world were not a product of Greece or Egypt; they were wholly based on the traditions from the Islamic world. Greek and Egyptian knowledge was important in the creation of alchemy in the Islamic world, but it was the synthesis of these sets of knowledge, along with others, and the subsequent development of the alchemical tradition in its traditional and industrial manifestations that would be so influential in the Latin world and later periods of history. Works of the Islamic world entered the Latin intellectual marketplace through medieval translations. Research has shown that although the Greco-Arabic translation movement was exhaustive and refined through many translators and editions, the Arabo-Latin translation movement was neither exhaustive nor an organized endeavor. The translations began through sociocultural interactions on the borders of the Islamic world and Latin Europe, especially in areas of sustained contact such as Andalusia and Sicily. Yet the far-reaching influence of these translations of Arabic-language works of alchemy from the Islamic world is evident in the nature of works produced in Europe after their introduction; in the dependence of these new works on, and their use of, the earlier translated works. Gerard of Cremona

(d. 1187) was one of the

most famous and prolific translators of the twelfth century from Toledo. Among his translations,

(d. 1626)

Gerard translated Jabir’s works, which formed

directly

the medieval corpus of works by Geber. Jabir’s

CHEMISTRY

works have been questioned for authenticity, but his Latinized counterpart, Geber, has been attributed works whose authorship has been reattributed to a Pseudo-Geber (or Pseudo-Gebers). The

controversies surrounding Geber and PseudoGeber demonstrate the great influence his ideas

had on Latin Europe and why such importance was and has been placed on clarifying his identity. Continuing research in this area has shown increasing similarities with the Jabirean corpus. However, translation posed more than an attribution problem related to textual authenticity; it also problematized sources of knowledge. For example, Adelard of Bath (active twelfth century) was an equally famous Arabo-Latin translator of medieval works from the Islamic world. In Europe his work Mappae clavicula was the first work to discuss the distillation of wine, whose procedure was copied from Islamic alchemical literature, such as the works of al-Kindi and al-Zahrawi. Despite having clearly transmitted information from the Islamic world, historians ignorant of Islamic alchemy incorrectly concluded that Adelard was the first to discuss the distillation of wine. Following Gerard and Adelard, Albertus Magnus (d. 1280) and his contemporaries were all directly influenced by the Islamic alchemical tradition. The alchemical formulas and recipes of Jabir and his successors are found throughout the works of the later European counterparts.

Moreover, these recipes show how important Islamic alchemy was in Europe. Geber’s Summa perfectionis provides instructions on how to pre-

pare nitric acid that parallel those found in Jabir’s Sundig al-hikma. In terms of chemical technology and exchange, Marco Polo (d. 1324) reported on the enormous nature of the oil trade in the

Islamic world. These recipes and the substances themselves— alcohols, alkalis, acids, and so on—were integral in the development of what would be termed

AND ALCHEMY

| 139

modern chemistry in Europe. In addition to simple chemical substances, advanced distillatory and other primarily laboratory techniques provided Latin Europe with high-level scientific knowledge. Paper, soap, ink, dyes, and other commercial technologies and products also changed the face of many existing and alternate technologies in Europe. Despite some technologies having been brought from Greek, Egyptian, and other Western civilizations to the Islamic world, what returned to Europe was a very different, highly developed set of items, techniques, and ideas. The before-and-after effect cannot be understated and is visible in the adoption of a separate alchemy and chemistry in Europe. In the Islamic world, alchemy described a broad scope of subjects from transmutation and industrial technology in a general sense, to laboratory work and commercial production in the specific sense of practical alchemy. This development of alchemy was based initially on the traditions they had inherited through the translation activities of the Islamic world. On the other hand, Europe acquired the results of hundreds of years of intellectual production from the Islamic world. In other words, what Europe collected were highly defined, developed, and detailed subdisciplines. Therefore, criticism by al-Kindi and Ibn Sina

against transmutative alchemy or other issues was of a very different nature and had a different purpose than the objections of Paracelsus. The tools, methods, and perspectives of Paracelsus and other European scholars were irreversibly shaped by the Islamic world. Conclusion. Alchemy in the Islamic world is a very broad term. Before the overhaul of the medieval intellectual tradition of alchemy, it included any field of intellectual and industrial production that involved the use of what would now be termed chemistry. Therefore, theoretical considerations and chemical recipes were an intimate

140

| CHEMISTRY AND ALCHEMY

part of alchemical literature from the Islamic world. Works on creating dyes, producing glass, and making perfume all played an important role in the development of chemical technology. At the same time, there were treatises discussing the philosopher’ stone and its creation. Elixirs were initially a transmutative outlet of alchemy and its supernatural characteristics. Esoteric at times, this transmutative mode of alchemy had its proponents. Even so, its stauncher opponents also

contributed greatly to alchemy’s other manifestation in its practical mode. Use of the transmutative mode was found outside traditional areas, such as in al-Ghazali’s (d. 1111) Kimiya-i sa‘adat, or

The Alchemy of Happiness, originally in Persian. This work represents the prevalence of kimiyd in thought outside the field of alchemy. Besides the contrast between alchemy in its industrial or practical form and its transmutative form, alchemy was not averse to a mixing of traditions. Like other traditions in the Islamic world, alchemy shared and crossed boundaries, with the

most prominent examples being in engineering,

physics, and medicine. Characteristic of intellectual progress in the Islamic world, developments in alchemy directly affected these other fields, with the reverse being equally true, and allowed for a cross-pollination of mutually advantageous development in these different intellectual traditions.

Hassan, A. Y. al-, ed. Science and Technology in Islam: Part II; Technology and Applied Sciences. Vol. 4 of The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture. Paris: UNESCO,

2001. See chapter 4.2 “Alchemy, chem-

istry and chemical technology” and chapter 4.3 “Mining and metallurgy, pages 41-106. Hassan, Ahmad Y. al-, and Donald R. Hill. Islamic Technology: An Illustrated History. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Hill, Donald R. Islamic Science and Engineering. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993. McGinnis,

Jon. Avicenna.

Great Medieval

Thinkers.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Montgomery, Scott L. Science in Translation: Movements of Knowledge through Cultures and Time. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Nadim, Abi ‘l-Faraj Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-. The Fihrist. Translated by Bayard Dodge. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1998. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Science: An Illustrated

Study. London: World of Islam Festival Publishing Company, 1976. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Science and Civilization in Islam. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 2007.

Rosenthal, Franz. Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2006. Saliba, George. Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2007.

Sezgin, Fuat. Wissenschaft und Technik im Islam [Science and Technology in Islam]. Band IV [Volume 4]. Frankfurt: Institut fur Geschichte der Arabisch-

Islamischen Wissenschaften, 2003. See chapter 8 “Chemie,” pages 95-154.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adamson, Peter. Al-Kindi. Great Medieval Thinkers.

Shakil, “Ali Jaman. al-Kimiya’fial-hadara al-islamiya [Chemisty/Alchemy in Islamic Civilization]. Cairo: Dar al-Shurdg, 1989.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Anawati, Georges. “Arabic Alchemy” in Encyclopedia

MOHAMMED ABDUL MUJEEB KHAN

of Arabic Science, vol 3, edited by Rushdi Rashed. London: Routledge, 1996, 853-885.

Avicenna. The Physics of the Healing. Translated by Jon McGinnis. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2009.

Bakar, Osman. The History and Philosophy ofIslamic Science, Cambridge, U.K.: Islamic Texts Society, 1999.

Dallal, Ahmad. Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2010.

CLASSIFICATION

OF THE SCIENCES

The classification of sciences is an attempt to place disciplines of knowledge into categories, where each category represents a division based on a shared trait of the disciplines included within it. The word “science” here denotes an ‘ilm (cf. ‘alima

CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES

[to know]) of the various disciplines of ‘uliim (pl. of ‘ilm) in the Islamic world. This entry covers classi-

fications that are premodern and, for this reason, it does not address science in the modern sense. In other words, the ‘ultim, or sciences, found in these

premodern classifications are the equivalent of modern academic disciplines. In addition, classifying an individual discipline was a more limited intellectual exercise than creating a classification scheme for all disciplines. The classification of the sciences in the Islamic world began with the introduction of Greek knowledge. The work of Aristotle on the classification of the sciences and Porphyry’s Isagoge played an especially important role in the development of works by early scholars in the Islamic world. Classification systems often differed in the arrangement of categories employed for dividing the sciences. For example, al-Farabt’s (d. 950) classi-

fication system incorporated Islam into Aristotle’s system of classification. As for the creation of different systems, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 1111) identified four separate systems of categorization in the sciences: theoretical and practical; religious and intellectual; present and attained; and those of individual obligation and general obligation. The placement of a science in a specific category identified its place in the hierarchy of the sciences and, therefore, its value to an

| 141

focused on placing an individual discipline in a specific category. Therefore, in topical treatises, the nature of a discipline was discussed, sometimes at length, before introducing its actual contents. These discussions included delineating the place of a discipline as a science (‘ilm) as opposed to an art (sind‘a). More obscure discussions fo-

cused on issues such as the ability to understand a discipline on its own merit or the necessity of expertise in, or knowledge of, another subject. A discipline could be divided into various categories depending on the author, Although no universal definition of ‘ilm for all the sciences was developed, identifying a discipline as a science as opposed to an art indicated the perspective of an author on a certain discipline. An example of this phenomenon is seen in medieval topical treatises on medicine. Medicine held a special place because of the debate centered on identifying it as a theoretical science or as a practical science. In the Greek tradition, Galen had identified medicine as an art. In the Islamic tradition, this definition seemed to be widely accepted, but was debated on many levels. The debate focused on the categorization of medical disciplines as either science or art. Jabir ibn Hayyan (d. early ninth century) discusses the classification of medicine in his Kitab al-sumutm, or Book of Poisons. Instead of classifying medicine as belonging to a specific category, he identifies medicine as an art (sind a),

individual. Classifying a Discipline and Classification as a System. Classification as a formal, or at least intellectual, system occupied the minds of various medieval scholars who authored treatises on

edge) and ‘amal (practice). In this instance, Jabir identifies ‘ilm as a subdivision of sind‘a with its

the subject, and the classification of disciplines

opposite being ‘amal.

played a significant role in evaluating, or arguing, a discipline’s importance. Many medieval scholars classified individual disciplines as science, or otherwise, in topical treatises or larger general works. Treatises on classification were devoted to a system of individual disciplines in categories, while the method of classifying a discipline

but one whose nature involves both ‘ilm (knowl-

However,

Ibn Sina (d. 1037), author of the

famous medieval medical text al-Qantn fi altibb, or the Canon of Medicine, provides a different definition for medicine. As Dimitri Gutas has outlined, Ibn Sina’s categories of medicine can

be divided into four parts: the theory of the theory of medicine, the practice of the theory of

142

| CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES

medicine, the theory of the practice of medicine, and the practice of the practice of medicine. For Ibn Sina, these four divisions helped define what parts of the discipline of medicine were necessary for what person. In other words, the philosopher was interested in the theory of the theory of medicine, while the physician was interested in the practice of the practice of medicine. Aspiring physicians needed to understand the

theory of the practice of medicine in order to learn how to practice medicine, and philosopherphysicians were interested in the practice of the theory of medicine. In this way, medicine was a multifaceted discipline whose various divisions were important to different groups of educated people. This type of discussion by Jabir and Ibn Sina was not uncommon. Most scholars prefaced their texts with, or interspersed within texts, sectional discussions on the nature and classification of the discipline being considered. Despite these numerous discussions throughout scholarly treatises, the discrepancy between disciplines and the lack of a standard, universal method prevented use of the work outside of the confines of each individual treatise. Ibn Sina’s discussion on medicine underscores medicine’s relationship to other disciplines and discusses medicine as a subject of study. On the other hand, Jabir’s discussion of medicine emphasized medicine's relationship with ‘ilm and ‘amal. In contrast to the classification of an individual discipline, like medicine, the classification of the sciences as a system categorized disciplines based on an overall hierarchy designed by the classifier. To the Greek intellectuals, philosophy, and metaphysics in particular, was the most important discipline in the pursuit of knowledge of the world and being. However, in the Islamic world, the inclusion of Islam in the hierarchy of knowing

started a debate as to the criteria of this hierarchy, the order of its classification, and the overall

importance of the individual disciplines included in the categorization.

Systems of Classification. A general discussion of religious versus philosophical sciences began as early as the ninth century with the work of al-Jahiz (d. 869). Al-Jahiz is commonly known for his prowess in the field of literature, but he is noted as stating that the true knowledge was that of philosophy, logic, or other secular disciplines and not of the religious sciences. In this sense, al-Jahiz categorized philosophical knowledge as true knowledge, but it should be noted that his discussion includes only non-Islamic religions. His contemporary, al-Kindi (d. c. 873), authored what is possibly the earliest original classification of the sciences developed in the Islamic world. Al-Kindi largely followed the Aristotelian division of the sciences, focusing on the nature of the science: theoretical, practical, and productive. Many subsequent classifications of the sciences followed al-Kind?’s classification, but became more elaborate in structure and theme, especially in relation to the religious and philosophical sciences. Al-Farabr

(d. c. 950)

developed

a unique

approach to the sciences in that he was a Muslim

who was devoted to the philosophical sciences. In other words, although al-Farabi’s system of classification, like al-KindT’s, followed the Greek models closely in its prioritization of the philosophical sciences, al-Farabi’s system took into account the religious considerations in regard to the sciences. In the end, although religious sciences were important, al-Farabi viewed the human intellect as the most important factor in evaluating all the sciences. The Ikhwan al-Safa (c. tenth century), or the

Brethren of Purity, was a group of Shi7 intellectuals who authored numerous treatises on science and philosophy. One of these works is dedicated to the history of science. The Ikhwan al-Safa’ divided disciplines of knowledge into three categories: the

CLASSIFICATION

propaedeutic sciences, the religious sciences, and

the philosophical sciences. For the Ikhwan al-Safa’, the most important sciences were the philosophical sciences. Math ranked first among the philosophical sciences, followed by the logical sciences, the natural sciences, and, finally, the “divine sciences.” This last subcategory dealt with metaphysics, including sections on politics and the return, or eschatology. Ibn Sina authored his own treatise on the classification of the sciences, but it is Ibn Sina’s large philosophical work, the Shifa’, or the Healing, that remains his most important contribution. Ibn Sina wrote many treatises on multiple topics that included discussions on the classification and nature of the disciplines treated in those works, but his Shifa’, with its sections on physics and metaphysics, covered the philosophy of science and the classification of the sciences. Ibn Sina’s Shifa’ functioned as a unifier of the sciences, as it neatly combined all contemporary philosophical sciences into one larger narrative. Ibn Sina’s work explicitly organized the sciences in a hierarchical narrative while implicitly giving them value based on their place in the narrative. Ibn Sina combined the religious and intellectual sciences to create his hierarchy of the sciences. In this way, his Shifa’ prepared the intellectual community for al-Ghazali’s introspective approach and subsequent reorganization of this hierarchy. Al-Ghazali’s system of classification took on many forms, including the four methods of classification mentioned earlier. Al-Ghazalt’s autobiography, like Ibn Sina’s, sheds light on al-Ghazali’s intellectual leanings and his personal classification of the sciences. Al-Ghazali believed that the

religious sciences were more important and, diverging from al-Farabi and Ibn Sina’s classifications, prioritizes them. Moreover, al-Ghazali’s Tahafut al-falasifah, or Incoherence of the Philosophers, a polemical work that was a watershed in the debate of knowledge, was especially important

OF THE SCIENCES

| 143

for the classification of knowledge. Al-Ghazali attempted to demonstrate that the religious sciences were superior to the metaphysics of the philosophical sciences. For this reason, al-Ghazali placed the religious sciences in a superior position to the nonreligious sciences, which included both philosophy and the exact sciences. Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1311) classified knowl-

edge based on philosophy. He divided disci-

plines into two categories on the relationship to philosophy: the sciences and the nonphilosophical latter group is composed of the

basis of their philosophical sciences. The religious sci-

ences, or the transmitted sciences. Qutb al-Din’s

distinction between the philosophical and nonphilosophical sciences follows al-Farabi's scheme of the former being universal to all cultures and the latter being specific to a particular culture. He also argued that the fundamental sciences of religion represent sciences that can be both transmitted and attained by virtue of reason. In doing so, Qutb al-Din created a unique category that combined the previously separate categories of the transmitted sciences and those of reason. Ibn Khaldiin (d. 1406) is best known for the

introduction to his work on history, al-Muqaddimah, or the Introduction. In the work, Ibn Khaldin provides an overview of all the sciences studied in the Islamic world. Ibn Khaldiin’s classification proved to be historically important as it was representative of the classification style adopted in later periods. His classification was simple, with its division of the sciences into the philosophical, or intellectual, sciences and the transmitted sciences. The former was further divided into logic, the natural sciences, metaphysics, and the exact sciences, whereas the latter was divided into Quranic studies, hadith, jurisprudence, scholastic theology, Sufism, and the linguistic sciences. Ibn Khaldiin’ categorization was relatively straightforward and was consistent with his stance of providing an overview of the

144

| CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCIENCES

sciences rather than prioritizing one science over another. Conclusion. Despite their various names and methods of identification, the difference between the religious and philosophical sciences was almost always the primary dividing criterion. This dividing criterion, though outwardly unifying all the systems, demonstrated the fundamental difference between them. As seen in the schema of the scholars briefly mentioned above, this difference in nuance represented the approach to the sciences that a particular scholar held. In the case of the earliest systems of classification, it was simple reason that held the most importance and permitted an emphasis on the philosophical sciences. Later classifications developed more nuanced and intricate divisions for which sciences

Bakar, Osman. Classification of Knowledge in Islam: A Study in Islamic Philosophies of Science. Cambridge, U.K.; Islamic Texts Society, 1998.

Bakar, Osman. The History and Philosophy of Islamic Science. Cambridge, U.K.: Islamic Texts Society, 1999.

Callatay, Godefroid de. “The Classification of the Sci2 ences according to the Rasa’il Ikhwan al-Safa-” The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2003. http://www.iis. ac.uk/SiteAssets/pdf/rasail_ikhwan.pdf. Al-Ghazali. The Incoherence of the Philosophers. Translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2000. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Science and Civilization in Islam. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 2007. Rosenthal, Franz. Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2006. MOHAMMED

ABDUL MUJEEB KHAN

were superior.

These schema attested to the knowledge of God being the ultimate goal. The differences between the schema consisted of determining which approach was superior; al-Ghazali’s Tahafut al-falasifah is an explicit example of medieval scholarship arguing for the superiority of one method over the rest. Therefore, although most classification systems initially appear to be innocuous, a philosophical argument that divulges the organizer’s own intellectual leanings is implicit within that person's hierarchical classification. Similarly, in categorizing an individual discipline, scholars labored to prove, explicitly or implicitly, its importance by describing its benevolence as a discipline or superiority among all disciplines.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Avicenna. The Metaphysics of the Healing. Translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2005.

Avicenna. The Physics of the Healing. Translated by Jon McGinnis. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2009.

COMPASS Although in modern Arabic the magnetic compass is usually called busula, derived most probably from the Italian bussola, pre-modern Arabic texts refer to this instrument by terms that point toward its construction or its application, such as tasa (bowl) for a floating compass, or Glat al-qiblah (qiblah instrument) for a device that helps in orienting toward the Kabah in Mecca. However, the word maghnatis derived from the Greek, is also used to describe the magnetic compass— and, in general, the magnetic stone and its power.

Construction. The pre modern sources describe two types of magnetic compasses. Floating compasses allow the magnetized needle to rotate freely on the surface of water. Dry compasses allow rotation by setting the magnetic needle on a vertical pin. Floating compasses consist of two parts: a shallow bowl and a small rod of iron or steel. The bowl whose flattened rim sometimes bears a scale of 360° (similar to the rim of an astrolabe mater)

Compass

is filled with water. The small rod has the form of a fish or the shape of a needle. In the latter case, it is fixed crosswise with a stalk of rush, reed, or wood, so that it floats. Sometimes the needle is integrated instead in a float of wood or cucurbit (gourd), or it is set on a small piece of paper. Regardless of its form, either the rod is magnetized by rubbing it with a magnetic stone and then set on the surface of water, or, in reverse order, it is first set on the surface and then magnetized by performing a circular movement with a magnet above the rod. It then rotates freely and aligns itself approximately along the meridian. Dry compasses provide the free rotation of the magnetized rod of iron or steel—sometimes needle-shaped, sometimes in the form of a bird with spread wings—by setting it on a vertical pin in the center of a small box. To reduce friction and avoid interaction, usually a small cone is put between pin and rod. Sometimes painted cardboard is fixed on the bottom of the box or on the top of the rod to facilitate determining directions. Application. In premodern Islamic sources, two particular fields of application are found. In navigation, the directive power of a rod of magnetized iron or steel, if freely rotatable, helps in finding the destination port; in religion, it helps in determining the giblah. Other fields of application concern astronomy and timekeeping, such as astrolabes or sundials fitted with magnetic compasses, though only a few surviving instruments antedate 1600. Navigation. Two treatises written in the thirteenth century seem to provide the earliest evidence of use of the magnetic compass for navigational purposes in the Islamic realm. First, ‘Awfi (Iran, Transoxania, fl. c. 1200) describes in his

Jawame’ al-hekayat wa-lawame' al-rewayat (Comprehensive Anecdotes and Brilliant Narratives) the use of a floating compass during a voyage in the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf. Second, Baylak al-Qibjaqi (Cairo, end of thirteenth century)

| 145

describes in his Kitab Kanz al-tujjar ft ma‘rifat alahjar (Book on the Merchants’ Treasure of the

Knowledge of the Stones) its use during a voyage in the Mediterranean. (Mitchell adds that “he said

nothing as to the nationality of the vessel in which he sailed” [1932, p. 19]). Al-Qibjaqi writes that the

sailors in the Indian Ocean used floating compasses with hollow fishes. By the time Ibn Majid (Oman, fl. second half of fifteenth century) wrote his Kitab al-Fawa@ id fi usul al-bahr wa-l-qawaid (Book on Utilities of the Principals and Rules in Navigation), the magnetic compass was a standard navigational tool in the Indian Ocean that required no further explanation. Therefore, it is not completely clear whether Ibn Majid refers to a floating or a dry compass. He does, however, explain in detail the compass card whose directions are named by the risings and settings of prominent stars. His description of controlling the magnetic compass by night with the position of the pole star most probably indicates that he is aware of the magnetic declination, the deviation of the magnetic north from the geographical north. (A value of the declination is noted first in a treatise by Izz al-Din al-Wafa7 [Cairo, fl.c.1450].)

Religion. In Muslim religious life, the qiblah plays an important role, not only for the five daily ritual prayers that require orienting toward the Kabah in Mecca, but also in other religious performances. A treatise on the construction of astrolabes and other instruments written by the Rasulid sultan al-Ashraf ‘Umar (Yemen, d. 1296) provides

the earliest evidence that the directive power of a magnetized rod of iron or steel was used to determine the giblah. He describes the construction of

a floating compass whose flattened rim shows a 360° scale and the direction toward Mecca for

Taiz and Aden. Only a few decades later, Ibn Sim‘tin (Egypt, c. 1300) describes a dry compass for the same purpose in his Kanz al-yawagit ft

146 | COMPASS if

istt ab al-mawaqit (Jewel Treasure for the Study

of Timekeeping). Similar to the compass card in nautical compasses, he fixes a painted cardboard that displays the cardinal directions and a prayer niche on top of the rod. Apart from the descriptions in the preserved manuscripts, no early giblah indicators survive. Summary. The premodern Islamic sources on the magnetic compass suggest that the floating compass presents an earlier stage than the dry compass, although there are only about fifty years between their first descriptions. Similarly, it appears that the application of the magnetic compass in navigation antedates its use in religion, a specifically Islamic use of magnetic directive power—although the earliest reference to a dry compass concerns a giblah indicator and not a nautical compass. BIBLIOGRAPHY

King, David A. World Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca: Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and

Schmidl, Petra G. “Two Early Arabic Sources on the Magnetic Compass.’ Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 1 (1997): 81-132. An edition, translation, and

commentary of al-Ashraf ‘Umar’s and Ibn Sim‘tin’s treatises, supplemented by an overview of the earliest Islamic sources and a short side glance at the earliest European references. Tibbetts, Gerald R. Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the Coming of the Portuguese: Being a Translation of the Kitab al-Fawaid fi ustl al-bahr wa-l-gawaid of Ahmad b. Majid al-Najdi. London: The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1971. An English translation with commentary of Ibn Majid’s treatise, supplemented by further information on navigation in the Indian Ocean. Wiedemann, Eilhard. “Zur Geschichte des Kompasses bei den Arabern.” Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen

Gesellschaft 9 (1907): 764-773. Re-

printed in Gesammelte Schriften zur arabischislamischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte. Edited by Fuat Sezgin. Verdffentlichungen des Instituts fiir Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, Reihe B: Nachdrucke 1, 1, vol. 1, pp. 226-235. Frank-

furt: Institut fiir Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, 1984. First of several articles on the

magnetic compass in Islamic sources by Wiedemann,

all reprinted in Sezgin’s edition.

Science 36. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 1999. Chapter

2.9 gives an overview of instruments for finding the qiblah, including, among other illustrations, a facsimile of Ibn Sim‘tin’s treatise. Mitchell, A. Chrichton. “Chapters in the History of Terrestrial Magnetism. 1. On the Directive Property of a Magnet in the Earth’s Field and the Origin of the Nautical Compass.” Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospherical Electricity 37 (1932): 105-146. A detailed

overview of the Chinese, Antique, Arabic, Persian, and European sources on the directive power of the magnet and of the magnetic compass. Schmidl, Petra G. “Medieval Arabic Sources on the Magnetic Compass.” In Science and Technology in the Islamic World. Proceedings of the XXth International Congress of History of Science (Liege, 20-26 July 1997), vol. 21. Edited by S. M. Razaullah Ansari, pp. 195-208. De Diversis Artibus, vol. 64, N.S. 27.

Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2002. An overview of

the earliest Islamic sources, with black-and-white pictures of a selection of instruments fitted with a magnetic compass.

PETRA G. SCHMIDL

CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY As two main concepts of metaphysics and logic, these terms have been frequently discussed in the history of Islamic philosophy in the context of philosophical problems such as modal propositions and syllogism, the argument for God’s existence, the relationship between God and world, natural and divine causality, and free will and determinism.

From Aristotle to Arabic. Aristotle provides the first philosophical discussion of necessity and contingency. While he treats them (together with the concept of impossibility) in De Interpretatione XIU-XIH, and in Analytica Priora 1.3 and 13 in the

context of modal propositions and syllogism, in Metaphysics V.5, he focuses on the meanings of

CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY

necessity in particular, and in Metaphysics IX, he discusses potentiality, which has a strong etymological and conceptual relationship with contingency. For Aristotle the “necessary” (anankaion) has five meanings: (1) being necessary such that without it, as a condition, a thing cannot exist; (2) being necessary in order to be alive or exist well, which Aristotle refers to in Physics I1.9 as

hypothetical or conditional necessity; (3) neces-

sity as compulsion; (4) being necessary in the sense that a thing cannot be otherwise than it is, covering such qualities as the simplicity, immutability, and eternity that divine things possess and from which all other categories of necessity derive; (5) the necessity of a premise that is cer-

tainly true, as well as the necessity of a conclusion that follows from two necessary premises in a valid syllogism. As for contingency, Aristotle’s treatment of it is more difficult and confusing, especially because of his use of two different terms for contingency, namely dunaton and endekhomenon. Aristotle seems to attribute slightly different meanings to these terms. He refers to dunaton as “not impossible” which includes the necessary as well. However, the term endekhomenon means “neither impossible nor necessary,’ and “not invariable.” Moreover, Aristotle’s famous distinction between actuality (entelekheia or energeia) and potentiality (dunamis) also has important connotations for necessity and contingency. Like endekhomenon, dunamis refers to something that is neither impossible nor necessary, and it becomes one of the basic features of the all existents, except the Prime Mover and the celestial intellects which are actual and necessary. After Aristotle, the discussion on necessity and contingency occurs around the Megarians’ and Stoics’ approaches, the traces of which can be found in the works of Aristotle's commentators in the Hellenistic and the late antique periods, such as Alexander of Aphrodisias (fl. 200 CE).

| 147

Finally, necessity and contingency do not have any significant role in Neoplatonic works, neither in Plotinus’s (d. c. 270 CE) Enneads nor in the works

of that tradition that have had an influence on Islamic philosophy, notably the so-called Theology of Aristotle and The Book of Aristotle’s Exposition of the Pure Good. Neoplatonist philosophers preferred to use the twin concepts of actuality and potentiality more than they did necessity and contingency in their philosophical and cosmological arguments, though Islamic philosophers from the Peripatetics to the School of Ibn al‘Arabi would come to employ all these concepts in one way or another.

Before

Ibn Sina. When

the Aristotelian

corpus was translated into Arabic, the term anankaion (“necessary”) was initially rendered as mudtarr, but later the term wajib gained more

common usage. As for dunaton (“not impossible”) and endekhomenon (“neither impossible nor necessary’), they were translated as mumkin and muhtamil, respectively. Although the distinction between mumkin and muhtamil was main-

tained in the logical works, mumkin became prevalent in metaphysical discussions, and included the meaning “possible” (for example, the contradictory of “impossible”) and “contingent” (for example, the contradictory of “necessary”). Indeed, necessity and contingency were primarily logical terms with regard to their definition and scope until Ibn Sma (d. 1037 cE). In al-Kindi’s (d. c. 866-873 CE) works, we see the

impact of the Aristotelian distinction between actuality and potentiality on the one hand, and on the other hand we see descriptions of creation in the sense of bringing something that is potential and not impossible forth into actuality, a perspective that stems from Neoplatonic philosophy. Though al-Farabi (d. c. 950 cg), like al-Kindi,

preferred to use the terms actuality and potentiality instead of necessity and contingency in his

metaphysical works, his works on logic provide

148

| CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY

detailed information on how he defined the necessity and contingency terms as modals. AlFarabi examined necessity and contingency as primary modals (al-jihat al-uwal) and defined the true necessary as “that which exists eternally,” and the true contingent as “that which does not

actual is necessary and what is potential is contingent, but he argues that the actuality and potentiality are more comprehensive than necessity and contingency. Although he refers to “contingent existence in itself” (mumkin al-wujid fi nafsihi) and “necessary

exist at present, but can or cannot exist any time

mentary, he does not refer to them in his emanationist works. Thanks to Abii Hayyan al-Tawhidi (d. 1023 cg), we know that there were already some discussions on the nature of contingency and that the term “necessary existent” (wa@jib al-wujid) began to be used to refer to God in philosophical circles in tenth-century Baghdad. The most important figure before Ibn Sind is al-‘Amiri (d. 991 CE), who preceded Ibn Sina with regard to his definitions of the necessary and contingent. He posits two kinds of necessary: that whose existence is necessary in itself (al-wajib wujiduhu bi-dh-dhat) and that whose existence is necessary in relation to something else (al-wajib wujiduht_ bi-l-idafa), but his extant works do not contain further information on how this classification corresponds to his metaphysical thought. Ibn Sina. Ibn Sina constructed his metaphysical thinking partly on the basis of the concepts of contingency and necessity, and it is through these terms that he explained all existents, including God, and expounded the relationship between

in the future.” While his definition of the necessary refers to Aristotle’s fourth sense of necessary, his explanation of the contingent implies the problem of future contingency that was discussed by Aristotle in De Interpratatione IX and focuses on the problem of God’s foreknowledge and human free will. Al-Farabi examined this problem in his Commentary on the “De Interpretatione” in a detailed manner, which had an important effect on the later philosophers in Baghdad, such Yahya ibn ‘Adi (d. 974 CE).

It is not easy to trace the impact of al-Farabi’s notion of necessity and contingency on his metaphysical thought. For instance, he did not use these terms in Mabadi’ ara’ ahl al-madina alfadila (The Principles of the Opinions of the People of the Excellent City) at all when he explained the emanationist schema starting with

the First Cause (rather than Necessary Existent). The only indication of the idea of necessity as a metaphysical idea lies in the fact that al-Farabi describes the First Cause as a being who does not have any potentiality and who, because his nonexistence is impossible, exists in itself eternally. Yet in his other emanationist work, Mabadi’ almawjudat (‘The Principles of Beings), he exclusively defined beings in the sublunar world as “possible/ contingent beings” (al-mawjidat al-mumkina). According to al-Farabi, in addition to their coming into existence at the end of the emanation process, possible/contingent beings are the most imperfect beings, comprising both existence and nonexistence. It is not difficult to see al-Farab’’s preference of actuality and potentiality over necessity and contingency in his Commentary. For him, what is

[of existence] in itself” (dartiri fi nafsihi) in the Com-

God and world. Ibn Rushd (d. 1198 cE) pointed out

correctly that Ibn Sina was the first philosopher to introduce the distinction between necessary existence and possible existence as a way to formulate a proof for God's existence. Starting with his first summa, al-Hikma al-Aridiyya (Philosophy for Artd)), Ibn Sina works on the distinction between necessary existent and possible/contingent existent carefully throughout his career, and it reaches it culminating point in his al-Isharat wa al-tanbihat (Pointers and Reminders).

Ibn Sina considers the concepts “existent; “thing,” “necessary,” “possible; and “impossible” to be primary

CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY

concepts that are imprinted in the soul and known in a self-evident manner, which makes it

impossible to define by something more explicit. Rather, they can only be indicated by a term or a sign in order that we may have a better knowledge of what they are. However, the notion of necessity is conceived before possibility and impossibility, because “it signifies certainty of existence? so necessity means the “confirmation of the existence.”

By focusing on these primary concepts, the necessary and possible/contingent in particular, Ibn Sina tried to make them more clear and precise and to get rid of the misunderstandings about them both from the philosophical and theological points of view throughout his career. He discusses the different usages of mumkin by ordinary people and philosophers, warning that if we accept the usage of ordinary people, ie., “not impossible, our explanation about all beings will remain limited with only the possible and impossible, thus excluding the necessary. Thus he insistently uses mumkin

in the sense of “not necessary,’ which

refers to Aristotle's endekhomenon. He also criticizes the philosophical tendencies that equate the possible with potentiality and power (quwwa and qudra). Although possibility and potentiality are very closely related concepts, when something that is potential becomes actual it loses its potentiality. Contrary to potentiality, according to Ibn Sina, possibility still exists in something that has an external being becoming necessary. Therefore, actuality and potentiality are temporary qualities of a being, but contingency is the basic and permanent feature of all beings except God. On the other hand, for Ibn Sina, the mutakallimin’s view of possibility as a power (qudra) of an agent results in incomprehensibility. Since being in the capacity of an agent is a state from the point of the agent, according to Ibn Sina, we cannot know whether something is in power or not in itself, which leads to apprehending

| 149

something unknown through something unknown, which is absurd. According to Ibn Sina, the necessary in existence is that existent whose non-existence would be an absurdity, while the possible/contingent in existence is that which can exist or not exist without any absurdity, i.e., the possible of existence is one in which there is no necessity at all, i.e., neither in its existence nor its non-existence.

Next, the necessary of existence may be necessary in itself (bi-dhatihi) or may be necessary not in itself (la bi-dhatihi). That which is necessary of

existence in itself is that on whose non-existence cannot be postulated without absurdity. The necessary inexistence not in itself is that which becomes necessary inexistence on account of postulating the existence of something that is not identical to it. Ibn Sina argues that we can conceive of the existence of something that is possible of existence only in the context of a causal relation, which makes the possible of existence in itself necessary of existence through another (bi-ghayrihi). The necessary of existence, by contrast, can be imagined to exist entirely on its own, without any causal relation assumed. Moreover, Ibn Sina includes his distinction between essence and existence in this analysis, stating that while there is not any essence-existence distinction in

what is necessary of existence in itself, since the essence of necessary existence is to exist, the possible of existence can be examined through its essence and existence separately, since in the case of contingent beings existence is not part of their essence. Indeed, the possibility/contingency is an inseparable attribute (/azim) of the essence of contingent beings, and even though that which is possible inexistence in itself becomes necessary

of existence through another, it remains possible in itself. Ibn Sina’s argument on the basis of the distinction between necessary of existence and possible/ contingent of existence presents a useful way of

150 | CONTINGENCY AND NECESSITY

classifying God (necessary of existence in itself) in relation to the world’s beings (possible of existence in itself/necessary of existence through another), A most noteworthy feature of this distinction is its capacity to be deployed as a proof for God's existence. Ibn Sina’s famous argument for God's existence is an attempt to prove that there is a necessary and uncaused cause of contingent and caused beings. This proof was formulated by Ibn Sina against the mutakallimin’s cosmological argument, and he described his proof as “the most valuable and reliable” proof because it depended on primary concepts and self-evident propositional logical truths. Ibn Sina’s argument may be articulated briefly as follows: (1) there are existents, which are without a doubt contingent; (2) contingent beings, which are possible in themselves but necessary through their

criticism, however, mainly depends on his being a strict Aristotelian, and as a result of his general view of Ibn Sina as a distorter of Aristotle’s philosophy, Ibn Rushd emphasizes the concept of potentiality, instead of possibility/contingency, arguing that seeing something as possible/contingent of existence in itself and necessary of existence through another at the same time is obviously contradictory. Moreover, he asserts that Ibn Sina’s proof from possibility/contingency is simply another version of the mutakallimtin’s cosmological argument, which, like the latter, does not produce a certain conclusion. In spite of all these criticisms, Ibn Sina’s theory of necessity and contingency had a deep impact on both Sunni and Shii kalam traditions

causes, need a cause that is necessary in itself; (3)

the modern times.

from

Fakhr al-Din al-Razis

(d. 1210 CE) and

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi’s (d. 1274 cE) works until

infinite linear and circular causal regress are impossible; (4) therefore, there is a necessary of ex-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

istence, the uncaused cause of contingent beings.

After Ibn Sina. Ibn Sina’s view of necessity and contingency has a central place in the works of his critics, including al-Ghazali (d. 1111 cB),

Aune, Bruce A. “Possibility.” In Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2d ed., edited by Donald M. Borchet, vol. 7, pp. 719726. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006.

Kaya, M. Ciineyt.

Varlik ve Imkan: Aristoteles’ten

al-Shahrastani (d. 1153 cE), and Ibn Rushd. Al-

IbnSind@ya Imkanin Tarihi [Existence and Possibility:

Ghazals criticisms can be summarized at four points: (1) God’s necessity implies the necessity of

A History of Possibility from Aristotle to Avicenna]. Istanbul: Klasik, 20n1. Wisnovsky, Robert. Avicenna’s Metaphysics in Context.

his actions, instead of his omnipotence; (2) eter-

nity of possibility and matter leads to the eternity of the world; (3) the views that explain multi-

plicity on the basis of possibility and that use possibility as a proof for God’s existence have some

London: Duckworth; Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2003.

Wisnovsky, Robert. “One Aspect of the Avicennian Turn in Sunni Theology.” Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 14, no. 1 (March 2004): 65-100.

inconsistencies; (4) necessity of the causal rela-

M. CUNEYT KAYA

tions in the metaphysical and physical senses restricts the power of God.

‘The effect of al-Ghazali’s views can also be followed in the Taha@fut tradition in the postclassical period. Although Ibn Sina’s other critic alShahrastani’s approach includes some important Shii-Ismailicomponents, it can be thought of as a paraphrase of al-Ghazali’s critique. Ibn Rushd’s

COSMOLOGICAL

SCIENCE, MODERN

Cosmology became a modern science in the first few decades of the twentieth century. In fact, one can point to the year 1915 when cosmology was put on firm mathematical foundations. That year,

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) published his theory

COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

of general relativity, a geometric conception and description of gravity, one which, unlike Newton’s theory of gravity, could apply to vast spaces and times, up to and including the entire universe. The fundamental equation in that theory was quickly solved by Einstein himself and afterward by the Russian mathematician Alexander Friedman

(1888-1925),

and mathematical

cos-

mology was thus born. Before that, cosmology was mostly speculative thinking, more or less guided by a mixture of astronomy, philosophy, and oftentimes theology. Cosmology became truly scientific a decade or two later when observational constraints and real data began to come into the full cosmological modeling. Thus physical cosmological theories—and not just mathematical models—began to appear. However, cosmology continued to be one of the most speculative branches of science,

for data were often either too weakly constraining or difficult to reconcile with current models and paradigms, and various theories could still be proposed. John Barrow has nicely summarized the plethora of cosmological models that have appeared through the twentieth century, with the universe variously described as oscillating, fractal, undulating, spinning, perturbed, turbulent, distorted, chaotic, singular, quantum, asymmetric, eternal, and so on, the list being lengthened every time another self-consistent mathematical solution is presented under certain specific assumptions. Cosmological Models. Solving Einstein's general-relativity equation, however, is too difficult if one tries to model the universe too realisti-

cally (by putting in billions of galaxies moving and rotating at various speeds and attracting one another with varying forces), and thus one is forced to make simplifying assumptions, such as the “cosmological principle” (that the universe has, ona large scale, a uniform and isotropic distribution of matter), or ignoring forces other than

| 151

gravity, or that the laws of physics are constant through space and time. When Einstein first solved his equation under such simplifying assumptions, he obtained a universe that had a beginning and was growing in size through time. His personal philosophical worldview, that a universe without a beginning was much more symmetric and elegant and devoid of Judeo-Christian preconceptions, led

him to modify his equation (by adding a “cosmological constant” in a purely ad hoc manner) so as to produce a static solution. Friedman later showed that Einstein's equation gives a variety of solutions, most of them with a beginning, even with the added cosmological constant. The three main general solutions are: a universe that continues to expand for all eternity (the “open” universe); a “closed” universe that will stop expanding at some point (tens or hundreds of billions of years, depending on the total amount of mass and energy in the universe) and then start contracting until it collapses back to a singular point (the “big crunch”); or a universe that will expand and slow down until it reaches a certain equilibrium between its tendency to expand and the internal gravity that is pulling it back inward (the “flat” universe). These models are

characterized by the physical quantity Q (omega), which represents the quantity of matter-energy in the universe: for % greater than 1, the universe must be “closed”; for less than 1, it will be “open”;

for a value of 1, it will be “flat.” Observations truly began to contribute to cosmological theories and to constrain them by the late 1920s, when galaxies were found to be receding from us and from one another at speeds that were proportional to their distances (Hubble’s Law). This then made the idea of an ex-

panding universe an essential feature of cosmology. It was also first interpreted cating a beginning for the universe, where all space, matter, and energy were

modern as india point initially

152

| COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

concentrated (in infinite density and tempera-

ture), and from which it would have “exploded,” a “big bang” from which both space and matter spread out, not like the normal explosions with which we are familiar. Soon a problem surfaced regarding the determination of that initial moment, or equivalently the determination of the age of the universe; indeed, for decades, the ages of clusters of stars were often found to be greater than the presumed age of the universe, about 16 billion years versus 12 or so billion years. Observational cosmology had yet to advance enough to be reliable. This and the opposing worldviews of a number of cosmologists (their different philosophical outlooks and anti-religious standpoints) led to a counter-proposition, the “steady-state universe,” which would indeed be expanding (this much is mandated by observations) but with an unchanging general look—that is, with constant density and other parameters. This is achieved by having just a tiny amount of matter continuously appearing in intergalactic space. Later observa-

tional data eliminated the steady-state theory, as it could not explain them, while the Big Bang theory had even predicted them: the dearth of radio galaxies close to us, the discovery of the microwave background radiation bathing the whole universe, and the very strong consistency between the observed and the calculated abundances of hydrogen and helium, each in its two isotopes, and lithium (which were produced in the Big Bang). Recent Developments. From the mid-1960s onward, the Big Bang theory became the dominant cosmological paradigm. New, somewhat subtle problems appeared, however, requiring significant modifications of the theory in some of its aspects. Most notably, the microwave background radiation, referred to as “fossil radiation” to indicate its early-universe origin, turned out to

be too uniformly distributed to be consistent with

the large-scale structure of the universe (the obviously non-uniform distribution of the galaxies). Another issue was the fact that the quantity % was found to be about 0.1, too close to 1, as mathematical solutions showed that 4% would change greatly over billions of years, and only if it was initially extremely close to or exactly equal to 1 would it today have a value close enough to 1. A solution to these important problems came in the 1980s with the “inflationary universe” theory. Building on some earlier ideas from the physics of elementary particles and fields, Alan Guth and his collaborators (1984) proposed that the universe

underwent a very brief phase of exponential growth that increased its size by a factor of 10% between 10 and 10 seconds after the Big Bang. This “inflation” (a hugely accelerated expansion), which was due to the fact that the total pressure in that state of the universe was negative (thus a repulsive force), ensured that not only would the

universe come out “flat,” but that all currently faraway regions were indeed in physical and causal contact in that early epoch, hence the quasiuniformity of the radiation; moreover, quantum fluctuations in that early state would be amplified by that sudden stretch to produce today’s nonuniform distribution of matter. With one swift stone, several birds could thus be killed. Several other critical issues have surfaced in recent years or decades: the existence of “dark matter’; the acceleration of the universe in the last 5 billion years and the related existence of “dark energy”; the inability of physicists to construct a theory of quantum gravity capable of describing the state and evolution of the universe in its first 10° seconds (the “Planck era”);

the “edge of time” question; the fine-tuning of the physical parameters and laws of the universe; the possible existence of a “multiverse”; the future of the universe; and other similar questions. Indeed,

for decades

now,

astronomers

and

physicists have become largely convinced of the

COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

existence of a form of matter dubbed “dark” because of its lack of electromagnetic interaction with any other particle, but with a significant gravitational effect, especially at large scales (galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the universe as a whole). The search for such particles has so far been unsuccessful, but this ingredient is essential in the general cosmological picture. Secondly, since 1998, observational cosmolo-

gists have obtained convincing data that the universe has actually accelerated its expansion in recent cosmic times, yet how this happens is still unclear. Various theories have been proposed (under the general title of “dark energy”), including: a return of Einstein's “cosmological constant”; “quintessence,” a slowly decreasing field; and a modification of general relativity at very large scales and epochs. The most recent cosmological models stipulate that the universe is made up of 27 percent dark matter, 68 percent dark energy, and only 5 percent the normal matter with which we are familiar (from hydrogen to uranium). If 95 percent of the universe’s content is thus not

yet known or understood, clearly cosmology still has much work to do, and predictions of the universes future are at present largely speculative: one can easily construct models that are consistent with all current knowledge and that predict an eternal expansion, a “big crunch,’ or a “big rip.” Thirdly, for the universe to be described in its earliest moments, to determine whether it even had a beginning and whether there could be a pre-Big Bang cosmology, one needs to construct a theory of quantum gravity, unifying gravity (which manifests itself mainly at large scales and on large objects) and quantum physics (which mostly applies at microscopic scales). Related to this are questions on the nature of time and space themselves, what produces the “arrow of time,” and so on. Finally, cosmologists have been puzzled by two striking features of the universe: (1) amounts of

| 153

normal matter, dark matter, dark energy, and radiation are currently all within a factor of 5 to 10 of each other (this is referred to as “the coincidence problem”);

(2) many

of the universe's

parameters and physical laws necessarily had to have their current special values and forms in order for any complex structures—and life and humans—to form or appear (this is known as the “fine-tuning” issue), Proposals to explain this invoke either the “anthropic principle,’ a metascientific principle that the universe must satisfy, or the multiverse, a collection of countless universes, each with its different physical construction, with only one or a few having the appropriate features to produce complexity, life, and humans. Direct observation of other universes is not possible, but perhaps indirect evidence can be produced. Here one begins to touch the limits of modern cosmology. Developing a theory that can address all these fundamental questions has proven enormously difficult, and this has led to speculative “theories,” ones that cannot even come up with testable predictions. A crisis has thus erupted in the field. All this will have to be resolved before cosmology can make the next big leap. Muslim Responses to Modern Cosmology. Muslim thinkers have reacted to modern cosmology in three main ways: (1) the majority has seen no problem in the current cosmological paradigm, for the Big Bang seemingly indicates a moment of creation and thus implies a creator; (2) a small but influential group has resisted this “scientification” of cosmology, insisting that it is much too limiting in its implied worldview; (3) a popular movement has tried either to find modern cosmology in the Qur'an or to construct one from it. Most Muslim scholars, whether theologians or scientists, have no quarrel with modern cosmology. It seems to mesh well with some basic Islamic principles, such as the Quranic princi-

ple of kun fa yakun (“Be and it is”) or the kalam

154 | COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

al-Razi, al-Tiisi, Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra, and

cosmological argument, which was propounded by al-Kindi and others, and which finds “proof” of the existence of God in the creation and exist-

ence of the universe. Few Muslim scholars, however, have shown a real mastery of present-day cosmological knowledge. Exceptions tend to be Muslim scientists such as Mehdi Golshani, an Iranian physicist and philosopher and expert in science-and-religion subjects, and Bruno Abd-al-Haqq Guiderdoni, an astronomer and director of the Lyon Observatory in France. These scholars have tried to go beyond mere adherence to the knowledge that modern cosmology has established; they have tried to explore its philosophical and theological implications, Guiderdoni has written: “Modern cosmology is exploring the universe with increasing success. Several of its spectacular breakthroughs have some significance with respect to the meaning of the human presence in the cosmos.” However, he highlights the “crisis of meaning in cosmology” and insists that “the Islamic doctrine provides us with a broad metaphysical background that can help us give ‘meaning’ to some of the discoveries of modern cosmology” (Guiderdoni, n.d.), For Gui-

derdoni, who leans strongly toward Ibn al-'Arabi’s worldview, issues to be addressed range from “cosmological puzzles” to “the structure of reality.” He believes that cosmology is an “endless quest,” as no theory will ever be fully self-sufficient, and there will always be a need for a broader one. Golshani has looked deeply at the issue of “creation” in the Islamic outlook and in modern cosmology. Although he fully understands and accepts the results of twentieth-century cosmology, he remarks that “the problem of creation is not a matter of physics alone; [it] needs theological and philosophical reflection as well” (Golshani,

2002,

pp. 245-246).

He reviews

a

number of classical Muslim thinkers’ conceptions of “creation” —those of al-Kindi, al-Ghazalt,

others. He finds some consistency between the Islamic ideas of creation and “current schools of cosmological thought” as expressed by a number of Western cosmologists, theologians, and philosophers. He summarizes his position thus:

I personally recommend the following strategy: we should explore our universe by science as much as we can, but we must avoid making claims about the absolute origination of the universe on physical grounds. Philosophy and theology can save us from making unsound exaggerated scientific claims, and can give us a proper metaphysical framework for our science and a ground for our being. In this framework, the description of the physical aspects of the universe is left for scientific investigation, but the ultimate explanation of the universe is provided by God. (Golshani, 2002, pp. 223-248)

A group of contemporary Muslim thinkers, led by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, the illustrious Iranian philosopher (of the perennial school), has expressed strong criticism of modern cosmology, essentially because it limits its scope of study to the physical universe. In an article addressing “the cosmos as a subject of scientific study,’ Nasr insists that “[the Islamic] genesis and history of the cosmos is based on a qualitative conception of time totally different from the quantitative time of modern geology, astronomy, and astrophysics where one speaks of four billion years as if each year were a unit identical with the year before it, like so many identical blocks of stone set next to each other” (Nasr, 2006, p. 50). He fur-

ther faults modern cosmology for its “extrapolation” of time “across vast periods of the past and future,” for applying the laws of physics as seen on Earth to the rest of the universe, and for the changing nature of the cosmological models and results (“Many scientists now speak of the Big Bang theory while yesterday they spoke

COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

of something else, and tomorrow they will point to other theories”) (Nasr, 2006, p. 51). However, all

scientific models evolve and progress toward “truths,” and those extrapolations are assumptions that are only retained if they lead to results that are confirmed by observations; indeed, all physical characteristics of celestial objects (from the sun and the moon to the farthest galaxies and quasars) are obtained by applying the laws of physics that

| 155

Qur’an—From the Signs of Scientific Ijaz, 2007), he insists that “the primordial earth” was created before the heavens were “separated”: “Verses 41:9—-12 state that all the elements neces-

sary for life on Earth, in fact the primordial earth itself, had already been created before the

we have discovered here on Earth, and most if not

separation of the initial smoky heaven into seven heavens....” Likewise, one finds confusion between “primordial gas” (“smoke”) and “dark matter.’

all are consistent with observations. Nasr has also presented a full-blown account of

cosmology became not only modern but scien-

“classical Islamic cosmology” (1993), where he de-

tific and advanced: its mathematical foundations,

tails the conceptions of the universe of the Ikhwan al-Safa’, al-Biruni, and Ibn Sina. Although such

models, and calculations are highly sophisticated,

views are interesting in various ways, one must

keep in mind that, as Guiderdoni remarked, “we now have access to distances, epochs and struc-

ture sizes that were simply unthinkable at the epoch of the Middle Ages when the Arab astronomer al-Farghani computed the distance to God's throne from the assumptions of Ptolemaic cosmology, and found a value of 120 million km” (Guiderdoni, n.d.).

The third and last group of contemporary Muslim thinkers who have taken some position with regard to modern cosmology are those who try to relate it to the Quran. One popular approach consists in finding holy verses that contain newly established cosmological information,

thereby establishing the divine origin of the Qur'an. This is often combined with an attempt to come up with cosmological (or other scientific) ideas by directly interpreting Quranic verses, sometimes in ways that result in different conclusions from the established scientific knowledge (Earth is 4.56 billion years old, while the universe

is 13.7 billion years old). This approach is exemplified by Zaghloul El-Naggar, a leader of the Ijaz movement (the “scientific miraculousness of the

Quran’). In Min ayat al-ijaz al-‘ilmi: al-samaaft I-Quran al-Karim (The Cosmos in the Glorious

Evaluation. To sum up, over the past century,

and its measurements, observations, and results are exceedingly refined and precise. Modern cosmology has brought us a drastically novel conception of the universe, particularly in terms of the latter’s size, age, contents, processes, and laws. Muslim thinkers have reacted to this development in diverse ways, ranging from full adoption and integration into their (Islamic) worldviews to near-total rejection of the exclusively scientific nature of modern cosmology. A few have presented well-informed and insightful discussions of how a perceptive understanding of the science, the philosophy, and the theology of cosmology, considered together, can be brought about in the Islamic worldview.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barrow, John D. The Book of Universes: Exploring the Limits of the Cosmos. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2011.

Barrow, John D. “Cosmology, Theories.” In The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia, edited by Stephen P. Maran, pp. 168-169. New York: Van Nostrand, 1991. Available at http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/ levels/ESSAYS/Barrow/barrow.html.

Barrow, John. D. “The Inflationary Universe: Modern Developments.” Quarterly Journal ofthe Royal Astronomical Society 29, no. 101 (1988): 101-117.

156 | COSMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, MODERN

Golshani, Mehdi. “Creation in the Islamic Outlook and in Modern Cosmology.’ In God, Life, and the Cosmos: Christian and Islamic Perspectives, edited by Ted Peters, Muzaffar Iqbal, and Syed Nomanul Haq, pp. 223-248. Aldershot, U.K., and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate Publishing, 2002.

Guiderdoni, Bruno, n.d. “The Exploration of the Cosmos: An Endless Quest?” http://naungan_nur_ wahyu.tripod.com/idi2.html. Guth, A., and P. Steinhardt. “The Inflationary Universe.” Scientific American 250, no. 5 (1984): 116-128.

Harrison, Edward Robert. Cosmology: The Science of the Universe. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Morison, Ian. Introduction to Astronomy and Cosmology. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. El-Naggar, Zaghloul. Min dydt al-ijaz al-‘ilmi: alsamaa fil-Qur an al-Karim (The Cosmos in the Glo-

rious Qur'an: From the Signs of Scientific Ijaz). 4th ed. Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifa, 2007.

Nasr, Seyyed H. An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines. Rev. ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993.

Nasr, Seyyed H. “The Question of Cosmogenesis—The Cosmos as a Subject of Scientific Study.” Islam & Science 4 (2006): 43-60.

Peebles, P. James E., Lyman A. Page, and R. Bruce Partridge, eds. Finding the Big Bang. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. NIDHAL GUESSOUM

COSMOLOGY

AND

MODELS

OF

THE

and that to God belongs “everything in the heavens and the earth” and “what is in between.” The sum total of “everything other than God,” which constitutes the entire Muslim cosmos, is identified with what the Qur'an refers to as “all the

worlds” (al-‘alamin) and “everything in the heavens and the earth.” In conceiving of the cosmos in terms of God’s creation, the Quran seeks to

emphasize the idea that reality is God-centric. In this conception of the cosmos are found explanations of the relationships between the cosmos and God in all their aspects and dimensions. These relationships, which are all metaphysical in nature, serve as the foundational elements of Islamic cosmology. Definitions and Terminological Usage. Terminologically three Arabic words are widely used to denote the cosmos: al-‘alamin, the genitive case of the plural of al-‘alam (al-‘alamiin), al-khalq,

and al-kawn. The word al- Glamin occurs seventythree times in the Quran, forty-two of which are part of the phrase rabb al-‘alamin, while the singular word al-‘alam, does not occur. However as a scientific term to denote the cosmos as a single entity, the word al-‘alam in the singular is preferred, because it conveys the idea of the cosmos as a single whole viewed as other than God. Viewed from the scientific perspective, the many worlds (al- alamin) of which the Qur'an speaks in

In Islamic cosmology the cosmos, or the uni-

numerous contexts constitute subsystems of this single cosmos. The word khalq is mentioned fifty-two times in the Quran. It has several meanings, but the predominant one is creation. In more than half of its occurrences (twenty-seven), it conveys the whole of creation, that is, the cosmos. Further in eight of these cases the word al-khalq occurs together with

verse (al-‘dlam), is defined as “everything other

samawat (heavens) and ard (earth) in the single

than God” (md siwa Allah). This definition, uni-

phrase khalq al-samawat wa'l-ard (creation of the heavens and the earth). This phrase signifies either one of two key messages of the cosmos. One message is that the cosmos is a book of Divine

COSMOS

[This entry contains two subentries:

Cosmology: Classical and Cosmology: Modern. |

CLASSICAL

versally accepted in Islam, has its basis in the Qur'an, where it is emphasized repeatedly that God is “lord of all the worlds” (rabb al-‘alamin)

COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: CLASSICAL

Signs pointing to supratemporal spiritual knowledge and wisdom to be attained by man in fulfillment of the ultimate purpose of his existence (e.g., 2:164); the other is that of the return of God’s signs, that is, the creatures, to Him and hence of their temporal nature.

| 157

to God: “[God as] al-Khdaliq...is He who brings

and on earth,” to denote the cosmos. Notably this phrase is the only terminological expression for the cosmos in Islamic usage that is free of any explicit connotation of its relationship with the Divine Reality. Each of the terms al-‘alamin, alkhalq, and al-kawn has meanings that point to the specific metaphysical relationships between the cosmos and God. Whether understood as a world in the sense of a subsystem of the cosmos or as the whole cosmos viewed as a single entity, the word ‘alam is etymologically related to the word “ilm (knowledge) and

into existence according to the proper measure,

‘dlim (knower).

or proportion, or adaptation.” According to alGhazali the core meaning of khalaga is taqdir,

because it is meant to point to the knowledge (‘ilm) and its possessor (‘alim) that originate or manifest it as a separate reality. According to classical Arabic lexicons ‘alam is that by which the ‘ilm or ‘alim that generates it is known or identified. When the relationship between ‘alam and ‘ilm or ‘alim is envisaged at the metaphysical-theological level, the name @lam takes the predominant meaning of “that by means of which the Creator is known.” More precisely the name alam points to the reality of God as the metaphysical source of the cosmos insofar as He is the All-Knowing (al-‘Alim). The idea of the cosmos as a reality that is dependent on God is evident in other forms of their metaphysical relationships that have been contemplated by Muslim scholars. However the idea of the cosmos as God’s Self-Disclosure (tajalli) as expounded by Ibn al- Arabi’s school of Sufism provides perhaps the most direct relationship between the two “entities” in the sense that it almost removes from the human mind the notion of the cosmos as a reality other than God. In a sense the various pictures of the cosmos displayed

The noun khalq is derived from the root word khalaga, the active principle of which is khaliq. The root verb khalaga conveys the primary idea of “measuring a thing, fitting it into a scheme of other things.” The epithet khaliq can be applied

meaning “determination of measurement,’ so that when this meaning is applied to God we have his Attribute and Quality of al-Khaliq (The Creator) as meaning the Planner (al-Muqaddir).

The third word used to signify the cosmos is al-kawn, which is derived from the root verb kana, conveying, among others, the meanings of “to be” and “to exist.” From this root word comes the noun ka’in, meaning “being” and “existent.” The word al-kawn, which is widely used to signify engendered existence or the engendered world or cosmos, is not found in the Quran. However its verb form appears 1,358 times, including eight

times as the word kun (Be!), signifying the Divine creative command that brings the cosmos into being (fayakun). Accordingly the term al-kawn is often used by Muslim cosmologists as an alternative to al- alam and al-khalq when referring to the whole cosmos, and cosmology as the discipline that studies it is referred to as ‘ilm al-kawn, meaning literally “the science of the engendered cosmos.” The adjective kawni is used to signify that which relates to the

cosmos. Other than the words al-‘alamin and al-khalq the Qur'an also uses the phrase ma fil-samawat wa ma fil-ard, meaning “all that is in the heavens

The world is ‘Glam in Arabic

in the Qur’an result from the various forms of re-

lationships that exist between it and God. The traditional Muslim definition of the cosmos is contrasted with modern cosmology in two main respects. First, whereas modern cos-

mology either ignores or rejects altogether the

158 | COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: CLASSICAL

existence and reality of God, and views the cosmos as a completely independent order of reality or even as the one and only reality, Islamic cosmology is God-centric. The Islamic cosmos is inseparable from the teaching of the Qur'an that God is the central reality. Although the cosmos is not God, and there is a fundamental distinction between the two, the cosmos is always defined in relation to this central reality that, in fact, is its metaphysical source and origin as well as its ultimate goal. The various cosmological schemes or theories developed by the different schools of Islamic cosmology represent different ways of looking at the relationship between God and the cosmos. Second, whereas Islamic cosmology deals with all the worlds or the whole cosmos, modern cosmology has in view only a small portion of this cosmos, namely the physical world. Modern cosmology might have discovered new facts about the physical universe and extended its boundaries; however, judging by their qualitative contents, the dimensions of the modern cosmos, limited as it were to the physical realm, are far smaller than those of the traditional Muslim cosmos. Islamic cosmology enquires into the nature and reality of the nonphysical worlds without neglecting the physical world. In fact it has made important contributions to the development of natural and mathematical studies of the physical cosmos. Sources of Islamic Cosmology. For the Muslim traditions the Quran is the most important source of cosmological knowledge. It provides Muslims with general cosmological principles that determine the temporal and spatial dimensions and boundaries of the Muslim cosmos, and that serve as a necessary background for the scientific study of that cosmos. These cosmological principles are either explicitly stated or derived from the metaphysical teachings of the Qur'an. The verses

cosmological ideas that have been developed in Islam are derived from the latter. Cosmological meanings contained in such verses have been arrived at primarily through ta’wil (symbolic or esoteric interpretation) that presupposes a deep spiritual insight and the soundness of the faculty of intellectual intuition, as distinct from the faculty of ratiocination or discursive reasoning, on the part of interpreters. The most popular of all Qur’anic verses that deal with general cosmological principles are the

of the Quran are of two kinds, the muhkamat

blessed olive tree (shajarah mubarakah zaytunah) again as the Universal Soul, and light on light

(clear) and the mutashabihat (ambiguous). Many

Throne Verse (2:255) and the Light Verse (24:35).

The Light Verse in particular has been commented on by many famous Muslim thinkers, including al-Farabi (d. 950), Ibn Sina (d. 1037),

the Ikhwan

al-Safa,

al-Ghazali

(d. 1111), and

Mulla Sadra (d. 1641). In these commentaries are

found some of the most important cosmological speculations by classical Muslim thinkers, which seek to harmonize pre-Islamic cosmology with Islamic revelation. For example, the Ikhwan al-Safa identified the heaven of the fixed stars in the Ptolemaic system of eight concentric spheres with the kursi mentioned in the Throne Verse. Further they equated the ‘arsh of the Qur'an (see also 9:129, referring to God as Lord of the Throne, and 69:17, referring to

eight angelic bearers of the Divine Throne) with the highest heaven, that is, the ninth and starless heaven that Muslims have added to the Ptolemaic scheme to account for diurnal motion. The Ikhwan called this heaven the muhit, or the out-

ermost sphere, while many other Muslims named it falak al-aflak, meaning the sphere of spheres or the supreme heaven. In their commentary on the Light Verse, the Ikhwan interpreted light (al-nir) as the Universal Intellect, niche (mishkat) as the

Universal Soul, glass (zujajah) as the prime form (al-surah al-‘ala), a shining star (kawkab durri) as individual

form

(al-stirah

al-mujarradah),

the

COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: CLASSICAL

(nur ‘ala nur) as the light of the Intellect over the

light of the Soul. The Laylat al-mi raj, or the Prophet’s miraculous night journey (see 17:2 and 53:11-18) from the earth

to the Divine Throne, has influenced traditional Islamic conceptions of the cosmos, yet the Qur'an tells very little about the journey itself: the Prophet was transported from Mecca to Jerusalem, then

taken to the heavens until he reached the farthest Lote tree (sidrat al-muntaha; 53:14) before being

finally brought to the Divine Throne. The language used to describe the journey is largely symbolic. The farthest Lote tree symbolizes the outermost region of the universe, and the Prophet's passage through every heaven symbolizes his journey through all states of being in the cosmic hierarchy. The final goal of the journey is to go beyond the cosmos itself, that is, to reach

the Divine Presence. Undoubtedly the Prophet's nocturnal ascension to the Divine Throne has a great significance for Islamic cosmology. The Quran and ahddith concerning that event present a clear picture of the total dimensions of the cosmos and the ultimate purpose of cosmology. This view concerning the role of the cosmos in mans spiritual journey to God was shared by many members of the two main traditions of

Islamic cosmology. One is the “indigenous” tradition that opposed Greek and other foreign sciences and that relied solely on the Qur'an, ahadith, and other transmitted traditions for cosmological knowledge. Religious scholars, such as Abu Muhammad al-Isfahani (Abt al-Shaykh, d. 979), the eleventh-century al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, and

| 159

scientists, but also by a number of leading theologians and Sufis, sought to synthesize cosmological ideas and theories taken from non-Islamic sources and the cosmological teachings of the Qur'an and ahadith. The most important of these pre-Islamic sources were Hermetic, Pythagorean, and Aristotelian-Ptolemaic cosmologies made available to Muslims mainly through translations of Greek sources, Mazden cosmology from Persia, and certain forms of Indian cosmology. However, all the elements that had been borrowed from these non-Islamic sources were fully integrated into the more universal Quranic cosmological

perspective. This philosophical-scientific cosmological tradition is known to have had a far greater impact than the first on the historical and philosophical development of Islamic science. The Qur'an is much more comprehensive and detailed than all other sacred books of the world in its accounts of cosmogony, cosmography, the qualitative contents of the cosmos, such as the angelic realm, eschatological events, and other cosmic phenomena. The Many Pictures of the Cosmos in the

Qur'an. The Qur'an provides numerous pictures of the cosmos that served as the basis for scientific study by Muslims in the past. A picture of the cosmos refers to one or more aspects that God has revealed for human visualization. Each picture is viewed as having both scientific and spiritual meaning. The spiritual meaning pertains to the particular Divine Names and Qualities that are manifested. In its totality the cosmos has been described by Safi cosmologists, particularly Ibn

Jalal al-Din al-Suytiti (d. 1505), who can be re-

al-‘Arabi, as God’s Self-Disclosure, meaning dis-

garded as the leading representatives of this tradition, insisted that, in the study of the cosmos, it is more important to contemplate the cosmos as a book of divine signs than to speculate rationally

closure of His Names and Qualities.

about it. The other cosmological tradition, represented mainly by philosophers of various schools and

The different pictures of the cosmos reveal its many and diverse aspects as seen from various human positions. The cosmos may be divided into its components

in many

different ways,

depending on the bases or criteria of division to be adopted. These cosmic pictures are significant

160

| COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOs: CLASSICAL

to science, not only for their past impact on Islamic science but also for their relevance to modern and contemporary cosmology and the various sciences that are its branches. Although the Divine vision of the cosmic reality is one, when expressed in human language that vision has to be presented in multiple forms. For this reason, to the extent that a particular scientific theory of the cosmos represents a particular vision—but never the total vision—there have to be many cosmologies formulated and cultivated in one intellectual tradition. In Islamic civilization, several well-known cosmologies exist side by side. Each cosmology is based on a particular vision of the cosmos presented in the Quran.

The most visible of the pictures of the cosmos in the Qur'an are the astronomical picture, the architectural picture, the governance picture, the light and darkness picture, the mathematical picture, and the living cosmos picture. The astronomical picture depicts the observable cosmos as a planetary and stellar system and the configuration of celestial bodies, focusing on those in our solar system that have the greatest impact on the planet Earth. The architectural picture presents the cosmos as an edifice with a solid construction, a perfect architectural design, and beautiful ornamentation, Many Qur’anic verses depict the cosmos as an architectural work that is divinely planned, designed, and constructed. However, the focus of God’s architectural concern is with the idea of the Earth as man’s planetary home, thereby illustrating the centrality of man in his scheme of creation. The construction of the rest of the cosmos is envisaged in light of its functional role in relation to the fulfillment of Earth's needs. The governance picture depicts the cosmos as a

divine kingdom, that is, one vast territory ruled by God who has at his command innumerable cosmic agents and forces (junud; 48:4 and 48:7).

One dimension of this picture pertains to the causal relations between the different parts and forces of the cosmos. These causal relations are governed by God’s laws, or in scientific terms, “natural laws.’ The cosmos as a divine kingdom extends from the Divine Throne (al-‘arsh) to the

farthest region of the material world where the Earth is located (65:12). The light and darkness

picture, the basis of classical Islamic light cosmology, presents the cosmos as a manifestation of God’s Light (al-nir) in such a way that the

creatures constitute a hierarchy of lights (24:35).

Light and darkness are present in all creatures to varying degrees. The mathematical picture depicts God as the Supreme Mathematician (al-Musawwir), and involves a cosmos that displays numbers, geometrical shapes and figures, ratios, symmetry, proportion, pairing principle, and quantitative relations. In accordance with God's Self-Disclosure Principle, God as the Mathematician discloses or manifests his Qualities and Activities pertaining to the mathematical world. The picture of the living cosmos depicts it as one that is filled with diverse life forms that arose from water (21:30). The Quran

deals

with

both

visible

and

invisible

existing life forms. There are other pictures of the cosmos such as the picture of the quantum cosmos that is essentially filled with and shaped by quanta or atomic and subatomic phenomena (8:67 and

28:88) and the picture of the cosmos as a big balance

(mizan).

These

Quranic

pictures

of the

cosmos have served as the basis of the develop-

ment of many sciences in Islam. Historical Development of Islamic Cosmology. The first cosmological speculations were made by some of the most distinguished companions of the Prophet. Prominent among these companions were Alt ibn Abi Talib, Ibn al-‘Abbas, Ibn Mas‘ud, and Abii Hurayrah. Ibn ‘Abbas, a paternal cousin of the Prophet, says that he learned from the Prophet the esoteric

COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: CLASSICAL

meaning of the seven heavens and the seven earths mentioned

in the Qur'an. In his com-

mentary on this sacred text, popularly referred to as Tafsir ibn ‘Abbas, he gives insights into the meanings of verses related to cosmology and the symbolic meanings of letters of the alphabet that appear at the opening of some chapters of the Quran, He defines the qualitative contents of the Muslim cosmos through his explanation of the meaning of the Qur anic term ‘lamin (all the worlds).

He describes

al-Glamin

as com-

prising “every living creature on the face of the earth and every inhabitant of the heavens [ahlsama ].” He interprets rabb al-‘Glamin to mean “the Lord of the jinn and mankind, the Creator of all creatures [khaliq al-khalq], their Nourisher and Sustainer, and their Developer and Evolver from one state to another.” He explains the nature and number of angelic bearers of the Divine Throne. He describes in symbolic language the form of the angel in charge of each of the seven heavens, showing that from the very beginning of Islamic cosmological thought, there has been a close relationship between cosmology and angelology. Ibn al- Abbas is also an important early source of a detailed account of the Prophet’s mi rdj. Without doubt ‘Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, the fourth caliph and the first imam of ShtT Islam, enjoyed the greatest respect and influence in exoteric and esoteric sciences. In what has survived of his sermons, letters, poems and proverbs, there are a number of technical expressions of a clearly philosophical nature as well as tendencies toward an analytical intellectual discourse. Of interest to historians of Islamic cosmology is ‘Ali's reference in one of his poems to man

as al-‘dlam al-saghir (microcosm),

the

earliest explicit mention of this important cosmological idea in Islamic sources. Many traditional sources have also attributed to ‘Ali the origin of several distinctively Islamic

| 161

arts and sciences, such as the art of khatt (calligraphy) and the science of numerical symbolism of the alphabets (‘ilm al-jafr). According to BelMughus al-Maghribi, a sixteenth-century historian of alchemy, ‘Ali also inherited the alchemical art from the Prophet. In Islam both the science of alphabetical symbolism and alchemy have always been closely linked with cosmology. The cosmological teachings of ‘Ali have served as important foundational elements in the early development of Islamic cosmology. His ideas found fuller and more systematic exposition in the cosmological writings of the later period, such as those of the Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Sina.

Among the most distinguished of ‘Ali’s early intellectual

successors

were

al-Hasan

al-Basri

and Ja far al-Sadiq (d. 765). Both were Sufis, but

the former was a Sunni and the latter the sixth Imam of Shiism, although he was revered by many Sunnis. From the point of view of the later development of many schools of Islamic cosmology, the alchemical and other esoteric teachings and writings associated with the intellectual circle of Imam Jafar are of particular importance. Jabir ibn Hayyan, the greatest alchemist of Islam, also belonged to this circle. In many alchemical writings attributed to Jabir are found cosmological schemes that betray a strong influence of Hermetic, Pythagorean, Aristotelian, and Neoplatonic cosmologies. The Jabirean cosmology is a remarkable synthesis of diverse cosmological and scientific ideas. The central idea in Jabirean cosmology is the concept of the balance, referring to the harmony of the various tendencies of the Universal Soul that determines and orders the qualities of cosmic existence, In Jabir’s cosmological scheme, which he presented as a hierarchy of concentric circles, the Universal Soul exists below the Intellect, which exists below the First Cause (God). Below

the Universal Soul is the world of substance, or the physical cosmos.

162

| COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: CLASSICAL

Muslim thinkers, both Sunni and Shii. Mulla Sadra attempted to create his own synthesis with influences from Ibn al-‘Arabi. The cosmological writings of Mulla Sadra’s contemporaries in the

Jabirean cosmology influenced the cosmological thought of the Ikhwan al-Safa’ and Ismaili and Sufi cosmologies, especially that of Ibn al-’Arabi (d. 1240). But during the period that separates Jabir from the Ikhwan al-Safa and the flowering of Fatimid Ismaili thought, there emerged another school of Islamic cosmology that was more rational and scientific in its intellectual outlook: the Peripatetic school of philosopher-scientists founded by

din ar-Raniri, continue to be read and discussed, especially in literary, scientific, and Sufi circles. Applications of Cosmological Principles to the Sciences. Many Muslim intellectuals, in-

al-Kindi (d. c. 873), further developed by al-Farabi,

cluding scientists, are now interested in what past

which reached its peak with Ibn Sina. Muslim Per-

Muslim cosmologists have written on the subject of cosmology. Modern cosmology has forced them to reexamine Islamic cosmological heritage. Ibn al-‘Arabis cosmology may be exceptionally

ipatetic cosmology is based on a synthesis between Aristotelian philosophy as interpreted mainly by the Neoplatonists and the cosmological teachings of Islam. Al-Kindi argued for a closed and finite cosmos. He also believed in the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. In contrast both al-Farabi and Ibn Sina maintained the theory of emanation to explain the existence of the world of multiplicity from the One. The picture of the cosmos associated with this school was largely used in Islam by astronomers. Al-Ghazali criticized Peripatetic thought and thus paved the way for the emergence of the Illuminationist school of philosophy of Suhrawardi and the mystical philosophy of Ibn al-'Arabi. Each of these schools developed its own cosmology as well. Al-Ghazali developed a “cosmology of light” on the basis of the Light Verse, which he interpreted mainly from the microcosmic perspective of faculty or cognitive psychology. Ibn al-'Arabr’s cosmology, which constitutes a grand synthesis of

all cosmological ideas previously developed and his own, became the dominant cosmology in many parts of the Islamic world until today. The core idea in his cosmology is the God’s Self-Disclosure (GSD) Principle. According to this principle the

Malay world, such as Hamzah Fansiri and Nurud-

attractive to those interested in creating a new

science within a spiritual framework in the twenty-first century. Many cosmological ideas developed in classical Islam remain true and relevant to this day, despite rapid advances in modern cosmological knowledge. The Universal Soul (al-nafs al-kulliyah), the Universal Intellect (al-‘aql al-kulli), the microcosm (al- Glam al-saghir), and the Perfect Man (al-insan

al-kamil) are among the most important of these ideas. These terms are not found in the Quran, but

as explained by Ibn al-'Arabi, the Universal Soul and the Universal Intellect are respectively equivalent to the Qur’anic lawh mahfuz (guarded tablet)

and galam (pen). The microcosm and Perfect Man are based on data in the Quran and ahddith. The perennial epistemological value of the Universal Soul is its primary applications to the biological sciences, that of the Universal Intellect to the cognitive sciences, that of the microcosm to the arts and the sciences, both natural and social, and that of the Perfect Man to anthropology and psy-

chology, both spiritual and scientific.

cosmos is a disclosure (tajalli) of God’s Names and

Qualities. Each of his Names and Qualities is man-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ifested in the cosmos. All of Ibn al-‘Arabt’s cosmological ideas are based on the Qur'an and ahadith. His cosmology wielded great influence on later

Bakar, Osman. Tawhid and Science: Islamic Perspectives on Religion and Science. Shah Alam, Malaysia: ARAH Publications, 2008.

COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: MODERN

Chittick, William. The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-'Arabi’s Cosmology. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.

Chittick, William. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al‘Arabis Metaphysics of Imagination. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.

Corbin, Henry. Avicenna and the Visionary Recital. Translated by Willard R. Trask. Irving, Tex.: Spring Publications, 1980.

Fakhry, Majid. A History of Islamic Philosophy. 3d ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.

Firtizabadi, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub. Tanwir al-miqbas min Tafsir Ibn ‘Abbas. Translated into English by Mokrane Guezzou. Amman,

Jordan: Royal Aal al-

| 163

fixed stars moved around the earth in solid, crystalline spheres. Unlike the earth in her sublunar sphere, the celestial bodies did not consist of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air); hence

they were not subject to “generation and corruption” (kawn wa fasad). On the other hand, nu-

merous scholars advocated a concept that might aptly be called “sunnah cosmology,’ as it is based on canonical and other Prophetic traditions. The most popular version of this worldview was, however, formulated at a relatively late date by the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (c. 1445-

Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, and Louisville,

1505). Whereas

Ky.: Fons Vitae, 2008.

dominated in madrasah education, the other one was popular among some Sufis and Hanbalis. Copernican Astronomy in the Ottoman

Haq, Syed Nomanul. Names, Natures, and Things: The Alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan and His Kitab al-Ahjar (Book of Stones). Boston and Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer, 1994.

Heinen, Anton M. Islamic Cosmology: A Study of asSuyutis al-Hay'a as-saniya fil-haya as-sunniya. Beirut: Orient-Institut der Deutschen Morgenlandischen;

Weisbaden,

Germany:

F. Steiner Verlag,

1982.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines: Conceptions of Nature and Methods Used for Its Study by the Ikhwan al-Safa,, alBirini, and Ibn Sind. Rey. ed. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study. London: World of Islam Festival Pub. Co., 1976.

the first worldview presumably

Empire. As early as the second half of the seventeenth century, Ottoman scholars became aware of post-Copernican concepts, which were at that time far from being universally accepted in Europe. The first discussion of the Copernican model by Zigetvarli Kése Ibrahim from the early

1660s is based on a treatise by the French nonCopernican astronomer Noél Durret.

The first favorable presentation of postCopernican cosmology was carried out by the Hungarian convert [brahim Miiteferrika (d. 1745),

During the period from 1500 to 1750, when the

who had established the imperial printing office in Istanbul. In 1732, he published an edition of Katib Chalabi’s cosmography Jihan-Niima. After Chalabi’s arguments in favor of the sphericity of the earth, Miiteferrika inserts a lengthy presentation of the Ptolemaic, Copernican, and Ty-

discoveries of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe,

chonian system based on the work of the French

OSMAN

BAKAR

MODERN

Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac New-

Cartesian

ton contributed to the replacement of the geocen-

states that, thanks to physical and astronomical proofs, the Copernican model is now universally accepted in Europe. Because Miiteferrika’s argument is based on a Cartesian source, the movement of the bodies in outer space and on earth is explained by vortices of the subtle matter, not with reference to Newton's

tric and spherical view of the cosmos, two cosmological concepts were common in the Is-

lamic world. On the one hand, as in medieval Europe, many scholars subscribed to refined versions of the Ptolemaic-cum-Aristotelian concept according to which the seven planets and the

Edmond

Pourchot

(1651-1734)

and

164

| COSMOLOGY AND MODELS OF THE COSMOS: MODERN

gravitational laws, which had not yet received wide acceptance beyond Britain. Miiteferrika’s publication paved the way for the first presentation of the Copernican model by a religious scholar, the Naqshbandi Safi Erzurimlu Ibrahim Haqqi (1703-1780). The discussion of astronomy in his Ma ‘rifetndme follows the printed edition of the Jihan-Niimd but he passes over the system of Tycho Brahe, according to which the earth is stationary but the planets orbit the sun. Moreover, unlike Miiteferrika, he does not mention the names of the scientists who had formulated the concepts he presents. Haqqi discusses both the CopernicanCartesian heliocentric model and geocentrism in Ma'rifetname. Although he does not criticize the Copernican model, it is doubtful that he accepted it, since his work is based on the macrocosmmicrocosm concept and for him the idea that the movement of the spheres affects the elements remains essential. Additionally, in other parts of the book he discusses favorably the influence of the planetary spheres on the four elements, which

Muslim aristocracy of the Mughal capital after the founding of Delhi College and the production of Urdu textbooks on modern sciences, it was apparently not welcome: the later educational reformer Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817-1898) wrote

a refutation based on Aristotelian theories in the 1840s. When

he embraced

modern

science to

promote the reconciliation of the Muslim upper class with the British, he argued in a treatise that the concept of the solar system would not conflict with the Qur'an, which does not say anything specific on the celestial bodies. Moreover, he emphasized that modern astronomy was observation-based and that the alleged contradiction between verses of the Qur'an and modern astro-

nomical concepts was in fact due to the introduction of speculative Greek concepts into Islamic

does not reconcile with the Copernican-Cartesian

theology. His attitude did not affect more religious circles. In the institutions of higher religious learning (madaris), astronomy was still taught on the basis of premodern astronomical works in the early twentieth century. Until the interwar period, religious scholars of quite different outlook, like

concept.

Thana Allah Amritsari (1868-1948) and Ahmad

How far the Ma’‘rifetname contributed to the

Riza Khan Barelwi (1856-1921), defended geo-

acceptance of post-Copernican astronomy among

centrism but not the concept of compact spheres. Respective treatises by Ahmad Riza only are still in circulation. The Middle East. The reception of post-Copernican astronomy in the Arab Middle East is not yet

Turkophone Muslims remains a matter for investigation. In fact, it is noteworthy that the geography textbooks for the emerging technocratic elite

remained based on geocentrism until the 1830s.

British India. In the late eighteenth century, Mir Muhammad Isfahani

Husayn (d. 1790), Abi Talib

(1752-1806),

and

‘Abd

al-Latif

al-

Shushtari (1758-1806), Muslims of Iranian origin

employed as scribes by the East India Company in Calcutta, as well as Tafazzul Husayn (1727-

1800), the envoy of the ruler of Awadh in Calcutta, acquired knowledge of modern astronomy and wrote about it approvingly in their more general accounts of Britain and the British in India. When modern astronomy became known to the

well researched.

Rifa'ah al-Tahtawi (1801-1873)

learned about modern astronomy during his stay in France and discussed it in several of his books. However, he also was afraid that it might promote irreligion. Among Arab Christians, postCopernican astronomy became known through missionary educational institutions. A group of Christian alumni of the Syrian Protestant College founded the science magazine al-Mugtataf (18761952), which was also read by many Muslims.

The magazine’s exposition of modern astronomy

CYBERNETICS

apparently contributed considerably to its dissemination, and a few years later the educational reformer Husayn al-Jisr al-Tarabulusi (1845-1909)

referred to the solar system as a proof of the Creators wisdom, Muhammad Rashid Rida (18651935) advocated its acceptance in responses to skeptical letters to the editor in his journal alManar (1898-1935) before World War I,

One particular group among whom resistance to modern astronomy persisted were the Wahhabi ‘ulama’.. The most famous example is the 1964

fatwa by the later Grand Mufti ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Ibn

| 165 |

ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin. “Bat: Bilim ve Osmanh Diinyasi: Bir Inceleme Orne%i Olarak Modern Astronominin Osmanliya Girisi” Belleten 61 (December 1992):

727-775. Khan, Gulfishan. Indian Muslim Perceptions of the West during the Eighteenth Century. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Riexinger, Martin. “Al-Ghazali’s ‘Demarcation of Science, a Commonplace Apology in the Muslim Reception of Modern Science—and its Limitations.” In Al-Ghazali and His Influence: Papers on the Occasion of the 900th Anniversary of His Death, edited by Frank Griffel. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, forthcoming. Deals in detail with the arguments of Miit-

Baz (1909 or 1912-1999) denying the movement

eferrika, al-Tarabulusi, and Sayyid Ahmad Khan.

of the Earth, which was republished until 1982. It caused considerable embarrassment to the Saudi government, which subsequently commissioned a refutation by Muhammad Mahmiid as-Sawwaf, a member of the Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood. Iran. Although there are spurious reports of some Iranian scholars being aware of the Tychonian and Copernican system in the sixteenth century, the systematic reception of modern astronomical ideas in Iran did not start before the founding of the Daro |-Fontin in 1840. Attempts to refute heliocentrism by the scholar Karim Khan Kermani

Riexinger, Martin. “Ibn Taymiyya’s Worldview and the Challenge of Modernity: A Conflict among the AhliHadith in British India.’ In Islamic Theology, Philosophy, and Law: Debating Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, edited by Birgit Krawietz and

(1810-1871),

CYBERNETICS

among

others, were

countered

by

Georges Tamer, pp. 493-517. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2013. Analyzes the discussion of Quranic exegesis

and cosmology among puritan Muslim scholars in British India as well as Rashid Rida’s and Ibn Baz’s attitude to modern astronomy. MARTIN RIEXINGER

Cybernetics, meaning

E'tezado s-saltana (1822-1880), head of the Daro

“helmsman”

1-Foniin and appointed as the country’s first minister of science in 1858. The increasing publication of popular scientific books then contributed to the acceptance of the Copernican model in religious circles as well. With his al-Ha’ya wa I-Islam, Hebat

mid-twentieth century by Norbert Wiener (1894-

al-Din al-Shahrastani (1884-1967) demonstrated

for many Shiis how the Qur'an and the sayings of the imams could be brought into accordance with

modern astronomy. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arjomand, Kamran. “The Emergence of Scientific Modernity in Iran: Controversies Surrounding Astrology and Modern Astronomy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.’ Iranian Studies 30 (1997): 5-24.

in Greek, was first defined in the

1964) as an interdisciplinary science in order to

explore automatic control systems, and find out their structures, constraints, and possibilities. The theory of automatic control systems is an idea closely related to feedback concept. A system is composed of a combination of components that act together and perform certain objectives. In a feedback system, the output signal is fed back to increase or reduce the input signal. Although the feedback concept, the roots of which lay in the foundation of dynamic systems, was developed relatively recently (at the end of the nineteenth

century),

the

idea

has

been

understood and applied correctly since ancient

166 | CYBERNETICS

times. In engineering, the aim of control is to guide the system in a desired direction or keep it constant at a certain value. In an automatic control system, the variable to be controlled is first measured, then compared against a reference value, and at least the difference applied to the system input, in order to influence the system in a desired manner. The oldest automatic control systems that were meaningfully and technically designed and tested upon their operational merit date back to the Hellenistic era and involve the flow rate control in water clocks. The system created by Ktesibios of Alexandria around the third century BCE regulates the water level in a vessel and is similar to the carburetor in modern cars that regulates the flow of gasoline (Figure 1). The purpose of this system was to keep constant the flow of water through the container of a clock, independent of the level and pressure deviations, by employing a float with valve. Philo of Byzantium (c. 200 BCE), in his work titled Pneumatica, gives examples of the automatic

control of the oil level in oil candles. The third most important name in the history of automatic control is Hero of Alexandria who lived during the first century BCE In his work, also entitled Pneumatica, Hero describes automatic control systems as well as automata in the modern sense. These automata were designed to amuse, to arouse interest in the ancient temples, or in the water

supply systems of the bathhouses, which attracted the attention of various circles and especially of Islamic scholars in the centuries that followed. Scientific advancement, which reached its peak in the Hellenistic age, lost its luster in the palaces of Byzantium; the torch was lit once more in Baghdad by the ‘Abbasid caliphs. Misa ibn Shakir’s sons Muhammad, Hasan, and Ahmad are known as Banu Musa or Sons of Misa in the history of technology. They played an important role in the advancement of mathematical sciences during the reign of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Ma'miin (813-833 CE) and succeeding caliphs. Ahmad’s

interest in technology might have led them to

write the book titled Kitab al-hiyal (Book of Ingenious Devices) (850 CE).

Kitab al-hiyal by the Bani Misa brothers describes one hundred systems, of which eighteen

Inflow

are automatic control systems. On close inspec-

tion, these control systems are technically perfect and applicable to modern use (Figure 2). The tradition of Hellenistic water clocks continued into the period of Islam and reached its height with al-Jazari who introduces himself in his manuscript as BadT al-Zaman Abi al-‘Izz ibn Ismail ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari. He served the Artukid capital Amid (Diyarbakir) as court engineer.

Outflow

Figure 1: Ktesibios flow regulator used in water clocks.

He is famous for his book Kitab al-hiyal (Book of Ingenious Devices) in which he set forth the basis of and design for fifty different systems of practical use and aesthetic value such as water clocks, automata, water jets, vessels for blood collecting, water-raising machines, and coded keys.

CYBERNETICS

| 167

Figure 2: An automatic control example from the book Kitab al-Hiyal of Banu Musa Brothers, Model 7s, a trough which always keeps a constant level even when people draw water or animals drink from it.

Counter

weight -| Float 7 tank

Control panel

4 Flowrate control

Figure 3: Principle of al-Jazari’s water clock using Ktesibios’s flow regulator control mechanism.

The water clocks mentioned in the book are automatic flow-controlled water clocks. These clocks employ controllers invented by Ktesibios. However, due to the Islamic principle of dividing time between the rising and setting of the sun into

twelve equal parts, a reference regulator based on the seasons was added to the system (Figure 3).

The watermills that were invented during the late Hellenistic era and developed during the Islamic Middle Ages use a sophisticated stone

168

| CYBERNETICS

distance control mechanism. Later-designed Mediterranean windmills also use hand-controlled wind direction control mechanisms. In the West, the first control systems were developed by alchemists who were trying to produce gold synthetically; they believed that the ambient temperature for a reaction had to be kept constant. Thus, Drebbel (1610) was able to actu-

alize the first autoclave. The heat regulation method was used in later centuries in incubators (Reaumur 1750) and eventually in steam boilers (Henry 1750, Bonnemain

1777). The concept of

level control was reinvented in the eighteenth century for use in steam boilers (Brindley 1758, Polzunoy 1765). Pressure control was first applied to a container resembling a pressure-cooker by Papin in 1707. Similarly, the methods developed by Delap in 1799, Murray in 1799, and Bulton and

Watt in 1820 found application in steam engines.

Speed control methods were first applied to windmills in England. The method was inspired by a local technology employed rotating balls. This controlling element called a “governor” was used

in many patents (Mead 1786, Hooper 1789). This

method was employed for a long time in Watts’ steam engine as speed control (1788). The mathematical study of governors by Maxwell (1868) and Routh (1877) established the groundwork for the-

oretical control engineering.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bir, Atilla. Kitab al-hiyal of Bana Musa bin Shakir (Interpreted in Sense of Modern System and Control Engineering). Istanbul Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), 1990.

Bir, Atilla, and Mustafa Kacar. “Pioneers of Automatic Control Systems.” In Essays in Honour of Ekmeleddin Ihsano§glu, edited by Mustafa Kagar and Zeynep Durukal Abuhusayn, vol. 1, Societies, Cultures, Sciences: A Collection of Articles, pp. 557-566. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2006. Mayer, Otto. The Origins of Feedback Control. Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press, 1970.

Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics, or Communication and Control in the Animal and the Machine. Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press, 1948.

ATILLA BIR and MUSTAFA KAGAR

DARULFUNUN, OTTOMAN

The Dariil-

fiinun (sometimes referred to as Dar al-Fiiniin),

today’s Istanbul University, was envisioned by Ottoman reformers as an institution of higher learning that would be distinct from medreses (madrasahs), which taught traditional sciences,

ulum (‘ulim). They coined the name, which literally means “house of sciences,” to denote a modern university. The gap in technical knowledge between Western Europe and the Ottomans caused by the Industrial Revolution compelled them to create such an institution, within the framework of a public education policy inspired by the French enseignement public. The host of this modern institution of learning belonged to another civilization; actually, this civilization possessed deeply entrenched academic traditions and institutions of its own that made the transfer process much more than a simple process of appropriation. This was an Islamic civilization and the initiators of this modern institution of learning were the Ottoman administrators and intellectuals—a fact that left its mark as the distinctive features of this process. The Ottoman administrators and intellectuals who formed the leadership of the Islamic world also aimed at the formation of a modern Ottoman

culture built on a harmonious synthesis between Islamic and Western cultures. Their keenness to create their own version of modernization was very clear from the beginning when they coined a new word for the institution they were about to establish. For the modern institution of higher education known in the West as a university, they coined the term dariilftinun, that is, “house of sciences.” As, from the very beginning, they had set about founding this new institution on their own resources; it was never a simple or straightforward process. The modernization of Ottoman education was planned on three levels (primary, secondary, and higher) in 1838, during the period of Mahmud II (r, 1808-1839),

and efforts to establish new

schools commenced after the proclamation of the Tanzimat (the administrative reorganization of the Ottoman state) in 1839. Mahmud II’s successor, Abdtilmecid

(Abd al-Mecid, r. 1839-1861),

was concerned with public education, terbiye-i amme (terbiyye-i amme), and he set up the Meclis-i Muvakkat (Meclis-i Muvaqqat, Provisional Council of Education) in 1845, which first envisaged

the Dariilftinun. The initial references to the Dariilftinun do not

outline its mission precisely but state that it “is

169

170

| DARULFUNUN, OTTOMAN

needed to train ‘educated civil servants, and their education should be organized in a place near the Sublime Porte” (Meclis-i Vala minutes, 22 Safer 1262 [19 February 1846], Basbakanlik Osmanli

Arsivi, Irade-Dahiliye, 6634.) It took three attempts at establishment to clarify the institution's role as a university. To prepare for its opening, Tanzimat officials commissioned the construction of a European-style building in 1846 and founded the Encitimen-i Danis (Enciimen-i Danis, Council of Knowledge)

in 1851, which was as-

signed the task of developing textbooks. To better understand the process of founding the Ottoman university, one needs to take into consideration the circumstances that were conducive to its formation in comparison to those that led to the emergence and development of the institution of the university in Europe. In Europe, with its own particular process of cultural development, the first European universities were founded in the form of students’ or teachers’ guilds to meet a specific need brought about by the emergence of certain social groups. The Ottoman university, on the other hand, was designed as a state institution for the training of a new type of bureaucrat and technocrat capable of carrying out much needed reforms. Thus, the attempt, centuries later, by Ottoman administrators and intellectuals to found a modern institution of learning that owed its initial creation to social demands that still did not exist in their society, an institution that was born and shaped in a different socioeconomic environment, was to follow a different course of development. In establishing new modern institutions of learning, Ottoman intellectuals avoided using names that would bring to mind and recollection the old institutions. In generating new names, the sources resorted to were the classical languages that average Ottoman intellectuals were familiar with, that is, Arabic and Persian. Hence, terms like dariilfiinun (the “university”) and enciimen-i danis (the “academy of science”) appeared.

The task of rendering the dariilftinun operational in terms of European standards was impeded by the lack of teachers, of graduates from new schools who would form the student body, and of textbooks to be used in courses. More important, during the first two decades of its development, Tanzimat administrators had failed to formulate any definitive educational policies or to reach a clear conception of what a dariilfiinun should be. No body of rules and regulations had been drawn up with regard to the curriculum. In 1863 the Dariilfiinun started to offer public lectures in modern sciences, without a university system or specific academic requirements. The first lecture was presented on 13 January by the chemist Dervis (Dervish) Pasa (d. 1878), and this program

continued until 1865. The most significant accomplishment of these early lectures was the dissemination of knowledge of modern sciences among the public at large and members of various professions and the intelligentsia. The sincere effort to combine modernization with the development of an Ottoman heritage was the most noteworthy feature of this enterprise, which attempted to reconcile all with Islamic culture. These activities were clearly seen to have attracted the attention of the Muslim community in Istanbul, but the lack of financial and human resources and of a clear concept of the Ottoman university prevented the rapid achievement of the goals that had been established. The initial effort began without a long-term plan or program regarding the university's principal educational elements—its teaching faculty, students, curriculum, and textbooks. It was only with the promulgation of the Regulations of Public Education in 1869 that the idea of an Ottoman univer-

sity was clarified. According to these Regulations, the Dariilfiinun was designed as a group of schools of higher education devoted to the public service under state administration on the model of French institutions of higher learning that included three branches: letters, law, and science.

DARULFUNUN, OTTOMAN

On 20 February 1870, the Dariilftinun-i Osmani (Dar al-Fiiniin-i ‘Othmani) opened with a grand ceremony attended by Grand Vizier Ali (Ali) Pasa (d. 1871) and other prominent officials. However,

due to administrative, financial, and academic limitations, it could not provide specialized training in the three branches and only offered a single curriculum

through

the end of the 1872-1873

academic year. A third effort to launch a comprehensive program of higher education occurred in 1874, when schools of law and civil engineering opened in the lycée of Galatasaray, under the name Dariilfiinun-i Sultani (Dar al-Fiintin-i Sultani), Univer-

sité Impériale Ottomane. Later these two schools were administered by the ministries of justice

| 171

It was during the reign of Abdiilhamid II that important and successful steps were taken on every educational level and that the survival of the Dariilftinun was sustained. The Dariilfiinun was to owe its survival to various developments, such as the increase in the number of students educated in modern schools, the rise in the number of academics and professionals who had completed their higher education in the Ottoman Empire or in Europe, and the increase in annual budget allocations for education. Other noteworthy features of the day were the enhancement of Turkish scientific literature and its attainment of proficiency in the expression of modern scientific, philosophical, and literary thought together with the development of a rich termi-

fledged university (Dariilfiinun-i Sahane) was successful, and instruction commenced in two new schools of letters and sciences on 1 September—the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sultan Abdiilhamid

nology in different disciplines of the sciences and humanities. These two landmark achievements were attained within the context of broader linguistic development initiated by the Tanzimat reforms, which included the standardization of grammar as well as simplification of the language and refrainment from adopting complex and artificial words and expressions, even grammatical rules from Arabic and Persian. At the same time, the concept of the dariilftinun as an institution in the minds of administrators had finally taken shape according to the model of the European

II’s ascension to the throne (Abd al-Hamid II,

university.

r. 1876-1909).

So long and complex a process was far from easy. It proved no easy task to introduce into the fabric of Ottoman society the structure of staterun public education, one of the results of the French Revolution, together with the institution

(Adalet Nezareti) and public works (Nafia Neza-

reti), respectively. The establishment of these two new institutions with a civilian character shows the paradigm shift in Ottoman educational life and its intellectual trends, compared

with the initial modern engineering and medical education affiliated with military establishments. In 1900 a fourth attempt to launch a full-

Previously founded

schools of

law and medicine became affiliated with the Dariilfiinun, and a modern faculty of Islamic theology was also established. The university

underwent a number of changes in the years that followed. The Dariilfiinun first admitted women in 1914. Most notably, German faculty

of university education as required by the Industrial Revolution. It took considerable time for the

were recruited to foster high educational stan-

realization of these two highly important and

dards

radical innovations, both of which required the

(1915-1918).

Along with their Turkish

counterparts, they created institutes and labo-

formation of a very necessary infrastructure.

ratories and launched five scholarly journals,

It took some time for the Darilftinun-i Sahane,

which laid the foundation for strong academic

which combined both old and new educational institutions established at different times with

traditions.

172

| DARULFUNUN, OTTOMAN

independent identities and characteristics, to acquire a legal identity and the gradual formation of a uniform legal system as well as the formation of a common university framework with various supporting educational and administrative cadres. The essential success achieved in the various phases of the long drawn-out transformation begun in 1846 was the decision regarding the place occupied by the university within the Ottoman administrative and financial structure. The first of the most important developments assured by the Second Constitution was the granting of scholarly autonomy in 1919, followed in 1922 by its own legal identity. Shortly thereafter, the legal and administrative arrangements regarded as necessary in a

European university were finally completed. The efforts to bring the Dariilfiinun more into line with republican reforms known as the Kemalist Revolution and the ideology of the new regime may be regarded as a new stage in its evolution. A number of radical and uncompromising measures had to be taken in order to replace the Ottoman mentality and its pluralistic approach by a worldview more compatible with the nationalistic and revolutionary reforms of the new republic. As the Dariilfiinun did not fully subscribe to republican ideology and endorse the radical republican thesis regarding Turkish history and language reforms, its teachers did not support the government's political agenda. And with some of them even advocating for the opposition party, the school was closed on 31 July 1933, and many

staff members were discharged. The next day, it resumed

operations

under

its current

name,

Istanbul Universitesi (Istanbul University).

From its outset, the project to create an Ottoman

university in Istanbul motivated authorities in other parts of the empire, as well as beyond its borders, to undertake similar efforts. In 1847 [brahim (Ibrahim) Pasa (d. 1848), the governor of Egypt, tried to emulate the underlying concept of the dariilfiinun, but died before he could bring his plan to fruition. In

1851 Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848-1896) of Iran

established an institution of higher learning in Tehran, named Dar al-Funiin. In 1932, inspired by a

visit to Istanbul (1928), the king of Afghanistan, Am4anallah Shah (d. 1959), founded the Kabul Dar al-Funtin, which first consisted of a faculty of med-

icine. (Its staff was recruited from among the professors and graduates of the Dariilfiinun’s school of medicine in Istanbul.)

Dariilfiinun also set up branches in Ottoman provincial centers, including a medical school in Damascus (1903) and law schools in Salonica (1907), Konya and Baghdad (1908), and Beirut (1913). The

Damascus School of Medicine and Baghdad School of Law were the forerunners of today’s University of

Damascus and University of Baghdad. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ayni, Mehmet Ali. Dariilfiinun tarihi. Istanbul: Yeni Matbaa, 1927.

Cevad, Mahmiid. Maarif-i Umiimiyye Nezareti tarikhce-i teskilat ve icradti. Istanbul: Matbaa-i Amire, 1338.

[hsanoglu, Ekmeleddin. Dariilfiinun: Osmanli’ da kiiltiirel modernlesmenin oda}. 2 vols. Istanbul: IRCICA, 2010. ihsano$lu, Ekmeleddin. “The Genesis of ‘Dariilfiinun’: An Overview of Attempts to Establish the First Ottoman University.’ In Histoire économique et sociale de l’Empire ottoman et de la Turquie (1326-1960): Actes du sixiéme congrés international tenu a Aix-enProvence, edited by Daniel Panzac, pp. 827-842. Paris: Peeters, 1995.

ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin. Takvim-i vekayi (11 DVDs, 1 CD). Istanbul: IRCICA, 2006. Siler, Abdurrahman, “Tiirk yiiksek 6%retiminde Dariilfiinun (1863-1933).” PhD diss., Hacettepe University, Ankara, 1992.

EKMELEDDIN IHSANOGLU

DEDUCTION ANDINDUCTION Muslim views of deduction are framed in the Burhan, the section of logic corresponding to Aristotle’s Poste-

DEDUCTION

rior Analytics, which serves as the Islamic paradigm for scientific knowledge (epistémé, ‘ilm). Analyses of induction (epagdgé, istiqra’) reveal Muslim philosophers’ efforts to provide an epistemic grounding for sense perception (aesthésis, hiss), and a warrant for an empirical basis for the

science of nature (physiké, tabiiyat) as well as techniques, arts, and crafts (techné, sind‘a), such

as mechanics and medicine. Ultimately, Ibn Sina (980-1037) attempts to justify induction through

the assumption of the presence of “causal relations” in nature. In this light, the issue of deduction and induction has prime significance in the study of both logic and the methodology of the empirical sciences. Muslim logicians in general follow Aristotle in holding that demonstration includes both deduction and induction. Demonstration (apodeixis) is “a deduction that produces knowledge”; deduction is a logos (speech) that “produces a result of necessity from the things supposed just because of their being so” (Prior Analytics, 1.2, 24b18-20).

By “each of the things supposed” is meant a premise (protasis) of an argument, and “what results of necessity” is the conclusion (sumperasma). The propositions in a syllogism are expressed by meaningful sentences; a typical simple sentence is a true or false assertion (apophansis) about a subject (hupokeimenon, mawdi’) designated by a name (onoma) and a verb or predicate

(rhéma); a simple assertion is either the affirma-

tion (kataphasis) or the denial (apophasis) of a single predicate of a single subject. A valid syllogism is a deduction in which a conclusion follows necessarily from a set of assertions that serve as premises.

Muslims understand logical reasoning as an act of knowledge that combines “conception” or “conceptualization” (tasawwur) of a subject with “assent” (tasdiq) to a truth claim about it. Con-

ception and assent are combined in the categorical statements that make up a syllogism, since

AND INDUCTION

| 173

these affirm or deny the predicate of their subject, as in “All human beings are rational” (Black), In

his al-Najat and Risdla-i mantiq: Danisndma-i ‘alai, Ibn Sina holds that demonstration consists of proving a previously unknown conclusion from a set of known premises, where both premises are absolutely certain (yaqiniya) statements. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, in his Burhan, after using numerous figures for identifying types of syllogism, states that the constituents of deduction are not syntactical (/afzi) expressions but epistemic,

intelligible (agli, fikri) concepts concerning assent to the truth (sidq) of the propositions involved; for him, the use of syntax in logic is a tool for epistemology, expressed by symbols. Deduction. Although Muslim logicians had much in common with Aristotle, they parted ways over what constitutes the premises of a demon-

stration or deduction. For Aristotle, the premises

of a demonstration immediate

are true; primary (prota);

(amesa, “without a middle’); better

known or more familiar (gndrimétera, ma lim) than the conclusion; prior to the conclusion; causes (aitia) of the conclusion. Ibn Sina holds ac-

ceptable premises for demonstration to be axioms (awwaliyat) or first principles; propositions containing their own syllogisms (qadaya qiyasatuha ma aha); sense perceptions (mahsisat); historical and geographical propositions based on reports of eyewitnesses (mutawatirat); propositions derived from experience (mujarrubat), including those not only derived from the senses but also from induction (istiqra’). The premises of dialectic and

rhetoric were seen as inferior to those of demonstration. Propositions in dialectic could consist of generally accepted beliefs, such as those in Aristotle’s Topics (Black). For Ibn Sina, the two types of propositions that may be used in dialectic but not in deduction are common platitudes such as the proposition that one should perform one’s duty, and the proposition admitted by the adversary in the debate. Propositions in rhetoric are more

174 | DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION

intuitive or subjective. Two types of propositions

used often in rhetoric but not admissible in deduction are those based on arguments from authority as well as contingent propositions that are usually true but may be false, such as, “next winter will be colder than the present summer.’ Aristotelian-Islamic logicians held demonstration to high standards that may be difficult to properly appreciate from the perspective of the present day. For instance, Muslims follow Aristotle in restricting scientific demonstration to “sound” deductions—valid arguments that also have true premises. For example, Ibn Sina holds that pure scientific deductive demonstrations are restricted to necessary or certain (yaqin) syllogistic (qiyas) arguments; they seek assent from a set of true premises to a true conclusion, especially in the application of logic to science or knowledge (epistéme, ‘ilm), which Aristotle enumerates as one of the five

intellectual virtues, along with understanding or intellect (nous, ‘aql, khirad), philosophical wisdom (sophia), prudence (phronésis), and art (techné)

(Nicomachean Ethics, Book V1). For Aristotle, de-

ductive scientific knowledge (epistémé, ‘ilm) is how we grasp the truth of conclusions; intuition or understanding (nous) is even higher, grasping the truth of the principles on which knowledge depends. In Islamic logic, deduction is explained in epistemic terms, since it is supposed to advance our knowledge from what is known (ma'lim) to what had been unknown

(majhil) before. Ttsi

uses the example beginning with “all human beings are animals” and “all animals are embodied” and concluding with “human beings are embodied” (1948, p. 186). Logic is useful when intuition is lim-

ited. In this sense, modern logicians may suspect that Muslim logicians confuse today’s syntactical sense of “truth” as meaningful in light of the rules of interpretation of a formal language and the inquirer’s epistemic state or “knowledge.” Induction. In Greco-Islamic logic, while “deduction” is relatively clear, there is much confu-

sion about the nature of “induction.” However, the problem of induction cannot be ignored, for a number of Muslim philosophers such as Ibn Sina were also scientists and physicians and had personal experience with the importance of observation. They follow Aristotle on induction (epagégé, istigra’), viewing it as an “argument from the particular (observation) to the universal.” The knowl-

edge of the primary premises is obtainable by induction; however, induction proves not what the essential nature of a thing is but that it does or does not possess some attribute.

Prior to tackling the problematic features of induction in medieval Islam, let us clarify our present meaning of the concept of induction. Modern logic proceeds explicitly by constructing a syntax of an axiomatic system, in a formal language in which the key notions such as “signs (designative, both constant and variable, and logical)” and “rules (of formation, transformation,

and interoperations)” are clearly specified. The main reason for this approach is that “logical validity” can be detected only by formal schema and not particular sentences in ordinary language. Within this framework, induction is actually a specific case of deduction, which assumes principles of probability. Scientific laws, unlike analytical (mathematical,

logical)

meta-axioms,

are

contingent; thus, they must be supported by observations that are finite. This fact lies at the basis of both the need for as well as the problems regarding the justification of induction. Ibn Sina detected a typical problem in the logic of induction (istiqra’), which is illustrated by the following example. Let us suppose that, as an inhabitant of a village in Africa who has never been outside my village, I note that “all the people I observe in my village are black.” My observation or sensation (hiss) is of a particular case.

Then, I draw a universal conclusion, for example,

“all human beings are black.” As it stands, Ibn Sina calls this type of induction an incomplete

DEDUCTION

AND INDUCTION

|| 175

induction (istigra’ nagqis), which is based on oc-

al-Ghazali in his Tah@fut al-falasafa (Incoherence

casional experience. As he saw it, the degree of truth in the conclusion that “all human beings are black” depends on the proportion of the entire population of human beings that was ob-

of Philosophers). Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) states,

“The connection between what is habitually believed to be a cause and what is a habitually believed to be effects is not necessary (dartriyya)”

served in the village sample. If we assume, for ex-

(1997, p. 170). In his rejection of causal inference,

ample, that the inhabitants of the village make up

he follows the Ash‘arite doctrine of “occasionalism,’ later adopted by Nicolas Malebranche

10 percent of all human beings, then we can say

that the induction has 10 percent reasonability. It is clear that the conclusion of an inductive argument is not a statement about a particular fact, but the degree of reasonableness of a conclusion derived from a set of premises. In short, induction is only a case of deductive reasoning in which the relationship of assent (tasdiq) is between a set and its subset; in short, the conclusion of an inductive argument is about a set, and not a particular entity. Moreover, unlike deduction, induction needs a nonsyntactical assumption. To that end, Ibn Sina “rescues” inductive reasoning by his assumption that the world embeds an order from which scientists can detect causal connections between things and their activities. These connections are accessible through scientific experimentation on actual objects. For example, there is a connection between cotton and its being combustible: it burns if it catches fire. Consequently, observation per se does not lead to knowledge; what leads to knowledge is a set of regular and not occasional or incomplete (ndaqgis) empirical observations. An example of a proper investigation that allows the observer to detect causal connections is the case of a physician who experiments with repeated observation and notices the same symptoms in several patients, and their reaction to a prescribed medicine. A task of a scientist is to study how to observe nature and to proceed with the two tasks of science: to explain present experience and to

predict the future. Ibn Sina’s notion of “causality,” including his example of fire, was criticized by Abu Hamid

(1638-1715). This position assigns God

as the

sole agent of all events. Ibn Rushd (1128-1198)

attempts to rebut al-Ghazali in his Tahafut altahafut (Incoherence of Incoherence). He questions the reasonability of al-Ghazal?s assumption that subjects such as cotton are isolated entities, definable in terms of our impressions in a single instance and independent of their functions, which display their essence. It is true that specific causal features of entities are not knowable a priori. Consequently, one may not know the specific essence of an entity such as cotton; however, the comprehension of the essences of natural entities is learned from publically testable experiences that occur outside the will of observer. Later, to refute Hume's objection to induction, Kant uses the same notion and labels it as “ordered series,’ not due to the will of the agent. Moreover, Ibn Rushd asserts that “a person cannot live in this world without the practical science” (1969, p. 359). It seems

that Islamic notions of both deduction and induction are part of aphilosophical task of explanation that accords legitimacy to scientific research as a necessary aspect of human survival, following Plato who proposes the theory of universal forms and ideas, and against the philosophers of change and those who reject the meaningfulness of time and movement. It is questionable if Ibn Rushd is able to respond to al-Ghazal?s criticism of presumption. In this light, the issue of induction and its proposed

solution continue to be a fruitful subject for philosophical inquiry.

176 | DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION

Comparison. The notions of deduction and induction can be further clarified by a comparison with other proposed views of knowledge in logical works such as grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, and poetics in Islam. While deduction and induction claim universal application, grammar, in its semantic import, relates to and thus varies with respect to a specific language. For example, Arabic as a Semitic language does not use the copula, whereas Greek as an Indo-European language makes use of it. Only through elaborate and complicated research can one set an isomorphism between interpretations of these languages. Al-Farabi’s Kitab al-hurif (Book of Letters) investigates these issues. Unlike deduction and induction, which aim at establishing knowledge of truth, dialectic and rhetoric aim to persuade the audience on a psychological basis. The dialectician begins with the conclusion in his or her mind and resorts to psychologically well-known and accepted premises and admitted propositions, rather than true statements, as in deduction and induction. As for poetics, alFarabi points out that the major aim of poetry is imitation, which establishes a distance between the reader and the content. Al-Farabi labels poetry's creative imagination as a syllogistic art. Ibn Sina considers poetics both syntactically as a measured expression of interest to musicians and as imagina-

tive speech of concern to philosophers. Ibn Rushd labels the art that the poet uses as “art in melody,’ “art of meter,’ as well as the “art of making imaginative statements.’ In addition, he inquires into the universal applicability of what may be called the “poetic syllogism’ to all languages. In sum, all three Muslim philosophers take poetry to concern imagination, while deduction is concerned with actual

intelligibles and demonstration.

Black, Deborah. “Logic in Islamic Philosophy.” In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig, vol. 5, 706-713. London: Routledge, 1998.

Carnap, Rudolph. Introduction to Symbolic Logic and Its Applications. New York: Dover, 1958. al-Farabi. Kitab al-burhan (Book on Demonstration).

In al-Mantiq ‘inda al-Farabi, edited by Rafiq al‘Agam and Magid Fahri, 4 vols. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar el-Masrig, 1986-1987.

al-Farabi. Kitab al-hurif (Book of Letters). Edited by Muhsin Mahdi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar el-Masriq, 1969.

al-Ghazali, AbiHamid. The Incoherence of Philosophers (Tahafut al-falasafa). Edited and translated by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1997.

Heer, Nicolas. “Ibn Sina’ Justification of the Use of Induction

in Demonstration.” http://faculty.washington.edu/heer/, accessed 27 August 2013.

Ibn Rushd. Tahdafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence). Translated with introduction and notes by Simon van den Bergh. 2 vols. London: Luzac, 1969.

Ibn Sina. al-Burhdn (Demonstration). Edited by Aba

al-‘Ila ‘Afiff. Vol. 1, pt. 5, of Kitab al-shifa’. Cairo: Or-

ganisme Générale des Imprimeries Gouvernementales, 1956.

Ibn Sina. al-‘Ibarah (Interpretation). Edited by M. ElKhodeiri. Vol. 1, pt. 3, of Kitab al-shifa’. Cairo: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, 1970.

Ibn Sina. al-Jadal (Dialectic). Edited by Ahmad Fu’ad Ahwani. Vol. 1, pt. 7, of Kitab al-shifa’. Cairo: Organisme Générale des Imprimeries Gouvernementales, 1965.

Ibn Sina. al-Khitabah (Rhetoric). Edited by S. Salim. Vol. 1, pt. 8, of Kitab al-shifa. Cairo: Imprimerie Nationale, 1954. Ibn Sina. al-Mantiq (Introduction to Logic). Part 1,

al-Madkhal (Ulsagoge). Edited by Girg Sihatat Qanawati, Mahmtid Ahwani.

Cairo:

Hudayri, and Ahmad

al-Matba‘ah

al-Amiriyah,

Fu’ad 1952.

Translated by Nabil Shehaby as The Propositional Logic of Ibn Sina, vol. 1, pt. 1 (Dordrecht, Netherlands: Reidel, 1973).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barnes, Jonathan, ed, The Complete Works of Aristotle. Revised Oxford Translation of Aristotle. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.

Ibn Sina. al-Najat: Fi al-hikma al-mantigiya wa-ltabi'tya wa-l-dlihiya. 2d ed. Cairo: Muhyi al-Din Sabri al-Kurdi, 1938.

Ibn Sina. al-Qiyds (Syllogism). Edited by Sa‘td Zayid and Ibrahim Madkir. Vol. 1, pt. 4, of Kitab al-shifa’.

DEMONSTRATION Cairo: Organisme Générale des Imprimeries Gou-

vernementales, 1964. Ibn Sina. Risala-i mantiq: Daniindma-i ‘ala. Edited by Muhammad Muin. Tehran: Anguman-i Atar-i Milli, 1952. Kemal, Salim. The Philosophical Poetics of Alfarabi, Avicenna and Averroés. New York: Routledge, 2003. Morewedge, Parviz. “The Analysis of ‘Substance’ in Tusr’s Logic and in the ibn Sinian Tradition” In Essays in Islamic Philosophy and Science, edited by George F. Hourani, 158-188. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975. Shehaby, Nabil, ed. and trans. The Propositional Logic ofIbn Sina. Vol. 1, pt. 1, of Kitab al-shifa’. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Reidel, 1973.

Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-. Asds al-iqtibas (Principles of Valid Inference), Edited by Mudarris Razavi. Tehran:

Intisharat-i Daneshgah-i, 1989.

DEMONSTRATION

| 177

clear and certain knowledge that is derived from the methods of proof. Burhan is also an approved and convincing argument that is the aim of logical reasoning in form and content. Therefore, burhan relies on the certainty and validated acceptance of premises and conclusions (tasdiqat). The validity and coherency of any argument need to be analyzed on the basis of logical preferences in arguments. Evaluation and interpreta-

tion of any argument offers the truth-value of the argument. There are several ways of, or tools for, knowing the reality of something. Reason (aq]), intuition (hads), and experience (tajruba) are the main sources of knowledge. In the Islamic tradition, arguably the discovery or unveiling of reality (kashf) is also counted among the sources of

PARVIZ MOREWEDGE

knowledge. Mind (dhihn) and heart (qalb) seek

Demonstration means

to attain reality and truth. The mind approves or disapproves; the heart is gives consent or disapproval to a given argument.

to show something and explain it clearly. From a philosophical point of view, in a broad sense, demonstration clearly puts forth arguments in analysis and shows how strong they are. Demonstration favors strong arguments in contrast to

weaker or false ones to prove its strength. Therefore, demonstration should be the ideal or the best way of proving an argument with strong premises and a conclusion. The truth-value of demonstration relies on the truth-claims of an argument. The problem relates to how one can know about a strong argument and how to outline its analysis. Strong argument depends on valid premises and a conclusion in order to discover true knowledge. Burhan in Arabic refers to clear and distinct proof and the strength of an argument. Ibn Sina translates and comments on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics as “burhan.’ It is the strongest argument in the traditional Five Arts (al-Sinaat al-kham-

sah) in logic, especially against logical fallacies (mughalata). From this perspective, burhan is

Evaluations of Demonstration.

The classi-

cal evaluations of demonstration are discussed among the following types of epistemic sources by establishing their propositions. One way or another, any premise or conclusion is established for a source of knowledge in order to show the strength of argument in its roots. These are the sources of knowledge and cover the truth-values of premises and conclusions on which their validity, soundness, and reality depend. Certain knowledge that burhdn utilizes is called yaginiyyat and it comes in different varieties: Awwaliyyat. Propositions might depend on primarily and intuitively owned or gained knowledge, which is distinctively known in demonstration. For example, it is known that a part is smaller

than a whole. A priori (qabli) knowledge is this kind of knowledge contrary to a posteriori (ba di)

knowledge, which is derived from experience. A priori knowledge is a kind of knowledge that is not produced or received from any other source of knowledge. The proof of a priori knowledge is

178 | DEMONSTRATION

already in the mind by nature either as a prepositioned postulate or ready-made ground for acceptance of an assertion. Fitriyyat. This is similar to awwaliyyat and can be translated as dispositional knowledge. It is knowledge one knows with certainty and clarity in the mind. In other words, something can be known naturally through its connection between subject and predicate. Therefore, those premises and a conclusion are based on simple and clear justifications that do not require complex rational argument to establish their truth. Mushahadat. This kind of knowledge depends on the approval of the senses. The five senses are the main instruments for verifying truth, such as the proposition that “fire burns.” Inner senses are called mahstsat, which is also the ground for sensate knowledge. Mutawatirat. The truth of a proposition is known by the accumulation of knowledge or transmission of knowledge by a trusted group of people. Narration of knowledge in validated chains of transmission is part of the discussion about mutawatirat in the Islamic sciences. Hadsiyyat. The truth is known intuitively. One knows immediately and through what Aristotle called “quick wit.” In any argument,

premises

or conclusions

might depend on the above propositions. Burhan seeks to establish an argument on the basis of these sources of knowledge. There are other sources as well, but arguably, they are thought to be not as strong as yaginiyyat on which burhan depends. The rest of the Five Arts support what a demonstration really is and they are not able to use only yaqginiyyat in their arguments. Some could be more or less accurate or stronger sources of knowledge than others. They can be listed as follows. Tajrubiyyat is also called mujarrabat and refers to sensate experience. There are varieties of expe-

rience. The possibility of various levels of validity

is open to discussion; it is important to establish them on solid grounds. These experiences could be either personal or shared experience and could be strong or weak. Well-known facts and phenomena by many people are called mashhurat. If knowledge is revealed by a trusted person, it is called magqbulat. If one imagines something without a certain ground, it is called tahayyuldt. There is also zanniyyat, which is conjecture. Wahmiyyat is groundless supposition not supported by facts, The other Five Arts could utilize one or more of the above sources of knowledge. Jadal

(‘topics;

literally

‘dialectic’)

might

use

mujarrabat in its arguments, shir (poetic expressions) might use tahayyulat, khatabah (rhetoric) might use mashhurat. Mughalata (fallacies) use

zanniyyat and wahmiyyat. Demonstration shows that an argument does not use any weak source of knowledge for proof, but only establishes its truth clearly on proven strong sources of knowledge. Principles of Demonstration. The principle of demonstration requires complete application

of the rules of syllogism. Necessary relations among propositions should be established clearly. All sciences have principles that should be applied though demonstration. Propositions are composed of various subject matter. Proofs and their methods are crucial to analyzing demonstration with the principles and laws of logical analysis. There is no place for doubt in demonstration. The protection of the mind from weaker and false premises forces one to define certain knowledge and seeks to produce valid and sound arguments in demonstration, Certain knowledge has to be established in propositions and a conclusion. Those groundings could be theoretical (nazari) and practical (tajrubi), as in mathematics and physics. Primarily, it is an argument composed of valid propositions. The form of the argument has to fulfill the necessary conditions of syllogism and content should depend on necessary knowledge.

DEMONSTRATION

Demonstration relies on logical forms and the full application of the principles of syllogism. The middle term, which is a common term in both premises, cannot appear in conclusion. The con-

tent of premises cannot exceed in conclusion. If one of the premises is negative, the conclusion cannot be positive. The conclusion should rely on a weaker premise. That is, if there is a “particular premise” (existential quantifier) ina logical sense,

the conclusion cannot be a “universal proposition”

(universal

quantification).

Two

negative

premises or two particular premises cannot pro-

duce a conclusion, because a common ground cannot be found to conclude certain knowledge about two distinct and unrelated propositions. Likewise, two affirmative premises cannot

be concluded as negative. The principles or laws of thoughts are also applicable to demonstration

in order to reach certain knowledge through reasoning and logical analysis. Demonstration for propositions and a conclu-

sion is also shown with truth-tables and diagrams.

They illustrate areas of existence and interrelated meanings for units and sets. For example, Venn diagrams demonstrate elements in circles in relation to each other for the demonstration of certain knowledge. Those same diagrams could be shown and expressed in symbols or characters in particular alphabets or languages. Analytic or Synthetic Proposition. The analytical (tahlili) method of demonstration is to know the truth-value ofa proposition by itself. In other words, a proposition contains its truth-value without need for further analysis. The proposition “A bachelor is an unmarried man” is conceptually self-evident and contains its own truth in itself. Synthetic (tarkibi) demonstration is made up of components. In the proposition “Water boils at 100 degrees C,” water does not demonstrate the degree of heat by its conception. All judgments need to be analyzed on the basis of how that subject-predicate relationship is established in demonstration.

| 179

Justification Types. Two premises and a con-

clusion are simple demonstrations.

It is easier

to identify their truth-values for demonstration. Complex demonstrations have more than two premises. They include multiple premises or multiple variations in premises to process the thought needed to reach a conclusion. They have to be individually identified to reach certain knowledge for demonstration. Sometimes arguments are conditionally structured. Conditional demonstrations necessarily rely on the factual or existential accomplishment of the condition in argument. Condition could be necessary or contingent in space and times. Justification necessarily depends on primary fulfillment of the condition. In this context, burhan depends on certain knowledge or it is a way of reaching certain knowledge. But it must be noted that the probability of demonstration is also an issue here. Especially in modern philosophy, probability has become a frequently used argument to establish the truth-value of demonstration. Burhan-i limmi and Burhan-i ‘“inni. There are two types of reasoning that represent the practical application of demonstration for truth. If something is known by itself, it is called burhan-i limmi. It depends ontologically on direct proof to establish itself. If there is an architect, his effect or consequence must exist as seen in a building; if there is a fire, smoke must exist. In contrast to

this, burhan-i ‘inni demonstrates its truth by its factuality. A building demonstrates that there is an architect who built it; smoke demonstrates that there must be fire. The existence of a certain

architect is known by his connection to the building he has designed. Therefore, reaching a conclusion from factual consequences means deciding what reality presents. In Islamic philosophy, these types of demonstration are utilized in various subject matter, as in the questions surrounding the existence of God and the temporal creation of the universe.

180 | DEMONSTRATION

Deduction. In the Aristotelian tradition, certain knowledge is considered to be deductive argument. Universal propositions offer epistemic ground for conclusion to certify their truthvalues. A classical example is as follows: “All human beings are mortal, Socrates is a human being. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.” It is to justify particulars from universals, from whole to parts (from kull to juz’). This reasoning is called the demonstration of truth by logical analysis. In fact, it is thought to be the main work of burhan. Inference (istidlal) is established as the validity of premises and the conclusion is necessarily true. The proof of conclusion is embedded in premises, when it is deduced from them, and then truth will become apparent through this inference. Induction. It is called istiqra. It is inference from particular phenomena or premises to universal conclusions. It is the justification of universal propositions from particular premises, that is, justification from parts to a whole (from juz’ to kull). Approval of particular premises infers universal conclusions. Inference is especially related to experience and experiments of nature. If every member of the whole is taken into consideration for induction, it is called istiqra-i tam (full inference). If one or some members of the whole are

used for inference, it is called istiqra-i naqis. This type of inference, which is much more common, is criticized on the basis of not having enough evidence to infer a conclusion, Exemplifying a particular premise for universal propositions is also criticized on the basis of why that given example is taken into consideration for justification. It could be misleading or mistaken to utilize a given premise as an example. Analogy. Analogy (tamthil) means establishing a justification on the basis of similarity between two different phenomena or things. Analogical resemblances between two things bring about a new assertion to justify a conclusion. In Islamic law, analogical reasoning has been used to form

various rules and principles. The most famous example is the following: “Intoxicating drink (wine or khamr) is forbidden. Beer is an intoxi-

cating drink. Therefore, beer is forbidden.” Analogy is based on the existence of “intoxication” on both sides of the proposition, so the conclusion is established on this similarity between two drinks. Problems of induction and analogy lead to various discussions, especially in the modern sciences. Arguably, they are not thought to be as certain as

burhan. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abed, Shukri B. Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in Alfarabi. Albany: State University of New York, 1991.

Adamson, Peter, and Richard C. Taylor, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Arabic Philosophy. Cambridge, U.K. Cambridge University Press, 2005. Barnes, Jonathan, ed., The Complete Works of Aristotle:

The Revised Oxford Translation, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995.

Fakhry, Majid. Al-Farabi: Founder of Islamic Neoplatonism. Oxford: Oneworld, 2002. Farabi, al-. Kitab al-hurif. Beirut: Dar al-Mashriq, 1990. Ghazali, al-. Mantiq tahafut al-falasifah al-musamma miyar al-ilm. Annotated by Sulayman Dunya. Cairo: Dar al-Ma arif, 1961. Inati, Shamsi C., trans. Remarks and Admonitions. Part

1: Logic. Toronto: Pontifical Mediaeval Studies, 1984. Ibn Sina’s Isharat wa-al-tanbihat. Mayer, Toby. “Burhan al-Siddikin? Journal of Islamic Studies 12, no. 1 (2001): 18-39.

Rescher, Nicholas. Developmentof Arabic Logic. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1964. ISMAIL LATIF HACINEBIOGLU

DESIGN

ARGUMENT

he idea that the

world exhibits “obvious” signs of design and therefore points to a creator has been expressed and developed by many cultures and for millennia. This “observed design” and its presumed

DesiIGN ARGUMENT

implication of a creator are known as the design argument (DA) or the argument (for the existence of a creator) from design. A closely linked but somewhat different idea is the teleological argument, which stipulates that the world and its creatures carry features that appear to point toward a goal or a purpose (“telos”), as though a plan has been drawn and is being executed through glorious construction. The design and teleological arguments appear in the Islamic traditions, in one form or another, from the Qur'an to the writings of Muslims in the twenty-first century, including the important philosophical and theological debates that raged during the golden era of Islam, with the active participation of such towering figures as al-Kindi, al-Ash‘ari, al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd. Still, these arguments played only a minor role in the intellectual discourse of the Muslim elite, as they were often considered as rather simplistic and mostly valid for the general public (Fakhry, 1957).

In recent times, Muslims have made strong use of the DA and do not seem to have been much affected by the Darwinian revolution’s impact on the “design” debate. And Muslims have not been much involved in the controversy surrounding the recent emergence—and demise—of the “in-

telligent design” hypothesis. The earliest formulations of the DA may be found in Cicero's “The Nature of the Gods” when he presents the Stoics’ teleological argument:

“When we see a mechanism such as a planetary model or a clock, do we doubt that it is the work of a conscious intelligence? So how can we doubt that the world is the work of the divine intelligence?” He also cites the counterargument, made by the Epicurean camp and the atomist Lucretius: “The world is made by a natural process, without any need of a creator.... Atoms come together and are held by

| 181

understand something, all we need do is to look for its best place in nature. Aristotle introduced and emphasized the “final causes” as an internal mechanism in nature, and his teleology is described as “internal,” while Platos is often referred to as “external” (the emphasis being on the designer).

Modern Formulations of the Design Argument. Skipping for a moment the Islamic formulations of the design argument, one of its most famous versions is William Paley’s watchmaker metaphor. The Anglican priest and philosopher first attempted to identify solid indicators of intelligent design in a watch: (1) the fact that it performs some function, which gives it value; (2) the

fact that this function could not be performed if some of its parts and mechanisms were made differently. Paley then arrived at the following reasoning:

«

Nature displays the same kind of functional

e

‘There must clearly be a reason or explanation

complexity as the watch.

for this fact. «

¢

All materialistic explanations fail in

this regard. ‘The only remaining logical explanation is therefore that of an intelligent designer, a deity.

Paley’s argument was immediately recognized by its critics as an analogy, not a proof, so its validity and potency remain subjective and dependent on the “attractiveness” and “applicability” of the analogy. And although it received its most crippling blow by the Darwinian theory of evolution, with its emphasis on randomness, this reasoning had already been sapped on evolutionary and

philosophical grounds by David Hume, who pointed out that even a “beautiful” or “great” con-

mutual attraction” (Case-Winters, 2000, p. 70).

struction does not necessarily imply an omnis-

For Plato, the “Ordering Mind” made and put everything in its “best” place, and if we want to

cient and perfect creator, for the present situation may be the result of many previous attempts that

182

| DESIGN ARGUMENT

were much less “glorious” and from which the “artisan” learned and improved upon his work. Hume also introduced the argument of “pain and evil” in the world, and asked what “benevolence” could possibly come out of such sufferings and killings. Charles Darwin demonstrated that there is a natural explanation to the biological complexity of organisms. By offering both a general program

argumentation then goes on to imply that such a “preparation” and (teleological) progress of the universe toward life, intelligence, and consciousness can be interpreted as a predetermined design, a “cosmic blueprint” (in the words of

(evolution) and a mechanism (natural selection),

ments:

he showed that many if not all the observed features of creatures could be explained naturally and rather simply. Darwin could see the complexity and beauty of “this wonderful universe and especially the nature of man” and found it difficult to accept such as a random development; however, he could not accept the idea of design in everything around us, and he certainly could not reconcile the widespread misery with any preconceived and intelligent design of the world. He concluded that the world’s features might be explained as the result of “designed laws, with the details, whether good or bad, left to the working out of what we may call chance.’ But even this did not satisfy him wholly and he concluded that the whole issue is probably “too profound for the

(developed mostly by Michael Behe), and (2) specified biological information (developed mainly by William Dembski). Behe claimed to have identified a number of biochemical systems that are arranged in a way that is both individually

human intellect” (Ruse, 2004, p. 23).

“Guided” or “theistic evolution” is an attempt by the theistic camp to digest the Darwinian revolution and integrate it in a “design” worldview. Its first proponent was Frederick Robert Tennant, who argued for design to be seen in the “quality of the evolution process” and not in terms of the functional complexity of organisms, and its most recent ones include John F. Haught, Keith Ward, Francis Collins, and others. The fine-tuning argument and “anthropic prin-

Paul Davies).

Finally, the most recent and highly controversial version of the DA is the intelligent design (ID) hypothesis, which consists of two focal argubiochemical

complexity

without benefit and mutually constructive;

he

argues that the probability for such a development to have occurred randomly is too small to be accepted as an explanation for that complexity. Dembski has tried to develop a probabilistic proof that the information content of DNA nucleotides can best be explained by an intelligent design hypothesis and not from other “blind” approaches,

The Design Argument in the Islamic Tradition. In the Islamic tradition, many authors have noted the Qur’an’s repeated use of the DA in relation to various phenomena of nature; for example:

¢

“Do they not look at the sky above them, how We have made it and adorned it, and there are no flaws in it?” (50:6)

¢

ciple” have exploded on the scene since 1973 when

on Copernicus’s 500th birthday, Brandon Carter expressed the idea that the fabric, structure, and laws of the universe are “finely tuned” to the appearance and existence of intelligent life. The

(1) irreducible

“Or, who has created the heavens and the earth, and who sends you down rain from the sky? Yea, with it We cause to grow well-planted orchards full of beauty of delight: it is not in your power to cause the growth of the trees in them. [Is there another] god besides Allah?” (27:60)

¢

“O men! Here is a parable set forth; listen to

it! Those on whom, besides Allah, ye call, cannot create (even) a fly, if they all met

DESIGN ARGUMENT

together for the purpose! ... Feeble are those who invoke and those who are invoked! They have not given Allah the regard that is due to Him)... (22:72=72)

| 183

of the heavens and the earth, and in the alterna-

design can be seen within humans and in nature, both in the heavens and on earth. For humans, he repeats the argument advanced by al-Ash‘ari, and for nature he mentions the striking features we see in animals, in plants, and in minerals, as well as in celestial objects and orbits; he reminds us that this line of argumentation is presented

tion of night and day, there are indeed signs

in the Qur'an and refers to his Asrar at-tanzil

Another famous Quranic verse of relevance to

design and belief in God, “Verily, in the creation

for men of understanding...” (3:190), is the sub-

wa-anwar at-ta’wil (The Secrets of the Revelation

ject of a powerful statement by the Prophet Muhammad, who affirmed: “Woe to he who re-

p. 405). Muslim philosophers and theologians adopted the DA from the earliest days; they divided it into two main ideas: “the argument for the existence

and the Lights of the Interpretation) for further discussion. Important Muslim philosophers also addressed the subject. Abu Ali Ibn Sina had defined “providence’ ( al-‘inayah al-ilahiyyah) in design terms, insisting that it is “the old, pre-eternal divine knowledge of the ordering of creatures, objects,

of the designer” (wujtd al-sani’), later expressed

and beings in the best of ways” (1992, vol. 2, p. 130)

as “the argument of ‘invention or artisanship”

and saw in it a valid argument for the existence and attributes of God, for any observer can see in nature amazing signs and striking wisdom, which must be clear evidence that a designer has planned this world and its intricate order in total harmony with the existence of humans and other creatures and with complete providence. A typical work of classical Islamic discourse

cites it but does not contemplate it” (Ayoub, 1992,

(dalil al-ikhtira’), that is, design, and “the argu-

ment of providence” (dalil al-‘indyah). They often related these concepts to the Quranic scripture; the first idea is, for instance, exemplified by the verses 25:61—62 and 78:6-16, the second idea can be found in 86:5-6 and 88:17-20, while many

other verses contain a combination of the two, for example, 2:20-22 and 23:12-21. Abi al-Hasan al-Ash‘arl presented DA arguments in Kitab al-Luma’ fial-radd ‘ala ahl alzaygh wa-al-bida’ (The Sparks: A Refutation of Heretics and Innovators; 1955); basing his work

on the Qur'an, he argued that it is human transformations from one stage to another, which we can neither impart nor resist, that show the need for a creator, planner, and transformer. The analogy he gave is that of cotton, when it is turned (by an artisan) into yarn, then twine, then fabric and dress. Another great theologian, Fakhr al-Din alRazi, devotes a long chapter on ithbat al-‘ilm bi-sani‘ (proving the knowledge of the designer ‘infi usual ad-din (Forty Issues or maker) in al-Arba

in the Principles of Religion; 1986). He states that

(fully) devoted to design in nature is Abi Hamid

al-Ghazalt’s al-Hikmah fi makhlugat-i-Llah (The Wisdom in God's Creatures; 1978). In it, the great

thinker gave numerous examples of divine design, ranging from heaven and earth to humans and animals. For instance, stars help people in determining directions and time; wood is lighter than water in order for boats to float and carry people on the seas; the multitude, diversity, and harmony of animal species are an indicator of the creator's omnipotence; and so on. Al-Ghazali drew the following general conclusions at the end of his book: “What do you (reader) then think of a creation that has reached such levels? Raise then your sight to the Fashioner and infer from this great creation the might of this Creator, His majesty, power, and knowledge, the necessity of occurrence

184

| DESIGN ARGUMENT |

of His will, and the perfection of His wisdom with regard to His creatures.’ He adds: “Whoever looks at all this with his mind and heart benefits knowledge of his God, due regard to Him and His matters.... Keep looking, thinking, and meditating into all this, for the Prophet himself...was ordered to ‘Say: O my Lord, increase my knowledge...’”

>»

(pp. 109-112).

In Fas! al-magal, Ibn Rushd (1976) starts by de-

fining philosophy as the “teleological study of the world” (“for beings only indicate the Artisan through our knowledge of the art in them, and the more perfect this knowledge is, the more perfect the knowledge of the Artisan becomes”). He makes the DA a bona fide proof for the existence of the Maker more explicitly in al-Kashf (2001): “The way the artifact proves the existence of the

with the “ubiquitous balance” and the “cooperation” that can clearly be seen throughout the cosmos, and which for him constitutes “material evidence” of the divine unity. In his Risale-i nur, particularly the eleventh treatise al-Mathnawi al-nuri (Seedbed of

the Light), Nursi expounded at length on the proofs for God, which he saw as countless, but summarized into four, the second of which consisted of the universe, “the macro-cosmos,’ the “observed, great Book of Creation,’ which “displays orderliness as clearly as the midday sun....’ Citing the Qur‘anic verse “There is nothing that does not glorify Him with His praise” (17:44), Nursi affirms that “every

particle testifies truthfully to the All-Wise Creator's necessary Existence” as “[i]t is directed to a specific goal in accordance with certain established laws and ends in many amazing purposeful consequences”

artisan (craftsman) is in the existence in the arti-

(2011, p. 68).

fact of an order in its parts, that is, the way that some of its parts have been built in relation with the others and the way that the whole has been made adequate for the intended usage of this artifact, proves that it is not a product of nature but rather the production by an artisan who ordered each thing in its place...” (the argument now

Nursi also adopts “the argument of providence” (rendered in the English translation of al-Mathnawi al-nuri as “the argument of favoring and purposive-

known as Paley’s).

nature as “the result of all nominal laws in creation,’ and as “the comprehensive Divine Sharia (assembly

Modern Islamic Views on Design. Twentiethcentury Muslim thinkers, especially such modernists and rationalists as Mohammad “Abduh and Mohamed Tahar Ben Achour, have strongly upheld the DA because it can be supported by the Quranic worldview and it relates to science and the modern rational, natural approach to theism. Muhammad

Iqbal (2004),

however,

rejected

the DA as well as all other rational arguments for the existence of God, though he did not discard the concept of purpose, especially for living organisms, which he saw as fundamentally different from inert objects and in which he saw clear signs of teleology. In opposition to this philosophical standpoint one finds the contemporaneous Turkish thinker Beditizzaman Said Nursi, who was very impressed

ness” (2011, p. 73)) and “the argument of invention” (2011, p. 74), insisting that the invention and ar-

rangement of the universe can only be regarded as “a miracle of Divine Power” (201, p. 70). He defines

of laws) established for the order and harmony

among everything contained in the visible, material world” (2011, p. 70). However, he cautions against

promoting physical laws to “being the foundation of an agent nature,” for nature must be seen as “something printed, not a printer; a design, not a designer; an object acted on, not an agent; a rule or measure, not an origin; an order, not an orderer. It is principle without power, a set of laws without real or external

existence that issues from the Divine Attributes of Will and Power” (2011, pp. 70-71).

Finally, Nursi sees science as the way to uncover this divine order, the result of the divine power of creation; for him, the principles of science “originate in this order, harmony, and

DESIGN ARGUMENT

regularity” and their “universality and uniformity point to the order’s magnificence...’ (2011, p. 72). Some mention should perhaps be made of the populist writer or group that publishes under the name of Harun Yahya. Indeed, several of Harun Yahya’s books use the DA, including Signs of God: Design in Nature. However, examining the argu-

ments and examples presented in these books, it quickly becomes clear that Harun Yahya’s design arguments are of the most simplistic kind.

The DA is widely considered to have been destroyed by the theory of evolution. However, as Case-Winters (2000) notes, it does not have to be:

“What things others design trum:

if [evolution] is part of the design that some happen by necessity, others by chance, and in open interplay of relative freedom? A might include a whole range on the speccontingency as well as regularity, chaos as

well as order, novelty as well as continuity” (p. 76).

Indeed, several modern and progressive Muslim thinkers (for example, Muhammad Talbi) have reformulated the concept of design to imply a general directionality or “vector” of continuous, evolving creation and not as a ready-made and de-

| 185

Ayoub, Mahmoud. The Quran and Its Interpreters. Vol. 2. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992. See p. 405 for a hadith narrated by Ismail ibn Kathir

in his Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘azim (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1970).

Case-Winters, Anna. “The Argument from Design: What Is at Stake Theologically?” Zygon 35, no. 1 (March 2000): 69-81.

Fakhry, Majid. “The Classical Islamic Arguments for the Existence of God.” The Muslim World 47 (1957):

133-145. http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/pg1 .pdf. Ghazali, Abt’ Hamid al-. al-Hikmah fi makhligat-iLlah (The Wisdom in God’s Creatures). Beirut: Dar

Thya al-"Ulum, 1978.

Iqbal, Muhammad. The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-E-Mell, 2004. Markham, Ian S., and Suendam Birinci Pirim. An In-

troduction to Said Nursi: Life, Thought, and Writings. Farnham U.K.: Ashgate, 2011.

Razi, Fakhr al-Din al-. al-Arba‘infi usal ad-din (Forty Issues in the Principles of Religion). Edited by Ahmad Hejazi As-Saqa. Cairo: Maktabat al-Kulliya al-Azhartya, 1986.

Ruse, Michael. “The Argument from Design: A Brief History.’ In Debating Design: from Darwin to DNA, edited by W. A. Dembski and M. Ruse, pp. 13-31.

tailed blueprint. In the most liberal interpretation,

Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge Uni-

design can even be regarded as simply the underlying conditions that make life, intelligence, and

versity Press, 2004.

consciousness possible, something akin to the finetuning of the universe’s parameters that lead to the “anthropic principle.” Obviously, such a concept of design is much closer to standard evolutionary theory than to classical or intelligent design. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ash‘ari, Abi al-Hasan al-. Kitab al-Luma fial-radd ‘ala ahl al-zaygh wa-al-bida‘ (The Sparks: A Refutation

Ibn Rushd. Fas! al-maqal fi ma bayn al-Sharia wa alhikma min al-ittisal (On the Harmony of Religion

and Philosophy). Translated by George Hourani. London: Luzac, 1976. http://www.muslimphilosophy. com/ir/fasl.htm. Ibn Rushd. al-Kashf an-manahij al-adillah fiaqa@id ahl al-millah (Unveiling the Methods of Proof in the Dogmas of Muslim Schools). 2d ed. Beirut: Markaz Dirasat al-Wahdah al-Arabiyya, 2001. Ibn Sina, Aba Ali. an-Najat fil mantiq wal ilahiyyat (The Book of Salvation). Edited by Abdurrahman Umayra. Beirut: Dar al-Jil, 1992.

of Heretics and Innovators). Edited by Hammuda

Gharaba. Cairo: Matba‘at Misr, 1955.

NIDHAL GUESSOUM

i

4

*.*

wi}

2

ae

6

cs

MP

AaP

|

ten

‘aa = 4 :

:

BA

es

=

Pak?

i

Ein

:

o j_Sayan,

a)

704 DPR 1 Peet i

«

:

i on

Sippy

:

hea

itll

: ;

=

oval

7

a~

‘

Pe

we!)

eas Deena

Wy

ae

4

7

s

-

Upouwss

a

gi

7

oyna

ee >

a)

™

Ast ow

1a

one 4! _

&

hep)

-

aN

2)

es?

:

1.

wStm

more Hora

’ aS

-

Pe

A an “ass »

ak ay

«

*

Py it ed

=.

>

hy

7

-

ad

be

ee

tw

~

s

we \-w igi 4 :

>

7

a

+

cuiudadaniel

e

ame

~*

th: a and

ih

wy

bh

4

EARTH

SCIENCES

Islamic

contributions

to earth sciences were pioneered during the tenth century CE. The prominent Muslim philosophers and natural scientists of that period were Ikhwan al-Safa (Brethren of Purity), al-Biriini, and Ibn Sina (or Avicenna).

The major earth science

contributions were:

e

Field observation of earth’s processes of weathering, erosion, transportation, and sedimentation

¢

Understanding the meaning of fossils (remnants of plants and animals) as evidence of past life

¢

Observing sequence arrangement of “strata” and deducing earth upheavals (uplifts) and subsidence

«

Appreciation of long span of time on earth

Throughout the duration of the Islamic period, there were many other philosophers and scien-

tists who at different times expended a great deal of effort observing natural processes on the earth’s surface. Al-Kindi was one of the first Muslim philosophers to deal with the earth sciences. He wrote epistles on tides, earthquakes, and interior processes.

Al-Mas tdi (d. 957), the famous ge-

ographer, recognized the changes in the position

of land and sea and the hydrologic cycle, and also described earthquakes and tides. Al-Idrisi (d. 1160), the well-known geographer of Sicily, in his world geography entitled Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-dfaq (Opus geographicum), gave valuable information on earth science. The birth and development of the modern earth science of geology in Europe were far from easy. Geology, like other sciences, was faced with many misconceptions, both in the minds of ordinary people and in the beliefs of existing religions, This was because the study of earth and its evolution was governed to a great extent by the contemporary religious and philosophical thinking. Field observation of the structure and physical phenomena of the earth’s surface was limited to the observation of the curious philosopher and scientist. In fact, the earliest recorded use of the term geologia or “geology” to denote the study of the earth in modern science was made in 1661 by Robert Lovel in his work Pammineralogicon (A Universal History of Minerals). The term was then widely used in the literature starting in 1709.

Ikhwan al-Safa’. The scientific and philosophical contributions of Ikhwan al-Safa’ were embodied in their works known as Ras@il Ikhwan

187

188

| EARTH SCIENCES

al-Safa wa-khullan al-wafa’ (The Epistles of Brethren of Purity or Philosophy; 1957). In Epistle 18 of Volume 2 on physical subjects entitled “On the Formation of Minerals,” the Ikhwan produced fifteen chapters on different aspects of the earth. They discussed the position of the earth in the universe, the elements, minerals, natural processes,

rocks and stones, stratigraphic sequences, the origin of the mountains, and long geological time. In terms of geological theories, some fundamental concepts are presented: superposition of strata,

geological time, the origin of mountains, and the hydrologic cycle. In Chapter 1, they explained Allah's creation of the earth and universe. In Chapter 2, they presented a brief account of the earth as follows: The earth’s ball in its totality and all its parts, interior and exterior, consists mostly of layers upon layers, strata above strata, hard and soft of different composition and structure. Some of it is made of rocks and hard stone and hard conglomerate, smooth pebbles, coarse grained sand and soft clay and mud, sabkhas, and streams mixed with each other or near each other as Allah has planned. Some parts of the earth are made of clay, rocks and stones of different colors, red, white, green and black as Allah has described in the Qur'an. The earth as

a whole has cavities and fractures, wherein rivers and streams flow above and underneath the earth surface. (as translated from Ikhwan al-Safa’, 1957, p. 90)

Al-Birani. Al-Biriini’s contributions to earth sciences occurred in the fields of stratigraphy, sedimentary basin development, and isostasy. His stratigraphical concepts were similar to those of his contemporary Ibn Sina. In his studies of the Gangetic Plain in India, he observed sedimentary layering from field outcrops and from wells drilled for water, recognized fossils, and concluded that lands and seas changed places during long periods of time on earth. Al-Birini in conclusion

re-asserted his belief in the continuation of the earth’s processes over long periods of time and the importance of records contained in the rocks by

stating: “We have to rely upon the records of the rocks and vestiges of the past to infer that all these changes should have taken place over long periods of time and under unknown conditions of cold and hear” (as translated from Montasir et al.,

1965, Pp. 139). Ibn Sina. In his Kitab al-shifa’ (On Minerals and Meteorology), Ibn Sina reported that in his early young life he observed the drying of alluvial sediments in the river previously known as Gihoun, presently Oxus or Amur Dari, located

between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. However, at the time he wrote his Kitab al-shifa’, between 1021 and 1023, he was living in Hamadan, Persia, on the eastern sides of the Zagros mountains in present-day Iran, where he observed mountains and subterranean caves and springs. F. D. Adams (1938, p. 333) observed:

“Avicenna’s views con-

cerning the origins of the mountains which, as will be noted, have a remarkable modern tone, may be better represented in a translation of his own words by Holmyard and Mandeville (1927)”

who reported that the discovery of Avicenna’s fragments of Kitab al-shifa’ was wrongly associated with Aristotle's Metrologia. Ibn Sina established that to understand the formation of mountains, we have to understand the process by which stones and rocks are formed, then the manner in which rock sequences are formed, and the process by which mountains are formed after uplift and erosion. (See figure 1.) He thus identified three

origins for the formation

of stones

(rocks):

mud, water, or fire. These origins are presently

known in earth sciences as sedimentary (water or mud) and igneous. On the origin of fossils that are found in stones, Ibn Sina offered an explicit explanation based on the petrification of plants and animals.

EARTH SCIENCES

| 189

EROSION

PREEXISTING

Lic SEA

LAND

EROSION

5S

aS

RECENT MARINE SEDIMENTS NCS

De e

e

e

e

e

e

e

e

DEPOSITION .

_

ade

ee,

wre .-

a

7

-

a

1

_

-

LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

It is very likely that the first

libraries in the Islamic world appeared in mosques during the era of the Umayyads. Here intense copying of the Qur'an and ahadith was carried out. These institutions also provided education. Homes of some scholars also contained libraries. The first library in the Umayyad period open to both scholars and students was the bayt alhikmah

(House

of Wisdom).

This institution,

benefited the book trade and the enrichment of libraries. Hartin al-Rashid also established the bayt al-hikmah in Baghdad, which became a center of scientific activities and philosophical debates during the “Abbasid era. This research center not only carried out translations from a number of languages, but also had a rich library. Because of this in some sources the bayt al-hikmah is referred to as hizanat al-hikmah or hizanatu

kutub al-hikmah. Important libraries were established by a large

which operated like a research center, was in Damascus and was established during the rule of Mu awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (r. 661-680). According to what Masidi tells us, officials were employed to guard the library, which contained books on hadith, history, and biographies. Khalid ibn Yazid, one of Muawiyah’s grandsons, took over and enriched the bayt al-hikmah library. Walid ibn ‘Abd al-Malik of the Umayyads institutionalized the library, appointing a scribe and a librarian. The caliphate was transferred to the “Abbasids in 750, during the era of Abu Ja far al-Manstr

lege library, established by Caliph Mustansir bi-Lah

(r. 754-775). In this era many works were trans-

(1226-1242). In the Hizanat al-Kutub library there

lated from Greek, Latin, Syriac, Pahlavi, and Persian into Arabic, resulting in the creation of a rich library in Mansur’s palace. During the reign of Hariin al-Rashid the introduction of paper

were more than eighty thousand volumes. The Mustansiriyya Library suffered great losses during the occupation of Baghdad by the Mongol hordes. The Mongol soldiers sold some of the books they

number of statesmen and scholars in the ‘Abbasid era. However Nizam al-Mulk, the vizier of the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah, was the first to establish a madrasah (college) with a library; this madrasah, known as the Nizamiyah, was built in Baghdad in 1067. After this date many colleges were established in different regions of the Islamic world; most of these included libraries. The most important college library to be established in Baghdad after the Nizamiyah was the Mustansiriyya Col-

471

472

| LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

had looted and removed the bindings of others to use for their equestrian equipment. Some of the books were taken to Maragha by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, who served under Hiilegii. While the spread of Islam and Islamic culture had been taken up by the ‘Abbasids in the east, in the west this duty was carried on by the Andalusian Umayyads. As a result of these activities, which ‘Abd al-Rahmaan I started as a political movement, a strong Islamic dynasty, which was to maintain its presence in Spain (Muslim Iberia) for three centuries, was established. When the Andalusian Umayyads started to establish their own cultural institutions, the transference of the ‘ulama’ from the east to the west began; this took many years, and many manuscripts that had been procured from private libraries were transferred to their new owners in Anadalusia. When the customs exemptions, applicable to weapons, horses, and some other goods, started to be applied to books, an important commercial activity commenced. Merchants went to the east and purchased books, which they sold in cultural centers like Cérdoba, Seville, and Toledo. As a result hundreds of libraries were established. It became a fashion, particularly among the wealthy, to possess a library. The most important library established by Muslims in Spain was the palace library in Cordoba. This library, which developed slowly at first, was improved during the reigns of Caliph ‘Abd al-Rahman II (822-852) and ‘Abd al-Rahman III (912-961). During the reign of Hakam II (961976) it became the largest library in the medieval

Islamic world. When Hakam II came to power, he combined the library in the palace with the libraries that belonged to him and his brother Muhammad, respectively, creating the famous palace library. Sources show that there were 400,000 works here. A new building was con-

structed to accommodate the books; it took six months to move the books to the new structure.

In the palace library, in addition to librarians, there were copiers who copied books that could not be purchased, as well as illuminators and bookbinders. When Hisham II (1010-1013), son of Hakam II,

succeeded his father at the age of fourteen, administration of the state was in the hands of Ibn Abt Amir al-Mansir. In order to keep control Mansir tried to appease the canonists, who had

become uneasy due to some of Hakam II's actions and his support of freedom in thought. Mansur told the representatives of the canonists to take any books that were considered harmful from the library and burn them. As a result the palace library suffered great damage. The library suffered a second disaster after Manstr’s death. During the Berber siege of Cordoba, Vadih, the governor of the city, sold some books from the palace library to pay the soldiers. When the Berbers conquered the city, they raided the library again. When the Andalusian cities, primarily Cérdoba, were invaded by the Spaniards, some of the existing books in the libraries had already been looted and sold during internal strife and a significant portion had been taken to North Africa. Most of the remainder could not be saved from the Catholic Inquisition. In Granada, on the orders of Isabella and Ferdinand, thousands of books were burned in large city squares. The situation was no different in other cities. When the Spanish king Philip II wanted to bring together the manuscripts that remained in the country from Andalusia, he was only able to collect 2,500 books. These books formed the basis of the Escorial Library today. Two important libraries were established during the era of the Hamdanis. The first was established in Mosul by the poet and scholar Abii Qasim Ja far ibn Muhammad ibn Hamdan alMawsili. Important works in every branch of science were included in this public library, but particularly in philosophy and astronomy. It is

LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN

the first example of a dar al-‘ilm (research center)

in the medieval Islamic world. The second library established in Aleppo contained ten thousand books that had been donated by the Hamdani

EMPIRE AND TURKEY

| 473

The Ayyubid ruler Salah al-Din Yisuf ibn Ayyub put an end to the Fatimid sultanate by seizing Cairo in 1171; he destroyed some of the li-

other benefactors.

braries that had become centers of Isma‘ili propaganda, including the palace library. The richest library in the Ayyibid era was es-

The Buyid dynasty, which ruled over the southern and western regions of Iran and Iraq,

tablished by Qadi al-Fazil in his college in Cairo. Qadi al-Fazil was the primary bibliophile in

were interested in cultural activities, particularly

the medieval Islamic world. Safadi states that Qadi al-Fazil’s personal library contained around 200,000 books. When Salah al-Din conquered Amid Qadi al-Fazil also took seventy loads of books from the large library in this city. When Qadi al-Fazil established the college commemorated with his name in 1184, he placed 100,000 books from his personal collection in the library. During the Ayytibid reign the number of colleges in Damascus increased. In the era of the Zengis new colleges were built and others completed. Libraries were established in most colleges, and set up in mosques and mausoleums. The colleges built in Cairo during the Ayyubid era had additions made to them by the Mamliks from the middle of the thirteenth century on; in many of these libraries were established. The most

ruler, Sayf al-Dawlah (r. 945-967), as well as

in Iraq. Adud al-Dawlah (r. 978-983), established

a rich library in his palace in Shiraz. Two other libraries, one in Basra and one in Ramhurmuz, were established by Ibn Suvar during the reign of ‘Adud al-Dawlah. The Fatimid dynasty, established in North Africa, quickly conquered Egypt. The Fatimids, fervid supporters of Shiism, sent dais (propagandists of their faith) throughout the Islamic world. They established scientific institutions in cities like Cairo to educate these dais. Some of these institutions included libraries. The most important of the libraries established in this era was the palace library. Sources contain different figures for the number of books in the collection, ranging from 200,000 to 2 million. The dar al-‘ilm established by Caliph al-Hakim

famous was the Mahmiidiyah Library, which was

br Amr Allah in 1005 in Cairo, based on the dar

established by Jamal al-Din Mahmud ibn ‘Ali al-

al-hikmah, was first organized as a Sunni research center; however this later became a center directed toward producing Ismaili propaganda. A rich library was established in the dar al-‘ilm. A large section of books was provided by the palace library. Not only was the dar al-'ilm library

Ustadar al-Zahiri in 1395.

open to the public, but paper, pens, ink, and ink-

wells for making copies were provided for free. Although the dar al-‘ilm was closed by Wazir Afdal ibn Badr al-Jamali in 1119, in 1123, thanks

to the efforts of Wazir Ma’miun al-Bataihi it was reopened in another building. Until the Fatimid sultanate was brought to an end by the Ayyubids,

the dar al-‘ilm continued its activities both as a library and as a propaganda center.

Upon the death of the Fatimid governor of Tripoli (Trablus), Qadi Abi Talib Hasan ibn Ammar declared independence and established

a dar al-‘ilm which had a rich library; this was used to spread the doctrine of the Shi7 sect, to which Ammaris belonged, and to create propaganda. Other Ammari amirs, led by Abu 1Hasan ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ammar, enriched this library. The dar al-‘ilm gained such fame in the Islamic world that at one point Tripoli was known as Madinat dar al-‘ilm. However the library did not survive for long. When Tripoli was sacked by the Crusaders in 1109, the dar al-

‘ilm was raided and then burned.

474

| LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

At the end of the tenth century the Seljuks were soldiers in the service of the forces that were fighting in Transoxiana. After being successful there they entered Baghdad and rescued the ‘Abbasid caliphs from the control of the Shi1 Buwayhis; they worked to establish the superiority of Sunni thought over Shri thought. In the Buwayhi and Fatimid periods the dar al-‘ilms had become Shiite propaganda centers; to combat this the college model was formed to propagate Sunni ideas and beliefs. Although some institutions functioned as colleges before the arrival of the Seljuks, the first organized and regulated college was established by the Seljuk vizier Nizam alMulk. Nizam al-Mulk established a number of

colleges in many cities of the Seljuk state, like Nishabur, Balh, Mosul, Herat, Marv, Basra, Isfahan, and Toharistan. The most famous of these was the Nizamtyah College in Baghdad. A library, known as a dar al-kutub, was included in the college, which was begun in 1065 and finished in 1067.

In the era of the Anatolian Seljuks, with the progress of the Seljuks into Asia Minor the establishment of libraries in colleges continued. In the library that was established in Konya by Shaykh Sadr al-Din Konawi, there were not only some books belonging to Sadr al-Din Konawi himself, but his own works and those of his stepfather, Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi. Unfortunately a number of these libraries, which embodied the rich cultural heritage of the Islamic world, were destroyed by the Crusaders, the Mongols, the barbarians of Sicily, and the Catholic sovereigns and religious men of Spain. Consequently very few of the works have survived. The Ottoman Beylicate was established in a region far from the center of Islamic civilization. Contact with Islamic culture was minimal both in the region where the Ottomans first settled and in the territory they took from the Byzantines.

Geography, the fact that the extant libraries consisted mainly of works in Arabic, and the lack of a common culture between the Ottomans and the Byzantines slowed advancements in this field. A natural result of the spread of the colleges throughout the territory taken from the Byzantines was that the number of small-collection libraries found in colleges increased. However there are no documents concerning the structure or the existence of such collections. The lack of records concerning early Ottoman libraries for most of the fourteenth century can be explained by the fact that as the Ottomans were expanding into Christian territories, the energies of the fledgling state were directed mainly to the Holy War. While establishing mosques and colleges, the Ottomans did not inherit books or libraries from the newly conquered areas. Small libraries existed, but not until the accession of Murad

II (r. 1421-1451)

did Ottoman

prestige

reach a stage that could attract scholars from other Islamic lands who brought books with them. Foundation deeds for several mosque and college libraries established during the reign of Murad II are extant. According to the foundation deeds seventy-one volumes of books were in the collection, almost all of which were in Arabic, meaning that only the scholarly class benefited from this library. Some libraries were established in the Balkans and Asia Minor during the reign of Murad II. The library of the Ishak Bey College, built in 1445, was the first library established in the Bal-

kans in the Ottoman period. The most inter-

esting library in the era of Murad II was that built by “Umar Bey, one of the officials of the sultan, in the mosque in Bursa in April of 1440.

At the first stage thirty-three volumes of Turkish books were donated for the congregation who came to the mosque to read. The conquest of Constantinople in 1453 gave new impetus to cultural activity. One of the first

LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

buildings to be built, the Old Palace in Beyazid, included a library; the books that had been transferred from Manisa to the Edirne palace were brought here. According to a catalog from the reign of Bayezid II in 1502, there were 7,200 different works contained within a total of 5,700 vol-

umes there. In subsequent years this library was a focus for foreigners seeking manuscripts that were thought to have been seized from the Byzantines.

The character of libraries established during the reigns of Mehmed II (r, 1451-1481), Bayezid II

(x, 1481-1512), Selim I (x, 1512-1520) and Siileyman the Magnificent

(r. 1520-1566),

in Istanbul

and

throughout the provinces differed little from their pre-Ottoman and early Ottoman antecedents, but the collections became larger and their staffing began to be systematized. The posts of librarian, assistant librarian, and bookbinder, with appropriate salaries and conditions of employment, were established. From the beginning of the seventeenth century on, in addition to the libraries in the major cities, the number of libraries established in other regions of the empire rose. The spread of libraries

outside major cities can be explained not only by the need for books, but also in part by a rise in the public literacy rate. However, the establishment of library collections was intended to meet the needs of madrasah students, and the spread of the libraries to regions far from the center was influenced by the spread of madrasah education. The most significant development in the history of Ottoman libraries came with the establishment of the first independent library in Istanbul by Koprilii Fazil Ahmed Pasha in 1678. This library, which was the forerunner of many similar establishments, had its own building, staff, and budget. Of the three important college libraries established at the end of the seventeenth century, two were established by members of the Kopriilt family: Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha and Amcazade Hiiseyin Pasha.

| 475

An important example of an independent library was established by the grand vizier, Shaheed ‘Ali Pasha, in 1716 in the Vefa region of

Istanbul. “Ali Pasha was fascinated by books and is known to have even collected books while on campaign. His ban on the export of books from Istanbul is a reflection of his interest in books. The Topkap1 Palace library was established by Ahmed III (1. 1703-1730). By this time thousands

of books had been collected in the palace from a number of different sources. Ahmed III did not think that the regulations that had been previously drawn up concerning the use and conservation of books in different sections of the palace were sufficient; in 1719 a large number of these

books were collected in the library in the palace. Ahmed III also had a library built in Yeni Cami, Eminont, next to Turhan Valide Sultan’s mauso-

leum. Mahmud I (r. 1730-1754), who came

to the

throne after Ahmed III, occupies an important

place in the history of Ottoman libraries. During this era efforts were made to establish libraries in the most remote castles; statesmen, scholars, and people from other classes established a large number of libraries in Istanbul and other cities. The Ayasofya Library, established by Mahmud I, is remarkable among those built in Istanbul, not

only for its architecture and rich collection, but also for its extensive staff. Mahmud I established the second library in Istanbul, adjacent to the giblah wall of Fatih Mosque. In addition to the donated books, some collections in the mosque were transferred to the newly constructed building. The library was opened with a ceremony on 31 May 1742.

Mahmud I and his grand vizier Kose Mustafa Bahir Pasha carried out a reorganization that was similar to that which had been implemented in

the Fatih Mosque in the Stileymaniye Mosque; the works that had been donated to the mosque were collected and a library was formed on the

476 | LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

right-hand side of the building, in a section that was separated from the mosque by railings. In

throne and continuing with Selim III (r. 1789-

1754 Mahmud I built a library for the Palace

Aga Library was established in Konya (1795), the

school in Galatasaray. In addition to the libraries established in Istanbul by Mahmud I, a library

Rodosi Ahmed Aga Library in Rhodes (1793), the

was built in Belgrade (1743) and one in Fath al-

vantoglu Library in Vidin (1802), the Vahid Pasha

Islam in Vidin (1748) and another in Cairo. Many

Library in Kiitahya (1811), the Dervis Mehmed

independent libraries were also established in Is-

Pasha Library in Burdur (1818), the Zeynelzade

tanbul, for example, the Ashir Efendi (1800), Atif

Library in Akhisar (1798), the Yusuf Ziya Pasha

Efendi (1741), and Hekimoglu ‘Ali Pasha (1735) li-

Library in Keban (1797), the Tekeli-oglu Library

braries were established by members of the administrative class, Hajji Bashir Aha, who held the post of darussaada agha in the era of Ahmed III and Mahmud I, established a number of libraries in the Ottoman territory. He had a library built in the complex in Cagaloglu, as well as in Eyup, Medina, and Svishtov. In the final years of Mahmud I’s reign, a large library in Nuruosmaniye was planned. However

in Antalya (1796), the Necip Pasha Library in Tire

1807) and Mahmud

II (1808-1839). The Yusuf

Rasid Efendi Library in Kayseri (1796), the Paz-

(1826), and the Kavalali Mehmed

Ali Pasha in

Kavala (1813).

In the era of Mahmud

II (1808-1839) reforms

Mehmed Murad Efendi had a library built in the Carsamba region, The chief of the shipyard, Hajji Selim Aga, established a library in Uskiidar with a

were made not only to the military arena, but also to administrative functions, particularly concerning foundation institutions. These changes naturally affected the libraries. Rather than making efforts to establish new libraries in Istanbul, work was intensified on carrying out stocktaking of these libraries and preparing catalogs. At the beginning of the nineteenth century there was a library next to or inside every mosque in Istanbul as well as in many tekkes (dervish lodges). The number of libraries established in other cities, towns, and even villages increased. In the era of Mahmud II, two important tekke libraries were established in Istanbul. The library established by Mehmed Said Halet Efendi in the Galata Mevlevihane is remarkable for the large number of historical and literary works, particularly works on tasawwuf. In 1836 the minister of the interior, Mehmed Said Pertev Pasha, added dervish cells, a refectory, and a library with a rich collection to the Selimiye Nakshibendi dergah

foundation deed dated 1782.

in Cigekci, Uskiidar.

In the second half of the eighteenth century independent libraries with rich collections and extensive staff began to exist outside Istanbul. Such libraries increased in number and spread throughout the empire, beginning with the as-

Endowment libraries, which served Ottoman society and educational institutions over the centuries, were unable to preserve their position in the education system, particularly after the Tanzimat. At the beginning of the nineteenth century endowment libraries were incapable of meeting

the sultan died in 1754 before the completion of the complex, and his brother Osman III (r. 1754-

1757) had this charitable work completed. Ragip Mehmet Pasha, grand vizier during the reigns of Osman III and Mustafa III, established an important independent library in 1762 in the Laleli region of Istanbul. One of the independent libraries in Istanbul was established by Valiyuddin Efendi, who served twice as shaykhul Islam during the reign of Mustafa III. In 1768 this library was housed in a

structure that had been built on the right-hand side of Bayezid Mosque.

cension of Abdiilhamid

In 1775 Damad-zade

I (r. 1774-1789) to the

LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

the needs of the newly established educational institutions; a need for a new type of library was perceived and many school libraries that consisted of works on basic sciences and technology in foreign languages were established. Moreover, due to the developing relationship with the West some of the Ottoman intellectuals started to take actions toward establishing public libraries. Thus engineering, medical, and law school libraries were established. Public libraries were established in the cities. Both gradually took the place of endowment libraries.

| 477

established both in Istanbul and outside the capital. Four independent libraries were established in Istanbul around the turn of the century: the Es'ad Efendi Library in Sultanahmet (1846), the

Husrev

Pasha

Library

(1854)

and

the Hasan

Hisnii Pasha Library in Eyiip (1896), and the Aziz

Mahmud Hiidayi Library (1916) in Uskiidar. The

versity) and the Mekteb-i Tibbiye (medical school)

Hiisrev Pasha, Hasan Htisnti Pasha, and Aziz Mahmud Hiidayi libraries were independent in structure; these had collections of about a thousand books each. However the Es'ad Efendi Library was different, both in the number of books and their concentration on history and literature. Es'ad Efendi was a well-known bibliophile, and for this reason a large section of the approximately five thousand works in the library con-

and some efforts were made toward reforming the

sisted of manuscripts.

In the eras of Abdtilmecid (r. 1839-1861) and Abdiilaziz (r. 1861-1876), libraries were established in

educational institutions like the Dariilfiinun (uni-

foundation libraries. Abdiilhamid II (1876-1909)

applied a conciliatory policy to the matter of madrasah-mektep; he implemented this also in librarianship. While making efforts to carry out reforms in the foundation libraries, to prepare catalogs, and to provide regular service, libraries acquired collections in foreign languages. Efforts were made to bring books in Balkan cities, which were no longer under Ottoman rule, to Istanbul. The idea of establishing a public library in Istanbul and Damascus was developed during the reign of Abdiilhamid II and libraries were set up in a number of educational institutions in Balikesir, Eskisehir, Manastir, and Bursa by the sultan. The establishment of the Kiitiiphane-i Umumii (public library) was carried out according to an edict dated 27 September 1882; this was the forerunner of the Beyazid Public Library and was opened to the public on 24 June 1884. Other than the small

collection in the Shaikh Zafir Efendi mausoleum, no other important foundation library was established by Abdiilhamid II. Abdiilhamid II reformed rather than established foundation libraries. At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, libraries were

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eche, Youssef. Les Bibliothéques arabes publiques et semi-publiques en Mésopotamie, en Syrie et en Egypte au

Moyen

Age. Damascus:

Institut

Frangais

de

Damas, 1967.

Eriinsal, Ismail E. “A Brief Survey of the Development of Turkish Library Catalogues.’ Libri 51, no. 1 (2001): 1-7. Eriinsal, Ismail E. “The Catalogue of Bayezid II’s Palace Library. Kiitiiphanecilik Dergisi, Belge Bilgi Kuitliphane Arastirmalart 3 (1992): 55-66.

Eriinsal, Ismail E. “Catalogues and Cataloguing in the Ottoman Libraries.” Libri 37, no. 4 (1987): 333-349. Eriinsal, Ismail E. “The Establishment

nance

of Collections

and Mainte-

in the Ottoman

Libraries:

1400-1839. Libri 39, no. 1 (1989): 1-17.

Eriinsal, Ismail E. “Ottoman Foundation Libraries in the Age of Reform: The Final Period? Libri 54, no. 1,

(2004): 247-255. Eriinsal, Ismail E. Osmanl: vakif kiitiiphaneleri: Tarihi Gelisimi ve organizasyonu. Ankara: Turkish Historical Society, 2008. Eriinsal, Ismail E, “Ottoman Libraries: A Brief Survey of their Development and System of Lending.” Libri 34, No. 1 (1984): 65-76.

Eriinsal, Ismail E. Ottoman Libraries: A Survey of the History, Development and Organization of Ottoman

478 | LIBRARIES IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY

Foundation

Libraries.

Turkish

Sources

74. Cam-

bridge, Mass.: Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, 2008. Eriinsal, Ismail E. “Services Offered by the Ottoman

Bierman, Rifa‘at A. Abou-El-Haj, and Donald Preziosi, pp. 13-52. New Rochelle, N.Y.: A. D. Caratzas, 1991.

isMaiL E. ERUNSAL

Libraries: 1400-1839.” Libri 43, no. 1 (1993): 1-18.

Icimsoy, A. O%uz, and Ismail E. Eriinsal. “The Legacy of the Ottoman Library in the Libraries of the Turkish Republic? Libri 58 (2001): 47-57. Mackensen,

Ruth Stellhorn.

“Moslem

Libraries

and

Sectarian Propaganda.” American Journal of Semitic Languages 51 (1934-1935): 83-113. Maroth, M. “The Library of Sultan Bayezid II” In IranoTurkic Cultural Contacts in the 11th-17th Centuries,

edited by Eva M. Jeremias, pp. 111-132. Piliscsaba, Hungary: The Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, 2003.

Pinto, Olga. “The Libraries of the Arabs during the Time of Abbasids.” Islamic Culture 3, no. 2 (1929):

210-243. Raby, Julian. “East and West in Mehmed the Conqueror’s Library: Bulletin du Bibliophile 3 (1987): 297-

321. Raby, Julian. “Mehmed the Conqueror’s Greek Scriptorium.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 37 (1983): 1-34.

Ribera, Julian. “Biblidfolos y Bibliotecas en la Espana Musulmana.”

Disertaciones y Opuscules 1 (1928):

181-218.

Roper, Geoffrey. “Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq and the Libraries of Europe and the Ottoman Empire.” Libraries & Culture 23, no. 3 (1998): 233-248. Sakkar, Sami al-. “The Mustansiriyyah Madrasah and

Its Role in Islamic Education.” Arabian and Islamic Studies (1983): 118-130.

Shatzmiller, Maya. “Islamic Institutions and Property Rights: The Case of the Public Wagf?” Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient 44, no.1 (2001):

44-74. Sibai, Mohamed Makki. Mosque Libraries, an Historical Study. London and New York: Mansell, 1987.

Stanley, Tim. “The Books of Umur Bey.’ Mukarnas 21 (2004): 323-331. Tanindi,

Zeren.

“Bibliophile

Aghas

(Eunuchs)

at

Topkapi Saray.” Mukarnas 21 (2004): 333-343. Tarrazi, Filtb Di. Hazd‘inii'l-Kiitibil-Arabiyye fi'lHafikeyn. 3 vols., vol. 1. Beirut: Manshtrat Wizarat,

1947-1948. Vyronis, Speros. “Byzantine Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul.” In The Ottoman City and Its Parts: Urban Structure and Social Order, edited by Irene A.

LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION | The use of light motifs in early Iranian religions, such as Mithraism, classical Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism, and Greek philosophy are the foundation of Islamic theories of light and illumination. For example, in Plato’s allegory of the cave found in The Republic, Book VII (514a-520a), the sun

symbolizes the ultimate being—as the begetter of light—that is the source of knowledge; for Plato it is on the same level as the form of the Good (tov agathon) and the form of the beautiful (tov kalon).

The latter is described in terms of the “ascent of the soul through the ladder of Eros” in The Symposium (201a-212c), Both sources— The Republic and The Symposium—oftfer primordial bases for the Islamic use of love (as the mediator figure)

and enlightenment in how salvation is achieved in the mystical way (tariqa, Doa).

Influences on Theories of Light from PreIslamic Zoroastrian and Greek Tradition. Illumination, in the sense of bestowing light (niir), is

found in the pre-Islamic traditions. A basic source of Islamic illumination is Plato's allegory of the cave in The Republic. This allegory, which is a model for subsequent theories of self-realization, describes the experience of a blindfolded prisoner who eventually ascends from a cave and encounters the sun. The prisoner is blind and is unaware of the existence of the sun as the ulti-

mate source of knowledge, represented by light. ‘The prisoner's ignorance is represented by blindness. In the same way, in Muslim mysticism, the

traveler in the preliminary phases of mystical self-realization is unaware of the principle of unity (tawhid), which is the ultimate goal of salvation

through mystical union.

LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION

The ignorance represented by the cave, which is symbolized by the shadows of the objects that appear in the cave as opposed to the real objects

| 479

Anima, Book III, chapter 5, 430a10-25). In con-

vision of the Light of Lights as the unitary source of all existents. Plato indicates that the traveler ul-

trast, the soul (psych, nafs) is merely an actualization of an organic body and is concerned with sensation of ephemeral bodies. In addition to Greek philosophy, a number of Muslim philosophers have used leitmotifs from other sources. The following discussions clarify the role of light and illumination in the mystical readings of the allegorical section of the Quran (surah an-nur), as well as in several ontological schools using light motifs; two prime examples of the latter are the philosophies of eastern illumina-

timately recognizes that he (or she) is seeking not

tion (ishragi) of Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi

the shadows, objects, sight, or even light, which is a necessary condition for sight, but the sun itself, which is the source of all lights. Socrates states that all objects of knowledge receive their essence and existence from the form of

(1155-1191) and the sophisticated ontology of the glowing light (al-qabasat) of Muhammad Mir

that make the shadows, resembles the Muslim view that sensation does not equate with knowledge. Sensation must be accompanied by conceptions or experiences and with reflection on their spiritual significance. Plato's account of the traveler’s ultimate encounter with the sun is transformed into the Sufi

the Good (Republic, 509b). The Muslim mystic’s

path to self-realization begins with a search for a mediator figure that relates him to the Good. The icon of the “polished mirror” in Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s celebrated poem Mantiq al-tair (The Conference of the Birds) signifies the purity or authenticity in witnessing the basis of our being. According to this story, each traveler on the mystic path realizes that the soul is the savior,

thus revealing an essential harmony between the macrocosm and the microcosm: as two aspects of the same unit, they can be linked by a mediator figure. Similarly, Saint Augustine asserts that Christ is the inner teacher for a human being. For Augustine, Christ, as both human and divine, is a mediator between humanity and God. In sum, a human being, through love, can return to his source (the sun). In this regard, a Muslim proverb states, “Whosoever knows himself knows

his lord” Another Greek source of leitmotif found in Islamic texts is Aristotle’s assertion that the active intellect (nous poetikos, al-‘aql al-fa‘al) is analogous to light, being separated and eternal (De

Damad (d. 1631).

The Use of Light in Islamic Mysticism and Philosophies of Illumination. One of the most original Muslim philosophers, who has been relatively neglected by Western scholars, is Muhammad Bagqir Mir Damad, the teacher of Mulla Sadra, who titled his major work in metaphysics Kitab al-qabasat (The Book of Blazing Brands). In his translation of the Arabic original, Keven Brown points out that it is probable this title is related to the Quranic verse concerning Moses and the burning bush on Mount Sinai: “Behold!” Moses declares, “I perceive a fire (on the mountain). I

will bring you tidings from there, or I will bring you a blazing brand (qabas) that you may warm yourselves” (27:7). Mir Damad uses the image of a

burning brand taken from the Divine fire and its association with the transcendent light of the Godhead as a metaphor to convey to his readers that through the “flashes” and “gleams” of illumination emanating from these brands (the chapters of his book), the face of God Himself may be glimpsed. The primary goal of Kitab al-qabasat is to provide support for what Mir Damad terms the continuous making of the universe via the intermediate realm of dahr (perpetuity, such as the intelligible) in

480 | LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION

interaction with zaman (time, such as the sublu-

nary realm). For example, the knowledge of reality obtained by an immaculate soul who is fully attracted to the intelligible world and detached from the world of matter is obtained by means of illumination from the realm of light, like a polished mirror facing the sun (al-Qabasat, 402, 412). The material

world and its intermingling material states, furthermore, are expressed as a shadow of the spiritual world and its “intermingling relationships of divine illuminations and intellectual splendors, and the interlinking reflections of brilliant, necessary rays and immaterial, heavenly lights” (al-Qabasat, 410-411).

The theme of illumination primarily depends upon images of light radiating from a transcendent, divine source. For example, a sense datum of light coming through a window is discernible without being a confrontation with the sun. Islamic monotheism, following Judaism and Christianity, assumes an infinite transcendent deity, a source-beholder of all existents, having no opposite. However, entities are defined and comprehended via their opposite. Consequently, God cannot be explained by either an affirmative theology (that God has this set of properties) or a negative theology (that God is characterized by privation, such as “lack of fear,” etc.). The only option left is the so-called allegorical and mystical theology (e.g., I am like a drop of water, and via Jesus or the Sharrah I can return to my source, the ocean; or I am like a particle of light, emanated from the sun (a symbol for the Divine), that

can return to the sun by the fire of love, or through the path of Jesus, who is the inner light [/ogos]).

This nondefinable feature of God is a major reason why the use of allegorical language is a pragmatic paradigm for connecting to the Divine. Another reason lies in Muslim adherence to the first principle of religion, which is unity (tawhid). Illumination facilitates the monistic depiction of the world, especially in harmonizing three prima facie dualisms—namely a transcendent God

versus a contingent world, a body existing in space versus a nonspatial mind, and an external discrete type of knowledge versus an intuitive vision of knowledge. The monistic Sufis operate within a system in which humans are de-alienated from their source by a potential connection between human beings, allegorized as rays of light, and the sun, their source. The Muslim use of this theme often supports the monist doctrine of wahdat al-wujtid (the unity of existence), typically representing the sun as God and the world as its radiation. The paradigmatic Qur’anic reference occurs in the Aydt al-nir (Sirah of Light) (24:35-36); here, God is

the Light of Lights that emanates the world. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111), in a commentary

entitled Mishkat al-anwar (The Niche of Lights), elaborates that God is the only reality, true existence, and unity. Reference to other existents can be made only metaphorically, as they are manifestations of God. Salvation, for al-Ghazali, results from inward enlightenment that accompanies the soul’s transformation, which is achieved through religious rituals that reveal, under veils of light, the presence of anger and the appetites. The sensible eye, unlike the intellect, is ignorant of itself because it cannot perceive itself; neither can it perceive what is behind a veil, non-existent entities, what is infinite, or very small or large entities. It cannot judge its errors, such as the after-images of sensory datum—for example, the perception of a light spot after the light has been extinguished. In addition, a pragmatic meaning is obtained from the sensible, such as “fear.” There is a limit to the range of eyesight, while the rational faculty can attempt to comprehend the heavens and intelligible entities like numbers. Al-Ghazali states that the rational faculty uses as spies the five senses as well as imagination, fancy, reflection, and memory. Unlike the senses, the rational faculty is aware of analytic logoi, such as the law of contradiction. It should be noted that for al-Ghazali and

LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION

other Muslim thinkers, “rationality” does not prohibit knowledge by analogy and allegory. In this regard, al-Ghazali points out that the science of dream interpretation reveals the underlying meaning, hinting at the relationship between God and the mediators, who are the prophets. In a dream, the sun is interpreted as the king, and the moon as his minister. And the sun, which is absent to the eyes at night, illuminates the Earth via the moon. Here our use of analogy permits us to go beyond the “moonshine” and apprehend the glory of the hidden sun. The paradigmatic case of philosophical “illumining” occurs in Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-ishraq (The Philosophy of Ilumination), where, emanating from the Light of Lights, the cosmos is depicted in terms of eschatological layers of light differentiated in intensity, perfection, and deficiency. Conscious self-awareness is expressed through the image of immaterial light. The world order is depicted as a causal graduation from the higher to the lower light as well as a love ethos ranging from the lower to the higher ethos. The immaterial light expresses selfconsciousness. In his system, the opaque, the transient, and the subtle replace the traditional model of elements of earth, water, air, and fire introduced by

Empedocles. Finally, leitmotifs embedded ature depict the same monistic verse in the following allegory The sun's radiation functions

in mystical literview of the uniof illumination. as an image for

God’s emanation of the world: faith (imdn) is

like heat; the authentic reception of God is anal-

ogous to a mirror; the fire of love signifies a return to God. While particles of light describe matter, the wave theory of light is used to depict enlightenment. In this way, it becomes possible to express Gnostic or Sifi self-realization pro-

cesses as inner enlightenment. In an illumination model of emanation, the sun (God) and the world (radiation) are de-alienated,

| 481

since they are essentially the same entity: light. This is a unity obtained between a divine source and its creations. Recall that in Michelangelo's depiction of God and Adam, Adam almost but does not quite touch God. Illumination models favor this ontic unity. Also physical bodies are depicted as particles of light, while epistemic states are depicted in the language of inner illumination. Consequently, a prima facie unity is forged between mind and body, which are usually two contrary types of substances in dualist ontologies. However, this allegorical model of monism is

not compatible with the dualism of orthodox theology. The God of the Qur'an is an absolute transcendent entity that persists as a unity, and is unlike any other entity. Through His grace and His free will, He brought into existence the contingent realm of creation. In contrast, the sun allegory suggests that human beings and God share the same elements, like the sun and its rays; in addition, the world as radiation from the Light of Lights tends to imply a necessary emanation, such as water from the sea, or light from the sun. [See also Ghazali, Abi Hamid al-; Suhrawardi,

Shihab al-Din al-; and Wahdat al-Wujiid.] BIBLIOGRAPHY

Campbell, Leroy A. Mithraic Iconography and Ideology. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1968.

Ghazali, Abt. Hamid al-. The Niche ofLights = Mishkat al-anwar: A Parallel English-Arabic Text. Translated,

introduced, and annotated by David Buchman. Provo, Ut.: Brigham University Press, 1998. Parallel English-Arabic translation of Abu Hamid al-

Ghazali’s classic. Mir Damad, Muhammad Bagqir. The Book of Blazing Brands [Kitab al-qabasat]. Translated with an intro-

duction by Keven Brown. New York: Global Scholarly Publications, 2009. Plato. The Republic. Translated by Paul Shorey. 2 vols. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 19351937.

482 | LIGHT AND ILLUMINATION

Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din al-. The Philosophy of Illumination; a New Critical Edition of Hikmat al-ishraq. English translation, notes, commentary, and introduction by John Walbridge and Hossein Ziai. Provo, Ut.: Brigham University Press, 1999.

PARVIZ MOREWEDGE

flourished in the eighth century, and that this was a formative period for the language sciences in the Arab world. The eighth century witnessed the introduction and early reception of the first known Arabic grammatical treatise—the Kitab by Abt Bishr ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Qanbar alBisri, commonly known as Sibawayh (d. c. 796).

LINGUISTICS

Linguistics in Islam is virtually

synonymous with the Arabic grammatical tradition and, to a lesser extent, lexicography. These “traditional” subjects have dominated linguistics in the Arab world because, as the language of the Qur'an, Arabic is believed to be holy and therefore in essential respects incomparable with other natural human languages. This has made for a highly conservative linguistic tradition, particularly in the central areas of syntax and morphology. Nevertheless, considerable change has taken place on the periphery of Arabic grammatical theory—concerning the study of pragmatics and articulatory phonetics, for example. In addition to surveying such developments, the following discussion touches on allied linguistic fields, the application of Arabic models to Turkish and Persian, and the influence of European linguistics since the twentieth century. It should be noted that “linguistics,” as it is used here, refers to the systematic and empirical investigation of language: Phenomena specific to the Arabic language are excluded, and matters of philosophical interest are handled under the heading “Language, Theories of” Origins. ‘There is little scholarly consensus with respect to the origins of the Arabic linguistic tradition: Some historians argue that Greek and Sanskrit models conditioned its emergence (Versteegh, 1977; Suleiman, 1995); others reject external

influence, contending that key grammatical concepts exclusively came from the study of classical “native” sources instead (Sara, 1993). In either case,

surviving evidence suggests that linguistic research

Sibawayh appears not to have been the first to reflect on the nature of the Arabic language in a systematic way: Centuries later, medieval grammarians would refer back to forgotten authors who had lived before his time. For instance, ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Ishaq (d. c. 535/36) asserted a rigorous definition of analogical reasoning (giyds), considered to be the core of grammatical theory, long before the Kitab. Sibawayh frequently referenced linguistic predecessors like him, his own teacher, the lexicographer al-Khalil ibn Ahmad (d. c. 786), most of all. Which one of

these men is the “father” of the Arabic grammatical tradition is a question of frequent and inconclusive debate. What is clear is that the early reception and medieval historiography of the contributions made by the scholars just mentioned linked them to the Basran school of Arab grammar. Along with the Kitab Sibawayh, differences between the Basran grammarians and the rival Kufan school have defined the origin story of linguistics in Islam since the ninth century. Claims that the formalistic and traditionalist methods of these two schools were brought together in a successor Baghdad school, however, are not as well supported. Religious, social, and political factors account for the burst of linguistic activity that surrounded the introduction of the Kitab Sibawayh in 793.

Because revelation was thought to be co-extensive with the language of the Qur’an, accurate recitation, precise interpretation, and faithful dissemination of the Holy Book were (then as now)

supremely important. A vast and multilingual empire was forged with the conquests of Egypt,

LINGUISTICS

Syria, and Persia during the seventh century, and it included many nonnative Arabic speakers who were recent converts to Islam. In the cities, different languages came into contact, new dialects emerged, and vernaculars changed over time. There were grave concerns that nonnative speak-

ers would use “faulty speech” (Jahn) in their recitations of the Quran, thus obscuring the Word of God. Unlike these solecisms, the dialect spoken by the Bedouin nomads was held up as the model “speech of the Arabs” (kalam al-‘Arab) for

its unmixed purity and complete inflectional paradigms (irab). Despite the fact that very few of the grammarians in early Islam were themselves native speakers, they stressed the importance of limiting information on grammatical usage to the contributions of Bedouin speakers. Kalam al-'Arab then, alongside sources of classical poetry and the text of the Qur'an, constituted the accepted evidentiary core of the grammatical tradition, thought to have peaked between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, with a subsequent renaissance in the 1800s. Structure of Arabic Grammatical Theory. Syntax (nahw), which is devoted to the structures of words in combination, and morphology (sarf), which is focused on the structures of words in

isolation, are essential to the study of linguistics in Islam. Following Sibawayh’s Kitab—comprising some 571 chapters—later treatises present these

key subfields of Arabic grammar for pedagogical reasons according to a predictable organizational scheme. Arabic grammatical treatises have taken a characteristically structural (rather than historical or comparative) approach to the study of language. Conventionally, their presentation builds from the description of smaller constituent elements to larger synthetic wholes, beginning with the three fundamental classes of words: nouns (ism), verbs (fil), and particles (harf). Based on this classification, grammarians such as the tenth-

| 483

century author Ibn al-Sarrag (d. 928) typically turn next to the description of nominal cases (irab) in their works, distinguishing between inflected (jamid) and noninflected (mushtaqq) nouns. The former is broken down into three main types: nominative u-inflection (raf’), accusative a-inflection (nasb), and genitive i-inflection

(garr); the latter shows no change in word endings. The discussion of i'rab in canonical grammar is foundational to further analysis of syntactic positions (for example, agent or direct object). Syntactic position, in turn, is essential for understanding the concept of regency or governance (amal) in Arabic grammatical theory. Grammatical treatises in the Arabic tradition roughly follow this progression—from word class, to inflection, then syntactic position, and regency—both in concept and organization. According to the theory of regency, expressions involve a governing entity (a@mil), a governed entity (ma’mul bihi), and the relationship (‘amila) between the two. This relationship binds

syntactic positions into meaningful relation, and is indicated formally by case inflection. Significantly, the concept of regency is formulated in causal terms. For example, in a verbal expression (that is, one in which the governing entity is the verb), the verb is thought to cause the various in-

flections observed in the nouns. Historians have interpreted this theory in relation to Islamic theology, asserting that governed entities are bound to their governors just as effects are bound to their causes. In light of the theory of regency, it appears that case inflections are a matter of syntax rather than morphology, highlighting the fact that these subfields of linguistic knowledge break down differently in the Arabic grammatical tradition than they do in contemporary Western linguistics. Though it may seem counterintuitive to ana-

lyze words in combination before discussing their features in isolation, the study of syntax

484 | LINGUISTICS

traditionally precedes the study of morphology in Arabic grammatical pedagogy. Authors like Ibn ‘Usfur (d. 1271) suggest this may be due to the fact that, for beginning students, morphology was considered more detailed and difficult to apprehend than syntax. In order to represent word structure, Arabic grammarians employ a positional template that indicates how elements—namely,

consonants—

fit together within a word. Significantly, this highly formalistic approach to word-level constructs derives from the nature of Arabic itself. The template (f/) is based on positions of the triradical (that is, three-letter)

consonantal

root

(asl) of an Arabic word. Morphological analysis then shows how roots like k-t-b, the source of all words pertaining to writing, can take on short vowels, consonantal prefixes, suffixes, and infixes to yield a number of different functional possibilities. In this way, the total range of existing morphological patterns is laid out in works on grammar. In addition to this cataloguing of the structural possibilities for a given root, grammarians describe the morphophonological processes affecting sounds in the canonical treatises under discussion in this entry. Morphophonology involves the elaboration of rules that account for differences between the “underlying” forms obtained through manipulation of the positional template just described, and “surface” forms as they are encountered in text and speech. Rules governing phonological processes (for example, deletion, assimilation, and substitution) are in-

voked to explain discrepancies between what is expected and what is observed. It is notable that traditional Arabic grammar does not recognize an independent subfield of phonetics: Rather, the discussion of phonetic principles is folded into the study of morphology.

Change on the Periphery. Despite remarkable continuity since the eighth century in the investi-

gation of syntax and morphology, numerous developments have taken place in auxiliary fields. Articulatory phonetics—the study of how the sounds of speech are produced—was actively cultivated in the centuries after the founding of Arabic grammatical theory. Ibn Sina (Avicenna, d. 1037), for instance, issued a series of physiolog-

ical observations that offered a new foundation for the material investigation of language. Such work anticipates the modern discipline known as “the science of sounds” (‘ilm al-‘aswat). But even

though interest in speech production has promoted a materialistic attitude toward language, this in itself is not inconsistent with grammarians’ desire to support the clear interpretation and accurate reproduction of classical Arabic. Elsewhere, scholars in Islam have extended linguistic thought to new frontiers of prag-

matic analysis. Radi d-din Muhammad ibn alHasan al- Astarabadi, for instance, developed an analysis of speech acts that treated language as more than a means of conveying factual information. Elsewhere, encounters with Greek philosophy fostered changes in the thematic organization of grammatical treatises. Significantly, these innovations did little to alter the basic grammatical categories first elaborated by the early grammarians.

Allied Fields. The present discussion of canonical Arabic grammar has focused on the subfields of syntax and morphology, but lexicography is another crucial component of linguistics in Islam with equally deep roots. Lexicographers initially sought to produce comprehensive and normative works in the face of the “faulty speech” of nonnative speakers. This meant that source selection was heavily scrutinized, and that elicited evidence was only allowed from remote populations who had little or no exposure to urban vernaculars. Two organizational schemes dominated lexicographic work: According to the first, entries were organized phonologically, while the second

LINGUISTICS

employed a graphological principle based on alphabetic symbol. Lexicography is an area of linguistics in Islam that has continued to grow in recent years. Globalization and technological innovations have necessitated new specialized dictionaries. Both continuity and change are visible in the lexicographic branch of linguistics in Islam because the introduction of new vocabulary items has not posed any kind of fundamental theoretical challenge to classical grammar. Extension to Nonclassical Languages. Although linguistics in Islam is characterized by a nearly exclusive focus on Arabic, it has occasionally flexed to address other languages as well. Just as European scholars initially applied Latin grammatical paradigms to non-Latinate languages, linguists in Islam have extended Arabic grammar to other unrelated languages including Persian, Mongolian, Coptic, Malay, and Turkic. In the context of Persian linguistics, for example, Arabic terminology was widely applied before the nineteenth century, absent an internal grammatical tradition. Treatises on Turkish were similarly based on the general organizational plan of the canonical Arabic studies, transferring key concepts (sometimes awkwardly) like the theory

of regency. In the twentieth century, scholars trained in Western traditions brought new theoretical perspectives into contact with canonical Arabic grammar, Not only did their experiences spark new interest in subfields like phonology and prosody, they also contributed to the growth of Arabic dialectology. Since this early-twentiethcentury expansion, linguists in the Islamic world have turned to the descriptive and comparative study of Arabic dialects, which had previously been ignored. In Summary. Grammar is vital to Quranic scholarship ranging from jurisprudence to speculative theology and rudimentary education.

| 485

Because correct reading and repetition of the Qur'an were deemed essential to the support of Islamic civilization, Arabic grammatical theory was Cast in an essentially structural, descriptive, and normative mold shortly after the conquests of the seventh century. Key features of Arabic grammatical theory have been conserved and guide practice even today. However, this tradition has not been wholly insulated from related Western scholarship—for example, Greek logic in the medieval period and dialectology in the twentieth century. Conflicting impulses to preserve Arabic as a holy language while simultaneously responding to outside traditions that view Arabic as one among many natural human languages account for both continuity and change in linguistics of the Arab world. [See also Theories of Language.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY Auroux, Sylvain, E. FE. K. Koerner, Hans-Josef Niederehe,

and Kees ences: An the Study sent. Vol. Bernards,

Versteegh, eds. History of the Language SciInternational Handbook on the Evolution of of Language from the Beginnings to the PreI. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2000.

Monique,

and Amad

ibn Myuammad

Ibn

Walld. Changing Traditions: Al-mubarrad’s Refutation of Sibawayh and the Subsequent Reception ofthe Kitab. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1997.

Dankoff, Robert, and James Kelly. Compendium of Turkic Dialects. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1982-1985.

Translation

of Mahmud

al-

Kasgaris Diwan lugat at-Turk. Sara, Solomon. “Emergence of an Arabic Linguistic Paradigm.’ In Studies in the History of the Language Sciences, Vol. 78, edited by Kurt Jankowsky, pp. 93-103. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1993.

Suleiman, Yasir. “Arabic Linguistic Tradition.” In Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the Sumerians to the Cognitivists, edited by E. F. K. Koerner and R. E. Asher, pp. 28-38. Oxford: Pergamon, 1995. Talmon, Rafael. “Who Was the First Arab Grammarian? A New Approach to an Old Problem.” Zeitschrift fiir Arabische Linguistik 15 (1985): 128-145.

486

| LINGUISTICS

Versteegh, C. H. M. Greek Elements in Arabic Linguistic Thinking. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1977. JUDITH KAPLAN

LOGICAL PROOFS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY Various renderings of science and philosophy in Islam, exemplified by the writings of Ibn Sina (980-1057), follow the Ar-

istotelian tripartite classification of knowledge or inquiry, based on their subject matter: theoretical (nazari, thedrétiké), having no relation to the inquirer;

practical (amali, praktiké),

con-

cerning the inquirer; and productive (sinda, poetiké), concerning the production or making of objects. Theoretical types of inquiry are also divided into three groups: philosophy (falsafa, philosophia), which is not concerned with movable, sensible entities; analytics, including math-

ematics (riydadiyat) and logic (mantiq), which

are exemplified but not defined in terms of “sensible movables”; and, finally, what we consider to be science, called “inquiry into nature” (tabi iyyat, physikeé), which is concerned with “sensible movables.” A paradigm of Islamic science is presented under eight principal headings in Avicenna’s alKitab al-Shifa@’ (Book of Healing). The first, “physics proper, appears in four sections on topics such as the nature of motion, the four elements, and space and time. “The celestial and terrestrial realms” are presented as including simple and composite bodies, the nature of the moon and the stars, and the problems related to limit and infinity. “On generation and corruption” focuses on sublunary bodies. “Actions and passions,” appear in two sections, and are concerned with further changes in the class of elements, qualities such as cold and heat, and the nature of sensible qualities. “Metals and meteorology” is presented in two sections on topics such as mountains, water, tem-

perature, metals, rainbows, and winds. The sixth heading, the celebrated work “on the soul” (alKitab an-nafs; peri psychés, de anima) has five sections, including the definition of the soul, the various faculties and kinds of the souls, internal senses, and the active intelligent. “Botany/the plants” appears in seven chapters that comprise the distinctions among plants and their generation, the principles of nutrition, and the effects of temperature on plants. “Animals,” in nineteen chapters, includes distinctions among animals with respect to organs and internal elements, animal diseases, as well as various faculties and characteristics of animals. In addition to these scientific fields, there are numerous writings on applied practical disciplines such as mechanics, engineering, and medicine. From this basic presentation of the sciences follows the delineation of the major content of philosophy into a tripartite classification: the study of being-qua-being; the study of causes; and theology (ilhahiyat), the study of the Necessary Being.

Muslim accounts of metaphysics vary slightly from the standard Aristotelian system. For example, the fifty-seven chapters of Ibn Sina’s Danishnama, Ilahiyyat (Metaphysics of the Book of Science) are divided into sections concerning metaphysics as first philosophy, being, and categorical concepts, derived metaphysical concepts (e.g., unity versus plurality; being as universality or particular), and the theory of contingent being.

Logical Proofs in Philosophy. For Muslims, all proofs are arrived at through deduction, using sound arguments where the premises are true and the arguments valid, as specified in Aristot-

le's Prior Analytics and Posterior Analytics. In philosophy, however, logical proofs concern pure concepts.

Philosophical terms like “being,” “cause,” “priority,’ and “existent” are not subject to empirical

LOGICAL PROOFS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

observation. Consequently logical proofs in philosophy concern only the conceptual analysis of expressions in philosophical language. Ancient and medieval philosophers usually took Euclidean geometry to be the paradigm domain that depicted the constituents of an axiomatic system, where the basic expressions such as sets of primitive expressions, premises, and hypotheses as well as logic of the arguments are clearly explicit. Muslims began using logic in their theological disputes beginning in the ninth and tenth centuries, when the Mutazilah school provoked the Ash‘arite school to claim that religious directives need not be subject to proofs or even comprehension. The most celebrated set of “philosophical proofs” arose in the eleventh

11:

| 487

“An impossible being”—for example, “round square [in the Euclidean Field]? “the largest » «¢

number,’ “a person who is the mother of herself,” etc. There cannot be any such actual instance or existent found (mawjid);

1.2:

“A contingent being—the actualization of which depends on the realization of its cause; “a Christian president of the USA” has been actualized, while “a Muslim president of the USA” has never been, consequently is not actualized, and it may or may not be actualized in the future;

1.3:

“A necessary being.’ The feature that is implied in the category of a Necessary Being is that the essence (mahiyah) of the Necessary Being is existence (wujid). Thus

the category of the Necessary Being is not empty. There is at least one simple entity.

century, in the debates between Abi Hamid al-

Ghazali, whose Tahafut al-falasifah (Incoherence of the Philosophers) critiques what he thought to be fallacies in the arguments of philosophers on theology, and Ibn Rushd, who rebutted those arguments in his Tahdfut altahafut (Incoherence of the Incoherence). However, there is some question about whether these disputes can properly be labeled “logical proofs,” since they explicitly base their arguments on the authority of the Qur'an. For this

reason, the next section concerns proofs that are advanced purely on a philosophical ground, independent of any reliance on sacred texts; for example, instead of assuming the existence of a deity, Ibn Sina, like Descartes, derives the concept of “the Necessary Existent” (al-wajib al-wujud) from the abstract notions “being” and its “modalities.” Ibn Sina’s proof concerning the second version of the ontological sense is the basis of the concepts of being-qua-being (wujud) and the modalities of impossibility (mumtani iyya), contingency (mumkiniyya), and necessity (wajibiyya). When “being” is concatenated with its three modalities, three

expressions result:

Furthermore, the “Necessary Being” is unique. Since a Necessary Existent is simple, it has just one feature, that is, existence. If there were two Necessary Existents, then there would have to be an additional property to differentiate them. So there must be a property, P, in addition to existence that the one has and the other lacks. If that were so, it would not be simple, and would have

to have two features, Necessity and P. In this light, Ibn Sina claims that he has proven, in his language schema, the so-called “second version of the ontological argument,’ that “Necessary Being” is “the Necessary Existent.” Obviously other philosophical languages have different assumptions that prevent such a proof. For example, the philosophical system of David Hume (1711-1776) holds

that “Necessity” applies only to “sentences of relation of ideas,” and not to singular terms that designate an existent.

A celebrated case of logical proof in philosophy is Ibn Sina’s so-called “Flying Man Argument, considered by contemporary investigators as his phenomenological insight, and later developed

by Martin Heidegger as the ontological priority of Dasein (“being-in-time” experience). Ibn Sina

488

| LOGICAL PROOFS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

wishes to prove that the primary concept of a person is prior to having a sense experience. Or

that any particular sense experience presumes persistence of an agent as a subject of that experience. To that end he proposes that the reader imagine a person deprived of external senses. Even without any experience of the surface of his or her body, the person is still aware of his or her existence (al-Shifa’; Physics (Book VI), on the soul). This argument presumes a substance-event lan-

guage in which an actual process such as thinking that endures in time must be attributed to an agent that persists during that process. In an absolute phenomenological model, however, the notion of

a person is posterior to the phenomena of experience. Nasir al-Din al-TUsi states that in the last

phase or state (hal) of self-realization, a mystic finds unity (tawhid) as the ultimate ground of

being, where the mystic is released from the vision of “the self? “being religious,” “being an ascetic,’ or any other feature of mysticism. The mystic has no “otherness.” This account is another example of phenomenological processes as the basis of Islamic metaphysics. Another example of philosophical disputation is TUsi’s set of ten arguments against the mutakallimin (theologians) atomists, who maintain the possibility of the existence of atoms as the smallest indivisible entity in the physical model, which presupposes that bodies are an absolute measure of space and time in a Euclidean plane. He states that supposing there were indivisible atoms, and the following four-by-four matrix is constructed: Ay ORO aCs OeG OO

O70

OOM OES) C-O.0

0"°O-)

then the diagonal CB would be equal to the base CD. However, in the Euclidean model of a triangle CBD, the base CD would be less than CB. Thus,

since Euclidean geometry is correct, this version of atoms as homogeneous, indivisible, ultimate, extended entities is to be rejected. Oftentimes in ancient and medieval proofs, in addition to enrolling “contradiction,” hypotheses were rejected if they were incompatible with a synthetic a priori doctrine such as Euclidean geometry or a princi-

ple of causality. Logical Proofs in the Empirical Sciences. In the empirical sciences, reliable proof necessarily involves experimentation. There are extensive cases of logical formulation of proofs in both Islamic science, especially the works of al-Birtini, and applied disciplines, such as mechanics. In addition, Muslim physicians such as Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi and Ibn Sina offer insight into what counts as reasonable procedure in medicine. The two specific criteria of a scientific theory are the explanation of the experience in the present and the prediction of the future. There are at least three primary concerns in the sciences relevant to logical proof. The first factor is a scientific hypothesis. The hypothesis of a scientific theory has to be contingent, testable, and subject to observation. Otherwise it is an analytical (mathematic or logical) axiom. The second factor is that,

unlike proofs in philosophy, there must be a set of observations that either warrants and confirms the theory in question or is contrary to the prediction of the theory. An implicit third factor for the ancients consists of a body of supporting theories and axioms of the science of the era. Few of the ancients ever attempted to reject these “sacred cows” of their implicit view of sciences, in the same manner that unlike Abi Hamid al-Ghazali,

René Descartes never doubts the principle of causation.

For Muslims, a proof in empirical sciences may proceed in the following steps. First, perform empirical observation to test a hypothesis. Next, if the observation does not explain the hypothesis,

LOGICAL PROOFS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

proffer another hypothesis that warrants the observations, new and old. The revised hypothesis must be compatible with the axioms, both analytic and physical, of the language of the system. The Tusi couple. A prime example of use of a proof in the empirical sciences is the so-called “Tusi couple,” envisioned by Nasir al-Din al-Tist. The basic logic of this proof is as follows: 1.

2.

Ptolemy’s (90-168) Almagest presupposes the hypothesis of “principle of uniform circularity,” which implies that any acceptable celestial motion must consist of a combination of uniform circular motions. Since the observations did not support this theory, Ptolemy in Almagest introduces the notion of the “equant” point, which causes the epicycle’s center to move with various speeds on different circles. This “equant” is an imaginary mathematical point that “sees” the planet move at a uniform angular speed. Because it is not located in the center of the orbit, it “causes” the planet’s actual speed on the orbit to change.

| 489

by Ptolemy's observations. At the same time, the whole assemblage is a combination of uniform circular motions, and hence is unobjectionable, preserving the equant property, which is also demanded by the phenomenon itself. This planetary model most likely influenced subsequent astronomers from Copernicus through Byzantine intermediaries and, with the work of al-Tiis?s followers,

contains all the novelty of Copernicus’s astronomy except the heliocentric hypothesis. Applying logic to medicine. For a number of philosophers, such as John Dewey (1859-1952),

“logic” consists of the application of the scientific method to various problems. For these pragmatists, there are no factual distinctions between

theory and praxis; logic consists of using the scientific method to solve problems. A paradigm case of this view of the scientific method is found in Ibn Sina’s writings on medicine, which can be described as a construction of a behaviorist model of a human being. He states that “every science has both a theoretical and a practical side”

3.

Al-Tusi reported that Ptolemy’s model did not correspond to observation.

health of a human being as a function (an n to 1

4.

Tocorrect this model, al-Tisi offered a new

relation with inputs and outputs), whereby the

hypothesis, called the “Tiist couple? which consists of a small circle rotating as it moves around the inside of a larger circle of twice its diameter. E. S. Kennedy describes it as “a linkage of two vectors of equal and constant length rotating with constant angular velocities in a single plane from an initial position in which the two have the same direction. The velocity of the second vector with respect to the first is twice that of the first and in the opposite direction. The endpoint of the second vector then oscillates in rectilinear simple harmonic motion” (Kennedy, 1994, p. 322).

(Qantn, 1987, p. 9). In his model, he views the

physician can predict the result of medical treatment in terms of an input producing the desired output. The inputs include environmental factors such as temperature (in relation to atmosphere,

season, and clothing), quality of food, water, ex-

ercise, sleep, rest, as well as age and the given health condition of a patient. The output consists of externally observable symptoms such as speech, tears, sweats, urine, defecation, orgasm, body temperature, and psychosomatic conditions such as anger, fear, body color, and condition of digestion. Ibn Sina considers the art (techné,

Because the period of its expansion is equal to

that of the epicycle’s rotation around the Earth, the endpoint of the couple carries the epicycle center with it and traces out a deferent (larger circle) that fulfills the conditions imposed upon it

sind at) of medicine to consist of examining externally observable undesirable outputs, classified as symptoms of illnesses, and modifying the inputs through medicine, dietary changes, and so on, so that the desired output is achieved. Thus,

490

| LOGICAL PROOFS IN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

for him, a “proof” in medicine consists of identifying various diseases by symptom and cure. It is noteworthy that his application of logical thinking and the behaviorist empiricist method has no reference to nontestable means such as meditations like prayer, magic, and astrology, or the concepts of luck and chance. He notes that the “practice of medicine...enables one to form an opinion upon which to base the power of a plan of treatment” (al-Qaniin, 1987, p. 10). Moreover Avicenna

does not take his theoretical terms, such as the names of a disease, to be actual entities that are expressed by object language. They are terms in the functional use of restoring health to the patient.

Ibn Sina. al-Qaninfi al-tibb (The Canon of Medicine). Edited by Idwar al-Qashsh. Beirut: Mu‘assasat ‘Izz al-Din, 1987. Volume 1 has been translated into Eng-

lish as The Canon ofMedicine by O, Cameron Gruner and Nazar H. Shah (1930), which was later translated

and adapted by Laleh Bakhtiar (Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1999).

Ibn Sina. “Risalah fi sirr al-qadar (Essay on the Secret of Destiny). Translated by George F. Hourani. In Reason and Tradition in Islamic Ethics, edited by George F. Hourani. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Kennedy, E. S. “Essay Review: Nasir al-Din al Tust's Memoir on Astronomy, by E. J. Ragep’ Journal for the History of Astronomy 25 (November 1994): 321-324.

Kennedy, E. S. “Late Medieval Planetary Theory.’ Isis 57 (Autumn 1966): 365-378.

Mahdavi, BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anawati, Georges C. Mw’allafat Ibn Sina: Essai de bibliographie avicennienne. Cairo: Dar al-Ma rif, 1950. Contains a discussion of various manuscript of alShifa on pp. 29-79.

El-Bizri, Nader. The Phenomenological Quest: Between Avicenna and Heidegger. Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Publications, State University of New York Press, 2000. Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning the Nature of Human Understanding. Edited by Tom L. Beauchamp. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Ibn Sina. Kitab al-Shifa’ (The Book of Healing). Critical editions of the Arabic text have been published. (Cairo: Impr. Nationale, 1952-1983), originally under

the supervision of I. Madkour; al-Shifa’. 2 vols. (Tehran: n.p., 1886); al-Tabriyyat, al-sama’ al-tabti, edited by Jafar al-Yasin. (Beirut: Dar al-Manajil, 1996); The Physics of the Healing: A Parallel EnglishArabic Text. Translated, edited, and introduced by Jon McGinnis. 2 vols. (Provo, Ut.: Brigham Young University Press, 2009); Psychologie d’ibn Sina (Avicenne), d'apres son ceuvre ash-shifa’. Edited and translated by Jan BakoS (Prague: L‘academie Tchecoslvovaque des sciences, 1956); Avicennae de Congelatione et Conglutinatione Lapidum, Being Sec-

tions of the Kitab Al-Shifa’, the Latin and Arabic Texts. English translation of the Arabic text with critical notes by E. J. Holmyard and D. C. Mandeville (Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1927).

Yahya. Bibliographie

d’ibn Sina. Tehran:

Danishgah-i Tihran, 1954. Morewedge,

Parviz. “Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

and Mal-

colm and the Ontological Argument.” The Monist 54

(1970): 234-249. Morewedge, Parviz. “Ibn Sina’s Concept of the Self” The Philosophical Forum 4 (1972): 49-73. Contains

analysis of distinctions between process and substance/event types of languages. Morewedge, Parviz. The Metaphysics of Avicenna (Ibn Sina); A Critical Translation-Commentary and Analysis of the Fundamental Arguments in Avicenna’s Metaphysica in the Danish nama-i Al@i (The Book of Scientific Knowledge). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; New York: Columbia University Press, 1973.

Ragep, Jamil, trans. and ed. Nasir al-Din al Tisi’s Memoir on Astronomy (al-Tadhkirafi ‘ilm al-hay’ a) Edition, translation, commentary and introduction. 2 vols. Sources in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1993.

Tusi, Nasir al-Din al. Awzaf-e Ashraf (Features of Noble [Mystics]). Edited by Mehdi Shams ad-Din. Tehran:

Institute for Publications of Ministry of Education and Culture, 1949.

Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-. “Division of Existents (qismat al-mawjadat). In Majmii'ah-i az rasa’il (Metaphysics of Tusi). Translated and edited by Parviz Morewedge, pp. 1-58. New York: Global Publications (SSIPS), 1992. PARVIZ MOREWEDGE

LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

Muslim

logicians commented on and modified Aristotle's Organon (including therein the Rhetoric and Poetics), as well as Porphyry’s Isagoge, and were also familiar with some of the logical work of the Stoics and Galen. In addition they reflected on meta-logical issues such as the relation between logic and grammar; whether categories are merely instrumental meta-linguistic tools for scientific inquiry or a subject of philosophical inquiry in their own right; the syntactical, epistemic, and ontological accounts of universals; the logic of modalities and temporal logic; and various ways to express “being,” “existence,” and “existents.” One Muslim philosopher, Mulla Sadra (15711640), even rejected Aristotle's classification of “time” as an accident in his doctrine of substantial motion (al-harakat al-jawhartyah), which predates the ontology of Hegel (1770-1831).

Most Muslim logicians take the foci of logic to be “conception” (ftasawwur), which grasps singular, though not necessarily simple, essences such as the concept of “human being” and “assent” (tasdiq), the truthfulness of a proposition. AlFarabi (872-950), in his Enumeration of the Sci-

ences, defines logic as an instrumental, rule-based science. Like rulers and compasses directing the intellect toward the truth and safeguarding it from error in its acts of reasoning, in logic, the intelligibles sought are not innate, but attained discursively and empirically through “reflection and contemplation.” Ibn Sina (980-1037) states

that “the subject matter of logic... was the second intelligible ideas/meanings (mana) that depend on the primary intelligible ideas/meanings...by which one arrives at what is known from the unknown...not attached to matter” (Ibn Sina, 2005, p. 7). Al-Tiist (1201-1274) holds that logic investi-

gates not concepts that are directly related to

actual entities such as “being a horse,” which he calls concepts of the first intention, but to the second intention, which is a mental reflection on

| 491

actual entities, such as being a subject, being a predicate, etc, Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) and alBiruni (973-1048) argue that logic, per se, is en-

tirely free of metaphysical presuppositions that relate to religion. Not all Muslim logicians agree on the specifics of logic. Ibn Sina criticizes al-Farabi's modal proposition. In turn Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) rebuts Ibn Sina’s criticism of al-Farabis account of modal logic, and presents his own version of modal syllogism. Groups of Muslims who criticize Greek types of deductive reasoning include the school of the Ash‘arites (ninth-tenth centuries), which claims that revelations are not neces-

sarily open to human comprehension or logic, as well as grammarians such as Abu Said al-Sirafi (893-979), who, while defending the legitimate

use of mathematics, hold that philosophical logic is nothing but Greek grammar. By this they mean that it cannot assist the speakers of a non-Greek language such as Arabic. This position is similar to the ordinary language school of philosophy that developed in the twentieth century as the major form of philosophical analysis. Later Ibn Taymiyah (1263-1328) argues against the correct interpretation of “a definition,’ the certainty of syllogistic arguments, and inductions and probability. Instead he opts in favor of analogy (qiyas), with a possible implicit agenda to favor legal reasoning popular among conservative theologians (see Ibn Taymiyah, al-Radd ‘ala'l-Mantigqiyyin). The following presents a brief account of the

aims and content of the nine texts that constitute the logical Organon as held by the Muslims. There is a need to decipher the underlying reason for the Neoplatonists’ insertion of a book of “Introduction” to the Organon. In his Topics Aristotle states that the propositions and problems of logic relate to property, genus, definition, and accident. Because “species” usually designates a thing-universal, which may signify a Platonic form, Aristotle wants to omit species (his

492

|' LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

phyry, in the Introduction (Isagoge, Madkhal), adds “species” to Aristotle's four predicables. Commenting on this text Averroés (Ibn Rushd) calls it a “bastardization of Aristotelian logic.’ Ibn

nine accidents, depending on their being or not being in a subject. He states that any existent that is not in a subject is a substance; any existent that is in a subject is an accident. Further these are (a) first, primary, particular substances (not said

Tayyib (980-1043), on the other hand, attempts

of a subject, e.g., Zaid) and (b) secondary, univer-

to connect the Isagoge theory with the Platonic notion of forms. Al-Tisi, in his version of the texts, follows Porphyry in holding that species is a predicable, but differs from Porphyry by claiming that a universal cannot exist in an extra-mental realm, thus adopting the syntax of Neoplatonic logic without adopting its ontology. Al-Tusi holds to the Aristotelian theme (Metaphysics, Z. 10), that a universal, such as “being blue” and “being five feet long” or “being the brother of? is realized solely by its being predicated of an actual first substance. Much of al-Tisi’s writings on this book are found in the account of “logical terms” presented in this article.

sal substances (said of a subject, e.g., humanity,

second case of “substance”) from this list. Por-

The Categories (Maqulat). This article investigates the application of the highest predicates (The Categories, al-Maqitlat). For a discussion of Ibn Sina’s views on categories, see Ibrahim Madkur’s “Introduction” to Ibn Sina’s Maqiilat, pp. vii-xxvii; a list of categories in The Metaphysics of al-Shifa’, p. 93; and The Metaphysics of Danish Nama, pp. 28-31. For a detailed account of the categories including many philosophical insights, see Nasir al-Din al-Tisi’s Asds, pp. 34-60, in nine chapters. A main issue of concern is whether the categories are merely instruments or tools for clarifying the subject matter of a science, or are themselves a proper subject matter of inquiry. In his Falsafah Aristitalis (Philosophy of Aristotle), al-Farabi holds that categories are for “the instances of being from which the first premises are compounded,’ which are “the primary significations of the expressions generally accepted by all” (Mahdi, 1969, pp. 82-83). Following

Aristotle al-Tust holds that the first division of

categories is into two senses of “substance” and

a species).

The category of nine accidents—quantity (poson), quality (poion), relation (pros ti), place (pou), time (pote), posture (keisthai), possession (echein), action (poiein), and passion (paschein)—

may be either particular (not said of a subject), for example, the green in a cloth, or universal (said of a subject), for example, being happy. The Stoics recognized only four categories: subject or substratum (to hypokeimenon), quality (to poion), state (to posechein), and relation (to pros tiposechon).

The Neoplatonists explicitly reject Aristotle's entire doctrine of being’s first division into categories of substance and accidents. De Interpretatione (al-‘Ibarah). Islamic philosophers view De Interpretatione as a study of the composition and truth-values of categorical propositions. Deborah Black points out that for al-Farabi “interpretation” means “complete statement” (al-qawl al-tamm) achieved principally by a simple, predicative, categorical statement (al-qawl al-jazim al-hamii al-basit) that affirms or

denies a predicate of its subject. Al-Tiisi follows Aristotle's notion that a mind abstracts the sen-

sible form from a substance without the matter. Specifically he adds that in the mind, the form is a mental (dhihn) entity, some of which is stored via memory (hdfiza). The most agreeable type of sense datum is a sound that varies due to volume, presence, and absence. Al-Tiisi distinguishes between two types ofbeing (wujiid), a minddependent (dhihni) realm and an actual entity in itself (‘aini), a major anti-peripatetic doctrine of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy of phenomenological processes.

LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

| 493

Prior Analytics (al-qiyas) and Posterior Analytics (al-burhan). Prior and Posterior Analytics clarify how knowledge is acquired by and of logic. The most valuable type of knowledge is the knowledge gained according to the paradigm of demonstrative science laid out in the Posterior Analytics. These texts are the first attempt to establish a system of deductive logic, based on the theory of syllogism, which includes clarification of key notions such as “proposition,” and “syllogism.” Further clarifications of proposition include their being true or false, affirmative or negative, and a tripartite division into universal, particular, or indefinite types of proposition. The Posterior Analytics presupposes this formation for the depiction of a scientific sense of knowledge. Later books extend this investigation to the analysis of language, theory of meaning, and relation between language and the non-language reality. Examples include premises, proposition (protasis), thesis, axiom, hypothesis, definition (horismos), and postulate, which is an unproven but provable assumption and becomes a hypothesis when adopted by a logician in an argument.

statistics, maxims, laws, precedents of cases); justice (justice, injustice); deliberative (good or bad, worthy and unworthy, advantageous and

Al-Tisi proffers the traditional descriptions of primary premises of an argument: absolute truthfulness, priority in nature, priority in intelligence, well-known in reason, and essentially related to

for a correct one. He also makes a distinction be-

disadvantageous); and ceremonial (virtue, vice).

Al-Tusi points out that only a logician with an analytic talent processes a demonstration. Not everyone is blessed with such a talent and a capacity.

The Sophistical Refutations (al-Mughalitah) and Rhetoric (al-Khitabah). Differing from Plato, Aristotle holds that rhetoric is a technique (techne, sanah). In contrast to Aristotle and in alignment with Plato, al-Tusi holds that these disciplines are only a pseudo-technique that imitates reasoning, not a genuine inquiry. One of his arguments asserts that, unlike other cognitive techniques, there is no limit to the subject matter of either rhetoric or sophistic. Al-TUsi is not only aware of Aristotle's work on this topic, but also mentions Plato's writing on The Sophist, Al-Tiisi points to the non-deductive features of these two disciplines in terms of mistaken similarity, analogous toanon-intelligent (‘aq/i) judgment, and a mental (dhihni) error by mistaking an incorrect number tween a syntactic (/afzi) and a semantic (ma ‘nawi)

relations (cause and effect, antecedent and conse-

type of sophistic, which is due to a mistake in the soul, or to misinterpretation of the subject matter. The constituents of rhetoric are its primary parameters, namely a speech that implies a pleasure or favorable topic, and secondary features or conditions external to the soul, which employ resemblance and analogy. Poetics (al-Shi‘r). The first translation of Aristotle’s poetics is by Abu Bishr, the textual source for Muslim philosophers’ Arabic versions of the poetics by al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, and alTust. While Aristotle uses the notion of imitation as a feature of poetry, and extensively discusses

quences, contraries, and contradictions); circumstances (possible and impossible, past facts and future facts); testimony (authority, testimonial,

tragedy, al-TiisI focuses on the nature of imagination and techniques of poetry, as he discusses the essence and salient features and uses of poetry,

the conclusion. The Topics (al-Jadal). Both Aristotle and alTusi begin their own versions of these treatises by asserting that: (a) a deduction is an argument where from a set of premises a conclusion is implied; and (b) a demonstration begins with true

premises, while dialectic when the premises are

from reputable opinions. The following concepts are defined in the Topics: definition (genus, species); comparisons (similarity, difference, degree);

494

| LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

the origins and the rules covering imagination, and techniques of poetry. For him a poem is an imaginative, rhythmically measured composed expression. While words are the material of a poem, its form conveyed through rhythmically measured expressions according to the ancients and according to the logician is an image. The

“blue” is a particular, in “this flag is blue,” blue is a universal. Thus there can be different levels of universals. For al-Tisi, the tripartite senses of universal include first the syntactical (/afzi), on

the aggregate of whatever may participate in the universal, for example, “Hamlet” syntactically is a name of a person, and as such his essence is being

imagined is an expression that affects a motion in

rational; second, natural (tabii) universals that

the soul. Logical Terms. One of the most important logical terms is a simple “proposition,” such “Ps,” which reads, “the subject, s, has the predicate, P”” Another important notion is a “syllogism,” a set of propositions, named the premises, and a proposition, named the conclusion, of an argument. In a valid syllogism the conclusion is derived from the premises of the previous lines in the argument and the rules of logic. Expressions are either terms (mufrad) or sentences in which one part refers to a meaning of the other part, such as “this is a human being.” Further terms

apply to actual entities; and finally intelligible

are either simple (basit) or complex (murakkab).

In addition terms signify names, actions, and letters, and may depend on time, such as youth, old age, priority, and being posterior. Names may designate essence of entities, such as reason, or entities themselves such as a human being or their combinations, such as a rational being. Terms with identical meaning are called univocal (mutawati ah) or homony-

mous (mushtarikah) when applied in the same way in a context, and paronymous (mushtaqqah) when their names are formed from different endings of the same expression, such as Nasirand Mansur, from NSR.

Universal (kullf) and Particular (juz7), Modalities, Essence, and Accidents. Al-Tiisi asserts that a particular expression (juz’i) designates exactly one entity, such as a personal name like Zaid, while a universal expression, such as humanity, signifies a range of entities. Predication is syntactically relative, so while in “blue is a color,”

(aqli) universals that relate to concepts studied by logic. In the Tajrid al-Tusi points out that the modalities of necessity, contingency, and impossibility are intelligible notions used in the relation of “being” with “essence.” A universal is either totally in the subject, partially in a subject, or external to the subject. The first and the second cases are essential predications of a universal, such as “humanity,” applied to Zaid and Amr, or “color,” as predicated of “blackness.” An example of the third case is “this stone is black,” whereas blackness is an external attribute of stone, and thus called an accidental predication of a universal. Al-Tisi differentiates between logical, natural, and intelligible predication. The first participates in meaning with its subject. He agrees with Porphyry that there are five predicables, namely genus, species, differentia, property, and (common) accident. Unlike the case of augmented species, the genus does not necessarily determine the real species, which primarily depends on numerical differences. An essential universal proffers as answer to the question, “what type of a thing an entity is,’ and has a unique inner essence, namely a differentia such as “rationality,” as the differentia of humanity.

Al-Tusi reveals the ontological position he shares with Ibn Sina on the problem of universal. Al-Tusi asserts that universals, due to their univer-

sality (not being specific) exist only in an intelligible or a mental sense. Logically there cannot be a universal that is a multiplicity, which totally exists as a single unity in a particular extra-mental entity.

LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

For al-Tusi, the (first) substance, which he designates as jins al-ajnds, is in the lowest determinate level of existents, whereas “being” is in the highest determinable notion (cf. Johnson). He makes an

interesting remark in his logic text that the differences between nationality and racial color among humanity are accidental and not essential. The only essential differentia is rationality. Al-Tisi states that a differentia divides a genus, such as the genus of being an animal, by the differentia of rationality, into two kinds, namely human animals and non-human animals. If a singular feature, or a common accident, is considered by a potential-dispositional mode, then it applies at all times to a subject. For example, “being (capable of being a) writer” applies to all humanity. In contrast a singular property need not apply at all times. For example, a person may be a writer at one time and not at another time. ‘The predicables of genus, species, specific property, and common

accidents share their presence

in definitions and descriptions. Genus, species, and differentia share in being essential, while specific property and common accidents are both accidental. Genus and species are both used in response to “what is it?” while genus and differentia are used in definitions of species. An essential universal is a syntactical response to the question “what is it?” and can apply to different kinds of natural entities. For example, the expression “being an animal, applies to both human beings and horses. There are such essential applications to entities that differ in number and not kind, for

example, “humanity,” as applied to Zaid and Amr. The first essential universal is of genus, while the second is of species. An accidental universal is either restricted to a species, such as “being a writer,’ as related to “human beings,” or an addition to, and not restricted to a species or a kind, such as “movable,” as applied to “being a human.” The first is a specific accident and the second is a common accident.

| 495

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Black, L. Deborah. “Logic in Islamic Philosophy.” In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig. Vol. 5, pp. 706-713. London and New

York: Routledge, 1988. El-Bizri Nader. The Phenomenological Quest between Avicenna and Heidegger. Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Publications, Binghamton University, 2000. Farabi, al-. Ihsa’ al-'Ulim. Edited by ‘Uthman Amin. Cairo: Maktabat al- Anjali al-Misriyah, 1968. Ibn Sina. al-Burhan (Demonstration). Edited by A. E. Affifi, Cairo: Organisme General des Imprimeries Gouvernementales, 1956. (Vol. 1, part 5 of al-Shifa’.)

Ibn Sina. al-‘Ibdrah (Interpretation). Edited by M. El-Khodeiri,

Cairo: Dar al-Kutub al-Arabi, 1970.

(Vol. 1, part 3 of al-Shifa’.) Ibn Sina. al-Jadal (Dialectic). Edited by Ahmad Fwah al-

Ahwani. Cairo: Organisme Général des Imprimeries Gouvernementales, 1965. (Vol. 1, part 7 of al-Shifa’.) Ibn Sina. al-Khitabah (Rhetoric). Edited by S. Salim, Cairo: Imprimerie Nationale, 1954. (Vol. 1, part 8 of

al-Shifa’.) Ibn Sina. Al-Mantiq (Logic), part 1, al-Madkhal (Isagoge). Edited by Georges

Ahmad Fuah Amirtyah, 1952.

Anawati,

al-Ahwani.

M. El-Khodeiri,

Cairo:

al-Matabi’

and

al-

The Metaphysics of The Healing: A Parallel EnglishArabic Text = al-Ilahiyat min al-Shifa’. Edited and translated with an introduction and annotations by Michael E. Marmura. Provo, Ut. Brigham Young University Press, 2005. Ibn Sina. The Propositional Logic ofIbn Sina: A Translation from al-Shifa al-Qiyas. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Reidel, 1973. (Vol.1, part 1 of al-Shifa’.)

Ibn Sina. al-Qiyds (Syllogism). Said Zayid and Ibrahim Madkir. Cairo: Organisme General des Imprimeries Gouvernementales, 1964. (Vol. 1, part 4 ofal-Shifa’.)

Ibn Sina. al-Shifa’ al mantiq. Edited by Ibrahim Madkir. Cairo: Imprimerie Nationale, 1960. Ibn Taymiyah. Ibn Taymiyya against the Greek Logicians. Translated with an introduction and notes by Wael B. Hallag. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. A translation of Jahd al-qarihah fi tajrid al-Nasihah, an abridgement by al-Suyiiti of Ibn Taymiyah’s work Nasihatahlal-bayan fi al-radd alamantigal- Yanan). Johnson W. E. Logic. 3 vols., vol. 1, pp. 56-68. New York: Dover Publications, 1964.

496

| LOGIC AND LOGICAL TERMS

Margoliouth, D. S. “The Discussion between Abu Bishr Matta and Abt Abii Sa‘td al-Sirafi on the Merits of Logic and Grammar.’ The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (January 1905): 79-129.

Mahdi, Muhsin. “Language and Logic in Classical Islam.” In Logic in Classical Islamic Culture, edited by G. E. von Grunebaum, pp. 51-85. Wiesbaden, Germany: Otto Harrassowitz, 1970.

Morewedge, Parviz. “The Analysis of ‘Substance’ in Tisi’s Logic and in the Ibn Sinian Tradition” In Essays in Islamic Philosophy and Science, edited by George F. Hourani, pp. 158-188. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975.

Morewedge, Parviz. The Metaphysica of Avicenna (Ibn Sind): A Critical Translation-Commentary and Analysis of the Fundamental Arguments in Avicennas Metaphysica in the Danish ndma-I ‘Ala (The Book of Scientific Knowledge). New York: Columbia University Press, 1972; reprinted, Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Publications, 2003. Porphyry. Isagoge et in Aristotelis commentarium.

Edited by Adolf Busse. Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca, vol. 4, part 1. Berlin: G. Reimeri, 1887.

Tisi, Nasir al-Din. Asas al-Iqtibas. Edited by M. Mudarris Razavi. Tehran: n.p., 1964. PARVIZ MOREWEDGE

MADRASAS Anestablishment of learning where the Islamic sciences are taught, the madrasa (pl. mada@ris) is a college for higher studies. During the tenth and eleventh centuries the madrasa was devoted primarily to teaching law, and the other Islamic sciences and literary philosophical subjects were optionally taught. Today, however, the designation madrasa is ambiguous. Although originally created as an institution of Islamic higher learning in contrast to the kuttab or maktab, the children’s schools in the Middle East, currently the term madrasa is sometimes used for establishments for elementary teaching of Quranic knowledge. In the post-11 September 2001 environment, the madrasa was associated with fundamentalist teachings, often with anti-Western

values. History. Related to the madrasa, in particular to the pre-madrasa institutions, is the masjid (mosque),

which

was

the first institution

of

learning in Islam. The jami' (congregational mosque) had its halagat (study circles): the dar, bayt, and khizanah are three terms that mainly designate libraries. Other institutions similar to the madrasa are the ribat, khangah, zawiyah, turbah, and duwayrah, all types of monastery colleges in medieval Islam.

At earlier stages the instruction in the madrasa was linked with the mosque: at a later stage the mosque-khangah complex developed and served to house students. The final step was the creation of the madrasa as a distinct institution. The madaris were established mainly to teach law, and originally each institution was devoted to a single school of law. The ordinary madarus, however, included other subjects in addition to figh (jurisprudence). The phenomenon of “traveling students” who strove to sit at the feet of scholars to collect the Prophet’s sayings applied equally to madaris. In the Ottoman Empire the medrese followed Sunni traditions though significant changes were introduced in the eighteenth century, including the introduction of courses on science. Medresses were built around, or near, mosques and, this religious impulse notwithstanding, a gradual evo-

lution was noted. A hierarchy was created, which meant that students first attended primary courses before moving to higher levels, on a scale that covered the semniye, darulhadis, and medreses. Over time Ottoman medreses incorporated several

branches of study, such as calligraphic sciences, oral sciences, and intellectual sciences. The curriculum expanded, with mathematics, or studies

497

498

| MADRASAS

in logic, taking precedence, even if religion dominated much of the knowledge and teachings that were endowed upon students, In Muslim India the madaris were establishments of higher learning that produced civil servants and judicial officials. One of the most important events in terms of the revival of the madrasa during the latter part of the nineteenth century was the founding of the Deoband school by Rashid Ahmad and Muhammad

Qasim in 1867 in British India.

This led to the establishment of many madaris modeled on Deoband. Deoband itself remained a center for Islamic studies. Its madrasa was created in the old Chattah mosque as a distinct institution with a central library and was run by professional personnel. Students were required to take examinations and the school aimed at spreading a puritanical reformist Islam. Some methods of instruction in Deoband differed from those of other madaris, Deoband was thus considered as a successful example of how the ‘ulama@ might propagate their message through modern organizational style and innovative educational methods. Decline. With the advent of colonialism in Muslim countries, the introduction of Western curricula and teaching, and subsequent independence movements, the madaris experienced tremendous changes, varying from country to country. First most Muslim countries adopted modern educational institutions in the form of universities, academies, colleges, and institutes. Quite often modern

Islamic institutes, centers,

and faculties of theology were created to counterbalance the old madaris. In some countries the madaris themselves adapted by introducing secular subjects. At the same time they lost potential students to secular institutions. These facts constituted some of the most important reasons for social change, as well as the dramatic changes in several countries’ educational systems. Al-Azhar University in Cairo likewise has witnessed successive reforms since the end of the

nineteenth century in the government's attempts to stabilize the standards of education. Cairo University and Dar al-‘Ulim, as modern institutions of learning attracting the rising elites, certainly competed with al-Azhar. In particular a 1961 law, Article 103, led to the secularization of al-Azhar through the introduction of secular faculties. The idea was to produce graduates who would have “multiple exposure, meaning both a scientific and a religious perspective, so that religion would cease to be a profession. The al-Azhar certificates were standardized vis-a-vis the national system. This law recomposed the institution and created new colleges in such areas as business and administration, Arabic studies, engineering and industries, agriculture, and medicine, in addition to the existing Islamic colleges. In Iran, after the introduction of a Westerninfluenced educational system, the maktab or Quranic school witnessed a significant decline; the only institution that survived the modernizing policies of Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878-1944) was

the madrasa, although the number of students in the institutions declined. Even the sons of prominent mullahs were attracted to secular schools because of the economic advantages such degrees purported to offer. There is much debate among social scientists regarding the dual system of education in Muslim countries. It is viewed as having generated an antagonism between the ‘ulama’, who are the product of the traditional religious educational system, and Western-trained intelligentsias who dispute with them the legitimate interpretations of religious texts. “Ali Shari‘ati, one of the most distinguished ideologues of the Iranian revolution, expressed criticism of traditional education in the madrasa; he considered that the alternative Husayniyah-i Irshad Islamic Institute, established in the 1960s by reformist ayatollahs, offered a more stimulating education.

Despite such conflicts both the ‘ulama@ and the intellectuals who teach in Western-style

MADRASAS

universities have, in most Muslim countries, been integrated into the state bureaucratic apparatus and have become professionalized; they simply function through different educational channels. Thus the significance of al-Azhar University in Cairo rests not only in its being the most important Sunni center in the Muslim world, but equally because it is a huge bureaucratic apparatus providing organizational status,

income,

teaching facilities, publications, and range of

international networks for a wide ‘ulama@ and religious officials.

Renewed Interest. Only in recent years, with the success of the Iranian revolution and the growing impact of the ‘ulam@, has a renewed interest among scholars concerning the significance of “traditional intellectuals” and their channels of transmission of knowledge been observed. Dale Eickelman considers that although traditional intellectuals place a particular value upon the past they are not necessarily stagnant, and that traditional social thought is revealed to be politically dominant. He recounts the social biography of a rural Moroccan ‘alim, Hajj Muhammad Al Mansuri, who received his education ina rural madrasa and zawiyah, an exclusively male student com-

munity, and later in a mosque-university in Marrakech, revealing the intellectual vitality of this traditionally educated class (Eickelman, 1985).

With renewed interest in Islam and with further Islamization launched by both Muslim state and the religious opposition, there has been a revival of the madrasa. For example, under the Islamization policies of President Zia ul-Haq (1924-1988) in Pakistan the din-i madaris wit-

nessed a flowering; they underwent reforms and their degrees were recognized by the national system.

In recent

years a significant Muslim

migration—from the Indian subcontinent to England, from North Africa to France, and from Turkey to Germany—has been accompanied by the establishment of Muslim religious schools in

| 499

Europe. There has been a proliferation of private madaris as Quranic schools for the Europeanborn children of Muslim migrants. Pakistan boasted a very large number of madaris, perhaps more than 18,000 in 2010, with

an estimated 3 million enrollees, a tiny percentage of the national school-age population estimated at 38 million in 2010, Although most belonged to Sunni schools, a small percentage catered to Shi I Muslims, although all belonged to the Ittihad Tanzimat Madaris-i-Diniyah, a federation of the five seminaries that consisted of Deobandi, Barelwi, Ahl-i Hadith, Shri, and JamAaat-i Islami

schools. In and of itself, none of these institutions preoccupied religious authorities, save for the overall politicization that was carefully introduced in the early 1980s to oppose the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Deobandi students in particular were trained for the Afghanistan war (1980-1989),

which was later expanded as close links were created with the Taliban, who publicized alleged war heroes. Instructors relied on local texts to interpret various views, even if Urdu language manuals seldom appeared on madrasa reading lists, and never contrasted with more authoritative manuscripts. As can be perceived in widely disseminated sermons, Pakistani students were taught to refute Western ideologies, including capitalism, democracy, feminism, freedom, human rights, individualism, multiculturalism, and socialism. Believers were called to refute heresy, oppose per-

ceived dangers to Muslim thought from such models, resist the loss of identity, and combat usurpers of legitimate Muslim authority. These calls circulated among students through extracurricular polemical books, informal interactions and, in Afghanistan after the 1980s, through actual frontline-inspired training. A noticeable rejection of pro-Western policies, allegedly pursued by Islamabad, united many madrasa enrollees as many voiced anti-Western views in various

publications.

500 | MADRASAS

In 2010 there were an estimated forty thousand operating madaris in India, most of which followed the Hanafi school. Naturally Darul Uloom

ernments. In 2013 there were about seven hun-

Deoband (Dar al- Ulim), located in Deoband, a

Indonesia it is crucial first to mention the pondok pesantren, an educational system spread generally in Malaysia and particularly in the regions of Kedah and Kelantan as well as in southern Thailand. The word pondok comes from the Arabic word fundug, meaning “inn”; it is a boarding school for Qur’anic and other religious subjects. The word pesantren comes from santri, “religious students.” In such a school there is a teacherleader, the kijaji/kiyayi, and a group of male pupils—ranging in number from three or four to a thousand—called santris. The santris reside in the pondok in dormitories, cook their own food, and wash their own clothes. There are also pesantren for female students and others with segregated male and female quarters. The students travel from one pesantren to another to obtain a certifi-

small town located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was still the best known. Because New Delhi introduced various additions to madrasa curricula in the early 1990s—including science, mathematics, English, and Hindi—and because the state assumed all financial burdens, Indian schools welcomed a mixed population irrespective of class for their estimated 500 million chil-

dren attending K-12 classes. This diversity, which was representative of national demographics, further improved internal debates about tolerance although total enrollment in Muslim madaris was less than 50 million students.

Dramatic changes were introduced by Ottoman authorities during the Tanzimat period to

modernize the traditional madaris. The madrasa teachers approached some of these reforms with suspicion as they were seen as part of the process of modernization-cum-westernization. During the reign of Abdilhamid II a large number of new primary and middle schools were opened to spread mass education across the empire. Some schools focused specifically on military and technological education. The founding of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923 led to the closure of tra-

ditional madaris officially but many continued to function in an official capacity and at times underground in the various regions of the country including the Black Sea and southeast regions. Turkey has seen an increase in the number of imam-Hatip schools, which were created in 1951

and operate at both middle- and high-school levels. Although in 1986 there were 386 of these

dred Imam-Hatip schools in Turkey.

Southeast Asia. In discussing the madaris of

cate (ijazah) in various religious subjects, but

they always return to the mother pesantren once a year to maintain the link. The santris lead a very disciplined and regulated religious life. Abaza has pointed out that the functioning of most of the pesantrens in Indonesia relies heavily on the person of the kiyayi. The pesantren usually faces decline with the death of the kiyayi and thus lacks continuity. In Indonesia there are around 40,000 pesantren teaching 8 million students. Most of these schools are in rural areas (Abaza, 2002).

Perhaps what makes a pesantren different from the traditional Middle Eastern madrasa is the fact that the former never belonged to royal patrons, nor did they rely on wagqf funding; they are instead dependent on personal contributions. Recently important changes have occurred in some

schools, they were all reclassified as “technical schools” after the military ousted a pro-Islamist

pesantren with the introduction of classes, chairs,

government in 1997. Prime Minister Recip Erdo-

the famous Gontor Pondok Moderen, “Pendidikan Darrusalam” at Gontor Ponorogo in East Java. This pesantren is significant for sending a number

gan, himself an Imam-Hatip graduate, restored many privileges suspended under previous gov-

and tables. Special attention should be drawn to

MADRASAS

of students to the Middle East. Arabic and English are the mediums of instruction. The pesantren itself has many returning Indonesian graduates from the Middle East who teach there. The certificate offered by Gontor is recognized by alAzhar University. The Perception of Madaris in the Post—9/11 West.

The

post-9/11

environment

associated

madaris with violence, especially in the United States and Britain, even if the association was simplistic and misplaced. A growing perception among Western decision makers concluded that most madaris were not simple schools that provided religious education, but anti-Western institutions that trained future jihadists. Toward that end Washington and London pressured Pakistani President General Pervaz Musharraf to control all such schools. Islamabad duly voted two laws to create state-controlled madaris in 2001 and register them in toto after 2002. In 2003 the Pakistan Madrasa Education Board was created for that purpose, although organizational difficulties persisted. Non-Pakistani students, suspected of being potential al-Qaida recruits, were expelled while Afghani and Kashmiri

(Indian) students

returned to their home countries. In addition to the ongoing Afghanistan conflict, the 2003 war in Iraq, and the festering Palestinian-Israeli disputes, provided fertile grounds for the growth of anti-Western sentiments in madaris throughout Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world. Because of socioeconomic conditions, and perhaps ideological ones as well, madaris were predisposed to bias against secularism. Moreover doctrinaire views seldom tolerated other religions or even Muslim sects that were different from one’s own. Still militancy was probably the result of state policies that radicalized ostracized members of society. Muslim anger toward Western, but particularly American, policies, which favored Israel and supported authoritarian regimes in Muslim countries, encouraged motivated religious

students to support aggressive responses.

| 501

Des-

perate economic conditions motivated many to-

ward extremism. In fact students were politically indoctrinated before joining madaris, although their ideological views certainly evolved after such attendance. According to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, which conducted a study to examine whether any bias existed in American newspapers that covered Pakistan after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, the term madrasa became loaded with political meaning: “when articles mentioned ‘madrassas,” the report affirmed, “readers were led to infer that all schools so-named [were] anti-American, anti-Western, pro-terrorist

centers having less to do with teaching basic literacy and more to do with political indoctrination.’ Regrettably conservative public figures added to the confusion, as many used the term to connote extremist teachings. In 2007, and following an assertion that then “Senator Barack Obama had attended an Islamic school or madrassa in Indonesia as a child” The New York Times printed a correction to alter what it implied, namely that “while some

(madrassas)

[taught] a radical version of

Islam, most historically” did not, though the epi-

thet hung on President Obama ever since. [See also Azhar, al-.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abaza, Mona. “Madrasah,” in Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, Vol. 3, edited by John Esposito, pp. 13-16. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Eickelman, Dale. Knowledge and Power in Morocco: The Education ofaTwentieth Century Notable. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985.

Hefner, Robert, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, eds.

Schooling Islam: Modern Muslim Education. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2006. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981.

502

| MADRASAS

Sakurai, Keiko, and Fariba Adelkhah, eds. The Moral Economy of the Madrasa: Islam and Education Today. London: Routledge, 2011. MONA ABAZA Updated by JosePH A. KECHICHIAN

MAGIC

The Qur'an does not forbid magic (sihr) in explicit terms, but an important body of Prophetic traditions exists that do. Many Muslim jurists and theologians warned against the dangers of practicing magic. But the harsh way in which these condemnations were generally made is itself an indication of the success that magic never ceased to enjoy from the Middle Ages onward. Magic was regarded in Islam with much suspicion and most generally considered a threat to the community of believers. Indeed, the practice of magic has tended to be regarded as an antisocial, malevolent activity. Magicians, wizards, witches, and sorcerers have often been accused of being followers of the Devil, and were punished or even executed—though there have usually been other political, economic, and historical reasons for these persecutions. Educated people in particular, whether traditionalists or modernists, have tended to look down on magical practices as mere superstitions of the ignorant and to criticize them as bid'ah or heretical innovation. Yet various types of magical practices persist among Muslim communities, some of them apparent survivors

of pre-Islamic belief and practice, and they have, in fact, played a significant role in popular religious practice.

Classification. It is common to find in Arabic literature the distinction between two kinds of magical practices. The first, called al-sihr al-rahani or spiritual magic, depended on the mysterious supernatural power possessed by spiritual agents such as angels, jinns, and certain Names of God. Sihr al-rihani was considered to

be true magic and subdivided into so-called high or divine magic, and low or satanic magic. High magic, which depended on the mysterious power of God, angels, and other good spiritual agents, was always practiced for a good purpose, such as using a charm to avert misfortunes. Low magic, on the other hand, was said to be used for sinister purposes through the agency of the Devil or evil spirits. Its practitioner was called sahir, a sorcerer. This division roughly corresponded to that between white and black magic. Medieval authors have, however, left us with considerably more detailed classifications of magic, as, for instance, Ibn Khaldiin (d. 1404) in the Muqaddimah (In-

troduction to History) and, to an even greater extent, Hajjt Khalifah (d. 1657) who in his Kashf al-zuntin

(The

Removal

of Doubts)

included

under the heading “sihr” disciplines as varied as “divination, natural magic, properties of the Most Beautiful Names, of numbers, and of certain invocations, sympathetic magic, demoniacal con-

juration, incantations, the evocations of spirits of corporeal beings, the invocation of the spirits of planets, phylacteries (amulets, talismans, phil-

tres), the faculty of instantaneous disappearance from sight, artifices and fraud, the art of disclosing frauds, spells, and recourse to the properties of medicinal plants” (Fahd, 1997, p. 568).

With regard to the magical interpretation of the Quran's words and letters (‘ilm al-hurif or simiya) and related subjects, probably the most important contributions of medieval Islam were made by two Sufi authors who were contemporaries; namely, Ibn ‘Arabi (d. 1240) in the second

part of his Futtihat al-maktyyah (The Meccan Revelations) and Ahmad al-Biini (d. 1225) in the Shams al-ma Grif (The Sun of Gnosis). Another

particularly elaborate form of scientific magic in medieval Islam was astral magic, by which the spirits of the planets were invoked and which gave rise to highly sophisticated forms of rituals. The greatest representative of the genre was an

Macic

anonymous treatise entitled Ghayat al-hakim (The Aim of the Sage), erroneously ascribed by later authors to the Andalusian astronomer Maslamah al-Majriti (d. 1007) but that should now, in all

likelihood, be attributed to the traditionalist and occultist Maslamah al-Qurtubi (d. 964) who had

lived in al-Andalus a few decades beforehand. Another important representative of this literature, and an obvious source of the Ghdyat alhakim, was the treatise “Magic, Incantations, and the Evil Eye” in the encyclopedic corpus known as the Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa’ (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, tenth century). Both works

take the form of a hodge-podge of theoretical speculations and recipes for practical use. They are also both characterized by an extremely wide spectrum of sources, ranging from Neoplatonist

philosophy and ancient Greek sciences to Her-

meticism, Isma ilism, Old Mesopotamian beliefs, and even Indian astrology. The Ghdayat al-hakim is known to have exerted a profound influence on Europe in the Middle Ages and well into the Renaissance, through the Latin translation of the Arabic treatise written in the thirteenth century

and known as the Picatrix. There was also al-simiya or natural magic, in which natural materials like certain perfumes and drugs were used rather than supernatural agents. One might also mention astrology, geomancy, and alchemy, which were generally regarded as being different from magic. In addition, a wide range of folk practices existed that were not based on the forms of magic or the “sciences” mentioned above, but were referred to as the “distaff” science of wisdom (‘ilm al-rukkah) and

practiced predominantly by women. Magicians and Amulets. Magic has often been mostly practiced by experts who are believed to have somehow acquired special knowledge and techniques for controlling supernatural agencies, which they use in response to requests from their clients. Magicians have frequently

| 503

been respected as possessors of esoteric knowledge who could contribute to villagers’ welfare. In some contexts, however, they were greatly feared as sinister sorcerers who could use the same power for the opposite purpose of destroying people's lives. Indeed, the magician generally plays a morally ambiguous role in various parts of the Muslim world. In Upper Egypt, these magicians have usually been called shaykh if male, or shaykhah if female. A Sudanese magician is generally called a fagi, a local term supposedly derived from a combination of two Arabic words, faqir (a mystic or Sift) and faqih (a jurist or one of the ‘ulama’). Even teachers in the Quranic schools and leaders of

Sufi orders (tariqah) can be called faqi. Some of them provide clients with magical medicine or amulets that contain, for the most part, excerpts from the Holy Scriptures, and they thus play the role of magician in their communities. (There are also magical specialists without any relationship to ‘ulamd or to Safi orders.) One faqgi who is also the head of the Qadirtyah Sufi order in a town in northern Sudan writes excerpts from the Qur'an on small pieces of paper after the collective prayers on Friday, in response to clients’ requests. After returning home, the clients may burn them in order to rub their bodies with the smoke or soak them in water to dissolve the ink, which is then drunk. These magical papers are also used as the principal elements in amulets. Similar forms of magical practice may be found in many Muslim societies, though with subtle differences. For example, a magician may write a passage from Scripture on the inner surface of an earthen bowl in ink, pour water in it, and stir the bowl to dissolve the writing. The client is then asked to drink the liquid as a cure for illness. Certain passages from the Qur'an are frequently used in magical practice. They include passages such as stirah 1, 112, 113, and 114, and

single verses such as 12:64 or 61:11 for an amulet,

504

| Macic

and 9:14 or 10:58 for a cure. The locus classicus in

terms of magic is 2:102 that deals with magic as it was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harit and Marit. The ninety-nine epithets of God, the ninety-nine names of the Prophet, and the names of the Ashab al-Kahf (Companions of the Cave)

as well as copies of the Qur'an itself (mushaf) are believed to have supernatural power that can be effective in a variety of magical practices. Besides these Holy Scriptures and writings, some objects are believed to have supernatural power and can be used as effective amulets. Among them are water from the Zamzam well in Mecca

openly through speech. A person may curse another by invoking the names of a supernatural being, either God or a saint. Unlike an ordinary curse that resembles sorcery in its function, curses that use the names of God or saints are generally considered punitive attacks on sinners rather than malevolent attacks on the innocent. In Morocco, people can put a conditional curse called ‘ar on others in order to compel them to comply with requests. Even though the ‘ulama@’ often criticize ‘Gr as non-Islamic, among Moroccans, it appears that one may cast an ar on

the Prophet or the saints, or even on God.

and pieces of the cloth cover of the Kabah (kiswah).

Relics of Muslim saints are treated as sacred in a similar fashion. Cursing and the Evil Eye. Folk belief in the evil eye is widespread throughout Middle Eastern societies. The evil eye, which is called hasad (envy) or ‘ayn (eye) in Arabic and chashm-i shir (salty eye) in Persian, is the belief that certain individuals, in glancing or staring at someone else's favorite possession, assuming they are envious

of the latter’s good fortune, can hurt, damage, or destroy it. Although some, especially the educated, tend to disdainfully regard this belief as mere superstition, others insist that the evil eye really exists because of a reference to it in stirah 113:5 of the Qur'an. There are a number of ways

to defend against the evil eye. One of the best ways to avert the misfortunes it can cause is to use the Holy Scriptures and other forms of writing mentioned above. Since the hand is believed to be effective in warding off its attacks, handshaped amulets made of metal or plastic are popular forms of protection. It is said that a boy is much more vulnerable to attack than a girl, and some parents may disguise a boy in girl’s clothes or call him by a name other than his real one to protect him. Although the evil eye attacks its target secretly, people can put a curse on their enemies

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Callatay, Godefroid de, and Bruno Halflants. On Magic 1: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistle 52A Oxford: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2011. Fahd, Toufic. “Sihr’ In Encyclopedia ofIslam, pp. 567-571. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1997. Fierro, Maribel. “Batinism in al-Andalus: Maslama b. Qasim al-Qurtubi (d. 353/964), Author of the Rutbat al-Hakim and the Ghayat al-Hakim (Picatrix)” Studia Islamica 84 (1996): 87-112. Hames, Constant, ed. Coran et talismans: Textes et pra-

tiques magiques en milieu musulman. Paris: Karthala, 2007. Haydar, Ibrahim. The Shaiqiya: The Cultural and Social Change of a Northern Sudanese Riverain People. Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1979.

Lory, Pierre. “La magie chez les Ikhwan al-Safa” Bulletin d’Etudes Orientales, Special Issue: Sciences occultes en Islam 44 (1992): 147-159.

Pingree, David. “Some of the Sources of the Ghayat alhakim? Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 43 (1980): 1-15.

Savage-Smith, Emilie. “Introduction.” In Magic and Divination in Early Islam, edited by Emilie SavageSmith, pp. xiii-li. Formation of the Classical Islamic World 42. Aldershot, U.K., and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2004. KAZUO OHTSUKA Updated by GODEFROID DE CALLATAY

MAJOR CORRESPONDENCES IN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

MAJOR CORRESPONDENCES IN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE History of philosophy and science in Islamic civilization exhibits a gradual process of development. This process exhibits some stages each of which leads to the emergence of a new tradition of learning that eventually gives rise to what may be called Islamic scientific tradition. As there were no sciences yet in the early Muslim community, it is possible to consider the initial stages of this process as a pre-scientific era that consists of three stages: The first stage corresponds to the perspective of all later scientific activities in Islamic civilization and as such may be called the worldview stage (610-660s). As the name suggests this is the stage when the Islamic worldview in outline emerged (610-632). This worldview in the minds

of the early community members led them to dynamic learning activities providing thus the mental framework for all intellectual activities. At the center of these activities were the Quran and

its explanation provided by the Prophet, called the Prophetic tradition or sunnah. As a result the early knowledge cultivated in these intellectual

activities was basically religious knowledge. As these learning activities continued there was a rapid growth of knowledge in Muslim societies. As new problems emerged in these societies the early intellectuals tried to deal with them in order to provide solutions. As a result of these activities a new stage became discernible, the stage of knowledge tradition (650s—700s). The issues dis-

cussed in these stages were discrete problems that were treated on the basis of the main components

of the early Islamic worldview, the Quran, and the sunnah. For this reason this stage may also be called the stage of problems; but as the former name suggests this led to the rise of a knowledge tradition in early Islamic culture. The accumulated knowledge in this tradition was chaotic; as a result it did not allow further progress in knowledge generation. The scholars were led to put all

| 505

this massive collection of knowledge under discipline by classifying different kinds of knowledge and putting them under an orderly body of knowledge. Since the accumulated knowledge is organized on the basis of putting knowledge under discipline, this phase may be called the disciplinary stage (7o0s-750s).

At this stage each

class of knowledge was identified and a specific methodology was developed to deal with such knowledge. When knowledge was thus put under discipline it was ready to emerge as a specific science by assigning a specific name for each discipline. Since sciences emerged in this way by naming each class of knowledge identified on the basis of its methodology and all other concepts relevant for that class of learning this new phase may be called the scientific era of Islamic scientific tradition; and the first stage of this era would be the stage of naming (750s-800s). The subse-

quent development is the emergence of a well developed and discernible Islamic scientific tradition (800s—950s),

which

exhibits in its later

development the stage of progress (950s—1200s), the stage of global diffusion (1200s-1500s), and

the stage of decline (after the 1500s).

Just like other scientific traditions in all its

stages, scholars in Islamic scientific tradition with the exception of the worldview stage, scientists, philosophers, and even intellectually inclined personalities and statesmen had an exchange of ideas in many different ways including corre-

spondence through letters (risalah, pl. ras@il). In the first stage we do not see any correspondence about philosophical issues as this is a period of incubation for learning activities. In the second stage, although there is no philosophy as a discipline, yet we find Caliph “Abd al-Malik’s (r. 685705) letter that is one of the earliest tracts sent to Hasan al-Basri (d. 728) on a philosophical issue

concerning human freedom and destiny (qadar). The caliph questions Hasan: “I heard that you describe gadar in such a way that I have not heard

506

| MAJOR CORRESPONDENCES IN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

from any one before us, nor have I known any Companion whom I met discussing this issue the

Abii Sahl al-Kihi seems to have corresponded also with Abi Sa’id Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn

way you discuss it. So, write your ideas on this

‘Abd al-Jalil al-Sijzi (d. c. 1020) concerning sim-

issue explaining whether you rely on a precedent authority among the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him, or on your own theory which you formulated, or on a proof whose truth is known in the Quran” (Rippen and Knappert, 1986). In his reply Hasan defends human freedom by explaining the relevant passages from the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet. It is amazing that although this correspondence took place at this early period his arguments are philosophical and clearly dem-

ilar problems in astronomy and geometry. We observe the most celebrated scientific correspondence at the stage of progress that runs from approximately the mid-tenth century until well into the beginning of the thirteenth century; the one that took place between the great Aristotelian physician and philosopher Ibn Sina

onstrate a rational approach. Hasan also gives a

rational explanation concerning certain verses in the Quran that creates a tension between de-

terminism and freedom in order to resolve the tension.

Since in the third stage Islamic scientific tradition was fully established, we begin to see the first examples of the scientific exchange of ideas that took place between Abu Sahl Wijan ibn Rustam al-Kuhi, a tenth-century mathematician and astronomer, and Abii Ishaq al-Sabi (d. 994), who was a high state official during the Buyid rule and also interested in certain scientific issues of a mathematical nature. This correspondence “contains discussions of the possibility of curvilinear figures being equal to rectilinear figures, the leaning of ‘known ratio, and whether one can square a parabolic segment by exhausting it with triangles” (Dold-Samplonius, 2008), This correspondence between an acute mathematician and a layman shows the growing interest in natural (kawni) sciences at this period, especially a high level of mathematical studies and an enthusiasm to complete the vacuum left from Greek mathematical and astronomical works. What is striking in both Hasan al-Basri’s and Abi Sahl al-Ktihi’s correspondence is the fact that the exchanges of ideas are between a scholar and a state official.

(d. 1037) and the illustrious scholar and scientist

Abi Rayhan al-Birtini (d. 1048). In this corre-

spondence

it is al-Birtini who

raises

some

questions and certain objections against various aspects of Ibn Sina’s natural philosophy. It contains eighteen questions and their responses to each other. Most of the questions were left unanswered by Ibn Sina. The correspondence took place in two installments; in the first one Ibn Sina himself replied to the questions but as al-Biruni was not satisfied by the answers he wrote back on the second installment in order to comment on the answers. This time Ibn Sina did not reply personally; instead his student Abi Sa’ 1d Ahmad ibn “Ali al-Mastmi replied on behalf of his master. Even then the answers were not accepted as correct by al-Birtini. In fact Ibn Sina was unable to defend his physical theories. In this regard one interesting objection was raised by al-Biriini against Ibn Sina who, following Aristotle, defended the view that water has less density in the solid state than in the liquid state. In his defense of the opposite view, al-Birtint indicates that he has broken many earthenware jugs by freezing water inside but they all broke outward, rather than collapse inwardly. This shows an acute preciseness on the side of al-Birtini who clearly indicates his scientific methodology pays attention to observation and experimentation as well as a rational approach to the subject at hand. A translation and edition of the complete correspondence is now available in English.

MAJOR CORRESPONDENCES IN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

Another major correspondence in this period is the one between the Andalusian philosopher

and scientist Abi’ Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn al-Sa'igh ibn Bajjah (d. 1139), known in the West as Avempace, and Abii Jafar Yusuf ibn Hasday, a well-known Jewish philosopher and scientist in Andalusia. In this letter Ibn Bajjah criticizes Ibn al-Haytham for his rejection of Ptolemy's models for Mercury and Venus and tries to explain his own theory of the planetary system accepting the epicycles. Toward the end of this stage we see more philosophical correspondence than scientific. The most significant name to be mentioned is Abi Hamid al-Ghazali

| 507

issues he corresponded with both Athir al-Din al-Abhari (d. 1265) and Kamal al-Din ibn Yunus (d. 1242). However

his most significant philo-

sophical correspondence took place with Sadr al-Din al-Qinawi (d. 1274) who initiated the cor-

respondence

by posing

certain

philosophical

questions to al-Tusi. These exchanges between two philosophers of different background tried to bring their approaches to a common ground; from al-Tist’s Peripatetic and Neoplatonist back-

ground to al-Qunawi’s

mystical outlook (see

Chittick, 1989).

Another scientific correspondence at this stage is the letter written by Ghiyath al-Din al-Kashi

(d. 1111). It is already known that al-Ghazali wrote

(d. 1437) to his father on Ulug Bey (d. 1449) and

many of his smaller tracts upon the request of his colleagues and students, such as al-Mungidh min

laduniyyah (Treatise on Divine Knowledge, which is claimed by some to be a wrong attribution). He

the scientific activities patronized by him in Samarkand. This is also a good and rich source for how scientists worked and carried out their research in an Islamic milieu. An interesting correspondence of this period is the letter written by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II to the well-known

was also an active scholar and kept in touch with

scholar of the age Mulla Jami (d. 1492). It is well

other scholars in the Muslim world. When Islamic scientific tradition entered into the stage of global diffusion after the twelfth century, it began influencing many neighboring civilizations. Particularly many books and scientific materials were translated and thus transferred to Western civilization. Throughout the Muslim world correspondence between philosophers and scientists also proliferated. Some forms of treatises and books were also written as the result of requests through correspondence. We may consider in this regard memoirs of scientists and phi-

known that Mehmed II corresponded with many scholars in order to bring them to Istanbul. As Islamic scientific tradition entered a stage of decline after the sixteenth century, correspondence between scholars changed. There were no longer heated debates over scientific or philosophical issues but rather issues in law and practical matters such as mystical guidance of a spiritual

al-dala (Deliverance

from

Error), Mishkat al-

anwar (The Niche of Lights) and al-Risalat al-

losophers, such as Nasir al-Din al-Tust's (d. 1274)

memoir, which provides rich historical information about the scientific and philosophical activities at this period. Al-Tust was very active in corresponding with scholars. On issues of mathematical nature he corresponded with Abu al-Ma ali ‘Alam al-Din Qaysar ibn Abr1-Qasim al-Dimashqi (d. 1251). Again on similar scientific

nature. One exception may suffice in this case: the

most recent the great Turkish mystical philosopher of Mawlawi-Ibn al- Arabi inclination Ahmed Avni Konuk’s (d. 1938) exchange of letters with

other scholars and his students. Among these only one is on a philosophical issue discussing the problem of wahdat al-wujid (oneness of being) and whether it is pantheism or not; the rest of the correspondence is concerning music and mystical spiritual upbringing. On the other hand, there is no doubt that Avni Konuk, in a similar fashion to Hegel, developed an original

508 | MAJOR CORRESPONDENCES IN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

encyclopedia of the tasawwuf philosophical system in the long introduction to his commentary on Ibn al-'Arabi'’s celebrated book Fustis alHikam, bringing thus all the available doctrines under the gamut of systematic unity by analyzing and systematizing the mystical tradition within the scientific knowledge available to him.

and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, edited by Helaine Selin. 2d ed. 2 vols., vol. 1, pp. 153-155. Berlin and New York: Springer, 2008. Fazlioglu, thsan. “Alemuddin Kaysar ve Bir Geometri Teoremi.’ Kutadgubilig 5 (2004): 199-208. Fazhoglu, Ihsan. “Osmanli Felsefebiliminin Arkaplant:

Semerkand Matematik-Astronomi Okulu.” Divan 14 (2013): 1-66.

Hozien, Muhammad. “Ghazali and his Early Biographers.” Islam and Science 9 (2011): 95-122. This arti-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

‘Alawi, Jamal al-Din, al-, ed. Ras@il falasaftyah li-Abu Bakr Ibn Bajjah. Beirut: Dar al-Thaqafah, 1983. Edition of the letters of Ibn Bajjah containing texts on astronomy and other sciences. Barkcin, Savas Safak. Ahmed Avni Konuk: Gortinmeyen Umman. Istanbul: Klasik Yayinlari, 2009.

Berggren, J. L. “The Correspondence of Abt Sahl alKahi and Abt Ishaq al-Sabi: A Translation with Commentaries.’ Journal of the History of Arabic Science 7 (1983): 39-124.

1929-1972.

This is a rich historical

source

that

has references to correspondence between scholars and thinkers, including that of al-Ghazali in vol. 5.

Kamiar, Mohammed. Brilliant Biruni: A Life Story of Abu Rayhan Mohammad Ibn Ahmad. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow, 2009.

Berjak, Rafik, and Muzaffar Iqbal, trans. “Ibn Sina-al-

Biruni Correspondence,

cle refers to Ibn Taghribirdi’s work, which includes correspondence with al-Ghazali. Ibn Taghribirdi, Abi al-Mah4sin Jamal al-Din Yusuf. al-nujim al-zahirahftmulik Misr wa-al-Qahirah. 16 vols. Cairo: Matba’at Dar a1-Kutub al- Misriyyah,

al-Asilah

wa‘l-Ajwibah?

Islam and Science vol. 1, nos. 1 & 2 (2003): 91-98 and 253-260; 2, nos. 1& 2 (2004): 57-62 and 181-188; 3, nos. 1 & 2 (2005): 57-62 and 167-170; 4, no. 2 (2006):

197-213; 5, NO. 1 (2007): 53-60. For the Arabic orig-

inal, see al-Birtini below. Birtini, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-. al-As’lah wa’lajwibah = Questions and Answers

[Between Ibn

Sina and al-Birtini]: Including Further Answers of al-Birint and al-Ma'‘stimi’s Defense of Ibn Sina and Ibn Sindj. Edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Mehdi Mohaghegh. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization, 1995.

Chittick, William. “Mysticism versus Philosophy in Earlier Islamic History: The al-Tiisi, al-Qinawi Correspondence.” Religious Studies 17 (1981): 87-104.

Crozet, Pascal. “Al-Sijzi et la tradition des problémes de division des figures.” In De Zénon d’Elée a Poincaré; recueil détudes en hommage a Roshdi Rashed, edited by Régis Morelon and Ahmad Hasnawi, pp. 119-159. Paris: Editions Peeters, 2004. Crozet,

Pascal. “Lidée de dimension chez al-Sijzi? Arabic Science and Philosophy 3 (1993): 251-286. Dold-Samplonius, Yvonne. “Al-Qihi (or al-Kihi).” In

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology,

Kholeif, Fathalla. A Study of Fakhr al-Din al-Razi and His Controversies in Transoxiana. Beirut: Dar elMachregq, 1966. This study contains a good discus-

sion of al-Razi’s travels in Transoxiana and his personal debates during these journeys with scholars on philosophical and theological issues. Obermann, Julian. “Political Theology in Early Islam” Journal of the American Oriental Society 55 (1935): 138-162.

Rippin, Andrew, and Jan Knappert, eds. and trans. Textual Sources for the Study of Islam, pp. 115-121. Manchester, U.K.: Manchester University Press, 1986. This contains a translation of Hasan al-Basri’s letter that he wrote to the caliph concerning the problem of human freedom. Ritter, Helmut. “Studien zur Islamischen Frommigkeit

I: Hasan al-Basri.” Der Islam 21 (1933): 1-83.

Sabra, A. I. “The Andalusian Revolt against Ptolemaic Astronomy: Averroes and al-Bitriji.” In Transformation and Tradition in the Sciences: Essays in Honor of I. Bernard Cohen, edited by Everett Mendelsohn, pp. 133-153. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984. Reprinted in the author’s Optics, Astronomy and Logic. Aldershot. U.K., and Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate/Variorum, 1994. This paper provides some information concerning Ibn Bajjah’s correspondence.

MAJOR DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS

Sadr al-Din al-Qianawi. Sadreddin Konevi ile Nasireddin Tusi Arasinda Yazismalar: al-Murasalat. Trans-

lated into Turkish by Ekrem Demirli. Istanbul: Iz Yayincilik, 2002. Correspondence between Qiinawi and al-Tuast. William Chittick presents an English discussion of this correspondence in the article. Samso, Julio. Astronomy and Astrology in al-Andalusi and the Maghrib. Aldershot, U.K., and Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate/Variorum, 2007. These collected articles by Samso include the letter of Ibn Bajjah to Abii Jafar Yusuf ibn Hasday. Sayili, Aydin. Ulug Bey ve Semerkanddeki ilim faaliyeti Hakkinda Guyasiiddin-i Kasi'nin Mektubu = Ghiyath al-Din Kashi’s Letter on Ulugh Bey and the Scientific Activity in Samargqand. Ankara: Atatirk Kiltir Merkezi, 1991. This contains an English translation

of the letter written by Ghiyath al-Din al Kashi (d. 1437) to his father on scientific activities patron-

ized by Ulug Bey in Samarqand as well as a copy of the original. Tusi, Nasir al-Din al-. Nasir al-Din al-Tusis Memoir on Astronomy = al-Tadhkira frilm al-hay'a. With commentary by F. J. Ragep. 2 vols. New York: Springer,

1993. ALPARSLAN ACIKGENG

MAjOR

DISCOVERIES

AND

INVEN-

TIONS A well-known hadith of the Prophet says that “The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr. Acquire knowledge, because he who acquires it in the way of the Lord performs an act of piety; who speaks of it, praises the Lord; who seeks it, adores God; who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and who imparts it to its fitting objects, performs an act of devotion to God” (Jalal al-Din al-Suyiti, al-Jami‘alsaghir). Much has been discussed in relation to this tradition, which seems to be stated in particular within the circle of Hasan al-Basri in the southern Iraqi urban area; however, even if different specialists of hadith argued that this is a weak tradition, it is hard to deny the meaning of these

Qur anic passages:

| 509

“And He it is Who spread the earth and made in it firm mountains and rivers, and of all fruits He has made in it two kinds; He makes the night cover the day; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect” (39:3);

“What! He who is obedient during hours of the night, prostrating himself and standing, takes care of the hereafter and hopes for the mercy of his Lord! Say: Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful” (39:9);

“Supremely exalted is therefore Allah, the King, the Truth, and do not make haste with the Quran before its revelation is made complete to you and say: O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge” (20:114)

in which the religious understanding is a gift given by God to the rational mind of human being. At the beginning of the ‘Abbasid period, in antithesis to the previous Umayyad Caliphate more rooted in the superiority of Arab clan membership, the equality guaranteed to the mawali stimulated a cultural attitude summarized by the philosopher al-Kindi in this passage: “We ought not to be embarrassed about appreciating the truth and obtaining it wherever it comes from, even if it comes from races distant and nations different from us. Nothing should be dearer to the seeker of truth than the truth itself, and there is no deterioration of the truth nor belittling either of one who speaks it or conveys it” (Peter Adamson, AI-Kindi, Oxford University Press, 2007).

An armed fight made possible a cultural renaissance focused on the rediscovery of ancient sources, which enabled and encouraged the coming out of a universal and interdisciplinary culture. The battle, a struggle between the Tang governor of Qucha, the Korean Kao Hsien-Chih,

and the Turkish-Khorasanian forces led by Ziyad ibn Salih al-Khuzai, close to the Talas River, was won by Islamic forces. More relevant than military success, however, was the capture of Chinese

510

| Major DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS

experts in sericulture and the making of paper, a material known in China for more than a millennium and made using the remains of flax and hemp. This capture allowed Muslims to acquire the technical knowledge needed to produce one of the most crucial tools for the progress of human civilization. So it was that the first paper mill in the Islamic world was built in a very short time in Samarkand, while not until 794-

795 was the first paper mill built in the capital Baghdad. The advent of this procedure greatly reduced the cost of books regardless of the subject matter.

The Academies of Antiquity Revived in the Islamic Age: The Translation Movement. The production of paper stimulated a process that had already begun at the beginning of the ‘Abbasid period under the caliph al-Mansur (1. 754-775)—

who was supposed to have translated Euclid’s Elements—and carried on for more than two centuries: the translation of ancient primary sources of knowledge in Greek, Old Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac, and other languages into Arabic. The “House of Wisdom, a scientific institution founded in Baghdad by the caliph al-Ma’mtn (r. 813-833) in

imitation of the ancient Persian academy of Gundeshapur, became the main translation center of philosophical and scientific works from the Greek originals which, according to the chronicle, a delegation sent by the caliph had brought from the country of Rim. However, the Bayt alHikmah, with the name of Khizanat al-Hikmah,

already existed under the caliphate of Harin alRashid (r. 786-809)

and the Barmecides,

who

had started the process of translation from Greek. Al-Ma mun may only have given a new impetus to this movement which impacted on the development of Islamic thought and culture. The institution was also linked to astronomical observatories, including one in Baghdad: positioned on the

top of the door al-Shammasiyya and led by the Israelite Sind Ibn “Ali, and the second in Damas-

cus, on Jabal al-Qasiytin, the mountain behind the Syrian main town. Both perfected the research of the Persian Nawbakht al-Farisi; his son, Abii Sahl, Ibrahim al- Fazari, the manufacturer of the first astrolabe; and of Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Farghani, whose astronomical tables would be used by Christopher Columbus for his research on the route to India. The House of Wisdom also contained, in addition to the observatory, a hospital and a library, and housed research programs in rhetoric and logic, metaphysics and theology, algebra, pharmacology, geometry, trigonometry, physics, and biology. Moreover, these subjects and other academic research were not pursued by specialists operating in separate compartments

of knowledge. Many of the men excelling in theology also contributed to the translation of texts on mathematics, medicine, and others. Over the next four centuries in Baghdad, but also in the entire Muslim world, building on the tradition of al-Mamin and his forebears, new institutions arose to supplement the House of Wisdom, and sometimes to replace it. The first major urban hospital came into being in the tenth century while the madaris Nizamiyah in the eleventh century and Mustansiriyah in the thirteenth appeared as global universities, even though they were increasingly focused on Islamic studies. In the same century, Baghdad had thirty-six public libraries and more than one hundred booksellers, The classical studies translation movement survived, after the more traditionalist reaction of al-Mutawakkil, until the tenth and eleventh centuries under the Buyid emirate (945-1055), promoting, however, a decentralization of cultural patronage in connection with the evident devolution of political power. The foundation, in Cairo, by the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, in 1005 of the dar

al-Hikmah, probably the most plentiful library of Islamic world, enriched by the favorable climate for the development of ancient studies due to

MAJOR DISCOVERIES

AND INVENTIONS.

| 511

the specific appreciation of the Shii doctrines, permitted the survival of a methodology of rational analysis that sought to reconcile the logic of philosophy and theology with the moral set of

The main contribution by al-Khwarizmi to astronomy and geography is related to the 116 tables of Sind and Hind region, with calendrical, astronomical, and astrological data, and the famous

rules within Islamic law. Mathematics and Astronomy: Innovations and New Procedures. The immense quantity of ancient texts available in Arabic stimulated empirical research in the main fields of science, applying discoveries to the needs of everyday life and to technical improvements. The Persian mathematician and astronomer alKhwarizmi, for example, following the translation of Euclid’s Elements and Archimedes’s works The Sphere and the Cylinder, The Equilibrium of the Planes, and the Measurement of the Circle, was able to give relevant contributions, in the ninth

Kitab strat al-Ard (The Book of the Image of the Earth), in which he corrects Ptolemy’s mistakes, for example, that related to the length of the Mediterranean Sea and the calculation of the Prime Meridian of the Old World. In continuity with al-Khwarizmi, it is important to mention the Khorasanian philosopher, mathematician, poet, and astronomer ‘Umar Khayyam, born in Nishapir in 1048. In mathematics and through his influential Treatise on the Demonstration of Problems of Algebra, he derived the general method for solving cubic equations and writing on the triangular array of binomial coefficients, known also as Pascal's triangle. While reflecting on the history of non-Euclidean geometry, Khayyam postulated and proved the Euclid parallel-postulate and the Saccheri Quadrilateral. Only six hundred years later, an Italian mathema-

century, to mathematics,

astronomy and geog-

raphy. In al-Kitab al-mukhtasarfi hisab al-jabr wa l-mugabala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), a text on mathematics, written in approximately $30 with the encouragement and support of the caliph alMa’mun, there appeared, for the first time, terms such as algebra and the author’s methodology for solving linear and quadratic equations through two operations: al-jabr (restoring or completion)

and al-mugabala (balancing). The first is a process of removing negative units, roots, and squares from the equation by adding the same unity to each side; the second is the manner of bringing quantities of the same type to the same side of the equation. The second major work of al-Khwarizmi, lost

in Arabic but extant in Latin, was probably entitled Kitab al-Jam‘wa-l-tafriq bi-hisab al-Hind (The Book of Addition and Subtraction) accord-

ing to the Indian calculations, and elaborated, for the first time, the concept of algorithms and the relative calculation using Indian-Arabic numerals developed by the author, including the concept number zero.

tician,

Giordano

Vitale, made

an advance

on

Khayyam’s book: Explanations of the Difficulties in the Postulates of Euclid. In 1079, without the

use of a computer, Khayyam calculated the length of a year at 365.242198 days, with an accuracy that

only in the twenty-first century, with the use of atomic clocks, could be made more precise: 365.242190 days. It is plausible that this Persian

scientist demonstrated that the Earth rotates on its axis by showing a model of the stars to his contemporary, the religious authority al-Ghazali, in the form of a planetarium. However, Khayyam’s relevance is also attributed to his poetic adjustment ability, showed through the Rubdiyat in which clearly emerged his religious-philosophical attitude, in support of the belief that God does not intervene in the physical world. If in mathematics, Islamic inventions have been partly summarized in the study of alKhwarizmi and ‘Umar Khayyam, in astronomy,

512

| Major DISCOVERIES

AND INVENTIONS

the preferred names are those of Nawbakht al-

Farisi and Ibrahim al-Fazari, to whom are attributed the terms “zenith” and “azimuth,” which came from Arabic, and also several names for the stars that referred to the old desert language of poetry: Vega, Altair, Betelgeuse, Rigel, Aldebaran, Feraz, Mirac, Antares, and so forth. In Baghdad as in Damascus, but also in Wasit (Iraq) and

Apamea (Syria), the ‘Abbasid astronomers calcu-

lated that the diameter of the Earth was about 7,909 miles (actually 7,926 miles), while the dis-

tance around the Equator was about 24,845 miles (actually 24,906 miles). The Egyptian astronomer

and physician Ibn Ridwan, born in 988, provided the first detailed description of the supernova now known as SN1006, the brightest stellar event in recorded history, which he observed in the year 1006. It was calculated that this supernova was positioned 7,000 light years from Earth and that its interior plasmas burned at 1 million degrees Celsius in the twenty-first century. Abi Rayhan al-Biriini in the tenth century discovered how lunar eclipses occur and the different phases of the Earth’s moon, attacking the principle of the immutability of celestial spheres and declaring Aristotle’s weakness in astronomical theories. The list of contributors to scientific knowledge is, of course, much longer and more

complex;

however, it is important to mention also the protagonists that Michael Hamilton Morgan, in Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists, defines as “inventors” and “scientists” and as those who broke away from purist academic studies. Muslim Inventors, Geographers, and Tech-

nological Development. It is hard to compare the astronomical and medical innovations that deeply influenced scientific works of the modern age with the devices that have, on one side, played a major role in daily life, and on the other, cannot be compared with discoveries such as the moon's

phases, quadratic equations, or the Earth’s rotation on its own axis. However, the history of the Islamic world is rooted not only in academia, but also in the welfare system and life’s pleasures. The city of Cérdoba, in the ninth century, was the largest and most technologically advanced city of Europe; the capital of Andalusia was at the height of fashion, new music, and urban sophistication spurred by an Iraqi musician and arbiter of taste known as Ziryab (Abi |-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Nafi’). This talented gentleman, who transformed himself from an Iraqi slave musician into a wealthy Andalusian man, became the expert on how to live in a sophisticated manner, As musician, singer, chemist, cosmetologist, and botanist, Cordobans and Andalusians imitated Ziryab’s clothes, haircut, and his manner of speech; he invented the first beauty parlor, which introduced perfumes and cosmetics of his own invention. The first toothpaste in history was pioneered by him, as was the use of crystal in place of metal goblets. Finally, Ziryab improved the technique of playing the Ud, with the addition of a fifth string, in anticipation of the Spanish guitar. ‘Abbas ibn Firnas lived in Andalusia a generation after Ziryab and had originally come to the court to teach music under the supervision of the

Iraqis master, but in his middle age he branched out into other areas of specialization. He first invented various glass planispheres and corrective lenses, but also developed a process for cutting rock crystal that allowed Spain to cease exporting quartz to Egypt for this reason. However, Ibn Firnas is notorious for his attempt to fly, suppos-

edly in 852. To make this possible, he constructed an odd suit of silk with wooden reinforcement rods. There are few primary sources on this subject, the first recorded evidence from Maroccan al-Maqqari‘s dates from seven centuries later. Nevertheless, it seems that after a limited time in the sky, Ibn Firnas was mildly injured and stunned, but not crippled, and, above all, not dead.

MAJOR DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS

The Persian Abi Misa Jabir ibn Hayyan, born in Tus in 722 is known as one of the first chemists

and alchemists in history. He is credited with writing many treatises and articles in addition to 112 books, partially patronized by the famous Barmecides family, the viziers of the caliph Harin al-Rashid. The most studied and famous of his books are the Book of Stones, an alchemic text, and the Book of Balance in which he explains his “Theory of the Balance in Nature.” Jabir’s mysticscientific side expressed itself in alchemy. According to some, his ultimate goal was not to be able to turn lead into gold, but to resolve the ultimate goal of takwin, literally, the creation of artificial life in the laboratory. The quest was taken up among

Europeans

some

centuries later: in the

Faust legend of the lonely researcher bringing life to his homunculus in medieval Prague, and in the cruder and more popular Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. However, Jabir needs to be considered in particular for his chemistry: he discovered hydrochloric acid, one of the strongest acids and a major component of the human digestive tract. He discovered nitric acid and by mixing chemicals created a substance later known as aqua regia which, though unstable, can shortly after its mixing dissolve a number of precious metals, such as gold and platinum. The works in Latin under the name

of Geber

(Jabir) include

more

relevant

chemical processes and inventions: the separa-

| 513

A popular astronomer, the Persian Abii Rayhan al-Biruni was also a geographer. Al-Biriini’s geographic competence is related to specific discoveries: on one of his journeys, he followed the sacred river Ganges from its glacial source to its outflow into the Bay of Bengal. He noted that the size of the river sediment particles was directly related to the speed of the river's current; upstream the outwash was less fertile, while downstream particulates enriched the river with dark mud, resulting is a more productive delta. AlBiruni exposed how erosion shaped the land from the broad formation of the Earth to the stones of the mountains and sea. During one trip, he was fascinated by the Indian theory that the tides of the ocean are related to the phases of the moon, without, however, the ability to prove it. Through his discovery of seashells at the tops of mountains, he theorized that the Ganges Valley was once under water or surrounded by the sea, as well as the theory of plate tectonics that would be proved centuries later.

Medicine and the Debate on Islamic Decline in Relation to Modern Sciences. Discussion of Islamic contributions to medicine requires the mention of the philosopher Ibn Sina (980-1037) and the physician Ibn Zakartya al-

Razi (865-925). The latter is famous for his precise

description of smallpox and measles, the description and use of mercurial ointments, and for the history of pharmacopeia that emerged in Man 1a

tion of gold from other metals through the agency of lead and saltpeter (potassium nitrate); the concept of a chemical compound; the mineral cinnabar, for example, as being composed of sulfur and mercury; and the process for the purification of mercury. He finally discovered the existence in nature of citric acid found in lemons; acetic acid from vinegar; tartaric acid from wine-making residues; and the chemicals arsenic, mercury, an-

public. In thirty-six chapters, the author describes diets and drug components that can be found in an apothecary, a marketplace, well-equipped kitchens, or in military camps. Thus, every intelligent person could follow its instructions and prepare the proper recipes with good results.

timony, sulfur, and bismuth, and what is now

A few decades after al-Razt’s death, another phy-

basic laboratory equipment such as the alembic

sician and philosopher achieved great results in the medical field: Ibn Sina. His Canon ofMedicine,

and retort.

Yahduruhu al-Tabib in which al-Razi wrote a home medical manual addressed to the general

514

| Major DiscOverIES AND INVENTIONS

translated many times into Latin, remained until

the eighteenth century the most studied text in the medical field. Ibn Sina was the first to organize the four causes originated by Aristotle into a logical, scientific framework for medicine. This is now the background of every modern science. The decline of the Islamic Near and Middle East, as well as the Indian Subcontinent and Chinese early inventive culture began during Western expansion. The historical and geographical devolution of modern and contemporary events has shown that the world centers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were not Mesopotamia, the Nile, and the Indus Valley anymore. Geographic expansion and colonization stimulated technological improvements and scientific progression that created, in a couple of centuries, a gap concerning military technology and industrial production in particular. Europe became industrialized while other parts of the world remained more primitive. Nevertheless, although this scientific and technological gap clearly emerged in the eighteenth century, decency and culture did not belong exclusively to the Western world: underwear, for example, was imported by the British from the Indian subcontinent during the eighteenth century. Moreover,

because science and development are based on the support and

funding by a nation’s leadership, Muslim science declined when its nations, in the seventeenth century, had to shift its resources to military defense. It is evident that the technological gap, certainly relevant in relation to a military and economic decline, was a result of political choices, rather than decisions made in the cultural and religious spheres. Ignaz Goldziher’s theory, which emerged in the famous article “The Attitude of Orthodox Islam toward the Ancient Sciences,” asserts that Orthodox Islamic traditionalism attempted to limit and silence scientific methodology and Greek logic in connection with

religious predestination and more popular beliefs. Dimitri Gutas rejects this theory in the final chapter of Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbasid Society. Similarly, George Makdisi in The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West and Wilferd Madelung in Religious Schools and Sects in Medieval Islam argue that Muslim figh, specifically the Islamic Hanafi juridical school, encouraged the teaching of logic and scientific methodology at all times, particularly during the peak of Ottoman civilization. Ibn Sina’s philosophy and translations from Greek and Latin were frequently used by Ottoman historians such as Katib Celebi and Husayn Hezarfenn in the seventeenth century. Mehmet II Fatih (1451-1481) held in special

regard Alexander the Great and the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Ma’min. Precise policy choices, such as capitulations, resulted in the lack of encouragement for boosting navigation, the lack of construction of new sailing vessels, and the lack of investment in preliminary processes of industrialization. These factors caused the Middle East and the Islamic world to lose the confrontation with Europe without profiting, and moreover the advantageous geographic position that the Islamic world had in relation to the Asian continent. [See also Translation of Greek and Persian Texts into Arabic.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berggren, J. L. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1986. Bosworth, C. E., ed. Iran and Islam: A Volume in Memory of the Late Vladimir Minovsky. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1971. Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The

Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbasid Society (2nd-4th/8th Centuries). London and New York: Routledge, 1998.

Mayriti, At- | 515 Hayes, John R., et al., eds. The Genius of Arab Civilization: Source ofRenaissance. 2d ed. New York: Taylor and Francis, 1983.

Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Classical Age of Islam. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1974. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age. 2d rev. ed. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1992. Lassner, Jacob. Jews, Christians and the Adobe of Islam:

Modern Scholarship, Medieval Realities. Chicago and London: Chicago University Press, 2012. Madelung, Wilferd. Religious Schools and Sects in Medieval Islam. London: Variorum Reprints, 198s. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Colleges: Institution of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West: With Special Reference to Scholasticism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990.

Morgan, Michael Hamilton. Lost History: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Scientists, Thinkers and Artists. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Science and Civilization in Islam. London: The Islamic Texts Society, 2003.

Peters, FE. E. Aristotle and the Arabs: The Aristotelian Tradition in Islam. New York: New York University Press, 1968.

Rosenthal, Franz. Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept of Knowledge in Medieval Islam. Leiden, Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2007.

Turner, Howard R. Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997.

Young, M. J. L., J. D. Latham, and R. B. Serjeant, eds.

Religion, Learning and Science in the ‘Abbasid Period. Cambridge, U.K., and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Marco DEMICHELIS

MagJriti,

AL-

Abi al-Qasim Maslamah

ibn Ahmad al-Faradi al-Majriti (d. c. 1007 CE) was a tenth-century astronomer and mathematician. He was born in the mid-tenth century in Madrid and died in Cérdoba, but little else is

known of his life. His work and legacy were largely spread by his many influential students who included Abii al-Qasim Asbagh, or Ibn alSamh (d. 1034-1035 cE), Abii al-Qasim Ahmad, or Ibn al-Saffar (d. 1035 CE), and a myriad of other

Andalusian scholars. His work would spark the interest of many European scientists, initiating a period of scientific exchange as Arabic treatises

were translated to Latin. He became one of the most influential Muslim scientists in Europe. Biographical details of his life are few. His teachers may have been ‘Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad al-Faradi and ‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Isa al-Ansari. Scholars believe he functioned as the primary astronomer in the court of the caliphs of Cordoba.

In AH

979, it was

recorded

that

he made astronomical observations including the star Regulus. From such observations and his

extensive understanding of Ptolemy’s Almagest, he was able to establish elliptical longitude of this and other stars. This has led some to suppose it was during this point in his life he began his emendation of al-Khwarizmi'’s astronomical tables. Al-Majriti’s acumen remains his legacy, as scholars have attributed about a half-dozen works to his name alongside a handful of highly dubious materials. He founded a school dedicated to the study of commercial arithmetic (mu‘amalat) and

astronomy. Most sources attest that he authored one treatise, known by variant names including Thimar al-adad and Mu‘dmalat, on commercial arithmetic specifically addressing sales and taxation as it pertained to merchants and their business. It is likely he and some of his most prominent students, including Ibn al-Samh and probably Sulayman al-Zahrawi, authored more in this field. It has been speculated that the source material for these treatises would have been works of early Greek mathematicians, such as Euclid and Archimedes, While these works were not preserved in their entirety, scholars believe

516 | MAjrRITI, AL-

the Liber mahameleth, translated to Latin by John of Seville, is similar in content to what al-Majriti and his disciples would have produced. Al-Majriti with his pupils, including Ibn alSaffar, revised the Zij al-Sindhind (astronomical tables) of al-Khwarizmi (d. c. 850 CE) to the me-

ridian of Cordoba and the lunar calendar used by Muslims. His revision of al-Khwarizmi’s work, which added significantly to the content of the astronomical tables, was translated in the twelfth century to Latin by Adelard of Bath (d. c. 1152 CE), an English astronomer and mathematician. AlKhwarizmiss zij was not the only work al-Majriti studied and upon which he elaborated. Al-Battani (d. 928-929 CE), an astronomer born in Harran,

wrote a 2ij that al-Majriti knew well and amended. The diffusion of al-Battani’s work to Europe is due in large part to al-Majriti. His work on the zij of al-Khwarizmi is considered one of his most significant contributions alongside a multitude of works pertaining to the astrolabe. Al-Majriti wrote a brief treatise on the astrolabe said to have been translated into Latin by Plato of Tivoli, a twelfth-century Italian mathematician. Al-Majriti’s treatise on the astrolabe was, according to some sources, the basis of Adelard’s own text on the astrolabe. However, al-Majritis student Ibn alSaffar wrote a treatise on the same instrument, and this work gained immense popularity, being translated into Latin and remaining an important text in Europe into the fifteenth century. Al-Majriti edited and added an extensive commentary to Ptolemy's Planisphaerium. For quite some time it was believed he translated the entire work, but recent scholarship has discredited this theory. It was al-Majriti’s edition that Hermann of Dalmatia employed when he translated the work to Latin in the twelfth century. Al-Majriti’s notes on Ptolemy’s treatise significantly improved the use of the astrolabe. Furthermore, in the latter portion of his commentary, he addresses a number of problems related to the Theorem of

Menelaus. Menelaus’s theorem deals largely in trigonometry, a subject with which al-Majriti was already well acquainted by the time he wrote his commentary on Ptolemy. Besides his commentary on Ptolemy, al-Majriti is believed to have written a separate tract on Menelaus’s theorem. These constitute the writings scholars universally agree are rightfully attributed to al-Majriti. The Rutbat al-hakim and Ghayat al-hakim are the two treatises that have been misattributed to al-Majriti. The first, the Rutbat al-hakim (Rank of the Wise), was a work of alchemy and was written well after the death of al-Majriti. The latter, the Ghayat al-hakim (Aim of the Wise), was a compi-

lation on subjects of magic and astrology. Known by its Latin title Picatrix, the work was translated in the mid-thirteenth century to Latin. Arguments have been put forth suggesting different dates of authorship as well as different authors, but it has largely been accepted that this was not the work of Abt al-Qasim Maslama al-Majriti. These misattributions are further examples of the intellectual reverence later generations still held for this figure. He was fundamental in the development and furthering of mathematics and astronomy in his own generation, and he was the cornerstone in the transmission of these sciences

to later generations and across Europe through the translation of his works.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Fuentes Guerra, Rafael. Maslama, de Madrid e Ibn Hazm, de Cordoba. Madrid: Tall. Graficos Escelicer, 1963.

Kunitzsch, Paul, and Richard Lorch. Maslama’s Notes on Ptolemys Planisphaerium and Related Texts. Munich: Verlag der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1994. Lorch, R. P. “Ptolemy and Maslama on the Transformation of Circles into Circles in Stereographic Projection.” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 49 (1995): 271-284,

Mayjriti, MASLAMAH IBN AHMAD AL-

Sams6, Julio. “Maslama al-Majriti and the Alphonsine Book on the Construction of the Astrolabe” Journal

for the History of Arabic Science 4 (1980): 3-8.

Sams6, Julio. “Maslama al-Majriti and the Star Table in the Treatise De mensura astrolabii” In Sic Itur Astra: Studien Zur Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwis-

senschaften: Festschrift fiirden Arabisten Paul Kunitzsch zum 70. Geburtstag, edited by Paul Kunitzsch, et al., pp. 506-522. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz, 2000. Vernet, Juan, and Maria Asuncion Catala. “Las obras

matematicas de Maslama de Madrid.” Al-Andalus 30

(1965): 15-45. MATTHEW LONG

Magjriti, MASLAMAH AL-

IBN AHMAD

(d. 1005 or 1007/08), Andalusian math-

ematician and astronomer. Born in Madrid (Majrit), Maslamah ibn Ahmad al-Majriti alQurtubi al-Hasib al-Faradi, Abi 1-Qasim, studied in Cordoba inheritance law (fara id) and geom-

etry with ‘Abd al-Ghafir ibn Muhammad

al-

Faradi, and arithmetic, geometry, and astrology with Ibn Abi ‘Isa al-Ansari (fl. 961-976). One of his nisbas was al-Faradi and this implies the con-

fluence, in the figure of Maslamah, of the tradition of fara’id with mathematics on the one side, and with astronomy and astrology on the other. Maslamah’s professional activity took place in

| 517

topic also dealt with by Ibn al-Saffar and Ibn alSamh: We have an idea of its contents by consid-

ering a similar treatise of the twelfth century (Liber mahameleth), attributed to John of Seville.

The book contains a theoretical part (theory of proportions, extraction of a square root, approxi-

mations to the square roots of imperfect squares), as well as references to the solution of first- and second-degree equations, something that suggests the original work also contained a part dedicated to algebra. The work ends with a series of commercial problems. Astronomical works. According to Said, Maslamah knew the “science of spheres” (‘“ilm al-aflak) and of the motion of celestial bodies (harakat al-nujim) much better than his predecessors, and he seems to be connected with the introduction in al-Andalus of the works of Ptolemy. According to Said also, Maslamah had studied the Almagest (known in the East since the beginning of the ninth century) as well as al-Battani’s astronomical tables, which implies an indirect knowledge of Ptolemy’s Handy Tables in the recension of Theon of Alexandria, and he had a good knowledge of Ptolemy’s Planisphaerium. According to Qasim ibn Mutarrif alQattan (fl. Cordoba c. 950), Maslamah devel-

oped information about observations of the sun,

Cordoba, where he created an important school of mathematicians and astronomers. Among his

planets, and fixed stars dated between 835 and

disciples,

838. This seems to imply that he had access to

Said al-Andalusi

(1029-1070)

men-

tions, in his Tabagat al-umam, Ibn al-Khayyat

the results of observations made, c. 830, in Bagh-

(d. 1055/56), al-Kirmani (d. 1066), al-Zahrawi,

dad and Damascus under the patronage of Caliph al-Ma min. The recension of al-Khwarizmis astronomical

Ibn Khaldiin (d. 1057), Ibn al-Saffar (d. 1035), and

Ibn al-Samh (d. 1035). This school had a strong influence in the development of mathematics and astronomy in the two main scientific centers of Zaragoza and Toledo during the period of the

Maslamah’s Works. Maslamah dealt mainly

tables: Maslamah and the members of his school played a central role in the diffusion of alKhwarizmts Zij al-sindhind, a set of tables in the Indo-Iranian tradition probably introduced in alAndalus during the time of ‘Abd al-Rahman II

with applied mathematics. Mathematical works. He wrote a nonextant

Samh, as well as two other members of the third

treatise on commercial arithmetic (mu‘Gmalat), a

generation of this school, Ibn Hayy (d. 1064) and

mulik al-tawa if (1035-1085).

(822-852). Maslamah, Ibn al-Saffar, and Ibn al-

518

| Majriti, MASLAMAH IBN AHMAD AL-

‘Abd Allah al-Saraqusti (d. 1056), compiled new

recensions of those tables that contributed to their survival in al-Andalus and the Maghrib until the fourteenth century. We only know about Maslamah’s version through the Latin translations by Adelard of Bath and Petrus Alphonsi. Adelard’s translation contains materials derived from al-Khwarizmi's original work, the modifications made by Maslamah, and probably materials added later. Maslamah introduced changes in the chronological tables: the use of the Spanish era (38 BCE) and the addition of the intercalary day in bissextile years at the end of December, according to Mozarabic usage. His modifications were more radical in mean motion tables: al-Khwarizmi used the Persian calendar and the era of Yazdijird III (16 June 632), while the extant tables use

the Muslim lunar calendar and the Hijra era (14 July 622). The radix positions are calculated for the meridian of Arin. There are two exceptions ascribed to Maslamah: a supplementary table of the positions of the ascending node for the meridian of Cordoba and for the period 960-1174,

and the tables for calculating mean luni-solar conjunctions and oppositions, in which the radix positions are carefully calculated for the meridian of Cordoba, placed at a distance of 63° west of Arin. In other instances, Maslamah added or replaced tables. Such is the case of the sine table,

derived from Ptolemy’s table of chords (radius of 60 parts), which replaces al-Khwarizm1'’s original tables (radius of 150 parts and intervals in the ar-

gument of 15°). He possibly added the table of tangents and the table of the equation of time, which uses a position of the solar apogee (82° 39')

that derives from the observations made in the time of al-Ma'min. Finally, Maslamah, who was a practicing astrologer, added astrological tables, such as those for the division of the houses of the horoscope that use the standard method, an

obliquity of the ecliptic of 23° 35' (al-Battani) and a geographical latitude of 38° 43’ (Cordoba). Finally, about a fifth of the whole zij is dedicated to

the projection of rays: These tables use a local latitude of 38° 30' (Cordoba) and they are different

and more precise than those of al-Khwarizmi, extant in a different source. Notes on Ptolemy’ Planisphaerium: Maslamah, Ibn al-Saffar, and Ibn al-Samh were interested in the astrolabe. While his disciples wrote treatises on the use of the instrument and Ibn al-Samh also on its construction, Maslamah was mainly attracted to the theory of stereographic projection, expounded by Ptolemy in his Planisphaerium, available in an Eastern Arabic translation. Maslamah studied this work, corrected the translation, and added a set of notes in which he used Menelaos’s theorem and proved his mathematical ability. He is also the author of a table of twenty-one stars to be projected on the astrolabe, which is the result of his own observations made in 978. All these materials produced

by Maslamah and his school were known in Latin Europe from the end of the tenth century onward, as they reappear in the Latin corpus of texts on the astrolabe compiled in Catalonia at that time from where they reached the zone of Orleans and the Lotharingia. In the first half of the twelfth century, Hermann of Carinthia incorporated Maslamah’s additions to his Latin translation of the Planisphaerium and all the works on the astrolabe compiled by the school of Maslamah were reintroduced in Europe through two extremely popular treatises on the instrument (De operatione and De compositione) wrongly attributed to the Iraqi astrologer Masha allah (fl. c. 800). Through these two texts, Maslamah influenced the first European treatises on the astrolabe written in vernacular languages: in Spanish by Alfonso X (c. 1276), in French by Pelerin de

Prusse (1362), and in English by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1391).

MAPS AND MAPMAKING

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kunitzsch, Paul, and Richard Lorch. Maslama’s Notes on Ptolemy’ Planisphaerium and Related Texts. Philosophisch-Historische Klasse. Sitzungsberichte. Jahrgang 1994, Heft 2. Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1994.

Neugebauer, Otto. The Astronomical Tables of alKhwarizmi. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Copenhagen, Denmark: Munksgaard, 1962. Translation with commentaries on the Latin version edited by Heinrich Suter supplemented by Corpus Christi College MS 283. Suter, Heinrich. Die Astronomischen Tafeln des Muhammed ibn Miaséa al-Khwarizmiin der Bearbeitung des Maslama ibn Ahmed al-Madjriti und der latein. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Copenhagen: A.F. Host & Son, 1914. van Dalen, Benno. “Al-Khwarizmi’s Astronomical Tables

Revisited: Analysis of the Equation of Time. In From Baghdad to Barcelona: Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences in Honour of Prof. Juan Vernet. Edited by Josep Casulleras and Julio Samsé, Vol. 1, pp. 195-

252. Barcelona: Instituto Millds-Vallicrosa de Historia de la Ciencia Arabe, 1996.

Vlasschaert, Anne-Marie. Le Liber mahameleth: Edition critique et commentaires. Boethius: Texte und Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Mathematik und der Naturwissenschaften 60. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2010. See especially pp. 184-429. JULIO SAMSO

| 519

idiosyncrasy to modern eyes. The cartographers did not strive for mimesis (representation or imitation of the real world). They did not show irreg-

ular coastlines, for example, even though some of the geographers within whose work these maps are encased openly acknowledge that the landmasses and their coastlines are uneven. They present instead a deliberately schematic layout of the world and the regions that comprised the Islamic empire.

These images employ a language of stylized forms that can make them hard to recognize as maps. For this reason, these maps are mostly unexamined and have often been deliberately ignored on the grounds that they are not “mimetically” accurate representations of the world. These schematic, geometric, and often symmetrical images of the world are iconographic representations—“carto-ideographs’—of how medieval Muslim cartographic artists and their patrons perceived their world and chose to represent and disseminate this perception. On the surface it seems that these often elaborately illuminated a-mimetic cartographic works, employing pigments made from precious metals and stones, must have been produced for the elite literati of medieval Islamic society, such as the commissioners/patrons, collectors, copyists, and

Maps AND MAPMAKING | There exist hundreds—if not thousands—of cartographic images of the world and various regions, scattered throughout collections of medieval and early modern Arabic, Persian, and Turkish manuscripts. The sheer number of these extant maps tells us that—at least from the thirteenth century onward, whence copies of these map-manuscripts begin to proliferate—that the world was a muchdepicted place. It loomed large in the medieval Muslim imagination. It was pondered, discussed, and copied with minor and major variations again and again, with what seems to be a peculiar

high-status readers of the geographic texts within which these maps are found. This conclusion ignores the easy-to-replicate nature of these schematic images, which would have enabled students visiting the libraries of sultans, amirs, and other members of the ruling elite to transport basic versions of these carto-ideographs back to the people of their villages and far-flung areas of the Islamic world. Most of these maps occur in the context of geographical treatises devoted to an explication of the world in general and the lands of the Muslim world, in particular. These geographical atlases— which should be acknowledged globally as the

520

| MAPS AND MAPMAKING

first of their kind—generally carry the title of Kitab al-masalik wa al-mamalik, although they are sometimes named Surat al-ard (Picture of the

Earth) or Suwar al-agalim (Pictures of the Climes/ Climates). These manuscripts emanate from an early tradition of creating lists of pilgrim and post stages that were compiled for administrative purposes. They read like armchair travelogues of the Muslim world with one author copying prolifically from another. Beginning with a brief description of the world and theories about it—such as the inhabited versus the uninhabited parts, the reasons that people are darker in the south than in the north, and so on—these geographies methodically discuss details about the Muslim world, its cities, people, roads, topography, and so forth. Sometimes the descriptions are interspersed with tales of personal adventures, discussions with local inhabitants, debates with sailors as to the exact shape of the earth and the number of seas, and so on. They have a rigid format that seldom varies, with a territorial sequence as follows: first the whole world, then the Arabian peninsula, the Persian Gulf, the Maghrib (North Africa and Andalusia), Egypt, Syria, the Mediterranean, upper and lower Iraq, and concluding with twelve maps devoted to the Iranian provinces, beginning with Khuzestan and ending in Khorasan, including maps of Sind and Transoxiana. The maps, which usually number twenty-one—one world map and twenty regional maps—follow the same format as the text. Not all of these geographical manuscripts contain maps, however. Only those referred to generally as part of the al-Balkhi/al-Istakhri tradition, also referred to as the Classical School of geographers, include maps. For this reason the cartographically illustrated manuscripts of this genre are also referred to as the “Atlas of Islam.” A great deal of mystery surrounds the origins and the architects of this manuscript-bound

cartographic tradition. This is primarily because not a single manuscript survives in the hand of the original authors. In fact, the earliest extant manuscript of the tradition dates from the late eleventh century, almost a century after the death of the last reported author. As a result, it is not clear who initiated the tradition of accompanying geographical texts with maps. Scholars of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries held that Abu Zayd Ahmad ibn Sahl al-Balkhi (hereafter al-Balkhi; d. 934), who—as

his nisbah (patronym) suggests—came from Balkh in Central Asia, initiated the series, and that his work and maps were later elaborated upon by Abu Ishaq ibn Muhammad al-Farisi al-Istakhri (hereafter al-Istakhri; fl. early tenth century) from Istakhr in the province of Fars. Al-Istakhri’s work was, in turn, elaborated upon

by Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Hawgal (hereafter Ibn Hawagal; fl. second half of tenth century), who came from upper Iraq (the region known as al-Jazirah). Abu ‘Abdallah Muhammad al-Mugqaddasi (hereafter al-Mugaddasi; d. c. 1000)

from Jerusalem (al-Quds) is considered the last

innovator in the series. The confusion is further compounded by the fact that many of the surviving copies contain either incomplete colophons or no colophons at all. Additionally, the texts are sometimes so mixed up in the surviving manuscripts that it is often difficult to disentangle them. The numerous incomplete and anonymous manuscripts, often abridged, along with the versions translated into Persian, further cloud the matter. Since the extant examples stretch in time from the eleventh century to the nineteenth century and range from the heart of the Middle East to its peripheries, they can provide us with a broad range of historical insights across time and space. The earliest extant KMMS manuscript is by Ibn Hawaqal and is housed at the Topkap: Saray Museum Library (Ahmet 3346). It is firmly dated

MAPS AND MAPMAKING

to 479/1086 by its colophon. The striking mimesis of the maps in this manuscript stands in stark contrast to the later KMMS map copies, which over the centuries abandon any pretense of mimesis entirely. Moving through the KMMS set, we travel through a series of more and more stylized maps that shift further into the realm of objects dart and away from direct empirical inquiry. By the nineteenth century the KMMS maps become so stylized that, were it not for the earlier examples, it would be hard to recognize them as maps of the world.

| 521

encyclopedia tradition by Ibn al-Wardi (d. 1457)

called Kharidat al-‘Aj@ib wa faridat al-gharaib (The Unbored Pearl of Wonders and the Precious

Gem of Marvels), which typically includes one world map per copy (of either the KMMS or alBiruni variety), along with other cartographic images, such as a giblah map (way-finding diagrams and instruments for locating Mecca) and an inset map of Qazwin and other cities. From the thirteenth century onward, world maps appear in historical treatises. Some manu-

ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (d. 1283 CE), whose

scripts of the famous Islamic historian al-Tabari’s Tarikh (History) include a “clime-type” map of the world as part of the frontispiece. Copies of another well-known historian’s work, Ibn Khaldin’s

work ‘Aja ib al-makhlagat wa ghara ib al-mawjiidat

(1332-1406) Muqaddimah (Prologue), also opens

(The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of

with an al-Idrisi-type world map. An unusual variant of a KMMS-type world map even surfaces in a sixteenth-century Ottoman history scroll containing Seyyid Luqman’s Zubdat al-tawarih (Cream of Histories) produced during the reign of

Other variations of this KMMS tradition include world maps found in copies of Zakariya’

Creation) focuses on the wonders of the world—

real and imaginary. Although al-Qazwinfts original manuscript is not illustrated, copies from the late thirteenth century onward—during the lifetime of the author—incorporate illustrations of flora and fauna, as well as world maps based on what can be referred to as the al-Birtini model. The large number of extant ‘Aja@ib manuscripts indicate that, at least from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries onward, the world maps had a significant audience. The al-Biruni variation looks at the world from above and shows the old world spread-eagled on a circle surrounded by the Encircling Ocean (a combination of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans). It is found in copies of Kitab al-tafhim li-aw@il sin@at al-tanjim (Book of Instruction on the Principles of the Art of Astrology) from the mid-thirteenth century onward. Eventually, world maps based on the alBiruni model appear in general geographical encyclopedias, such as Yaqut’s thirteenth-century Kitab mu‘jam al-buldan (Compendium of Lands).

By far the most popular tradition from the late fifteenth century onward was a unique pocket-book

Siileyman I (1. 1520-1566). From the late twelfth century onward, other

types of maps abound, such as hajj (pilgrimage) certificates

and

travelogues

containing

map-

like pictures of the holy sites. These can be read as an indication of the growing demand for visual images of sacred spaces. Eventually, the scope of these pilgrimage scrolls expands to become an illustrated hajj manuscript series called Futuh

al-haramayn

(The Conquests

of

the Holy Sites), which first appears in the early sixteenth century and proliferates thereafter. Like the copies of Ibn al-Wardi’s Kharidat al‘Aja ib, the number of pocket-book sized copies of this manuscript are too numerous

to count.

In tandem with these hajj manuals, a tradition begins of including in mosques a glazed tile containing a schematic map-like representation

of the Ka‘bah with directional markings similar to giblah maps adjacent to the mihrab (prayer niche),

522 | MAPS AND MAPMAKING

Unfortunately, this rich indigenous mapping tradition has been overlooked thanks to the modern predilection to evaluate maps according to their representational accuracy. Thus the bestknown examples of Islamic maps are those that are the most mimetic. Famous for precisely this reason is the work of the twelfth-century North African cartographer, Sharif al-Din al-Idrisi (d. 1165),

ascribe with surety the worldview expressed in these copies as being representative of the Norman-Muslim world of the twelfth century. As outstanding as al-Idrisi’s work is for inserting mimesis into late medieval Islamic mapping repertoire, it needs to be addressed with these cautions in mind. Similarly, the sixteenth-century Ottoman naval

whom

admiral

the Norman

king Roger II (1097-1154)

commissioned to produce an illustrated geography of the world: Nuzhat al-mushtagq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq (The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands). The maps that accompany the copies of al-Idrisi’s manuscript have been heralded time and again for their mimetic accuracy and are rightly acclaimed as well ahead of their time. Not only are the al-Idrisi] maps ranked among the most mimetic world maps of the later Middle Ages, they also include detailed regional

maps that show an astounding depth of understanding of the topography of the greater Mediterranean region.

One of the lingering issues with al-Idrisi’s work is that there are no extant examples of his work from his time period of the twelfth century. Nor are there any original autograph manuscripts. The earliest extant al-Idrisi manuscripts are from the fourteenth century. The other issue with alIdrisi's work is that it is unique and therefore not representative of the bulk of the medieval Islamic mapping tradition. Al-Idrisi’s work cannot be held up as representative of the Islamic mapping tradition, nor can the maps that are attributed to him be used as a source of insight into the worldviews of medieval Muslim cartographers and their milieus. At best, al-Idrisi’s work can be used to illumine the worldview of the milieu surrounding Roger II in Norman Sicily, possibly with some insight into the North African—specifically Tunisian—ambit. But even here we have issues, since the four extant manuscripts are productions of a century or so later. We cannot, therefore,

Piri Reis (c. 1470-1554)

is famous

for

the earliest extant map of the New World. Piri Reis and his surprisingly accurate early sixteenthcentury map of South America (1523) has been the

subject of many a controversial study. In keeping with the emphasis placed on Western products in the field of the history of cartography—especially maps from the Renaissance onward—scholarship on Piri Reis’s map has focused on its connections with early modern European cartography. The same could be said of the acquisition of the Book of Curiosities manuscript by Oxford, which has received considerable attention in the opening decade of the twenty-first century. This manuscript contains a medley of hybrid maps, some unique and others that reflect the influence of the KMMS tradition. The square world map is unusual and merits further in-depth analysis. The Bodleian'’s Book of Curiosities is, like the maps of the al-Idrisi manuscripts, plagued by dating issues. Although the text of the manuscript has been dated to the tenth century by Evelyn Edson and Emilie Savage-Smith, the maps reflect a late twelfth- or early thirteenth-century Islamic miniature style. While unique manuscripts such as the Book of Curiosities are intriguing additions to our repertoire of the Islamic cartographic tradition, we must bear in mind that they are not representative of the popular mapping tradition that was widespread in the medieval Islamic world. Since all images are socially constructed, these iconic carto-ideographs contain valuable information about the milieus in which they were

Mas UDT, ABU AL-HASAN ‘ALT AL- | 523 produced, They are a rich source of historical data that can be used as alternate gateways into the past.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmed, Maqbul. “Kharita.” In Encyclopedia of Islam, 2d ed. Vol. 2, pp. 575-587. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1962-2006.

Edson, Evelyn, and Emilie Savage-Smith. Medieval Views of the Cosmos: Picturing the Universe in the Christian and Islamic Middle Ages. Oxford: The Bodleian Library, 2004.

Harley, J. B., and David Woodward, eds. The History of Cartography: Cartography in the Traditional Islamic and South Asian Societies, co-edited by Ahmet Karamustafa, vol. 2, no. 1. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992.

King, David A. World-Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca: Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1999.

Meri, Josef. A Lonely Wayfarer’ Guide to Pilgrimage: ‘Alt ibn Abi al-Harawi’ Kitab al-Isharat ila Ma'rifat al-Ziyarat. Princeton: The Darwin Press, 2004. Miller, Konrad. Mappae Arabicae. 6 vols. Stuttgart: Selbstverl., 1926-1931. Miquel, André. La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusquau milieu du 11e siecle. 4 vols. Paris: Mouton, 1967-1988.

Mzik, Hans von, ed. Al-Istahri und seine Landkarten im Buch “Suwar al-akalim.” Vienna: Georg Prachner, 1965.

Pinto, Karen. Ways of Seeing Islamic Maps. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2014. Raaflaub, Kurt A., and Richard J. A. Talbert, eds. Geog-

raphy and Ethnography: Perceptions of the World in Pre-Modern

Societies.

Chichester,

U.K.:

Wyley-

Blackwell, 2010. Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte des arabischen Schrifttums: Mathematische Geographie und Kartographie im Islam und ihr Fortleben im Abendland. Historische Darstellung. 3 vols. Frankfurt: Institut fiir Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen Wissenschaften an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe- Universitat Frankfurt am Main, 2000, Zadeh, Travis. Mapping Frontiers across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the ‘Abbasid Empire. London: I. B. Tauris, 2011. KAREN PINTO

Mas‘vpt, ABU AL-HASAN ‘ALi AL(d. 956 CE), prominent Arab geographer and historian. Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali al-Mas di spent a great portion of his life traveling, which took him as far east as India and back across the Muslim world. He wrote over thirty treatises on a variety of subjects, but only two of his works, Murtj al-dhahab wa ma‘adin al-jawahir and al-Tanbih wa al-ishraf {ashraf], have survived. It is from these sources that our knowledge of al-Mas‘idi comes. He has been compared to the Greek historian Herodotus, the “father of history.’

Born in Baghdad, al-Mas‘idi came from a Kufan family who traced their roots in Islam back to the time of Muhammad. In his two sur-

viving works, al-Mas tdi identifies a number of teachers under whom he studied and scholars with whom he associated, such as the Mu'tazili theologians Abu ‘Ali al-Jubba7l (d. 915-916) and

Abi al-Qasim ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Balkhi (d. 931), the historians al-Tabari (d. 923) and Abii Bakr

Muhammad

ibn Yahya al-Suli (d. 946), and

the theologian al-Ash‘ari (d. c. 935-936). This

record indicates that he was well trained in the Islamic sciences and many other disciplines, as most of the figures with whom he associated and studied were the best in their fields, though the details of his education are not specified. His works affirm his erudition and desire to continue to grow intellectually. He did not hesitate to use works by the ancient Greek philosophers, as well as Persian and Christian sources, when

he constructed his treatises on geography and

history. Traveling would consume his life until he settled in Egypt, though even then he continued to visit nearby cities and regions. The list of countries and regions he visited is long and heterogeneous. By his own testimony, he was still in Baghdad in 915, but by 918, he was visiting many of the provinces of Persia. Most scholars doubt that he made it to

524 | Mas pi, ABU AL-HASAN ALI AL-

China, but they all agree that he traveled in the western portions of India, including the Indus Valley, modern-day Pakistan. In the north, he traveled to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the coast of the

Caspian Sea. East Africa was another destination, possibly as far south as Zanzibar. He frequented parts of Syria and Iraq throughout his lifetime and journeyed to Arabia and Oman. These journeys took him across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. He eventually settled in Egypt and died in the city of Fustat. Scholars remain perplexed as to how alMas tdi funded his excursions, as no record exists of how he could have financially sustained such a lifestyle of travel. Scholars have speculated that al-Mas tdi began writing sometime around 926, but no certain date can be given. The bulk of his books, approximately a dozen, are classified as historical-geographical works, which, to a certain extent, can be put in chronological order based on information from the Muruj and al-Tanbih. Many of these, such as Muruj, were continuously updated, revised, and reworked throughout his lifetime. However, the designation of al-Mas tdi as a historian-geographer fails to acknowledge the diversity of his learning and the subjects of his works. Philosophy, science, heresiography, Shi‘l histories and beliefs, and Shariah were all subjects on which he wrote at least a few treatises. Muslim biographers and bibliographers were consistently unable to accurately identify the vast number of works al-Mas tidi penned. For example, al-Nadim (d. c. 990-998),

an early bibliographer, gave not only an inaccurately terse biography of al-Mas tdi in the Fihrist, but he ascribed to al-Mas ‘tdi only five works, In fact, many different biographers and bibliographers frequently misattributed at least a few treatises to al-Mas udi, though these writers provided more accurate biographical information and more extensive lists of his works, albeit still incomplete. Al-Mas tdi was candid in revealing his theological and political predilections. Nearly a half

dozen of his treatises are dedicated to Shi thought with particular emphasis on the doctrine of the Imamah, and his historical-geographical works are steeped with Shi‘i history and expositions on their beliefs, Thus, it is agreed that al-Mas tidi had Shi‘1 leanings, specifically his partiality for the Ithna ‘Ashariyah, Twelver or Imami Shi‘ah, but a few scholars asserted his connection to the Isma‘ili, an equivocal claim. He was not entirely unique in this regard, as other historians made plain their pro-Shiiah sentiments, such as al-Yaqiibi (d. 897) and Datd

al-Dinawari

(d. 895-6). While the Shi iah claimed him to be

one of their own, most Sunni scholars were silent on his Shi'i partisanship. Sunni scholars tended to identify him differently. He was consistently labeled as Mutazili by Sunni biographers, such as al-Dhahabi (d. 1348). The Murttj (Meadows of Gold) is the work to

which al-Masdi owes much of his reputation. Scholars have divided this work into two sections, pre-Islamic history and Islamic history from the time of Muhammad. The subjects covered in this first portion include: geographical surveys of such places as India and China; descriptions of rivers, oceans, and seas; lists of kings from a variety of peoples, such as the Persians, Greeks, and Romans; descriptions of tribes and people, like the Slavs and Franks; a history of pre-Islamic Arabia; descriptions of religious monuments; and the development of monotheism leading up to Muhammad,

referred to as “sacred history.’ He was one of the first Muslim historians to provide a section on the Franks and the Frankish kings of western Europe. The second half of the Murij begins with a biography of Muhammad and is followed by the historical development of Islam. Chapters are dedicated to each of the leaders of the Muslim

community after Muhammad: the Rightly Guided Caliphs (khulafa’ rashidiin), the Umayyads, and the ‘Abbasid caliphs up to al-Mutf (d. 974). While

this second half of the Murij forms the bulk of

Mas Uoi, ABU AL-HASAN ALT AL- || 525

the entire work, al-Mas‘tidi indicates that he has provided a much more thorough treatment of this material in two other works, the Akhbar alzaman and the Kitab al-awsat, particularly the former. The al-Tanbih was probably composed near the very end of al-Mas tidt’s life and may have been his final work. Although much of the information contained within the al-Tanbih has been condensed from the Murij and many of his other preceding works on history and geography, it should not be regarded strictly as an abridgement. Material not present in the Murij can be found in the al-Tanbih, and the latter does not contain the same anecdotal content as the former. Essential to beginning the historical sections of his Murtj, al-Mas Udi includes geographical surveys of regions he visited and reports of other lands. This feature was one of the fundamental things that differentiated his historical works from those of many of his predecessors. He firmly held that to understand the history of a people one must know the environment in which they lived—hence his dedication to explore so many assorted fields of knowledge. Ethnological, doxographical, and natural scientific discourses and digressions fill the first portion of the Murij. In this regard, al-Mastdi’s work is reminiscent of al-Yaqtbi. These fields, referred to as cultural sciences, added to the text a feature known as adab. In addition, the eloquence of his writing and the fact that his work was meant to entertain as much as inform has led many scholars to identify al-Mas‘tidi as a belletrist (adib). Vignettes that describe the ‘Abbasid caliphs al-Amin (d. 813)

and al-Ma’ min

(d. 833) have been cited as ex-

amples of al-Mas‘tidi’s incorporation of literary elements. One feature prominent in most of the Muslim histories and emulated by al-Mas tdi is the inclusion of “sacred history.’ Tales of the prophets and patriarchs from the creation of the world to the

time of Muhammad had become a cornerstone

of Muslim histories, and al-Mas‘idi, following in the footsteps of al-Tabari and al-Ya‘qibi, incorporated these into his works. Furthermore,

he adheres to the seven regional divisions of the world, but scholars are mixed on whether he follows the Ptolemic system, which was a latitudinal division, or the Iranian kishwar (region)

system, in which regions are circular. What is certain was al-Mas td?’s belief that at the center was the region of Babylon in which Iraq was situated. A departure from the works of earlier historians, particularly al-Tabari, was the dearth of the isnad (chain of transmission) in the Murtj. Written sources were fundamental in the creation of his historical-geographical texts. The number of written accounts used in the construction of the Murij was monumental, with some scholars putting the number above 160 works. However, al-Mas tdi did not solely rely on these types of material. Firsthand observation was paramount to al-Mas tdi, which explains his proclivity for travel and his favorable view of historians who used such material, such as al-Sili

and Abi ‘Uthman ‘Amr b. Bahr al-Jahiz (d. 868). His excursions provided him with this direct experience and put him in touch with sailors, trav-

elers, and natives who offered him oral accounts of their own land and culture, in addition to information about locales that he did not experience personally. His use of such information was in stark contrast to historians, such as al-Tabari,

who supplied little to no personal knowledge of people or lands. Al-Mas‘tidi did not simply accept traditions or reports unquestionably. He rejected or amended material that contradicted his personal experiences, but this did not make him flawless. Ibn Khaldiin (d. 1406), an econo-

mist, sociologist, and historiographer, was critical

at times of the information provided by alMasiidi, What tied all these sources together was al-Mas‘idis desire to utilize the broadest,

526 | MAS UDi, ABU AL-HASAN ALI AL-

most diverse data. He incorporated reports from

Shboul, Ahmad

M. H. Al-Mas‘tidi and His World:

Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian communities and

A Muslim Humanist and His Interest in Non-Muslims.

debates they held; Roman, Persian, and Indian sources; governmental reports; and works of the Greek philosophers and scientists into the first portion of his Murttj, which does not include the countless Muslim histories used to write the latter section. This characteristic has led some authors to bequeath al-Mas tdi the title “a Muslim

London: Ithaca Press, 1979.

humanist.” Ibn Khaldtin praised al-Mas Udi for this quality and for his universal vision of history. The Murtj and al-Tanbih stand as testimony not only to al-Mas tidi’s life, theology, and acumen, but they reveal his understanding of history and

its connection to other fields of inquiry. Both of these works demonstrate his method and style, how he fit within the overall picture of Islamic history, and what set him apart from his predecessors and peers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahmad, S. Maqbul. “Al-Mas‘tidi’s Contributions to Medieval Arab Geography.” Islamic Culture 27, no. 4

(1953): 61-77. Ahmad, S. Maqbul. “Al-Mas‘tidi’s Contributions to Medieval Arab Geography.’ Islamic Culture 28, no. 1 (1954): 275-286. Ahmad, S. Magbul. “Travels of Abu l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn alHusayn al-Mas tdi.” Islamic Culture 28, no. 4 (1954):

509-524. Ahmad, S. Magbul, and A. Rahman, eds. Al-Mas‘tidi:

Millenary Commemoration Volume. Aligarh: Indian Society for the History of Science, 1960. Paruqi, Maysam J, al-. “Is There a Shi'a Philosophy of History? The Case of Mas‘tdi” The Journal of Religion 86, no. 1 (2006): 1-33.

Khalidi, Tarif. Islamic Historiography: The Histories of Mas‘tidi. Albany: State University of New York Press,

1975. Mas‘idi, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, al-. Les Prairies

Dior (Muruj al-dhahab wa ma‘adin al-jawahir). Edited by C. B. de Maynard and Pavet de Courteille, revised and corrected by Charles Pellat. Paris: Société asiatique, 1962-.

MATTHEW LONG

MATHEMATICS

The mathematical _sci-

ences occupy a prominent place in Islamic intel-

lectual history. Historically called ‘uliim riyadiyah (mathematical sciences) or ‘ulim ta 'limiyah (ped-

agogical sciences), they comprised the four main branches of the quadrivium of the ancient schools: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Further development in the Islamic world, from the latter eighth century CE to the early tenth, brought such fields as algebra, trigonometry, mechanics, and optics—together with their practical, even experimental aspects—into this domain. Although not all fields considered mathematical had comparable status—or even existed—in all parts of the Islamic world, mathematical subjects in all their manifestations drew the attention of many Islamic scholars who produced impressive, often historically significant, works. There is an abundance of sources in Islamic and European languages for the rich history of premodern Islamic mathematics. The Annotated Bibliography of Islamic Science (ABIS) lists in its third volume, devoted to mathematical sciences, nearly eighteen hundred printed sources on the subject published before 1970 alone. Since that

date, at least half that number of additional works have appeared. Nonetheless, a comprehensive study on the history of mathematics in Islamic societies remains a distant goal. Given the current state of research, it is not possible to reconstruct such a history beyond the stage of theoretical and partial studies of the first half of the Islamic era. Moreover, the coverage of such crucial subjects as the social context of mathematics and the history of mathematics in the modern Islamic world is still limited and fragmentary. Attention to social

MATHEMATICS

context has been occasional (Hoyrup, 1987, 1990; Heinen, 1978; King, 1980, 1990; Berggren, 1992),

while that to modern history has only begun (Thsano#lu, 1992; Rashed, 1992). Such studies, es-

pecially those of mathematics in modern Turkey, Iran, and other non-Arab countries of the region, are bound to extend our understanding of mathematics in the Islamic world both in historical and analytical scope.

Historical Meaning. Mathematics in the premodern Islamic world, even up to the nineteenth century CE, differed in its meaning and domain

| 527

science of calculation (‘ilm al-hisab), on the other

hand, dealt more with arithmetical operations and had its own distinct intellectual currents and systems of calculation. One widespread system of unknown origin employed the fingers to represent numbers and so was often termed “reckoning by finger-joints” (hisab al-‘uqiaid), “hand reckoning” (hisab al-yad), or “mental reckoning” (al-hisab al-

hawa‘); it had a rhetorical mode of expression for numbers. In contrast, the so-called “Indian reck-

filiation of these “rational” (‘aqli)—in contrast to

oning” (hisab al-Hindi), also known as “board and dust calculation” (hisab al-takht wa-al-turab), was based on the place-value concept and expressed numbers in terms of ten figures including zero (sifr). In addition to the first system, which became the arithmetic of scribes and secretaries, and the second system, from which the medieval European “Arabic numerals” are supposed to have been derived, there was another system in which numbers were represented by letters rather than by fingers or figures; this third system was linked to the old Babylonian astronomical tradition in which computations were performed in base-60 (sexagesimals) and were represented by alphabetical symbols. This was known as the “arithmetic of astronomers/astrologers” (hisab al-munajjim),

“traditional” (nagli)—sciences with the ancient

“arithmetic of astronomical tables” (hisab al-zij),

sciences of Greece, India, or Persia was itself of

or “arithmetic of degrees and minutes” (hisab aldaraij wa-al-daqdiq). In addition to the abjad (alphabetic) system of ciphered numeration with twenty-eight Arabic letters, there was the siyaq style of representation used until recently in Iran and Turkey, in which forty-five Pahlavi-style characters where employed for commercial purposes. Finally, books on reckoning often included an algebraic section for the determination of unknown quantities from known ones, in which the expression “algebra” (al-jabr) meant an operation, not the entire discipline it eventually became. An independent science of algebra (‘ilm al-jabr), correctly associated with Muslim mathematicians,

from that of the modern era (to which it is un-

questionably bound), as well as that of the ancient world (from which it arose). Its disciplinary boundaries were changing even during the preeminent period of Islamic intellectual history, that is, the tenth to the fourteenth centuries cE.

As the collective term ‘uliim al-riyadiyah (sciences of mathematics)

indicates, these sciences

existed as composite mathematical

disciplines

that had evolved as a branch of the so-called “sciences of the ancients” (‘ulim al-awa@‘il), that is,

the original, pre-Islamic sciences as distinguished from Islamic sciences (‘ulim Islamiyah). The af-

a varied nature, and the various mathematical

disciplines practiced inevitably had different elements of the classical heritage, different discipli-

nary encounters and boundaries, and naturally, different historical fates. The science of arithmetic was not unitary. Of its main two divisions, the science of numbers (‘ilm

al-‘adad), which was at the head of the seven divisions of mathematical

sciences

(‘ultim ta‘alim)

according to al-Farabi’s (d. 950 cE) Ihsa al-‘uliim (The Enumeration of the Sciences), was more the-

oretical. It was cast in the tradition of the arithmetic books (vii-ix) of Euclid’s Elements as well

as Nicomachus's Introduction to Arithmetic. The

528 | MATHEMATICS

did in fact take shape during the adoption of ancient learning into Islamic science. Its early classification as an offshoot of applied arithmetic may explain why it was later classified in “the science of devices/stratagems” (‘ilm al-hiyal) as an applied branch of mathematics. But algebra had an equally close association with geometry from the start, as geometrical demonstrations were used to elucidate algebraic problems; this illustrates the distinction between the methods of proofs (barahin) used in algebra and that of checks

tables, star movements, chronology, and astrology. Such designations as “the science of the figure of heaven” (‘ilm al-hay‘ah), “the science of the heav-

ens” (‘ilm al-aflak), and “the science of the stars” (ilm al-nujiim) suggest a historical distinction between observational and theoretical astronomy, exemplified in the respective traditions of Ptolemy’s Almagest (al-Majisti) and Planetary Hypotheses (Iqtisas; literally, exposition). Curious, however, is the absence of an explicit historical distinction between the traditions of Ptolemy's Almagest and

(mawazin, literally “balances”) used in arithmetic.

his Tetrabiblos

Just as algebra seems to have been placed somewhere between geometry and arithmetic, other related fields, such as trigonometry and optics, were considered intermediate between geometry and one of the other four main mathematical dis-

that is, between the fields of astronomy and astrology. Not only were these designated by the common expression nujiim, but they also shared such terms as hasib (computer) referring to their practitioners. The historical affinity in this same period of astronomy and astrology to yet another of the mathematical propaedeutical sciences, theoretical music (misiqda), is further indication of the lack of fixed boundaries between mathematical fields of study. Mathematical sciences such as astronomy and arithmetic acquired new meanings and domains as they continued to grow on Islamic soil, as attested, for example, by the emergence of new categories such as muwaqgit

ciplines,

astronomy.

Such

intermediate

fields

were based originally on Greek mathematical texts known as “the intermediate

[books]” (al-

mutawassitat), because they were studied between Euclid’s Elements and Ptolemy’s Almagest, the chief authorities on geometry and astronomy, respectively. Geometry (“lm al-handasah) officially came

to the Islamic intellectual world through Greek sources, and mainly through Euclid. Initially known as jumatriyah, Arabic geometry was predominantly Greek in origin as well as method, although it also reflects encounters with Indian works such as the astronomical siddhantas (lit-

erally “canons”; rendered sind-hind in Arabic) and with Persian sources; the Arabic term handasah (geometry) comes from the Persian andazah (measure).

Astronomy, by contrast, had more and stronger links to non-Greek ancient traditions; the Babylonian heritage can now safely be added to Sanskrit, Pahlavi, and Syriac astronomical sources alongside Greek ones. Astronomy also started as a much wider discipline than it later became, with several subfields including instruments and

(time-keeper),

(Arba’ magalat,

an astronomer

four treatises),

attached

to the

mosque, or by the appearance of a branch of arithmetic called fara‘id (which dealt with the division of legacies) as part of the equipment of Islamic law.

Achievements. The achievements of mathematicians in the early Islamic world were varied, and began at least as early as the reign of the Caliph al-Ma’miun, in the early ninth century CE when Muhammad al-Khwarizmi introduced the decimal positional system that had originated in India. Decimal fractions appeared as early as the work of the Damascene arithmetician Abii alHasan al-Uqlidisi in his Kitab al-fusil fi al-hisab al-Hindt (Book of Chapters on the Indian Method

of Calculation), composed

in 952/953

MATHEMATICS

cE. These were much later reintroduced under the name al-kustir a‘shari (decimal fractions), to-

gether with the first appearance of a unified placevalue system for both integers and fractions, in the Miftah al-hisab (Key to Arithmetic) of the

| 529

al-hisab (The Dazzling Book of the Science of Computation) by al-Samaw‘al al-Maghribi (d. c. 1175). The algebra in these and similar texts is

significance, and despite much theoretical treatment—for example, the arithmetic sections of Rasa il (Treatises) composed by the secret Ikhwan al-Safa (Brotherhood of Purity), or works on

often associated with the successful treatment of problems involving quadratic—and occasionally cubic—equations, many of which combine the reduction of rhetorical algebraic problems into canonical form with geometrical proofs. And it is in al-Karaji’s work that we find an important array of numbers that has been traditionally ascribed to the seventeenth-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal, that is, Pascal's Triangle. The most significant achievement of Islamic arithmetic may have been to fuse various methods into a unified system. But Islamic achievements in other areas were not limited to such fusion. The ninth-century mathematician Abu ‘Abdullah al-Mahani built a bridge between geometry and algebra by showing how problems about geometric constructions that the ancients had attacked with a number of ad hoc devices could be expressed by cubic equations. In the tenth century Abt Jafar al-Khazin and Abi Sahl al-Kuht showed how al-Mahant’s equation could be solved by using the properties of conic sections, and this led, in the eleventh century, to ‘Umar Khayyam’ treatise, Algebra, on the general problem of solving cubic equations by means of conic sections. Finally, perhaps two generations

“amicable numbers” (a‘dad mutahabbah) and pyr-

later, Sharaf al-Din al-Tiist showed

amidal numbers—it is in the area of computation that more important contributions were made. Especially important in this category are treatises devoted to algebra, often including in their titles the term hisab linked with terms referring to practical aspects of arithmetic, as in Kitab mukhtasar fi al-hisab al-jabr wa-al-mugabalah (Brief Book on Calculation by Algebra) by alKhwarizmi, Tardif al-hisab (Jewels of Calculation) by Abi Kamil al-Shuja’ (d. 900), Al-kaftfi

equations could be solved by numerical methods. In the area of foundations of geometry, attempts by several mathematicians to prove Euclid’s parallel postulate, culminating in the work of Nasir

Persian mathematician

Jamshid ibn Mas‘id al-

Kashi, composed in Samarkand in 1427. Although the earlier work of al-Uglidisi was of less impact, he is credited with the use of strokes for decimal “points,” for the first successful treatment of the cube root, and for the alteration of the dust-board method for use with ink and paper. Other breakthroughs include steps toward treating irrationals as numbers, as in the work of the famous mathematician

and poet ‘Umar

Khayyam

(d. 1131),

rather than treating them as incommensurable lines as did those following the tradition of the tenth book of Euclid’s Elements. It was also Umar who extended methods of extracting roots of numbers beyond the fourth root, and three centuries later al-Kashi provided a virtuoso example of this technique by extracting the fifth root of a number on the order of ten trillion. On the whole, developments in theoretical arithmetic

(‘ilm al-‘adad) are of less historical

al-hisab (The Sufficiency for Arithmetic), by Abu Bakr al-Karaji (d. 1000), and Al-bahir fi ‘ilm

how such

al-Din al-Tiisi (d. 1273), resulted, in the course of

trying to prove the postulate by contradiction, in

the formulation and proof of results now part of non-Euclidean geometry. These attempted proofs are, moreover, known to have reached European founders of non-Euclidean geometry. In another influential scientific movement, theoretical reaction against certain inconsistencies

530

| MATHEMATICS

in Ptolemaic astronomy resulted in a series of

complex non-Ptolemaic models that have been compared to those proposed in Europe by Copernicus centuries later. What is remarkable about this astronomical movement, which ranged from eastern Persia, to Damascus, and on to Andalusia, is its preoccupation with philosophical rather than observational concerns. Nonetheless, a strong observational program did exist as astronomical records, in the form of zij (tables, almanacs), were

produced for many major cities from Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo in the Arab world to Shiraz, Khwarizm, and Maragheh in Persia. In fact, this same observational tradition produced a system of testing, adopted and developed under the terms mihnah (trial), imtihan (experiment), or itibar (contemplation), which converted optics

from a theoretical to an experimental science.

As it turned out, the most significant contribution of the mathematical sciences of the Islamic world to modern science was not in the field of mathematics proper, but in optics. Belonging not to physics, but to mathematics—more specifically a field intermediate between geometry and astronomy—optics was to be revolutionized in the hands of Muslims. This revolution occurred during the most creative era of Islamic science through

Ibn al-Haytham’s

(d. 1040)

Kitab

al-

manazir (Book of Optics), which put this science

on a new foundation. His seven books on optics were translated into Latin and Italian, and being among the first scientific books to be printed, strongly influenced the works of medieval Latin, Renaissance, and seventeenth-century thinkers. Finally, the history of optics, like the history of other mathematical disciplines in this period, includes significant developments that were not transmitted to Europe. This is particularly true of the history of astronomy, where a large body of nontransmitted literature survives from late periods in Islamic intellectual history. One part of this literature that has received significant study in the last

decades concerns the application of mathematical

astronomy to the regulation of the times and direction of prayer in Islam, a field known in Arabic as ‘ilm al-migat. The practitioners of this science, associated with mosques, applied the spherical trigonometry created by Muslim scholars such as Abu al-Wafa’ al-Bizjani in the tenth century with the computational techniques of the ‘im al-hisab, to create both instruments and an extensive corpus of tables (often very large) which had the single aim of aiding the proper practice of Islamic ritual. A study of other parts of this late mathematical tradition—now beginning to emerge from Turkey, Iran, and India—is both needed and promising. But much more is needed, and many important mathematical texts throughout the Islamic world that are so far available only in manuscript form should be used to construct a fuller and broader history of the exact sciences and achieve a deeper understanding of the history of mathematics in Islamic societies. [See also Astronomy and Numerology.] BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berggren, J. L. Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam. New York: Springer, 1986. Contains sections on arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and spherical astronomy. Berggren, J. L. “History of Mathematics in the Islamic World: The Present State of the Art.” Bulletin of the Middle East Studies Association

19, no. 1 (1985):

9-33. Berggren, J. L. “Islamic Acquisition of the Foreign Sciences: A Cultural Perspective.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 9, no. 3 (1992): 309-324.

Gillespie, C. C., et al., eds. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 16 vols. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1972-1980. ‘This is still a good source for biographies of scientists mentioned in this survey, but many of its articles have been updated in the Kortge reference. Heinen, Anton M. “Mutakallimiin and Mathematicians: Traces of a Controversy with Lasting Consequences.” Der Islam 55 (1978): 57-73. Considers the

relationship between religious thought and mathematics, particularly the attitudes of al-Jahiz and alBiruni.

MATHEMATICS

Hill, Donald R. “Mathematics and Applied Science” In Religion, Learning, and Science in the ‘Abbasid Period, edited by M. J. L. Young, J.D. Latham, and R. B. Serjeant, pp. 248-273. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1990. A work on the early history of mathematics in Islamic civilization that includes the practical as well as theoretical aspects of the discipline. Hoyrup, Jens. “The Formation of ‘Islamic Mathematics’: Sources and Conditions.” Science in Context 1 (1987):

281-329. This article and the next are important for the often-ignored subject of the encounter between mathematics and Islamic society. Hoyrup, Jens. “Subscientific Mathematics: Observations on a Premodern Phenomenon.” History of Science 28, no. 1 (1990): 63-81.

[hsanoglu, Ekmeleddin, ed. Transfer of Modern Science and Technology to the Muslim World. Istanbul: The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Cul-

ture, 1992. Includes articles on mathematics in four-

teenth to eighteenth-century Turkey (fhsano$lu, pp. 1-120),

and

in nineteenth-century

Iran

(Roshdi

Kennedy, E. S. “The Arabic Heritage in the Exact Sciences.” Al-Abhath 23 (1970): 327-344.

Kennedy, E. S. “The Exact Sciences.” In The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4, The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljugs, edited by Richard N. Frye, pp. 378-395. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univer-

interaction.

King, David A. In Synchrony with the Heavens: Studies in Astronomical Timekeeping and Instrumentation in Medieval Islamic Civilization. 2 vols. Leiden, Nether-

lands: Brill, 2004-2005.

King, David A. World-Maps for Finding the Direction and Distance to Mecca: Innovation and Tradition in Islamic Science. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1999.

King, David A., and George Saliba, eds. From Deferent to Equant: A Volume ofStudies in the History of Science in the Ancient and Medieval Near East in Honor of E. S. Kennedy. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1987. Indispensable source that contains, in addition to a list of Kennedy's own publications, many specialized articles and an extensive bibliography. Koertge, Noretta, ed. New Dictionary ofScientific Biography. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. An Annotated Bibliography ofIs1991. Lists 1,831 sources printed before 1970, arranged

according to subject, some with annotations in English and Persian. Rashed, Roshdi. The Development of Arabic Mathematics: Between Arithmetic and Algebra. Translated from the French by A. EF. W. Armstrong. Dordrecht, Netherlands, and Boston: Springer, 1994.

sity Press, 1975.

Kennedy, E. S. “The Exact Sciences in Timurid Iran.” In The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 6, The Timurid and Safavid Periods, edited by Peter Jackson and

Laurence Lockhart, pp. 568-580. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1986. Kennedy, E. S. Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences.

Bulletin of the Middle East Studies Association

Rashed, Roshdi, ed. Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. In collaboration with Régis Morelon. 3 vols. New York: Routledge, 1996.

Sabra, A. I. “Ilm al-hisab? In Encyclopedia ofIslam, 2d ed., Vol. 3, pp. 1138-1141. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte der arabischen Schrifttums (History of Arabic Literature). Vol. 5, Mathematik;

Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1983.

King, David A. “The Exact Sciences in Medieval Islam: Some Remarks on the Present State of Research.” 14

(1980): 10-26.

A. Islamic Astronomical

article and the author’s “The Sacred Geography of Islam” are valuable sources on this rarely studied

lamic Science. Vol. 3, Mathematical Sciences. Tehran,

Rashed, pp. 393-404).

King, David

| 531

Instruments.

London: Variorum, 1987.

King, David A. Islamic Mathematical Astronomy. 2d ed. Aldershot, U.K.: Variorum, 1993.

King, David A. “The Sacred Geography of Islam.” In Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study, edited by T. Koetsier and L. Bergmans. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Elsevier, 2005. King, David A. “Science in the Service of Religion.” Impact of Science on Society 159.(1990): 245-262. This

Vol. 6, Astronomie; Vol. 7, Astrologie, Meteorologie, und Verwandtes (Astrology, Meteorology, and Related Subjects); Vols. 10-12, Mathematische Geographie und Kartographie im Islam und ihr Fortleben im Abendland (Mathematical Geography and Cartography in Islam and Their Survival in the West). Leiden, 1970-2000.

Fundamental

reference works

for manuscript sources and bibliography of the exact sciences during the classical period of Islamic civilization. For a review of Volume 5, see David A. King,

“Notes on the Sources for the History of Early Islamic Mathematics, Journal of the American Oriental Society 99 (1979): 450-459, which lists sources

for later periods,

532 | MATHEMATICS

and

suming certain physical properties such as weight and extension. But this second state of existence is possible only because the hyle already has the potentiality to take a concrete form. It is in this sense that Muslim philosophers

K. Jaouiche. Paris, 1976. Reviewed in Journal of the

make a distinction between matter (maddah) and

History of Arabic Science 1 (1977): 111.

physical body (jism). Matter in the nontechnical sense may refer to a physical body when we say, for instance, that the tree in the garden is a material object. The “material body” denotes a particular mode of existence whereby the hyle, the prime matter (al-maddat al-ula, materia prima in

Van Brummelen, Glen. The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth: The Early History of Trigonometry. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2009. Youschkevitch, Adolf P. (Adolf Pavlovich Iushkevich).

Les mathématiques arabes (VIIIe-XVe siécles). Trans-

lated

from

the Russian

by M.

Cazenave

ELAHEH KHEIRANDISH

Updated by J. L. BERGGREN

Matteris the “stuff”

Latin), has taken the “form” (surah) of the tree.

the physical world is made of. What this stuff is exactly and what types of properties it has, however, remain contested issues in classical and modern science and philosophy. Form is that which gives things their true and actual identity. According to Aristotle’s celebrated definition, form is the “first perfection” (entelechy) of beings as they exist in the actual world of substance. Muslim philosophers have generally accepted this framework of analysis but made important

MATTERANDFORM

Here, the matter refers to the physical properties of the tree such as its color, texture, wood, etc. Ibn Sina defines the physical body (al-jism) as “a substance that has length, width and depth” (1960, Vol. 1, p. 21). A physical body has these three dimensions, but not all of them have to be present in it at the same time. In this second sense, matter is related to extension in space. The word mdaddah in Arabic conveys a similar meaning as it is derived from the same root as the word imtidad, which means “extension.” This matter, perceived by the five senses, is the subject matter of the physical sciences. What we perceive in material beings, however,

improvements

on the concept of matter, form,

and their relationship. Matter has two primary meanings in philosophy. The first is the fundamental stuff of which physical entities are made even though we cannot define it in a precise manner. The reason is that matter here denotes “capacity” (isti’dad) and “potentiality” (quwwah) to become something actual

and concrete. In the language of classical philosophy, matter is pure potentiality and becomes actualized only when united with a form (stirah). The Greek word hyle, rendered into Arabic in its Arabized form as hayiilah, refers to this meaning of potentiality. It is thus different from the second and nontechnical meaning of matter as material-physical body (al-jism al-mdddi). Matter as something physical and/or corporeal denotes a second-order meaning because the hyle, the primary matter, becomes an actualized being by as-

is not the matter itself but its “sensate form” (al-

stirah al-mahsisah).

It is these sensate-bodily

forms that give us access to the material-corporeal world. Matter in this sense is usually contrasted with the spiritual. While the material is limited, finite, decaying, and changing all the time, the spiritual is beyond such deficiencies and provides a reliable basis for sound knowledge through its incorporeal reality.

Matter is also contrasted with incorporeality and intelligibility. The principle of intelligibility in things is established by their incorporeality because something must belong to the realm of the intelligible (ma ‘qulat) in order to be self-intelligible on the one hand, and intelligible by others on the

MATTER AND FORM

other. Speaking of the First Principle, which is the source of all things, al-Farabi says that “since it is not in matter and has itself no matter in any regards, it is in its substance an actual intellect; for

what prevents the form being an intellect and from thinking in actuality is the matter in which a thing exists. When a thing in its existence does not need matter, it becomes an intellect in actuality” (1985, p. 70). Mulla Sadra develops this theme fur-

ther through his notion of the gradation of existence (tashkik al-wujtd) and holds that the further

removed a substance is from its material accidents (awarid) and attachments (Jawahiq), the more

real it becomes because it is closer to its “formal” or form-based (al-suri) reality.

It should be noted that matter and form are not “things” but rather principles by which things become what they are. Sadra works out the ontological dimension of this principle by saying that taking a form and becoming an actual entity is the same as assuming a new mode of existence. He equates form with a particular aspect of existence: In our view, what is meant by the form of a thing is its existence, not its concept and universal meaning. [In this sense,] form is one and

simple for everything. But it may become applicable to various meanings and attributes of perfection. Or, it may not be so, and this is because existence can be strong and intense or weak and deficient. Whenever existence is stronger and more intense, it contains in itself more meanings and effects (athar) and vice versa. (Sadra, “Ittihad, 1996, p. 90)

The first meaning of matter as potentiality is

contrasted with the form that gives particular beings their specific nature and meaning. For instance, the “form” of a tree refers to its essence, i.e., that by which a tree is a tree. The form of the tree is what gives the tree its meaning, structure,

and unity and thus distinguishes it from other physical beings that may have properties similar to it. With regard to the form, Ibn Sina defines the

| 533

physical body as a “substance whose form is such [as we described with three dimensions], by which it is what it is” (1960, Vol. 1, p. 23). In this particu-

lar sense, matter and form have a metaphysical function in Greek and Islamic philosophy. The Greek philosophers disagreed on the nature and qualities of the stuff of the universe but they were unanimous on one fundamental issue: Despite the seemingly infinite diversity of the physical world, there must be an underlying substance common to all things by which they are made. This common substance is what we call matter. The Greeks gave different names to this stuff, some calling it fire, some air, and some atom, i.e., “the smallest parts beyond which no further division can be conceived.” Both Plato and Aristotle defined matter as potentiality, while they disagreed on what makes it actual. For Plato, it is the Form or Idea that gives amorphous matter its form. The Platonic Forms, or almuthul al-aflatiniyyah as the Muslim philosophers called it, supply the essence (mahiyah) of physical beings in the world of change and corruption. Since physical entities receive their meaning from the Platonic Forms, their true knowledge can be gained not by investigating their corporeal, ever-changing, and decaying qualities but by trying to perceive their nonmaterial, unchanging, and enduring form or essence. For Plato and his Muslim followers, matter is infinitely inferior to the world of the Forms because it is pure potentiality, cannot subsist by itself, and is in need of an actual form to become something real and meaningful. Aristotle accepts Plato’ basic insight into the

potential and amorphous nature of matter but further develops what is called hylomorphism, one of the most enduring conceptual frameworks of the history of philosophy. According to this, everything in the world is composed of matter (hyle) and form (morpho). While the matter is the substance or the

stuff common to all existents, the form is what gives them a specific shape and structure. This

534

| MATTER AND FORM

explains why there are both unity and difference in the universe. Aristotle's hylomorphism is closely related to the framework of actuality and potentiality that he introduced to overcome the famous Greek controversy over change (Heraclitus) versus permanence (Parmenides). This controversy had caused a stalemate in Greek metaphysics because the mutually exclusive propositions of “infinite change” versus “absolute permanence” made it impossible to account for change and continuity in nature. By introducing the categories of potentiality and actuality, Aristotle was able to show that certain things could change (“move”) because they were potential and others were permanent because they were already actualized. Muslim philosophers accepted Aristotle's hylomorphism as a starting point of their natural philosophy but expanded on it in several directions. While Aristotle considered the universe and its basic stuff to be eternal, Muslim thinkers worked with a metaphysics of creation and its core premise that the world has been created by an intelligent agent. The idea of creation and beginning in time preempts any notion of eternal and absolute matter. Instead of assuming an infinite series of causes, the

metaphysics of creation places the world of matter and form in a descending order of ontological generation and temporal origination. Matter thus becomes one of the instruments of God’s creative power. Both matter and form are ontologically contingent and dependent on an outside agent. The definition of matter (mdaddah) as “potenti-

ality” and “capacity” suggests that a physical being is ready to receive a specific form to become a specific entity. This commonly accepted definition by

itself underlies the unitary structure of matter and form but also their ontological contingency. AlKindi defines the hyle as “potentiality, the subject that carries the form, and it is acted upon [i.e., a passive substance]” (al- Asam, 1983, p. 191). He de-

fines the form (al-stirah) as “that by which some-

thing becomes what it is.” Al-Khwarizmi includes

“the physical body” (jism) in his definition: “The hyle is every physical body that carries the form [attached to it]...and refers to the body of the

highest spheres and everything that they contain from the spheres and stars to the four elements and what is composed by them.” He defines the form as “the structure and shape of a thing, by which the hyle is formed. The two form the physical body” (al-Khwarizmi, 2003, p. 136).

Al-Ghazali notes that as capacity, matter is not a thing or stuff but an ability by which a thing receives certain properties and becomes something concrete. For instance, the seed is the matter of the tree and the tree is its form. By the same token, the tree is the matter of the fruit and the fruit is its form (al-'Asam, 1983, p. 291). The hylic intellect

(al-‘aql al-hayulani), also called the “potential intellect” (al-‘aql bil-quwwah) and “material intellect” (al-'aql al-mdaddi), refers to this meaning of

capacity and potentiality. In his Risalah fi'l-‘aql, alFarabi explains how the intellect moves from the level of the potential to the actual (al-‘aql bil-fil), the acquired (al-‘aq! al-mustafad), and finally the active intellect (al-‘aql al-fa’ al). The correspondence between the ontological order of things and the intellective structure of the mind is a leitmotif of Islamic philosophy and underlies the extent of the use of the hyle as capacity and potentiality in both natural philosophy and epistemology. Ikhwan al-Safa’ introduces four types of matter as hyle. The first is hayula al-sind’ah, which refers to the making of things by using material objects and substances such as the use of wood for making furniture and earth and water for constructing buildings. The second is hayula al-tabi’iyyah, the natural hyle, and it corresponds to the four elements of air, water, fire, and earth. Everything in the sublunar world is made up of this type of matter. The third is hayula al-kull, the universal hyle, and it refers to “the general body of which the entire universe is made.” This is the most fundamental stuff by which everything in the world

MATTER AND FORM

of creation is made. The fourth is hayula ila, materia prima, which is “a simple substance, intelligible [to the mind] and which cannot be perceived by the senses, It is thus simply the form of existence (strat al-wujiid), i.e., the ipseity (huwiyyah) [of things]” (Ikhwan al-Safa’, 2008, Vol. 2, pp. 6-7). Each of these four types of prime matter corresponds to a specific level of existence in the universe and combines the physical-corporeal and metaphysical meanings of prime matter. Abu Bakr al-Razi cites primary matter among his five eternal principles by which the universe is made possible (the other four principles are God, the soul, dahr or absolute time, and emptiness or absolute space), He equates primary matter with atoms, which he defines as having dimension. Thus, every physical being with a dimension is the result of the various compositions and configurations of atoms. What makes these eternal atoms is the prime matter, which itself is also eternal (al-Razi, 1982, pp. 195-197).

As pure potentiality, matter is beyond senseperception and any particular physical property. Since matter is a capacity attached to a particular being and function, it cannot exist by itself. It exists only with a form that gives it its shape, constitution, unity, integrity, and eventually meaning. In response to the objection that the hyle is a composite substance by itself, Ibn Sina says that “the fact that the hyle is a substance and that it is hyle in actuality does not mean anything other than the fact that it is

a substance capable [of a particular function]. The fact that the hyle is a substance by itself does not make it one of the things in actuality but rather prepares it to become a being in actuality through a [specific] form’ (1960, Vol. 1, pp. 27-28).

Matter is indeterminate and general, whereas form is determinate and specific. This entails the idea that what gives particular beings their specific function and structure is their form. Matter remains an amorphous substance, a capacity to become anything when united with a form.

| 535

The hierarchical relationship between matter

and form on the one hand, and matter and spirit on the other, is underscored by the hierarchical relationship between potentiality and actuality. What is potential denotes deficiency because it has room for change, improvement, actualization, etc. What is actual is more perfect because it corresponds to a fuller state of being. Since matter is pure potentiality, it is metaphysically lower than form, which is always actual. According to a well-established Aristotelian principle, that which is potential can be actualized only by an agent that is already actual. In this regard, what makes matter matter is not any particular physical or corporeal quality such as hardness or air but its form. Al-Farabi thus says that “the more deficient of the two existents [of matter and form] is existence in matter and the more perfect of its two existents is the form” (1985,

p. 110). Following this principle, al-Farabi establishes the onto-cosmological hierarchy of beings as follows: The order of these existents is such that the lower is placed before the higher followed by what is higher than this until we reach the highest beyond which there is nothing higher and more excellent. The lowest of [these beings] is the common primary matter; the elements are superior to it; then come the minerals, then the plants, then the animals and then the rational animal. There is nothing more perfect and higher [in this category of material existents] than the rational animal. (1985, p. 112)

We should point out that the distinction between matter and form arises in the mind, Though a useful tool to analyze physical beings, it remains a conceptual construction and thus cannot repre-

sent the reality of things as they are. As Mulla Sadra warns, the philosopher must keep this in mind. Otherwise, we end up creating a dualistic view of reality represented by matter on the one hand, and form on the other. In the extra-mental

536 | MATTER AND FORM

world, beings are unitary and integral and do not allow any fissure as to their constitution as well as their function. Most kalam thinkers adopted a critical attitude toward the notion of hyle on the grounds that it assumes an eternal substance besides God and thus undermines God’s absolute unity and uniqueness. It also weakens the concept of creatio ex nihilo as developed by the kalam tradition. Even though philosophers defined the hyle as pure potentiality to which God may give His command to create something, theologians rejected this explanation, asserting that God does not need a potential being or principle with which to create anything. Shahristani, for instance, provides a useful summary of the views of “the people of the prime matter” (ashab al-hayula) and groups their views into two broad categories: those who define prime matter as one of the constituent elements of the universe such as the intellect and the soul, and those who define it as potentiality that exists only with a form (1964, pp. 163-165). Instead, kalam

thinkers have usually accepted atomism as the primary explanatory model for the universe and thus avoided philosophical hylomorphism altogether. BIBLIOGRAPHY al-‘Asam, ‘Abd al-Amir. al-Mustalahh al-falsafi ‘inda

al-‘Arab. Baghdad: Maktabat al-Fikr al-'Arabi, 1983. al-Farabi, Abii Nasr. On the Perfect State. Edited and

translated by Richard Walzer, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985. From the Arabic Mabadi ara’ ahl al-madina al-fadila.

Ibn Sina. Shifa’: al-ilahiyyat. Vols. 1 and 2. Edited by G. Anawati, M. Y. Moussa, S$. Dunya, and S. Zayed.

Cairo: ‘al-Hay’ah ‘al-‘ammah li-shu'tin ‘al-matatbi' ‘al-'amiriyah, 1960. Ikhwan al-Safa’. Ras@il Ikhwan al-Safa’ wa-Khillan al-Wafa’. Beirut: Dar Sadir, 2008.

al-Khwarizmi.

Mafatih

al-‘ulim.

Cairo:

al-Hayat

al-“Amma li-Qusiir al- Thag@fa, 2003.

Mulla

Sadra Shirazi.

Majmiah-i

rasqil-i falsafi-i

Sadr al-Muta allihin. Edited by Hamid Naji Isfahani. Tehran: Intisharat-i Hikmat, 1996. Originally published in 1375 AH.

al-Razi, Abi Bakr. al-Rasd@il al-falsafiyyah. Beirut: Lajnah Ihya al-Turath al-Arabiyyah al-Jadidah, 1982. Edition originally published in 1939. Shahrastani, ‘Abd al-Karim. Kitab Nihayat al-iqdam frilm al-kalam. Baghdad: Maktabat al-Muthanna, 1964. IBRAHIM KALIN

MATuRIDI

AND

MATURIDISM

Abi

Mansur ibn Muhammad Maturidi was born, as his name suggests, in Maturid, near Samarkand, in

what is today Uzbekistan. He may have been born around 861 CE and died in 944 cE. Not much is

known of his life, but we do know that this period in Samarkand was one of great intellectual diversity between the different theological and philosophical groups then current. He was brought up within the Hanafi tradition and continued to develop it, and his school of the Maturidiyah became the largest and most intellectually active of the Hanafi legal schools. The clarity and forcefulness of his writing is often credited with having helped project the Hanafi school of law into prominence, and also with having successfully promoted Ash‘arism throughout the Islamic world. His prominence within the Turkish cultural milieu contributed to his role as the most significant legal and theological thinker within the Ottoman Empire, and consequently in the large number of countries that the empire would eventually include. His main work is his Kitab al-tawhid (Book of Unity), where he lays down his working principles, based as they are on not blindly accepting tradition, but using a variety of information as sources of knowledge, what we are told happened, the evidence of our senses, and our reason. AlMaturidi argues that what we see around us provides evidence that the world was created by a divine being, and reason leads to the conclusion that He, unlike His creation, must be eternal. He cannot have a body nor be limited by space and time, but how in that case are we to understand

MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

the sorts of qualities that we apply to God such as

size and action? Al-Maturidi says we do not know “how” (bi la kayfa). We have to accept what the Qur'an says about God sitting on a throne, but we cannot say how He does it. Faith is not based on knowledge or morality; it is just a matter of assent for Him. Like the Ash‘arites he suggests that although we can act as we wish, our actions are acquired (kasb) from God so they are really not entirely ours. Like the Mutazilites, he thinks those actions themselves are free; all that God determines are the actions we have available to us, and which of them we select is up to us. There is considerable controversy about how close he is to the Ash/arites. He is undoubtedly very closely aligned with them on most issues, but some have argued that he remains distinct from them. Al-Maturidi argues in his book that if we can will things to happen, then we must be free. A proof of free choice is the fact that we actually experience it, in that we are aware within our own self of alternatives and the experience of choosing among them. This makes him sound like a Mutazilite thinker, but on the contrary he accepts with their enemies that those alternatives are actually given to us from without, ultimately from God. We are not entirely free to choose anything at all, but realize that only a few things can be chosen. If the Mu'tazilites were right in their characterization of the views of their opponents on free will, and the Ash‘arites really argued in favor of determinism, then only one action would be feasible, given the existing preconditions. This

is very different from our experience of action, though, where a whole range of alternatives offer themselves to us. We should accept that this variety is closely linked with what the deity has made possible for us. There seems to be more scope for human freedom here than is generally found in the Ash‘arite doctrine of kasb, so al-Maturidi can be seen as trying to find a middle position between these two theological schools as far as human ac-

| 537

tion goes. Modern thinkers, especially those from Turkey, often hail al-Maturidi as a moderate influence in Islam, and in particular in Islamic law, and as such representative of Islam as a whole and its orientation toward the middle between extremes. It should be pointed out that in the rest of the book al-Maturidi is far more closely aligned directly to Ash‘arism than to any other theological doctrine. On the other hand, there seems good evidence for thinking that the Ash‘arite school became so prevalent because of its reformulation by al-Maturidi, especially given the significance that the latter gave to reason. He argued that the world and the people in it all have a variety of different features, but there is an underlying pattern to what exists, because it is divinely organized, and we are capable to a degree of understanding that pattern, and what it is made up of, through observing and thinking about the world. This very basic idea is really the principle on which the kalam, Islamic theology, rests, and was to lead to its considerable growth over the succeeding periods of Islamic cultural history. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ceric, Mustafa. Roots of Synthetic Theology in Islam: A Study of the Theology of Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, 1995.

Maturidi, al-. Kitab al-tawhid. Edited by Fathalla Kholeif. Beirut: Dar al-Machregq, 1970.

Pessagno, J. M. “Irada, ikhtiyar, qudra, kasb: The View of Aba Manstr Muhammad Maturidi.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 104, no. 1 (January March 1984): 177-191.

Watt, W. Montgomery. The Formative Period ofIslamic Thought. Oxford: Oneworld, 2002. OLIVER LEAMAN

MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

The

achievements of mechanical engineers in the Islamic world have been classified into two different categories, depending on whether they were

538 | MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

utilitarian machines, with civil applications, or were designed for the sake of exploring technical innovations, amusement, or aesthetic pleasure.

Civil Engineering. One of the essential concerns in medieval civil engineering was related to the supply of water, in both rural and urban areas. A variety of classical water-rising machines have remained in use throughout the Muslim world until the present day. One of the simplest and most successful of these machines is the shaduf, consisting of a long wooden pole suspended at a fulcrum toa wooden beam supported by columns: A bucket suspended to the long arm of the lever is lowered into the water by the operator and raised by the action of a counterweight placed at the other end. The tympanum or drum had two disks made of timber and was fixed to an axle supported on two columns; the space between the disks was divided into eight segments by wooden boards; the perimeter was also closed, leaving a slot in each segment to receive water; and a circular hole to each segment was cut around the axle in one face of the drum. As the drum was rotated, the water was scooped from the source and discharged into a channel. The main use of the tympanum in the Muslim world seems to have been in de-watering mines. The water-snail or “Archimedean screw,’ which is a wooden spiral blade fitting a wooden case, also served the purpose of raising water in Muslim countries until recent days. The saqiya, a quite complex machine consisting of over two hundred components and powered by animals harnessed to a draw-bar that moves a pair of gear-wheels driving a chain of pots, was introduced on the Iberian Peninsula by Muslims and taken to the New World by Christian engineers. The noria, a wide wheel of timber outfitted with paddles, was in everyday use in medieval Islam wherever conditions were appropriate and, like the sagiya, is still functioning in many places.

Although most of the machines in this field date back to Antiquity, engineers in the Islamic world did not limit themselves to preserving the techniques of their predecessors. One of the most

important works on engineering from any cul-

turally developed area before the Renaissance, the treatise on machines completed by al-Jazari in 1206 in Diyar Bakr, includes a chapter on five water-raising machines. One of these is a waterdriven sdqiya, and three of the others are modifications of this type of machine, intended to improve the output of the traditional version with components of importance in the development of machine technology. One of them suggests the concept of minimizing intermittent working and another represents the earliest evidence we have for a crank used as part of a machine. However,

the fifth machine, which is an innovative waterdriven twin-cylinder pump, is the most significant. Hill offers the following description of it: A paddle wheel is mounted on a horizontal axle over a running stream, with a gear-wheel mounted on the other end of the axle. This meshes with a horizontal gear-wheel installed in a large triangular wooden box which is mounted over a pond supplied from the stream. On the face of the second gear-wheel, near the outside, is a peg which enters a slot-rod pivoted at one corner of the box. The connecting rods were

fixed to the sides of the slot-rod by staple-andring fittings. On the end of each connecting rod was a piston, consisting of two copper discs with a space of about 6 cm between them, the space filled by coiling hempen cord until the gap was filled. The cylinders, made of copper, were provided with suction and delivery pipes, all provided with non-return clack-valves. The two delivery pipes were joined together above the machine to form a single delivery pipe, which discharged the water at a height of about 14 m above the level of the stream.... The important features embodied in this pump are the double-acting principle, the conversion of rotary into reciprocating motion, and the use of true suction pipes. (1996, pp. 776-777)

Echoes of the design of this machine may be found in the work of the sixteenth-century engineer Taqi al-Din, who describes a pump similar to

MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

al-Jazari’s and also a six-cylinder pump, equipped with one-way valves, pistons, and cams, which may have influenced later European machine technology. Interest in the supply of water to improve the standard of living led Muslim engineers to use this natural resource as a driven power for mills. There is plenty of evidence to show that the applications of water power for industrial uses, such as cornmilling, the production of paper and sugar, or sawing timber, were an essential part of economic life. Muslims used various methods for increasing the rate of flow of water that operated mills, in order to increase power and productivity. These methods included installing water-wheels between the piers of bridges, constructing dams to provide additional power, and exploring the use of shipmills and tidal mills at least a century before the first report of a similar application in Europe. Medieval Islamic civil engineers also played an important role in the transmission of techniques and scientific ideas to Europe. Muslim settlers in al-Andalus (in the Iberian Peninsula), some of them

from Syria, spread Eastern practices and devices that originated in Antiquity; they introduced Syrian administrative methods for irrigation, and built the largest systems along the river Guadalquivir and in Valencia. A widely used technique in al-Andalus was the gandt, a filtration gallery that transported water underground through an almost horizontal conduit. The method, of Persian origin, was also known to the Romans, but its widespread use on the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa derived from Muslims. One of these galleries, still in working order, provides water for the city of Madrid. Dams and canals built by the Romans were maintained, but parts of many systems that still irrigate the rice fields of Valencia and the fertile land around it were rebuilt during the tenth century. Among water-raising machines, both the animal-powered machines for supplying water to a single family and the large-scale water-driven machines were first introduced to Europe by Andalusian Muslims. Finally, theproduction of paper

| 539

in Jativa is one of the most remarkable examples of the introduction to Europe of the use of the power of water for industrial purposes.

Fine Technology. Devices such as water-clocks, or clepsydrae, toys, and automata generated an elegant and refined branch of technology concerned with delicate mechanisms and sophisticated controls, called fine technology. The machines themselves were fragile and have not survived, but literary sources give instructions for their design. Classical predecessors for this kind of technology may be traced to Greek writers such as Philo of Byzantium (end of third century BcE) and Hero of Alexandria (middle of first century CE), whose works were

known extensively by Muslim engineers. Eastern area. The earliest substantial reference for fine technology in the Islamic world is found in some works of the Banu Musa in the ninth century. The attention that these three brothers paid to mechanics is represented in their authorship of Qarastiin, on the theory of the balance with arms of unequal length; Book on the Description of the Instrument Which Sounds by Itself, on an automatic flute, with a section on musical theory; and Book on Mechanics (Kitab al-hiyal) attributed to Ahmad, which contains a description of mechanical and hydraulic devices and lamps. In fact, out of the one hundred instruments recorded in the Book on Mechanics, twenty are direct copies of devices described by Philo and Hero, but the work of the Banu Musa shows important advances on those of their Greek predecessors, especially in the mastery of physical media and in the use of automatic controls, which caused the machines to work almost without manual intervention. Eighty of the devices described in the treatise are “trick” vessels designed for the amusement or astonishment of onlookers; examples of these are a jar into which three different liquids can be poured in succession and then discharged in the same order, and vessels that replenish themselves whenever moderate quantities of liquid are re-

moved from them, but with a fail-safe mechanism

540

| MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

that prevents the replenishment if a large quantity is withdrawn in one action. Other instruments described in the treatise are a lamp that uses a feedback control mechanism for self-feeding the oil that is needed and for trimming its wick, and a series of five fountains in which the shape of its discharge varies at intervals. Another work that contains a lot of information on fine technology is the previously mentioned treatise on machines by al-Jazari (1206), which summa-

rizes the accumulated mechanical knowledge up to his time, with improvements devised by al-Jazari himself. The importance of the book lies not only in the machines, components. and ideas described in it—offering key ideas on water machinery that do not appear in any other known treatise—but also in the fact that al-Jazari composed the book with the declared intention of enabling later craftsmen to reconstruct his machines. Within the six categories into which it is divided, the work addresses clocks, trick vessels, liquid dispensers and phlebotomy-measuring instruments, fountains and musical automata, water-rising machines, and miscellaneous machines. As in the example of the twin-cylinder pump described in the prior section, for each of the fifty machines, the construction and assembly are scrupulously described, giving all the information needed to manufacture the machines as well as to understand their working, thus providing us with a wealth of information about the methods of mechanical engineers in the Islamic

Western area. The first reference in the Islamic world to a water-clock appeared in a poem by ‘Abbas ibn Firnas (d. 887), an Andalusian engineer

and poet. In the tenth century, the Cordovan mosque had a maneuverable pulpit that could be hidden when the sermon ended. In the twelfth century, al-Zuhri reported the existence of two curious clepsydrae that were built in Toledo and attributed to Ibn al-Zarqalluh (d. 1100), the most important

astronomer in al-Andalus. These devices served as a clock-calendar showing the hour and day of the lunar month, and were still working when Alfonso VI conquered the city in 1085. There are also records from the eleventh century of automated lutes and conveyor belts that linked the kitchen with a dining room so that drinks and meals could be served and the dishes returned to the kitchen after use, an artifice also known in Damascus. Besides these references scattered in geographical and historical works, there are two Andalusian texts that clearly deal with the matter. The first name that may be associated with this kind of technology is Ahmad or Muhammad Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi, an eleventh-century author who cannot be identified with total certainty. His only known work, entitled Book of Secrets about the Results of Thoughts (Kitab al-asrar fi nataij al afkar), is the most useful source of information available on Andalusian fine technology. The only extant copy of the Book of Secrets is one of the very few Arabic texts known to have been copied at the Toledan court of Alfonso X of Castile (1, 1252-1284), an indication of the king’s

world. We see for the first time in al-Jazari’s work

interest in this kind of engineering.

several concepts important for both design and construction: the lamination of timber to minimize warping, the static balancing of wheels, the use of wooden templates (a kind of pattern), the use of paper models to establish designs, the calibration of orifices, the grinding of the seats and plugs of valves together with emery powder to obtain a watertight fit, and the casting of metals in closed boxes with sand.

Al-Muradi states that the purpose of his book is to recover a science that was falling into disuse; in it, he presents thirty-one models. Numbers 1-5 are very large clocklike machines with moving automata but without precise timing. Models 6-20 and 27-30 are clocks that record the passage of seasonal hours, also with moving automata. Models 21-24 are moving war-machines in the form of towers, Models 25 and 26 are machines for

MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

| 541

raising water from wells, and Model 31 is presented as a universal sundial; this last model is an astronomical instrument rather than a mechanical one, but it serves as proof that the two fields were related. Unlike the delicate mechanisms described in Eastern Islamic treatises, al-Muradi’s machines are characterized by their size and power and by a number of important innovations. Unfortunately, the manuscript is partly obliterated; on average, about 40 percent of each page of the treatise is affected either by cuts and tears, or by dampness. In addition, the descriptions are short and ambiguous and are not improved by the crude illustrations that omit all drawings of human and animal figures. It is very difficult to glean the operative mechanisms from them. Although an edition and translation of the entire text, together with a sketchy digital reconstruction of al-Muradi’s ma-

center; from one end of the fulcrum a pan is suspended, and at the other there is a constant counterweight. When the pan is filled with water, the bar tilts, producing the movement of the automata. A valve at the bottom of the pan releases the water and permits the inverse movement. The other balance is particularly interesting. It has a pan suspended from each end of the oscillatory bar. A pipe with a valve automatically directs the flow of water to the pan in the highest position, obtaining the same kind of alternating movement as before. The innovation in this balance lies in the use of a tube partially filled with mercury that moves together with the bar and makes it possible to regulate the frequency of the oscillatory movement. Following its description by Vernet, Casals,

chines, has been published (Ibn Khalaf al-Muradi,

two copies in 1992 that are preserved, as of the early-twenty-first century, at the Museo Nacional de la Ciencia y de la Técnica in Madrid and the Institut fiir Geschichte der Arabisch-Islamischen

2008), an accurate study of the treatise is still needed. Nevertheless, some fundamental features

of the first five machines have been firmly established and allowed for a detailed reconstruction of the first machine and a complete description of the second. Each model is a water-powered machine with a series of mechanisms that cause the moving automata to perform a short dramatic sequence. The moving automata in the first machine are two young girls, four gazelles, three snakes, and a black man. When the action starts, the two girls come out of a pavilion, and the gazelles begin drinking. Immediately, the black man emerges from a well. After a while, snakes appear, and all the characters return to their original positions. This performance takes place on the cover of a box containing the mechanisms that generate the movements of each part. In this instrument, the mechanism for transforming the potential energy of water into a reciprocal motion transferred to the automata is the balance. There are three balances in the machine. Two of them consist of a bar with a fulcrum at its

and Villuendas

(1982-1983),

this machine

was

fully reconstructed by Eduard Ferrer, who built

Wissenschaften in Frankfurt. Models 2-5 are driven by water-wheels of various types, depending on the intensity and characteristics of the water flow. These water-wheels, like the wheels of hydraulic mills, are connected to an axle that transmits a rotary movement. All these machines are also based on alternating movements applied to the automata that act dif-

ferent scenes on the machines. Machine no. 2 contains a pair of symmetrical tracks, both representing the same scene: A horseman chases an infantryman who hides before being caught, and then the horseman returns to his original position. Number 3 shows a blind man and a dog, both of which also move backward and forward. In no. 4, two goats fight in a to-and-fro movement. The

action of no. 5 is a battle between two groups of soldiers, who first exit their respective castles and at the end return to them. In these models, continuous rotary movement

is transformed

into

542 | MECHANICS AND ENGINEERING

reciprocal motion by means of gear trains that combine segmental and epicyclical gears. Segmental gears have teeth on only part of their perimeter and, when meshing with another gear, permit the intermittent transmission of power. Epicyclical gears have a bar articulated on a point near the border of the rotating wheel, producing an alternate backward and forward linear movement. Al-Muradt’s text is the oldest record of this kind of invention used to transmit high torque. The other text that confirms the existence of an Andalusian tradition of fine technology was not written in Arabic. It is the last book of the Libros del Saber de Astronomia, compiled in Spanish in 1277, and contains the descriptions of five clocks.

The most interesting of these clocks had an astrolabe that made a complete revolution every twenty-four hours. It operated by means of a weight suspended from a rope coiled on an axle, and the velocity of movement was regulated with a flow of mercury through the compartments of a cylindrical wooden container. Later European versions of this clock replaced the mercury with water and were quite common in rural areas between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This mechanical tradition continued both in the Maghrib and in Europe. The possible influence of the Kitab al-asrar on the clocks described in the Alfonsine Libros del Saber de Astronomia has not been studied, but these creations, with the mechanisms and techniques they incorporated, obviously served as a basis for later technological development in Europe. Except for the mechanical escapement, all the techniques incorporated in the mechanical clock—the most important machine invented in the Middle Ages—existed in Andalusian clockwork.

Bani Misa ibn Shakir. Kitab al-hiyal: The Book of Ingenious Devices by the Banu (Sons of) Misa bin Shakir. Edited by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan. Aleppo, Syria: University of Aleppo, 1981. Casulleras, Josep. “El ultimo capitulo del Kitab al-asrar fi

nata iy al-afkar? In From Baghdad to Barcelona: Studies in the Islamic Exact Sciences in Honour ofProf. Juan Vernet, edited by Josep Casulleras, Vol. 2, pp. 613-653. Barcelona, Spain: University of Barcelona, 1996.

Dallal, Ahmad. “Science, Medicine and Technology.’ In The Oxford History of Islam, edited by John L. Esposito, chapter 4. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. See the section “Engineering and Technology,’ pp. 193-198. Glick, Thomas F, “Hydraulic Technology in al-Andalus.” In The Legacy of Muslim Spain, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi, pp. 974-986. New York and Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1992.

al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. “Mining and Metallurgy.” In The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Vol. 4: Science and Technology in Islam, Part 2: Technology and Applied Sciences, edited by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, Magbul Ahmed, and A. Z. Iskandar, pp. 85-87. Beirut, Lebanon: UNESCO, 2001. Hill, Donald R. The Book of Ingenious Devices. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Reidel, 1979.

Hill, Donald R. “Engineering” In Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by Rushdi Rashid and Régis Morelon, Vol. 3, pp. 751-795. New York and London: Routledge, 1996. See also an online version, ex-

panded by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan, at http://www.historyscience-technology.com/Articles/articles%2ou1.htm. Hill, Donald R. Islamic Science and Engineering. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993.

Hill, Donald R. “Mechanical Technology.’ In The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Vol. 4: Science and Tehnology in Islam, Part 2: Technology and Applied Sciences, edited by AhmadY. al-Hassan, Maqbul Ahmed, and A. Z. Iskandar, pp. 165-192. Beirut, Lebanon: UNESCO, 2001. al-Muradi, Ahmad Ibn Khalaf. The Book of Secrets in the Results of Ideas: Incredible Machines from 1000 Years Ago. Milan: Leonardo3, 2008. Vernet,

Juan, Casals,

R., and M.V.

Villuendas.

“El

capitulo primero del Kitab al-asrar finatd‘iy al-afkar? BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alfonso X of Castile. Libros del Saber de Astronomia del Rey D. Alfonso X de Castilla. Vol. 5. Edited by M. Rico y Sinobas, Madrid: Eusebio Aguado, 1867.

Awraq

5-6 (1982-1983):

7-18. Reprinted

in Juan

Vernet, De ‘Abd al-Rahman I a Isabel II, pp. 319-330. Barcelona, Spain: University of Barcelona, 1989. JOSEP CASULLERAS

Yi

eea cesse ‘EPS A

WaT

— al K

Qu BuO

, DES

a SS Ps

mG

An a

YSZ

ae Peeaese DE on