Download Golden Age of Islam

Translation of Greek books:
Many Greek books had fallen into Arab hands through conquest. Once the Arabs had them, they needed to
translate the books into Arabic. Luckily, Islam attracted a large number of converts, among them many men
educated in Greek. However, since the Koran at that time was written only in Arabic, new converts had to learn
that tongue in order to read Islam's holy book. As a result, Islam's appeal created a number of brilliant
translators.
The Qu’ran itself encouraged the accumulation of knowledge, and a Golden Age of Islamic science and
mathematics flourished throughout the medieval period from the 9th to 15th Centuries. The House of Wisdom
was set up in Baghdad around 810, and work started almost immediately on translating the major Greek and
Indian mathematical and astronomy works into Arabic.
Funding largely came from the caliphs themselves. Caliph Ma'mun founded a palace learning center known as
the House of Wisdom where many of the most brilliant minds of the age were gathered to translate Greek
works and then add to this knowledge. The budget for the House of Wisdom was 500 gold dinars a month, with
fifty-seven translators working there at one point. The translator, Hunayn, was supposedly paid the weight of
his translated books in gold.
All this led to a level of scholarship that was unsurpassed in its day. Since books were hand written, and thus
prone to a growing number of mistakes as each generation of books was copied, the translators would gather as
many copies of a particular book as they could. They would then compare these texts to see which was
probably closest version to the original text. Just compiling such critical texts alone was one of Islam's greatest
legacies to us.
QUESTIONS:
- Why did new converts have to learn Arabic?
- What building was created in order to translate Greek work?
-Why do you think translating Greek books is an important legacy?
Mathematics
The Islamic Empire established across Persia, the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, Iberia and parts of India
from the 8th Century onwards made significant contributions towards mathematics. They were able to draw on
and fuse together the mathematical developments of both Greece and India.
One consequence of the Islamic prohibition on depicting the human form was the extensive use of complex
geometric patterns to decorate their buildings, raising mathematics to the form of an art. In fact, over time,
Muslim artists discovered all the different forms of symmetry that can be depicted on a 2-dimensional surface.
The outstanding Persian mathematician Muhammad Al-Khwarizmi was an early Director of the House of
Wisdom in the 9th Century, and one of the greatest of early Muslim mathematicians. Perhaps Al-Khwarizmi’s
most important contribution to mathematics was his strong advocacy of the Hindu numerical system (1 - 9 and
0), which he recognized as having the power and efficiency needed to revolutionize Islamic (and, later, Western)
mathematics, and which was soon adopted by the entire Islamic world, and later by Europe as well.
Al-Khwarizmi's other important contribution was algebra, and he introduced the fundamental algebraic
methods of “reduction” and “balancing” and provided an exhaustive account of solving polynomial equations up
to the second degree. In this way, he helped create the powerful abstract mathematical language still used
across the world today, and allowed a much more general way of analyzing problems other than just the specific
problems previously considered by the Indians and Chinese.
QUESTIONS:
- Which previous civilization did the Arabs admire and therefore use their numeric system?
- What do you see in the Arabic tessellation (pieces of art)?
- Since the human form was not allowed, how did the drawings of the Arabs increase the use of mathematics?
Please write this on your station page: * Algebra came from the Arabs. *
Language and Writing
The Arabs gave to a large part of the world not only a religion - Islam - but also a language and an alphabet.
Where the Muslim religion went, the Arabic language and Arabic writing also went. Arabic became and has
remained the national language - the mother tongue - of North Africa and all the Arab countries of the Middle
East.
Arabic is the language of Islam. It is the language of its prophet, Muhammad; the language in which the Holy
Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture, was revealed to him by God; the language of Muslims' worship; and the
language which binds Muslims of all times and places together in a single cohesive brotherhood.
Because of Muslims' profound respect and love for the Qur'an, the art of calligraphy was developed among
them from early times to a very high degree. Throughout the Muslim world, Qur'anic verses embellish mosques,
palaces and homes, businesses, and, in some places, public areas. Often the calligraphy is done in conjunction
with decorative motifs, lovingly embellishing what is most sacred and precious. Due to its peculiar character,
the Arabic script lends itself wonderfully to decorative use.
Arabic is read from right to left, with an alphabet of twenty-six letters, of which three are long vowels. Short
vowels are indicated by small symbols above or under the letters themselves.
Even where Arabic did not become the national language, it became the language of religion wherever Islam
became established, since the Quran is written in Arabic, the Profession of Faith is to be spoken in Arabic, and
five times daily the practicing Muslim must say his prayers in Arabic. Today, therefore, one can hear Arabic
spoken - at least for religious purposes - from Mauritania on the Atlantic, across Africa and most of Asia, and as
far east as Indonesia and the Philippines. Even in China (which has a Muslim population of some forty million)
and the Central Asian republics of the CIS (ex-USSR), Arabic can be heard in the shahadah, in prayer, and in the
chanting of the Quran.
QUESTIONS:
- Explain why Arabic writing and language spread.
- Explain why Arabic is important to Islam. (Use complete sentences.)
- Name 4 places where you could hear people speak Arabic today.
Photo: Cursive script on a section of gold-embroidered kiswah, the black cloth covering of the Ka'bah, which is
renewed each year at the time of the pilgrimage.
ART
Unlike the strong tradition of portraying the human figure in Christian art, Islamic art is often associated with the
arabesque style. Early Islam forbade the painting of human beings, including the Prophet, as Muslims believe
this tempts followers of the Prophet to idolatry. A prohibition against depicting representational images in
religious art, as well as the naturally decorative nature of Arabic script, led to the use of calligraphic decorations,
which usually involved repeating geometrical patterns that expressed ideals of order and nature. It was used on
religious architecture, carpets, and handwritten documents.
The "Word of God" was recorded on a book known as the Qur'an ("recitation"), which is a compilation of
Muhammad's revelations. To transcribe Muhammad's revelations, Arabic was adopted as the uniform script
wherever Islam spread, and the very act of transcribing the Qur'an became sacred. It is expressed in the ancient
Arabic proverb "Purity of writing is purity of the soul". To accomplish this holy duty, scribes developed Arabic
calligraphy, the art of writing, to an extraordinary degree. Calligraphers draw from the Qur'an or proverbs as art,
using the flowing Arabic language to express the beauty they perceived in the words of Muhammad.
As a result, Islamic art throughout history has been abstract and decorative, portraying geometric, floral,
arabesque, and calligraphic designs. Today we see the presence of Koranic Arabic, used for reading and prayer,
and for decoration, as the foremost characteristic of Islamic religious art, wherever it is found in the world and
among every race.
The Arabesque, one of aspects of Islamic art, usually found decorating the walls of mosques, is an elaborate
application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals. The choice of which
geometric forms are to be used and how they are to be formatted is based upon the Islamic view of the world.
To Muslims, these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material
world, they in fact symbolize the infinite, and therefore nature of the creation of the one God (Allah).
The artwork is at the same time mathematically precise, aesthetically pleasing, and symbolic.
QUESTIONS:
- Define calligraphy.
- Define arabesque
- Why don’t you see people in early Islamic art?
Extra Credit- Create an original image in arabesque style on the blank space of your paper.
Shari’a
Shari'a is an Arabic word meaning “path” or “way.” Today the term is used most commonly to mean “Islamic
law,” the detailed system of religious law developed by Muslim scholars in the first three centuries of Islam and
still in force among fundamentalists today.
Shari'a tries to describe in detail all possible human acts, dividing them into permitted (halal) and prohibited
(haram). It subdivides them into various degrees of good or evil such as obligatory, recommended, neutral,
objectionable or forbidden. This vast set of rules regulates all matters of devotional life, worship, ritual purity,
marriage and inheritance, criminal offenses, commerce and personal conduct. It also regulates the governing of
the Islamic state and its relations to non-Muslims within the state as well as to enemies outside the state.
Shari'a influences the behavior and worldview of most Muslims, even in secular states where it forms no part of
the law of the land.
Islam teaches that shari'a, as God’s revealed law, perfect and eternal, is binding on individuals, society and state
in all its details. By logical extension, any criticism of shari'a is heresy. Muslims who deny the validity of shari'a in
any way are labeled as non-Muslims (infidels) or apostates (those who convert to another religion) by
traditionalists and Islamists. As such, they face the threat of being prosecuted for apostasy, a crime that carries
the death penalty in shari'a.
Hudud punishments are the severe penalities prescribed by shari'a for offenses defined as being against God
himself. The punishments for these crimes are seen as divinely ordained and cannot be changed by humans.
These include 100 lashes or stoning to death as punishment for adultery; 80 lashes for false accusation of
adultery; amputation of limbs for theft; 40 or 80 lashes for drinking alcohol; imprisonment, amputation or death
(by crucifixion in serious cases) for highway robbery; and the death penalty for apostasy from Islam. Methods of
execution for apostasy can include decapitation, crucifixion, burning, strangling, drowning, impaling, and flaying.
Apostates are denied a decent burial after their deaths, and the Muslims who participate in killing them are
promised an eternal reward in paradise.
Questions
- What does Shari’a mean?
-Does Shari’a only apply to the religious aspect of one’s life?
- Name 3 things that Shari’a regulates
ARCHITECTURE
-What is the purpose of the architecture of Mosques?
- Why do Muslims pray towards Mecca rather than Jerusalem?
- What architecture is used to call people to worship? Describe it.
Golden Age of Islam
Islamic civilization experienced a golden age under the Abbassid Dynasty, which ruled from the mid 8th century
until the mid 13th century. Under the Abbassids, Islamic culture became a blending of Arab, Persian, Egyptian,
and European traditions. The result was an era of stunning intellectual and cultural achievements.
Literature
There were many different styles of Islamic literature. Most works were based on the Qur'an, but some Islamic
artists wrote poetry about the joys and sorrows of love. Also, stories from other cultures were adapted and
rewritten for Islamic civilization. The most famous collection is called The Thousand and One Nights, which is a
collection of tales that includes such well known stories as Aladdin and His Magic Lamp.
Medicine
Many advances were also made in the field of medicine. Physicians and pharmacists were
required to pass exams before treating patients. They set up hospitals that had separate areas
for trauma cases, this is the basis for today's emergency rooms. Physicians developed
treatments for cataracts, used a variety of herbal remedies, and were adept at treating a
variety of injuries. Islamic pharmacists were the first to mix sweet tasting syrups with medicine,
ensuring that they would be taken.
Ibn Sina, a famous Islamic physician, wrote a book called Canon on Medicine, which was an encyclopedia
of Greek, Arabic, and his own knowledge of medicine. This book became the standard medical text in Europe for
over five hundred years.
Law
Islam developed a system of law based on the Qur'an. This system was created to help people apply the Qur'an
to everyday life and situations. The book of laws, called the Sharia, regulates all aspects of life including, moral
behavior, family life, business dealings, and government.
Math & Science
Islamic scholars studied both Greek and Indian mathematics before making important contributions of their
own. The most well known Islamic mathematician was al-Khwarizimi, who pioneered the study of algebra. His
textbook on the subject became a standard in European universities for centuries.
Islamic scholars were also skilled in astronomy. They studied eclipses, the rotation of the planets, and calculated
the circumference of the earth to within a few thousand feet.
Economic Achievements
Under the Abbassids, a vast trading network was created which helped to spread religion, culture,
and technology among the different peoples of the empire. New business practices such as, partnerships,
the use of credit, and banks to exchange currency, were developed to handle the increase in trade. The
establishment of such vast trading networks made the many nations within the Islamic Empire very wealthy, and
helped to stimulate many of their cultural and intellectual achievements