The Golden Age of Islam

The Scientific and Philosophical Contributions of Muslims in the Golden Age of Islam: How Did Europe Benefit?

The period of history known as the Golden Age of Islamic Civilization—the period from the 8th to the 13th centuries—was a unique period of scientific and intellectual awakening not only for the Muslim world but for all of humanity. Although this period is commonly referred to in the West as the “Middle Ages” or “Dark Ages,” the Muslim world was at the dawn of a knowledge-based, research-based, and human-welfare-oriented civilization. The Muslim thinkers, physicians, mathematicians, philosophers, astronomers, and engineers of this Golden Age sowed the seeds of discoveries and ideas that later laid the foundation for the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution in Europe. Sadly, these contributions have been largely forgotten or misrepresented in historical scholarship today.

From the beginning of Islam, the Quran and Hadith have encouraged Muslims to pursue knowledge. “Read in the name of your Lord” (Surah Al-Alaq) — The revolution that began with this verse pointed not only to the liberation of the soul, but also to the intellectual excellence of man. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself said, “The acquisition of knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim man and woman.” This statement is a call not only to religious knowledge, but also to the study of all sciences, including nature, medicine, astronomy, geography.

As the Caliphate expanded, Muslim rulers knew that in order to build a well-organized and strong society, not only religion but also the practice of science was essential. Therefore, in the Abbasid era (especially during the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Ma’mun), the famous Bayt al-Hikmah or “House of Wisdom” was built—a combined university, library, and research center. Here, numerous philosophical and scientific works from Indian, Persian, Greek, Syriac and Coptic languages ​​were translated. The work of this translation was not only translation, but also critical reading, explanation, correction and addition of new theories. As a result, a vast Islamic knowledge base was developed—which later became the center of attraction for European intellectuals.

The mathematician Al-Khwarizmi was the originator of the word 'Algorithm'. He laid the foundation of modern algebra. His work Al-Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi Hisab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala is the foundation stone not only of mathematics, but also of modern accounting, economics and engineering. The Europeans distorted his name and added it to their mathematics by making it "Algorizm". However, the original source was the thinking of Islamic civilization.

Al-Haytham, known as the 'father of physics', laid the foundation for modern optics by explaining visual perception. His works, especially the Kitab al-Manazir, were widely translated in Europe. Later Newton and Descartes were influenced by his theories, but Al-Haytham's name is now almost lost to Western history.

In medicine, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was a textbook in European medical schools for more than ten centuries with his book Al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine). He was not only a physician, but also a philosopher. His philosophy combined Greek thought with Islamic philosophy—which had a direct influence on the thinking of Thomas Aquinas and other Christian philosophers.

Averroes, an Arab philosopher and jurist, was at the center of the European "Averroist movement". His work on Aristotle became a new source of knowledge for Latin Christian philosophers. His treatises were read in European universities for centuries.

In astronomy, the observations and calculations made by al-Battani, al-Zarkali, and al-Farghani later formed the basis for Copernicus's 'heliocentric' model. Astronomy was used not only for religious purposes, but also for navigation, agriculture, and timekeeping. Muslims were able to calculate the circumference of the Earth with great accuracy. Al-Biruni did such high-quality work on geology and geography that it later became the basis for European 'geography'.

Islamic civilization was not just a repository of information; it was a continuous process of building knowledge. While Europe was burning in the fires of the Inquisition, Muslims saw no conflict between religion and science. Rather, science was a form of faith—a means of understanding and recognizing God’s creation.

But the question is, how did this vast scientific tradition enter Europe? One of the main channels was Andalusia, or Muslim Spain. The cities of Cordoba, Granada, and Seville were among the centers of knowledge in Europe—where Muslim, Christian, and Jewish scholars studied and researched together. Many European students and philosophers returned from these cities to gain knowledge and start the Renaissance. In addition, Sicily, the looting of books during the Crusades, the translation movement, and later contact with the Ottomans—all of these also served as a way to bring Islamic knowledge to Europe.

But unfortunately, most of these contributions are now narrowed down, even denied, in Western historiography. The best period of Islamic civilization is often glossed over, as if Muslims had only religious thoughts. However, the reality was different: they contributed to every pillar of human civilization, including science, art, literature, music, and architecture.