Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
SCRUTINIZING THE QUR'AN
APPENDIX
A List of Scholars in Medieval Muslim Civilization (700-1700)
a list of the “Universal Figures of Islamic Science”
Jabir ibn Hayyan (721-815). Latin: Geber. Alchemist. Author of works on logic, philosophy, medicine, occult sciences, physics, mechanics, “philosophy of nature,” etc.
Abu Yusuf Ya`qub ibn Ishaq al-Kindi (801-873). Latin: Alkindus. Philosopher-Scientist. Author of about 270 treatises on logic, philosophy, physics, mathematics, music, medicine and natural history.
Hunain ibn Ishaq (810-877). Latin: Joannitius. Physician. Christian. Translator of Greek and Syriac texts into Arabic. Author of works on astronomy, meteorology and philosophy.
Thabit ibn Qurrah (826 or 836-901). Astronomer. Translator. Member of Sabaens (religious sect). Author of works on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, number theory (and other branches of mathematics) and physics.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarazmi (d. 863). Mathematician. Scientist. Astronomer. Geographer. Author of Algebra (al-Jabr wa’l-muqabalah). Introduced Indian numbers to Muslim world, which numbers became known in Europe as “Arabic” numbers. The word algorism (now spelled “algorithm”) is the latinization of his name.
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (865-925). Latin: Rhazes. Clinical physician. Author of at least 184 works on philosophy, ethics, alchemy, as well as medicine. His Treatise on Smallpox and Measles, his masterpiece, was read in European medical circles until the modern period.
Abu Nasr al-Farabi (870-950). Latin: Alpharabius. Philosopher. Called the “Second Teacher” (after Aristotle, who was considered the “First Teacher”) for his complete classification of the sciences. Wrote the first great Muslim commentaries on Aristotle, at least 35 works on logic, and several independent works on physics, mathematics, ethics and political philosophy (at least 70 works, altogether).
Abu’l-Hasan al-Mas`udi (d. 956). Historian. Scientist. World traveler (including journeys through Persia, Central Asia, India, the Near East, and reportedly through the China Sea and to Madagascar). Author of works covering the fields of history, geography, geology, natural history, philosophy and theology.
Abu `Ali al-Husain ibn Sina (980-1037). Latin: Avicenna. Philosopher. Scientist. Physician. Author of 250 works. His best known work is the Canon of Medicine, translated into Latin and taught for centuries in European universities, and one of the most frequently printed scientific texts in the Renaissance. Major influence on Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Roger Bacon.
List of Scholars continued Selected Bibliography
List of English Words Derived from Arabic