Muslim Scientists JMuhammad Ibn Musa Alkkhawarizmi & Al Kindi

MuHammad ibn Musa alKhwarizmi

            Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer and a scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He was born in Persia of that time around 780. He was librarian at the court of Caliph Mamun and astronomer at the Baghdad observatory and contributes to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography. He developed the concept of the algorithm in mathematics (which is a reason for his being called the grandfather of computer science by some people). Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra is regarded as the foundation and cornerstone of the sciences. To al-Khwarizmi we owe the world “algebra,” from the title of his greatest mathematical work, Hisab al-Jabr wa-al-Muqabala which was twice translated into Latin. His systematic approach to solving linear and quadratic equations led to algebra, a word derived from the title of his 830 book on the subject Algebra. His Al-Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fi ḥisab al-jabr wa-l-muqabala (Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing) presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations in Arabic. The book was written with the encouragement of the Caliph al-Ma'mun as a popular work on calculation and is replete with examples and applications to a wide range of problems in trade, surveying and legal inheritance. Arithmetic Al-Khwarizmis Zij al-Sind hind astronomical tables of Sind and Hind is a second major work consisting of approximately 37 chapters on calendrical and astronomical calculations and 116 tables with calendrical, astronomical and astrological data, as well as a table of sine values. The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. This book also contains tables for the trigonometric functions of sine and cosine. In Renaissance Europe, he was considered the original inventor of algebra, although it is now known that his work is based on older Indian or Greek sources. Latin translations of his work on the Indian numerals introduced the decimal positional number system to the Western world. He also wrote on astronomy and astrology. He was died in 850 AD.

al Kindi

(Abu Yusuf Yaʻqub ibn Ishaq al Kindi)

            He was born in kofa in 801AD and educated in Basra and Baghdad. He was a philosopher, mathematician, physicist, astronomer, physician, geographer and even an expert in music. It is surprising that he made original contributions to all of these fields. On account of his work he became known as the philosopher of the Arabs. Al-Kindi was the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers, and is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy" for his synthesis, adaptation and promotion of Greek and Hellenistic philosophy in the Muslim world. He was the first translators of the works of Aristotle in Arabic. He is a writer of more than 270 works including philosophy, astronomy, medicine, mathematics, and optics. In astronomy Al-Kindi took his view of the solar system from Ptolemy, who placed the Earth at the centre of a series of concentric spheres, in which the known heavenly bodies (the Moon, Mercury, and Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and the stars) are embedded. In one of his treatises on the subject, he says that these bodies are rational entities, whose circular motion is in obedience to and worship of God. 

            As an advanced chemist, he was also an opponent of alchemy; he opposed the idea that base metals can be converted to precious metals. In contrast to prevailing alchemical views, he was emphatic that chemical reactions cannot bring about the transformation of elements. He is sometimes credited as one of the first distillers of alcohol. In physics, he made rich contributions to geometrical optics and wrote a book on it which later on provided guidance and inspiration to such eminent scientists as Roger Bacon. In mathematics, he wrote four books on the number system and laid the foundation of a large part of modern arithmetic. In medicine, his chief contribution comprises the fact that he was the first to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all the drugs known at his time. This resolved the conflicting views prevailing among physicians on the dosage that caused difficulties in writing recipes

            Al-Kindi was the first great theoretician of music in the Arab-Islamic world. He is known to have written fifteen treatises on music theory, but only five have survived. Al-Kindi's influence on development of science and philosophy was significant in the revival of sciences in that period. In the Middle Ages, Cardano considered him as one of the twelve greatest minds. His works, in fact, lead to further development of various subjects for centuries, notably physics, mathematics, medicine and music. He was died in 873 AD.