Preface

The publication of this book in its Arabic, English and French editions, falls within the framework of the efforts exerted by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in order to highlight the contributions of the Islamic civilisation, in its various aspects, to the enrichment of human civilisation in general, and in the fields of science in particular. These contributions constituted the foundations and basis of the scientific renaissance that appeared and thrived in the West, as was confirmed by distinguished European and American authors and historians who worked on the history of science through centuries.

This book, which the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation presents to readers in all regions of the Islamic world and in other regions in the East and the West, is the most complete reference that presents concise and thorough biographies of the leading founders of scientific thought in Islamic civilisation. These illustrious figures contributed to the progress of the whole humanity and set up the foundations of the scientific advancement that was achieved in Europe in the 19th century and continued in the 20th century, reaching unprecedented advancement and prosperity at this dawn of the third millennium.

Professor Halima Ghirari has been successful in shedding light on 40 outstanding and distinguished Muslim scholars who flourished in different ages and had various interests and contributions in all fields of science, yet were all inspired and guided by Islam’s call to the quest of knowledge and mastery of sciences. They were the fruit of and sought inspiration in the Islamic civilisation in which they grew up. They can be considered, in this respect, as the founders of today’s civilisation. Their biographies deserve to be read and they should be followed as examples of scientific and cultural creativity in all fields.

In his “Introduction to the History of Science”, George Sarton classified scientific activity throughout history into epochs, each of which lasting half a century. He named each epoch by the name of a leading scholar. From 750 to 1100 (350 years), all the epochs had names of scholars from the Islamic world: Jabir, al-Khawarizmi, al-Razi, al-Masoudi, Abu al-Wafa, al-Biruni, Omar al-Khayyam. They were all Muslim scholars, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, and Persians who mastered chemistry, mathematics, medicine, geography, natural science and astronomy. Since 1100, and for 250 years, European scholars intermingled with Muslim scholars, such as Ibn Rochd, al-Tussi and Ibn Nafis. At that time, modern European civilisation started to flourish and the Islamic scientific works were translated, studied and improved; this endeavour is still in process. The biographies of all these scholars are presented in this book. This fact is stated and confirmed by the Arab Muslim scientist settled in Germany, Dr. Mohamed Mansur, who was chosen among the 2000 personalities who contributed to human civilisation in the previous century, in a selection realised at the initiative of prestigious Cambridge university.

We have decided to publish this book in a medium-size form to present these 40 scholars with a view to allowing a wide range of readers from all ages to have access to it. This effort comes within the framework of the lofty mission. ISESCO endeavours to achieve, i.e. disseminating facts about the Islamic civilisation and culture, showing their specificities and foundations and recalling their rich contribution to humanity’s progress and prosperity.

May God grant crown our efforts with success and guide us to what is best for our Islamic Ummah and for the whole humanity.

Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri
Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO)