The Contribution Of Muslim Scholars To The Development Of Modern Science: With Focus On Al-Majriti (28)
By Nurudeen Dauda
Today marks the “TWENTY – EIGHTH” in the series of my write ups on the contributions of muslim scholars to the development of modern science. It remains a challenge to the muslims the world over that despite the contributions of the early muslim scholars to the development of modern science their names are hardly mentioned.
HIS BIOGRAPHY:
His full name is Maslama al-Majriti or Abu al-Qasim al-Qurtubi al-Majriti. He was born in Madrid in the present day Spain which is also known as an Al- Andalus in the Arab world. The name Al-Majriti is derived from Madrid. He was born in about the year 950 CE and Died 1007 (aged 57) in Cordoba, Caliphate of Cordoba Andalusia, Spain. He is known in the western world as Methilem. He was a muslim Astronomer , s Chemist, a Mathematician , an Economist and a great scholar in Islamic Spain.
HIS CONTRIBUTIONS:
Al-Majriti took part in the translation of
Ptolemy’s Planispherium, improved existing translations of the Almagest , introduced and improved the astronomical tables of al-Khwarizmi , aided historians by working out tables to convert Persian dates to Hijri years , and introduced the techniques of surveying and
triangulation. Al-Majriti was one of the earliest Alchemists to record the usage and experimentation of mercuric oxide .
According to Sa’id ibn Ahmad Andalusi he was the best mathematician and astronomer of his time (in Al-Andalus). He also introduced new surveying methods by working closely with his colleague Ibn al-Saffar .He also wrote a book on taxation and the economy of Al-Andalus. Al-Majriti also predicted a futuristic process of scientific interchange and the advent of networks for scientific communication. He built a school of Astronomy and Mathematics and marked the beginning of organized scientific research in Al-Andalus .
Among his students were Ibn al-Saffar , Abu al-Salt and Al-Tartushi . Al-Majriti established a school in Cordova where he introduced the study of science, especially mathematics and alchemy – school where figures such as the historian Ibn Khuldun and physician al-Zahravi were to study later. Al-Majriti was responsible for spreading the Epistles of the brethren of Purity, an encyclopaedia of knowledge with a Pythagorean tinge, which had just become popular in the East, in Andalusia.
Al‐Majriṭi was considered by his Andalusian contemporaries as the foremost authority of his time in the field of astronomy. He traveled as a young man to Cordova, the capital of the Umayyad caliphate, where he studied and worked until his death. His achievements are mainly in the field of mathematical astronomy, although it is known that he wrote on commercial arithmetic ( mu’amalat ) and was also a renowned astrologer. Historians have at times misattributed to Majriti works on magic and alchemy.
Al-Majriti attended classes of many scholars there including Abu Ayyub ibn ` Abd al- Ghafir and Abu Bakr ibn abi ` Isa . The former , being one of Cordova ’s earliest scientists proficient in numerical sciences , is credited with authoring the highly classified book of al-Fara ’ id . The latter, who traces his ancestry to a Prophet ’s companion , was a very able mathematician , geometer, and astronomer , also the author of the famous book al-Sab ` (the sevens) . In addition , he was a very able orator , grammarian , and a linguist ; some reports certified that he commanded good knowledge of practical chemistry .
May Almighty Allah guide us!
(Reviewed but originally written 2/6/2017)
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