Inventions and Discoveries from the Muslim World
Inventions and Discoveries from the Muslim World
By Adnaan Idrees
Have you ever noticed that all the books on science and technology somehow only seem to be filled with discoveries and inventions from the likes of Aristotle, Archimedes, Da Vinci and Thomas Edison... but what about the Muslims? Where are all our discoveries?
A period of a thousand years exists between these thinkers and when great Muslim men and women expressed their religiosity through contributions made to society and the sciences. So what were these contributions? And how many of these things are used today?
MEDICINE:
Masters of Ophthalmology: All the modern terms that your optician uses like conjunctiva, cornea, uvea and retina come from Muslim eye surgeons of the 10th to the 13th Century. They were conducting operations on diseases of the lids like trachoma, glaucoma or as they called it ‘the headache of the pupil’ back then but the greatest contribution they made to ophthalmology was developing a treatment for cataracts. Also known as al-ma’ nazul’ayn Ma’, which meant “the descending water onto the eye” (the water accumulating in the lens making it cloudy).
Al-Mawsili in the 10th Century Iraq designed a hollow needle and inserted it through the limbus to remove the cataract by suction. This very same procedure is carried out to this very day. From his study and practice he wrote a book called The Book of Choices in the Treatment of Eye Diseases. Not a very good name for a book but hey the man was a genius when it came to diseases of the eye as the book discusses 48 different diseases! The manuscript of this book can still be found to this very day, in the Escorial Library in Madrid, Spain.
Surgical instruments: The Muslim Surgeon named Abu Al Qasim Al-Zahrawi (10th century) known as Abulcasis in the West is truly the father of surgery. He devised over 200 instruments; his scalpels, bone saws, forceps and fine scissors amongst others are still used in their original form today! He is
By Adnaan Idrees
Have you ever noticed that all the books on science and technology somehow only seem to be filled with discoveries and inventions from the likes of Aristotle, Archimedes, Da Vinci and Thomas Edison... but what about the Muslims? Where are all our discoveries?
A period of a thousand years exists between these thinkers and when great Muslim men and women expressed their religiosity through contributions made to society and the sciences. So what were these contributions? And how many of these things are used today?
MEDICINE:
Masters of Ophthalmology: All the modern terms that your optician uses like conjunctiva, cornea, uvea and retina come from Muslim eye surgeons of the 10th to the 13th Century. They were conducting operations on diseases of the lids like trachoma, glaucoma or as they called it ‘the headache of the pupil’ back then but the greatest contribution they made to ophthalmology was developing a treatment for cataracts. Also known as al-ma’ nazul’ayn Ma’, which meant “the descending water onto the eye” (the water accumulating in the lens making it cloudy).
Al-Mawsili in the 10th Century Iraq designed a hollow needle and inserted it through the limbus to remove the cataract by suction. This very same procedure is carried out to this very day. From his study and practice he wrote a book called The Book of Choices in the Treatment of Eye Diseases. Not a very good name for a book but hey the man was a genius when it came to diseases of the eye as the book discusses 48 different diseases! The manuscript of this book can still be found to this very day, in the Escorial Library in Madrid, Spain.
Surgical instruments: The Muslim Surgeon named Abu Al Qasim Al-Zahrawi (10th century) known as Abulcasis in the West is truly the father of surgery. He devised over 200 instruments; his scalpels, bone saws, forceps and fine scissors amongst others are still used in their original form today! He is