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List Of Arab Scientists And Scholars




This is a list of scientists and scholars associated with the Arab World and Islamic Spain ( Al-Andalus ) that lived from antiquity up until the beginning of the modern age. In some cases, their exact ancestry in unclear. They may have emigrated or immigrated, and thus may appear in other "Lists of...", but nevertheless their names and work are somehow linked to the words "Arab", and "Arabic".


Notice:
  • Both the Arabic and Latin names are given.

  • The following arabic articles are not used for indexing:

  • ---''Al'' - the

  • ---''ibn'', ''bin'', ''banu'' - son of

  • ---''abu'' - father of, the one with

  • When entering new names: to make the list overlookable and easy to navigate please try to follow the Entries Format for the List of Arab scientists and scholars .




A

  • Abbas Ibn Firnas ''(810, Spain, Córdoba - 887 CE, Spain, Córdoba)''

  • Humanitarian, technologist, and chemist. He was the first man in history to make a scientific attempt at flying. Ibn Firnas Airport to the north of Baghdad is named after him.








  • Armen Firman ''(c. 830, Córdoba, Spain - ?, Spain )''

  • He made one of the earliest examples of a Parachute .




  • Al-Asmai ''(739, Basra, Iraq - 831, Basra, Iraq)''

  • Considered as the first Muslim scientist who contributed to Zoology , Botany and Animal Husbandry . His famous writings include ''Kitab al-Ibil'', ''Kitab al-Khalil'', ''Kitab al-Wuhush'', ''Kitab al-Sha'', and ''Kitab Khalq al-Insan''. The last book on human anatomy demonstrates his considerable knowledge and expertise on the subject.









B


  • Al-Baghdadi ''(980, Baghdad, Iraq - 1037, ? )''

  • He wrote about different systems of arithmetic in a work of great importance in the history of mathematics.




  • Al-Banna ''(1256, Marrakesh, Morocco - 1321, Marrakesh, Morocco)''

  • He wrote a large number of works including an introduction to Euclid's Elements, an algebra text and various works on astronomy.


  • Al-Baqilani ''(?, Basra, Iraq - 1013, Basra,Iraq)''

  • Muslim theologian. He introduced the conceptions of Atoms and Vacuum into the Kalam . He extended atomism to time and motion, conveiving then as essentially discontinuous. Once when he entered the court of the Roman Emperor while he was among his Christian monks and priests, he mockingly said to one of the priests: "How are you? How are your family and children?" to illustrate a point.


  • Al-Battani ''(850, Harran, Turkey - 929, Qasr al-Jiss, Iraq)

  • His best-known achievement was the determination of the solar year as being 365 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 24 seconds.

He was able to correct some of Ptolemy 's results and compiled new tables of the Sun and Moon , long accepted as authoritative, discovered the movement of the Sun's Apogee , treats the division of the celestial sphere, and introduces, probably independently of the 5th Century India n astronomer Aryabhata , the use of Sine s in calculation, and partially that of Tangent s, forming the basis of modern Trigonometry . His most important work is the Kitāb al-zīğ (Arabic: كتاب الزيج "the book of tables ).

  • Ibn Battutah ''(February 24, 1304, Tangier, Morocco - 1368 or 1377, Morocco) ''

  • A famous explorer, he began exploring areas in present day southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in 1325 when he was 21 years old. He ventured over land and sea for 22 years, traveling to 44 modern countries, and covering 75,000 miles. Battutah recorded his travels in the Rihla, and was an early and extensive contributor to the field of geography.



C



D


  • Ibn Duraid ''(837, Basra, Iraq - 934, Baghdad,Iraq)''

  • He was a Geographer , Genealogist , Poet , and Philologist . He wrote a large Arabic dictionary, "The Collection on the Language". He also wrote on the genealogy of the Arab tribes.



E



F





G

  • Geber

  • See Jabir ibn Hayyan or Jabir ibn Aflah.



H


  • Ibn Al-Haitham ''(965, Basra, Iraq - 1040, Cairo, Egypt)''

  • One of the most eminent physicists, whose contributions to optics and the scientific methods are outstanding.


  • Al-Hamdani ''(894, Yemen - 945, Sanaa,Yemen)''

  • Was a geographer, poet, grammarian, historian, and astronomer, who was one of the best representative of Islamic culture during the last effective years of the Abbasid caliphate.



I


  • Ibrahim Ibn Sinan ''(908, Baghdad, Iraq - 946, Baghdad, Iraq)''

  • The son of Sinan Ibn Thabit . Was a mathematician and astronomer who studied geometry and in particular tangents to circles. He also made advances in the theory of integration.


  • Al-Idrisi ''(1099, Ceuta, Spain - 1266 CE, Sicily) ''

  • Considered the greatest geographer and cartographer of the middle Ages. Al-Idrisi constructed a world globe map of 400 kg pure silver and precisely recorded on it the seven continents with trade routes, lakes and rivers, major cities, and plains and mountains. His world maps were used in Europa for centuries to come. It is worth mentioning that Christopher Columbus used the world map which was originally taken from Al-Idrisi's work. He also contributed to the science of medicinal plants.



J


  • Jabir Ibn Aflah ''(1100, Seville, Spain - 1160, ? )

  • Astronomer and mathematician whose translated works in Latin influenced later European mathematicians.


  • Jabir Ibn Hayyan ''(ca.721, Tus, Iran – ca. 815, Kufa, Iraq)''

  • Considered father of chemistry. He emphasized systematic experimentation, and did much to free alchemy from superstition and turn it into a science.




  • Al-Jayyani ''(989, Cordoba, Spain - 1079, Jaen, Spain)''

  • He wrote important commentaries on Euclid's Elements and he wrote the first treatise on spherical trigonometry.



K


  • Abu Kamil ''(859, Egypt - 930, ?)''

  • He was one of Al-Khwarismi's successors and applied algebraic methods to geometric problems.


  • Al-Kindi ''(c.801 CE, Kufa, Iraq – 873, Bahgdad, Iraq)''

  • A gifted Mathematician, astronomer, physician and a geographer as well as a talented musician. He wrote the first treatise in Cryptography .




  • Al-Khalili ''( 1320, Damascus, Syria - 1380, Damascus, Syria)''

  • Was an astronomer who compiled extensive tables for astronomical use.



L



M


  • Al-Maghribi ''(1220, Spain - 1283, Maragha, Iran)''

  • He was famous for his work on trigonometry.


  • Mashallah ''(740 CE, Basra, Iraq - 815, Basra, Iraq)''

  • He was a Jewish astrologer and astronomer. He participated in the founding of Baghdad in 762 .




  • Al-Mawardi ''(972, Basra, Iraq - 1058, Iraq)''

  • He was one of the most famous thinkers in political science in the middle Ages. He was also a great sociologist, jurist, and mohaddith. He served as Chief Justice at Baghdad and as an ambassador of the Abbasid Caliph to several important and powerful Muslim states. Al-Mawardi made original contributions in political science and sociology. In these fields, he wrote three monumental works: Kitab Al-Ahkam Al-Sultania , Qanun Al-Wazarah , and Kitab Nasihat Al-Mulk . Al-Mawardi formulated the principles of political science. His books deal with duties of the Caliphs, the chief minister, the cabinet, and the responsibility of and relationship between the government and citizens. He has discussed the affairs of state in both peace and war. Kitab Aadab Al-Dunya Wa Al-Din was his another masterpiece in Ethics. He was the author and supporter of the Doctrine Of Necessity .


  • Banu Musa Brothers ''( ca. 800, Baghdad, Iraq - 873, Baghdad, Iraq)''

  • They supervised the translation of Greek scientific works into Arabic and helped to found the Arabic school of mathematics.



N


  • Ibn Al-Nadim

  • Was a Muslim Shi'ite scholar and bibliographer who is the famous author of Kitab Al-Fihrist , which is an index of all books written in Arabic by Arabs and non-Arabs.


  • Ibn Nafis ''(1213, Damascus, Syria - 1288, Cairo, Egypt)''

  • Was a physician who is mostly famous for being the first to describe the pulmonary circulation of the blood.



O



P



Q


  • Al-Qalasadi ''(1412, Baza, Spain - 1486, Beja, Tunisia)''

  • Mathematician who took the first steps toward the introduction of algebraic symbolism by using letters in place of numbers.



R


  • Ibn Rushd ''(1126, Cordoba, Spain – December 10, 1198, Marrakesh, Morocco)''

  • A master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. His school of philosophy is known as Averroism .



S


  • Al-Samawal ''(1130, Baghdad, Iraq - 1180, Maragha, Iran)''

  • Mathematician who was able to extend the arithmetic operations to handle polynomials. He used an early form of induction.





T


  • Thabit Ibn Qurra ''(836, Harran, Turkey - Baghdad,Iraq)''

  • Was an important Islamic mathematician who worked on number theory, astronomy and statics.


  • Ibn Tufail ''(c.1105, Guadix, Spain – 1185, Morocco)''

  • He served as a secretary for the ruler of Granada, and later as vizier and physician for Abu Yaqub Yusuf, ruler of Islamic Spain ( Al-Andalus ) under the Almohad dynasty. He was the author of Hayy Ibn Yaqthan (Arabic: حي بن يقظان ) a philosophical romance and allegorical tale of a man who lives alone on an island and who, without contact with other human beings, discovers the truth by reasonable thinking, and then his shock upon contact with human society's dogmatism and other ills.



U


  • Al-Umawi ''(1400, Spain - 1489, Damascus, Syria)''

  • Mathematician who wrote works on mensuration and arithmetic.


  • Al-Uqlidisi ''(920, Damascus, Syria - 980, Damascus, Syria) ''

  • Wrote two works on arithmetic. He amy have anticipated the invention of decimals.



V



W



X



Y


  • Ibn Yunus ''(950, Egypt - 1009, Fustat, Egypt)''

  • He was known for his astronomical observations and for his many trigonometrical and astronomical tables.



Z


  • Al-Zahrawi ''(936, Cordoba, Spain - 1013, Cordoba, Spain)''

  • Was Islam's greatest medieval surgeon, whose comprehensive medical texts, combining Middle Eastern and Greco-Roman classical teachings, shaped European surgical procedures until the Renaissance. He is considered the ''Father Of Surgery''. His greatest contribution to history is Al-Tasrif, a thirty-volume collection of medical practice.


  • Al-Zarqali ''(1028,Spain - 1087,? CE)''

  • He was a leading mathematician and the foremost astronomer of his time. He excelled at the construction of precision instruments for astronomical use. He constructed a flat astrolabe that was 'universal,' for it could be used at any latitude, and he built a water clock capable of determining the hours of the day and night and indicating the days of the lunar months. He was the first to prove conclusively the motion of the aphelion relative to the fixed background of the stars. He measured its rate of motion as 12.04 seconds per year, which is remarkably close to the modern calculation of 11.8 seconds. He also contributed to the famous Tables Of Toledo .


  • Ibn Zuhr ''(1091, Seville, Spain - 1161, Seville, Spain)''

  • Was one of the most prominent physicians, clinicians and parasitologist of the Middle Ages. He was the first to test different medicines on animals before using them with humans. Also, he was the first to describe in detail Scabies , the Itch Mite , and is thus regarded as the first Parasitologist . He was a practical man and disliked medical speculations. For that reason, he opposed the teachings of Ibn Sina .



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