THE EMERGENCE OF SCIENCE
In the history of Europe, the period from the sixth to the tenth century A.D. is known as the Dark Ages. This is a period when Europe was far from being civilized. “For Europe it was a period of intellectual darkness and barbarity.”
The term ‘Dark Ages’ was applicable, however, only to Europe; when Europe was enveloped in the murk of the Dark Ages, the light of civilization shone brightly through-out the world of Islam. As Bertrand Russell puts it in his History of Western Philosophy, “From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam flourished.”
This Islamic civilization, which entered Europe via Sicily and Spain, exerted a strong influence there, so much so that students from Western Europe started coming to receive their education in the Islamic universities of Spain. Many from the Muslim world likewise went to Europe. When Europeans realised that the Muslims had gone far ahead of them in education, they began to render books written by Muslim scholars into Latin. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says: “Most of the classical literature that spurred the European Renaissance was obtained from translations of Arabic manuscripts in Muslim libraries.”
In modern times, a large number of scholars, for instance, Gustav Liban, Robert Briffault, J.M. Robert, Montgomery Watt, and so on, have clearly acknowledged that it was the investigations and discoveries of the Arabs that paved the way for modern science in Europe. It would be correct to say that this is a universally known fact. The only point on which we must differ is that the event recorded as ‘Muslim history’ should come under the heading of ‘Islamic history.’ An event thus attributed to a people should have been attributed rather to God.
SOME EXAMPLES
In ancient times certain things were considered holy according to the polytheistic set of beliefs then prevalent. This mentality had closed the door to independent thinking on the subject of natural phenomena. Then came the revolution brought about by monotheism. For the first time in human history, this produced the right atmosphere for freedom of enquiry. All things then began to be studied without any hesitation. The monotheistic revolution thus founded the very first original basis for scientific thinking along systematic lines. Scientific research had, of course, been carried out prior to this, but, due to the unfavourable atmosphere, it had not been welcomed with approval or recognition. Without this, no further advances could be made in this sphere.
Galileo (d. 1442) is generally considered to be the inventor of the telescope. But the truth is that, long before his time, Abu Ishaq ibn Jundub (d. 767) had already made observations of the heavens. He had devised certain rules for observing distant objects and, in accordance with those rules, he had invented a telescopic instrument. It was this initial telescope which was further developed by Galileo, and which was the actual forerunner of the now highly perfected electric telescope of modern times.
The basis of modern science is observation. But, in ancient times, several kinds of superstitious beliefs barred the way to such activity. Jabir ibn Hayyan (d. 817), however, understanding the importance of observation, used findings based thereon in his scientific studies, the written accounts of which were transmitted to Europe in translations. Thinking went on developing along these lines until it formed the basis for experimental science as it is known today.
The first person in history to advance the theory of inertia in material bodies was Ali Hasan ibn al-Haysam (d. 1021). This discovery reached Europe, where scholars subjected it to further scrutiny. It was formulated much later, as Newton’s law of motion, namely, that everybody continues in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, except in so far as it is compelled by external forces to change that state. Then again it was ibn Haysam who originally discovered that the path taken by a ray of light or other wave motion in traversing the distance between any two points is such that the time taken is a minimum. This discovery later became known as Fermat’s principle of least time.
