Yes, algebra as we know it today was developed by Islamic mathematicians in the medieval era.
Complete answer
Yes, algebra as we know it today was developed by Islamic mathematicians in the medieval era. According to some historians, the word “algebra” comes from the Arabic word “al-jabr,” which means “reunion of broken parts.”
Islamic mathematicians such as Al-Khwarizmi, Al-Karaji, and Al-Khazin made notable contributions to the development of algebra in the 9th century A.D. Al-Khwarizmi, commonly known as the father of algebra, wrote a book titled “Kitab al-Mukhtasar fi Hisab al-Jabr wa’l-Muqabala,” which was translated into Latin in the 12th century and became a significant influence on European algebra.
In the words of Leonard Dickson, a prominent American mathematician, “The history of Algebra, properly so called, is that of the successive efforts made by men of different times in attempting to extend the field of numerical computation by the use of letters to represent known or unknown quantities.”
Here are some interesting facts on the topic:
- The study of algebra was not strictly confined to Islamic mathematics but was also cultivated in India and China during the medieval era.
- The Persian mathematician Al-Karaji introduced the concept of odd and even numbers in algebraic equations.
- The German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was the first European to use the word “algebra” in a modern sense.
- The French mathematician Francois Viète (1540-1603) was one of the first to use letters to denote unknown quantities in algebraic equations.
Here is a table showing some of the significant contributions made by Islamic mathematicians:
| Name | Country | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Khwarizmi | Persia/Iran | Formulated the basics of algebra and introduced the concept of algorithms |
| Al-Karaji | Persia/Iran | Established the binomial theorem and formulated the concept of odd and even |
| Al-Khazin | Persia/Iran | Contributed to cubic and quadratic equations, and the relationship of numbers |
| Omar Khayyam | Persia/Iran | Solved third-degree equations, worked on the parallel axiom, and astronomy |
| Al-Tusi | Persia/Iran | Solved algebraic, trigonometric, and geometric problems |
| Al-Kindi | Iraq | Introduced the concept of imaginary numbers, and solved fourth-degree equations |
In conclusion, yes, algebra did come from Islam, and it was developed by brilliant minds that greatly influenced the mathematics we know today.
Related video
The video discusses the life and contributions of Muhammad IBN Musa al-Qarzami, a Persian mathematician who oversaw the translation of major Greek and Indian math and astronomy works into Arabic, and created an original work that greatly influenced Muslim and European mathematics. Al-Qarzami’s most important contribution was algebra, which introduced the fundamental algebraic method of reduction, completion, and balancing. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being grateful to Allah and encourages viewers to make remembering Allah a habit. The video ends with a request to like and share it with friends and family.
Other answers to your question
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a 9th-century Muslim mathematician and astronomer. He is known as the “father of algebra”, a word derived from the title of his book, Kitab al-Jabr. His pioneering work offered practical answers for land distribution, rules on inheritance and distributing salaries.
Algebra was not invented by Islam, but by a Persian scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. His name was Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, and he is considered the founder of algebra. He is also known as the father of algebra, along with the Greek mathematician Diophantus. He was a Muslim, and he contributed to the development of the modern number system.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, a Persian scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad was the founder of algebra, is along with the Greek mathematician Diophantus, known as the father of algebra.
Muslims Invented Algebra & Created the Modern Number System We have all heard of the various famous Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras (Pythagorean Theorem), Euclid ( Euclidean Geometry) or Archimedes who are giants in their field, but who has heard of the name Al-Khwarizmi, the master mathematician from the Muslim world?
No.
There’s a long history of algebra which you could easily look up on Wikipedia, as you would do if you were genuinely interested in the truth about this question. History of algebra – Wikipedia [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_algebra ]
Bits and pieces of what we now call “algebra” were around for thousands of years before Islam. A Muslim scholar codified much of this and gave it the name which we transliterate as “algebra,” so he should rightly be given much credit in the long history of this discipline. “The word “algebra” is derived from the Arabic [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language ] word الجبر al-jabr, and this comes from the treatise written in the year 830 by the medieval Persian mathematician, Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_Musa_al-Khwarizmi ], whose Arabic title, Kitāb al-muḫtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-ğabr wa-l-muqābala [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Compendious_Book_on_Calculation_by_Completion_and_Balancing…