Islam did not create math, but it significantly contributed to its development through scholars such as Al-Khwarizmi, who introduced algebra and the concept of algorithms.
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Islam did not create math, but it significantly contributed to its development through scholars such as Al-Khwarizmi, who introduced algebra and the concept of algorithms. In fact, according to National Geographic, “much of what is known today about algebra, trigonometry, and other advanced mathematical concepts comes from Muslim scholars.” Additionally, the Islamic world played a key role in preserving and translating the works of Greek mathematicians such as Euclid and Pythagoras.
Here are some interesting facts about the Islamic contributions to math:
- The word “algorithm” comes from the name Al-Khwarizmi (sometimes spelled Al-Khwarizm), who was a Persian mathematician and scholar in the Islamic Golden Age.
- Al-Khwarizmi’s book “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing” helped to establish algebraic concepts such as quadratic equations and roots.
- The Arabic numeral system (which includes the concept of zero) was adopted by the Islamic world and eventually spread throughout Europe, replacing the Roman numeral system.
- Muslim scholars also made significant strides in geometry, with notable contributions from figures such as al-Jazari and Abu al-Wafa.
- According to the International Mathematical Union, the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat “was one of the most significant mathematicians of the seventeenth century, and one of the founders of the modern theory of numbers.” However, much of his work relied heavily on the mathematics of Islamic scholars.
- In his book “The Story of Mathematics,” author Ian Stewart writes: “The Islamic world gave birth to some of the greatest mathematicians in history, as well as key concepts that underpin much of mathematics today.”
Here is a table summarizing some Islamic contributions to math:
| Scholar/Concept | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Al-Khwarizmi | Introduced algebra and the concept of algorithms |
| Arabic numeral system | Adopted by the Islamic world and spread throughout Europe |
| al-Jazari | Made significant contributions to geometry |
| Abu al-Wafa | Made significant contributions to geometry |
| Islamic scholars | Preserved and translated the works of Greek mathematicians such as Euclid and Pythagoras |
As the famous Muslim philosopher Avicenna once said, “There is no doubt that mathematics is the queen of the sciences.” The role of Islam in the development of mathematics cannot be overstated.
Video response to your question
The word “algorithm” stems from the name of a Persian mathematician and scholar, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. Al-Khwarizmi was a director in the House of Wisdom and made significant contributions to mathematics, astronomy, geography, and cartography. He introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to the West and contributed to maths by showing how complex problems could be broken down into simpler parts and solved. This paved the way for the computer age, as the principles of algorithms became the foundation for modern computing.
Other responses to your inquiry
Muslim mathematicians invented the present arithmetical decimal system and the fundamental operations connected with it – addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to a power, and extracting the square root and the cubic root.
Muslims made significant contributions to mathematics during the 7th to the 13th century, which is considered the golden age of Muslim learning. They invented the present arithmetical decimal system and the fundamental operations connected with it, including the concept of ‘zero’. They also invented algebra, made significant advances in the field of trigonometry, and fused the best of Greek mathematics with important Hindu and Persian concepts to create a mathematical structure that was far grander than what they had inherited. However, it is important to note that Muslims did not invent mathematics, which is an ancient discipline that has been around for thousands of years.
The 7th to the 13th century was the golden age of Muslim learning. In mathematics they contributed and invented the present arithmetical decimal system and the fundamental operations connected with it: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, and extracting the root. They also introduced the ‘zero’ concept to the world.
Specifically, they invented the algebra that most learn in school today, made significant advances in the field of trigonometry, and helped form a synthesis of mathematical ideas, fusing the best of Greek mathematics with important Hindu and Persian concepts to create a mathematical structure that was far grander than what they had inherited.
No, Muslims did not invent mathematics. Maths is an ancient discipline that has been around for thousands of years, long before Islam and the Islamic world came about.
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…
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Also to know is, What type of math was invented by Muslims? While Europe endured its “Dark Ages,” the Middle East preserved and expanded the arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, and astronomy from the ancient Greek philosophers, such as Euclid. The most important contribution may be the invention of algebra, which originated in Baghdad in the House of Wisdom (bayt al-hikma).
Additionally, Did math come from Islam?
Islamic contributions to mathematics began around ad 825, when the Baghdad mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī wrote his famous treatise al-Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa’l-muqābala (translated into Latin in the 12th century as Algebra et Almucabal, from which the modern term algebra is derived).
Was algebra invented by Islam? The response is: 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.
Did Islam invent calculus?
Answer: The 10th Century Persian mathematician Muhammad Al-Karaji worked to extend algebra still further, freeing it from its geometrical heritage, and introduced the theory of algebraic calculus.
Keeping this in view, When did Islamic mathematics start?
Answer: Islamic contributions to mathematics began around ad 825, when the Baghdad mathematician Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī wrote his famous treatise al-Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa’l-muqābala (translated into Latin in the 12th century as Algebra et Almucabal, from which the modern term algebra is derived).
Herein, Is philosophy of mathematics an independent discipline in the medieval Islamic world?
The answer is: Putting these scattered engagements together, it becomes clear that although philosophy of mathematics has never been treated as an independent discipline in the medieval Islamic world, Muslim thinkers came up with very interesting and profound ideas, insights, and arguments about at least some philosophical issues related to mathematics.
One may also ask, What arithmetic system did Islam use?
The third system was Indian arithmetic, whose basic numeral forms, complete with the zero, eastern Islam took over from the Hindus. (Different forms of the numerals, whose origins are not entirely clear, were used in western Islam.)
Beside this, Who wrote ‘episodes in mathematics of medieval Islam’?
As a response to this: Review: Hogendijk, Jan P.; Berggren, J. L. (1989). "Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam by J. Lennart Berggren". Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 109 (4): 697–698. doi: 10.2307/604119. JSTOR 604119.
How did the Islamic empire contribute to mathematics?
Response: The Islamic Empire established across Persia, the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, Iberia and parts of India from the 8th Century onwards made significant contributions towards mathematics. They were able to draw on and fuse together the mathematical developments of both Greece and India.
Also Know, Is philosophy of mathematics an independent discipline in the medieval Islamic world? Putting these scattered engagements together, it becomes clear that although philosophy of mathematics has never been treated as an independent discipline in the medieval Islamic world, Muslim thinkers came up with very interesting and profound ideas, insights, and arguments about at least some philosophical issues related to mathematics.
Secondly, What arithmetic system did Islam use?
Response to this: The third system was Indian arithmetic, whose basic numeral forms, complete with the zero, eastern Islam took over from the Hindus. (Different forms of the numerals, whose origins are not entirely clear, were used in western Islam.)
Also asked, Who wrote ‘episodes in mathematics of medieval Islam’? Review: Hogendijk, Jan P.; Berggren, J. L. (1989). "Episodes in the Mathematics of Medieval Islam by J. Lennart Berggren". Journal of the American Oriental Society. American Oriental Society. 109 (4): 697–698. doi: 10.2307/604119. JSTOR 604119.