| Seeking knowledge is
obligatory in Islam for every Muslim, man and woman. The main sources of
Islam, the Qur'an and the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad's traditions),
encourage Muslims to seek knowledge and be scholars, since this is the
best way for people to know Allah (God), to appreciate His wondrous
creations and be thankful for them. Muslims were therefore eager to seek
knowledge, both religious and secular, and within a few years of
Muhammad's mission, a great civilization sprang up and flourished. The
outcome is shown in the spread of Islamic universities; Al-Zaytunah in
Tunis, and Al-Azhar in Cairo go back more than 1,000 years and are the
oldest existing universities in the world. Indeed, they were the models
for the first European universities, such as Bologna, Heidelberg, and the
Sorbonne. Even the familiar academic cap and gown originated at Al-Azhar
University.
Muslims made great advances in many
different fields, such as geography, physics, chemistry, mathematics,
medicine, pharmacology, architecture, linguistics and astronomy. Algebra
and the Arabic numerals were introduced to the world by Muslim scholars.
The astrolabe, the quadrant, and other navigational devices and maps were
developed by Muslim scholars and played an important role in world
progress, most notably in Europe's age of exploration.
Muslim scholars studied the ancient
civilations from Greece and Rome to China and India. The works of
Aristotle, Ptolemy, Euclid and others were translated into Arabic. Muslim
scholars and scientists then added their own creative ideas, discoveries
and inventions, and finally transmitted this new knowledge to Europe,
leading directly to the Rennaissance. Many scientific and medical
treatises, having been translated into Latin, were standard text and
reference books as late as the 17th and 18th centuries.
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