The Re-emergence of Islamic Enlightenment — Page 21
ISLAMIC PRINCIPLES ON EDUCATION & SERVING HUMANITY 21 physician Al-Zahrawi in the 10 th Century. In the 17 th century, an English physician, William Harvey famously carried out what was considered as ground-breaking research regarding blood circulation and the functioning of the heart. However, it was later discovered that more than 400 years before Harvey’s research, Ibn Nafees, an Arab physician, had already detailed the basics of pulmonary circulation in an Arabic textbook. In the 9 th century, Jabir ibn Hayyan brought about a revolution in the field of chemistry. He transformed what had previously been unscientific alchemy into true chemistry. He invented many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today, such as crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidation and evaporation. Similarly, in the field of mathematics, Muslims played a vital role in advancing the knowledge of humans. The principles of Algebra were first developed by a Muslim, as was much of the theory of Trigonometry. In the modern world, algorithms are the basis of modern computing technology and they too were first developed by Muslims. The contribution of Muslims to intellectual enlightenment has been recognised by UNESCO and by well- known Western researchers and journalists. For example, a New York Times article, published by their Science Reporter, Dennis Overbye, mentions the role of the Muslim polymath Al-Tusi. The author states: