Astronomical Accomplishments of the Muslims - Admission/Application Essay Example

Astronomical Accomplishments of the Muslims Astronomy serves as one of the oldest disciplines of the world, which seeks its roots in ancient Greek, Roman, Chinese, Egyptian and Indian civilizations. It simply refers to the scientific study of celestial bodies including the sun, the moon, planets, comets and stars etc as well as the bodies existing outside the earth at large. Though different nations and communities have rendered great services for the development of the discipline, yet the contributions made by the Muslims in the progress and discovery of various aspects of astronomy cannot be denied. The basic motive behind studying, analyzing and discovering more and more realities about celestial bodies was religious and cultural traits prevailing in the Muslim regions. The sacred Scripture of the Muslims i.e. the Holy Quran invites the attention and consideration of its followers in order to concentrate upon such heavenly bodies, which have not been created as futile objects; rather, they have depth of knowledge and mysteries in them. The Holy Quran says: “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are indeed messages for all who are endowed with insight. (3:190) Consequently, the Holy Prophet of Islam Hazrat Muhammad (peace and blessings of Almighty Allah be upon him and his noble family) always laid stress upon the people to seek knowledge from cradle to grave. Once the Holy Prophet recommended his followers to travel wide in order to seek knowledge, and even proceed to China, which was a distant place during 7th century with no apposite means of travelling and communications. The Holy Prophet’s first cousin and son-in-law i.e. Hazrat Ali Bin Abu Talib had great command over mathematics, astronomy, logic, jurisprudence, physics, history, medicine and geographical and biological sciences, and was quoted to submit that he had more knowledge of celestial ways even than the ways and routes of the earth. The future Muslim scholars and intellectuals sought his guidance in different fields of learning in practical form in the light of his noble sayings about the mysteries of universe. Middle Ages are unanimously called as the golden period of Muslim growth, during which the Muslims made magnificent advancements in science, art, logic. history and philosophy. The contributions of the Muslim scientists started from 9th century onward in the field of astronomy, when Muhammad Ibne al-Jabir Battani made corrections in the mistakes made by Ptolemy in the determination of solar and lunar days per year. It is Battani, who determined solar year as carrying 365 days, 5 hours and 46 minutes during the 9th century. Since then, the same calculation has been in vogue all over the globe. In addition, his wonderful work, under the title Zij also discusses various aspects of astronomy, particularly the Sabian tables, which served as the guiding star for the European scientists too in respect of their future researches in the area of astronomy. He also has imperative contributions in discovering the initial notions of trigonometry. His works were translated in Spanish and German languages, and remained part of European libraries for many decades. His successors including Al-Sufi and others added their input in the promotion of astronomical sciences. Al-Sufi witnessed motion of the sun i.e. duration of the solar year as well as solar eclipse and the reasons behind solar eclipse during the 10th century. He discusses the position of stars and examined their constellation and the structure and motion of galaxy. Another Arabian scientist named Moosa Al-Khwarizmi also wrote a noteworthy work on Astronomy under the title Kitab al-Jabr wal-Muqabala, which is considered as authority on Algebra and Geometry. Khwarizmi established astronomical tables, which were translated into Spanish and Latin languages. In that work, the Muslim astronomer has related the basics of astronomy in a precise way that determined the further developments in the same discipline. His work was also translated in Greek language, and was utilized by Greek, Indian and Chinese scholars too time and again. Abu Rehan Al-Beruni was the first astronomer to calculate the circumference of earth in the eleventh century, and gave the notion that earth revolves round its axis. He wrote over 130 books on astronomy. Being a religious scholar, he worked on scientifically fixing the direction of Makkah from all corners of the globe. It was really a tremendous achievement made by the Muslim astronomer during the middle Ages in the discipline of astronomy. The Abbasid rule over Baghdad certainly wide opened opportunities of research in the field of astronomy, and the researchers were patronized by the rulers. During that era, the astronomy flourished to a great extent in Muslim territories. Another astronomer of that era i.e. Al-Farghani also made his noteworthy input by establishing a worthwhile astrolabe in Baghdad, where he made wonderful improvements in geometrical instruments and research techniques. He wrote a comprehensive book on cosmography and interpreted the motion of stars. In addition, another Persian Muslim astronomer Abu Ali Sina alias as Avicenna has associated the link of the movement of earth with the motion of stars. He rendered great services in geological and astronomical sciences. He had his own lab, where he worked day and night to study the motion of stars through the latest equipments. Avicenna made several correct deductions from his observations. For example he observed Venus as a spot against the surface of the Sun and correctly deduced that Venus must be closer to the Earth than the Sun. Avicenna invented an instrument for observing the coordinates of a star. The instrument had two legs pivoted at one end; the lower leg rotated about a horizontal protractor, thus showing the azimuth, while the upper leg marked with a scale and having observing sights, was raised in the plane vertical to the lower leg to give the stars altitude. (Quoted in groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk) All that development revolutionized the stud of the subject, and turned out to be a beaconhouse for the future theorists and researchers. 12th century astronomer Jabir Ibne Alfah also enjoyed respectable place in the list of the Muslim astronomers. He wrote valuable commentary on Almagest, which was written by the astronomer of ancient Greece i.e. Ptolemy. Hence, Aflah interpreted the mathematical part of astronomy in a comprehensive way that helped the future astronomers in understanding the work produced in ancient Greece. Another poet, philosopher and scientist of the same era i.e. Omer Khayyam introduced several corrections in the Persian calendar on the basis of his research, which have been valid in Afghanistan and Iran for the last nine centuries. The Jalali calendar, introduced by Khayyam, has been proved as more accurate and valid than Gregorian calendar even. He also made a star map, which showed the motion and positions of stars in the sky. His star chart had been in vogue in astrology and astronomy for centuries. The Muslim history contains another bright name in the list of astronomer, i.e. Ibne Hayham alias as Alhazen in Europe. He made a detailed analysis of Ptolemy’s theoretical framework on astronomy, and nullified his idea regarding the condition, position and motion of the planets. With the help of his empirical observation he argued the very fact that certain celestial phenomenon is quite different from its appearance, and planets move round their axis. To conclude, it becomes evident that Muslim astrologers left indelible imprints of their knowledge and learning on the discipline of astronomy. It is therefore, their books had been part of the European syllabus for many decades. Muslim scientists conducted researches, articulated theories and wrote books during the era when Europe was leading the life of ignorance in the Dark Ages. It is therefore, the Muslims are declared as the pioneers of modern astronomy. REFERENCES: Abu Ali al-Husain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (Avicenna) Retrieved from http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Avicenna.html) Read More