Thus in the medical field scholars from the Islamic world...

Thus in the medical field scholars from the Islamic world had much to contribute both in terms of working with ancient knowledge and through the major developments of their own. Moreover, they verified their theories through careful observations in the hospitals that they had established. Chemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacy In chemistry, the works of Jaber ibn Haiyan and Al-Razi formed the basis of modern science.

Jaber, know as Geber in Latin, described in his works the preparation of many chemical substances: the sulphide of mercury, oxides and arsenic compounds. Al-Razi in his book Secret of Secrets know as Liber secretorum bubacaris, described the chemical processes and experiments he conducted. Hill (1993, p.83) has stated that Al-Razi’s book Secret of Secrets ‘foreshadows a laboratory manual’ it deals with substances, equipment and procedures.

Muslim chemists developed recipes for products that had industrial and military applications. The discovery of inorganic acids during chemical experiments had valuable industrial applications in the centuries that followed. In the fields of pharmacology and pharmacy Muslims made notable progress. These fields involved scientific investigation into the composition, dosages, uses and therapeutic effects of drugs.

Having translations of Dioscorides’ De Materis Medica, along with knowledge from Syria, Persia, India and the Far East, Muslim scholars and physicians showed great innovative skills. They developed the procedures for the manufacture of syrups and juleps, and established apothecary shops (Turner, 1995).

Ibn al-Baytar’s book Al-Jami‘fi al-Tibb (Collection of Simple Diets and Drugs) contained detailed records of the plants in the lands along the length of the Mediterranean coast between Spain and Syria. In addition, he systematically compared this knowledge with that of the scientists of previous eras. His book on botany was used until the Renaissance by Europeans.

Mathematical Sciences The mathematical sciences as practised in the Islamic world during this period consisted of mathematics, algebra, and geometry as well as mathematical geography, astronomy and optics. Muslims derived their theory of numbers (‘ilm al-a‘dad) in arithmetic from translations of the Greeks sources such as Books VΙΙ through to ΙX of Euclid’s Elements and the Introduction to the Science of Numbers by Nicomachus of Gerasa (Berggren, 1997).