History of Islamic science

More than any other object of historical and anthropological study, Islamicate occult science cuts to the quick of what it means to be modern, to be Western, to be scientific. Yet nowhere else are 19th-century colonialist metaphysics and materialist cosmology more firmly entrenched. The piecemeal, truncated study of “Magic in Islam” to date has thus of-ten been pursued in service of either scientistic or religionist agendas, whereby magic can only ever be failed science or apolitical religion, and Islam can never be the West; Islamic Magic as simply Western and often imperial Science-and-Religion is thereby utterly disappeared from historiographical purview. And even those Islamicist historians of science and historians of religion who eschew ideology in favor of rigorously empirical philology, the majority, have tended to favor outsider, polemical discourses over insider, practitioner ones, and “classical” sources over “postclassical,” resulting in bizarre historiographical distortions and the disenchanting sanitization of Islamicate societies past and present. This manifesto therefore proposes a way out of this dire epistemological and ethical bind. To re-store Islamic Magic to its rightful place in Western intellectual and cultural history, especially history of science, we must take far more seriously the panpsychist cosmology on which it is predicated, and realize that our own reflexive materialism commits us willynilly to a colonialist agenda that is, ironically, both antireligious and antiscientific.

The 1001 Inventions traveling exhibition (London, Istanbul, New York, Abu Dhabi, Los Angeles, and now Washington DC) displays a representative sample of popular myths about medieval science and technology in Muslim lands. A prominent example is its claims about human muscle-powered flight achieved through wings constructed by the 9th century Andalusian Ibn Firnas and the 17th century Ottoman Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi. These feats have very poor historical documentation, and a simple scaling argument shows the virtual physical impossibility of such achievements. Yet not only are beliefs about the flights of Ibn Firnas and Hezarfen common among Muslim populations today, they have been endorsed by the engineers and historians associated with the 1001 Inventions project. The myth of medieval Muslim flight serves as a case study illuminating how the history of science in Muslim lands has been fashioned into a narrative supporting present needs for technological modernization. This narrative, however, also supports a revival of medieval ways of thinking about nature, and is an obstacle to improving the poor state of natural science in Muslim-majority countries.

فبعض هذه الأمور إنما يجب عليه من جهة ما هُوَ طبيب أن يتصوره بالماهية فقط تصوراً علمياً، ويصدّق بهليته تصديقاً عَلَی أنه وضع له مقبول من صاحب الْعِلْم الطَّبِيعِيّ ، وبعضها يلزمه أن يبرهن عليه فى صناعته، فما كان من هذه كالمبادئ فيلزمه أن يتقلد هليتها، فإن مبادئ العلوم الْجُزْئِيَّة مسلمة وتتبرهن وتتبين فى علوم اُخَر أقدم منها، وهكذا حتّي يرتقي مبادئ العلوم كُلّها إلی الحكمة الأوْلی التي يقال لها علم ما بعد الطبيعة. وإذا شرع بعض المتطببين وأخذ يَتَكَلَّم فى إثبات العناصر والمزاج وما يتلو ذلك مما هُوَ موضوع الْعِلْم الطَّبِيعِيّ فإنه يغلط من حيث إنه يورد فى صناعة الطِّبِّ ما لَيْسَ من صناعة الطِّبِّ ويغلط من حيث يظن أنه يبيّن شيئاً ولا يَكُونُ قد بيّنه البتة .
و«جالينوس»، إذ حأوْل إقامة البرهان عَلَي  الْقِسْم الأوْل فلا يجب أن يحأوْل ذلك من جهة أنه طبيب ولكن من جهة أنه يحب  أن يَكُونَ فيلسوفاً يَتَكَلَّم فى الْعِلْم الطَّبِيعِيّ ، كما أن الفقيه إذا حاوْل أن يثبت صحة وجوب متابعة الإجماع فلَيْسَ ذلك له من جهة ما هُوَ فقيه، ولكن من جهة ما هُوَ متكلم ولكن الطبيب من جهة ما هُوَ طبيب والفقيه من جهة ما هُوَ فقيه لَيْسَ  يمكنه أن يبرهن عَلَي  ذاك بتة!  وإلا وقع الدَّوْر
القانون في الطب ابن سينا
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Recent work has shown that Islamicate philosophers engaged meaningfully with Ibn Sīnā's transformation of Aristotelian physics, particularly his new understanding of motion at an instant and his new category of positional motion. Although Ibn Sīnā considered medicine a derivative science of physics, little work has been done to determine the impact of the new Avicennan physics on medicine. In this paper, I shall examine the discussions on motion contained in the sections on pulse within seven medical commentaries produced between 1200 and 1520 CE. The examination will reveal that Ibn al-Nafīs's novel, non-Galenic application of the Avicennan category of * I would like to thank Asad Ahmed, Sonja Brentjes and the editors for their helpful comments and suggestions.

رجوع به احاديث در فهم آموزه‌های دين مبين اسلام، عملکردی همواره آشنا در فضای انديشه دينی است؛ از همان صدر اسلام، نه تنها عالمان مسلمان برای فهم ژرفای دين به سراغ احاديث می‌رفته‌اند، بلکه حتی برای تنظيم زندگی و آداب آن برای عامه مردم، در سطح گسترده‌ای از حديث استفاده می‌شده است. آنگاه که سخن از بهره‌برداری از احاديث در يک حوزه دانشی است، به طبع مبانی و روش‌های استناد به حديث و استفاده محتوايی از آن اهميت ويژه‌ای می‌يابد و ضرورت نگاه تخصصی به موضوع مطرح می‌شود. هم آنان که در گذشته به احاديث طبی به عنوان بخشی از تنظيم زندگی روزمره نگاه می‌کردند، در بهداشت و درمان به سمت حديث رفته‌اند و هم امروز که احاديث طبی در سطوح دانشگاهی مطرح می‌شود، ضرورت نگاه تخصصی، خود می‌نمايد.
در این اثر به مهمترین موضوعات مرتبط با مطالعات سلامت از منظر آموزه های اسلامی در قالب مجموعه مقالاتی پرداخته شده است.

İnsanoğlu, tarih boyunca kendisine bahşedilen akıl ve duyu organları ile doğayı anlama ve anlamlandırma çabası içerisinde olmuş, gördüğü olay ve olgulardan hareketle teoriler kurmayı ve yasalara ulaşmayı, bunu yaparken de bir takım teknik icatlarla yaşamını kolaylaştırıp daha konforlu bir hayat sürmeyi başarmıştır. Bilim adı verilen biriken, sürekli ilerleyen ve sadece insan özgü olan bu uğraşın tek bir tanımı olmasa da doğru düşünme ve sistematik bilgi edinme süreci olduğu konusunda genel bir yaklaşım söz konusudur.
Bilim üreten ve icat yapan (homo faber) bir varlık olan insan, doğadaki en zayıf ve güçsüz varlıklardan biri olmasına rağmen, bilim ve teknikle yaşamını bugüne kadar sürdürebilmiş, her geçen gün yeni buluşlarla ihtiyaçlarını daha rahat karşılamayı, güvenliğini, konforunu artırmayı ve geleceğini güvence altına almayı büyük oranda başarmıştır.
Bilimleri ilk defa sınıflayan ve bu yüzden “Muallim-i Evvel” (Birinci Öğretmen) unvanı verilen Aristoteles, bilim ve felsefe yapma çabasını öğrenme içgüdüsü, merak ve hayret duygusu ile açıklamaktadır. Entelektüel bir etkinlik olarak bilme tutkusu, pratik faydalarının yanı sıra bir bakıma insanın evrendeki varoluşunu gerçekleştirme ve aklındaki sorulara cevap bulma çabasıdır. Aristoteles’ten itibaren bilim yapmanın nedeni olarak görülen uyumlu evren önünde hayret ve şaşkınlık anlayışının aksine Stoacılar, bilimi ve felsefeyi insanın aklın rehberliğinde doğayla uyum içinde yaşaması olarak görmüşlerdir. Bu yönleriyle bilim, insanlığı birleştiren evrensel bir uğraş olagelmiştir.
Bilimin din, mitoloji, sanat, edebiyat gibi diğer alanlardan belki de en büyük farkı, tartışılmaz ve mutlak olmayıp sürekli kendini yanlışlayarak ilerleyebilmesidir. Geçmişte mutlak doğru gibi görülen Batlamyus’un teorileri, Aristoteles’in kozmoloji anlayışı, hatta Newton’un mekanik evren tasarımı bugün geçerliliğini çoktan yitirmiş, tarihsel bir bilgi olarak kalmıştır. Bugün de doğru kabul edilen birçok bilimsel görüşün yarın yanlışlanacağı, hatta bir zamanlar böyle düşünülüp açıklama getirilmiş diye ironik bakılacağı da bir gerçektir.
Bu görüşün aksi de mümkün olabilmektedir. Şöyle ki bir zamanlar irrasyonel, hatta bilimsel bulunmayan teoriler ya da önermeler, zamanla geçerli ve sınanabilir kuramlar hâline gelebilmektedir. Örneğin insanlık tarihi kadar eski olan atom düşüncesi (Leukippos, Demokritos vd.), Güneş merkezli evren (heliocentric) anlayışı (Sisamlı Aristarkhos, İbnü’ş-Şâtır, Bitrûcî vd.), evrim kuramı (Anaksimandros, Nazzâm, Câhız, İhvân-ı Safâ vd.), gökteki nesnelerin şeffaf küreler olmadığını düşüncesi (İbnü’l-Heysem, Harakî vd.) ya da görmenin nasıl oluştuğunu açıklayan nesne-ışın kuramı (Aristoteles, İbn Sînâ ve İbnü’l-Heysem vd.) buna örnek verilebilir. O dönemin şartları, deney ve gözlem araçlarının yetersizliği ya da baskın bilimsel otoritelerin görüşleri bu doğru yaklaşımların öne çıkmasına engel olabilmiştir. Bu yüzden bilimi zamanın ve mekânın dışında, olması gereken ideal bir anlayış yerine; olanın, bugünün teorisi şeklinde düşünmek daha doğru olacaktır. Bu ve benzeri konular son yüzyılda sıkça tartışılan bilim felsefesinin temel meseleleri olmuştur.
Bilimin ilerleyip yeni açılımlar yapabilmesi, durağanlıktan kurtulabilmesi ancak felsefe ile mümkündür. Tarih boyunca bilimi olmuş bitmişlikten kurtarıp merak duygusuyla sürekli yeni arayışlara yönelten, bilimi parçalardan kurtulup bütünlüğe, yasaya ulaşmaya yönelten hep felsefe olmuştur. Çünkü felsefe olanı olduğu gibi kabul etmek yerine; eleştirel, sorgulayıcı, temellendirici yönüyle bilimsel bilgi, değer ve düşünce üretimine imkân sağlamaktadır.
Batı’nın bilimsel gelişim evrelerinde, Orta Çağ’ın Patristik ve Skolastik dönem bilim anlayışı Karanlık Çağ olarak görülmekte, modern bilim Francis Bacon, Kepler, Galilei gibi isimlerle XVI. yüzyıl sonrasından itibaren başlatılmaktadır. Bu yüzyıldaki bilim anlayışının en büyük özelliği, bilimin Kilise’nin kontrolünden çıkması, deney ve gözleme önem verip tümevarım gibi yöntemlerin kullanılmasıdır.
Batı’nın aksine aynı yüzyıllarda İslam dünyasında bilim ve teknoloji Altın Çağı’nı yaşamış, yeni bilimsel teoriler ve buluşlar ortaya konmuş, iki dünya arasında bilim, felsefe, sanat gibi alanlarda çok keskin farklılıklar yaşanmıştır. İşte bilimin tarihsel ve coğrafi şartlarda değişimi ve gelişimini konu edinen bilim tarihi, bu bağlamda insanlık tarihine tutulan bir ayna görevini görmektedir.
Tarihi insanlık kadar eski olan bilimin geçirmiş olduğu serüveni, bilimsel düşüncenin doğuşu, gelişimi ve evrelerini, teknik bilginin oluşumunu, bilim insanlarının uğraşlarını, buluşlarını, izledikleri yöntemleri, bilimsel araç ve gereçleri konu edinen bilim tarihi son dönemde bilim felsefesi ile birlikte ilerlemekte, tarihsel bilgileri felsefi yorumlarla zenginleştirmektedir.
İnsanlık tarihi kadar eski ve kapsamı oldukça geniş olan bilim tarihinin bağımsız bir akademik disiplin hâline gelmesi oldukça yenidir. George Sarton’un (1884-1956) Harvard Üniversitesi’nde 1936’da Bilim Tarihi Kürsüsünü kurmasıyla yeni bir bilim dalı olarak ortaya çıkmış, felsefe ve tarih alanlarından faydalanarak son yılların en popüler interdisiplini hâline gelmiştir. Akademik olarak bilim tarihinin kurucusu sayılan Sarton, kendisinden önce Auguste Comte (1798-1857) ve Paul Tannery’i (1843-1904) bilim tarihinin öncü isimleri olarak görmektedir. Bu isimleri takiple Pierre Duhem (1861-1916) ve Lynn Thorndike (1882-1965) gibi bilim insanları da bilim tarihinin kurumsallaşmasına katkı sağlamışlardır. Sarton’a göre bilim tarihi, bilimsel düşüncenin, yani insanın bilincinin gelişimini açıklamaktır. Ancak bu din ve felsefe gibi toplumsal yaşamda etkili kurum ve disiplinlerin ihmal edilmeden, değerlendirmelerde bunları da hesaba katarak yapılmalıdır.
Bilim tarihi çalışmalarının hız kazandığı bu yüzyılda “Felsefe tarihi bilmeden felsefe yapılabilir mi?” sorusuna benzer şekilde “Bilim tarihi bilmeden bilim yapılabilir mi?” sorusu sorulmaya ve değişik cevaplar verilmeye başlanmıştır. Bu sorunun cevabı “Evet, mümkündür.” olsa da insanoğlu hem bilimin hem de felsefenin tarih içerisindeki serencamını, din, sanat, teknik gibi diğer düşünsel etkinliklerle olan ilişkisini hep merak edegelmiştir. Benzer şekilde “Bilim evrensel midir, değil midir?”, “Bilim mi teknolojiye yön verir, yoksa teknoloji mi bilime yön verir?” soruları ya da “Bilimin ilerleyişi lineer midir, yoksa -Thomas Kuhn’un iddia ettiği gibi- paradigmatik olarak devrimsel ve sıçramalı mı ilerler?” tartışmaları da hız kesmeden devam etmektedir.
Batı dünyası, akıl ve bilimi öne çıkaran bir döneme girdiği Aydınlanma Çağında (XVIII. yüzyıl), Müslümanların geçmişteki bilimsel başarılarına gözlerini çevirmiş ve bu başarılar oryantalizmin ilgi sahasına girmiştir. Bu çağda Condorcet gibi Aydınlanmacı düşünürler, Müslümanların bilimsel başarılarını, Batı’da karanlık bir çağın hüküm sürdüğü bir dönemde, Aydınlanma’nın süregelen gelişiminin bir garantisi olarak görmüştür. Bu durumu Batı dünyasındaki Herder, Goethe, von Humboldt, Sarton gibi çok sayıda aklıselim düşünür ve oryantalist de itiraf etmektedir.

Bu çalışmada, İslam bilim tarihi yüzyıllar şeklinde kronolojik olarak ele alınmış, her yüzyılın bir değerlendirilmesi yapılmış, ardından öne çıkan kuram ve kurumlarla önemli bilim insanları tanıtılmaya çalışılmıştır. Hâlid b. Yezîd (661-704) ile başlayıp Abdülkelam (1931-2015) ile son bulan İslam bilim tarihinin kısa bir özetini sunan bu çalışma, bilim tarihinde asıl anlatacak hikâyesi olan Müslüman bilim insanlarının küçük bir kesitini sunmaktadır. Çalışmada Arapça, Farsça ve Osmanlıca kitap isimlerinin secili ve kafiyeli ifadeler olmasından dolayı tam tercümesini yapmanın güçlüğüne rağmen, okuyucuyu bilgilendirmek için Türkçe karşılıkları verilmeye çalışılmıştır.
İslam bilim tarihi ve felsefesi alanına küçük bir katkı olan bu eser, bu konulara ilgi duyanlara faydalı olması dileğiyle…

The Taḥrīr al-Majisṭī by Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī is known to have survived in several dozen manuscript copies in different parts of the world. At present, however, we do not have a full list of the preserved manuscripts-or any record that might serve as a basis for drawing up a list of this kind. For the first time, the present article gathers together information on more than a hundred Arabic manuscripts of the Taḥrīr al-Majisṭī, identified through an extensive search in manuscript-catalogues, collection reports and, when possible, by inspection of manuscript copies. Special importance has been given to clarifying the bibliographical situation of each manuscript, particularly concerning the printed catalogues. The article consists of four parts: 1. A brief introduction ; 2. A description of the methodology; 3. The list of manuscripts; 4. Concluding remarks.

Çalışmaları dünya çapında kabul görmüş ünlü bilim tarihçisi Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, İslâm bilim tarihi konulu sayısız esere imza atmıştır. Sezgin çalışmalarını, İslâm biliminin 800 yıl süren yaratıcılık devresinin tüm yönleri ile ortaya çıkarılması ve tanıtılması üzerine kurgulamıştır. Şüphesiz Orta çağ İslâm biliminin en yetkin olduğu alanlarından biri de matematiktir. Sezgin’in, İslâm matematik tarihi alanındaki önemli tespitlerinin yanında gün yüzüne çıkardığı eserler, geometrik aletler mevcuttur. Orta çağ İslâm matematikçileri sadece Yunan öncüllerinin eserlerini çevirmekle kalmamış, aynı zamanda yoğun yaratıcı faaliyetleri sonunda matematiğin çehresini değiştirmişlerdir. Fuat Sezgin, Batı’daki gelişmelere kaynak teşkil ettiğini düşündüğü İslâm matematikçilerinin çalışmalarını, paraleller öğretisi, cebirsel geometri ve trigonometri başlıkları altında özetlemiştir. Sezgin’e göre, Öklid’in meşhur paraleller postulasından Öklid dışı geometrilerin keşfine giden yolda ve cebirsel geometriden analitik geometriye ulaşılmasında İslâm matematikçilerinin katkısı, sanıldığından büyük olmuştur. Avrupalı matematikçiler, İslâm matematikçilerinin kullandıkları argümanları çoğu zaman tekrar ederek ya da yeniden keşfederek bu yeni matematiksel alanlara ulaşmışlardır. Elbette bu gelişmelerde yaşadıkları dönemin bilimsel imkânlarının da katkısı büyüktür. Batılı kaynaklar ile Sezgin’in görüşleri bu iki konu başlığında büyük ölçüde örtüşmektedir. Ancak dik açılı koordinat sisteminin Descartes’a mı yoksa Ömer Hayyâm’a mı ait olduğu konusunda taraflar arasında bir mutabakat söz konusu değildir. Trigonometri alanında ise, Batılı kaynaklar, Tûsî’nin çalışmalarından bahsetmekte ancak “trigonometrinin kurucusu” sıfatını Tûsî’ye atfetmekten kaçınmaktadırlar. Anlaşılan o ki, bu yaklaşım, Sezgin’in sürekli vurguladığı “Batılı sübjektif bilim anlayışının” ürünüdür. Bunların yanında, Fuat Sezgin’in Diophantus’un kayıp kitaplarının Arapça nüshalarının gün yüzüne çıkarması, Antik Yunan matematiği hakkındaki çalışmaların seyrini değiştirmiştir. Ayrıca, matematik tarihi konulu eserleri, İslâm matematik tarihi araştırmaları için temel referans mahiyetindedir.

My aim here is to shed light on the origins of magic squares in the Islamic world. This question has often been tentatively addressed, but previous studies have considered only part of the evidence. The earliest Arabic texts presenting squares (al-Ṭabarī, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, Ghāyat al-Ḥakīm, Brethren of Purity) are examined here together for the first time, as well as the Indian medical sources. The extraordinary coincidences in the use of the square of three in therapy for a good delivery in both the early Arabic texts and the Indian, as well as the close cultural, geographical, and chronological context, strongly suggests that such eutocic practice represents the origin of Islamic magic squares.

We are looking for applicants whose research is focused on the pre-modern history of the MENA region with a mastery in at least two languages of the region, one of which must be Arabic. The candidates should be specialized in any of the fields of history, literature, history of science, philosophy, law, and adjacent fields with experience in historical, cultural, and/or sociological approaches. The successful candidate will be expected to participate in the development of the Department and its teaching programme. Applicants must hold a PhD in a relevant subject. The successful applicant will be expected to have experience in working in a team and in working internationally. Excellent oral and written English is required and relevant teaching experience is expected. Knowledge of German is desirable, but not a requirement. This professorship is funded by the Tenure Track Program of the German Federal and State Governments. Awarding tenure is not subject to a vacancy at the time when the fixed-term contract of the tenure-track position expires. This call is aimed at early-career researchers. Candidates who have completed their doctorate at the University of Bonn must have changed universities or been working in academic research outside of the University of Bonn at least two years prior to applying. Regulations on tenure track at the University of Bonn and further information on tenure track professorates at the University of Bonn are available at https://www.unibonn.de/en-tenure-track Formal requirements are defined by § 36 of the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschulgesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen). The University of Bonn is committed to diversity and equal opportunities. It is certified as a family-friendly university and has a dual career service. The university's goal is to increase the share of women in areas where women are underrepresented and to promote their careers in particular. It therefore strongly encourages applications from women with qualifications in the relevant fields. Applications are handled in accordance with the State Equal Opportunity Act (Landesgleichstellungsgesetz). Applications from suitable individuals with certified severe disabilities and those of equal status are particularly welcome. Please apply via our online portal: https://berufungsportal.uni-bonn.de. The deadline for applications is March 13, 2022. The criteria of the interim evaluation as well as the final evaluation can be found under the following link: https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/universitaet/medien-universitaet/medien-organisation-und-einrichtungen/medien-dezernat-3/w1-junior-professorship-with-tenure-track-to-w2-in-middle-eastern-and-islamic-studies.pdf

Last Call: Two three-year research assistant/teaching assistant positions for graduate students (MA in hand), aiming to pursue a doctorate in historical Islamic Studies at the University of Bonn. Deadline: 6 March 2022
For more information please see:
https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/universitaet/medien-universitaet/medien-arbeiten-an-der-uni/medien-personalmanagement/pdfs-stellenausschreibungen-wiss.ma/07-22-3-202_en.pdf

With economic relations and conquests, Muslims have spread to a very wide geographical area. Consequently, they have encountered many different cultures. Muslims have had great interest and curiosity towards new cultures especially those of Byzantine (Helen / Greek), Iran and partly of the Indian cul tures. Especially, the conquest of cities such as Alexandria, Harran and Jundīshāpūr and the scientific tradition in these cities had great influence on Muslims. After these conquests, Muslims not only studied Islamic sciences but also began the activities of translation into Arabic to get familiar with ancient tradition of thought and culture. These first translation activities, which are extremely important in terms of Islamic civilization and the history of science, have been studied extensively to date. However, it is observed that during the studies performed, the only information mentioned were usually the names of the translated works, the domains of study they were written for and the names of interpreters. This study aims to shed light on the first translation activities in the History of Islamic Science, as well as the fields in which these translations were done, the knowledge and the accumulation of Muslims in these fields before translation activities and the contribution of translation activities in develop- ment or change in these fields by providing examples from Muslim scientists in different centuries, whose works are also known in the West. The golden era of Muslims in science and technology between the 8th and 11th centuries and some important scientific activities carried out within this period are analyzed in three periods; “acquisition of the information”, “systematization of the information” and “production of original information”.

The „Book of Plants“ by Abū Hanīfa ad-Dīnawarī (d. 282/895) is not only an extraordinary contribution to Arabic philology and lexicography, but also a milestone in the world history of botany. In scholarship – both in Arabic studies as well as in the history of the sciences – this pioneering work has been given surprisingly little attention. This study was the first to deal in detail with its content, its structure, and its sources.

The Ṭabaqāt al-umam opens with an account of the seven primeval nations taken from Masʿūdī’s Tanbīh. At the end of Ṣāʿid’s version, however, we are told that “these seven nations, which together constituted the whole of mankind, were all Ṣābiʾans” – an indication not found in the Oriental model. Several references to Ṣābiʾans also appear in the core of the Ṭabaqāt, a definitely more original section of the work in which the author reports the achievements of the eight nations (Indians, Persians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Arabs, and Jews) which in his view contributed to the improvement of science. The present paper examines all these passages. We try to determine where the author of the Ṭabaqāt situates these groups of Ṣābiʾans in the overall history of the nations, and we ask ourselves to what extent these groups may be regarded as continuators or remnants of the primordial Ṣābiʾans.

In this brief essay I dwell on the question concerning the threshold of modern change as it relates to the historiographies of Islamic civilization in general, and of Islamic art and architecture in particular. My aim is to go beyond the debate of inclusion and exclusion, and to examine its implications for periodization and the place of the ‘Islamic’ in the evolving narratives of global or world history.

The 1001 Inventions traveling exhibition includes a sample of popular myths about medieval science and technology in Muslim lands. A prominent example is its claims about flight achieved by the ninth-century Andalusian Ibn Firnas and the seventeenth-century Ottoman Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi. These feats have poor historical documentation, and simple physical arguments demonstrate the virtual impossibility of the more exaggerated stories about their achievements. Yet not only are beliefs about these flights common among Muslim populations today, they have been endorsed by the engineers and historians associated with the 1001 Inventions project. The stories of medieval Muslim flight serve as a case study illuminating how the history of science in Muslim lands has been fashioned into a narrative supporting present needs. This narrative, however, also supports a revival of medieval ways of thinking about nature, and is an obstacle to improving the poor state of natural science in Muslim-majority countries.

Since the nineteenth century, much research has been published in various languages about Ibn al-Haytham and his works in optics and mathematics. Since then, we have found in the writings of scholars that he has had extensive knowledge and works in several fields of philosophical, natural and mathematical sciences. In addition to his famous writings on optics and his research in mathematics, he has been the author of numerous works on the interpretation of philosophy, logic, and natural sciences in the Aristotelian and Galenic traditions. Some works about the history of Islamic philosophy emphasize the philosophical dimension of his thought and by highlighting it, Ibn al-Haytham has been introduced as a comprehensive philosopher who has also contributed to optics and mathematics.
By looking at Ibn al-Haytham's works, we come across a long list of philosophical and mathematical writings. Professor Roshdi Rashed has reached this conclusion in his research: We are actually dealing with two different persons named Ibn al-Haytham: Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham, a mathematician, with famous and accurate works in the fields of mathematics including optics and the astronomy, and Muhammad ibn al-Haytham, a philosopher, with works on the interpretation of the traditional Alexandrian philosophical tradition (Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, Stoic) and more, with the aim of facilitating the teaching of these works to those interested in philosophical studies. The distinction of these two Ibn al-Haythams and the recognition of the two from each other bears fruits in the study of the history of science which leads us to deal with the arguments of Rashed in this regard. In this article, by referring to Roshdi Rashed's textual studies and some others, a total of twenty pieces of evidence have been shown to distinguish between these two Ibn al-Haythams.

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https://www.uni-bonn.de/de/universitaet/medien-universitaet/medien-arbeiten-an-der-uni/medien-personalmanagement/pdfs-stellenausschreibungen-wiss.ma/07-22-3-202.pdf

کتاب " مفهوم علم در تمدن اسلامی  وسیاست علمی دول مسلمان "
دکتر محمد رضا شهیدی پاک
دانشگاه ازاد اسلامی تهران مرکز

کتاب مفهوم علم در تمدن اسلامی  بررسی هزار سال فعالیت های علمی و پژوهشی و تمدنی  ملل مسلمان در شرق و غرب دنیای اسلام  است . این مطالعه  بر اساس تحقیقا ت پیشین و پژوهش های آکادمیک قرن بیستم در مورد تمدن اسلامی  تدوین شده است .  این پژوهش ها مصادیق متعددی از تمدن  اسلامی را در شیوه و مفهوم علم وسیاست علمی دول اسلامی  معاصر شکوفایی تمدن بررسی کرده ا ند ونشان داده اند که  علم در آن ها  به شیوه تجربی و روش ها والگوهای علم مدوره مدرن است  ومفهوم علم در تمدن اسلامی به معنی science  است. به تعبیر جرج سارتن که پیشوای تاریخ علم نگاری در دوره معاصر است ، در این دوره هزارساله تمدن وعلوم اسلامی ,  دانشمندان علوم  رابه  زبان بین المللی قران می نوشته اند.

آیا قلم دردست دشمن است. قلم در تاریخ علم وتمدن  دراختیارکسی است که سند تعلیم رادراختیارداشته است . مطالعه  تمدن اسلامی  نشان می دهد که حداقل چهار قرن از تاریخ علم جهانی ،سند تعلیم  را دانشمندان مسلمان و  زبان عربی وبه تعبیرجرج سارتن پیشوای مورخان علم ،به زبان بین المللی قران می نوشته اند.سارتن  درنهایت  تحقیقات  دوره مدرن  درمورد تاریخ تمدن اسلامی  است،این نوع ازتاریخنگاری نگاری وتحقیق درتمدن اسلامی ازپدیده های مدرن درتاریخنگاری اندیشه وتکنولوژی وهنروعلوم ومعارف اسلامی وانسانی جوامع اسلامی درقرون وسطی است.براین مبناعده ای تصور کردند، قلم دردست دشمن است،نخستین دپارتمان های تاریخ و تمدن وفرهنگ اسلامی ونخستین تحقیقات آکادمیک گسترده باتولید دایره المعارف اسلام ومقدمه برتاریخ علم جرج سارتن درابتدای قرن بیستم شروع شد وده ها کتاب باعنوان فرهنگ وتمدن اسلامی دراروپا منتشرشد.تلاش برای شناخت تمدن وفرهنگ اسلامی اندکی پیش ازرنسانس ازمراکزنخستین شرق شناسی شروع شدوبامدرنیزم دربیشترمراکزعلمی کشورهای اروپایی گسترش پیداکرد.مهمترین موضوع مدرنیسم انسان وتجلیات وپدیدارهای انسانی اومانند تمدن است .ودرروند مدرنیزم پدیدار تمدن اسلامی در قرون وسطی نمادی ازشکوفایی وتعالی انسان دربخشی اززمان ودرپهنای بسیاروسیع قلمروجوامع اسلامی ازجنوب فرانسه تاجنوب شرقی چین درکانتون است. بعکس باید گفت تمدن اسلامی قلم ها را در شرق وغرب جهان دراختیار گرفت ومجامع آکادمیک درتاریخنگاری تمدن اسلامی  از یکدیگرسبقت گرفتند.تمدن اسلامی روح قرون وسطی وبخش زنده وکالبدی آن است . سند تعلیم درقرون وسطی درطی چند قرن متعلق به دانشمندان  تمدن اسلامی است.مورخان علم مانند سارتن ودورانت وتوین بی به آن اعتراف کرده اند.وبویژه سارتن در کتاب مقدمه ای بر تاریخ علم ، چهار قرن ازادوارتاریخ علم بشررا به نام جابراز776 میلادی ،رازی،مسعودی،بیرونی،خوارزمی،ابوالوفاتاخیام 1131 میلادی نامگذاری کرده است . مشخصه سند تعلیم دراین چهار قرن تولید متون کلاسیک درسی وتکنولوژی وارایه فرضیه ها و توسعه دانش تجربی مبتنی بر تجربه و تحقق مفهوم و فایده علوم مفید است.این چهار قرن سیاست علمی دول اسلامی ومفهوم علم درقرون وسطی رانشان داده است .از دوره باستان  تا اکنون مدل های ذهنی بشربرای توصیف واقعیت ماده هیچگاه یکسان نبوده است و بادو نظریه ایرانی تجزیه ناپذیری اتم (ازهوشتانوس) که بوسیله دموکریت یونانی (370 پ.م) در تبیین  اتمی طبیعت به کار رفت وبه نام اومعروف شد.ارسطوازموافقان وافلاطون ازمخالفان سرسخت او بودند . در دوره قرون وسطی مکاتب کلامی و فلسفی  اسلامی ومسیحی و یهودی پیرو ارسطو اتم را انکار کردند .ازاتم درکلام  مسیحی و اسلامی با مفهوم  جز لایتجزی یاد شده است ومکاتب مختلف آن  بر اساس نظریه اتمی دسته بندی شدند. تفکردرطبیعت درچهارچوب این نظریه همچنان استمرارداشت ودر دوره  مدرن  با وسعت وعمق بسیاربیشتری آغاز شد، بویل ونیوتن درمقابل دالتون دو شکل تعبیر متفاوت  از نظریه اتمی باستانی ارایه دادند.نگاه دوره مدرن به طبیعت با وجود دقت وعمق ووسعت ومشاهده بااستفاده ازابزارهای دقیق درمواردمتعددمتفاوت ازیکدیگراست.شکل ذرات بنیادی جهان رادرچندمدل از جمله، الگوی بور،رادرفورد، تامسون ، نگاه کرده است .مفهوم علم درتمدن اسلامی  به شیوهای متمایزدرعلم باز می گردد که درادوارشکوفایی علوم اسلامی  با عناوین روش تجربی وتحقیق ومشاهده وآزمایشگاه ازآن یاد شده است.دراین شیوه دانشمندان مسلمان که با وجودمیراث باستانی همه اختلافات متافیزیکی در تعریف اتم ، در قرون وسطی  مدل والگوهایی در تفسیر اتم برای مطالعه طبیعت بدست دادند ونتایج کاربردی که از ان بدست امد ، پدیده تمدن اسلامی است  این نتایج در دوره مدرن بلافاصله در اروپا دنبال شد . پژوهش حاضر تمدن اسلامی را در شیوه و مفهوم علم وسیاست علمی دول معاصر شکوفایی تمدن بررسی کرده است. اول واخر تمدن در ارایه مدل از اتم است که تمدن اسلامی در سند تعلیم آن جای کالبدی دارد. 
مدل های تفسیر طبیعت  اتم  از دوره باستان و دوره اسلامی علوم در قرون وسطی تا دوره مدرن

در مدل باستانی واسلامی اتم اجزای بی نهایت وبدون تجزیه ونامیراودر جنبش مستمردرهستی است وپارادایم خلاف آن الگوی ارسطویی  و بیان طوسی-لاوجود لوضعی لایتجزی بالاستقلال- وپیروان مکتب اومتکلم وفیلسوف معاصرعقیده محقیقن حکما است.سه مدل پیشنهادی که درتصویر دردوره مدرن قرن هفدهم ارایه شده ترکیبی ازدونظریه است . جای تعجب از توین بی مرخ شهیر تمدن است که دسته بندی از ادوار تمدن بشر ارایه داد و داستان تمدن را به نگارش اورده است در نیمه قرن بیستم مبانی نظری سازمان کنترل انرژی هسته ای را ارایه داده است . او ضمن تاکید بر ماهیت امریکایی – اروپایی  تمدن اتمی معاصر ، نگران انتقال این تمدن به سایر ملل است در حالی که اوبهتر از هر کس میدانست سند تعلیم تفسیر اتمی طبیعت در قرون وسطی اسلامی متعلق به دانشمندان مسلمانان است و بازگشت دوباره دانشمندان مسلمان به تفسیر وارایه مدل های اتمی از طبیعت ، نتیجه طبیعی حضور میراث اسلامی درسند تعلیم تفسیر طبیعت است  که از قرون وسطی تا دوره مدرن و پس از آن استمرار داشته است و در حل اختلافات متافیزیکی این تفسیر کلام طوسی (26June 1274  )  دویست سال پیش از رنسانس اروپا بیان شده است و درمکتب او بوسیله قطب الدین شیرازی وسپس شیخ بهایی وملاصدرا ذکر شده است و محقیفین حکما معاصر شیعه ایران برهمین دیدگاه خواجه است که قبول و تدقیق درآن باعت تکان ذهن بشردر تفسیر و تاویل اتم است .مابعد الطبیعه علم و تفسیر متافیزیکی مقدم برخود علم است ،  وتعبیر خواجه نصیرالدین  طوسی در تفسیر جسم که بوسیله ملاصدرا به تفصیل بیان شده است حسن ختام حل و فصل الخطاب نبرد متافیزیکی در مورد جوهر فرد است . تاکید بر استمرار این بحث در حوزه فلسفه و الهیات  وجدا نکردن این دو ازهم  وتحولات فلسفی و کلامی عهد صفویه  دردست اوردهای کاربردی آن در شرق و غرب  نتایج متفاوت  به بار آورد .مسایلی که این جدایی را ایجاد کرد  مانند جنگ های صلیبی  وهجوم مغول وسلسله ویرانی هایی که در حوزه فکر دامنگیر تمدن اسلامی شد مانند مخالفت با مدل فلسفی ملاصدرا دردوره صفویه وجدا شدن متافیزیک این تمدن را درحد تعابیر متافیزیکی نگه داشت اما استمرارهمین تفاسیر متافیزیکی دراروپا منجربه نتایج کاربردی شد.پژوهش حاضربرمحوربررسی سندتعلیم درتمدن اسلامی درقرون وسطی است واشاره ای مختصربه سند تعلیم دوره مدرن ومعاصر دارد که نویسندگان سند تعلیم قرون وسطی ایا امروزکه غرب اجازه دسترسی کسی به سندتعلیم رانمی دهد،درسندتعلیم مدرن و معاصرجایگاهی دارند.فاصله واقعی وتوهمی میان سندتعلیم جوامع اسلامی درقرون وسطی وجوامع اسلامی با سند تعلیم مدرن چه میزان است وچه نسبت کمی وکیفی بین سند تعلیم قرون وسطی وسند تعلیم مدرن و معاصر وجود دارد .

In the modern age, the conflict between science and religion manifests itself in the debate between evolution and creation. If we adopt a creationist's reading of the Qur'an, we discover an interesting anomaly. Reading the Qur'an literally does not necessarily provide the foundation of creationism. Creationists usually have in mind the concept of creatio ex nihilo, or 'creation out of nothing'. However, in the Qur'an, one of the words used for creation, khalaqna, has the root khlq, which means 'to split' or 'to divide'. This root word may even apply to the biological process of cell division. Therefore, from a scientific perspective, using the word khlq to describe this physical process is not problematic. In addition, with close textual analysis of the Qur'an, we realize that the word for creation 'be' (kun) does not truly describe the moment of creation, but rather that of 'being'. The Qur'an separates the notion of creation from being, which poses the question as to what the text constitutes as the ontological nature of the human being and the universe. Therefore, even if we do adopt a literal reading of the Qur'an, we find that it does not necessarily support a worldview that endorses creatio ex nihilo.

Islamic astrolabes and astronomical tables (zijes) were improvements on Greek antecedents, and were employed both to educate non-specialists about basic astronomical concepts, and to enable faster calculations of planetary positions and other astrological parameters. Both astrolabes and tables encode a complex trigonometry, so the user needs merely to turn a dial, aligning certain marks and reading off the result from the astrolabe, or simply to perform basic arithmetic on the tables to derive planetary positions. In addition, the astrolabe was an important vehicle for the transmission of mathematics and astronomy to Europe, since not only was it a symbol of Muslim pre-eminence in science for medieval Europeans, but it also inspired them to acquire the mathematics and astronomy required to use it. Furthermore, one of the most significant engineering advances of medieval Europe, the mechanical clock, is shown to have been derived partly from the technology of the astrolabe. Lastly, astrolabes and zijes are useful in modern history of science courses, to help students grasp the technical sophistication of Muslim civilization. Three example assignments and workshops are discussed. 1) Students use tables to calculate selected features of their birth charts (positions of sun, Mars and Ascendant). 2) Students construct an astrolabe from scratch, using compass, pencil, card stock paper, and an acetate sheet. (Professor Saliba made me do this in graduate school, and it was one of the most important exercises I ever did). And 3) Students learn how to use the astrolabe for time-keeping and selected astrological calculations.

Motivated by Talal Asad and Peter Harrison’s critiques of universalizing secular categories like “science” and “religion,” this essay problematizes their use in histories of “Islamic science,” focusing on the correspondence between Ibn Sīnā and al-Bīrūnī circa 1000. First, I offer an historiographical critique, arguing Ahmad Dallal’s analysis—reflecting secondary literature on the debate—undermines concerns about divine sovereignty in the letters, related to falsafa (Aristotelian “natural philosophy”) and the Ash‘ari school of kalām  (roughly, “theology”). I propose engaging in close reading of the letters and related texts to understand the two scholars in their own terms. Second, I apply this proposition, closely reading one exchange within their letters debating the existence of vacuum. I relate rhetoric and experimental apparatuses used in this exchange, via mineralogical studies, to geo-politics, economics, and divine sovereignty. This shows my historiographical critique provides new, fruitful historical accounts, raising questions about secular assumptions in histories of “Islamic science.”

"God, secularism, and terminology in the letters between al-Bīrūnī and Ibn Sīnā: a case in the historiography and history of 'Islamic science' "

Based on research in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, under the supervision of Liba Taub and Tony Street.

A draft was presented at the MIddle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Graduate Student Conference at Columbia University in Feb. 2017, "(De)Stabilizing Disciplines, (Re)Imagining Regions," in a panel entitled "Epistemic Experiments, Initiations and
Antagonisms" with discussant Najam Haider: http://mesaasgradconference.cdrs.columbia.edu/public/conferences/1/schedConfs/7/program-en_US.pdf

(Columbia MESAAS Graduate Conference 2017; Cambridge MPhil research)

The subject of my dissertation is a group of scientific Arabic manuscripts pertaining to the Arabic translations of Zacut’s Almanach Perpetuum. The fifteenth-century astronomer and astrologer Abraham Zacut composed in Hebrew an almanac entitled Ha-Ḥibbur ha-gadol (The Great Compilation) in Salamanca in 1478, using 1473 as date radix. Jose Vizinho made two eminently practical summaries of this work, which he called the Almanach Perpetuum which first appeared in two different printed editions, both at Leiria (Portugal) in 1496, and each version contains canons, in Latin or Spanish respectively that are followed by a set of Latin astronomical tables. Zacut’s work was soon translated into Arabic, and until now several manuscripts of the Arabic translations as well as of various Arabic commentaries on this work could be identified. The first Arabic version from the Zacut’s almanac was made in the East by Mūsā Jālīnūs in 1505-06 and de the second, in the Maghreb by al-Ḥajarī. Mūsā Jālīnūs’s version is preserved in a single manuscript (nº 966 in the Library of El Escorial) containing two sets of canons. The second translation into Arabic is by Aḥmad ben Qasim al-Ḥajarī al-Andalusī (made around 1630) and it is preserved in five manuscripts. His translation reached a wide readership from the 17th until 19th centuries. The main objective of my research has been, based on selected manuscripts, to produce an edition of the Arabic translation of Zacut’s Almanach Perpetuum. This involved a) to produce a critical edition of the canons in the Arabic version of the Almanach; b) to edit the headings of the astronomical tables, in their Latin and Arabic forms, and to subject them to a comparative study; c) to analyze the numerous marginal notes in the Arabic manuscripts, as the provide important evidence for establishing a stemma of the manuscripts. This would then serve as the starting point for d) a detailed linguistic comparison of the manuscripts and an analysis of the differing astronomical parameters and procedures used in the different copies. Finally, based on the above finds, e) diffusion of the Almanach Perpetuum in the Muslim world from the 16th century onwards, where the text had acquired noticeable popularity among astronomers and astrologers alike, could be traced.

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Tarih yazıcılığı, diğer alanlarda olduğu gibi bilim tarihi sahasında da önem arz etmektedir. Tarih boyunca ortaya çıkan farklı medeniyetlerin farklı bilim dalları ortaya koyduklarını tespit etme gayesi güden bilim tarihi çalışmalarında kimi zaman tarihin belli bir perspektifle inşa edildiği ve bu sebeple bilim tarihine çok önemli katkıları olan medeniyetlerin birer kayıp halka olarak ihmal edildikleri görülür. Bunun en bariz örneği olarak İslam medeniyeti içerisinde ortaya konulan ilmî ve bilimsel başarıların yok sayılması gösterilebilir. Kendisini İslam medeniyetinin farklı bilim dallarındaki başarılarını gün yüzüne çıkarılmasına adayan Fuat Sezgin'in çalışmaları Müslümanların bu alandaki katkılarının tespit ve takdimi açısından büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu çalışmada Sezgin'in "İslam'da Bilim ve Teknik" adıyla Türkçeye çevrilen çalışmasında astronomiye ayırdığı ikinci cildi çerçevesinde rasathaneleri özelde ise Meraga rasathanesini nasıl ele aldığı; başvuru kaynakları, temel kaygı ve vurguları ortaya konulmaya çalışılacaktır.

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The works written in an encyclopedic style are of great importance in terms of showing the scientific level of the period they were written and bringing together the practical information needed by their interlocutors. It is obvious that these kinds of works are valuable data sources both in terms of revealing the author's knowledge of various branches of science and in determining the accumulation of knowledge needed by the beneficiaries. One of these works written in the early period in the Islamic world is the original work of Mohammad b. Ahmad al-Khwarizmî (d. 387-997), who came to our
day as the only work of the author and left behind his fame and author. In this study, the approach of Khwarizmî to philosophy and philosophical sciences will be examined in his work which brings together the information needed by his colleagues as a bureaucrat. The plan of the study is based on the titles of the chapter that the author devotes to philosophy in his work.

Applications are invited for Final Year Dissertation Write-up Fellowships at the Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg for the Islamicate Intellectual History of the Later Middle and Early Modern periods at the University of Bonn, to commence on 1 April 2018 for one year. Three grants are available for doctoral candidates who are in the process of completing a dissertation on a topic relevant for the thirteenth to sixteenth century Islamicate intellectual history (Philosophy, Theology, Sufism, legal theory, the history of science as well as the so-called occult sciences, political thought, historiography, and adjacent areas). The Fellowship provides a stipend that is intended to permit full-time work on the dissertation, without reliance on part-time employment. Fellows will be expected to deliver a termly presentation on their research in progress at the Alexander von Humboldt colloquia at the University of Bonn as part of a research group under the leadership of Professor Judith Pfeiffer.

Candidates must have, by the time of the appointment, completed all course work (ABD) and must have sufficiently advanced in researching their thesis in a relevant field of study to be able to complete the dissertation during the year of their fellowship.

The Fellow will have a strong command of at least one of the languages Arabic, Persian, or Turkish, and reading knowledge of a second, and should preferably have a reading knowledge of at least one European language other than English; a thorough understanding of the social and political history of the period; sufficient palaeographical skills to work with Islamic manuscripts; good written and oral communication skills; good skills and experience in teamwork; and good planning and time management skills. The criteria for selection are outstanding performance and scholarly promise, and the likelihood that the candidate will complete his/her dissertation within 12 months of the start date of the fellowship.

Applications are welcome from students both at Bonn University and at any other accredited international institution of higher education. The working language at the Kolleg is English. Applicants from other institutions may apply for a recognized student status at Bonn University, but will continue to work with their main supervisor and dissertation committee throughout the fellowship, and will submit their thesis to their home university. As per the stipulations of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Fellowship holders are required to acknowledge the support of this grant appropriately in their dissertation and ensuing publications.

All candidates are expected to pay student fees at the regular rates. Successful non-Bonn candidates will be required to pay the relevant fees (currently 287 € per semester/six months), and international students must be able to obtain a student visa, for which they will receive support from the Alexander von Humboldt Kolleg. These fellowships cannot be held in conjunction with DAAD, DFG, AHRC, or equivalent grants.

Grant value: 1.350,-Euro/Month, plus travel support.
Start date: 1 April 2018.
Deadline for applications: 12 noon on Wednesday 3 January 2018.