Islamic Science: An Illustrated Study [Paperback]

Seyyed Hossein Nasr (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Kazi Publications (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567445020
• ISBN-13: 978-1567445022
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,639,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable book, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Islamic Science : An Illustrated Study (Paperback)

A very informative and well written book by some one who is obviously an authority on the subject. A good aspect of this book is to intorduce the reader to the notion of "Islamic science" rather than "Arab science" which is used by some semi schoalrs. The term "Islamic scinece"is significant since it indicates the input and contribution of many cultures, Arab and non Arab into the body of sicentific knowledge created in Islamic civilization. It also is an indication of how, contrary to common misconceptions, Islamic religion brought together a vast number of people from different cultures and background and created an environment of harmony and spiritual awareness which led to many great philosophical and scientific works. As a moslem philosopher once said " The dark ages for moslem nations started when moslems lost connection with the essence of their religion and spirituality".

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book on Islamic Science and Maths., June 1, 1999

By A Customer

I came across this book purely by chance in a charity shop, and as I had a passing intrest in the history of mathematics decided to buy it, mainly for the pictures. To be honest at first I just flicked through it, put it on my bookshelf, and forgot about it. It was only about a year later, when I started to do some more serious research into the history of the number system that I took a second look at the book. The author, I have since discovered is a well known authority on the subject, and coined the term Islamic Science. The book's presentation is excellent. The pictures are both attractive and well chosen, and add to the content of the book rather than just decorating it. I was primarilly interested in the sections concerning Islamic mathematics, and it was a pleasure to be able to see the manuscripts and instruments I had been reading so much about. The book covers a lot of ground, from maths to medicine, although it is not as detailed as some on the subject. It's interest lies however in the fact that it covers different ground to most similar books. The author mentions lots of facts which I otherwise found only in old or obscure texts. It should also be noted that the author is Muslim, which means that he is able to offer more of an insight into the religious and philosophical aspects of the history of Islamic Science and Maths than most western writers do. This is the most pleasing aspect of the book, and the one which makes it a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any mathematician, islamicist, or maths teacher. This book is worth buying if you want an attractive introduction to Islamic Science, or if you want to read the perspective of somone who doesn't simple see the Arab contribution to Mathematics and Science as a diversion to fill the pages between the greeks and the renaisance.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview,, October 13, 2003

By 

Tara Marshall "Tara" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Islamic Science : An Illustrated Study (Paperback)

I just wish it were more detailed, and discussed more the implications many discoveries in the Islamic world (which, the authors admit, were made by Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other religious people of various ethnic backgrounds) had on the development of the European Sciences.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna), for example, does not get nearly as much mention as he deserves in this regard. His medical textbook was THE source of medical information in Europe until the 1700s, and continues to be used in traditional schools in the underdeveloped world (such as Tajikistan). Medical Science in the Western World would be very different if it weren't for this book.

Also, the authors do not discuss much how Muslim scholars were responsible for translating and keeping alive ancient Greek texts which were lost to Europe for centuries, after the great Christian book burnings. While Hippocrates was known in the Greek Christian world (including Russia), he remained unknown in the Latin/Roman Christian world until the Muslims began teaching it at their great schools in Cordoba, Andalusia (Spain). Indeed, the great scholars of Andalusia taught European scholars of all faiths (primarily Jews and Christians) how to read Greek, although Arabic was the language of daily scholarly life there.

However, if you want a BASIC overview (not sufficient for a truly scholarly work), this book will give it to you.