The House of Wisdom

Bloomsbury Medieval Studies, 2024

Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, 2001

This document is a research paper that discusses how some facts in the history of mankind are mistreated; in addition, it shows what contributions did the Muslim civilization give that relates to our modern world.

MAQOLAT: Journal of Islamic Studies, 2024

This paper explores the pivotal role of Islam and Muslim scholars in advancing the science of history from the early days of Medina to the flourishing intellectual centre of The House of Wisdom. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of historical methodologies, preservation of historical knowledge, and cultural essence in both pre-Islamic and Islamic realms. Employing a qualitative research approach, the paper analyzes various genres of Islamic historical writing, including Tabaqat, Tarajim, geographical history, and universal history, as well as the methodologies used in documenting and analyzing historical events, such as logical interpretation, natural law interpretation, and speculative interpretation. Through an examination of libraries, scholars, and the transmission of historical knowledge, the paper highlights the enduring legacy of Islamic historiography and its impact on subsequent historiographical traditions. The research findings underscore the significance of Islamic historiography in shaping our understanding of the past and its ongoing relevance in modern academic research. The study contributes to the field by detailing the specific methodologies and analytical frameworks developed by Muslim historians, offering a nuanced perspective on historical processes, and suggesting avenues for future research to further explore the rich heritage of Islamic historical scholarship.

It is claimed that European scholars lost nearly all the Greek and Latin scientific texts after the fall of the Roman empire. Alison Abbott, Senior European Correspondent for the scientific journal Nature claims that by the fifteenth century “Many Arabic works had by then been translated into Latin, but the sources themselves were neglected”. In reality, the Greek sources of those Arabic translations were not neglected. Most of the Greek knowledge which was preserved, was preserved independently of the Muslim world. Even without the help of the Muslim scholars, our knowledge of Greek mathematics and science would be virtually the same as it is now.

Islamic civilization rose from its humble origins in 7th-century Arabia to become a world civilization, the first premodern global culture. But how was this astonishing transformation accomplished? This introductory course examines the advent of Islam and the development of the civilization that bears its name from the career of the Prophet Muhammad to the modern period. We first approach Islam in relation to the late antique Near Eastern context from which it emerged, becoming heir, with Christianity, to the twin legacies of prophetic monotheism and philosophical rationalism. We then turn to the process whereby Muhammad's apocalyptic message to the tribes of Arabia was sublimated into a high imperial project by the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates-that is, Islam's transformation from religion to civilization. We then trace the emergence of Islam as a world civilization during the 10th-16th centuries. The attenuation of the caliphate and decentralizing proliferation of sultanates from the 10th century onward set the stage for a new florescence of Islamic civilization, which offered increasingly flexible and open-source models of high culture, government and spirituality. This process gained a new intensity with the Mongol conquest of Asia and their termination of the caliphate in 1258, an event creative in its destructiveness: Islam saw its greatest expansion in the post-Mongol period, with 1300-1900 being the golden age of conversion to Islam, particularly in Africa, China and South and Southeast Asia. Most notably, the breakdown of the established model of Islamic society led to the emergence of sufi sainthood as a hegemonic concept in political theory, philosophy and social practice until the 17th century. Over the course of the 15th century, all of these strands were integrated in the east into a

Quote as: Salvatore Armando, Babak Rahimi, and Roberto Tottoli (eds). 2018. The Wiley Blackwell History of Islam. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. [You'll find the Introduction and my two co-authored Chapters in the section 'Book Chapters and Intros' by scrolling down my main academia webpage] A theoretically rich, nuanced history of Islam and Islamic civilization with a unique sociological component. This major new reference work offers a complete historical and theoretically informed view of Islam as both a religion and a sociocultural force. It surveys and discusses the transformation of Muslim societies in different eras and various regions, providing a broad narrative of the historical development of Islamic civilization. This text explores the complex and varied history of the religion and its traditions. It provides an in-depth study of the diverse ways through which the religious dimension at the core of Islamic traditions has led to a distinctive type of civilizational process in history. The book illuminates the ways in which various historical forces have converged and crystallized in institutional forms at a variety of levels, embracing social, religious, legal, political, cultural, and civic dimensions. Together, the team of internationally renowned scholars move from the genesis of a new social order in 7th-century Arabia, right up to the rise of revolutionary Islamist currents in the 20th century and the varied ways in which Islam has grown and continues to pervade daily life in the Middle East and beyond. This book is essential reading for students and academics in a wide range of fields, including sociology, history, law, and political science. It will also appeal to general readers with an interest in the history of one of the world’s great religions.

IslamiCity, 2024

/from-golden-era-to-modern-struggles-the-rise-and-fall-of-islamiccivilization/ Countless historians say that the Golden Era of the Muslims occurred during the peak of their civilization (750-1258). Others argue that it lasted for a much longer period. Regardless of the disagreement about the actual time frame, this era witnessed the emergence of many polymath scholars. The epicenters of knowledge, scientific research, and philosophical and religious debates were located in Baghdad (Iraq), Cordoba (Spain), Damascus (Syria), and Cairo (Egypt). Compared to the latter two, the primary centers of intellectual activity were Baghdad and Cordoba. Research in the fields of human and natural sciences conducted in these centers, particularly at Bayt al-Hikmah in Iraq, attracted many Western scholars who sought to study through the medium of Arabic. During this time, Arabic became the lingua franca for science and philosophy.

2017