Islam & Astronomy

1. Islam & Astronomy By Rula K.

2. History • Pre-Islamic Arabian knowledge of stars was what they observed regarding the rising and setting of stars. The rise of Islam is provoked increased Arab thought in this field. • Astronomical developments made in the Islamic world took place mainly in the Islamic Golden Age which was from 8th-13th centuries.

3. Islam’s Attitude Towards Astronomy • In the Qur’an (the Holy Book for Muslims) there is many mentions of the importance of astronomy. • The Qur'an's insistence on observation, reason, and contemplation led Muslims to develop an early scientific method based on experimental observation.

4. Islam’s Attitude Towards Astronomy • Islam advised Muslims to find ways of using the stars. The Qur'an says: "And it is He who ordained the stars for you that you may be guided thereby in the darkness of the land and the sea.” • On the basis of this advice Muslims began to develop better observational and navigational instruments, thus most navigational stars today have Arabic names. • Fomalhaut – The mouth of a fish • Rigel - The foot • Betelgeuse- House of Orion

5. Islam’s Attitude Towards Astronomy • There are also several cosmological verses in the Qur'an which some modern writers have interpreted as foreshadowing the expansion of the universe and possibly even the Big Bang theory: • Don't those who reject faith see that the heavens and the earth were a single entity then We ripped them apart? • And the heavens We did create with Our Hands, and We do cause it to expand. Qur'an 51:47

6. Islam & Astronomy • There are several rules in Islam which lead Muslims to use better astronomical calculations and observations. • The first issue is the Islamic calendar. Muslims could not follow the Christian or Hebrew calendars, which follows the solar calendar. Therefore Muslims had to develop a new one which follows the lunar calendar. • Solar Calendar- All months occur at the same time every year. • Lunar Calendar- in different years the months fall in a different season. • Ramadan

7. Islam & Astronomy • The other rule is moon sighting. • The Qur'an says: "They ask you about the waxing and waning phases of the crescent moons, say they are to mark fixed times for mankind” • Islamic months do not begin at the astronomical new moon, (when the moon has the same celestial longitude as the sun and is therefore invisible); instead they begin when the thin crescent moon is first sighted in the western evening sky. • This led Muslims to find the phases of the moon in the sky, and their efforts led to new mathematical calculations and observational instruments, as well as a special science being formed specifically for moon sighting.

8. Islam & Astronomy • Other reasons which lead Muslims to use better astronomical calculations and observations include: • Muslims are also expected to pray towards the Kaaba in Mecca and orient their mosques in that direction. Thus they need to determine the direction of Mecca from a given location. • Time of prayer for Muslims is also an contributing factor because Muslims need to determine from celestial bodies the proper times for the prayers at sunrise, at midday, in the afternoon, at sunset, and in the evening. • Finding the direction of Mecca and the time of prayer are the reasons which led to Muslims developing spherical geometry.

9. A Few Important Discoveries • 830- the first major original Muslim work of astronomy was Zij al-Sindh by al-Khwarizimi. The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. • 853-929- Muhammad ibnJābir al-Harrānī al-Battānī discovered that the direction of the Sun's eccentric was changing, which in modern astronomy is equivalent to the Earth moving in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. • 9th century- Ja'far Muhammad ibnMūsā, was the first to hypothesize that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres are subject to the same laws of physics as Earth.

10. A Few Important Discoveries • IbnMūsā also proposed that there is a force of attraction between heavenly bodies, foreshadowing Newton's law of universal gravitation. • 10th century- Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi gave the first descriptions and pictures of "A Little Cloud" now known as the Andromeda Galaxy. He also gave the first recorded mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud. • 11th century-, AbūRayhān al-Bīrūnī discovered the Milky Way galaxy to be a collection of numerous nebulous stars.

11. Development of Astrolabe • Astronomical data was essential to establish the Muslim calendar, based on lunar cycles, and the dates of religious festivals. • Thus, Muslim astronomers established large observatories and developed instruments such as the astrolabe to a high degree of accuracy and sophistication.

12. The Astrolabe • An astrolabe is a representation of the celestial sphere on a plane. It is an astronomical calculator used for example to find hours of setting, rising of the Sun or of a star, to convert coordinates of a star from a coordinate system to another (horizontal, equatorial, ecliptic), of to find azimuth, altitude, right ascension, declination, etc.

13. Works Cited • "Astrolabe History." The Astrolabe. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. <http://www.astrolabes.org/history.htm>. • " Islamic Astrolabes in Art and Poetry." History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. <http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/isaslabepoems.html>. • "Islamic astronomy - The history and importance of Arabic astronomy.." Astronomy for kids online takes you on a tour of the stars and space.. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. <http://www.astronomy-for-kids-online.com/islamic-astronomy.html>. • Owen. • "Islamic astronomy by Owen Gingerich." Islamic astronomy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2009. <http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/phys/alshukri/PHYS215/Islamic_astronomy.htm>.