The Culture of Islam

Chapter 6-4

Preservation of Knowledge

• During the first few centuries of the Arab Empire translations of Greek philosophy were being converted into Arabic & stored in the “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad

• Here they were studied by Muslim scholars

• It was through Muslim scholars that the works of Aristotle & Plato were recovered by the Europeans

• It was this recovery & translation into Latin that allowed the western world to know the works of the great Greek philosophers

Islamic Advancements

• When the translations of the great Greek philosophers arrived in the West they were also accompanied by the commentaries of the great Arabic philosophers as well

• One such philosopher was Ibn-Rushd who wrote commentary on virtually all of Aristotle’s surviving works

Islamic Advancements• They also perfected an instrument

called the astrolabe which was used by sailors to determine position based on the stars

• This made European discovery of the Americas possible

• In the area of medicine Ibn Sina wrote a medical encyclopedia stressing the contagious nature of certain diseases & how they could be spread by contaminated water supplies

• After its translation Sina’s book became the text for university students in medieval Europe

Literature

• In the area of literature the Muslims regard the Quran as their greatest literary work

• Other great works include The 1001Nights, also called The Arabian Nights

• This is a collection of anonymous folktales, fables, & romances that blend the natural with the supernatural

• Aladdin and the Magic Lamp was one such story

Art & Architecture

• Because Muslim religion unites spiritual & political power, palaces also reflect the glory of Islam

• The finest example of this is the Alhambra located in Spain

• Most decorations on Islamic art consist of natural plants & abstract figures which are repeated over & over called Arabesques

• The Hadith, an early collection of Muhammad’s sayings, warns against imitating God by creating pictures of living beings

• As a result, no representations of figures, including the prophet Muhammad, appear in Islamic religious art