Islamic Science

Science in medieval Islam, also known as Islamic or Arabic science, is a term used in the history of science to refer to the science developed in the Islamic world prior to the modern era, particularly during what is known as the Islamic Golden Age (dated variously between the 7th and 15th centuries). In the course of the expansion of the Islamic world, Muslim scholars encountered the science, mathematics, and medicine of antiquity through the works of Aristotle, Archimedes, Galen, Ptolemy, Euclid, and others. These works and the important commentaries on them were the wellspring of science during the Medieval period. They were translated into Arabic, the lingua franca of this period; scientists within the Islamic civilization were of diverse ethnicity (a great portion were Persians  and Arabs,  in addition to Berbers, Moors and Turks) and diverse religious backgrounds (mostly Muslims, in addition to many Christians and Jews, as well as Sabians, Zoroastrians and the irreligious).

Scientific method

Muslim scientists placed a greater emphasis on experimentation than previous ancient civilizations (for example, Greek philosophy placed a greater emphasis on rationality rather than empiricism), which partly arose from the emphasis on empirical observation found in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and the rigorous historical methods established in the science of hadith.  In addition, there was greater emphasis on combining theory with practice in the Islamic world, where it was common for those studying the sciences to be artisans as well, something that was "considered an aberration in the ancient world",  thus Islamic experts in the sciences were usually expert makers of instruments that would enhance their powers of observation and calculation.  Muslim scientists thus combined precise observation, controlled experiment and careful records with a new approach to scientific inquiry which led to the development of the scientific method.  In particular, the empirical observations and experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) in his Book of Optics (1021) is seen as the beginning of the modern scientific method, which he first introduced to optics and psychology. Rosanna Gorini writes:

"According to the majority of the historians al-Haytham was the pioneer of the modern scientific method. With his book he changed the meaning of the term optics and established experiments as the norm of proof in the field. His investigations are based not on abstract theories, but on experimental evidences and his experiments were systematic and repeatable." 

Other early experimental methods were developed by Jābir ibn Hayyān (for chemistry), Muhammad al-Bukhari (for history and the science of hadith), Al-Kindi (for the Earth sciences),  Avicenna (for medicine), Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (for astronomy and mechanics),  Ibn Zuhr (for surgery)  and Ibn Khaldun (for the social sciences). The most important development of the scientific method, the use of experimentation and quantification to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, was introduced by Muslim scientists.

Ibn al-Haytham, a pioneer of modern optics,[83] used the scientific method to obtain the results in his Book of Optics. In particular, he combined observations, experiments and rational arguments to show that his modern intromission theory of vision, where rays of light are emitted from objects rather than from the eyes, is scientifically correct, and that the ancient emission theory of vision supported by Ptolemy and Euclid (where the eyes emit rays of light), and the ancient intromission theory supported by Aristotle (where objects emit physical particles to the eyes), were both wrong.[84] It is known that Roger Bacon was familiar with Ibn al-Haytham's work. Ibn al-Haytham is featured on the 10,000 Iraqi dinar note.

Ibn al-Haytham developed rigorous experimental methods of controlled scientific testing in order to verify theoretical hypotheses and substantiate inductive conjectures.[85] Ibn al-Haytham's scientific method was similar to the modern scientific method in that it consisted of the following procedures: 
Observation
Statement of problem
Formulation of hypothesis
Testing of hypothesis using experimentation
Analysis of experimental results
Interpretation of data and formulation of conclusion
Publication of findings

Agricultural sciences

During the Arab Agricultural Revolution, Muslim scientists made significant advances in botany and laid the foundations of agricultural science. Muslim botanists and agriculturists demonstrated advanced agronomical, agrotechnical and economic knowledge in areas such as meteorology, climatology, hydrology, and soil occupation. They also demonstrated agricultural knowledge in areas such as pedology, agricultural ecology, irrigation, preparation of soil, planting, spreading of manure, sowing, cutting trees, grafting, pruning, prophylaxis, phytotherapy, the care and improvement of cultures and plants, and the harvest and storage of crops. 

Al-Dinawari (828-896) is considered the founder of Arabic botany for his Book of Plants, in which he described at least 637 plants and discussed plant evolution from its birth to its death, describing the phases of plant growth and the production of flowers and fruit. 

In the 13th century, the Andalusian-Arabian biologist Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati developed an early scientific method for botany, introducing empirical and experimental techniques in the testing, description and identification of numerous materia medica, and separating unverified reports from those supported by actual tests and observations.  His student Ibn al-Baitar published the Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada, which is considered one of the greatest botanical compilations in history, and was a botanical authority for centuries. It contains details on at least 1,400 different plants, foods, and drugs, 300 of which were original discoveries. His work was also influential in Europe after it was translated into Latin in 1758.

Medicine

Muslim physicians made many significant advances and contributions to medicine, including anatomy, ophthalmology, pathology, the pharmaceutical sciences (including pharmacy and pharmacology), physiology, and surgery. Muslim physicians set up dedicated hospitals, which later spread to Europe during the Crusades, inspired by the hospitals in the Middle East. 

Al-Kindi wrote De Gradibus, in which he first demonstrated the application of quantification and mathematics to medicine, particularly in the field of pharmacology. This includes the development of a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of drugs, and a system that would allow a doctor to determine in advance the most critical days of a patient's illness.  Razi (Rhazes) (865-925), a pioneer of pediatrics,[102] recorded clinical cases of his own experience and provided very useful recordings of various diseases. His Comprehensive Book of Medicine, which introduced measles and smallpox, was very influential in Europe. He also introduced urinalysis and stool tests. 

Abu al-Qasim (Abulcasis), considered a pioneer of modern surgery, wrote the Al-Tasrif (1000), a 30-volume medical encyclopedia which was taught at Muslim and European medical schools until the 17th century. He invented numerous surgical instruments, including the first instruments unique to women, as well as the surgical uses of catgut and forceps, the ligature, surgical needle, scalpel, curette, retractor, surgical spoon, sound, surgical hook, surgical rod, and specula,[citation needed] bone saw, [dubious – discuss] and plaster. In 1021, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen) made important advances in eye surgery, as he studied and correctly explained the process of sight and visual perception for the first time in his Book of Optics (1021). 

Avicenna, who was a pioneer of experimental medicine and was also an influential thinker and medical scholar, wrote The Canon of Medicine (1025) and The Book of Healing (1027), which remained standard textbooks in both Muslim and European universities until at least the 17th century. Avicenna's contributions include the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases, the introduction of quarantine to limit the spread of contagious diseases, the introduction of experimental medicine,  evidence-based medicine, clinical trials,  randomized controlled trials, efficacy tests,  and clinical pharmacology,  the importance of dietetics and the influence of climate and environment on health, the distinction of mediastinitis from pleurisy, the contagious nature of phthisis and tuberculosis, the distribution of diseases by water and soil, and the first careful descriptions of skin troubles, sexually transmitted diseases, perversions, and nervous ailments, as well the use of ice to treat fevers, and the separation of medicine from pharmacology, which was important to the development of the pharmaceutical sciences. 

Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) is considered a pioneer of experimental surgery,  for introducing the experimental method into surgery in the 12th century, as he was the first to employ animal testing in order to experiment with surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.  He also performed the first dissections and postmortem autopsies on both humans as well as animals. 

In 1242, Ibn al-Nafis, considered a pioneer of circulatory physiology, was the first to describe pulmonary circulation and coronary circulation,  which form the basis of the circulatory system, for which he is considered one of the greatest physiologists in the Middle Ages.  He also described the earliest concept of metabolism,  and developed new systems of physiology and psychology to replace the Avicennian and Galenic systems, while discrediting many of their erroneous theories on the four humours, pulsation,  bones, muscles, intestines, sensory organs, bilious canals, esophagus, stomach, etc. Ibn al-Lubudi (1210–1267) rejected the theory of four humours supported by Galen and Hippocrates, discovered that the body and its preservation depend exclusively upon blood, rejected Galen's idea that women can produce sperm, and discovered that the movement of arteries are not dependent upon the movement of the heart, that the heart is the first organ to form in a fetus' body (rather than the brain as claimed by Hippocrates), and that the bones forming the skull can grow into tumors. 

The Tashrih al-badan (Anatomy of the body) of Mansur ibn Ilyas (c. 1390) contained comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, nervous and circulatory systems.  During the Black Death bubonic plague in 14th century al-Andalus, Ibn Khatima and Ibn al-Khatib hypothesized that infectious diseases are caused by "contagious entities" which enter the human body.  Other medical innovations first introduced by Muslim physicians include the discovery of the immune system, the use of animal testing, and the combination of medicine with other sciences (including agriculture, botany, chemistry, and pharmacology),  as well as the invention of the injection syringe by Ammar ibn Ali al-Mawsili in 9th century Iraq, the first drugstores in Baghdad (754), the distinction between medicine and pharmacy by the 12th century, and the discovery of at least 2,000 medicinal and chemical substances.

Logic
 
Islamic logic not only included the study of formal patterns of inference and their validity but also elements of the philosophy of language and elements of epistemology and metaphysics. Due to disputes with Arabic grammarians, Islamic philosophers were very interested in working out the relationship between logic and language, and they devoted much discussion to the question of the subject matter and aims of logic in relation to reasoning and speech. In the area of formal logical analysis, they elaborated upon the theory of terms, propositions and syllogisms. They considered the syllogism to be the form to which all rational argumentation could be reduced, and they regarded syllogistic theory as the focal point of logic. Even poetics was considered as a syllogistic art in some fashion by many major Islamic logicians.

Important developments made by Muslim logicians included the development of "Avicennian logic" as a replacement of Aristotelian logic. Avicenna's system of logic was responsible for the introduction of hypothetical syllogism,  temporal modal logic, and inductive logic.   Other important developments in Islamic philosophy include the development of a strict science of citation, the isnad or "backing", and the development of a scientific method of open inquiry to disprove claims, the ijtihad, which could be generally applied to many types of questions. From the 12th century, despite the logical sophistication of al-Ghazali, the rise of the Asharite school in the late Middle Ages slowly limited original work on logic in the Islamic world, though it did continue into the 15th century.
 
Mathematics
  
Al-Khwarizmi, a pioneer of algebra and algorithms.

Al-Khwarizmi (780-850) (born in Iran) , from whose name the word algorithm derives, contributed significantly to algebra, which is named after his book, Kitab al-Jabr, the first book on elementary algebra. He also introduced what is now known as Arabic numerals, which originally came from India, though Muslim mathematicians did make several refinements to the number system, such as the introduction of decimal point notation. Al-Kindi (801-873) was a pioneer in cryptanalysis and cryptology. He gave the first known recorded explanations of cryptanalysis and frequency analysis in A Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages. 

The first known proof by mathematical induction appears in a book written by Al-Karaji around 1000 AD, who used it to prove the binomial theorem, Pascal's triangle, and the sum of integral cubes. The historian of mathematics, F. Woepcke, praised Al-Karaji for being "the first who introduced the theory of algebraic calculus." Ibn al-Haytham was the first mathematician to derive the formula for the sum of the fourth powers, and using the method of induction, he developed a method for determining the general formula for the sum of any integral powers, which was fundamental to the development of integral calculus. The 11th century poet-mathematician Omar Khayyám was the first to find general geometric solutions of cubic equations and laid the foundations for the development of analytic geometry, algebraic geometry and non-Euclidean geometry. Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi (1135–1213) found algebraic and numerical solutions to cubic equations and was the first to discover the derivative of cubic polynomials, an important result in differential calculus. 

Other achievements of Muslim mathematicians include the invention of spherical trigonometry, the discovery of all the trigonometric functions besides sine and cosine, early inquiry which aided the development of analytic geometry by Ibn al-Haytham, the first refutations of Euclidean geometry and the parallel postulate by Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, the first attempt at a non-Euclidean geometry by Sadr al-Din, the development of symbolic algebra by Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī,  and numerous other advances in algebra, arithmetic, calculus, cryptography, geometry, number theory and trigonometry.

Astrology

Islamic astrology, in Arabic ilm al-nujum is the study of the heavens by early Muslims. In early Arabic sources, ilm al-nujum was used to refer to both astronomy and astrology. In medieval sources, however, a clear distinction was made between ilm al-nujum (science of the stars) or ilm al-falak (science of the celestial orbs), referring to astrology, and ilm al-haya (science of the figure of the heavens), referring to astronomy. Both fields were rooted in Greek, Persian, and Indian traditions. Despite consistent critiques of astrology by scientists and religious scholars, astrological prognostications required a fair amount of exact scientific knowledge and thus gave partial incentive for the study and development of astronomy.

The study of astrology was also refuted by several Muslim writers, including al-Farabi, Ibn al-Haytham, Avicenna, al-Biruni and Averroes. Their reasons for refuting astrology were both due to the methods used by astrologers being conjectural rather than empirical and also due to the views of astrologers conflicting with orthodox Islam.

Astronomy
Main article: Astronomy in medieval Islam
See also: List of Muslim astronomers, List of Arabic star names, Maragheh observatory, Ulugh Beg Observatory, and Istanbul observatory of Taqi al-Din

Nasir al-Din Tusi was a polymath who resolved significant problems in the Ptolemaic system with the Tusi-couple, which played an important role in Copernican heliocentrism.

In astronomy, the works of Egyptian/Greek astronomer Ptolemy, particularly the Almagest, and the Indian work of Brahmagupta, were significantly refined over the years by Muslim astronomers. The astronomical tables of Al-Khwarizmi and of Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti served as important sources of information for Latin European thinkers rediscovering the works of astronomy, where extensive interest in astrology was discouraged.

An important contribution by Islamic astronomers was their much greater emphasis on observational science and observational astronomy. Their work was based largely on actual observations of the heavens, far more so than the earlier Greek tradition which relied heavily upon abstract calculation.[142] This led to the emergence of the first astronomical observatories, in the sense of modern scientific research institutes, in the Muslim world by the early 9th century.[143][144][145] Accurate Zij catalogues were at the Islamic observatories, which were the first specialized astronomical institutions with their own scientific staff,[143] director, astronomical program,[144] large astronomical instruments, and building where astronomical research and observations are carried out. These Islamic observatories were also the first to employ enormously large astronomical instruments in order to greatly improve the accuracy of observations.[143]

In the 10th century, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) carried out observations on the stars and described their positions, magnitudes, brightness, and colour, and drawings for each constellation in his Book of Fixed Stars. He also gave the first descriptions and pictures of "A Little Cloud" now known as the Andromeda Galaxy. He mentions it as lying before the mouth of a Big Fish, an Arabic constellation. This "cloud" was apparently commonly known to the Isfahan astronomers, very probably before 905 AD.[146] The first recorded mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was also given by al-Sufi.[147][148]

In the 11th century, Muslim astronomers began questioning the Ptolemaic system, beginning with Ibn al-Haytham, and they were the first to conduct elaborate experiments related to astronomical phenomena, beginning with the introduction of the experimental method into astronomy by Abu Rayhan Biruni and Ibn al-Haytham.[149] Many of them made changes and corrections to the Ptolemaic model and proposed alternative non-Ptolemaic models within a geocentric framework. In particular, the corrections and critiques of al-Battani, Ibn al-Haytham, and Averroes, and the non-Ptolemaic models of the Maragha astronomers, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (Tusi-couple), Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi (Urdi lemma), and Ibn al-Shatir, were later adapted into the heliocentric Copernican model,[150][151][unreliable source?] and that Copernicus' arguments for the Earth's rotation were similar to those of al-Tusi and Ali al-Qushji.[152] Some have referred to the achievements of the Maragha school as a "Maragha Revolution", "Maragha School Revolution", or "Scientific Revolution before the Renaissance".[12]

Other contributions from Muslim astronomers include Biruni speculating that the Milky Way galaxy is a collection of numerous nebulous stars, the development of a planetary model without any epicycles by Ibn Bajjah (Avempace),[153] the development of universal astrolabes,[154] the invention of numerous other astronomical instruments, continuation of inquiry into the motion of the planets, Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir's discovery that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres are subject to the same physical laws as Earth,[155] the first elaborate experiments related to astronomical phenomena, the use of exacting empirical observations and experimental techniques,[156] the discovery that the celestial spheres are not solid and that the heavens are less dense than the air by Ibn al-Haytham,[157] the separation of natural philosophy from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham[158] and al-Qushji,[152] the rejection of the Ptolemaic model on empirical rather than philosophical grounds by Ibn al-Shatir,[12] and the first empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotation by al-Tusi and al-Qushji.[152] Several Muslim astronomers also discussed the possibility of a heliocentric model with elliptical orbits,[159] such as Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Ibn al-Haytham, Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, al-Sijzi, Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī, and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi.[160]

In the 12th century, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi criticized the idea of the Earth's centrality within the universe, and instead argued that there are more than "a thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi 'awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has."[161] The first empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotation was given by Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī in the 13th century and by Ali Qushji in the 15th century, followed by Al-Birjandi who developed an early hypothesis on "circular inertia" by the early 16th century.[152] Natural philosophy (particularly Aristotelian physics) was separated from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in the 11th century, by Ibn al-Shatir in the 14th century,[158] and Qushji in the 15th century, leading to the development of an independent astronomical physics.

Astronomy

Nasir al-Din Tusi was a polymath who resolved significant problems in the Ptolemaic system with the Tusi-couple, which played an important role in Copernican heliocentrism.

In astronomy, the works of Egyptian/Greek astronomer Ptolemy, particularly the Almagest, and the Indian work of Brahmagupta, were significantly refined over the years by Muslim astronomers. The astronomical tables of Al-Khwarizmi and of Maslamah Ibn Ahmad al-Majriti served as important sources of information for Latin European thinkers rediscovering the works of astronomy, where extensive interest in astrology was discouraged.

An important contribution by Islamic astronomers was their much greater emphasis on observational science and observational astronomy. Their work was based largely on actual observations of the heavens, far more so than the earlier Greek tradition which relied heavily upon abstract calculation.  This led to the emergence of the first astronomical observatories, in the sense of modern scientific research institutes, in the Muslim world by the early 9th century. Accurate Zij catalogues were at the Islamic observatories, which were the first specialized astronomical institutions with their own scientific staff,  director, astronomical program,  large astronomical instruments, and building where astronomical research and observations are carried out. These Islamic observatories were also the first to employ enormously large astronomical instruments in order to greatly improve the accuracy of observations. 

In the 10th century, Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) carried out observations on the stars and described their positions, magnitudes, brightness, and colour, and drawings for each constellation in his Book of Fixed Stars. He also gave the first descriptions and pictures of "A Little Cloud" now known as the Andromeda Galaxy. He mentions it as lying before the mouth of a Big Fish, an Arabic constellation. This "cloud" was apparently commonly known to the Isfahan astronomers, very probably before 905 AD. The first recorded mention of the Large Magellanic Cloud was also given by al-Sufi.

In the 11th century, Muslim astronomers began questioning the Ptolemaic system, beginning with Ibn al-Haytham, and they were the first to conduct elaborate experiments related to astronomical phenomena, beginning with the introduction of the experimental method into astronomy by Abu Rayhan Biruni and Ibn al-Haytham.[149] Many of them made changes and corrections to the Ptolemaic model and proposed alternative non-Ptolemaic models within a geocentric framework. In particular, the corrections and critiques of al-Battani, Ibn al-Haytham, and Averroes, and the non-Ptolemaic models of the Maragha astronomers, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (Tusi-couple), Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi (Urdi lemma), and Ibn al-Shatir, were later adapted into the heliocentric Copernican model, and that Copernicus' arguments for the Earth's rotation were similar to those of al-Tusi and Ali al-Qushji.  Some have referred to the achievements of the Maragha school as a "Maragha Revolution", "Maragha School Revolution", or "Scientific Revolution before the Renaissance". 

Other contributions from Muslim astronomers include Biruni speculating that the Milky Way galaxy is a collection of numerous nebulous stars, the development of a planetary model without any epicycles by Ibn Bajjah (Avempace),  the development of universal astrolabes, the invention of numerous other astronomical instruments, continuation of inquiry into the motion of the planets, Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir's discovery that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres are subject to the same physical laws as Earth, the first elaborate experiments related to astronomical phenomena, the use of exacting empirical observations and experimental techniques, the discovery that the celestial spheres are not solid and that the heavens are less dense than the air by Ibn al-Haytham, the separation of natural philosophy from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham and al-Qushji, the rejection of the Ptolemaic model on empirical rather than philosophical grounds by Ibn al-Shatir,  and the first empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotation by al-Tusi and al-Qushji. Several Muslim astronomers also discussed the possibility of a heliocentric model with elliptical orbits,[159] such as Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Ibn al-Haytham, Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, al-Sijzi, Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī, and Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi. 

In the 12th century, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi criticized the idea of the Earth's centrality within the universe, and instead argued that there are more than "a thousand thousand worlds (alfa alfi 'awalim) beyond this world such that each one of those worlds be bigger and more massive than this world as well as having the like of what this world has." The first empirical observational evidence of the Earth's rotation was given by Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī in the 13th century and by Ali Qushji in the 15th century, followed by Al-Birjandi who developed an early hypothesis on "circular inertia" by the early 16th century. Natural philosophy (particularly Aristotelian physics) was separated from astronomy by Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) in the 11th century, by Ibn al-Shatir in the 14th century, and Qushji in the 15th century, leading to the development of an independent astronomical physics.

Earth sciences

Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī was a polymath who is considered a pioneer in Indology, anthropology, geodesy and geology.

Muslim scientists made a number of contributions to the Earth sciences. Alkindus was the first to introduce experimentation into the Earth sciences. Biruni is considered a pioneer of geodesy for his important contributions to the field, along with his significant contributions to geography and geology.

Physics

A page of Ibn Sahl's manuscript showing his discovery of the law of refraction (Snell's law).

In the optics field of physics, Ibn Sahl (c. 940-1000), a mathematician and physicist connected with the court of Baghdad, wrote a treatise On Burning Mirrors and Lenses in 984 in which he set out his understanding of how curved mirrors and lenses bend and focus light. Ibn Sahl is now credited with first discovering the law of refraction, usually called Snell's law. He used this law to work out the shapes of lenses that focus light with no geometric aberrations, known as anaclastic lenses.

Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965-1039), who is considered a pioneer of optics and the scientific method, developed a broad theory of light and optics in his Book of Optics which explained vision, using geometry and anatomy, and stated that each point on an illuminated area or object radiates light rays in every direction, but that only one ray from each point, which strikes the eye perpendicularly, can be seen. The other rays strike at different angles and are not seen. He used the example of the camera obscura and pinhole camera, which produces an inverted image, to support his argument. This contradicted Ptolemy's theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes. Alhacen held light rays to be streams of minute particles that travelled at a finite speed. He improved accurately described the refraction of light, and discovered the laws of refraction. He dealt at length with the theory of various physical phenomena like shadows, eclipses, and the rainbow. He also attempted to explain binocular vision and the moon illusion. Through these extensive researches on optics, he is considered a pioneer of modern optics. His Book of Optics was later translated into Latin, and has been ranked as one of the most influential books in the history of physics, for initiating a revolution in optics and visual perception. 

Avicenna (980-1037) agreed that the speed of light is finite, as he "observed that if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by a luminous source, the speed of light must be finite."[178] Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048) also agreed that light has a finite speed, and he was the first to discover that the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound. Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi (1236–1311) and Kamāl al-Dīn al-Fārisī (1260–1320) gave the first correct explanations for the rainbow phenomenon. 

In mechanics, Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (800-873) of the Banū Mūsā hypothesized that heavenly bodies and celestial spheres were subject to the same laws of physics as Earth. Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048), and later al-Khazini, developed experimental scientific methods for mechanics, especially the fields of statics and dynamics, particularly for determining specific weights, such as those based on the theory of balances and weighing. Muslim physicists were influential in the process of combined the fields of hydrostatics with dynamics to give birth to hydrodynamics. They applied the mathematical theories of ratios and infinitesimal techniques, and introduced algebraic and fine calculation techniques into the field of statics. They also generalized the concept of the centre of gravity and applied it to three-dimensional bodies and founded the theory of the ponderable lever. Al-Biruni also theorized that acceleration is connected with non-uniform motion. 

In mechanics, Ibn al-Haytham discussed the theory of attraction between masses, and he stated that the heavenly bodies "were accountable to the laws of physics".[181] Ibn al-Haytham also enunciated the law of inertia when he stated that a body moves perpetually unless an external force stops it or changes its direction of motion. He also developed the concept of momentum, though he did not quantify this concept mathematically. Avicenna (980-1037) developed the concept of momentum, when attempting to provide a quantitive relation between the weight and velocity of a moving body. His theory of motion also resembled the concept of inertia in classical mechanics. 

In 1121, al-Khazini, in The Book of the Balance of Wisdom, proposed that the gravity and gravitational potential energy of a body varies depending on its distance from the centre of the Earth.  Avempace (d. 1138) argued that there is always a reaction force for every force exerted, though he did not refer to the reaction force as being equal to the exerted force. His theory of motion had an important influence on later physicists like Galileo Galilei. Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi (1080–1165) wrote a critique of Aristotelian physics entitled al-Mu'tabar, where he negated Aristotle's idea that a constant force produces uniform motion, as he theorized that a force applied continuously produces acceleration. He also described acceleration as the rate of change of velocity. Averroes (1126–1198) defined and measured force as "the rate at which work is done in changing the kinetic condition of a material body"and correctly argued "that the effect and measure of force is change in the kinetic condition of a materially resistant mass." In the early 16th century, al-Birjandi developed a hypothesis similar to "circular inertia." The Muslim developments in mechanics laid many of the foundations for the later development of classical mechanics in early modern Europe. 

Zoology

The first Muslim biologist to develop a theory on evolution was al-Jahiz (781-869). He wrote on the effects of the environment on the likelihood of an animal to survive, and he first described the struggle for existence. Al-Jahiz was also the first to discuss food chains, and was also an early adherent of environmental determinism, arguing that the environment can determine the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of a certain community and that the origins of different human skin colors is the result of the environment. 

Ibn al-Haytham wrote a book in which he argued for evolutionism (although not natural selection), and numerous other Islamic scholars and scientists, such as Ibn Miskawayh, the Brethren of Purity, al-Khazini, Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī, Nasir al-Din Tusi, and Ibn Khaldun, discussed and developed these ideas. Translated into Latin, these works began to appear in the West after the Renaissance and appear to have had an impact on Western science.

Ibn Miskawayh's al-Fawz al-Asghar and the Brethren of Purity's Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Purity (The Epistles of Ikhwan al-Safa) expressed evolutionary ideas on how species evolved from matter, into vapor, and then water, then minerals, then plants, then animals, then apes, and then humans. These works were known in Europe and likely had an influence on Darwinism.