Islam

=== Classical era (750–1258) ===
{{Further|Hadith studies|Islamic philosophy}}
{{See also|Islamic world contributions to Medieval Europe|Turco-Persian tradition}}

Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith.{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|p=86}} During the early Abbasid era, scholars such as [[Muhammad al-Bukhari]] and [[Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj]] compiled the major [[Six major Hadith collections|Sunni hadith collections]] while scholars like [[Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni|Al-Kulayni]] and [[Ibn Babawayh]] compiled major Shia hadith collections. The four Sunni [[Madh'hab]]s, the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of [[Abū Ḥanīfa]], [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]], Malik ibn Anas and [[al-Shafi'i]]. In contrast, the teachings of [[Ja'far al-Sadiq]] formed the [[Ja'fari jurisprudence]]. In the 9th century, [[Al-Tabari]] completed the first commentary of the Quran, the ''[[Tafsir al-Tabari]]'', which became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam. Some Muslims began questioning the piety of indulgence in worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility, and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri inspired a movement that would evolve into ''tasawwuf'' or [[Sufism]].<ref name=EB-Sufism />{{sfnp|Lapidus|2002|pp=90, 91}}

At this time, theological problems, notably on free will, were prominently tackled, with Hasan al Basri holding that although God knows people's actions, good and evil come from abuse of free will and the [[Iblis|devil]].{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|pp=38-39}}{{efn|"Hasan al Basri is often considered one of the first who rejected an angelic origin for the devil, arguing that his fall was the result of his own free-will, not God's determination. Hasan al Basri also argued that angels are incapable of sin or errors and nobler than humans and even prophets. Both early Shias and Sunnis opposed his view.<ref>Omar Hamdan ''Studien zur Kanonisierung des Korantextes: al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīs Beiträge zur Geschichte des Korans'' Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2006 {{ISBN|978-3447053495}} pp. 291–292 (German)</ref>}} Greek rationalist philosophy influenced a speculative school of thought known as [[Muʿtazila]], who famously advocated the notion of free-will originated by [[Wasil ibn Ata]].{{sfnp|Blankinship|2008|p=50}} Caliph [[Mamun al Rashid]] made it an official creed and unsuccessfully attempted to force this position on the majority.{{sfnp|Esposito|2010|p=88}} Caliph [[Al-Mu'tasim]] carried out [[Mihna|inquisition]]s, with the traditionalist [[Ahmad ibn Hanbal]] notably refusing to conform to the Muʿtazila idea that the Quran was [[Quranic createdness|created rather than being eternal]], which resulted in him being tortured and kept in an unlit prison cell for nearly thirty months.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doi |first=Abdur Rahman |title=Shariah: The Islamic Law |location=London |publisher=Ta-Ha Publishers |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-907461-38-8 |page=110}}</ref> However, other [[Schools of Islamic theology|schools]] of [[Kalam|speculative theology]] – [[Maturidi|Māturīdism]] founded by [[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi]] and [[Ash'ari]] founded by [[Al-Ash'ari]] – were more successful in being widely adopted. Philosophers such as [[Al-Farabi]], [[Avicenna]] and [[Averroes]] sought to harmonize Aristotle's ideas with the teachings of Islam, similar to later [[scholasticism]] within [[Christianity in Europe]] and [[Maimonides]]' work within Judaism, while others like [[Al-Ghazali]] argued against such [[syncretism]] and ultimately prevailed.<ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|p=160}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Waines|2003|pp=126–127}}</ref>
[[File:Cheshm manuscript.jpg|thumb|The eye, according to [[Hunain ibn Ishaq]] from a manuscript dated c. 1200]]
This era is sometimes called the "[[Islamic Golden Age]]".<ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lewis|1977|pp=80, 92, 105}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Holt|Lambton|Lewis|1977|pp=661–663}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lapidus|2002|p=56}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Lewis|1993|p=84}}</ref><ref name="harvp|Gardet|Jomier|2012"/> Islamic scientific achievements spanned a wide range of subject areas including [[Medicine in the medieval Islamic world|medicine]], [[Mathematics in the medieval Islamic world|mathematics]], [[Astronomy in the medieval Islamic world|astronomy]], and [[Arab Agricultural Revolution|agriculture]] as well as [[Physics in the medieval Islamic world|physics]], [[History of Islamic economics|economics]], [[List of inventions in the medieval Islamic world|engineering]] and [[Ibn al-Haytham|optics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=King |first=David A. |year=1983 |title=The Astronomy of the Mamluks |journal=[[Isis (journal)|Isis]] |volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=531–55 |doi=10.1086/353360 |s2cid=144315162}}</ref><ref>Hassan, Ahmad Y. 1996. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150434/http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the Sixteenth Century]." Pp. 351–99 in ''Islam and the Challenge of Modernity'', edited by S. S. Al-Attas. Kuala Lumpur: [[Ibn Khaldun International Institute of Advanced Research|International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization]]. Archived from the [http://www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%208.html original] on 2 April 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf|title=Contributions of Islamic scholars to the scientific enterprise|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=23 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523192533/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ854295.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The greatest scientific advances from the Muslim world|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=February 2010|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science|access-date=13 December 2022|archive-date=13 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213154451/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Avicenna]] was a pioneer in [[Medical research|experimental medicine]],<ref name="Jacquart, Danielle 2008">Jacquart, Danielle (2008). "Islamic Pharmacology in the Middle Ages: Theories and Substances". European Review (Cambridge University Press) 16: 219–227.</ref><ref>David W. Tschanz, MSPH, PhD (August 2003). "Arab Roots of European Medicine", Heart Views 4 (2).</ref> and his ''[[The Canon of Medicine]]'' was used as a standard medicinal text in the Islamic world and [[Europe]] for centuries. [[Rhazes]] was the first to identify the diseases [[smallpox]] and [[measles]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/alrazi.aspx|title=Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (Rhazes) (c. 865-925)|publisher=sciencemuseum.org.uk|access-date=31 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506072259/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/people/alrazi.aspx|archive-date=6 May 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Public hospital]]s of the time issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors.<ref name="Alatas">{{Cite journal |last=Alatas |first=Syed Farid |year=2006 |title=From Jami'ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue |url=https://zenodo.org/record/29439 |journal=[[Current Sociology]] |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=112–132 |doi=10.1177/0011392106058837 |s2cid=144509355 |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-date=23 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923024727/https://zenodo.org/record/29439/files/6.1From_Jamiah_to_University.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Imamuddin |first=S.M. |title=Muslim Spain 711–1492 AD |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |year=1981 |isbn=978-90-04-06131-6 |page=169}}</ref> [[Ibn al-Haytham]] is regarded as the father of the modern [[scientific method]] and often referred to as the "world's first true scientist", in particular regarding his work in [[optics]].<ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Gerald J. Toomer|first=G. J. |last=Toomer |jstor=228328 |title=Review Work: Matthias Schramm (1963) ''Ibn Al-Haythams Weg zur Physik'' |journal=Isis |volume=55 |issue=4 |date=Dec 1964 |page=464 |quote=Schramm sums up [Ibn Al-Haytham's] achievement in the development of scientific method.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Al-Khalili |first=Jim |date=4 January 2009 |title=The 'first true scientist' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7810846.stm |access-date=24 September 2013 |archive-date=26 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426041228/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7810846.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gorini |first=Rosanna |date=October 2003 |title=Al-Haytham the man of experience. First steps in the science of vision |journal=Journal of the International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=53–55 |url=http://www.ishim.net/ishimj/4/10.pdf |access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-date=17 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717022851/http://www.ishim.net/ishimj/4/10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In engineering, the [[Banū Mūsā]] brothers' [[Automaton|automatic]] [[flute]] player is considered to have been the first [[Program (machine)|programmable machine]].<ref name="Koetsier2">{{cite journal |last1=Koetsier |first1=Teun |title=On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators |journal=Mechanism and Machine Theory |date=May 2001 |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=589–603 |doi=10.1016/S0094-114X(01)00005-2 }}</ref> In [[Islamic mathematics|mathematics]], the concept of the [[algorithm]] is named after [[Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi]], who is considered a founder of [[algebra]], which is named after his book [[The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing|''al-jabr'']], while others developed the concept of a [[function (mathematics)|function]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Katz |first1=Victor J. |last2=Barton |first2=Bill |title=Stages in the History of Algebra with Implications for Teaching |journal=Educational Studies in Mathematics |date=18 September 2007 |volume=66 |issue=2 |pages=185–201 |doi=10.1007/s10649-006-9023-7 |s2cid=120363574 }}</ref> The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today.<ref name="Ahmed">{{harvp|Ahmed|2006|pp=23, 42, 84}}</ref> [[Guinness World Records]] recognizes the [[University of Al Karaouine]], founded in 859, as the world's oldest degree-granting university.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Mark |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo1998newy |title=The Guinness Book of Records |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofwo1998newy/page/242 242] |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-553-57895-9}}</ref> Many non-Muslims, such as [[Christians]], [[Jews]] and [[Sabians]],<ref name="Brague 2009"/> [[Christian influences on the Islamic world|contributed to the Islamic civilization]] in various fields,<ref>Hill, Donald. ''Islamic Science and Engineering''. 1993. Edinburgh Univ. Press. {{ISBN|0-7486-0455-3}}, p.4</ref><ref>Rémi Brague, [http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm Assyrians contributions to the Islamic civilization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927015958/http://www.christiansofiraq.com/assyriancontributionstotheislamiccivilization.htm |date=2013-09-27 }}</ref> and the institution known as the [[House of Wisdom]] employed [[List of Christian scientists and scholars of the medieval Islamic world|Christian]] and [[List of pre-modern Iranian scientists and scholars|Persian scholars]] to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge.<ref>Meri, Josef W. and Jere L. Bacharach. [https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA304 "Medieval Islamic Civilization". Vol. 1 Index A–K] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024001/https://books.google.com/books?id=MypbfKdMePIC&pg=PA304#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=28 December 2023 }}. 2006, p. 304.</ref><ref name="Brague 2009">{{cite book|title=The Legend of the Middle Ages: Philosophical Explorations of Medieval Christianity, Judaism, and Islam|first=Rémi |last=Brague|year= 2009| isbn=9780226070803| page =164|publisher=University of Chicago Press|quote=Neither were there any Muslims among the Ninth-Century translators. Amost all of them were Christians of various Eastern denominations: Jacobites, Melchites, and, above all, Nestorians... A few others were Sabians.}}</ref><ref>[[George Saliba|Saliba, George]]. 1994. ''A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden Age of Islam''. New York: [[New York University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8147-8023-7}}. pp. 245, 250, 256–57.</ref>

Soldiers broke away from the Abbasid empire and established their own dynasties, such as the [[Tulunid]]s in 868 in Egypt<ref>{{cite book|last=Holt|first=Peter Malcolm|author-link=Peter Holt (historian)|title=The Crusader States and Their Neighbours, 1098–1291|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qLHVGgH7AC&pg=PA8|year=2004|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=978-0-582-36931-3|page=6|access-date=2 February 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228024001/https://books.google.com/books?id=A0qLHVGgH7AC&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Ghaznavid|Ghaznavid dynasty]] in 977 in Central Asia.<ref>{{cite book |title=Islamic Central Asia: an anthology of historical sources |editor-first1=Scott Cameron |editor-last1=Levi |editor-first2=Ron |editor-last2=Sela |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2010 |page=83}}</ref> In this fragmentation came the [[Shi'a Century]], roughly between 945 and 1055, which saw the rise of the [[millennialist]] [[Isma'ili]] Shi'a missionary movement. One Isma'ili group, the [[Fatimid dynasty]], took control of North Africa in the 10th century<ref>Neue Fischer Weltgeschichte "Islamisierung in Zentralasien bis zur Mongolenzeit" Band 10: Zentralasien, 2012, p. 191 (German)</ref> and another Isma'ili group, the [[Qarmatians]], sacked Mecca and stole the [[Black Stone]], a rock placed within the Kaaba, in their unsuccessful rebellion.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Glubb |first=John Bagot |title=Mecca (Saudi Arabia) |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mecca#ref887188 |access-date=18 September 2021 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506004706/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mecca#ref887188 |url-status=live }}</ref> Yet another Isma'ili group, the [[Buyid dynasty]], conquered Baghdad and turned the Abbasids into a figurehead monarchy. The Sunni Seljuk dynasty campaigned to [[Sunni Revival|reassert Sunni Islam]] by promulgating the scholarly opinions of the time, notably with the construction of educational institutions known as [[Nezamiyeh]], which are associated with Al-Ghazali and [[Saadi Shirazi]].<ref>Andreas Graeser ''Zenon von Kition: Positionen u. Probleme'' [[Walter de Gruyter]] 1975 {{ISBN|978-3-11-004673-1}} p. 260</ref>

The expansion of the Muslim world continued with religious missions converting [[Volga Bulgaria]] to Islam. The [[Delhi Sultanate]] reached deep into the [[Indian Subcontinent]] and many converted to Islam,{{sfnp|Arnold|1896|pp=227–228}} in particular [[Dalit|low-caste Hindu]]s whose descendants make up the vast majority of Indian Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220329|title=Why are many Indian Muslims seen as untouchable?|publisher=BBCnews|date=10 May 2016|access-date=6 October 2022|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007024220/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220329|url-status=live}}</ref> Trade brought many [[Islam in China|Muslims to China]], where they virtually dominated the import and export industry of the [[Song dynasty]].<ref name="china">{{cite web |title=Islam in China |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_1.shtml |access-date=10 August 2011 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=22 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122142756/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_1.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Muslims were recruited as a [[Semu|governing minority class]] in the [[Yuan dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lipman|first=Jonathan Newman|title=Familiar Strangers, a history of Muslims in Northwest China|location=Seattle, WA|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-295-97644-0|page=33}}</ref>