Perspectives on the contribution of Arabs and Muslims to geography

Conclusion

The fact that Arab and Muslim geographers had contributed in a substantial way to geographical thought is well-recognized by many scholars of international standing including orientalists. It has now also been proved beyond any doubt that Muslim geographic thought was transmitted through Spain (Andalusia), Italy and Sicily during the Middle Ages to Europe. The Muslims had more advanced culture than did most of medieval Europe, and had made great discoveries in various fields of study (Hasan 1967). They had also preserved many of the writings of ancient Greek, Roman and other oriental civilizations. It was through Spain that the Muslims made these works as well as their own contribution available for European scholars. The centres of learning in Muslim Spain were thriving, with scholars from many places and particularly so from Europe. As Arabic was the language of culture and learning, many books were translated from Arabic into Latin and other European languages including German, French and English (Ahmed 1947; Hasan 1967; Kish 1978; James & Martin 1981; Muhammadain 1988).

It is also understood that when geographical works were not translated some of the ideas and concepts revealed in them were adopted in other translated works. With the final collapse of Muslim rule in Spain (1492 AD), Muslim intellectual centres were opened to Christians from all over Europe. Indeed, translations from Arabic into European languages continued well into the 16th century, and some of the translated books remained in use until the 17th century.

To ignore, as did some writers, the contribution of Muslims to geography during the Middle Ages, and to claim that the European Renaissance developed independently of what was happening in the Islamic world, is to dismiss seven centuries of Muslim leadership of world culture. Surely, no one nation or group of people can claim all the achievements of our present civilization. Present-day civilization is actually the sum total of all the past human efforts which have been accumulated over the long years of man's existence on earth, and as such there can be no gaps in human cultural history. While accepting the fact that the contribution of the various groups of people to the advancement of culture has not been the same, all are participants and have shared in its building and development. By looking at human cultural history in this spirit, it would not be difficult to appreciate the positive role played by the Arabs and Muslims in the advancement of knowledge during the Middle Ages. One of these branches of knowledge, which we have been trying to explain in this essay, is geography. To put the contribution of Arab and Muslim geographers into even more perspective, one can say that their most outstanding and original contributions, as has been stated before, were in the field of regional and mathematical geography as well as surveying. Although most of the studies were concerned with regions or individual countries, some contributions were highly specialized dealing with only one topic, such as climate or plants. The regional approach is represented by the many books written with the title: “Al-Masalik wa Al-Mamalik” or “Roads and Provinces”, and those with the title: “Al-Bilad” or “Countries”. As has been indicated earlier in this essay, treatment in these regional studies has beencomprehensive covering almost all aspects of physical and human geography.

To contemporary Muslim people the science of geography will continue to be as appealing as it was to their predecessors, partly because of religious needs and partly because of the Muslim love for his environment. To sum up, in the following quotations from the Holy Quran Muslims are asked to contemplate four things: qu]Do they not look At the Camels, How they are made? And at the sky, How it is raised high? And at the mountains, How they are fixed firm? And at the Earth, How it is spread out? (Holy Quran: Sura LXXXVIII, verses 17\2–20).

The contemplation of these things does not only make Muslims sense the absolute powers of their Creator, but also makes them constantly aware of their geographical surroundings.