8 important inventions of Muslims

Since ancient times, Muslims have discovered the method of surgery or the design of flying machines, paving the way for the development of today's civilized world.

The inventions that change the human life of Muslims

1. The machine knows how to fly

Muslim engineer Abbas ibn Firnas was the first to implement a plan to build a flying machine and test it. Around the 9th century, he designed a winged frame and hoped it could fly like a bird. During the famous test in Cordoba, Spain, this machine flew high a few seconds before falling to the ground and causing him to break his back. Abbas's product is believed to be the inspiration of Leonardo da Vinci hundreds of years later.

Abbas ibn Firnas (left) and his test flight simulation image.(Photo: ilmfeed.com)

2. Surgery

Around 1000, Dr. Al Zahrawi published an encyclopedia of 1,500-page surgery. This book has been used as a reference in medical research 500 years later.

Zahrawi is also the one who discovered how to use only cat's intestines to sew surgical wounds. He is also the doctor who performed the first caesarean birth and invented the surgical clamping device.

3. Cafe

According to Professor Salim al-Hassani, chairman of the British Society for Science, Technology and Civilization, coffee was first brewed in Yemen around the 9th century. At that time, it was a drink that helped Sufi followers. stay up all night to pray. Later, the cafe was taken by a group of students to Cairo, Egypt and then in Turkey around the 13th century. The cafe began to appear in Europe three centuries later and was brought to Italy by a trader.

4. University

In 859, Fatima al-Firhi - the daughter of a wealthy merchant, founded the world's first degree university in Fez, Morocco . Along with the mosque founded by her sister Miriam, it became the al-Qarawiyyin University and Mosque complex, which operated for nearly 1,200 years. Professor Hassani said this story emphasizes that education is at the core of the Muslim tradition, while hopefully it inspires Muslim women today.

5. Optics

Many important achievements and scientific advances in optical research stem from the foundation of the Muslim world.Ibn al-Haitham once proved that humans look at objects when light reflects and enters the eye, which is different from the theory of Euclid and Ptolemy that claim light is emitted from the eyes. The physicist also discovered a dark box phenomenon, explaining how the human eye sees images through the connection between the brain and the optic nerve.

6. Music

Muslim music has a profound influence on European music. According to researchers, lute and rahab - the forerunner of violin, are two of the instruments brought to Europe. The sound scale or gram in modern music is said to originate from the Arab alphabet.

7. Toothbrush

The Prophet Mohammed is said to be a popular contributor to the use of toothbrushes since 600. Mohammed cleans his teeth and breath by using a small Meswak tree branch. Meswalk-like substances are used in toothpaste.

Some Muslim and African countries can still use small meswak branches to clean their teeth.(Photo: ShutterStock)

8. Hospital

"Hospitals we know today, with the system of clinics and training centers, originated in the 9th century in Egypt," Professor Hassani said. The world's first medical center, Ahmad ibn Tulun , was founded in 872 in Cairo, providing free care to patients based on the tradition of Muslims.