It is however not a crime to refute people who try to make you look worthless by watering down or disregarding your contributions. Showing people the good
things you have done could sprawl others to emulate you and even do better things.
things you have done could sprawl others to emulate you and even do better things.
Numbers have always been important to man even though it took him centuries to standardize. Nature makes us do certain calculations like adding your number of male children to your female ones to know the total and other related basic calculations.
Arabic numerals are the ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, which have become the common system for the representation of numbers on the globe. In this system, a group of characters such as "123" is read as a single number. This system descended from the numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians around 500 CE, and in 628 CE, Brahmagupta formulated zero (0) as a number.
The numerals in their current form developed from Arabic letters in the Maghreb, in other words, the current form of the numerals is distinct in form from the one developed by the Indians.
The numeral system came to be known in Iraq and in 825 CE, Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi wrote the book ‘Calculation with Hindu Numerals’ in Arabic. Five years later (830 CE), Arab mathematician Abu Yūsuf Yaʻqūb ibn ʼIsḥāq aṣ-Ṣabbāḥ al-Kindī (another Muslim) wrote four volumes on ‘The Use of the Indian Numerals’ (Ketab fi Isti'mal al-'Adad al-Hindi). The decimal point notation was introduced by another Muslim, Sind ibn Ali, who also wrote the earliest treatise on Arabic numerals. These works made the Indian numerals better understood and propagated it throughout the Muslim world consequently; became known as the ‘Arabic numerals’.
The 10th century saw Muslim mathematicians extended the decimal numeral system to include fractions, this was recorded in a treatise by the Syrian mathematician; Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi.
A distinctive West Arabic variant of the symbols emerged around the 10th century in the Muslim world called ‘ghubar numerals’ which are the direct ancestor of the modern Western Arabic numerals used in the world today.
It was in the Algerian city of Bejaia that the Italian mathematician, Leonardo Fibonacci, first encountered the numerals, his work was crucial in making them known throughout Europe. The use of Arabic numerals spread to other parts of the world by virtue of European trade and colonialism.
Agreeing that Arabic numerals were introduced in Spain by Muslims, some western historians believe it was Gerbert of Aurillac (Pope Sylvester II) who used his position to spread knowledge of the numerals in Europe starting from the 980s CE.
The Muslim Hui people introduced the Arabic numerals to China during the Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century.
In the Russian axis, Cyrillic numerals were used by the Southern and Eastern Slavic people. It was used in Russia up till as late as the early 18th century before Peter the Great replaced it with Arabic numerals.
European-style Arabic numerals were introduced by Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits in the early 17th century.
From these we see that it would be more appropriate to called the Arabic numerals 'Islamic numerals' since the Arab race by itself was steep in ignorance knowing nothing but idolatry and moral decadence. Intellectual progress only came to the Arabs when they embraced Islam and Muhammad (SAW) urged Muslims to seek knowledge wherever possible. It should also be noted that Muslim scientists enjoyed massive moral, logistical and financial support from the Islamic governments that hosted them hence, Islam cannot be detached from their accomplishments.
The next time someone tells you Muslims have made no contribution to this world; boldly tell him ‘YOU ARE NAIVE’.
Muhammad (SAW) said: "Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim".
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