The period between the 9th century and 14th century marked a period in the history of the Islamic world where a scientific, economic and cultural flourishing was witnessed. This is a period where scholars from various parts of the Islamic world were tasked with the responsibilities of gathering and translating all the of the world’s classical knowledge into Arabic. At this time also, the Muslim world became a major intellectual Centre for science, medicine, and education. But of great impact was the introduction of paper as the learning system which saw a revolution as now individuals could make a living from the writing and selling of books.
Islamic scholars and poets could write their works and proceed to hang those writings on certain walls in the city where others could access the material and benefit from their knowledge (Spie 4). They also travelled from one city to another and, in the process, ended up passing their knowledge across. The Islamic world also proceeded to create centers of religion and institutions that formed the foundation of knowledge and scientific development in the Islamic world. By this time, there were more than 300 schools with more than 20,000 students.
The field of learning and education received a great boost in the 10th century where the concept of Madrasah was conceived. The Madrasah system of learning had a stipulated curriculum that had part-time and full-time teachers (Lyons 34). Many of the teachers at the time were women as the men were busy doing other things in the Islamic world. The madrasahs provided a platform where both the rich and the poor received education on equal proportion without any favors. Later on, Maktabat, which can be equated to modern day libraries, were created and had a lot of foreign books all over the world (Lyons 37).
The Islamic way of learning was also influenced by the writings of great scholars such as Plato, Socrates together with Aristotle. This was so as scholars and translators were able to translate their works in Arabic language as well as their own contributions, making the Islamic world to benefit from western civilization. Some disciples in the 12th century put major works of their masters in writing, something that ensured the Islamic world could now read on their own. In the Madras also, students could be taught mathematics, geometry, algebra philosophy as well as other subjects.
During this period also, major developments were made in as far as Sufism and science were concerned. Sufism can be understood to be an ascetic and mystic movement that originated started from the 9th century. The idea of Sufism originated from the Qur’an and was very compatible with teachings of the Islamic religion. It formed the underlying foundation by which Islamic scholars developed their works. By the 14th century, Sufism was able to produce a very flourishing intellectual culture across all territories of the Islamic world. It is Sufism also that provided the channel for the spread of Islam as well as the creation of Islamic cultures, especially in Asia and Africa (Arberry 17). The people of the Islamic word could now be able to create numerous centers of science and culture from across all the people that were visiting the Islamic world from all over the world.
Sufism was responsible for educating the masses so that they could be informed of their identity and religion as well as deepening their spiritual concerns of the Muslim world. It is via such contributions that the Muslim society ended up being formed. The suffists were also significant as they were responsible for missionary activities all over the world in their quest to spread the Islamic religion. By the 13th century, the basic principles of Sufism had penetrated the whole world of Islam as well as its borders such as India (Arberry 47). These contributions led to the cementing of the Islamic society. It insisted on divine unity as the basic reality and God being in charge.
This development also influenced learning and the education system as it lead to the adoption of poetry. It began with short Arabic love poems that later saw even the Persians coming up with Persian poetry. The poems were typically hymn that were made in praise of God and love. The influence on learning and education did not last here; as soon after, the mystics led to the development of national and regional literatures. This was very crucial as they had to convey the messages to their people through their own language so that they could understand it even better.
There were also major advancements made in the field of science. Experimental chemistry was developed. As these events transpired, astronomy became very important to them as they needed to know the hours of prayers as well as the month of Ramadan. Astronomers, thus, were able to observe the position of the moon and the sun to tell time and months. With Sufism in action, it became apparent that the Muslims needed a map so as to be able to trace a path for the missionary activities, something that led to the development of geography as a science. Indeed, the Islamic golden age saw the Muslims making major steps in the advancement of science and Sufism.
Works Cited
Arberry, A. J. An Introduction To The History Of Ṣūfism. London: Longmans, Green and Co, 1943. Print.
Lyons, Jonathan. The House Of Wisdom. New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2009. Print.
Spie. "Shedding Light On The Golden Age Of Islamic Sciences". SPIE Professional (2015): n. pag. Web.
