The Impact of Islam on European Renaissance

The literature, philosophy, sciences, and arts of the Islamic civilization have had a great impact on the European Renaissance. What the European countries considered the “dark ages” were the “golden ages” of the Islamic civilization, which was flourishing around the world at the time.From science, technology, and architecture to arts, literature, and philosophy, the Muslim world was way ahead of its time. Raphael, Dante, and many others were influenced by Islam and the Arabic discoveries of the time, while some, like Petrarch, marginalised the role of Islam and feasted upon the Arabic achievements.

As the Quran was revealed, people changed their way of life and started following Prophetic traditions. This changed the lives of Muslims in all aspects. Islam emphasises learning. The ability to be able to read was considered an important skill rather than a need. At the same time, people in Europe thought that reading was a way for the clergy to control people.

Humanism, which arose from the philosophical works of Muslim scholars al-Razi and Ibn Rushd, was one of the most important themes of the European Renaissance.Their philosophical works were based on the ideas of reverence for nature and gratitude for culture.

When Islam spread around the world from Spain to India, the city of Baghdad was the place where the Muslim quest for knowledge began. All the major classical Greek works of astronomy, mathematics, music, geography, and philosophy that were deteriorating at that time and several works in Sanskrit, Pahlavi, and Syriac were translated here in Baghdad in the 9th and 10th centuries. Khalid ibn Yazid was an Umayyad prince who translated works in chemistry, medicine, and astrology.

Women during that time excelled in Qur’anic studies, law, theology, the arts, and medicine. They gave contributions to the fields of medicine and science. They acquired major positions as administrators, poets, orators, theologians, etc.

Robert Briffault, in his work The Making of Humanity, has said
“It was under the influence of the Arabian and Moorish revival of culture and not in the 15^th century that the real Renaissance took place. Spain, and not Italy, was the cradle of the rebirth of Europe. After sinking lower and lower into barbarism, it had reached the darkest depths of ignorance and degradation when the cities of the Saracenic world, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, and Toledo, were growing centres of civilization and intellectual activity.

Arts and Literature

Literature influenced the West heavily. Great works in poetry, oratory, tales, and tribal themes were written. Arabic was the language that was translated the most around the world until the Renaissance. The most enormous and long-lasting influence on Arabic culture and literature came from the Qur’an in the seventh century. Many European writers and artists were influenced by Islam, such as by the presence of Ibn Rushd (Averroes) in Raphael’s School of Athens. Dante’s Divine Comedy has been under controversy for having connections with prior Islamic works on the same themes. Different styles of poetry writing originated and are still highly regarded around the world, like Ghazal, Rubaai, Qasidah, and Mathnavi. Major classical works of the period include the Persian classic A Thousand and One Nights, Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam, Shahnama by Al-Firdausi, etc.

Science

Science and medicine were major fields of interest for the Muslims. Ibn Sina was the first to reveal how diseases like smallpox and measles transmit. Ibn al-Nafis produced writings on various subjects, including physiology, medicine, ophthalmology, embryology, psychology, etc. He described the pulmonary circulation. The existence of planets and the discovery of the earth’s being round were acknowledged much earlier by Muslim scholars. Several mathematical and coding systems were discovered. Many important chemical substances, including citric acid, were discovered by Muslim scientists. The impact of medicine was the most influential of all.

Philosophy

Westerners frequently refer to Ibn Sina as the “Arab Leonardo” because of the incredible range of his knowledge in astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, and medicine. He composed the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of the Cure), a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and Al-Qanun fi al-ibb. Al-Kindi was a significant figure who fostered the idea that intellectual truth and revealed truth were not antagonistic but rather complimentary, if not identical. There were many other scholars like Al-Farabi who drew inspiration from both Aristotle’s writings on biology and Plato’s ideas of the ideal state to develop a comprehensive view of life on Earth.

Conclusion

The history of culture and traditions does not occur in a series of chronological events; rather, they are the result of influence from all sides. Every big thing that happens in history is the result of a lot of little things that happen all the time. Today, the image of Islam has been blurred by the lens of contemporary Western thinking, but the true teachings of Islam still stand strong.