Islamic Mathematics

Overview
Islamic Mathematics is the term used to refer to the mathematics done in the Islamic
world between the 8th and 13th centuries CE. Mathematics from the medieval Middle East
is very important to the mathematics we use today. While Europe endured its Dark
Ages, the Middle East preserved and expanded the arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry,
and astronomy from the ancient Greek philosophers, such as Euclid. The most important
contribution may be the invention of algebra, which originated in Baghdad in the House
of Wisdom (bayt al-hikma).
House of Wisdom
The House of Wisdom was primarily
a library and a place for translation
and research. Scholars would work
here in translating Greek and Hindu
treatises to Arabic, and also
conducted their own research and
wrote original treatises. The House
of Wisdom was established in the
early 9th century, by Caliph alRashid. His son, Caliph al-Mamun,
was the ruler who made the House of
Wisdom so important. Al-Mamun
had a dream in which Aristotle
appeared to him; after this dream, alMamun wanted to translate as many
Greek manuscripts as he could! He
Norman MacDonald/Saudi Aramco World/PADIA
commissioned scholars to begin
translating Greek, Hindu, Syriac-Persian, and Hebrew texts into Arabic. Most of these
texts dealt with philosophy or mathematics and science.
Al-Khwrizm
Muhammad ibn Ms al-Khwrizm is probably the most famous
Muslim mathematician. He lived about 800-847 CE. AlKhwrizm was born in Qutrubull, an area near Baghdad between
the Tigris and Euphrates rives, but was brought to work at the
House of Wisdom by the Caliph al-Mamun. He popularized a
number of mathematical concepts, including the use of HinduArabic numbers and the number zero, algebra, and the use of
geometry to demonstrate and prove algebraic results. Many of
his works deal with astronomy, but he also wrote about the
Jewish calendar, arithmetic, and algebra.

Picture of al- Khwrizm on a

Russian stamp, issued in 1983

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Arithmetic
Al-Khwrizm wrote a very important treatise on
Hindu-Arabic numerals, which made the use of
these numbers popular. The introduction of the
number zero was especially important for
mathematics, and the number 0 was used for
about 250 years throughout the Islamic world
before Europe ever heard of it! He also
introduced the Hindu concept of decimal
positioning notation to the Arab and European
worlds, which we still use today!

Hindu-Arabic
Numbers

Arabic-language
Numbers

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Algebraic Operations

Al-Khwrizm wrote a treatise entitled Kitab aljabr wal-muqabalah. The treatise actually had a very practical reason behind it: the
longest chapter of the treatise teaches people how to apply algebra to Islamic inheritance
laws! The words al-jabr and al-muqabalah were operations used by Al-Khwrizm,
much like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Al-jabr means something
like restoration or completion, and was the operation used to add equal terms to both
sides of an equation to get rid of a negative term.
For example, with the equation

x2 = 40x - 4x2,

al-Khwrizm uses al-jabr to add 4x2 to both sides of the equation, getting the result:
5x2 = 40x.
He can then complete the problem by division
x2 = 8x
x=8
Though we now know x = 0 & 8, Al-Khwrizm never allows a variable to equal zero.
Al-muqabalah means something like balancing, and was the operation used to subtract
equal terms from both sides of an equation. For example, al-Khwrizm has the equation:
50 + x2 = 29 + 10x,
so he uses al-muqabalah to subtract 29 from each side, getting the result:
21 + x2 = 10x.
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From here, al-Khwrizm can then complete the problem:

x2 10x + 21 = 0
(x 7)(x 3) = 0
x = 3, 7
As you can see, al-muqabalah and al-jabr were operations defined by al-Khwrizm
which we still use today, though we dont call them the same thing! His operation aljabr, adding equal amounts to both sides of the equation, is where our word algebra
comes from!
Completing the Square: I
Al-Khwrizm also created the method that we now call completing the square. AlKhwrizm literally completed the square! If he had an equation:
x2 + 10x = 39,
al-Khwrizm would create the following figure. First he would make a small square,
with each side length equal to x.
x
x
This square then has an area of
x2 = 39 10x.
Then, he added on rectangles to each side of the square, each with a width of 10/4 (= 2.5).
x
2.5

2.5
x

x
2.5

2.5
x

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So, al-Khwrizm knows that the area of the inner square plus the four rectangles (the
figure above) is equal to 39. In other words,
x2 + 4(2.5x)

x2 + 10x = 39

Completing the figure to make a large square, with corner squares with sides equal to
2.5, he then had a figure he could use to find x!
x

2.5

2.5
2.5

2.5
x
x

2.5

2.5
x

2.5

2.5

Therefore, the area of the large square, with sides equal to x + 5, is equal to the area of
the shaded region plus the area of each corner square:
39 + 4(2.5)2

39 + 25

64.

(x + 5)2 = 64,

So,

and al-Khwrizm can then find his result:

(x + 5) = 8, -8
x = 3, -13.
Completing the Square: II
Al-Khwrizm also provides a second way to complete the square, which might be
easier for modern algebra students to use. Using the same equation:
x2 + 10x = 39,
he creates the following figure. First, we make the square with sides equal to x.
x
x

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Again, the area of this square is

x2 = 39 10x.
Then, he added on rectangles with lengths 10/2 (= 5).
5

x
x

So, the area of this figure (the square and two rectangles) is equal to 39. In other words:
x2 + 2(5x)

x2 + 10x = 39

He then completed the figure to make a large square by finishing the square with sides of
length equal to 5, which gave a figure that can be used to find x!
5

x
x

5
5

Then, al-Khwrizm uses the same method he used above to get the area of the completed
large square, with sides equal to x + 5:
(x2 + 10x) + 52

39 + 25

(x+5)2 = 64

And he gets the same result as he did above:

(x+5) = 8, -8
x = 3, -13.
So, when we talk about completing the square when we solve quadratic equations, we
refer to the method of al-Khwrizm which literally created and completed a square to
find the value of x!

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Geometry: Ibn Sinn

Ibrhm ibn Sinn (d. 946) is the grandson of Thbit ibn Qurra, the famous
mathematician and translator of Archimedes. His treatment of the area of a segment of a
parabola is the simplest construction from the time before the Renaissance. He wrote that
he invented the proof out of necessity, to save his family's scientific reputation after
hearing accusations that his grandfather's method was too long-winded! He also was
more concerned with general methods and theories than with particular problems.
Parabola
Ibn Sinn describes the following method for drawing a parabola. First, draw a line AG.
Create a fixed segment AB on AG and construct BE perpendicular to AB. On BG, pick
as many points H, D, Z as you want.

Starting with the point H, create a circle with diameter AH, and let the perpendicular BE
intersect it at T.

Through T, create a line parallel to AB and through H, draw a line parallel to BE. These
lines intersect at K.

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Now, draw a circle with diameter AD, and let this intersect BE at I. Following the same
procedure as above, draw a line through I parallel to AG and a line through D parallel to
BE. Let these lines intersect at L.

Follow the same construction method for the remaining points Z to obtain the
corresponding intersection points M

Then these points B, K, L, M, lie on the parabola with vertex B, axis BG, and
parameter AB!

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Create K, L, M on the extensions of the lines KH, LD, MZ so that KH = HK, LD =

DL, MZ = ZM Then, these points K, L, M also lie on the parabola!

Ibn Sinn also proves that K is on the parabola with a proof by contradiction:

He assumes that the parabola does not pass through K, which means that it must
pass through another point N on KH. So, NH2 = AB BH, by the property of the
parabola.
However, since TB is perpendicular to the diameter of the semicircle ATH, he
points out that TB2 = AB BH (by a rule from Euclid's Elements).
Further, he has constructed TBHK to be a parallelogram, so TB = KH.
So, KH2 = TB2 = AB GB = NH2 which means that KH = NH and K =
N, which contradicts his first assumption.
Therefore, K lies on the parabola.

Ibn Sinn applies the same proof to L, M to prove the validity of his parabolic
construction.
This method shows the ability of Ibn Sinn and Muslim mathematicians to construct a
proof in the style of the Greeks, as well as their contributions to geometry by providing
more concise geometrical constructions and proofs.

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Geometry in Art

Pentocelo/Roof of the tomb of Persian poet Hafez at Shiraz, Iran, Province of Fars/Wikimedia

Much of the geometry done in the Islamic world was concerned with flat, 2-dimensional,
figures, and was primarily concerned with the practical uses of geometry in art. Because
Islamic art created flat designs and patterns, in opposition to the perspective art which
emerged in the West in the renaissance period, Islamic geometry did not develop to the
modern geometry which describes surfaces and 3-dimentional figures.
Islamic art used a lot of geometry, so mathematicians such as Abu Nasr al-Farabi wrote
treatises on how to solve geometrical common problems for artists. Abu Nasr al-Farabi
taught philosophy in both Baghdad and Apello (in northern Syria), and was killed by
highway robbers outside Damascus in 950 CE. He wrote a treatise called A Book of
Spiritual Crafts and Natural Secrets in the Details of Geometrical Figures, in which he
taught artists how to solve the following three problems, which helped artist produce
infinite patterns in their designs and to fit their patterns into specific areas.

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Problem 1: To construct at the endpoint A of a segment AB a perpendicular to that

segment, without extending the segment beyond A.
Procedure: On AB mark a segment AC.

Now, draw circles centered at A and C, which meet at D.

Extend CD beyond D to E so that ED = DC.

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Then angle CAE is a right angle.

Proof:

The circle that passes through E; A; C has D as a center, since DC = DA = DE.

So, EC is a diameter of that circle.
Therefore, angle EAC is an angle in a semicircle.
Hence, angle EAC is a right angle.

Problem 2: To divide a line segment into any number of equal parts; for example, three
equal segments. In other words, we will divide the line segment AB into the equal parts
AG = GD = DB.
Procedure: Begin with line segment AB:

At both endpoints create perpendiculars AE = BZ in opposite directions.

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On the perpendiculars, add midpoints H and T so that AH = HE = BT = TZ.

Now join H to Z and E to T by straight lines which cut AB at G; D respectively. Then

AG = GD = DB.

Proof:
AHG and BTD are two right triangles with equal angles at G and D (and therefore
at H and T).
Also, HA = BT.
So, the triangles are congruent and AG = BD.
Because HG and ED are parallel, triangles AHG and AED are similar.
So, AH / AG = (AH + HE) / (AG + GD).
This means: AH (AG + GD) = AG (AH + HE).
Which yields: AH (GD) = AG (HE).
But, EH = HA and so:
DG = GA.

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Problem 3: To construct a square in a given circle.

Procedure: Given circle S:

Locate the center S and draw a diameter ASG.

Create equal arcs AZ, AE, GT, and GH

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Draw lines ZE and TH, which intersect the diameter at I and K.

Draw ZK and TI, which intersect at M.

Draw the diameter through S, M. Let it meet with the circle at D and B.

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Then ADGB will be a square.

Proof:

Since arcZA = arcAE, the diameter GA bisects arcZE.

So, GA is perpendicular to line segment ZE, the chord of arcZE.
Similarly, GA is perpendicular to TH;
So angle TKI and angle ZIK are both right angles.
Since TH and ZE are chords of equal arcs, they are equal.
Therefore their halves, TK and ZI, are equal.
Because since TK and ZI are also parallel (both perpendicular to GA) the figure
TKIZ is a rectangle.
Its diagonals ZK and TI therefore are equal and bisect each other.
So MK = MI; in other words, triangle MKI is isosceles.
Since the equal chords ZE and TH are equidistant from the center (KS = SI).
So in the isosceles triangle MKI, the line MS bisects the side KI and is therefore
perpendicular to KI.
Thus the diameter DB is perpendicular to the diameter GA.
Therefore, ADGB is a square.

The Islamic art of geometrical design led to an expansion of geometry proofs and
constructions; geometry was improved to help the creation of beautiful geometric Islamic
cultural art. These three example problems show that the Muslim geometers like alFarabi were very concerned with the practical applications of their work. In this, they
were similar to al-Khwrizm, whose algebra was created to help Muslims adhere to
Islamic inheritance laws. Though modern mathematics is mainly concerned with
mathematical theory, Islamic mathematics was developed for practical applications (both
physical, such as art, and social, such as inheritance laws).

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Art Patterns
Artists had to learn how to solve these problems in order to create intricate patterns.
These patterns often used all of the methods described above. For example:
Starting with a circumscribed square (obtained by the methods above), divide each side
into two equal parts (by the method described above). Then connect these midpoints to
form another square inside the first one.

Repeat this, creating new squares inside each of your previous square. Then, your
completed pattern would look like this:

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Artists used similar circumscribed squares to make other designs as well. An 8-pointed
star was made by creating two circumscribed squares.

Continuing the same pattern as above (divide each side into two equal lengths, and
connect these midpoints to create smaller squares), artists could get the more complex
patterns:

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Connecting the endpoints of each circumscribed square, artists could create

circumscribed octagons (below, left). Artists also made squares around the circles, and
used these sides and tangent lines to create octagons (below, right).

Infinite patterns were created by connecting these shapes together. For example, using
the eight-pointed star that artists made by creating two circumscribed squares by the
methods above:

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Artists could then create the following pattern:

Artists also created borders with infinite patterns. For example, consider the following
design. First, begin with an equilateral triangle:

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Now, divide each side into six equal parts, using the method described above:

Then, trace the following pattern along the diagonal lines which were used to divide each
side into seven equal parts:

Now, this triangle can be laid side-by-side, rotating every-other triangle by 180 degrees,
to create a border:

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These methods can be used to create more

complex patterns and borders, as well. For
example, knowing how to create a
perpendicular line to a segment, without
extending the line past the segment, is
necessary for this Islamic design (right):

This design uses both the

knowledge of how to create
perpendicular lines and how to
divide lines into equal segments.
It also could have been constructed
using circles and circumscribed
squares, similar to the patterns
created on page 16.

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These borders are a further example of the intricate designs artists could create from
geometry methods such as creating perpendicular lines and dividing segments into equal
parts:

Islamic geometry was intimately tied to Islamic art, and Islamic geometry developed
around the flat (2-dimensional) art of intricate and infinite designs and patterns. Muslim
geometers like al-Farabi were very concerned with the practical applications of their
work, as were algebraists like al-Khwrizm. The development of Islamic mathematics
both encouraged social stability and stimulated Islamic culture.

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