Perspectives on the Contribution of Arabsand Muslims to Geography

Abstract

Allah taught Adam the names of all things and places .That was surely the first piece of geographical knowledge passed by the Creator to the human race .In this respect of mankind on earth .In pre-Islamic Arabiathe Bedouins, who wandered across the Arabian deserts and who were active in the trade because of the strategic position of their homeland, had to rely on geographic knowledge to survive in the harsh desert environments. Some of their geographic heritage was portrayed in their poetry, indicating knowledge of trade routes, clouds and wind movements,landforms, water resources and place names. Theclear night skies gave the Arabs an early interest in astronomy. It wasrevealedin the Holly Quran, that the moon andthe stars were used to fix orientation in the vast barren deserts. With the rise and spread of Islam, 7thto 14thc.AD,Muslim geographic knowledge had increased considerably as a result of travel for religious and economic reasons. The Hajj or pilgrimage,which takes place once every year,gave Muslims the chance to exchange goals and ideas and to know about far away countries. Moreover, the Holly Quran which was revealedto the ProphetMuhammad, peace be upon him, more than fourteen centuries ago, is full of geographic signs including facts about the earth and the universe. There are indications in the Holy Book about the sphericity of the earth, the law of gravity and how the earth and the heavens were first created as one unit and then separated from each other, andhow the mountains were created to keep the isostatic balance between the major parts of the earth's crust .There is also reference in the Quran that the Universe has been expanding sinceits creation and that it might end up by contraction to its original form at the time of creation. This is a clear reference to what we call now the ''Big Bang Theory" and the future of the Universe. In the same way that Greek and Roman geographic knowledge was built on that of ancientcivilizations, Arabs andMuslims were able to build theirgeographic knowledge on their predecessors and made original contributions. Arab and Muslim leadership of would culture (7th-14th c.AD) in Spain (Andalusia) gave them theability to sow the first seeds of the European Renaissance. Arab and Muslim Geographers have contributed in a substantial way to all the present day branches of modern geography including geomorphology, oceanography,climatology, culturalgeography, urban geography, medical geography, cartographyas well asastronomy and surveying.