Quote: Al-Razi (Rhazes), in his Secretum secretorum (Latinized title), first described the following tools for melting substances (li-tadhwib): hearth (kur), bellows (minfakh aw ziqq), crucible (bawtaqa), the but bar but (in Arabic) or botus barbatus (in Latin), tongs (masik aq kalbatan), scissors (miqta), hammer (mukassir), file (mibrad).[32]
Al-Razi also first described the following tools for the preparation of drugs (li-tadbir al-aqaqir): cucurbit and still with evacuation tube (qar aq anbiq dhu-khatm), receiving matras (qabila), blind still (without evacuation tube) (al-anbiq al-ama), aludel (al-uthal), goblets (qadah), flasks (qarura or quwarir), rosewater flasks (ma wariyya), cauldron (marjal aw tanjir), earthenware pots varnished on the inside with their lids (qudur aq tanjir), water bath or sand bath (qadr), oven (al-tannur in Arabic, athanor in Latin), small cylindirical oven for heating aludel (mustawqid), funnels, sieves, filters, etc.[32]
Chemical industries
Chemical substances invented by Muslims for use in the chemical industries include:
Sulfuric acid, originally coined as oil of vitriol when it was discovered by Jabir ibn Hayyan.[42]
The mineral acids: nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and hydrochloric acid, by Geber.[6]
Pure distilled alcohol (ethanol) by Jabir ibn Hayyan in the 8th century.[43]
Uric acid and nitric acid by Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber) in the 8th century.[31]
Lustreware, by Geber in the 8th century.[44]
Artificial pearl, purified pearl, dyed pearl, dyed gemstones, cheese glue, and plated mail, by Geber.[45]
Kerosene and kerosene lamp by al-Razi in the 9th century.[46]
Petrol by Muslim chemists.[47]
Tar in the 8th century, and Naphtha in the 9th century.[35]
Medicinal alcohol in the 10th century.[35]
Essential oil by Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) in the 11th century.[35]
Hygienic cosmetics by Muslim chemists.[50]
Dyestuff by Muslim chemists.[51]
Arsenic, alkali, alkali salt, rice vinegar, boraxes, potassium nitrate, sulfur and purified sal ammoniac by Geber.[6]
Sal nitrum and vitriol by al-Razi.[6]
Ethanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, mercury, camphor, pomades, and syrups.[6]
Lead carbonatic, arsenic, and antimony.[52]
Nitric and sulfuric acids, alkali, the salts of mercury, antimony, and bismuth.[32]
Aqua regia, alum, sal ammoniac, stones, sulfur, salts, and spirits of mercury.[6]
At least 2,000 medicinal substances.[31]
The classification of all seven classical metals: gold, silver, tin, lead, mercury, iron, and copper, by Geber.[6]
Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization IV: The Age of Faith:
Robert Briffault wrote in The Making of Humanity:
Drinking industry
Coffee by Khalid in Kaffa, Ethiopia.[31]
Distilled water and purified water by Muslim chemists.[51]
Purified distilled alcohol by Jabir ibn Hayyan in the 8th century.[43]
Sherbet and sharab, the first juiced carbonated soft drinks.[55]
Recipes for drink syrups that can be kept outside the refrigerator for weeks or months.[55]
Glass industry
Artificial gemstone produced from high quality coloured glass, by Geber (d. 815).[56]
Stained glass, by Muslim architects in Southwest Asia.
Quartz glass, by Abbas Ibn Firnas in the 9th century.[57]
Clear, colourless, high-purity glass, by Muslims in the 9th century.[56]
Refracting parabolic mirror, by Ibn Sahl in the 10th century.[58]
Hygiene industries
True soap, made of vegetable oils (such as olive oil) with sodium hydroxide and aromatics (such as thyme oil), invented by al-Razi (Rhazes).[31]
Soap bar by al-Razi (Rhazes).[31][6]
Sodium Lye (Al-Soda Al-Kawia), perfumed and colored soaps, and liquid and solid soaps by Muslim chemists.[50]
Recipes for soaps, such as ones made from sesame oil, potash, alkali, lime, and molds, leaving hard soap (soap bar).[50]
Shampoo by the Bengali Muslim Sake Dean Mahomet in 1759.[31]
Perfumery industry
Enlarge picture
Al-Kindi invented a wide variety of scent and perfume products, and is considered the father of the perfume industry.
Perfume usage recorded in 7th century Arabian Peninsula.
Perfume industry established by Geber (Jabir) (b. 722, Iraq) and al-Kindi (b. 801, Iraq).[31]
Jabir developed many techniques, including distillation, evaporation and filtration, which enabled the collection of the odour of plants into a vapour that could be collected in the form of water or oil.[58]
Al-Kindi carried out extensive research and experiments in combining various plants and other sources to produce a variety of scent products.
Al-Kindi elaborated a vast number of recipes for a wide range of perfumes, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
The preparation of a perfume called ghaliya, which contained musk, amber and other ingredients, and the use of various drugs and apparatus, by al-Kindi.
Extraction of fragrances through steam distillation by Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) in the 11th century.
Introduction of new raw ingredients in perfumery.
Perfumery produced from different spices, herbals, and other fragrance materials.
Introduction of jasmine from South and Southeast Asia, and citrus fruits from East Asia in modern perfumery.
Cheap mass production of incenses.
Musk and floral perfumes in the 11th-12th century Arabian Peninsula.[51]
Civil engineering
Bridge dam
The bridge dam was used to power a water wheel working a water-raising mechanism. The first was built in Dezful, Iran, which could raise 50 cubits of water for the water supply to all houses in the town. Similar bridge dams later appeared in other parts of the Islamic world.[60]
Cobwork
Cobwork (tabya) first appeared in the Maghreb and al-Andalus in the 11th century and was first described in detail by Ibn Khaldun in the 14th century, who regarded it as a characteristically Muslim practice. Cobwork later spread to other parts of Europe from the 12th century onwards.[61]
Diversion dam
The first diversion dam was built by medieval Muslim engineers over the River Uzaym in Jabal Hamrin, Iraq. Many of these were later built in other parts of the Islamic world.[60]
Milling dam
The milling dam was used to provide additional power for milling, which Muslim engineers called the Pul-i-Bulaiti. The first was built at Shustar on the River Karun, Iran, and many of these were later built in other parts of the Islamic world.[60]
Clock technology
Astronomical clocks
Muslim astronomers and engineers constructed a variety of highly accurate astronomical clocks for use in their observatories.[35]
In the 10th century, al-Sufi first described over 1000 different uses of an astrolabe, including timekeeping and Salah.[6]
Mechanical lunisolar calendar computer with gear train and gear-wheels by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī.[7]
Mechanical astrolabe with calendar computer and gear-wheels by Abi Bakr of Isfahan in 1235.[9]
The Quadrans Vetus, a universal horary quadrant which could be used for any latitude and at any time of the year to determine the time, as well as the times of Salah, invented by al-Khwarizmi in 9th century Baghdad. This was the second most widely used astronomical instrument during the Middle Ages after the astrolabe.[18]
Al-Jazari invented monumental water-powered astronomical clocks which displayed moving models of the Sun, Moon, and stars. His largest astronomical clock displayed the zodiac and the solar and lunar orbits. Another innovative feature of the clock was a pointer which travelled across the top of a gateway and caused automatic doors to open every hour.[18]
Candle clocks
Al-Jazari described the most sophisticated candle clocks known to date. These clocks were designed using a large candle of uniform weight and cross section, whose rate of burning was known, which was placed in a metal sheath with a fitted cap. The bottom of the candle rested on a shallow dish that had a ring on its side connected through pulleys to a counterweight. As the candle burned away, the weight pushed it upward at a constant speed, while an automaton was operated from the dish at the bottom of the candle.[61]
Dials
Universal sundials for all latitudes used for timekeeping and for the determination of the times of Salah in 9th century Baghdad.[63]
The Navicula de Venetiis, a universal horary dial used for accurate timekeeping by the Sun and Stars, and could be observed from any latitude, invented in 9th century Baghdad.[64] This was later considered the most sophisticated timekeeping instrument of the Renaissance.[64]
The compass dial, a timekeeping device incorporating both a universal sundial and a magnetic compass, invented by Ibn al-Shatir in the 13th century.[65]
Elephant clock with automaton, regulator, and closed loop
The elephant clock described by al-Jazari in 1206 is notable for several innovations. It was the first clock in which an automaton reacted after certain intervals of time (in this case, a humanoid robot striking the cymbal and a mechanical bird chirping), the first mechanism to employ a flow regulator, and the earliest example of a closed-loop system in a mechanism.[66]