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Who proved that the Earth revolves around the Sun? Who said the earth is round? History and interesting facts.

Who proved that the Earth revolves around the Sun? Who said the earth is round? History and interesting facts.

About who said that the Earth is round, disputes do not stop today. Until now, there are such individuals who are trying to prove that the Earth is flat, even ignoring the images of the globe in photographs from space. So, the round shape of the Earth has been known since ancient times.

Who was the first to say that the earth is round?

Once upon a time, many millennia ago, people thought the Earth was flat. In myths different peoples, in the writings of ancient scientists it was stated that the Earth rests on three whales, on elephants and even on a huge turtle. Let's try to figure out who said that the Earth is round.

The ancient Greek scientist Parmenides, who lived around 540-480 years. BC e., in his philosophical poem "On Nature" he wrote that the Earth is round. This was a revolutionary conclusion about the shape of the planet, but it is impossible to unequivocally assume that Parmenides was the first to express this idea. The scientist wrote about the round shape of the Earth in the section “Opinions of mortals”, where he described the thoughts and ideas of his contemporaries, but not his own conclusions. Pythagoras of Samos was a contemporary of Parmenides.

Pythagoras, together with his students, was engaged in the theory of universal and cosmic harmony. It was in the records of the adherents of the Pythagorean school that many thoughts were found that the flat Earth could not be in harmony with the celestial sphere. To the question: "Who said that the Earth is round?" most likely, Pythagoras himself answered, formulating the idea of the earthly sphere as the most suitable, according to the theories of geometry and mathematics.

Scientists who announced the shape of the Earth

Which scientist said that the earth is round? In addition to Parmenides and Pythagoras, there were other thinkers of antiquity who studied the Earth and space. Today, any schoolchild knows the principle of "sundial", when during the day sticks on the sand cast shadows of different lengths and at different angles. If the earth were flat, either the length of the shadows or the angle between the subject and the shadow would not change. However, in ancient times, only serious scientists paid attention to such details of being.

So, the philosopher from Alexandria Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who lived in the III-II centuries. BC e., made calculations on the day of the summer solstice, using the values \u200b\u200bof the difference between the shadows from objects, the zenith and the angle between them. He even managed to calculate the approximate size of our planet and is considered the first researcher to describe the concepts of modern longitude and latitude, since in his calculations he used data from different geographical places of Alexandria and Siena.

Later, the Greek Stoic philosopher Posidonius in 135-51. BC e. also calculated the size of the globe, but they turned out to be smaller than that of Eratosthenes. So today it is quite difficult to unambiguously answer the question of who was the first to say that the Earth is round.

Aristotle on the Earth

The Greek scientist, thinker, philosopher Aristotle said that the Earth is round, back in the 4th century BC. e. He not only put forward hypotheses and made approximate calculations, but also collected evidence that the Earth is spherical.

Firstly, the scientist notices that if you look from the shore at the ship that is approaching the observer, then the mast becomes visible from behind the horizon, then the ship's hull itself. Very few people were convinced by this evidence.

Secondly, a more substantial proof of it is based on observations of lunar eclipses. As a result, Aristotle concluded that the Earth has the shape of a sphere, because the shadow from the Earth on the surface of the Moon did not change during eclipses, that is, it was always round, which only a ball gives.

Thirdly, during his trip to Egypt, Aristotle, observing the sky, described in detail the changes in the constellations and stars in the southern and northern hemispheres. He wrote: "... stars are observed in Egypt and Cyprus, which were not seen in the northern regions." Such changes can only be seen from a round surface. Moreover, the scientist concluded that the sphere of the Earth has a small size, since it is possible to establish changes in stars and terrain only from a fairly limited surface.

First star map

And who was the first to say that the Earth is round, in the East? The story of the caliph Al-Mamun, who lived in the 7th century, is unusual, to whom Aristotle once appeared in a dream with his students. The scientist showed Mamun the "image of the Earth". Based on the images he saw, Mamun reproduced the "star map", which was the first map of the Earth and planets in the Islamic world.

Mamun ordered court astronomers to measure the size of the Earth, and the circumference of the planet, which they obtained, equal to 18,000 miles, turned out to be quite accurate: the length of the earth's equator calculated to date is about 25,000 miles.

world sphere

Thus, by the 13th century, the idea of the round shape of the Earth had already firmly established itself in science. The famous English mathematician, the founder of the decimal number system, John de Sacrobosco, or John from Halifax, as he is called in England, published his famous treatise On the World Sphere. In this work, Sacrobosco summarized the findings of Eastern astronomers and the ideas of Ptolemy's Almagest. Since 1240, the "World Sphere" has become the main study guide in astronomy at Oxford, the Sorbonne and other prestigious universities in the world, and over 400 years has gone through about 60 editions.

Christopher Columbus picked up the baton of the idea of a world sphere when, in 1492, he began his famous journey to India, sailing from Spain to the west. He was sure that he would reach the continent, because the Earth has a spherical shape, and there is not much difference in which direction to swim: all the same, the movement will be closed in a circle. So it is no coincidence that Columbus was the one who first proved that the Earth is round, as they say in many modern textbooks. He was an educated, enterprising, but not very successful navigator, since all the glory of the discoverer went to his colleague Amerigo Vespucci.

Biblical descriptions of the Earth

In the Bible, information about the system of celestial bodies and the shape of the Earth actually looks somewhat contradictory. So, in some Old Testament books, the flat shape of the earth and the geocentric model of the world are quite unambiguously described:

(Psalm 103:5) “You have set the earth on solid foundations: it will not shake forever and ever”;
The book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 1:5) “The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries to its place where it rises”;
The Book of Joshua (Josh. 10:12) "...stop, the sun is over Gibeon, and the moon is over the valley of Aialon!"

And yet she turns!

The Bible also says that the Earth is round, and some interpretations of the Holy Scripture confirm the heliocentric structure of the world:

The book of the prophet Isaiah, 40:22: "He is the one who sits over the globe of the Earth ...";
Book of Job (Job 26:7): "He (God) stretched out the north over the void, hung the earth on nothing";
(Job 26:10): "He drew a line over the surface of the water, to the border of light with darkness."

The benefits and harms of the Inquisition

Such ambiguity of the biblical images of the Earth, the Sun and other celestial bodies can indeed be explained by the fact that the Holy Scripture did not aim to reveal the physical structure of the Universe, but is called upon to serve only the salvation of the human soul. However, in the Middle Ages, the church, being the forefront of science, was forced to seek the truth. And she had to either compromise with the theories of various scientists, or forbid them scientific activity, since it was not possible to combine the conclusions they received with some biblical interpretations, as well as with the theory of Aristotle-Ptolemy that prevailed at that time.

So, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was recognized as a heretic for his active propaganda of the heliocentric system of the world, justified at the beginning of the 16th century by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The most scandalous and sad act of the Inquisition - the burning at the stake of Giordano Bruno in 1600 - is known to any schoolchild. True, in fact, the verdict of the Inquisition in the case of the monk Bruno Nolanz had nothing to do with his reasoning about the heliocentric system of celestial bodies, he was accused of denying the basic Christian dogmas. However, the persistence of this myth speaks to the profound importance of the work of astronomers for modern science and religion.

Does the Quran say the earth is round?

Since the Prophet Mohammed was one of the late founders of the monotheistic religion, the Quran absorbed the most advanced ideas of science and religion, based on the colossal treasures of knowledge of the pundits of the East. There is also evidence in this holy book in favor of round shape Earth.

"He covers the night with the day, which hastily follows it."
"He wraps the night around the day and wraps the day around the night."

Such continuous cyclicity and uniform superimposition of day and night clearly indicates the sphericity of the Earth. And the verb "wraps around" is used quite unequivocally, emphasizing precisely the circular motion of the luminary around the globe of the Earth.

"No and no! I swear by the Lord of the easts and wests! Verily, We are able."

It is obvious that on a flat Earth there can be only one west and one east, and only on a round one there are many of them. The position of the west and east changes relative to the horizon line due to the rotation of the Earth.

“A sign for them is the dead earth, which We revived and extracted from it the grain on which they feed” (36:33)

And another quote from the Quran:

“The sun is sailing towards its place. Such is the arrangement of the Mighty, the Knower. We have ordained positions for the moon until it becomes again like an old palm branch. The sun does not have to overtake the moon, and the night does not lead the day. Everyone floats in an orbit” (36:38-40).

Also in the Holy Book of Muslims there is a unique ayat with the words "After that He spread the earth" (79:30), where a special Arabic verb "da-ha" was used, which has two meanings: "spread" and "round". This very figuratively emphasizes that from the top the earth seems to be stretched out, while it has a rounded shape.

To new discoveries

Our planet with all the legends, myths, tales, theories and evidence about it is of scientific, social and religious interest even today. No one dares to claim that the planet has been fully studied, a great many mysteries are hidden in it, and future generations will have to make many of the most incredible discoveries.

The sky and stars have long attracted the attention of people. They were observed, admired, and scientists built various hypotheses. And once it was noticed that every star in the sky from time to time changes its position, that is, it moves. This important fact made scientists think that the Earth or the sky somehow move, “rotate”.

Who discovered that the earth revolves around the sun?

Ancient scientists timidly assumed that the Earth and some other planets revolve around the Sun. Around the second century AD, the scientist Claudius Ptolemy expressed the view that the Earth does not revolve around the Sun. She allegedly remains in place, but the luminary and the sky are mobile. The opinion of the scientist for a long time settled in the minds of the people. By the way, the theory of the scientist about the so-called geocentrism (the central and dominant position of the Earth) echoed the ideas of the famous Aristotle. But let's not completely condemn Ptolemy, because he is one of the few who believed that the planet Earth has the shape of a ball. There were also suggestions that it was not the Earth that revolved around the Sun, but Mercury and Venus.
As time went. Aristarchus, who lived in the third century AD, spoke about the movement of the Earth relative to the Sun. In the fifth century, the scholar of Aryabhata adhered to the heliocentric theory (as opposed to geocentric), he even gave his arguments. But it has also not been clearly proven that it is the Earth that revolves around the Sun.
In the Renaissance, bright thoughts were also expressed about the motion of the Earth relative to the Sun (Nicholas of Cusa, Leonardo da Vinci).

However, heliocentrism was firmly established only in the sixteenth century. This happened thanks to the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who proved that the Earth revolves around the Sun. In the middle of the century, he publishes a book where he rejects geocentric theories. Copernicus clearly speaks of the following movements of the planet Earth:

Movement around its axis (one revolution occurs in one day).
The movement of the Earth around the Sun (such a revolution lasts exactly one year).
The motion of the Earth is declinatory (also in one year).

But still, there were flaws in the theory of Nicolaus Copernicus, and it cannot be called with exact certainty heliocentric. The scientist considered the center of the system of planets not the Sun, but the orbit of the Earth. But still, the contribution of Copernicus was very important for the development of further ideas about the solar system.

Development of theory after Copernicus

Interest and attention to the observations and conclusions of Copernicus began to show only towards the end of the sixteenth century. Giordano Bruno became one of the outstanding supporters of the theory of heliocentrism. By the way, he was executed (burned at the stake of the Inquisition) for his views. But where there are supporters of the theory, there are also opponents. Opponents of the Copernican theory argued and refuted. But these arguments were easily demolished by Newton's discoveries of gravity and some others.

Johannes Kepler (Germany) and Galileo Galilei (Italy) were bright followers of heliocentrism. The first clearly established that the center of the planetary system is the Sun. The scientist left a trace in history in the form of laws and tables. Galileo confirmed the theory of Copernicus and refuted the opinions of his opponents. It is known that they wanted to execute the Italian scientist, but Galileo retracted his words. There is a legend that after the words of renunciation, the scientist uttered the famous phrase: “And yet it spins!”

Despite the fact that Copernicus proved that the Earth revolves around the Sun, some scientists continued to insist on their own. There was also a geo-heliocentric theory. According to her, many planets revolved around the Sun, but in the aggregate, all celestial bodies still moved around the Earth. Yet justice and truth prevailed. This happened at the end of the seventeenth century, thanks to the perseverance and inquisitive mind of prominent scientists. Now the Sun has undoubtedly begun to be considered the center of a system of planets. And the system is now called Solar.

It should also be noted that the Earth revolves around the Sun counterclockwise. This manifests itself for us as a change of seasons. That is, our planet makes a complete revolution around the Sun in one year.

The theory that we know and have now was proven with great difficulty. She "suffered" a lot of obstacles because of her religious views. Many scholars who stood firmly for the truth were executed. We can only marvel at their courage and deep love for science.

Theory about the planetary system of Nicolaus Copernicus. Life of remarkable people.

Who said the earth is round? December 17th, 2014

They say that this is...

However, the hypothesis that our planet is spherical has existed for a very long time. This idea was first expressed in the 6th century BC by the ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. Another philosopher, Aristotle, who lived in ancient Greece two centuries later, provided clear evidence of sphericity: after all, during lunar eclipses, the Earth casts a shadow of a round shape on the Moon!

Gradually, the idea that the Earth is a ball hanging in space and not relying on anything spread more and more widely. Centuries have passed, people have long known that the Earth is not flat and does not rest on whales or elephants ... We went around the world, crossed our ball literally in all directions, flew around it on an airplane, photographed from space. We even know why not only ours, but also all other planets, and the Sun, and the stars, and the Moon, and other large satellites are precisely “round”, and not of any other shape. After all, they are large, have a huge mass. Them own strength gravitation - gravity - tends to give the celestial bodies the shape of a ball.

Even if some force appeared, greater than gravity, which would give the Earth the shape of, say, a suitcase, it would still end up the same: as soon as the action of this force ceased, the force of gravity would begin to collect the Earth into a ball again, “pulling” protruding parts, until all points of the surface are at an equal distance from the center.

Let's keep thinking about this...

Not a ball!

Back in the 17th century, the famous physicist and mathematician Newton made a bold assumption that the Earth is not a ball at all, or rather, not quite a ball. Assumed - and mathematically proved it.

Newton "drilled" (of course, mentally!) to the center of the planet two communicating channels: one from the North Pole, the other from the equator, and "filled" them with water. Calculations showed that the water settled at different levels. After all, in a polar well, only gravity acts on water, and in an equatorial well, centrifugal force still opposes it. The scientist argued that in order for both columns of water to exert the same pressure on the center of the Earth, that is, for them to have equal weight, the water level in the equatorial well should have been higher - according to Newton's calculations, by 1/230 of the average radius of the planet. In other words, the distance from the center to the equator is greater than to the pole.

To check Newton's calculations, the Paris Academy of Sciences sent two expeditions in 1735-1737: to Peru and to Lapland. The members of the expedition had to measure the arcs of the meridian - 1 degree each: one - in the equatorial latitudes, in Peru, the other - in the polar latitudes, in Lapland. After processing the expedition data, the leader of the northern one, surveyor Pierre-Louis Maupertuis, announced that Newton was right: the Earth is compressed at the poles! This discovery of Maupertuis was immortalized by Voltaire in ... an epigram:

Messenger of physics, brave sailor,
Overcoming mountains and seas.
Dragging a quadrant in the midst of snow and swamps,
Almost turned into a lopar.
You learned after many losses.
What Newton knew without leaving the door.

In vain Voltaire was so caustic: how can science exist without experimental confirmation of its theories?!

Be that as it may, now we know for sure that the Earth is flattened at the poles (if you like, stretched at the equator). It is stretched, however, quite a bit: the polar radius is 6357 km, and the equatorial one is 6378 km, only 21 km more.

Looks like a pear?

However, is it possible to call the Earth, if not a ball, but an “oblate” ball, namely, an ellipsoid of revolution? After all, as we know, its relief is uneven: there are mountains, there are also depressions. In addition, it is affected by the forces of attraction of other celestial bodies, primarily the Sun and the Moon. Let their influence be small, but still the Moon is capable of bending the shape of the liquid shell of the Earth - the World Ocean - by several meters, creating ebbs and flows. So - in different points the radii of "rotation" are different!

In addition, in the north there is a "liquid" ocean, and in the south - a "solid" continent covered with ice - Antarctica. It turns out that the Earth has not quite the correct shape, it resembles a pear, elongated to the North Pole. And by and large, its surface is so complex that it does not lend itself to a strict mathematical description at all. Therefore, scientists have proposed a special name for the shape of the Earth - the geoid. The geoid is an irregular stereometric figure. Its surface approximately coincides with the surface of the World Ocean and continues on the mainland. The same “altitude above sea level”, which is indicated in atlases and dictionaries, is measured precisely from this geoid surface.

Well, scientifically:

Geoid(from other Greek γῆ - Earth and other Greek εἶδος - view, literally - “something like the Earth”) - a convex closed surface coinciding with the surface of the water in the seas and oceans in a calm state and perpendicular to the direction of gravity at any point in it. A geometric body that deviates from a figure of revolution An ellipsoid of revolution and reflects the properties of the gravity potential on the Earth (near the earth's surface), an important concept in geodesy.

1. World Ocean
2. Earth ellipsoid
3. Sheer lines
4. Body of the Earth
5. Geoid

The geoid is defined as the equipotential surface of the earth's gravity field (level surface), approximately coinciding with the average water level of the World Ocean in an undisturbed state and conditionally continued under the continents. The difference between the real mean sea level and the geoid can reach 1 m.

By definition of an equipotential surface, the surface of the geoid is perpendicular to the plumb line everywhere.

A geoid is not a geoid!

To be completely honest, it is worth admitting that due to the difference in temperature in different parts of the planet and the salinity of the oceans and seas, atmospheric pressure and other factors, the surface of the water surface does not even coincide in shape with the geoid, but has deviations. For example, at the latitude of the Panama Canal, the difference between the levels of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans is 62 cm.

Strong earthquakes also affect the shape of the globe. One of these 9-magnitude earthquakes occurred on December 26, 2004 in Southeast Asia, in Sumatra. University of Milan professors Roberto Sabadini and Giorgio Dalla Via believe that it left a "scar" on the planet's gravitational field, causing the geoid to sag significantly. To test this assumption, the Europeans intend to send a new GOCE satellite into orbit, equipped with modern highly sensitive equipment. We hope that soon he will send us accurate information about the shape of the Earth today.

The shape of the Earth - our home - worried humanity for a long time. Today, every student has no doubt that the planet is spherical. But it took a long time to get to this knowledge, they went through church anathemas and the courts of the Inquisition. Today people are wondering who proved that the Earth is round. After all, not everyone liked the lessons of history and geography. Let's try to find the answer to this interesting question.

Excursion into history

Many scientific work confirm us in our thoughts that before the famous Christopher Columbus, mankind believed that they lived on a flat Earth. However, this hypothesis does not stand up to scrutiny for two reasons.

discovered a new continent, and did not sail to Asia. If he had anchored off the coast of real India, then he could be called the man who proved the sphericity of the planet. The discovery of the New World is not a confirmation of the round shape of the Earth.
Long before the epochal journey of Columbus, there were people who doubted that the planet was flat, and presented their arguments as proof. It is likely that the navigator was familiar with the works of some ancient authors, and the knowledge of the ancient sages was not lost.

Is the earth round?

Different peoples had their own ideas about the structure of the world and space. Before answering the question of who proved that the Earth is round, you should familiarize yourself with other versions. The earliest theories of world-building claimed that the earth was flat (as it was seen by people). They explained the movement of heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars) by the fact that it was their planet that was the center of the Cosmos and the Universe.

In ancient Egypt, the Earth was represented by a disk lying on four elephants. They, in turn, stood on a giant turtle floating in the sea. The one who discovered that the Earth is round has not yet been born, but the theory of the sages of the pharaoh could explain the causes of earthquakes and floods, the rising and setting of the sun.

The Greeks also had their own ideas about the world. The earthly disk in their understanding was covered with celestial spheres, to which stars were tied with invisible threads. They considered the moon and the sun to be gods - Selena and Helios. Nevertheless, in the books of Pannekoek and Dreyer, the works of the ancient Greek sages are collected, which contradicted the then generally accepted views. Eratosthenes and Aristotle were the ones who discovered that the earth is round.

The Arab teachings were also famous for their precise knowledge of astronomy. The tables of the movement of stars they created are so accurate that they even raised doubts about their authenticity. The Arabs, with their observations, pushed society to change their ideas about the structure of the world and the universe.

Evidence for the sphericity of celestial bodies

I wonder what guided the scientists, denying the observations of the people around them? The one who proved that the Earth is round drew attention to the fact that if it were flat, then the luminaries would be visible in the sky at the same time for everyone. But in practice, everyone knew that many of the stars that are visible in the Nile Valley cannot be seen over Athens. The sunny day in the Greek capital is longer than, for example, in Alexandria (this is due to the curvature in the north-south and east-west directions).

The scientist, who proved that the Earth is round, noticed that the object, moving away during movement, leaves only its upper part visible (for example, the masts of the ship are visible on the shore, and not its hull). This is only logical if the planet is spherical and not flat. And Plato also considered the fact that the ball is an ideal shape to be a strong argument in favor of sphericity.

Modern evidence for nodularity

Today we have technical devices that allow not only to observe celestial bodies, but also to rise into the sky and see our planet from the side. Here is some more evidence that it is not flat. As you know, during the blue planet closes the night luminary itself. And the shadow is round. And also the various masses that make up the Earth tend to go down, giving it a spherical shape.

Science and Church

The Vatican recognized that the Earth is round rather late. When it was impossible to deny the obvious. Early European writers at first dismissed this theory as contradicting Scripture. During the spread of Christianity, not only other religions and pagan cults succumbed to persecution. All scientists who conducted various experiments, made observations, but did not believe in one God, were considered heretics. At that time, manuscripts and entire libraries were destroyed, temples and statues, objects of art were destroyed. The holy fathers believed that people do not need science, only Jesus Christ is the source of the greatest wisdom, and there is enough information in the holy books for life. The geocentric theory of the structure of the world was also considered incorrect and dangerous by the church.

Cosmas Indikopleust described the Earth as a kind of box, at the bottom of which rested a stronghold inhabited by people. The sky served as a "lid", but it was motionless. The moon, stars and sun moved like angels across the sky and hid behind a high mountain. Above this complex structure rested the Kingdom of Heaven.

Some unknown geographer from Ravenna described our planet as a flat object, surrounded by an ocean, an endless desert and mountains, behind which the sun, moon and stars are hidden. Isidore (bishop of Seville) in 600 AD did not exclude the spherical shape of the Earth in his works. Bede the Venerable was based on the work of Pliny, therefore he stated that the Sun is larger than the Earth, that they are in the form of a sphere, and that the cosmos is not geocentric.

Summing up

So, returning to Columbus, it can be argued that his path was not based solely on intuition. Not wanting to diminish his merits, we can say that the knowledge of his era should have brought him to India. And society no longer rejected the spherical shape of our house.

The first idea about the Earth-sphere was expressed by the Greek philosopher Eratosthenes, who measured the radius of the planet already in the fourth century BC. The error of his calculations was only one percent! Checked his guesses in the sixteenth century, having made his famous Who proved that the Earth is round? Theoretically, this was done by Galileo Galilei, who, by the way, was sure that it was she who revolves around the sun, and not vice versa.

September in our country is traditionally considered the most "academic" month - it is at this time in all schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions marks the start of a new academic year. Probably, in many of us, at the sight of smart children with bouquets in their hands, hurrying to school, pleasant memories of school years are awakened, although they are already far behind. “School years are wonderful,” as the famous song sang - for many of us it was the time of the first successes, the first discoveries about the world around us, the time of finding the first friends and even the first love.

It is not even worth talking about the necessity and benefits of getting an education: at present, the role and importance of education are as high as never before. Life is getting more complicated, science and technological progress are advancing, so it will be very difficult for a person to navigate life if he does not receive a good education in childhood.

Islam and knowledge

If we approach this issue from a religious point of view, then, as you know, the Muslim religion has always placed high both reason and education. In the Quran, the Almighty many times calls people to look at the structure of the world around them, and thus to know their Creator. People can come to believe in the existence and power of God precisely with the help of reason and reflection:

“He subdued you the night and the day, the sun and the moon. The stars are also submissive according to His will. Verily, in this are signs for a people who understand." (16, 12).

Are those who know and those who do not know equal? Verily, only those who have understanding hearken to the instructions.” (39, 9).

“Allah exalts those of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge” (58, 11).

If a person does not know something, he should turn to scientists, to those who have more knowledge:

“Ask those who have knowledge, if you yourself do not know” (16:43).

Also in the Quran, the Almighty instructs people to turn to Him with a request for the increase of knowledge:

"And say:" Lord! Increase my knowledge "" (20, 114).

The Messenger of the Almighty (peace and blessings be upon him) told the believers that “The pursuit of knowledge is the duty of every Muslim and every Muslim woman”. (Tabrani, Baikhaki and others). Knowledge, according to him, believing people should receive continuously - from the cradle to the grave.

Even after death, the knowledge that a person helped to spread will bring him a reward from the Almighty: “After a person dies, all his deeds cease, except for three: continuous alms, knowledge that people use, and righteous children who turn to Allah with prayers for him.”

As we can see, religious faith does not at all contradict reason and knowledge, as unbelieving people sometimes try to assure us. This opinion throughout history has been repeatedly refuted by the contribution to science made by religious people. And Muslim scholars were no exception.

The contribution of Muslim scientists to science

Suffice it to recall one of the "pillars of medicine" - a Muslim scientist Abu Ali Ibn Sinu, "Al-Kanun" was considered the basis of medicine not only in the Islamic world, but also in Europe - this book served as a textbook in European universities for 600 years.

Islamic physicians revealed the existence of microbes, first described diseases such as chicken pox and tuberculosis. The first hospital was also opened in a Muslim state - in 707 during the reign of Caliph Walid ibn Abdulmalik from the Umayyad dynasty.

Muslim scientists have achieved high successes in the field of mathematics. Founder of algebra Al-Khwarizmi(780–850) first used the number zero. He wrote the first book on algebra called Al-Jabr wa al-Mughabilya. The word "Al-Jabr", borrowed from the title of the book, we now know as the name of the science of algebra, and the mathematical term "algorithm" was named after the name of the scientist (al-Khwarizmi).

Scientist Bettany laid the foundations of trigonometry, other Muslim scientists introduced the concept of tangent, cotangent and cosine there. The binomial formula, which is attributed to Newton, was introduced into algebra by a Persian poet and scientist Omar Khayyam(d. 1123).

Astronomy is another of the sciences that Muslim scholars have been doing a lot. Long before the Europeans, they expressed the idea of the spherical shape of the Earth, as well as its rotational motion. Still a l-Biruni proved that the earth rotates on its axis and around the sun.

As a result of research that he conducted in India near the city of Nandana, al-Biruni was able to calculate the surface area of the Earth. The method applied in this case is referred to in Europe as the “Biruni rule”. Ruler of Samarkand Ulugbek(1394-1499) built a large observatory in his city and became famous as the great astronomer of his era.

Muslims also played a big role in the formation of geography as a science. Travel records Evliya Celebi(1611-1682), who explored different corners of the earth, as well as Ibn Trampolines(1304-1369), who traveled around many continents and continents, are an invaluable historical and geographical treasure. Many centuries ago, Biruni predicted the existence of America. Muslims 850 years ago managed to draw up a geographical map of the world, close to modern maps.

And this is only the shortest list - for a complete listing of all scientific achievements Islamic scholars will need a whole book ().

Unfortunately, centuries have passed, and the Muslim world, for various - external and internal - reasons, fell into a kind of stagnation, and European scientists were destined to continue discoveries about the world around them. Forgetting about these merits of Muslim scientists, many non-Muslims undeservedly reproach the Muslim world for ignorance and backwardness, although the scientific world still uses the above discoveries.

Sometimes Muslims themselves contribute to this kind of accusations of ignorance, considering secular science to be an unworthy business that non-believers should be engaged in. The destiny of religious people, in their opinion, is to engage only in theology and related sciences. But as we have shown above, advanced people among Muslims never thought so, which is confirmed by their invaluable contribution to the treasury of world knowledge.

Together with other Russian schoolchildren and students, Muslim children also sat down at their desks in September. We wish them success in their studies, but at the same time we want to remind you that in a school or institute - as in any other place - believers should be a model of high morality and an example for everyone around.

In particular, it is unacceptable for a believer to treat studies without due diligence - to chat with a friend during class instead of listening carefully to the teacher, and to be lazy at home and do homework poorly. One of the distinguishing qualities of Muslims is honesty, so cheating from a friend during control work or an exam, or using a cheat sheet is completely unacceptable.

You can deceive the teacher, but you cannot deceive the Almighty, Who sees us at any time and will not be pleased with those people who lie and cunning. Moreover, passing off other people's knowledge as your own is not only sinful, but simply stupid - from whom will you write off when the time comes to put into practice the knowledge gained (for example, when applying for a job)?

The Muslim community now, more than ever, needs good specialists in their field, comprehensively educated people. We hope that you will not fail her expectations and become worthy successors of the work of the great scientists of the past.

Anna (Muslima) Kobulova