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 geographic al knowledge passed by the C reator to the human race .In this respect of mankind on earth .In pre - Islamic Arabia the Bedouins , who wandered across the Arabian deserts and who were active in the trade because of the strategic position of their homeland, ha d 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. The clear night ski e s gave the Arabs an early interest in astronomy. It was revealed in the Holly Quran, that the moon and the stars were used to fix orientation in the vast barren deserts. With the rise and spread of Islam , 7 th to 14 th c . AD , Muslim geograph ic knowledge had increased considerably as a result of travel for religious and economic reasons. The Hajj or pilgrimage , which takes p l ace 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 reveal ed to the P rophet Muhammad , 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, and how 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 U niverse has been expanding since its 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 U niverse. In the same way that Greek and Roman geographic knowledge was built on that of an cient civilizations, Arabs and Muslims were able to build the ir geographic knowledge on their predecessors and made original contributions. Arab and Muslim leadershi p of would culture (7th - 14th c . AD) in Spain (Andalusia) gave them the ability to sow the first se eds of the European Renaissance . Arab and Muslim G eographers have contributed in a substantial way to all the present day branches of modern geography includi ng geomorphology , oceanography , climatology, cultural geography, urban geography, medical geography, cartography as well as astronomy and surveying.