Bismillah [IslamCity] How Islamic inventors changed the world

2007-10-28 Thread Ahumanb
How Islamic inventors changed the world

By Paul Vallely

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/science/archive/060325/science3.htm

From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given 
us many innovations that we in the West take for granted. Here are 20 of their 
most influential innovations:

(1) The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa 
region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after 
eating a certain berry.

He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of 
the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to 
stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it 
had arrived in Makkah and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645.

It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the 
first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic “qahwa” 
became the Turkish “kahve” then the Italian “caffé” and then English “coffee”.

(2) The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which 
enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, 
rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer 
and physicist Ibn al-Haitham.

He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through 
a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he 
worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word “qamara” 
for a dark or private room).

He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a 
philosophical activity to an experimental one.

(3) A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into 
the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe — 
where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century — and 
eastward as far as Japan. The word “rook” comes from the Persian “rukh”, which 
means chariot.

(4) A thousand years before the Wright brothers, a Muslim poet, astronomer, 
musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct 
a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in 
Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts.

He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn’t. But the cloak slowed his fall, 
creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only 
minor injuries.

In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles’ feathers he 
tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and 
stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing — concluding, correctly, 
that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on 
landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after 
him.

(5) Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is 
perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The 
ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a 
pomade.

But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and 
aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders’ most striking 
characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash.

Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed’s Indian 
Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon 
to Kings George IV and William IV.

(6) Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their 
boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam’s foremost scientist, 
Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the 
basic processes and apparatus still in use today — liquefaction, 
crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and 
filtration.

As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic 
still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic 
spirits (although drinking them forbidden, in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised 
systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern chemistry.

(7) The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and 
is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal 
combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the 
history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called 
al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation.

His Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (1206) shows he also 
invented or refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first 
mechanical clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. 
Among his 50 other inventions was the combination lock.

(8) Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of 
insulating material in between. It is not clear whether 

Boycott Israel [IslamCity] How Islamic inventors changed the world

2007-02-15 Thread Raihan
How Islamic inventors changed the world
From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given 
us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new 
exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and 
identifies the men of genius behind them.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/article350594.ece
1. The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa 
region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after 
eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. 
Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to 
Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special 
occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from 
where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a 
Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in 
the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian 
caffé and then English coffee.
2. The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which 
enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, 
rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer 
and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after 
noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the 
hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera 
Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also 
credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical 
activity to an experimental one.
3. A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into 
the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe - 
where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century - and 
eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which 
means chariot.
4. A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, 
musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct 
a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in 
Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide 
like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought 
to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, 
aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried 
again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed 
aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it 
was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. 
Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.
5. Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps 
why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient 
Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. 
But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and 
aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most striking 
characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was 
introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths on 
Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George 
IV and William IV.
6. Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their 
boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam's foremost scientist, 
Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the 
basic processes and apparatus still in use today - liquefaction, 
crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and 
filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the 
alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and 
alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). 
Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of modern 
chemistry.
7. The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear motion and 
is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the internal 
combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical inventions in the 
history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim engineer called 
al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of Knowledge of 
Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the use of 
valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical clocks driven by water 
and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 other inventions was 
the combination lock.
8. Quilting is a method of sewing or tying two layers of cloth with a layer of 
insulating 

[IslamCity] How Islamic Inventors Changed the World

2006-04-05 Thread S A Hannan
Dear members of the list,

Assalamu Alaikum.  The following article might be of some
interest to you.

Shah Abdul Hannan


 How Islamic inventors changed the world

 http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/
 article350594.ece

 Article from The Independent - UK


 From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has
 given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a
 new
 exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential-
 and
 identifies the men of genius behind them


 Published: 11 March 2006

 1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the
 Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became
 livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make
 the
 first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans
 exported
 from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to
 pray
 on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca
 and
 Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to
 England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first
 coffee
 house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became
 the
 Turkish kahve then the Italian caffÃ(c) and then English coffee.


 2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which
 enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the
 eye,
 rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician,
 astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole
 camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window
 shutters.
 The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set
 up the
 first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private
 room).
 He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a
 philosophical activity to an experimental one.


 3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was
 developed
 into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread
 westward to
 Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th
 century -
 and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian
 rukh,
 which means chariot.


 4 A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet,
 astronomer,
 musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to
 construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the
 Grand
 Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He
 hoped
 to glide like a bird. He didnâEUR~t. But the cloak slowed his fall,
 creating
 what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only
 minor
 injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and
 eaglesâEUR~ feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew
 to a
 significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on
 landing -
 concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device
 a
 tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a
 crater on the Moon are named after him.


 5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is
 perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use
 today. The
 ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it
 more as
 a pomade.
 But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide
 and
 aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the CrusadersâEUR~ most striking
 characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo
 was
 introduced to England by a Muslim who opened MahomedâEUR~s Indian
 Vapour
 Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing
 Surgeon to
 Kings George IV and William IV.


 6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in
 their
 boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by IslamâEUR~s
 foremost
 scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry,
 inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today
 -
 liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation,
 evaporation and filtration.
 As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the
 alembic
 still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and
 alcoholic
 spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, in Islam). Ibn
 Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder of
 modern
 chemistry.


 7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates rotary into linear
 motion and
 is central to much of the machinery in the modern world, not least the
 internal combustion engine. One of the most important mechanical
 inventions
 in the history of humankind, it was created by an ingenious Muslim
 engineer
 called al- Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 1206 Book of
 Knowledge
 of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or refined the
 use of
 

[IslamCity] How Islamic inventors changed the world

2006-03-21 Thread Islahonline





http://musliminsuffer.blogspot.com/bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiemIn the Name of God, the Compassionate, the 
Merciful== News Update ==How Islamic inventors changed the world Published: 11 March 2006 (Independent 
UK)From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the 
Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily 
life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most 
influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them 1 The story 
goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of 
southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a 
certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the 
first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where 
Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 
15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to 
Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee 
who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The 
Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English 
coffee. 2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a 
laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters 
the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, 
astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera 
after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller 
the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera 
Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also 
credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity 
to an experimental one.3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but 
the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it 
spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 
10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the 
Persian rukh, which means chariot.4 A thousand years before the Wright 
brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas 
made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the 
minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden 
struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, 
creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only 
minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' 
feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant 
height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, 
correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would 
stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are 
named after him.5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for 
Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still 
use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used 
it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with 
sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most 
striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo 
was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths 
on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings 
George IV and William IV.6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids 
through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by 
Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into 
chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use 
today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, 
evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he 
invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other 
perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, 
in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder 
of modern chemistry.7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates 
rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern 
world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important 
mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an 
ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 
1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or 
refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical 
clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 
other inventions was the 

Re: [IslamCity] How Islamic inventors changed the world

2006-03-21 Thread Awais K.Alvi



Dear brothrs  Sisters, Please read this carefully,AssalamuAlaikum, its been observed that most of us write "MOSQUE" for "MASJID" and even calling it as Mosque in daily routine, what elders and teachers say that the word "Mosque" means the house of mosquitoes not Masjid. So better be careful next time instead of using mosque, u can use MASJID... Most we have seen the spellings of "MAAKAH” as MECCA. The word MECCA means "Sharab Khaana". So lets all of us be careful writing MECCA Many people whose name start with Muhammed, write in a short form as "Mohd" This "Mohd" means "A dog which has a big mouth" so always be careful to not to repeat these mistakes again. Please forward this message to as many Muslim brothersBest of luck,   Awais KhalidIslahonline [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:  http://musliminsuffer.blogspot.com/bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiemIn the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful== News Update ==How Islamic inventors changed the world Published: 11 March 2006 (Independent UK)From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them 1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly
 the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee. 2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private
 room). He is also credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity to an experimental one.3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the Persian rukh, which means chariot.4 A thousand years before the Wright brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' feathers he tried again,
 jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are named after him.5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings George IV and William IV.6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids through
 differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is 

[IslamCity] How Islamic inventors changed the world

2006-03-19 Thread Islahonline





http://musliminsuffer.blogspot.com/bismi-lLahi-rRahmani-rRahiemIn the Name of God, the Compassionate, the 
Merciful== News Update ==How Islamic inventors changed the world Published: 11 March 2006 (Independent 
UK)From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the 
Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily 
life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most 
influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them 1 The story 
goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of 
southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a 
certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the 
first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where 
Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 
15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to 
Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee 
who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The 
Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English 
coffee. 2 The ancient Greeks thought our eyes emitted rays, like a 
laser, which enabled us to see. The first person to realise that light enters 
the eye, rather than leaving it, was the 10th-century Muslim mathematician, 
astronomer and physicist Ibn al-Haitham. He invented the first pin-hole camera 
after noticing the way light came through a hole in window shutters. The smaller 
the hole, the better the picture, he worked out, and set up the first Camera 
Obscura (from the Arab word qamara for a dark or private room). He is also 
credited with being the first man to shift physics from a philosophical activity 
to an experimental one.3 A form of chess was played in ancient India but 
the game was developed into the form we know it today in Persia. From there it 
spread westward to Europe - where it was introduced by the Moors in Spain in the 
10th century - and eastward as far as Japan. The word rook comes from the 
Persian rukh, which means chariot.4 A thousand years before the Wright 
brothers a Muslim poet, astronomer, musician and engineer named Abbas ibn Firnas 
made several attempts to construct a flying machine. In 852 he jumped from the 
minaret of the Grand Mosque in Cordoba using a loose cloak stiffened with wooden 
struts. He hoped to glide like a bird. He didn't. But the cloak slowed his fall, 
creating what is thought to be the first parachute, and leaving him with only 
minor injuries. In 875, aged 70, having perfected a machine of silk and eagles' 
feathers he tried again, jumping from a mountain. He flew to a significant 
height and stayed aloft for ten minutes but crashed on landing - concluding, 
correctly, that it was because he had not given his device a tail so it would 
stall on landing. Baghdad international airport and a crater on the Moon are 
named after him.5 Washing and bathing are religious requirements for 
Muslims, which is perhaps why they perfected the recipe for soap which we still 
use today. The ancient Egyptians had soap of a kind, as did the Romans who used 
it more as a pomade. But it was the Arabs who combined vegetable oils with 
sodium hydroxide and aromatics such as thyme oil. One of the Crusaders' most 
striking characteristics, to Arab nostrils, was that they did not wash. Shampoo 
was introduced to England by a Muslim who opened Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths 
on Brighton seafront in 1759 and was appointed Shampooing Surgeon to Kings 
George IV and William IV.6 Distillation, the means of separating liquids 
through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by 
Islam's foremost scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, who transformed alchemy into 
chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparatus still in use 
today - liquefaction, crystallisation, distillation, purification, oxidisation, 
evaporation and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he 
invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other 
perfumes and alcoholic spirits (although drinking them is haram, or forbidden, 
in Islam). Ibn Hayyan emphasised systematic experimentation and was the founder 
of modern chemistry.7 The crank-shaft is a device which translates 
rotary into linear motion and is central to much of the machinery in the modern 
world, not least the internal combustion engine. One of the most important 
mechanical inventions in the history of humankind, it was created by an 
ingenious Muslim engineer called al-Jazari to raise water for irrigation. His 
1206 Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices shows he also invented or 
refined the use of valves and pistons, devised some of the first mechanical 
clocks driven by water and weights, and was the father of robotics. Among his 50 
other inventions was the