The Experimental Scientific Method.. Important Islamic Addition

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

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Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany

Muslim Scientists' Role in Discovering the Experimental Method

Reaching the rational experimental scientific method – based on induction and measurement, as well as sighting, experiment and representation – is considered an important Islamic addition to the march of science worldwide.

Such a method is completely different from that of the Greek, Indians or others, as such civilizations used often to content themselves with assuming theories without attempting to scientifically prove them. They were almost theoretical philosophies that are not applied in most cases even if they were true. This led to mixing between true and false theories. Following the emergence of Islam, Muslims were the first to introduce the experimental method in dealing with scientific and universal givens around them. This resulted in establishing rules of the experimental scientific method, which is still used in contemporary modern science.

Muslims' application of the experimental method in previous theories, paying no attention to the theory's owner whatever he might be, led to the discovery of many mistakes passed down by scientists over successive centuries.

Muslim scientists were not only satisfied with criticizing and testing such theories, but also introduced new assumptions. They also tested such assumptions to turn into theories if they approached truth. They afterwards tested the theory to finally prove that it became fact not merely a theory. To achieve that, they enthusiastically carried out many experiments.

Examples of Muslim Scientists who Approved Experimental Method

Among the Muslim scientists who exerted many efforts in such an area were Jaber Ibn Hayyan[1], al-Khwarizmi, al-Razi[2], al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham[3], Ibn al-Nafis[4], and others.

Jabber Ibn Hayyan, the father of chemistry, says “… and the perfection of that making is science and experiments; he who did not work or carry out experiment never won anything.”[5] In the book “Al-Khawas al-Kabir” [The Great Book of Properties], he said: “We mention in these books the properties of what we saw only not what we heard, read or were told after examining and testing it. We published only what came true and rejected what was false. And what we concluded ourselves, we compared it to the conditions of such people.”[6]

Therefore, Ibn Hayyan was the first to introduce the laboratory scientific experiment into the scientific research method, the rules of which he established. Sometimes he called experiment “the experience”; he said “He who was experienced was a real scientist and he who was not so was not a scientist. In all industries, the experienced maker is skillful while the inexperienced is idle.”[7]

Therefore, Ibn Hayyan made greater progress in laying down experiment as a basis of work than that made by Greek scientists who preceded him. Qadry Toqan said: Ibn Hayyan excelled other scientists by being topping those who carried out experiments on a scientific basis, which is used today in laboratories. He called for taking interest in experiment and called for carrying out experiment with accurate observation. He also called for deliberateness, saying: the duty of the chemist is work and carrying out experiments, without which knowledge could not be reached[8].

Al-Razi may be the first physician worldwide to use that experimental method through carrying out his experiments on animals, especially monkeys in order to test new methods of treatment before applying them to humans. This is a splendid scientific method, which the world acknowledged only a short period ago. About his method, he said: “When the fact we saw was incompatible with the prevailing theory, the fact must be accepted, even if everybody adopted the prevailing theories as a kind of support for famous scientists.”[9] He acknowledged that everybody might admire the views of famous great scientists and contemplate their theories, but experiment sometimes runs counter to the theory. In this case the theory should be rejected, even if it was laid down by the most famous scientists, and the fact and experiment should be accepted, analyzed and made use of.

Due to the experimental method, Ibn al-Haytham’s writings included criticisms of Euclid[10] and Ptolemy[11] in spite of their great scientific status. His method was obvious in the introduction of his Book of Optics, in which he briefly showed the method he reached and described as the best method in research and adopted in all his researches. He said: “… we start in the research process by extrapolating facts, examining optics, distinguishing the properties of particles, conceiving what relates to sight in case of sighting, and what is steady, unchanged, and apparent and then elevate in research and measurement gradually with criticizing introduction and preserving results. We should adopt justice in what we extrapolate not whims. And we should investigate all what we distinguish and criticize in search of fact not inclining to views.”[12]

In his researches, Ibn al-Haytham adopted induction and syllogism and paid attention in some researches to analogy. These are the elements of contemporary scientific researches. As one of Muslim scientists who laid down the experimental method, Ibn al-Haytham did not only precede Francis Bacon[13] in his way to induction, but also remarkably excelled him and was more broad-minded than him even if he did not pay much attention to theoretical philosophy as Bacon did.

Mr Mustafa Nazif[14] said: “Ibn al-Haytham deepened his thinking to a degree greater than it seemed to be at the first sight. He realized what the 20th century modern philosophers said after Mac and Karl Pearson[15] and others. He also realized the true position of the scientific theory and its real function in the modern meaning.”[16]

Moreover, Muslim scientists regarded writing as inaccurate if it was not preceded by experiments. Al-Jildaki[17], one of the 8th AH century (14th AD century) prominent chemists, said about famous chemist al-Taghra’i[18] (died in 513 AH), as saying: “Al-Taghra’i was a man of great intelligence, but he carried out a few experiments, which made his writings inaccurate.”[19]

Accordingly, Muslims reached the experimental scientific method, through which the humanity learned how to reach scientific fact in a confident and reliable way apart from, doubts whims and illusions.