Algebra

The term algebra is derived from the Arabic term al-jabr in the title of Al-Khwarizmi's Al-jabr wa'l muqabalah. He originally used the term al-jabr to describe the method of "reduction" and "balancing", referring to the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation.

There are three theories about the origins of Arabic algebra. The first emphasizes Hindu influence, the second emphasizes Mesopotamian or Persian-Syriac influence, and the third emphasizes Greek influence. Many scholars believe that it is the result of a combination of all three sources.

Throughout their time in power, before the fall of Islamic civilization, the Arabs used a fully rhetorical algebra, where sometimes even the numbers were spelled out in words. The Arabs would eventually replace spelled out numbers (eg. twenty-two) with Arabic numerals (eg. 22), but the Arabs never adopted or developed a syncopated or symbolic algebra,[5] until the work of Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi in the 13th century and Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī in the 15th century.

There were four conceptual stages in the development of algebra, three of which either began in, or were significantly advanced in, the Islamic world. These four stages were as follows:

* Geometric stage, where the concepts of algebra are largely geometric. This dates back to the Babylonians and continued with the Greeks, and was revived by Omar Khayyam.
* Static equation-solving stage, where the objective is to find numbers satisfying certain relationships. The move away from geometric algebra dates back to Diophantus and Brahmagupta, but algebra didn't decisively move to the static equation-solving stage until Al-Khwarizmi's Al-Jabr.
* Dynamic function stage, where motion is an underlying idea. The idea of a function began emerging with Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī, but algebra didn't decisively move to the dynamic function stage until Gottfried Leibniz.
* Abstract stage, where mathematical structure plays a central role. Abstract algebra is largely a product of the 19th and 20th centuries.

adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_mathematics

Mathematic

Mathematics in medieval Islam or sometimes referred to as Islamic mathematics is a term used in the history of mathematics that refers to the mathematics developed in the Islamic world between 622 and 1600, in the part of the world where Islam was the dominant religious. Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate (also known as the Islamic Empire) established across the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, Sicily, the Iberian Peninsula, and in parts of France and India in the 8th century. The center of Islamic mathematics was located in Persia (including eastern part of present-day Iraq) , but at its greatest extent stretched from North Africa and Spain in the west and to India in the east.While most scientists in this period were Muslims and Arabic was the dominant language—much like Latin in Medieval Europe, Arabic was used as the written language of scholars throughout the Islamic world at the time—contributions were made by people of different ethnic groups (Arabs, Persians, Berbers, Moors, Turks) and sometimes different religions (Muslims, Christians, Jews, Sabians, Zoroastrians, irreligious).

adapted from: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_mathematics)