Islam had experienced a heyday in the 8th century AD. At that time, all areas of Muslim life were very advanced. Islam is also often referred to as the center of world civilization at that time. In fact, many historians say that in the 8th to 9th centuries was The Golden Age for Islam.
So, what is the figure of the heyday of Muslims in the 8th century AD? Here are some reviews for you. But, before that, you could read about others Islamic history. There are importance of battle of badr in Islam, history of battle of trench and historical, wisdom, and facts about battle of uhud.
Bani Abbasiah Pioneer of the 8th Century of Islamic Glory
When talking about the glory of Muslims in the 8th century, it cannot be separated from the role of the Bani Abbasiah in the first period. The first period of the Abbasiah was founded in 750 AD by Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah. As-Saffah and Al-Mansur as the first two caliphs will later lay the foundation of the government of the Abbasiah Caliphate.
The heyday of the Abbasiah will begin on the next seven caliphs, namely Al-Mahdi (775-785 AD), Al-Hadi (775-786 AD), Harun Ar-Rasyid (786-809 AD), Al-Ma’mun (Ma’mun (AD) 813-833 AD), Al-Mu’tasim (833-842 AD), Al-Wasiq (842-847 AD), and Al-Mutawakkil (847-861 AD).
The triumph of Islam at that time was successfully created in various sectors, namely education, agriculture, trade and industry, politics, and the military.
Education Sector
During the Abbasiah Daulah, there was a very famous scientific institution called Baitul Hikmah. This institution was established during the reign of Sultan Al-Ma’mun in Baghdad.
Baitul Hikmah not only functions as a translator bureau, but also as a center for academic studies, a public library, and has an observatory.
In addition, education during the Abbasiah was not only in big cities, but also targeted remote villages. This makes people competing to gain knowledge through educational institutions that exist throughout the territory of the Abbasiah Daulah and they know that education is important in Islam. Conditions like these that make education in the Abbasiah era very advanced.
Agriculture Sector
The agricultural sector is one of the sectors that provides the highest income for the Abbasiah Sultanate. Agriculture became one of the Abbasiah Daulah’s focuses because their government center was in a very fertile area.
At that time, the Abbasiah Daulah used the Euphrates River and the Tigris River as a source of irrigation for all agricultural land owned.
This system makes various agricultural plants become fertile and produce a lot of harvest. Not only staple food, the kingdom also grows a variety of fruits, nuts, and plants in addition.
Trade and Industry Sector
The greatness of the Abbasiah Daulah apparently also penetrated the trade and industry sectors. This condition was influenced by the vast territory of the Abbasiah Daulah at that time.
In the East, Muslims have reached China to conduct trade. Meanwhile, in the West, Muslims have reached Morocco and Spain.
In addition, small home industries are also developing rapidly, such as handicrafts, carpet, silk, cotton, woolen cloth, sofas, and household furniture industries.
This makes the profits achieved by Muslims is very large so that the welfare of the Islamic community also increases.
Political Sector
In the political sector, Abbasiah Daulah has begun the steps to implement a regional autonomy system. This is due to the vast territory of the Abbasid Daula at that time.
In addition, Abbasiah Daulah also added several institutions to carry out the administration to make it more smooth.
However, the regional autonomy system implemented by the Abbasiah Daulah indeed still practices nepotism. This practice of nepotism often makes certain positions, such as governors, seem to be inherited from the position of king.
Military Sector
During the Abbasiah Daulah, the military sector did not change much. The change occurred only in the number of troops owned by the Abbasiah Daulah.
During its heyday, Islam, which was then based in Iraq, had 125,000 Iraqi troops. The salaries of military members are also quite high. Infantry troops get 240 dirhams per year and cavalry can receive double the salaries of infantry troops.
Great Scientists during the Islamic Glory of the 8th Century
Not only advanced in various sectors, the heyday of Islam in the 8th century also gave birth to many scientists in various fields. Who are they? Here are some of the famous scientists during the heyday of Islam:
1. Hunain ibn Ishaq
Hunain ibn Ishaq is a medical scientist with his monumental work entitled ‘Asyr al-Maqalat fi al-‘Ain (Ten Treatises on the Eyes).
2. Jibril ibn Bakhtasi
Jibril ibn Bakhtasi was the personal physician of the Caliph Harun Ar-Rashid, Al-Ma’mun, and the Barmak family as well as medical scientists who produced a paper entitled Manafi ‘al-Hayawaan.
3. Abu Bakr Muhammad Ar-Razi
Abu Bakar Muhammad Ar-Razi is a medical scientist who researches fever, smallpox, allergies, and asthma. He was also the first to write about allergies and immunology. Ar-Razi also contributed to the manufacture of medical equipment, such as tubes, spatulas, mortars, and medicines derived from mercury.
4. Jabir Ibn Hayyan
Jabir Ibnu Hayyan is a chemist who is more commonly known as Gebert by European scientists. Ibn Hayyan perfected chemical reactions, such as evaporation, sublimation, distillation and crystallization. In addition, Ibn Hayyan also conducted experiments about the quantity of substances.
5. Al-Kindi
Al-Kindi is a well-known Islamic scientist. He mastered medicine, pharmacology, astrology, mathematics, optics, zoology, meteorology, and seismology. He was known as Al-Kindus by European scientists so many did not know that he was a Muslim. Al-Kindi has composed about 270 encyclopedias.
6. Al-Khawarizmi
Muhammad Ibn Musa Al-Khawarizmi was the first Muslim scientist to introduce mathematics to the world. He was dubbed the Father of Algebra or Algorithm because of his services for discovering algebra or algorithms for the first time. In addition, he was also the first scientist to introduce the decimal position numbering system.
7. Thbit ibn Qurra
Thbit ibn Qurra is an Islamic scientist who is an expert in mathematics. He applied the Ptolemy’s geocentric system and was the founder of the concept of statistics.
The extraordinary glory of Islam in the past. Unfortunately, Muslims today are divided and do not unite to make Islam re-triumph. Many Muslims actually bring down one another, thus making Islam even more stunted. Muslims are also more easily pitted by people who do not like Islam.
In fact, it is not uncommon for Muslims to denigrate science and consider science to be a Western product that must be shunned. They assume that science is a product of infidels and should not be used. In fact, during the heyday of Islam, Islamic scientists were very close and loved science and gaining knowledge in Islam is impotant.
As Muslims who are literate with science and technology, it would be best if we unite to restore the glory of Islam. Let us together to realize the second volume of The Golden Age of Islam. Aamiin ya rabbal ‘alamiin.