The “Formation…Sciences and Creativity” exhibition continues at the House of Wisdom, with the aim of introducing the outstanding achievements and contributions of early Arab and Muslim scientists in various sciences, especially astronomy, as our scientists were the first to establish this science, which was known at the time as “the science of the body.”
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through rare manuscripts that include drawings, data and calculations in various branches of astronomy.
Among the possessions displayed by the Astronomy Department is a manuscript entitled “Anatomy of the Planets” by Muhammad bin Hussein Bahaa al-Din al-Amili, which is a scientific book that establishes the theories of astronomy and provides a detailed explanation of various astronomical axes such as the great and small circles of the planets and their poles, the zodiac signs, orbits, and the equator, and their role in determining The rates of day and night and the four seasons, and inferences with some astronomical instruments such as the astrolabe.
The rare astronomical drawings that the “Takween” exhibition makes available to visitors also include a manuscript from the book “Al-Mukhlas fi Ilm Al-Haya” by Mahmoud bin Muhammad Al-Jaghmini, and another explaining the same book by Musa bin Muhammad, known as “Qadi Zadeh”, which is a book that presents drawings of the solar system in which the bodies appear. The upper plane, and its proximity to the sun, confirms the belief of our early scientists in the sphericity of the Earth and its rotation around itself and around the sun, in what is considered a criticism and refutation of the theory postulated by Ptolemy in the second century AD that the Earth stands fixed in its place in the middle of the universe, while the sun and all other celestial bodies revolve around it. .
Visitors to the exhibition can also view a manuscript from the book “Collecting Antiquities,” which presents a diagram of the structure of the spheres and the upper planets and their position in relation to the planet Venus, as well as how their phases, shapes, and locations change throughout the year, and the extent to which they are affected by astronomical phenomena.
The manuscript also records a rare astronomical observation of the movement of Jupiter, the Moon and its houses, eclipses, eclipses, and constellations, in addition to how the locations, shapes, and colors of these upper bodies change and their effects on human and natural life.
Also among the available possessions is a manuscript entitled “The Eighth Essay on the Secrets of Wisdom in Astronomy” by Al-Hasan bin Ahmed (Ibn Al-Haik Al-Hamdani), which includes a red and black diagram of the astrological signs that he calls Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, “Spike,” Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius. It is noted in the drawing that they used to call the “Virgin” sign in their time “the spike.”
• One of the possessions displayed by the Astronomy Department is a manuscript entitled “Anatomy of the Planets.”
An ancient astrolabe
The astronomy section in the “Takween” exhibition, which is hosted by the House of Wisdom in cooperation with the “King Faisal Center,” includes a strategic partner, the “Majjib Quarter” astrolabe, which is a brass astronomical instrument in the shape of a quarter circle, from which a round ring hangs, and from the middle of which hangs a movable measuring rod. Use The astrolabe was used in the Islamic world until the beginning of the 20th century, to measure degrees of longitude and latitude, know the direction of the Qiblah, and the hours of day and night.
