such an enlightenment!

It's very amazing when you know how the moslem scientists back then discovered lots of natural phenomenon about the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars. Nowadays we call it astronomy. Do you know why the moslem merchants always traveled from one city to another at night? During the era of islamic glory, the islamic kingdom lied between Spain (Al Andalusiyyah), northern Africa, all the way to Pakistan (huge, wasn't it..). Large part of it is desert area like arabian peninsula and Sahara. As we know that desert could be very hot. In order to avoid being burnt, they decided to travel at night. When they traveled, they always saw the stars, since the desert sky is often very clear. So it is how the dicoveries started. At the beginning of astronomical observations, the moslem scientist used to observe the stars on the minarets. Minaret is a mosque tower, people used to call for praying (azan) from the top of the minarets, so that it can be heared by people surrounding the mosque. And the scientists used the minarets as a stars observatory. It is a strong evidence that islamic science grows from heart of Islam. Islam and science is like two sides of a coin.

Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding, (190) Men who celebrate the praises of Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth, (With the thought): "Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire. (191) -Surah 3, The Family of 'Imran-

As the science grew, the scientists built observatories with many specific purposes, like measuring the earth inclination and the orbit of solar system. A lot of observatories were built during the Abbasiyyah dynasty.

Above is my new knowledge after I visited the Islamic Science Exhibition in KLCC yesterday. There were many scientific discoveries and inventions that can make you stunned. Indeed, islamic science ahead of its time! Yesterday was also enlightening, at least for me. I spent the lunch time with Ng, one of my coursemates. We had a small talk, and later on it became very serious argumentation about the existence of God. We never agreed, since both sides used different frame of thinking. Then I decided to go see the exhibition in KLCC and it definitely brought me such enlightenment.

Image: Minaret of Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey