Webtasmim asked 9 years ago
I am studying Islam Civilization in history class. I need to know where the House of Wisdom came from. Did it come from Islamic beliefs and practices, the Umayyad dynasty, the Abbasid dynasty or Islamic achievements?
Souhail_5 Staff answered 9 years ago
Assalam alaykoum wa rahmatoullahi wa barakatouh,
The word wisdom (hekma in Arabic) is mentioned in the Quran 20 times. It is considered to be a gift from God to His people. The mission of the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) was to teach the people wisdom and to do it with wisdom!
“Invite all to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching (16:126).”
Historically, “House of Wisdom” became a common title in the Muslim world for institutions doing scientific research. One of the most famous Houses of wisdom was in ancient Baghdad. It was founded by Caliph al-Ma’mun who came to power in 813 AD. A part of the mission of that House of Wisdom was to translate the cultural works of Greece: Plato, Aristole and the founders of Greek medicine, Hippocrates, Galen and Dioscorides.
By the year 900, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad became an international scientific center. Among its most prominent scholars were al-khwarizmi and the sons of Musa. Those three brothers Mohammed, Ahmad, and al-Hasan lead the research in the area of mathematics, astronomy, and mechanics. The Fatimids established a House of Wisdom in Egypt and one in Jerusalem.
These Houses of Wisdom in the Islamic World were not only centers of science, astronomy, philosophy, architecture, engineering, etc., but also intellectual centers of tolerance and security for scholars with different religious backgrounds. Since our God is the God of Wisdom and our mosque in Dearborn Heights, Michigan “The Islamic House of Wisdom.”