Thread on the achievements of the Muslims throughout history and facts which you may not have known. As a student of Islamic history I've come across knowledge they would never have taught in our schools. Feel free to message me for further explanation on them iA.

Fatima Al Fihri was the first person in history to build a university. Al Qarawiyin in Fez developed into a centre for religious and political discussion, gradually extending to all subjects, particularly the natural sciences and so earned its name as the "first university"

Origin of University graduate gowns comes from Western students travelling to Muslim Spain in the Middle Ages (Cordoba -"Qurtuba") was the cultural and intellectual centre of learning in the world with thousands of libraries. Abaya and turban were worn to uni.

Jack Sparrow was based on a Muslim convert. Jack Ward a sailor from England converted to Islam after travelling to Islamic lands. He was given the name "Jack Asfour" (Asfour Arabic for Sparrow) because of his fondness for them. He was an admiral (Arabic origin word 'Amirul').

Mansa Musa was the richest man in history (even till this day). His empire in Mali was one of the biggest and richest Empires of the time. He was so rich he went Hajj and went past Egypt he gave out gold to the people which led to decline in the economy because of the value.

Whilst the West was in the dark ages, the Islamic world was so ahead of its time. Jabir Ibn Hayyan was the first ever chemist. The word chemistry is Arabic origin "Al Kimia". So is Alkaline and Alcohol "Al Kuhl" because of the remarkable achievements of Hayyan and others.

This was the first ever camera. Camera again an invention by the Muslims. Ibn Al Haytham is considered the first scientist. "Al Qamr" which means "chamber" hence the word camera. He was the "Father of Optics" AND discovered gravity NOT NEWTON.

Al Farabi wrote the "Great Book of Music" on the theory of music which was a masterpiece and was translated into Latin and spread throughout Europe. Islamic world during the Medieval era excelled in music. The guitar is an Arabic origin word "Al Qitara", Lute (Al 'Ud) and others.

Coffee was introduced to Europe via the Muslims. Coffee which comes from the word "Kahve" in Turkish was left in Vienna after the Battle of Vienna by the Ottomans. Muslims drank this to stay awake for Taraweeh. It was seen as evil drink because of its association with Islam.

Ever wondered why British adopted trumpets and marching band for their army? It comes from the Ottomans. Staying with music Do Re Mi Fa So La is not Latin it's Arabic. Dal, Raa, Meem, Seen and laam. Again Muslims giving Music to Europe.

"Muslims are dirty!" But irony is we invented soap, introduced public baths and mechanical devices to stay clean. Al Jazari wrote "The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices" which includes robotic wudu machines. Some machines could even hand you a towel!

Al Jazari's book, he even invented the first mechanical clock. This is the "Elephant Clock" which includes Chinese, Indian and Persian influences on this design. I would recommend you to read how using water and a ball meant this could work. He was the first engineer.

Al Zahrawi. The first ever surgeon and dentist. Revolutionised surgery and introduced surgical equipment which we still use today. His book was used for hundreds of years in Europe. He described in his book how to correctly dislocate shoulders, replace missing teeth correctly etc

One doctor during medieval era went to England and saw a female doctor hacking off a leg. The Muslim doctor was so astonished that he said "They are far behind us in terms of knowledge".

DRACULA WAS REAL. He was based off a Romanian tyrant who fought the Ottomans and killed innocent men, women and children. Thankfully his rule ended when he was eventually defeated by the Ottomans. This was him. Vlad the Impaler.

Ibn Battuta. The greatest traveller in history. They'll tell you about Marco Polo and Vasco Da Gama but Ibn Battuta travelled the most from Morocco to as far east as China where he met Turkish Sultans, Indian princesses and the great Muslims scholars of the time. Read his diary!

Muslims revolutionised agriculture. Orange- Arabic word (Naranj), Lemon is also Arabic (Laymun)+ many more. The Umayyads in Spain and Portugal (Al Burtuqal)- originally were from Syria wanted Spain to be like their homeland. Masters of irrigation, fertilisation, making sugar cane

Lads you lot have played Assassin's Creed. Well the word Assassin is Arabic "Hashashin". They were a secret order who were Nizari Ismailis (one of the branches of Shi'ism). They would train in Alamut- Castle and their objective was to overthrow the rulers of their time.

Muslims excelled in astronomy because we needed to know the time for prayer. Al Biruni the greatest astronomer and also one of the greatest geographers and mathematicians, as well as being the first ever sociologist. He was also the first Indologist. I wrote a disso on him.

The greatest mathematician since the ancient Greeks. Invented Algebra, was the first to treat algebra as an independent discipline and introduced the methods of "reduction" and "balancing".  The name comes from the title of his famous book "Al Jabr". Algorithm also Arabic word.

Ibn Sina. He was so famous in the West he was compared to the Greek scholars. A master in philosophy and science. His medical text "Al Qanun fi al-tibb" (Code of Laws in Medicine) was described as the most famous medical book ever. Contains how to treat all types of diseases.

Ibn Rushd. Considered one of the greatest philosophers ever. An expert in Islamic philosophy and Greek philosophy and Islamic theology. A defender of Aristotelian philosophy against Ash'ari theologians led by Al-Ghazali. Revolutinised philosophy and Europe adopted his ideas.

The reason why many scholars could translate Greek texts and therefore become the great scholars that they were and invent many stuff is because of the "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad. The largest educational centre in the world containing thousands and thousands of books.

Al Idrisi was the first to tell the world that the earth was round. Was also the first to complete the world map and was a master geographer. Muslims also developed compasses and excelled in navigation. 350 years before Columbus. He knew about America trust me.

Aladdin ( you can tell by the name) was a popular story in the book "One Thousand and One Nights" which were a series of Middle Eastern folklore tales compiled by the Abbasid caliph during the Islamic Golden Age. The word "Genie" comes from "Jinn".

During the Ottoman period the Ottomans had highly sophisticated weaponry to defend themselves which the British then adopted. Muslims invented the torpedo and built rockets. The word "Arsenal" where you store weapons is an Arabic word (Dar as Sina)- "House of Industry"

"The book of animals". Al Jahiz wrote on animal psychology and many other things. The word "Safari" is Arabic and so is Giraffe. There are many other animals which are Arabic origin because of Muslims and Zoology. Describes the concept of natural selection 1000 yrs before Darwin.

Sufi Muslims were the masters of poetry because of their spiritual connection to God. But also wrote the best love poems. Omar Khayyam, Hafez and Rumi being the best during that era. Way better than Shakespeare. They were persecuted at the time.

Al Razi was the first scientist to use experimentation ever. He wrote a book on distillation, making of alcohol, dyes and perfumes. One of the greatest ever scientists. There were so many Muslims that excelled in this field whilst the West was living like they do in GOT.

After Christians took Jerusalem they murdered every person in there. Smashed babies heads on the walls. Historians at the time said "blood reached the ankles of the Crusaders". Salahuddin the greatest Muslim warrior reconquered Jerusalem 80 yrs later and refused to do the same.

The Prophet said in a hadith that "Verily you shall conquer Constantinople. What a wonderful leader will he be, and what a wonderful army will that army be!". No one ever imagined Qustantaniyya to be conquered. Until 1453 by Mehmed II. He then named it "Istanbul" (Islambul).

To conclude on this thread there are so much more I could say. Things like us building the first hospitals and mental health hospitals for example (which if you read western books they'll tell you it was in the 18th century in US). If you want to know more message. Truly amazing.

People interested in the Jack Sparrow story. Just to add he later became known as Yusuf Reis and his crew and wife converted to Islam after saving the lives of Muslims who were persecuted when Christians took Spain. Captain Barbarossa was also based on a Ottoman Muslim pirate.

I've left out the likes of Ibn Khaldun the father of economics and history, Banu Musa brothers, Al Tusi, Al Kindi, Al Shatir soooo many scholars who gave the world knowledge. Banu Musa brothers did things that Da Vinci got credit for. Please please look up on these people.

Ibn Khaldun - 14th century Andalusian. The founder of modern history and economics. His book “The Muqaddimah” dealt with the philosophy of history or the social sciences of sociology, demography, historiography and cultural history. Also one of the greatest ever philosophers.

Banu Musa Brothers. Three brothers from 9th century Baghdad who were master mechanics and invented automatic fountains, musical machines and lamps that would mechanically dim etc. Their book ‘Kitab al Hiyal’ (The Tricks Book) inspired Al Jazari.

Ibn Firnas - 9th century Andalusian inventor of Berber descent. Regarded as the first ever Aviator. Was the first ever person to fly 1000 years before the “invention of the aeroplane” by the Wright Brothers. He used silk and eagle feathers to make a successful flying machine.