Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyya ibn Yahya al-Razi, known in the West as Rhazes, was born in the Persian city of Rayy (located close to modern Tehran), at the time a thriving center of educational and commercial activity. He became fascinated by music and musical theory, and during this period learned to play the flute with considerable proficiency. Inspired by the works of Jabir ibn Hayyan, the father of Islamic alchemy and chemistry, al-Razi became a widely respected authority on experimental alchemy.
Despite this, his eyesight continued to deteriorate, eventually forcing him to turn his back on alchemy and chemistry for good, and instead he began to study medicine under Abul Hasan Ali ibn Sahl al-Rabbani’s guidance. Al-Razi soon became a respected intellectual and skilled medical practitioner. This prompted al-Mansur ibn Ishaq, the city’s governor, to appoint him director of the local hospital.
In addition to mastering alchemy, medicine and philosophy, al-Razi acquired considerable proficiency in logic, cosmology, theology and aspects of mathematics. Unlike al-Ash’ari and al-Kindi, he espoused a championed a purely rationalistic philosophy. Thus, reason and revelation, he argued, were incompatible and any attempts to reconcile the two were bound to fail.
Al-Razi became a champion of Platonic philosophy. Not surprisingly, his philosophical worldview revolved around the five eternal principles of Creator, Universal Soul, Primeval Matter, Time and Space. Human reason, in his opinion, was far superior to revelation and, as such, he was one of the most rationalistic of all Muslim philosophers. His philosophical thought never took off in the Muslim world.
Although accused of heresy, al-Razi’s unflinching faith in God prevented his most vociferous critics from branding him an unbeliever or atheist. He read extensively and wrote copiously; on one occasion he wrote more than twenty thousand pages in a single year. In old age, when he could no longer read or write due to failing eyesight, he paid people to read books to him so that he could continue to learn.
Along with Ibn Sina and al-Zahrawi, al-Razi must be considered one of the most influential Muslim physicians of all time. He managed two of the leading hospitals of his day; one was based in Rayy and the other was located in Baghdad. His Kitab al-Hawi was arguably the most comprehensive medical work ever produced in Arabic and consisted of twenty-five hefty volumes. The Latin translation of this book was begun in 1280 and completed in 1542. Considered to be one of the masterpieces of medical writing, it was used as a standard textbook on smallpox and measles until the modern period. Al-Razi authored one hundred and eighty-four books and treatises on all branches of learning, including eighty books on philosophical and theological topics alone. But, according to other historians, he wrote more than two hundred and forty books, most of which have, unfortunately, perished.
Hailed as the ‘Arab Galen’ across medieval Europe, al-Razi became blind toward the end of his life, due to excessive reading and writing. He died at the age of about eighty-four and was buried in his native Rayy.
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Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (573-634): If piety, righteousness and love for Islam were the only criteria for selection, then after the Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr would certainly have led the way.
Abdullah ibn Abi Quhafah, better known by his patronymic Abu Bakr, was born into the clan of Taym of the noble Quraysh tribe; he was only two years younger than the Prophet himself.
The situation in Mecca had become so degenerate that the Arabs buried their baby girls alive because they were considered to be an economic burden on their families.
After Muhammad received his first revelation (Wahy) from God, through the angel Gabriel, in the year 610 (while he was busy meditating on the Mount of Light (Jabal al-Nur)), he shared the good news with his immediate family before approaching his best friend, Abu Bakr. As soon as the Prophet informed him about his Prophetic mission, Abu Bakr accepted it without any hesitation whatsoever.
For the next twenty-three years, Abu Bakr provided unflinching help and support to the Prophet. In the tenth year of Muhammad’s Prophethood, a momentous event took place. Al-Isra wa’l Miraj (or the Prophet’s miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and ascension to heaven) occurred, and it was on this occasion that the five daily prayers were prescribed. Abu Bakr became known as al-Siddiq or ‘the truthful’ one.
After the Prophet’s migration to Medina in 622, Abu Bakr purchased a plot of land where the foundations of Masjid al-Nabi (or the ‘Prophet’s mosque’) were laid in 623; he also led the first hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca on behalf of the Prophet. Although the Prophet did not directly nominate a successor before he died, by nominating Abu Bakr to lead the daily prayers he had implicitly pointed the way forward, but the Prophet was keen to give the people a say in the election or selection of their rulers.
After the Prophet passed away in 632, the news of his death spread across Arabia like wildfire; they thought that Islam would fizzle out after the Prophet’s death. After considerable discussion and debate, it was unanimously agreed by the companions of the Prophet to elect Abu Bakr khalifat Rasoul Allah (‘successor to the Messenger of God’). After being elected the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr went straight to the Prophet’s mosque where he delivered his first address to the people. He declared:
‘O people! I have been selected as your trustee although I am no better than anyone of you. If I am right, obey me. If I happen to be wrong, set me right, God willing. I ask you to obey me as long as I obey God and His messenger. If I disobey God and His messenger, you are free to disobey me.’
Caliph Abu Bakr did not decide anything unilaterally. He formed an advisory council consisting of the leading companions of the Prophet and he regularly consulted them before authorizing or undertaking any issues of importance.
In the year 633, Abu Bakr authorized Khalid ibn al-Walid, the great Muslim military commander, to take action against the subversive activities of the Persians. The Muslim army defeated the Persians and brought peace and order to that area. In the following year, elements of the Byzantine army began to instigate military raids and other provocative actions against the Muslim territories. After consulting his advisory council, the Caliph took decisive action against the Byzantines.
In just over two years, Caliph Abu Bakr helped transform the fortunes of Islam. More importantly, encouraged and supported by Umar, he brought together all the parchments (Suhuf) on which the Qur’an was written during the Prophet’s lifetime and compiled them in the form of one book (Mushaf).
Only the love and pleasure of God, the Absolute Reality, mattered to Abu Bakr. This great servant of Islam breathed his last at the age of sixty-one and was buried in Medina next to the Prophet, his mentor and guide. Such was the greatness of Caliph Abu Bakr that the Prophet once stated, ‘Abu Bakr’s name shall be called out from all the gates of Paradise, and he will be the first person of my community to enter it.’
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Abu Dhabi city: capital of United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi emirate Pop 520,000. Located on the offshore island of the same name, Abu Dhabi was founded by members of the Aal bu Falah clan of the Bani Yas Tribe in 1761. A quarter of a century later they transferred their base from the al Jiwa oasis to Abu Dhabi. With the formation of a confederation of seven emirates, called the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Abu Dhabi was selected as its interim capital, later confirmed as the capital city.
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Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111): Under Abul Hasan al-Ash’ari’s guidance, speculative theology (Ilm al-kalam) became a powerful force within the Islamic intellectual firmament. Prior to that, under Hasan al-Basri’s tutelage, Sufism (or Islamic mysticism) had become a potent force in the Muslim world. These rationalistic, philosophical, theological and mystical trends continued to compete for the hearts and minds of Muslims until the indomitable personality of al-Ghazali emerged in the eleventh century to champion and reassert traditional Islamic thought and practices as never before.
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