The Scientific Movement in Iraq During the Islamic Golden Age: Scholars' Contributions to Jurisprudence and Natural Sciences

Abstract

          This research reviews the scientific movement in Iraq during the Islamic Golden Age, focusing on the contributions of scholars in the fields of jurisprudence and natural sciences. Iraq, especially Baghdad, was considered a major center of science and knowledge during the Abbasid Caliphate, as it was a starting point for many scientific and cultural civilizations. This era witnessed great development in various scientific fields, thanks to the Abbasid state’s patronage of scholars and thinkers, and the establishment of scientific institutions such as the “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad, which was a center for translation, authorship, and research. In the field of jurisprudence, Iraq was home to a number of prominent scholars of Islamic sects, who contributed to the development and expansion of Islamic jurisprudence, as jurists represented the jurisprudential foundations that later spread in large areas of the Islamic world. In this context, the research presents the great role played by Iraqi scholars in collecting and interpreting the hadiths of the Prophet, developing the principles of jurisprudence, and organizing the rules of ijtihad, which greatly influenced the understanding of Islamic law and its applications. As for the field of natural sciences, Iraqi scholars were distinguished by their great successes in fields such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. The “House of Wisdom” is considered The intellectual incubator that contributed to the translation of Greek, Persian and Indian works, and their integration with the original Islamic knowledge to establish new scientific curricula. Baghdad, the capital of the Caliphate, represented a meeting point for many scholars and thinkers who contributed to the renaissance of natural sciences, and contributed to the development of scientific curricula that made the Islamic world a pioneer in that era. Moreover, the research presents the impact of the scientific movement in Iraq on other societies in the Islamic world and how Iraqi scholars contributed to the transfer and exchange of knowledge between the East and the West. It also discusses how this scientific movement continued to develop, despite political and social challenges, and how these achievements contributed to strengthening Iraq's position as a global scientific center.