Islam Creator of the Modern Age
3. Muslim Contribution to Science
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and not the Lord. Only then was it possible for man
to give thought to finding ways and means to
exploit rivers on a large scale. That is why we come
across the fact in history books that there is no
precedent in any nation to the large-scale irrigation
system developed by the Spanish Muslims.
The Spanish Muslims developed agriculture to such
an extent that it became a regular science. They
studied trees and carried out research on the
properties of soil. Vast expanses of land, which had
hitherto been lying infertile, were then converted
into orchards and lush green fields. It was a virtual
green revolution.
Philip K. Hitti writes:
They dug canals, cultivated grapes and
introduced among other plants and fruits,
rice,
apricots,
peaches,
pomegranates,
oranges, sugarcane, cotton and saffron. The
south-eastern plains of the peninsula,
especially favoured by climate and soil,
developed important centres of rural and
urban activity. Here wheat and other grains as
well as olives and sundry fruits were raised
