Notes

In this book written by Teh Sharifuddin comes a story about a man named Al-Kindi. Al-Kindi was a Muslim Arab scientist, mathematician, physician, and musician. He was also given the role of the 'philosopher of the Arabs'. Al-Kindi was raised in the city of Kufa in Iraq.

At the time, Kufa was considered the centre of culture and learning to the Arabs. It was certainly conducive for Al-Kindi to get the best education possible there. At the same time, Al-Kindi's father was the governer of Kufa, just as his grandfather had been before him. Al-Kindi was also descended from the Royal Kindah tribe. The tribe had been responsible for uniting multiple other tribes and had reached a position of prominence in the 5th and 6th century.

After his early education in Kufa, he continued his studies in Baghdad. There he became well-known for his scholarship. As a result, he caught the attention of the Caliph, al-Ma'mun. The Caliph, who was an advocate of science and mathematics, was setting up an academy called the 'House of Wisdom' in Baghdad. It was in this 'House of Wisdom' that philosophical and scientific works of the Greeks were translated. Al-Kindi was appointed by the Caliph to the 'House of Wisdom' together with other talented scholars. They had to study and translate the Greek manuscripts.

Apart from being a mathematician and scientist, Al-Kindi was also a philosopher. He was one of the only notable pure Arabic blood and the first in Islam. He was very knowledgeable in the ancient scientists, embracing logic, philosophy, geometry, and many other subjects. In his metaphysical treatise on first philosophy, Al-Kindi described the first philosophy which is also the most noble and highest philosophy. By the study of philosophy, people will learn the knowledge of things in reality. In medicine, his contributions include being the first to systematically determine the doses to be administered of all the drugs known at his time. This resolved many difficulties faced by physicians then.

Al-Kindi's thoughts continued to be discussed even in the twentieth century and some of his work were translated into Latin. However, only a portion of his work survived. Al-Kindi's lasted longer in the Western Islamic tradition than in the Eastern, as reflected in the writings of Ibn Al-'Arabi.