Muslim Contributions to Science, Philosophy, and Literature
Sciences
Know the translation movement and key figures: al-Khwarizmi (algebra, al-jabr), Ibn al-Haytham (optics, Kitab al-Manazir), al-Biruni (astronomy, India), Ibn Sina (medicine, al-Qanun), al-Razi (clinical medicine), Jabir ibn Hayyan (alchemy), and Ibn al-Nafis (pulmonary circulation). Understand the hospital (bimaristan), the observatory (Maragha, Samarkand), and the astrolabe.
Philosophy and Literature
Master al-Kindi, al-Farabi (political philosophy), Ibn Sina (Avicennian synthesis), Ibn Rushd (Averroes, commentator on Aristotle), and al-Ghazali's critique. Know literary forms: the maqama (al-Hariri), adab prose, poetry (Mutanabbi, Rumi, Hafiz), and the Shahnameh of Firdawsi.
Traps
A frequent error is attributing algebra to a Greek source rather than to al-Khwarizmi's systematization. Another is confusing Ibn al-Nafis's circulation finding with later European discoveries. Do not conflate Ibn Rushd (Cordoba) with Ibn Sina (Persia).
Rule of Thumb
Match the discipline to the figure: optics to Ibn al-Haytham, medicine to Ibn Sina, algebra to al-Khwarizmi, philosophy to al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd. Example: a question on the Canon of Medicine points to Ibn Sina, not al-Razi.