Mention five major contributions of the …

MATHEMATICS: In mathematics, the Arab sifr, or zero, provided new solutions for complicated mathematical problems. The Arabic numeral — an improvement on the original Hindu concept — and the Arab decimal system facilitated the course of science.

ASTRONOMY: Like algebra, the astrolabe was improved with religion in mind. It was used to chart the precise time of sunrises and sunsets, and to determine the period for fasting during the month of Ramadan, Arab astronomers of the Middle Ages compiles astronomical charts and tables in observatories such as those at Palmyra and Maragha.

MEDICINE: In the field of medicine, the Arabs improved upon the healing arts of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Al-Razi, a medical encyclopedist of the ninth century, was an authority on contagion. Among his many volumes of medical surveys, perhaps the most famous is the Kitab al-Mansuri. It was used in Europe until the sixteenth century.

ARCHITECTURE: As with astronomy and mathematics, the great purpose of early Arab architecture was to glorify Islam.

NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHY: The world‘s earliest navigational and geographical charts were developed by Canaanites who, probably simultaneously with the Egyptians, discovered the Atlantic Ocean. The medieval Arabs improved upon ancient navigational practices with the development of the magnetic needle in the ninth century.