"Written for the general reader, with no mathematical background required, The House of Algebra is not a book of grievance but a book of recovery."
This is the ending to the introduction of Professor Ugail's new book. His work in mathematics is a source of pride for Maldivians.
"The House of Algebra" is a book written in English and was introduced on social media. The caption on the post states that the purpose of the book is to inform people of the connection between mathematics and Islamic history. It is also meant to earn respect from this generation and coming generations toward the Islamic scholars who were mathematicians.
Ugail highlights ancient Greece and modern Europe when describing the glory of mathematics.
"This book restores what that narrative leaves out. In the cities of the Islamic world, from Baghdad to Nishapur to Samarkand, scholars did not simply guard inherited knowledge. They transformed it," wrote Ugail when describing the purpose of the book.
According to him, The House of Algebra takes the reader through that major change and its details, the biography of the scholars who worked on it.
"Here is al-Khwarizmi, whose treatise gave algebra its name and whose own name became algorithm," the caption reads. Algorithm has become a common name in the digital age, and is derived from al-Khwarizmi's name, highlighted Ugail.
"Omar Khayyam, remembered in the West as a poet, taming cubic equations with geometry." This sentence shows how much the professor highlighted the West not giving Islamic scholars their rightful position.
Ugail describes Al-Biruni's efforts in measuring the Earth.
Ugail's The House of Algebra tells the reader about Al-Kashi, who calculated with a precision Europe could not match. The book is not just a biography, it tells the reader about the history of the cities that established an environment for them to do such work. It includes the history of Baghdad's House of Wisdom as well.
Details of all their works being translated from Arabic to Latin will also instill interest in readers toward the book. According to Ugail, it is a chapter in history that was almost forgotten.
Ugail's book can now be purchased from Amazon for USD 18 (MVR 277.56).
