The word algebra is derived from the Arabic al‐jabr, a term used by its founder, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al‐Khwārizmī, in the title of his book written in the ninth century, al‐Jabr wa˒l‐muqābalah (The Science of Equations and Balancing). Algebra is also known as “the science of solving the unknowns in equations.”
The simplest equation with one unknown is of the form ax = b, with a and b as constants x here is called al‐jadhr of the equation. Al‐Khwārizmī enumerated six standard second‐degree equations in his al‐Jabr wa'l‐muqābalah:
Also, he provided solutions to these equations using algebraic and geometrical justifications.
The main aim of al‐Khwārizmī's algebra was to provide the Muslim community with the necessary arithmetical knowledge essential in their daily calculation needs, such as in matters pertaining to heritage and legacy, transaction, sharing and partnership, loss and profit, irrigation and land‐acreage, and geometrical problems. Al‐Khwārizmī devoted about half of his al‐Jabr...
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Ismail, M.R.B. (2008). Algebra in Islamic Mathematics. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_9547
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