Humanity in a New Age

second stage involved opening the doors of practical research and experimentation about Nature based on new ways of thinking. This stage extended over much of the period of Muslim rule in Spain till the 15th century. The third stage, centred in Western Europe and extending from the 16th century to the 19th century, saw the completion of this process which had its beginning in the Muslim world. In this context, the question arises as to how and why the process had its origins in the Muslim world witnessed its culmination in Europe. One psychological reason for this is that there was keen rivalry between the Muslim Sultanates of Baghdad and Spain from the very beginning. That is why Baghdad never thought of seriously understanding the developments made in Spain. Moreover, it is perhaps because of this enmity that no well-known figures in Muslim-ruled India or other Muslim lands considered it essential to study Muslim Spain’s achievements and carry them even further. If this reality had been made clear to the contemporary Muslim rulers and had they taken positive steps in this sphere, the Muslim scholars who fled Spain in the wake of the collapse of Muslim rule and taken shelter in other parts of Western Europe would have