Innovation is defined as the process of bringing about new ideas, methods, products, services, or solutions that have a significant positive impact and value. It involves transforming creative concepts into tangible outcomes that improve efficiency, and effectiveness, or address unmet needs.
During our case study of Islamic civilization, we learned about how Islam helped shape our modern world through the spread of ideas and the innovations they fostered. There were tremendous advancements occurring during this time period that have helped us live better today.
For example: the process of distillation, the means of separating liquids through differences in their boiling points, was invented around the year 800 by the Muslim scientist, Jabir ibn Hayyan. He transformed alchemy into chemistry, inventing many of the basic processes and apparati still in use today; liquefaction, crystallization, distillation, purification, oxidation, evaporation, and filtration. As well as discovering sulphuric and nitric acid, he invented the alembic still, giving the world intense rosewater and other perfumes. Today, residents of the UAE benefit from many of these improvements in chemistry, most especially the process of desalination, which is based on Hayyan’s distillation process - the process of removing salt from seawater by boiling it.
Innovations often arise to address a problem or difficulty faced by a community. Dubai, for example, could not be home to nearly as many people if it weren’t for the innovation of the desalination process, which effectively created a new source of water.
