Advancement for Allah’s Sake Episode 4: Abbas ibn Firnas — Falling, Learning and Reaching for the Sky

Today, we are exploring one of the earliest recorded attempts at human flight, associated with the Andalusian Muslim polymath Abbas ibn Firnas.

Ibn Firnas lived in ninth-century Muslim Spain and was known for interests extending across science, engineering, astronomy, poetry, and craftsmanship. But the achievement for which he is most remembered is his attempt to construct a device that would allow a human being to glide through the air. The historical evidence for this event is thinner than the evidence surrounding figures such as Ibn al-Haytham or al-Zahrawi, and it is important that we say that honestly. Muslim history does not need exaggeration.

A historical account found in an eleventh-century manuscript describes Ibn Firnas using two distinct wings and a garment made with feathers attached to silk. Modern researchers studying that account understand it as describing an attempted controlled glide rather than powered flight. The precise design is unknown, and no original device has survived.

Therefore, we should not claim that Ibn Firnas invented the modern airplane. He did not build an engine, establish modern aerodynamic theory or achieve powered aviation. But his experiment still matters. Centuries before aircraft engineering became an organized discipline, a Muslim scholar was studying the natural world, observing birds, constructing a device and risking failure in order to test whether human flight was possible.

Popular history usually begins at the age of flight with Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903. Their aircraft deserves its specific place in history: the Smithsonian describes it as the first heavier-than-air powered aircraft to achieve sustained, controlled flight with a pilot aboard. Recognizing Ibn Firnas does not require denying the Wright brothers’ accomplishment. It requires distinguishing between different milestones. Ibn Firnas represents an early documented experiment in human gliding. The Wright brothers achieved powered, controlled, and sustained flight. Both facts can be acknowledged without erasing either one. 

The story of Ibn Firnas also teaches us that advancement requires a willingness to fail. Today, failure is often treated as humiliation. People hesitate to attempt difficult projects because they fear criticism, embarrassment, or damage to their reputation. But nearly every major advancement passes through unsuccessful experiments. An experiment that does not produce the expected result is not necessarily useless. It may expose the weakness in a design, overturn a mistaken assumption or reveal the next question that must be answered. For the Muslim, failure is not the opposite of tawakkul. Tawakkul means taking the available means, exerting sincere effort and then trusting the result to Allah (swt). It does not mean sitting still and calling inaction to reliance upon Him.

Allah (swt) says:

[أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَافَّاتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَصِيرٌ]

“Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds them up except the Most Compassionate.”  [Surah al-Mulk, verse 19]

The Qur’an directs our attention toward the flight of birds as a sign of Allah (swt’s) power. Reflection upon that sign can increase iman, but it can also lead to careful observation. How do wings interact with air? How is balance maintained? How does a bird rise, descend, and turn? For a Muslim, studying these mechanisms does not remove Allah (swt) from the explanation. It deepens our appreciation of the laws and abilities of Allah (swt) placed within His creation. This is where Islamic thought differs from materialism.

The materialist may study the bird and see only matter, force, and biological adaptation. The Muslim studies the same physical mechanisms, but recognizes that neither the bird, the air nor the laws governing their interaction exist independently of Allah (swt). Science can describe aspects of how a flight occurs. Revelation tells us why creation exists, to whom it belongs, and how human beings must use what they discover. And that question of use is crucial. Modern aviation has connected families, transported medicine, and enabled people to cross continents in hours. But it has also been used to drop bombs, occupy lands and kill civilians from the sky.

Technology itself does not provide moral guidance. The same knowledge can carry food to the hungry or weapons to the oppressed. That is why advancement cannot be separated from aqeedah. The capitalist and imperial mindset frequently asks: “Can this technology give us greater power, control or profit?” The Muslim must ask: “Is this halal? Does it benefit people? Does it protect life? Will I answer to Allah (swt) for how it is used?” Abbas ibn Firnas reminds us to observe Allah (swt’s) creation, pursue difficult possibilities and refuse to allow fear of failure to paralyze the Ummah. Our duty is not to guarantee every result. Our duty is to act sincerely, prepare properly, learn from mistakes and continue advancing in obedience to Allah (swt). Sometimes progress begins with someone courageous enough to leave the ground—even if he does not yet know how to land perfectly.

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