Simplifying equations in Arabic algebra

Historians have always seen \(jabr\) (restoration) and \(muq\bar{a}bala\) (confrontation) as technical terms for specific operations in Arabic algebra. This assumption clashes with the fact that the words were used in a variety of contexts. By examining the different uses of \(jabr\), \(muq\bar{a}bala\), \(ikm\bar{a}l\) (completion), and \(radd\) (returning) in the worked-out problems of several medieval mathematics texts, the authors show that they are really nontechnical words used to name the immediate goals of particular steps. They also find that the phrase \(jabr wa'l\)-\(muq\bar{a}bala\) was first used within the solutions of problems to mean \(al\)-\(jabr\) and/or \(almuq\bar{a}bala\), and from there it became the name of the art of algebra.

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