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{{Quote||Though the Chinese invented saltpetre gunpowder, and used it in their fireworks, it was the Arabs who worked out that it could be purified using potassium nitrate for military use. Muslim incendiary devices terrified the Crusaders. By the 15th century they had invented both a rocket, which they called a "self-moving and combusting egg", and a torpedo - a self-propelled pearshaped bomb with a spear at the front which impaled itself in enemy ships and then blew up.<ref name="Paul Vallely"></ref>}}

As the article readily admits; the Chinese invented saltpetre (from Medieval Latin sal petrae: "stone salt" or possibly "salt of Petra") gunpowder, and saltpetre ''is'' in fact potassium nitrate.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary?saltpetre|2=2011-02-10}} Saltpetre definition], The Mondofacto Online Medical Dictionary</ref> There is also only one reference from the Crusade of the Muslims launching a missile of some kind, but it did no damage. Were gunpowder in actual military use by the times of the Crusades, the first device to apply it in would have been a cannon, but it was in fact the Chinese who fired the first cannon.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Technology_of_the_Song_Dynasty&oldid=316487757 Technology of the Song Dynasty: Gunpowder warfare], Wikipedia</ref>

[[File:10th century chinese cave mural.jpg|thumb|left|A cave mural from Dunhuang, China, dated 950 AD. It features the earliest known representation of a gun (a fire lance) and a grenade.]]

Although the date of their introduction is uncertain, writings indicate that in 994 AD the Chinese used fire arrows in battle. Fire arrows were traditional arrows tipped with flammable materials like pitch, bitumen, or resin. In 994 AD the Chinese city of Tzu T'ung was attacked by an army of 100,000 men. The commander of the defensive forces, named Chang Yung, ordered a response to the attack using artillery fire made up of catapulted stones and fire arrows launched by bows.

In 1045, a Chinese government official named Tseng Kung-Liang wrote a complete account of the Chinese use of gunpowder, ''including its adaptation to weaponry''. Called "Wu-ching Tsung-yao" (Complete Compendium of Military Classics) the work detailed the use of ballistic fire arrows not launched by bows, but by charges of gunpowder. While the date of their introduction is uncertain, the fire arrows launched by gunpowder are considered to be the first true rockets. These fire arrows were traditional feathered arrows propelled by ignited gunpowder housed in a tube tied to the arrow. The fire arrows carried flammable materials or sometimes poison-coated heads. In a form more closely resembling modern rockets, the gunpowder tube was lengthened to the tip of the arrow and given a pointed nose, eliminating the need for a traditional arrowhead.  

In 1258, the Mongols were reported to have used gunpowder-propelled fire arrows in their effort

{{Quote||Medieval Europe had kitchen and herb gardens, but it was the Arabs who developed the idea of the garden as a place of beauty and meditation. The first royal pleasure gardens in Europe were opened in 11th-century Muslim Spain. Flowers which originated in Muslim gardens include the carnation and the tulip.<ref name="Paul Vallely"></ref>}}

[[File:Egyptian tomb painting.jpg|thumb|right|A painting of a garden. Taken from the Egyptian tomb chapel of Nebamun, an accountant at the Temple of Amun at Karnak, who died around 1350 BC—almost two thousand years before Muhammad's first alleged 'revelation'.]]

Gardens were an Arab tradition long before Islam, so for Islam to claim this as an invention ignores thousands of years of pre-Islamic Arab culture, not to mention the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon which were built by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC to please his sick wife, Amytis of Media.<ref>Karen Polinger Foster, [{{Reference archive|1=http://environment.research.yale.edu/documents/downloads/0-9/103foster.pdf|2=2011-02-10}} Gardens of Eden: Exotic Flora and Fauna in the Ancient Near East], Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Yale University</ref> It also ignores the Roman tradition of gardens and fountains used for meditation and the beautifully artistic Chinese Suzhou gardens (770–476 BC) which were designed specifically for relaxation.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.china.org.cn/english/e-sz/jtnr.htm?infoid=95977|2=2011-02-10}} Suzhou gardens], China Internet Information Center, May 19, 2004</ref> The oldest pictorial records of gardens are from Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings. Much like modern gardens, they came complete with shelters, pools, shady walks, pergolas, and plants growing in terracotta pots. In ancient times, temples contained what would be recognised as gardens. When they were closed to the public they became compounds for priests. Planting positions have been located in the Egyptian Temples of Hatshseput and Mentuhotep, and the Greek Temple of Hephaistos.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.gardenvisit.com/history_theory/garden_landscape_design_articles/garden_types/domestic_garden|2=2011-02-10}} Domestic garden], GardenVisit</ref> Also one of the centerpieces of a Roman period home was the ''oeci'' or (peristyle) garden. Sometimes the center included a fish pond or swimming pool instead of a garden. Depending on the size of the home, the floorplan could continue indefinitely, with gardens leading to rooms leading to other gardens.<ref name="The Roman House"></ref>