Which Arab scientist could be given the credit of christening the mathematical discipline of algorithm?

The mathematical discipline of 'algorithm' is named after the 9th-century Arab scientist Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. The term 'algorithm' is a Latinized corruption of his name, 'al-Khwarizmi', which originally referred to the rules of performing arithmetic using the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Al-Khwarizmi was a central figure in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad and authored the influential work 'Al-Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wa'l-muqabala', from which the word 'algebra' is also derived. While other scholars like Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) were renowned for their contributions to medicine and philosophy [1], and Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) is celebrated as the 'Father of Optics', it is al-Khwarizmi who is credited with the etymological and conceptual foundation of algorithms. His work bridged Indian mathematical concepts with the Western world, facilitating the global adoption of decimal positional numbering.

Sources

1. [1] Themes in world history, History Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Changing Cultural Traditions > Science and Philosophy: The Arabs' Contribution > p. 111