How did Indian numerals spread to the Islamic world?

Indian numerals, including the zero, were introduced to the Islamic world through the translation of foundational Indian astronomical and mathematical texts into Arabic near the end of the 8th century. These Indian decimal place-value numerals were adopted across the region, where arithmetic operations using them became widely known as "Indian computation".1

The spread and formalization of this system were significantly advanced by the work of scholars such as al-Khwarizmi, who worked at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. He authored the Book of Addition and Subtraction According to the Hindu Calculation, which played a crucial role in establishing a tradition of arithmetic texts in the Islamic world.23

While the basic numeral forms and algorithms originated in India, they were further adapted by Islamic mathematicians. For instance, al-Uqlidisi (c. 950) helped popularize the system by adapting these algorithms for use with pen and paper rather than the traditional dust board. Over time, these Indian-derived methods were integrated into broader mathematical practices, eventually influencing the development of decimal fractions and other advanced algebraic techniques.43