This study is a critical survey of the writings and applications of the advanced trend in arithmetic in Islamic architecture. The aim of this study is to present a historical interpretation of the relationship between the practical arithmetic and architectural affairs from the 8th to 15th centuries A.D. The interpretation relies on a critical history and survey of the original texts of building arithmetic (Hisāb-i abnīya wa imārāt) and some unsurveyed manuscripts in Persian. Despite the progress of mathematical sciences, the building arithmetic texts have not had substantial advancement due to the lack of close relationship between mathematicians and architects/artisans. The only exceptional treatise in this field is the outcome of unique opportunity of al-Kāshī’s lengthy continuous interaction with the architects/artisans of Samarkand observatory. In fact, for the majority of the mathematicians unfamiliar with architecture, the building arithmetic is considered as a minor section assigned to the accountants or masons familiar with the general mathematics.

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