Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a
Khwarazm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...
ian
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
[ in ] scholar and
polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
during the
Islamic Golden Age
The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
. He has been called variously the "founder of
Indology
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies.
The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...
", "Father of
Comparative Religion
Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
",
"Father of modern
geodesy", and the first
anthropologist.
Al-Biruni was well versed in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
, mathematics,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, and
natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian,
chronologist, and
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
.
He studied almost all the sciences of his day and was rewarded abundantly for his tireless research in many fields of knowledge. Royalty and other powerful elements in society funded Al-Biruni's research and sought him out with specific projects in mind. Influential in his own right, Al-Biruni was himself influenced by the scholars of other nations, such as the Greeks, from whom he took inspiration when he turned to the study of philosophy. A gifted linguist, he was conversant in
Khwarezmian,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, Arabic,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, and also knew
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, and
Syriac Syriac may refer to:
*Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic
*Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region
* Syriac alphabet
** Syriac (Unicode block)
** Syriac Supplement
* Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
. He spent much of his life in
Ghazni
Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...
, then capital of the
Ghaznavids, in modern-day central-eastern Afghanistan. In 1017 he travelled to the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
and wrote a treatise on Indian culture entitled ''Tārīkh al-Hind'' (History of India), after exploring the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
faith practiced in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. He was, for his time, an admirably impartial writer on the customs and creeds of various nations, his scholarly objectivity earning him the title ''al-Ustadh'' ("The Master") in recognition of his remarkable description of early 11th-century India.
Name
The name of al-Biruni is derived from the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
word ''bērūn/bīrūn'' (meaning 'outskirts'), as he was born in an outlying district of
Kath, the capital of the
Afrighid
The Afrighids ( Khwarazmian: ''ʾfryḡ'') were a native Khwarezmian IranianClifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Kh ...
Khwarazmshahs
Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a to ...
.
Life
He was born in the outer district (
Bīrūn) of
Kath, the capital of the
Afrighid
The Afrighids ( Khwarazmian: ''ʾfryḡ'') were a native Khwarezmian IranianClifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Kh ...
dynasty of
Khwarezm (Chorasmia) in
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
– now part of the
autonomous republic of
Karakalpakstan
Karakalpakstan, / officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, / is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole northwestern part of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (' / ). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of , and ...
in the northwest of
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
.
Al-Biruni spent the first twenty-five years of his life in Khwarezm where he studied
Islamic jurisprudence, theology, grammar,
mathematics,
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, medicine and philosophy and dabbled not only in the field of physics, but also in those of most of the other sciences.
The
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
Khwarezmian language, which was Biruni's mother tongue, survived for several centuries after
Islam until the
Turkification
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
of the region – at least some of the culture of ancient
Khwarezm endured – for it is hard to imagine that the commanding figure of Biruni, a repository of so much knowledge, should have appeared in a cultural vacuum. He was sympathetic to the
Afrighids
The Afrighids ( Khwarazmian: ''ʾfryḡ'') were a native Khwarezmian IranianClifford Edmund Bosworth, The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual, Columbia University, 1996. dynasty who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Kh ...
, who were overthrown by the rival dynasty of
Ma'munids
The Maʾmunids ( fa, مأمونیان) were an independent dynasty of Iranian rulers in Khwarazm. Their reign was short-lived (995–1017), and they were in turn replaced by the expansionist Ghaznavids.
History
The ancient Iranian kingdom of Khw ...
in 995. He left his homeland for
Bukhara, then under the
Samanid ruler
Mansur II the son of
Nuh II
Nuh II ( fa, نوح, died 22 July 997)''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' by Minhaj-i-Siraj, pg. 107, Lahore Sangmil Publications 2004 was amir of the Samanids (976–997). He was the son and successor of Mansur I.
Beginning and Middle of Reign
Having ascended ...
. There he corresponded with
Avicenna and there are extant exchanges of views between these two scholars.
In 998, he went to the court of the
Ziyarid
The Ziyarid dynasty ( fa, زیاریان) was an Iranian dynasty of Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his death, his ...
amir of
Tabaristan
Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...
,
Qabus
Qabus ibn Wushmagir (full name: ''Abol-Hasan Qābūs ibn Wušmagīr ibn Ziyar Sams al-maʿālī'', ; (died 1012) (r. 977–981; 997–1012) was the Ziyarid ruler of Gurgan and Tabaristan in medieval Iran. His father was Vushmgir and his mother wa ...
(). There he wrote his first important work, ''al-Athar al-Baqqiya 'an al-Qorun al-Khaliyya'' (literally: "The remaining traces of past centuries" and translated as "Chronology of ancient nations" or "Vestiges of the Past") on historical and scientific chronology, probably around 1000 C.E., though he later made some amendments to the book. He also visited the court of the
Bavandid ruler
Al-Marzuban. Accepting the definite demise of the Afrighids at the hands of the Ma'munids, he made peace with the latter who then ruled
Khwarezm. Their court at Gorganj (also in Khwarezm) was gaining fame for its gathering of brilliant scientists.
In 1017,
Mahmud of Ghazni took Rey. Most scholars, including al-Biruni, were taken to Ghazni, the capital of the Ghaznavid dynasty.
Biruni was made court astrologer and accompanied Mahmud on his invasions into India, living there for a few years. He was forty-four years old when he went on the journeys with Mahmud of Ghazni.
Biruni became acquainted with all things related to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. During this time he wrote his study of India, finishing it around 1030. Along with his writing, Al-Biruni also made sure to extend his study to science while on the expeditions. He sought to find a method to measure the height of the sun, and created a makeshift
quadrant for that purpose.
Al-Biruni was able to make much progress in his study over the frequent travels that he went on throughout the lands of India.
Belonging to the
Sunni Ash'ari
Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in t ...
school,
al-Biruni nevertheless also associated with
Maturidi
Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic ...
theologians. He was however, very critical of the
Mu'tazila
Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islami ...
, particularly criticising
al-Jahiz
Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
and Zurqan. He also repudiated
Avicenna for his views on the eternality of the universe.
Mathematics, astronomy and invention of minutes and seconds
Ninety-five of 146 books known to have been written by Bīrūnī are devoted to astronomy, mathematics, and related subjects like mathematical geography. He lived during the Islamic Golden Age, when the Abbasid Caliphs promoted astronomical research,
because such research possessed not only a scientific but also a religious dimension: in Islam worship and prayer require a knowledge of the precise directions of sacred locations, which can be determined accurately only through the use of astronomical data.
In carrying out his research, Al-Biruni used a variety of different techniques dependent upon the particular field of study involved.
His major work on astrology is primarily an astronomical and mathematical text; he states: "I have begun with Geometry and proceeded to Arithmetic and the Science of Numbers, then to the structure of the Universe and finally to Judicial Astrology, for no one who is worthy of the style and title of Astrologer who is not thoroughly conversant with these for sciences." In these earlier chapters he lays the foundations for the final chapter, on
astrological prognostication, which he criticises. He was the first to make the semantic distinction between astronomy and astrology and, in a later work, wrote a refutation of astrology, in contradistinction to the legitimate science of astronomy, for which he expresses wholehearted support. Some suggest that his reasons for refuting astrology relate to the methods used by
astrologers
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
being based upon
pseudoscience
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...
rather than
empiricism and also to a conflict between the views of the astrologers and those of the orthodox
theologians
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
of
Sunni Islam.
He wrote an extensive commentary on
Indian astronomy
Astronomy has long history in Indian subcontinent stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valley civilisation or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a dis ...
in the ''Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind'' mostly translation of Aryabhatta's work, in which he claims to have resolved the matter of Earth's rotation in a work on astronomy that is no longer extant, his ''Miftah-ilm-alhai'a (Key to Astronomy)'':
e rotation of the earth does in no way impair the value of astronomy, as all appearances of an astronomic character can quite as well be explained according to this theory as to the other. There are, however, other reasons which make it impossible. This question is most difficult to solve. The most prominent of both modern and ancient astronomers have deeply studied the question of the moving of the earth, and tried to refute it. We, too, have composed a book on the subject called ''Miftah-ilm-alhai'a (Key to Astronomy)'', in which we think we have surpassed our predecessors, if not in the words, at all events in the matter.
In his description of
Sijzi's astrolabe he hints at contemporary debates about the movement of the Earth. He carried on a lengthy correspondence and sometimes heated debate with
Ibn Sina, in which Biruni repeatedly attacks
Aristotle's celestial physics: he argues by simple experiment that the vacuum state must exist; he is "amazed" by the weakness of Aristotle's argument against elliptical orbits on the basis that they would create a vacuum; he attacks the immutability of the celestial spheres.
In his major astronomical work, the ''Mas'ud Canon'', Biruni observed that, contrary to
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
, the Sun's
apogee
An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion.
General description
There are two apsides in any ell ...
(highest point in the heavens) was mobile, not fixed.
He wrote a treatise on the
astrolabe, describing how to use it to tell the time and as a quadrant for surveying. One particular diagram of an eight geared device could be considered an ancestor of later Muslim astrolabes and clocks.
More recently, Biruni's eclipse data was used by Dunthorne in 1749 to help determine the
acceleration of the moon, and his data on equinox times and eclipses was used as part of a study of Earth's past rotation.
Al-Biruni was the person who first subdivided the hour
sexagesimal
Sexagesimal, also known as base 60 or sexagenary, is a numeral system with sixty as its base. It originated with the ancient Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC, was passed down to the ancient Babylonians, and is still used—in a modified form ...
ly into minutes, seconds, thirds and fourths in 1000 while discussing Jewish months.
Refutation of Eternal Universe
Like later adherents of the
Ash'ari
Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in t ...
school, such as
al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...
, al-Biruni is famous for vehemently defending the majority
Sunni position that the universe had a beginning, being a strong supporter of
creatio ex nihilo
(Latin for "creation out of nothing") is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe comes to exist. It is in contrast to ''Ex nihilo n ...
, specifically refuting the philosopher
Avicenna in a multiple letter correspondence.
[Berjak R. ''The Medieval Arabic Era: Ibn Sina-Al-Biruni Correspondence.'' Trans by Rafik Berjak, (2005)][Ahmed, Sulaiman. ''The Disagreement between Avicenna and al-Ghazali on the Issue of the Pre-eternity of the Universe, how their Arguments Originated from Greek Philosophers and their Effect on Muslim Philosophers.'' Diss. University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2017.] Al-Biruni stated the following,
[Sachau, C. Eduard, ed. ''The Chronology of Ancient Nations: An English Version of the Arabic Text of the Athâr-ul-Bâkiya of Albîrûni Or'Vestiges of the Past'' William H. Allen & Company, 1879.]
He further stated that
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
, whose arguments Avicenna uses, contradicted himself when he stated that the universe and matter has a start whilst holding on to the idea that matter is pre-eternal. In his letters to Avicenna, he stated the argument of Aristotle, that there is a change in the creator. He further argued that stating there is a change in the creator would mean there is a change in the effect (meaning the universe has change) and that the universe coming into being after not being is such a change (and so arguing there is no change – no beginning – means Aristotle believes the creator is negated).
Al-Biruni was proud of the fact that he followed the textual evidence of the religion without being influenced by Greek philosophers such as Aristotle.
Physics
Al-Biruni contributed to the introduction of the
scientific method
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific ...
to medieval
mechanics
Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to object ...
. He developed experimental methods to determine density, using a particular type of
hydrostatic balance
In fluid mechanics, hydrostatic equilibrium (hydrostatic balance, hydrostasy) is the condition of a fluid or plastic solid at rest, which occurs when external forces, such as gravity, are balanced by a pressure-gradient force. In the planetary ...
.
Geography and Geodesy
Bīrūnī devised a novel method of determining the Earth's radius by means of the observation of the height of a mountain. He carried it out at
Nandana in
Pind Dadan Khan
Pind Dadan Khan (P.D. Khan), a city in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, is the capital of Pind Dadan Khan Tehsil, which is an administrative subdivision of the district.
Location
It is located at 32°35'16N 73°2'44E on the bank of River Jhel ...
(present-day Pakistan). He used trigonometry to calculate the radius of the Earth using measurements of the height of a hill and measurement of the dip in the horizon from the top of that hill. His calculated radius for the Earth of 3928.77 miles was 2% higher than the actual mean radius of 3847.80 miles.
His estimate was given as 12,803,337
cubits
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...
, so the accuracy of his estimate compared to the modern value depends on what conversion is used for cubits. The exact length of a cubit is not clear; with an 18-inch cubit his estimate would be 3,600 miles, whereas with a 22-inch cubit his estimate would be 4,200 miles. One significant problem with this approach is that Al-Biruni was not aware of
atmospheric refraction
Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. This refraction is due to the velocity of ligh ...
and made no allowance for it. He used a dip angle of 34 arc minutes in his calculations, but refraction can typically alter the measured dip angle by about 1/6, making his calculation only accurate to within about 20% of the true value.
In his ''Codex Masudicus'' (1037), Al-Biruni theorized the existence of a landmass along the vast ocean between Asia and Europe, or what is today known as the Americas. He argued for its existence on the basis of his accurate estimations of the
Earth's circumference
Earth's circumference is the distance around Earth. Measured around the Equator, it is . Measured around the poles, the circumference is .
Measurement of Earth's circumference has been important to navigation since ancient times. The first kno ...
and
Afro-Eurasia's size, which he found spanned only two-fifths of the Earth's circumference, reasoning that the geological processes that gave rise to
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...
must surely have given rise to lands in the vast ocean between Asia and Europe. He also theorized that at least some of the unknown landmass would lie within the known latitudes which humans could inhabit, and therefore would be inhabited.
Pharmacology and mineralogy
Biruni wrote a
pharmacopoeia
A pharmacopoeia, pharmacopeia, or pharmacopoea (from the obsolete typography ''pharmacopœia'', meaning "drug-making"), in its modern technical sense, is a book containing directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by ...
, the "Kitab al-saydala fi al-tibb" (Book on the Pharmacopoeia of Medicine). It lists synonyms for drug names in Syriac, Persian, Greek, Baluchi, Afghan, Kurdi, and some Indian languages.
He used a
hydrostatic balance
In fluid mechanics, hydrostatic equilibrium (hydrostatic balance, hydrostasy) is the condition of a fluid or plastic solid at rest, which occurs when external forces, such as gravity, are balanced by a pressure-gradient force. In the planetary ...
to determine the density and purity of metals and precious stones. He classified gems by what he considered their primary physical properties, such as
specific gravity
Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water at its densest ...
and
hardness
In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...
, rather than the common practice of the time of classifying them by colour.
History and chronology
Biruni's main essay on political history, ''Kitāb al-musāmara fī aḵbār Ḵᵛārazm'' (Book of nightly conversation concerning the affairs of Ḵᵛārazm) is now known only from quotations in Bayhaqī's Tārīkh-e Masʿūdī. In addition to this various discussions of historical events and methodology are found in connection with the lists of kings in his al-Āthār al-bāqiya and in the Qānūn as well as elsewhere in the Āthār, in India, and scattered throughout his other works.
Al-Biruni's "Chronology of Ancient Nations" attempted to accurately establish the length of various historical eras.
History of religions
Biruni is widely considered to be one of the most important Muslim authorities on the history of religion. He is known as a pioneer in the field of comparative religion in his study of, among other creeds,
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
, Judaism,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, Christianity,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
and
Islam. He assumed the superiority of Islam: "We have here given an account of these things in order that the reader may learn by the comparative treatment of the subject how much superior the institutions of Islam are, and how more plainly this contrast brings out all customs and usages, differing from those of Islam, in their essential foulness." However he was happy on occasion to express admiration for other cultures, and quoted directly from the sacred texts of other religions when reaching his conclusions. He strove to understand them on their own terms rather than trying to prove them wrong. His underlying concept was that all cultures are at least distant relatives of all other cultures because they are all human constructs. "Rather, what Al-Biruni seems to be arguing is that there is a common human element in every culture that makes all cultures distant relatives, however foreign they might seem to one another."
Al-Biruni divides
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
into an educated and an uneducated class. He describes the educated as monotheistic, believing that God is one, eternal, and omnipotent and eschewing all forms of idol worship. He recognizes that uneducated Hindus worshiped a multiplicity of idols yet points out that even some Muslims (such as the
Jabriyah
Jabriyah was an early Islamic philosophical school based on the belief that humans are controlled by predestination, without having choice or free will. The Jabriyah school originated during the Umayyad dynasty in Basra. The first representative ...
) have adopted
anthropomorphic concepts of God.
Anthropology
Al-Biruni wrote about the peoples, customs and religions of the Indian subcontinent.
According to Akbar S. Ahmed, like modern anthropologists, he engaged in extensive participant observation with a given group of people, learnt their language and studied their primary texts, presenting his findings with objectivity and neutrality using cross-cultural comparisons.
Akhbar S. Ahmed concluded that Al-Biruni can be considered as the first Anthropologist, others, however, have argued that he can hardly be considered an anthropologist in the conventional sense.
Indology
Al-Biruni's fame as an Indologist rests primarily on two texts. Al-Biruni wrote an encyclopedic work on India called ''Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind min maqūlah maqbūlah fī al-ʿaql aw mardhūlah'' (variously translated as "Verifying All That the Indians Recount, the Reasonable and the Unreasonable" or "The book confirming what pertains to India, whether rational or despicable") in which he explored nearly every aspect of Indian life, including religion, history, geography, geology, science, and mathematics. During his journey through India, military and political history were not Al-Biruni's main focus: he decided rather to document the civilian and scholarly aspects of Hindu life, examining culture, science, and religion. He explores religion within a rich cultural context.
He expresses his objective with simple eloquence: He also translated the
Yoga sutras
The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
of Indian sage
Patanjali with the title ''Tarjamat ketāb Bātanjalī fi’l-ḵalāṣ men al-ertebāk''.
An example of Al-Biruni's analysis is his summary of why many Hindus hate Muslims. Biruni notes in the beginning of his book how the Muslims had a hard time learning about Hindu knowledge and culture.
He explains that Hinduism and Islam are totally different from each other. Moreover, Hindus in 11th century India had suffered waves of destructive attacks on many of its cities, and Islamic armies had taken numerous Hindu slaves to Persia, which – claimed Al-Biruni – contributed to Hindus becoming suspicious of all foreigners, not just Muslims. Hindus considered Muslims violent and impure, and did not want to share anything with them. Over time, Al-Biruni won the welcome of Hindu scholars. Al-Biruni collected books and studied with these Hindu scholars to become fluent in Sanskrit, discover and translate into Arabic the mathematics, science, medicine, astronomy and other fields of arts as practiced in 11th-century India. He was inspired by the arguments offered by Indian scholars who believed earth must be globular in shape, which they felt was the only way to fully explain the difference in daylight hours by latitude, seasons and Earth's relative positions with Moon and stars. At the same time, Al-Biruni was also critical of Indian scribes, who he believed carelessly corrupted Indian documents while making copies of older documents. He also criticized the Hindus on what he saw them do and not do, for example finding them deficient in curiosity about history and religion.
One of the specific aspects of Hindu life that Al-Biruni studied was the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...
. His scholarship on the topic exhibited great determination and focus, not to mention the excellence in his approach of the in-depth research he performed. He developed a method for converting the dates of the Hindu calendar to the dates of the three different calendars that were common in the Islamic countries of his time period, the Greek, the Arab/Muslim, and the Persian. Biruni also employed astronomy in the determination of his theories, which were complex mathematical equations and scientific calculation that allows one to convert dates and years between the different calendars.
The book does not limit itself to tedious records of battle because Al-Biruni found the social culture to be more important. The work includes research on a vast array of topics of Indian culture, including descriptions of their traditions and customs. Although he tried to stay away from political and military history, Biruni did indeed record important dates and noted actual sites of where significant battles occurred. Additionally, he chronicled stories of Indian rulers and told of how they ruled over their people with their beneficial actions and acted in the interests of the nation. His details are brief and mostly just list rulers without referring to their real names, and he did not go on about deeds that each one carried out during their reign, which keeps in line with Al-Biruni's mission to try to stay away from political histories. Al-Biruni also described the geography of India in his work. He documented different bodies of water and other natural phenomena. These descriptions are useful to today's modern historians because they are able to use Biruni's scholarship to locate certain destinations in modern-day India. Historians are able to make some matches while also concluding that certain areas seem to have disappeared and been replaced with different cities. Different forts and landmarks were able to be located, legitimizing Al-Biruni's contributions with their usefulness to even modern history and archeology.
The dispassionate account of Hinduism given by Al-Biruni was remarkable for its time. He stated that he was fully objective in his writings, remaining unbiased like a proper historian should. Biruni documented everything about India just as it happened. But, he did note how some of the accounts of information that he was given by natives of the land may not have been reliable in terms of complete accuracy, however, he did try to be as honest as possible in his writing.
Dr. Edward C. Sachau compares it to "a magic island of quiet, impartial research in the midst of a world of clashing swords, burning towns, and plundered temples."
Biruni's writing was very poetic, which may diminish some of the historical value of the work for modern times. The lack of description of battle and politics makes those parts of the picture completely lost. However, Many have used Al-Biruni's work to check facts of history in other works that may have been ambiguous or had their validity questioned.
Works
Most of the works of Al-Biruni are in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
although he seemingly wrote the ''Kitab al-Tafhim'' in both
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and Arabic, showing his mastery over both languages.
[S.H. Nasr, "An introduction to Islamic cosmological doctrines: conceptions of nature and methods used for its study by the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ, al-Bīrūnī, and Ibn Sīnā", 2nd edition, Revised. SUNY press, 1993. pp 111: "Al-Biruni wrote one of the masterpieces of medieval science, Kitab al-Tafhim, apparently in both Arabic and Persian, demonstrating how conversant he was in both tongues. The Kitab al-Tafhim is without doubt the most important of the early works of science in Persian and serves as a rich source for Persian prose and lexicography as well as for the knowledge of the Quadrivium whose subjects it covers in a masterly fashion"]
Bīrūnī's catalogue of his own literary production up to his 65th lunar/63rd solar year (the end of 427/1036) lists 103 titles divided into 12 categories: astronomy, mathematical geography, mathematics, astrological aspects and transits, astronomical instruments, chronology, comets, an untitled category, astrology, anecdotes, religion, and books he no longer possesses.
Selection of extant works
* ''Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind'' ("A Critical Study of What India Says, Whether Accepted by Reason or Refused"; ), popuarly called ''Kitāb al-Hind'' ("The book on India"); English translations called ''Indica'' or ''Alberuni's India'' (Translation) – compendium of India's religion and philosophy.
* Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (''Kitab al-tafhim li-awa’il sina‘at al-tanjim''); in
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
*
The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries
''The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries'' ( ar, کتاب الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية ', also known as ''Chronology of Ancient Nations'' or ''Vestiges of the Past'', after the translation published by Eduard Sachau ...
() – a comparative study of calendars of cultures and civilizations, (including several chapters on Christian cults) with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information.
*
Melkite Calendar, or ''Les Fetes des Melchites'' – Arabic text with French translation extract from ''The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries''.
* The Mas'udi Law () – encyclopedia of astronomy, geography, and engineering, dedicated to Mas'ud, son of
Mahmud of Ghazni of the eponymous title.
* Understanding Astrology () – a question and answer style book about mathematics and astronomy, in Arabic and Persian.
* Pharmacy – on drugs and medicines.
* Gems () – geology manual of minerals and gems. Dedicated to Mawdud son of Mas'ud.
* Astrolabe
* A Short History
* History of Mahmud of Ghazni and his father
* History of Khawarezm
* ''Kitab al-Āthār al-Bāqīyah ‘an al-Qurūn al-Khālīyah''.
* ''Risālah li-al-Bīrūnī'' (Epître de Berūnī)
Persian work
Biruni wrote most of his works in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
, as the scientific language of his age, however, his Persian version of the Al-Tafhim
is one of the most important of the early works of science in the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken a ...
, and is a rich source for Persian prose and lexicography.
The book covers the
Quadrivium
From the time of Plato through the Middle Ages, the ''quadrivium'' (plural: quadrivia) was a grouping of four subjects or arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy—that formed a second curricular stage following preparatory work in the ...
in a detailed and skilled fashion.
Legacy
Extraordinarily, following Al-Biruni's death, during the remainder of the period of
Ghaznavid
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
rule and the centuries following, his work was neither built upon, nor even referenced. It was only centuries later (and in the West at that), that his works were once again read and reference made to them – most notably in the case of his book on India, which became relevant to the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
's
activity in India from the 17th century.
A film about his life, ''Abu Raykhan Beruni'', was released in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1974.
The lunar crater
Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
and the asteroid
9936 Al-Biruni were named in his honour.
Biruni Island in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
is named after Al-Biruni.
In Iran, Biruni's birthday is celebrated as the day of the surveying engineer.
In June 2009,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
donated a pavilion to the
United Nations Office in Vienna
The United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) is one of the four major office sites of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the ...
—placed in the central Memorial Plaza of the
Vienna International Center. Named the
Scholars Pavilion
Scholars Pavilion or Scholars Chartagi is a monument donated by the nation of Iran to the United Nations Office at Vienna. The monument architecture is Persian Achaemenid architecture, with Persian columns and other features from Persepolis and ...
, it features the statues of four prominent Iranian scholars:
Avicenna, Abu Rayhan Biruni,
Zakariya Razi (Rhazes) and
Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
.
In popular culture
* Al-Biruni has been portrayed by
Cüneyt Uzunlar in
turkish series ''
Alparslan: Büyük Selçuklu'' which is currently airing on
TRT 1
TRT 1 (''TRT One'') is the first Turkish national television channel, owned by state broadcaster TRT. It was launched on 31 January 1968 as a test broadcast and was officially launched in December 1971. It was the only channel in Turkey until 15 ...
.
*
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...
portrayed Al-Biruni in 1988
Doordarshan's historical drama ''
Bharat Ek Khoj
''Bharat Ek Khoj'' () is a 53-episode Indian historical drama based on the book '' The Discovery of India'' (1946) by Jawaharlal Nehru that covers a 5,000-year history of India from its beginnings to independence from the British in 1947. The ...
''.
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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PDF
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Further reading
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At Packard Institute
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External links
*
Abu Rayhan al- Biruniat ''
Encyclopedia.com''
The works of al-Bīrūnī – manuscripts, critical editions, and translations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biruni, Abu Rayhan al-
973 births
People from Karakalpakstan
Medieval Iranian astrologers
11th-century Iranian philosophers
Pharmacologists of medieval Iran
10th-century Iranian mathematicians
11th-century Iranian scientists
11th-century Iranian historians
11th-century Iranian geographers
Geographers of the medieval Islamic world
Alchemists of the medieval Islamic world
Explorers of Asia
Explorers of India
Islamic philosophers
Scientists who worked on qibla determination
Indologists
Iranian anthropologists
Historians of India
11th-century Iranian astronomers
Ghaznavid scholars
Samanid scholars
Inventors of the medieval Islamic world
Transoxanian Islamic scholars
Year of death unknown
Iranian chemists
Asharis
Psychology in the medieval Islamic world