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Al-Biruni
973–1048 · Khwarazm / Ghaznavid India
Description
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni, known as al-Biruni was a Khwarazmian Iranic scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern geodesy", Founder of Indology and the first anthropologist.
Facts
| Born | 973, Kath, Khwarezm (modern-day Uzbekistan) |
| Died | c. 1050 (aged 77), Ghazni, Ghaznavid Empire (modern-day Afghanistan) |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Region | Khwarezm, Central Asia, Buyid dynasty (Rey) Ghaznavid dynasty (Ghazni) |
| Main interest(s) | Geology, physics, anthropology, comparative sociology, astronomy, chemistry, history, geography, mathematics, medicine, psychology, philosophy, theology |
| Notable work(s) | The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries, Gems, Indica, The Mas'udi Canon, Understanding Astrology |
| Religion | Islam |
Life & work in brief
Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.
| Work / contribution | Significance |
|---|---|
| Name | Al-Biruni's name is derived from the Persian word bērūn or bīrūn ("outskirts"), as he was born in an outlying district of Kath, the capital of the Afrighid kingdom of Khwarazm. |
| Life | Al-Biruni spent the first twenty-five years of his life in Khwarezm where he studied Islamic jurisprudence, theology, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philosophy and dabbled not only in the field of physics, but also in those of most of the other sciences. |
| Astronomy | Of the 146 books written by al-Bīrūnī, 95 are devoted to astronomy, mathematics, and related subjects like mathematical geography. |
| Refutation of Eternal Universe | Like later adherents of the Ash'ari school, such as al-Ghazali, 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, specifically refuting the philosopher Ibn Sina in a multiple letter correspondence. |
| Physics | Al-Biruni contributed to the introduction of the scientific method to medieval mechanics. |
| 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. |
| Pharmacology and mineralogy | Biruni wrote a pharmacopoeia, the Kitab al-saydala fi al-tibb ("Book on the Pharmacopoeia of Medicine"). |
| 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. |
| History of religions | Biruni is widely considered to be one of the most important Muslim authorities on the history of religion. |
| Anthropology | Al-Biruni wrote about the peoples, customs and religions of the Indian subcontinent. |
| Indology | Biruni's fame as an Indologist rests primarily on two texts. |
| Religious views | Biruni, as a Muslim critical thinker, integrated in his studies between 'aql (reason) and naql (revelation). |
| Works | Most of the works of Al-Biruni are in Arabic although he seemingly wrote the Kitab al-Tafhim in both Persian and Arabic, showing his mastery over both languages. |
| Legacy | Following Al-Biruni's death, his work was neither built upon nor referenced by scholars. |