By Abdullahi Jamaa
Today the contemporary world embraces high level of scientific development which had manifested itself in so many spheres of day-to-day life .This development did not come on silver plate it had taken men and women of all ages so many years of innovations.
And since time immemorial, Muslim scientists have made credible contributions to science; one such renowned scientist was the great Persian scientist Aburayhan Al-Biruni.
This writer traces the life and times of Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Biruni, a celebrated Muslim medieval scientist, who rose to fame during the Islamic Golden Age-the period between 750CE -1258 CE.
“Al-Biruni is one the greatest scientists of all times” Says Mohamedsaid Abdi a Nairobi-based high school teacher of Islamic Studies. “He studied so many branches of science, and did a lot of practical work on a number of scientific innovations”
Al-Biruni have had considerable influence on modern science, but none of his work was translated into western languages until the 20th century.
“His influence as a Muslim Scientist was above board. But in the study of history he wasn’t granted the kind of publicity he required, like those given to the Renaissance scientists in Europe” Says Ms. Fatuma Saman, a history teacher and a Principal at Nairobi Muslims Academy.
“This phenomenon not only affected Al-Biruni but many Muslim medieval scientists, whose ambitious and ground-breaking discoveries were hidden under the shelves to gather dusts”
However, historians believe that the contribution of Al-Biruni to the ebb and flow of scientific discoveries was by far a remarkable achievement for Muslim scholars of all times.
Al-Biruni made efforts to advance science yet footing his skills and knowledge on the fundamental creeds of Islam.
Born on September 4th 973CE in Khwārezm, Khorāsān modern-day Uzbekistan, Al-Biruni invested and studied science tirelessly until his death in 1052CE.
Myriad achievements
Al-Biruni was one of the most accomplished scientists of the entire Middle Ages. He became legendary for his intellect and ingenuity in revolutionary science leaving an indelible mark in the studies of so many disciplines. In scholarly parlance, he is regarded as a polymath.
He left nothing to chance in his unbounded ambition of advancing medieval science. He was strong both in brain and brawn as he handled multifaceted intricate topics.
He had his finger in every pie, from voluminous anthropology to complex astronomy and astrology, from composite chemistry to comparative sociology, from scientific mathematics to phenomenal physics and more aggressively from behavioral psychology to principle philosophy.
In history he is reported to have said “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 is worthy of the style and title of astrologer who is not thoroughly conversant with these four sciences.”
English renaissance astrologer William Lilly in his book Christian Astrology described Al-Biruni as:
“An excellent disputant or logician, arguing with learning and discretion, and using much eloquence in his speech, a searcher into all kinds of mysteries and learning, sharp and witty, learning almost anything without a teacher; ambitious of being exquisite in every science, desirous naturally of travel and seeing foreign parts: a man of an unwearied fancy, curious in the search of any occult knowledge; able by his own genius to produce wonders; given to divination and the more secret knowledge…”
Al-Biruni was a gifted astrologist, a field where he made exemplary and practical innovations. Indeed historians believe astrology and astronomy was his best specialties.
Al-Biruni is said to be the first to carry out elaborate experiments linked to astronomical occurrence. He pragmatically experimented and described the solar eclipse on 8th April 1019 and the lunar eclipse on 17th September 1019.
In 1031, Al-Biruni concluded an all-embracing astronomical encyclopedia called Kitab al-Qanun al-Mas’udi (Latinized as Canon Mas’udicus), in which he recorded his astronomical results and invented astronomical tables with logical conclusions.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Al-Biruni’s original input into astronomy and astrology is clearly noticeable in almost every chapter of Kitab Al-Qanun Al-Mas’udi.
“Al-biruni drew a subtle distinction between the motion of the solar apogee and the motion of precession, and explored many other applied mathematical techniques to achieve much higher precision and ease of use of tabulated astronomical results” says the Encyclopedia
The Muslim scientist also racked his brain to expose and study gemstones and metals; mineralogy was one among his best findings and here he put his best foot forward to precisely measure mineral densities.
He is said to have described about 100 known minerals, their varieties and rock occurrences, and characteristics–color, hardness, production, cost, etc.
“This important reference on precious stones was quoted by many later scientists. It is the third authentic text known on mineralogy and equal precision in density measurement was not achieved in Europe until the 18th century” wrote James Sandusky Aber, a Professor of Geology, in his work on History of Geology.
Elsewhere in anthropology, he studied the Indian community of his century thus becoming the father of Indology. His remarkable achievement about the history, philosophy, medicine of India earned him the title “the first anthropologist”
According to many historians, the world’s enthusiastic clinch of modern anthropology could not have come easily without the pioneering footprint of Al-Biruni.
Al-Biruni’s works number 146 in total. These include 35 books on astronomy, 4 on astrolabes, 23 on astrology, 5 on chronology, 2 on time measurement, 9 on geography, 10 on geodesy and mapping theory, 15 on mathematics, 2 on mechanics, 2 on medicine and pharmacology, 1 on meteorology, 2 on mineralogy and gems, 4 on history, 2 on India, 3 on religion and philosophy, 16 literary works, 2 books on magic, and 9 unclassified books.
According to scientists, among all these works, only 22 have survived, and only 13 of these works have been published.
References:
http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/histgeol/biruni/biruni.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/66790/al-Biruni
http://knol.google.com/k/al-biruni-the-great-pioneer-of-science#Abu_Rayhan_Biruni
