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Book No. – 8 (Medieval History of India)
Book Name – Political Structure and State Formation in Early Medieval India
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Introduction: Al-Biruni (973-1039AD)
1.1. Early Career
1.2. Alberuni and Different Branches of Learning
2. Alberuni and India
3. Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind
4. Problems or barriers obstructed Al-Biruni in understanding India
5. Al-Biruni and His description of the caste system
6. Conclusion
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Islamic Intellectual Traditions: Al-Biruni
Chapter – 14
Introduction: Al-Biruni (973-1039AD)
Al-Biruni’s full name was Abu-Rayhan Mohammad.
He spent his youth on the banks of the Oxus River in the city of Khwarizm (modern Khiva, Uzbekistan).
The prince and ruler of Khwarizm was deeply passionate about science and the arts, encouraging scholars like Al-Biruni to explore various branches of knowledge and travel the world.
Al-Biruni achieved great scholarship in several fields, including philosophy, religion, mathematics, chronology, medicine, and various languages and literatures.
He was known for his creative genius, sagacity, wisdom, and sincerity, with a strong commitment to inductive reasoning.
His qualities included humour, courage, enterprise, objectivity, honesty, prodigious industry, and intellectual skills, which were unprecedented.
Early Career
Al-Biruni was a prodigious mind of the medieval world, known for his creative, versatile, and scientific outlook, with a universal approach to thought.
He was free from dogmatic conservatism and emotional bondages, which helped him remain free from prejudices.
Al-Biruni was more of a synthesizer than a dogmatic scholar and a keen observer of comparative studies.
His contributions to science and scholarship earned him the title of the ‘Age of Al-Biruni’ in the 11th century.
According to some historians, Al-Biruni was born on 4th September, 973 A.D. (3rd of Dhul-haj, 362 A.H.).
He lost his father and mother at an early age.
Al-Biruni was Tajik by race but Persian by culture.
There is a controversy surrounding the meaning and origin of the term ‘Biruni’ in his name.
Biruni could refer to a city, a suburb of Khwarizm (Khiva), or someone born or living outside the city of Khwarizm.
Samani’s Kitab-al-Ansab suggests that the people of Khwarizm called foreigners Biruni in Persian, which led to Abu-Rayhan being called Al-Biruni.
Yaqut, a historian, speculated that Biruni meant one who lived outside the city or in the countryside.
Abu-Rayhan spent nearly 30 years in Khwarizm, including 23 years under Al-i-Iraqi and an additional 8-10 years under the Ma’munids.
Abu-Rayhan was born in a suburb of Khwarizm, possibly in a town called Kath.
Al-Biruni was the only person referred to by this title, indicating it was specific to him.
Ibn-Sina, a contemporary of Al-Biruni, spent a much shorter time in Khwarizm but was never styled Al-Biruni despite being Persian by origin.
The use of Al-Biruni with his name likely refers to his birthplace or a suburb settlement of Khwarizm.
Al-Biruni did not leave an autobiographical account, and only scant references in his writings are available.
It is assumed that Al-Biruni received traditional Maktab and Madarasah education.
Al-Biruni was a great scholar with an encyclopedic mind, always in search of new knowledge.