Al-Ghazali was born in 1058 CE (A.H. 450) in or near the city of Tus in Khurasan to a Persian family of modest means, whose members had a reputation for learning and an inclination towards Sufism. His father died when he was young, having entrusted one of his Sufi friends with the education of his two sons. The friend undertook that task until the money bequeathed by the father ran out, whereupon the friend advised the two brothers to enter a madrasa, where they would be afforded board and instruction. Al-Ghazali appears to have begun his elementary education at approximately age 7, studying Arabic, Persian, the Koran and the principles of religion. He went on to intermediate and higher education at a madrasa, where he studied fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafsir (Koranic exegesis) and hadith (Prophetic tradition) (see Glossary).
Towards the age of fifteen, al-Ghazali moved to Jurjan (a flourishing centre of learning at that time, some 160 kilometres distant from Tus) to study fiqh under Imam al-Isma‘ili. Such ‘travel in search of learning' to study under famous masters was traditional in Islamic education. The following year, he returned to Tus, where he remained for three years, memorizing and endeavouring to understand what he had taken down from the masters, and continuing the study of fiqh. He then moved to Nishapur, where he studied fiqh, kalam (scholastic theology), logic and, possibly, some philosophy under Imam al-Juwaini, the most illustrious Shafi‘ite (one of the four Sunnite Schools of Law) faqih (jurist, scholar of Islamic religious law) of the day. At that time, al-Ghazali was twenty-three years of age. He continued to study for five years under Imam al-Juwayni and to assist him with teaching. He also began to write and to study Sufism under another shaikh, al-Farmadhi.
Al-Ghazali's period of apprenticeship ended with the death of al-Juwaini 1085 CE (478 H); he was now about 28 years old, becoming involved in politics and mingling with the ruling circles. He travelled to meet Nizam ul-Mulk, the Seljuq minister, and remained with him in his ‘camp' for six years, during which time he lived the life of a ‘court jurist'. He took part in political and learned disputes and wrote books until he was appointed as a professor to the Nizamiya madrasa at Baghdad, the most celebrated and important centre of science and teaching in the Mashriq (Islamic East) at that time. He worked there for four years, and composed a number of works on fiqh, which he also taught, together with logic and kalam; the most important of those works were the Al-Mustazhiri [The Exotericist] and Al-Iqtisad fi-l-I‘tiqad [The Golden Mean in Belief], both works of a political nature on fiqh.
Al-Ghazali was a protagonist in three vehement political and intellectual controversies which were raging in the Islamic world at that time: the struggle between philosophy and religion (between Islamic and Greek culture), in which he took the side of religion against philosophy; the struggle between the Sunnites and the Shi‘ites, in which he defended the ‘Abbasid Caliphate against the Batinites; and the struggle between revelation and reason... and between fiqh and Sufi mysticism.
While resident as a professor at the Nizamaya madrasa in Baghdad, al-Ghazali made a thorough study of philosophy (Greek philosophy, in particular that of Aristotle, Plato and Plotinus, as well as Islamic philosophy, in particular that of Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and al-Farabi) in order better to refute it. The basic problem facing al-Ghazali was that of reconciling philosophy with religion.
He resolved this conflict by maintaining that philosophy was correct in as far as it agreed with the principles of (Islamic) religion, and was flawed wherever it was at variance with it. As a prelude to his attacks on philosophy, he wrote a book in which he summarized the fundamentals of philosophical thought as known in his time, Maqasid al-Falasifa [The Aims of the Philosophers].
That was followed by his famous work, Tahafut al-Falasifa [The Incoherence of the Philosophers]. He summed up his opposition to the philosophers in twenty major points, dealing with God, the universe and man. For al-Ghazali, the world is a recent creation, bodies are resurrected into the hereafter along with their souls, and God knows both particulars and universals. The Tahafut al-Falasifa caused a great stir and had a profound effect in the Islamic world. Indeed, its influence was felt as far afield as Christian Europe. Al-Ghazali and his Tahafut contributed to the weakening of Greek philosophical thought in the Islamic world, despite several attempts to defend philosophy by Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and others. As military and intellectual confrontation flared up between the Sunnites and the Shi‘ites, and between the ‘Abbasid Caliphate and the Fatimid State and its partisans and adherents in the Mashriq, al-Ghazali joined the fray. He wrote a series of works on the subject, the most important of which was Fada'ih al-Batiniya wa-Fada'il al-Mustazhiriya [The Infamies of the Esotericists and the Virtues of the Exotericists].
Batinite esotericism is based on two fundamental principles: the infallibility of the imam (see Glossary), the obligatory source of knowledge, and an esoteric interpretation of shari‘a (the revealed law of Islam) by the imam and his representatives. Al-Ghazali aimed his attacks more against the principle of the infallibility of the imam than against the esoteric interpretation of shari‘a. He also endeavoured to defend and justify the existence of the ‘Abbasid Caliphate—even if only as a symbolic entity, since the Caliphate was then in an extremely weak state—to ease the conditions of admission to the imamate and to confer legitimacy on the Seljuq sultans, the real military and political force at the time, a juridical and political problem which had been tackled by other Muslim fuqaha', in particular al-Mawardi. However, al-Ghazali's attack against esotericism was not as successful as his attack against the philosophers.
In 1095 CE (488 H), at the age of 38, al-Ghazali suddenly underwent a six-month-long spiritual crisis, which may be briefly described as a violent internal conflict between rational intelligence and the spirit, between this world and the hereafter. He began by doubting the validity of existing doctrines and schools (knowledge as such), and eventually came to question the efficacy of the tools of knowledge. This crisis brought on a physical illness which prevented him from speaking or teaching, and, having attained the truth by means of the light with which God had illuminated his heart, finally caused him to leave his post and renounce wealth, fame and influence.
Al-Ghazali classified the prevailing doctrines of his day into four main groups: scholastic theology, based on logic and reason; Batinism or esotericism, based on initiation; philosophy, based on logic and proof; and Sufism, based on unveiling and receptiveness thereto. He also held that the means whereby knowledge could be attained were: the senses, reason and revelation. In the end, he came to prefer Sufism and revelation (inspiration), and since it was difficult or impossible to reconcile the imperatives of this world with those of the hereafter, he left Baghdad under the pretence of making a pilgrimage to Mecca, and went to Damascus.
Sufi influences were many and powerful in the life of al-Ghazali, and a number of factors caused him to lean in the direction of Sufism. It was a period in which Sufism had become prevalent; his father had been favourably disposed towards Sufism; his tutor had been a Sufi; his brother had turned to Sufism at an early age; his professors had been inclined towards Sufism; the minister, Nizam al-Mulk was close to Sufism; and finally, al-Ghazali himself had studied Sufism.
However, Sufism is not a theoretical science that can simply be studied from books or learnt from a master; it is also an activity, a practice and a mode of conduct, with its own rules, including withdrawal from the world, seclusion and itinerancy. This is what al-Ghazali did, spending nearly two years in seclusion and wandering between Damascus, Jerusalem and Mecca. It was during this period that he began work on his most important book; Ihya' ‘Ulum ad-Din [The Revival of the Religious Sciences], which he may have completed later. This work is divided into four parts, dealing with devotional practice, social customs, the causes of perdition and the means of salvation, and while al-Ghazali hardly says anything new in it, its four volumes totalling some 1,500 pages constitute a compendium of Islamic religious thought in the Middle Ages. With its comprehensiveness, clarity and simplicity, it occupies a unique position in the history of Islamic thought.
Al-Ghazali returned to Baghdad in 1097 CE (490 H) and continued to live the life of a Sufi in the ribat of Abu Sa‘id of Nishapur opposite the Nizamiya madrasa. He took up teaching again for a short time, expounding his Ihya' ‘Ulum ad-Din. He then went to his birthplace, Tus, where he continued to live as a Sufi and to write. It is apparently during this period that he completed the Ihya' ‘Ulum ad-Din and several other works of a clearly Sufi nature.
After ten years of absence, al-Ghazali went back to teaching at the Nizamiya madrasa at Nishapur in 1104 CE (498H), at the request of the Seljuq minister Fakhr ul-Mulk. However, he continued to live as a Sufi and to write until 1109 CE (503 H), when he left Nishapur to return to his birthplace, Tus, to devote himself to the life of an ascetic Sufi and to teaching. Near his house he built a khangah or Sufi hermitage, and it was in this period that he wrote Minhaj al-‘Abidin [The Path of the Worshippers], which appears to be a description of his way of life and that of his pupils: renunciation of this world, seclusion and cultivation of the innermost self. And so he continued until his death in 1111 CE (505 H).
Source: muslimheritage.com
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biography. Show all posts
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Ibn Al-Haitham the Muslim Physicist
Abu Ali Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Hasan (or al-Husain) Ibn Al-Haitham. Born c. 965 in Basra (Iraq), he flourished in Egypt under Al-Hakim (996 to 1020) and died in Cairo in 1039 or soon after.
He was arguably the greatest Muslim physicist and one of the greatest students of optics of all time. He was also an astronomer, a mathematician, a physician, and he wrote commentaries on Aristotle and Galen. He wrote about 70 manuscripts and he had propounded the famous Snell's law about 600 years before Snell.
The Latin translation of his main work, the Optics (kitab al-manazir), exerted a great influence upon Western science (R. Bacon; Kepler). It showed a great progress in the experimental method. Research in catoptrics: spherical and parabolic mirrors, spherical aberration; in dioptrics: the ratio between the angle and incidence and refraction does not remain constant; magnifying power of a lens. study of atmospheric refraction. The twilight only c eases or begins when the sun is 19o below the horizon; attempt to measure the height of the atmosphere on that basis. Better description of the eye, and better understanding of vision, though ibn al-haitham considered the lens as the sensitive part; the rays originate in the object seen, not in the eye. Attempt to explain binocular vision. Correct explanation of the apparent increase in the size the sun and the moon when near the horizon. earliest use of the camera obscura.
The catoptrics contain the following problem, known as Alhazen's problem: from two points of the plane of a circle to draw lines meeting at point of the circumference and making equal angles with the normal at that point. It leads to an equation of the fourth degree. Alhazen solved it by the aid of an hyberpola intersecting a circle. He also solved the so-called al-Mahani's (cubic) equation (q. v., second half of the ninth century) in a similar (Archimedian) manner.
Source: muslimheritage.com
He was arguably the greatest Muslim physicist and one of the greatest students of optics of all time. He was also an astronomer, a mathematician, a physician, and he wrote commentaries on Aristotle and Galen. He wrote about 70 manuscripts and he had propounded the famous Snell's law about 600 years before Snell.
The Latin translation of his main work, the Optics (kitab al-manazir), exerted a great influence upon Western science (R. Bacon; Kepler). It showed a great progress in the experimental method. Research in catoptrics: spherical and parabolic mirrors, spherical aberration; in dioptrics: the ratio between the angle and incidence and refraction does not remain constant; magnifying power of a lens. study of atmospheric refraction. The twilight only c eases or begins when the sun is 19o below the horizon; attempt to measure the height of the atmosphere on that basis. Better description of the eye, and better understanding of vision, though ibn al-haitham considered the lens as the sensitive part; the rays originate in the object seen, not in the eye. Attempt to explain binocular vision. Correct explanation of the apparent increase in the size the sun and the moon when near the horizon. earliest use of the camera obscura.
The catoptrics contain the following problem, known as Alhazen's problem: from two points of the plane of a circle to draw lines meeting at point of the circumference and making equal angles with the normal at that point. It leads to an equation of the fourth degree. Alhazen solved it by the aid of an hyberpola intersecting a circle. He also solved the so-called al-Mahani's (cubic) equation (q. v., second half of the ninth century) in a similar (Archimedian) manner.
Source: muslimheritage.com
Imam al-Bukhari
Imam al-Bukhari: One of the most influential figures of Islamic civilization
Bukhara is a city in Turkestan on the lower course of the Zarafshan river. The first Muslim armies who appeared before Bukhara in 674 CE, were led by Ubaid bin Ziyad. It was, however, Kutaiba bin Muslim, who in 710 CE put the Muslim presence there on a strong footing. Due to its geographical position, Bukhara was much more closely linked to that other great city of Islam, Merv. It seems that the city experienced a period of splendour in the tenth century. The Great Mosque was near the fortress, and there were numerous smaller mosques, with markets, baths and open squares beyond count, and at the close of the 10th century the Government House stood immediately outside the fortress in the great square called the Rigistan.[1]
Ibn Hawqal gives a detailed account of the chief canals which, starting from the left bank of the Sughd river, watered Bukhara and the gardens in the plain around the city.[2] The city experienced great economic prosperity, and also a great scholarly activity, as will be explored further on. That lasted until the great catastrophe of the Mongol invasion of 1220.
In 1219 onwards, all eastern parts of Ferghana, Khwarizm, Herrat, and other parts were devastated by the Mongols led by Genghis (Ghensi) Khan, every single piece of infrastructure was wiped out, and hundreds of thousands of people (millions altogether) were slaughtered.[3] Marshman says: "From the Caspian to the Indus, more than 1000 miles in extent, the whole country was laid waste with fire and sword by the ruthless barbarians who followed Ghensis Khan. It was the greatest calamity which had befallen the human race since the Deluge, and five centuries have been barely sufficient to repair the desolation."[4] An army under Jenghiz's son Jagtai, captured and sacked Otrar, whilst another under Jenghiz himself, burned Bukhara to the ground, raped thousands of women, and massacred 30,000 men.[5]
Then, fifty years later, just as the city began to regain some semblance of normality, the Mongols struck again. This time, they were the Mongols based in Iran led by Abaka (he had succeeded Hulagu when he died in 1265 [6] and had converted to Christianity or promised to convert to that faith). In May 1267 the Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote again to describe the desolation wrought by sultan Baibars on the crusaders in the plain of Acre, the death of John of Brienne, and the attack on the crusade castle of Safed, asking help from where he could.[7] In August Pope Clement IV wrote to Abaka - the Tartar prince to praise him for a supposed conversion to Christianity,[8] and for assistance against the Mamluks. Abaka, thus, made common cause with the crusaders. Amongst Abaka's targets was Bukhara, which was to suffer immensely on the hands of his general, Nikpai Bahadur, who on 28 January 1273, took the city.[9] For seven days they plundered the city, destroying the whole city by fire and sword, and nearly exterminating the population.[10] From this devastation Bukhara was never to recover again.
Before the Mongol onslaught, Bukhara produced some great minds, the greatest figure from Bukhara, and possibly one of the most influential figures of Islamic civilisation is Imam Al-Bukhari born on 21 July 810 CE at Bukhara. He began at the age of ten to learn by heart the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and he seems to have been a precocious boy, for he is credited to have been able at an early age to correct his teachers.[11] He had a remarkable memory and his companions are said to have corrected hadith following what he recited by heart. At the age of sixteen he made his pilgrimage to Makkah. [12] He attended classes with the most famous teachers of hadith tradition at Makkah and Madinah. Then he travelled to Egypt as a student of knowledge (talib al-ilm) and spent the next sixteen years, five of which at Basra, wandering through all Asia, claiming to have heard tradition from over 1000 shaykhs.[13] He then returned to Bukhara where he died on 31 August 870 CE.
His collection of tradition al-Jami al-Sahih is a work which took him sixteen years to complete.[14] It is said that he selected his tradition from a mass of 600,000 and that he did not insert one tradition in the book without first washing and praying two raka'ahs.[15] To determine the reliability of a given tradition (hadith), the chain of transmission and the text were examined separately, although more attention was given to the individual transmitters and a seemingly reliable text was rejected because of a faulty chain of transmitters.[16] A perfect chain of transmission went back in uninterrupted succession to the Prophet (peace be upon him), each person, or link, in the chain actually heard the text from the person before him. [17] Multiple transmitters in each generation were desirable. Great focus was also placed on the personality of a particular transmitter, his reputation for integrity and piety and his capacity for transmitting accurately.[18] Sahih al-Bukhari is divided into 97 books with 3450 sections, including a total of 2760 hadiths, and contains only hadiths of the highest authenticity.[19]
The greatest contribution of al-Bukhari other than his collection of the Hadith, is that he initiated a tradition, which was to mark Muslim civilisation, and to affect the whole of civilisation and modern science. This was his insistence on the need for rigour. Under Al-Bukhari's influence, Spectorsky insists, strict rules were developed for accurate copying of manuscripts of tradition collections.[20] He insisted that that all texts be reproduced exactly as heard and that doubts about accuracy, textual criticism, and particularly critical comments on content be relegated to glosses and ascribed to the individual collector.[21]
Indeed, referencing today is the proof of accuracy and fidelity to the source, of trust and of advanced scholarship. Before Islam this had never existed in the history of humanity. It is al-Bukhari who set a precedent, and then, his scrupulous manner was followed by every scholar of Islam, often with the referencing being longer than the relevant fact or quotation. The scholars of Islam, followed the tradition, and whether it was Yaqut al-Hamawi, or Ibn Khaldun, or one of the many scientists, none would tolerate anything to enter in their work unless it was fully referenced and proved. Anything they were unsure of, they always rejected, anything not confirmed by reliable sources, they rejected. This is how modern scholarship built possibly the best method for scientific advance, and al-Bukhari's work is a symbol of this approach. His rigour flowed from his deep religious conviction and the dedication to seeking truth above all else which it inspires. This is another good example of how the faith of Islam, directly impacted on the rise of modern science and the scientific method.
End notes
[1] G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; pp. 461-2.
[2] G. Le Strange: The Lands; pp. 461-2.
[3] For the best historical accounts of the Mongol invasions, and their destruction of the Muslim realm, there is nothing better than the following two works:
-Ibn al-Athir:Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history).Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876.
- Baron G. D'Ohsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834.
[4] Marshman: History of India; vol I. P. 49. in R. B. Smith: Mohammed and
Mohammedanism; Smith Elder; London; 1875; Note 1; p. 307
[5] W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.339.
[6] G. D'Ohson: Histoire; op cit; p. 415.
[7] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. p.389
[8] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; p.389
[9] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; Encyclopaedia of Islam; 1st series; Vol 1; pp. 776-83
[10] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; pp. 776-83
[11] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; Vol 1; pp. 1296-7.p. 1296:
[12] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[13] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: 1296:
[14] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[15] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[16] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 2; pp. 397-9; at p. 398.
[17] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[18] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[19] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Op cit; p. 1296:
[20] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; op cit; p. 398.
[21] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Bukhara is a city in Turkestan on the lower course of the Zarafshan river. The first Muslim armies who appeared before Bukhara in 674 CE, were led by Ubaid bin Ziyad. It was, however, Kutaiba bin Muslim, who in 710 CE put the Muslim presence there on a strong footing. Due to its geographical position, Bukhara was much more closely linked to that other great city of Islam, Merv. It seems that the city experienced a period of splendour in the tenth century. The Great Mosque was near the fortress, and there were numerous smaller mosques, with markets, baths and open squares beyond count, and at the close of the 10th century the Government House stood immediately outside the fortress in the great square called the Rigistan.[1]
Ibn Hawqal gives a detailed account of the chief canals which, starting from the left bank of the Sughd river, watered Bukhara and the gardens in the plain around the city.[2] The city experienced great economic prosperity, and also a great scholarly activity, as will be explored further on. That lasted until the great catastrophe of the Mongol invasion of 1220.
In 1219 onwards, all eastern parts of Ferghana, Khwarizm, Herrat, and other parts were devastated by the Mongols led by Genghis (Ghensi) Khan, every single piece of infrastructure was wiped out, and hundreds of thousands of people (millions altogether) were slaughtered.[3] Marshman says: "From the Caspian to the Indus, more than 1000 miles in extent, the whole country was laid waste with fire and sword by the ruthless barbarians who followed Ghensis Khan. It was the greatest calamity which had befallen the human race since the Deluge, and five centuries have been barely sufficient to repair the desolation."[4] An army under Jenghiz's son Jagtai, captured and sacked Otrar, whilst another under Jenghiz himself, burned Bukhara to the ground, raped thousands of women, and massacred 30,000 men.[5]
Then, fifty years later, just as the city began to regain some semblance of normality, the Mongols struck again. This time, they were the Mongols based in Iran led by Abaka (he had succeeded Hulagu when he died in 1265 [6] and had converted to Christianity or promised to convert to that faith). In May 1267 the Patriarch of Jerusalem wrote again to describe the desolation wrought by sultan Baibars on the crusaders in the plain of Acre, the death of John of Brienne, and the attack on the crusade castle of Safed, asking help from where he could.[7] In August Pope Clement IV wrote to Abaka - the Tartar prince to praise him for a supposed conversion to Christianity,[8] and for assistance against the Mamluks. Abaka, thus, made common cause with the crusaders. Amongst Abaka's targets was Bukhara, which was to suffer immensely on the hands of his general, Nikpai Bahadur, who on 28 January 1273, took the city.[9] For seven days they plundered the city, destroying the whole city by fire and sword, and nearly exterminating the population.[10] From this devastation Bukhara was never to recover again.
Before the Mongol onslaught, Bukhara produced some great minds, the greatest figure from Bukhara, and possibly one of the most influential figures of Islamic civilisation is Imam Al-Bukhari born on 21 July 810 CE at Bukhara. He began at the age of ten to learn by heart the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and he seems to have been a precocious boy, for he is credited to have been able at an early age to correct his teachers.[11] He had a remarkable memory and his companions are said to have corrected hadith following what he recited by heart. At the age of sixteen he made his pilgrimage to Makkah. [12] He attended classes with the most famous teachers of hadith tradition at Makkah and Madinah. Then he travelled to Egypt as a student of knowledge (talib al-ilm) and spent the next sixteen years, five of which at Basra, wandering through all Asia, claiming to have heard tradition from over 1000 shaykhs.[13] He then returned to Bukhara where he died on 31 August 870 CE.
His collection of tradition al-Jami al-Sahih is a work which took him sixteen years to complete.[14] It is said that he selected his tradition from a mass of 600,000 and that he did not insert one tradition in the book without first washing and praying two raka'ahs.[15] To determine the reliability of a given tradition (hadith), the chain of transmission and the text were examined separately, although more attention was given to the individual transmitters and a seemingly reliable text was rejected because of a faulty chain of transmitters.[16] A perfect chain of transmission went back in uninterrupted succession to the Prophet (peace be upon him), each person, or link, in the chain actually heard the text from the person before him. [17] Multiple transmitters in each generation were desirable. Great focus was also placed on the personality of a particular transmitter, his reputation for integrity and piety and his capacity for transmitting accurately.[18] Sahih al-Bukhari is divided into 97 books with 3450 sections, including a total of 2760 hadiths, and contains only hadiths of the highest authenticity.[19]
The greatest contribution of al-Bukhari other than his collection of the Hadith, is that he initiated a tradition, which was to mark Muslim civilisation, and to affect the whole of civilisation and modern science. This was his insistence on the need for rigour. Under Al-Bukhari's influence, Spectorsky insists, strict rules were developed for accurate copying of manuscripts of tradition collections.[20] He insisted that that all texts be reproduced exactly as heard and that doubts about accuracy, textual criticism, and particularly critical comments on content be relegated to glosses and ascribed to the individual collector.[21]
Indeed, referencing today is the proof of accuracy and fidelity to the source, of trust and of advanced scholarship. Before Islam this had never existed in the history of humanity. It is al-Bukhari who set a precedent, and then, his scrupulous manner was followed by every scholar of Islam, often with the referencing being longer than the relevant fact or quotation. The scholars of Islam, followed the tradition, and whether it was Yaqut al-Hamawi, or Ibn Khaldun, or one of the many scientists, none would tolerate anything to enter in their work unless it was fully referenced and proved. Anything they were unsure of, they always rejected, anything not confirmed by reliable sources, they rejected. This is how modern scholarship built possibly the best method for scientific advance, and al-Bukhari's work is a symbol of this approach. His rigour flowed from his deep religious conviction and the dedication to seeking truth above all else which it inspires. This is another good example of how the faith of Islam, directly impacted on the rise of modern science and the scientific method.
End notes
[1] G. Le Strange: The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate; Cambridge University Press; 1930; pp. 461-2.
[2] G. Le Strange: The Lands; pp. 461-2.
[3] For the best historical accounts of the Mongol invasions, and their destruction of the Muslim realm, there is nothing better than the following two works:
-Ibn al-Athir:Kitab al-kamil fi'l tarikh (the perfect in history).Edit , J. Tornberg, Leiden, 1851-1876.
- Baron G. D'Ohsson: Histoire des Mongols, in four volumes; Les Freres Van Cleef; la Haye and Amsterdam; 1834.
[4] Marshman: History of India; vol I. P. 49. in R. B. Smith: Mohammed and
Mohammedanism; Smith Elder; London; 1875; Note 1; p. 307
[5] W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p.339.
[6] G. D'Ohson: Histoire; op cit; p. 415.
[7] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund; London; 1897. p.389
[8] C.R. Conder: The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; p.389
[9] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; Encyclopaedia of Islam; 1st series; Vol 1; pp. 776-83
[10] C. Brockelmann: Bukhara; pp. 776-83
[11] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Encyclopaedia of Islam; New Series; Vol 1; pp. 1296-7.p. 1296:
[12] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[13] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: 1296:
[14] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[15] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: p. 1296:
[16] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; Dictionary of the Middle Ages; vol 2; pp. 397-9; at p. 398.
[17] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[18] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
[19] J. Robson: Al-Bukhari: Op cit; p. 1296:
[20] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; op cit; p. 398.
[21] S. Spectorsky: Al-Bukhari; p. 398.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Al-Battani
Al-Battani (850-929 CE) comes from the province of Harran. It was he who developed the science of trigonometry (muthallathat) and extended it to spherical trigonometry. [1] He computed to a very high degree of accuracy the first complete tables of sines, tangents and co-tangents, and established the fundamental trigonometrical relations by introducing the notion of trigonometrical ratios as we use them today.[2] And, aware of the superiority of his own sines over the Greek chords, he made use of them. Al-Battani also applied algebraic operations to trigonometric identities. His works are some of the most translated by European scholars of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including the very influential Plato of Tivoli and Robert of Chester.[3] The modern word 'sine' appears for the first time in a translation of Al-Battani by Plato of Tivoli.[4]
Al-Battani's Sabian tables (al-Zij al-Sabi) is what Morellon calls `a monumental book', which had a great influence on the astronomy of the Latin West and was studied until recently.[5] His Zij al-Sabi included a trigonometrical summary wherein not only sines, but also tangents and cotangents, are regularly used.[6] It contains a table of cotangents by degrees and a theorem equivalent to our formula giving the cosine of a side of a spherical triangle in function of the cosine of the opposite angle and of the sines and cosines of the other sides. [7]
Al-Battani, from his observatory in Raqqa, began making observations in 877 which lasted forty years. He observed the stars and planets, which ended in the compilation of a first catalogue of stars for the year 880, and the accurate determination of astronomical coefficients.[8] Al-Battani's observations of eclipses (made in the 9th-10th century) were still used as late as 1749 for comparative purposes.[9] Al-Battani also worked on the timing of the new moons, the length of the solar and sideral year, the prediction of eclipses, and the phenomenon of parallax, which is `fundamental to astronomers,' and which `brings us to the verge of relativity and the space age.'[10]
According to the early twentieth century Italian historian of science, Nallino, Al-Battani determined the obliquity of the ecliptic, and the length of the tropical year and the seasons.[11] He confuted the Ptolemaic doctrine of solar immobility, demonstrating that the sun was subject to the precession of the equinoxes, and the equation of time subject in consequence to a slow variation in the apparent angular diameter of the sun, and the possibility of annular eclipses.[12] He made his personal calculations for the geocentric distances of the planets; and rectified several estimates of the motions of the moon and the planets, and finally refuted the trepidation hypothesis.[13] Al-Battani, along with other Muslim scientists, was an original researcher who, as already noted, made many emendations to (the Greek) Ptolemy's science, and corrected calculations for the orbits of the moon and certain planets.[14] His works are some of the most translated by European scholars of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including the very influential Plato of Tivoli and Robert of Chester. He was not just translated; his methods were also copied in Western Europe by the fifteenth century astronomer Regiomontanus.[15]
Finally, Al-Battani had a clear vision of the progress of science. 'It is not impossible,' he said 'that in the course of time something may be added to his observations, as something has been added by him to those of his predecessors.'[16]
[1] For details on al-Battani's works see: C.A.Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti Editi e Inediti, Roma, 1944.
[2] P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970, at p. 572.
[3]See G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine; in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976; pp 111-8.
[4] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 647.
[5] Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by R. Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. pp20-57.; pp. 46-7.
[6] G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48, vol I, op cit; p.585.
[7] C.A.Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti;op cit; 1944.
[8] Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, op cit; pp. 46-7.
[9] W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972; p. 35.
[10] G.M Wickens: The Middle East; op cit; pp. 117-8.
[11] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 647.
[12] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647.
[13] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647.
[14] P.K. Hitti: History of The Arabs, op cit, p. 376.
[15] C. A. Ronan: The Arabian Science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science, Cambridge University press. Newness Books, 1983. pp 201-244; at p. 224.
[16] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 647.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Al-Battani's Sabian tables (al-Zij al-Sabi) is what Morellon calls `a monumental book', which had a great influence on the astronomy of the Latin West and was studied until recently.[5] His Zij al-Sabi included a trigonometrical summary wherein not only sines, but also tangents and cotangents, are regularly used.[6] It contains a table of cotangents by degrees and a theorem equivalent to our formula giving the cosine of a side of a spherical triangle in function of the cosine of the opposite angle and of the sines and cosines of the other sides. [7]
Al-Battani, from his observatory in Raqqa, began making observations in 877 which lasted forty years. He observed the stars and planets, which ended in the compilation of a first catalogue of stars for the year 880, and the accurate determination of astronomical coefficients.[8] Al-Battani's observations of eclipses (made in the 9th-10th century) were still used as late as 1749 for comparative purposes.[9] Al-Battani also worked on the timing of the new moons, the length of the solar and sideral year, the prediction of eclipses, and the phenomenon of parallax, which is `fundamental to astronomers,' and which `brings us to the verge of relativity and the space age.'[10]
According to the early twentieth century Italian historian of science, Nallino, Al-Battani determined the obliquity of the ecliptic, and the length of the tropical year and the seasons.[11] He confuted the Ptolemaic doctrine of solar immobility, demonstrating that the sun was subject to the precession of the equinoxes, and the equation of time subject in consequence to a slow variation in the apparent angular diameter of the sun, and the possibility of annular eclipses.[12] He made his personal calculations for the geocentric distances of the planets; and rectified several estimates of the motions of the moon and the planets, and finally refuted the trepidation hypothesis.[13] Al-Battani, along with other Muslim scientists, was an original researcher who, as already noted, made many emendations to (the Greek) Ptolemy's science, and corrected calculations for the orbits of the moon and certain planets.[14] His works are some of the most translated by European scholars of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including the very influential Plato of Tivoli and Robert of Chester. He was not just translated; his methods were also copied in Western Europe by the fifteenth century astronomer Regiomontanus.[15]
Finally, Al-Battani had a clear vision of the progress of science. 'It is not impossible,' he said 'that in the course of time something may be added to his observations, as something has been added by him to those of his predecessors.'[16]
[1] For details on al-Battani's works see: C.A.Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti Editi e Inediti, Roma, 1944.
[2] P.K. Hitti: History of the Arabs, tenth edition, Mac Millan St Martin's Press, 1970, at p. 572.
[3]See G.M Wickens: The Middle East as a world centre of science and medicine; in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976; pp 111-8.
[4] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 647.
[5] Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, in Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science, edited by R. Rashed; Routledge, London and New York: 1996. pp20-57.; pp. 46-7.
[6] G.Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute of Washington; 1927-48, vol I, op cit; p.585.
[7] C.A.Nallino, C.A: Raccolta di scritti;op cit; 1944.
[8] Regis Morelon: Eastern Arabic Astronomy, op cit; pp. 46-7.
[9] W.M. Watt: The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe, Edinburgh University Press, 1972; p. 35.
[10] G.M Wickens: The Middle East; op cit; pp. 117-8.
[11] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 647.
[12] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647.
[13] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 647.
[14] P.K. Hitti: History of The Arabs, op cit, p. 376.
[15] C. A. Ronan: The Arabian Science; in The Cambridge Illustrated History of the World's Science, Cambridge University press. Newness Books, 1983. pp 201-244; at p. 224.
[16] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; Vol 3: The Great medieval Civilisations; Translated from the French; George Allen &Unwin Ltd; UNESCO; 1975; p. 647.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Al-Biruni
Abu'l- Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni (973-1050 CE) was a scholar in the fields of mathematics, history, and medicine.[1] In fact, his interest extended to nearly all the sciences.[2] His production exceeds 146 titles in more than twenty different disciplines, such as mathematics, mathematical geography, chronology, mechanics, pharmacology, mineralogy, history, literature, religion, and philosophy. He composed an encyclopaedia of astronomy, a treatise on geography, and an epitome of astronomy.[3] But the bulk of his work lies in mathematics and related disciplines (ninety-six titles).[4] He contributed to geometry the solution of theorems that thereafter bore his name.[5] He wrote histories of Mahmud's reign, of Subukrigin, and of Khwarizm. He explained the workings of natural springs and artesian wells by the hydrostatic principle of communicating vessels.[6] Only twenty-two works of his have survived the ravages of time and only thirteen of these works have been published. His work on the demarcation of the coordinates of cities (Tahdid) was written so as to determine the direction to Makkah; Al-Biruni could determine the local meridian and the coordinates of any locality.[7]
In astronomy, Al-Biruni wrote treatises on the astrolabe, the planisphere, the armillary sphere; and formulated astronomical tables for Sultan Masud. Indeed, Al-Biruni's astronomical findings are well elaborated in his al-Qanun al-Mas'udi, a work which is a most extensive astronomical encyclopaedia, slightly short of 1,500 pages, in which he determines the motion of the solar apogee, corrects Ptolemy's findings and is able to state for the first time that the motion is not identical to
that of precession, but comes very close to it.[8]
Al-Biruni employed mathematical techniques unknown to his predecessors that involved analysis of instantaneous motion and acceleration, described in terminology that can best be understood if we assume that he had "mathematical functions" in mind.[9] In the eighth maqalah of the Qanun, al-Biruni presented a masterly exposition of both the solar as well as the lunar eclipses, specially the section dealing with al-kusufin (the images of the eclipses) which pass on the faces of the sun and the moon without affecting their body; he referred in his letter to a book on the two united and equal axes.[10] Six hundred years before Galileo, Al-Biruni discussed the theory of the earth rotating about is own axis. The following in relation to this subject is worthy of record as an indication of Al-Biruni's independence of mind:
He took it for granted that the earth is round, and noted "the attraction of all things towards the centre of the earth," and remarked that astronomic data can be explained as well by supposing that the earth turns daily on its axis and annually around the sun.[11]
Al-Biruni wrote about the astrolabe, the planisphere and the armillary sphere, besides inventing an astrolabe which he called cylindrical, but which is now referred to as orthographical.[12] Using the astrolabe and the presence of a mountain near a sea or flat plain, he calculated the earth circumference by solving a highly complex geodesic equation. With the aid of mathematics, he also enabled the direction of the Qibla to be determined from anywhere in the world. Max Meyerhof observed earlier this century that most of al-Biruni's mathematical works and many other writings have not been published yet.[13]
Al-Biruni was also very active in physics. He composed an extensive lapidary, describing a great number of stones and metals from the natural, commercial, and medical points of view.[14] He determined the specific gravity of eighteen precious stones, and laid down the principle that the specific gravity of an object corresponds to the volume of water it displaces.[15] To determine specific gravity, he used a 'conical vessel' (which al-Khazini calls the conical instrument of abu'l-Rayhan [al-Biruni]), to find the ratio of the weight of water displaced to the weight of a substance in air.[16] Al-Khazini in his Kitab Mizan al-Hikma (i.e. the Book of the balance of Wisdom) makes a detailed description of such an instrument and its uses (including by himself).[17] In his work on precious stones, he gave an account of the correspondence to be found between these and the metals, and determined their specific weights.[18]
Mieli explains how Al-Biruni weighted meticulously the substance he wanted to study, then dipped it into his conical instrument that was filled with water. He weighed the water which had been displaced by the immersed substance and which was escaping the instrument through a hole conveniently placed. The ratio between the weight of the body and that of the same water volume, gave the specific weight sought.[19] Many of the specific aspects of such an instrument owe to the fact that al-Biruni was extremely careful in ensuring his results were as accurate as possible. Al-Biruni carried out a series of measurements of specific weights, and summarised his findings in a number of tables. His results are very close to modern data, some of the deviations are explained by the impurity of the specimen and by temperature differences in his experiments.[20] He also determined the specific weight of some liquids, and established the differences in the specific weights of hot and cold water and fresh and salt water. He was the first in history to introduce checking tests in the practice of experiments.[19]
End Notes:
[1] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 648.
[2] W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 244.
[3] W. Durant: The Age; p. 244.
[4] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Ed Joseph Strayer; Vol 2. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York; 1980 ff. p.248.
[5] In W. Durant: The Age; p. 244.
[6] G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; p. 707.
[7] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; 248.
[8] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; p.249.
[9] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; p.249.
[10] Qanun, Maqalah, VIII, see also Ibn al-Nadim: Fihrist, Edition Flugel; 1857. p. 31.
[11] C. De Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam; Vol 2; Geuthner; Paris; p. 217.
[12] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 649.
[13] Max Meyerhof: Science and Medicine, in Sir Thomas Arnold and A. Guillaume edition: The Legacy of Islam, first edition; Oxford University Press; 1931; pp 311-55, at p. 332.
[14] W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 244.
[15] K. Bukhsh: 181; in W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 244.
[16] Most of the instruments designed by Muslim scientists whether in chemistry, surgery, physics or astronomy seem to be taken for granted, the fact, though, is that the design, and use of instruments by Muslim science is of absolutely crucial significance. Indeed, some of these instruments seem rather obsolete by today's standards of technical advance (some are still used, though,) yet, they had a crucial influence on the whole of modern science, and for various reasons. Moreover, the use of instruments for scientific experimentation, however ordinary it may seem, was a revolution in science, making experimental science the norm as against the usual Greek speculative approach. These were also the first steps on which science and scientists and designer built the modern equipments, techniques, and laboratories we have today.
The second point is the constant search for the perfect instrument for the sake of extreme accuracy which became the rule with Muslim science, and is the principal rule of modern science today.
[17] See Al-Khazini by R.E. Hall: Dictionary of Scientific Biography: Editor Charles C. Gillispie; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973, Vol VII, pp 335-51.
[18] G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 649.
[19] A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans l'Evolution Mondiale; Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. p. 101.
[20] M. Rozhanskaya (in collaboration with I.S. Levinova) Statics, in The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; R. Rashed Ed; Routledge; London; 1996; pp 614-42. pp. 638-9.
Source: english.islammessage.com
In astronomy, Al-Biruni wrote treatises on the astrolabe, the planisphere, the armillary sphere; and formulated astronomical tables for Sultan Masud. Indeed, Al-Biruni's astronomical findings are well elaborated in his al-Qanun al-Mas'udi, a work which is a most extensive astronomical encyclopaedia, slightly short of 1,500 pages, in which he determines the motion of the solar apogee, corrects Ptolemy's findings and is able to state for the first time that the motion is not identical to
that of precession, but comes very close to it.[8]
Al-Biruni employed mathematical techniques unknown to his predecessors that involved analysis of instantaneous motion and acceleration, described in terminology that can best be understood if we assume that he had "mathematical functions" in mind.[9] In the eighth maqalah of the Qanun, al-Biruni presented a masterly exposition of both the solar as well as the lunar eclipses, specially the section dealing with al-kusufin (the images of the eclipses) which pass on the faces of the sun and the moon without affecting their body; he referred in his letter to a book on the two united and equal axes.[10] Six hundred years before Galileo, Al-Biruni discussed the theory of the earth rotating about is own axis. The following in relation to this subject is worthy of record as an indication of Al-Biruni's independence of mind:
He took it for granted that the earth is round, and noted "the attraction of all things towards the centre of the earth," and remarked that astronomic data can be explained as well by supposing that the earth turns daily on its axis and annually around the sun.[11]
Al-Biruni wrote about the astrolabe, the planisphere and the armillary sphere, besides inventing an astrolabe which he called cylindrical, but which is now referred to as orthographical.[12] Using the astrolabe and the presence of a mountain near a sea or flat plain, he calculated the earth circumference by solving a highly complex geodesic equation. With the aid of mathematics, he also enabled the direction of the Qibla to be determined from anywhere in the world. Max Meyerhof observed earlier this century that most of al-Biruni's mathematical works and many other writings have not been published yet.[13]
Al-Biruni was also very active in physics. He composed an extensive lapidary, describing a great number of stones and metals from the natural, commercial, and medical points of view.[14] He determined the specific gravity of eighteen precious stones, and laid down the principle that the specific gravity of an object corresponds to the volume of water it displaces.[15] To determine specific gravity, he used a 'conical vessel' (which al-Khazini calls the conical instrument of abu'l-Rayhan [al-Biruni]), to find the ratio of the weight of water displaced to the weight of a substance in air.[16] Al-Khazini in his Kitab Mizan al-Hikma (i.e. the Book of the balance of Wisdom) makes a detailed description of such an instrument and its uses (including by himself).[17] In his work on precious stones, he gave an account of the correspondence to be found between these and the metals, and determined their specific weights.[18]
Mieli explains how Al-Biruni weighted meticulously the substance he wanted to study, then dipped it into his conical instrument that was filled with water. He weighed the water which had been displaced by the immersed substance and which was escaping the instrument through a hole conveniently placed. The ratio between the weight of the body and that of the same water volume, gave the specific weight sought.[19] Many of the specific aspects of such an instrument owe to the fact that al-Biruni was extremely careful in ensuring his results were as accurate as possible. Al-Biruni carried out a series of measurements of specific weights, and summarised his findings in a number of tables. His results are very close to modern data, some of the deviations are explained by the impurity of the specimen and by temperature differences in his experiments.[20] He also determined the specific weight of some liquids, and established the differences in the specific weights of hot and cold water and fresh and salt water. He was the first in history to introduce checking tests in the practice of experiments.[19]
End Notes:
[1] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; op cit; p. 648.
[2] W. Durant: The Age of faith, Simon and Shuster, New York; 6th printing; 1950. p. 244.
[3] W. Durant: The Age; p. 244.
[4] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; Dictionary of the Middle Ages, Ed Joseph Strayer; Vol 2. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York; 1980 ff. p.248.
[5] In W. Durant: The Age; p. 244.
[6] G. Sarton: Introduction; op cit; I; p. 707.
[7] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; 248.
[8] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; p.249.
[9] G. Saliba: Al-Biruni; op cit; p.249.
[10] Qanun, Maqalah, VIII, see also Ibn al-Nadim: Fihrist, Edition Flugel; 1857. p. 31.
[11] C. De Vaux: Les Penseurs de l'Islam; Vol 2; Geuthner; Paris; p. 217.
[12] G. Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 649.
[13] Max Meyerhof: Science and Medicine, in Sir Thomas Arnold and A. Guillaume edition: The Legacy of Islam, first edition; Oxford University Press; 1931; pp 311-55, at p. 332.
[14] W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 244.
[15] K. Bukhsh: 181; in W. Durant: The Age; op cit; p. 244.
[16] Most of the instruments designed by Muslim scientists whether in chemistry, surgery, physics or astronomy seem to be taken for granted, the fact, though, is that the design, and use of instruments by Muslim science is of absolutely crucial significance. Indeed, some of these instruments seem rather obsolete by today's standards of technical advance (some are still used, though,) yet, they had a crucial influence on the whole of modern science, and for various reasons. Moreover, the use of instruments for scientific experimentation, however ordinary it may seem, was a revolution in science, making experimental science the norm as against the usual Greek speculative approach. These were also the first steps on which science and scientists and designer built the modern equipments, techniques, and laboratories we have today.
The second point is the constant search for the perfect instrument for the sake of extreme accuracy which became the rule with Muslim science, and is the principal rule of modern science today.
[17] See Al-Khazini by R.E. Hall: Dictionary of Scientific Biography: Editor Charles C. Gillispie; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1973, Vol VII, pp 335-51.
[18] G.Wiet; V. Elisseeff; P. Wolff; and J. Naudu: History of Mankind; p. 649.
[19] A. Mieli: La Science Arabe et son role dans l'Evolution Mondiale; Leiden, E, J. Brill, 1966. p. 101.
[20] M. Rozhanskaya (in collaboration with I.S. Levinova) Statics, in The Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science; R. Rashed Ed; Routledge; London; 1996; pp 614-42. pp. 638-9.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Ibn Khaldun
CHILDHOOD AND EARLY YEARS
Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis on May 27, 1332 C.E. (Ramadan 1, 732 A.H.). He received a traditional education that was typical for one of his family’s rank and status. He learned first at the hands of his father, who was a scholarly person, not involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the Qur’an by heart, learned grammar, jurisprudence, hadith, rhetoric, philology, and poetry. He reached a certain proficiency in these subjects and received certification in them. In his autobiography, he mentions the names of the scholars with whom he studied. [1]
Ibn Khaldun continued his studies until the age of nineteen, when the great plague swept over the lands from Samarkand to Mauritania. It was after this plague that Ibn Khaldun received his first public assignment, marking the start of his career, and forever changing his life. [2]
WORKS
Ibn Khaldun’s works can be classified in the categories of historical, and religious. Of his works on history, only his Universal History has survived to our day. Another work that is lost is the history that was written specifically for Tamerlane, as Ibn Khaldun mentioned in his autobiography. His religious books are: Lubab al-Mahsul (Summary of the Result); a commentary on an usul al-fiqh poem, and a few works which are of questionable attribute to him. [3]
The following quotation describes his philosophy of the historical process of civilizations, including, for example, the role of economics:
"…in the field of economics, Ibn Khaldun understands very clearly the supply and demand factors which affect price, the interdependence of prices and the ripple effects on successive stages of production of a fall in prices, and the nature and function of money and its tendency to circulate from country to country according to demand and the level of activity." [4]
Ibn Khaldun is well known for his explanation of the nature of state and society and for being ‘the founder of the new discipline of sociology’:
"Ibn Khaldun fully realised that he had created a new discipline, ‘ilm al-’umran, the science of culture, and regarded it as surprising that no one had done so before and demarcated it from other disciplines. This science can be of great help to the historian by creating a standard by which to judge accounts of past events. Through the study of human society, one can distinguish between the possible and the impossible, and so distinguish between those of its phenomena which are essential and those which are merely accidental, and also those which cannot occur at all." [5]
Ibn Khaldun's contributions to the field of history must also be noted:
"He analysed in detail the sources of error in historical writings, in particular partisanship, overconfidence in sources, failure to understand what is intended, a mistaken belief in the truth, the inability to place an event in its real context, the desire to gain the favour of those in high rank, exaggeration, and what he regarded as the most important of all, ignorance of the laws governing the transformation of human society." [6]
Ibn Khaldun’s view on science followed the traditional division of sciences, which involves a division into religious sciences and non-religious sciences. The non-religious sciences are further divided into useful and non-useful sciences (mainly the occult sciences such as magic, alchemy and astrology). In the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun reports on all the sciences up to his time, with examples and quotations. He makes it a point to refute magic, alchemy, astrology, and philosophy in his book. His work became a record of the development of sciences in his day.
Notes
1. He would later write a detailed autobiography (Ta’reef) while in Egypt which is part of his book of “Universal History” Kitab al-’Ibar wa-Diwan al-Mubtada’ wa-l-Khabar fi Ayyam al-’Arab wal-’Ajam wal-Barbar wa man ‘asarahum min dhawi as-Sultan al-Akbar. See Walter J. Fischel, Ibn Khaldun in Egypt, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967).
2. Ibid., 9.
3. See Abderrahmane Lakhassi, ''Ibn Khaldun" in History of Islamic Philosophy, edited by S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman (London: Routledge), 353.
4. Charles Issawi and Oliver Leaman, “Ibn Khaldun, ‘Abd al-Rahman (1332-1406),” in Routledge’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy. vol. 4., (London: Routledge) 623-627.
5. Ibid., 623-627.
6. Ibid., 623-627.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Ibn Khaldun was born in Tunis on May 27, 1332 C.E. (Ramadan 1, 732 A.H.). He received a traditional education that was typical for one of his family’s rank and status. He learned first at the hands of his father, who was a scholarly person, not involved in politics like his ancestors. He memorized the Qur’an by heart, learned grammar, jurisprudence, hadith, rhetoric, philology, and poetry. He reached a certain proficiency in these subjects and received certification in them. In his autobiography, he mentions the names of the scholars with whom he studied. [1]
Ibn Khaldun continued his studies until the age of nineteen, when the great plague swept over the lands from Samarkand to Mauritania. It was after this plague that Ibn Khaldun received his first public assignment, marking the start of his career, and forever changing his life. [2]
WORKS
Ibn Khaldun’s works can be classified in the categories of historical, and religious. Of his works on history, only his Universal History has survived to our day. Another work that is lost is the history that was written specifically for Tamerlane, as Ibn Khaldun mentioned in his autobiography. His religious books are: Lubab al-Mahsul (Summary of the Result); a commentary on an usul al-fiqh poem, and a few works which are of questionable attribute to him. [3]
The following quotation describes his philosophy of the historical process of civilizations, including, for example, the role of economics:
"…in the field of economics, Ibn Khaldun understands very clearly the supply and demand factors which affect price, the interdependence of prices and the ripple effects on successive stages of production of a fall in prices, and the nature and function of money and its tendency to circulate from country to country according to demand and the level of activity." [4]
Ibn Khaldun is well known for his explanation of the nature of state and society and for being ‘the founder of the new discipline of sociology’:
"Ibn Khaldun fully realised that he had created a new discipline, ‘ilm al-’umran, the science of culture, and regarded it as surprising that no one had done so before and demarcated it from other disciplines. This science can be of great help to the historian by creating a standard by which to judge accounts of past events. Through the study of human society, one can distinguish between the possible and the impossible, and so distinguish between those of its phenomena which are essential and those which are merely accidental, and also those which cannot occur at all." [5]
Ibn Khaldun's contributions to the field of history must also be noted:
"He analysed in detail the sources of error in historical writings, in particular partisanship, overconfidence in sources, failure to understand what is intended, a mistaken belief in the truth, the inability to place an event in its real context, the desire to gain the favour of those in high rank, exaggeration, and what he regarded as the most important of all, ignorance of the laws governing the transformation of human society." [6]
Ibn Khaldun’s view on science followed the traditional division of sciences, which involves a division into religious sciences and non-religious sciences. The non-religious sciences are further divided into useful and non-useful sciences (mainly the occult sciences such as magic, alchemy and astrology). In the Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun reports on all the sciences up to his time, with examples and quotations. He makes it a point to refute magic, alchemy, astrology, and philosophy in his book. His work became a record of the development of sciences in his day.
Notes
1. He would later write a detailed autobiography (Ta’reef) while in Egypt which is part of his book of “Universal History” Kitab al-’Ibar wa-Diwan al-Mubtada’ wa-l-Khabar fi Ayyam al-’Arab wal-’Ajam wal-Barbar wa man ‘asarahum min dhawi as-Sultan al-Akbar. See Walter J. Fischel, Ibn Khaldun in Egypt, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967).
2. Ibid., 9.
3. See Abderrahmane Lakhassi, ''Ibn Khaldun" in History of Islamic Philosophy, edited by S.H. Nasr and O. Leaman (London: Routledge), 353.
4. Charles Issawi and Oliver Leaman, “Ibn Khaldun, ‘Abd al-Rahman (1332-1406),” in Routledge’s Encyclopedia of Philosophy. vol. 4., (London: Routledge) 623-627.
5. Ibid., 623-627.
6. Ibid., 623-627.
Source: english.islammessage.com
Ibn Rushd the Jurist
For centuries, Ibn Rushd has been known to Muslim scholars in northwestern Africa primarily for his writings on fiqh, or jurisprudence. There are four "schools" of law, or systems of legal thought, in Sunni Islam, and the western part of the Muslim heartland was (and still is) dominated by the Maliki madhhab, or school. Ibn Rushd ranks among the most important Maliki scholars.
Ibn Rushd devoted himself to a broad continuum of intellectual subjects, as did many of his contemporaries: The workings of the human body, the movement of the stars, the relationship of reason to religion, and the logic of the law were all suitable subjects of inquiry for a Muslim man of letters. Ibn Rushd refers frequently to the Qur'an and the hadith—the traditions, or reports of the Prophet Muhammad's words and deeds—in his works on natural science, while echoes of his philosophical works can be found in his legal writings.
Given his family history, it was perhaps inevitable that much of Ibn Rushd's life would be devoted to the law. His grandfather is also a major figure in Maliki thought; indeed, many a careless reader has confused the two, since both had the same names, both served as qadi, or judge, in Córdoba, and one died the year the other was born. Ibn Rushd's father was also a judge, and since Ibn Rushd himself heard cases in Seville and Córdoba, jurisprudence was not just an academic matter, but a family métier.
By his own account, Ibn Rushd took 20 years to produce Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid, his primary work of fiqh. The book is intended not for the layman, but for Ibn Rushd's learned peers. Eschewing partisan polemic, Ibn Rushd goes beyond quoting the Maliki position on various legal questions. Instead, he tackles each issue by first describing the areas of agreement among the madhhabs, then outlining the points disputed by the various scholars, and finally discussing the reasons for these differences. What emerges is a detailed exposition of the principles of Islamic law, their use in each school of jurisprudence, and their practical application in the daily lives of Muslims.
Ibn Rushd demonstrates that legal differences result from each school's distinctive intellectual process. Though they differ in other respects, the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs both base their rulings squarely on the hadith, even if this means relying on an isolated, uncorroborated report of the Prophet's behavior. In such cases the Hanafis uphold istihsan, or the preference for whatever solution is judged most appropriate to the situation. The Malikis refer to the consensus of the early Muslim community in Madinah, arguing that Muslims who had observed the Prophet Muhammad first-hand would not deviate from his example. Bidayat al-Mujtahid also makes frequent reference to the Dhahiri school, which accepted only the most literal interpretation of the Qur'an and hadith. This madhhab had a strong presence in al-Andalus, but the school's rigidity ultimately led to its extinction.
The title Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid holds a clue to Ibn Rushd's ultimate purpose. A literal translation might be The Beginning of the Independent Jurist and the End of the Mere Adherent to Precedent. A mujtahid is one who undertakes ijtihad, defined by fiqh scholar Taha Jabir al-Alwani as "striving and self-exertion; independent reasoning; [or] analytical thought. Ijtihad may involve the interpretation of the source materials, inference of rules from them, or giving a legal verdict or decision on any issue on which there is no specific guidance in the Qur'an and the sunnah," the example-of the Prophet. In addition to knowledge of the Qur'an and hadith and fluency in Arabic, a mujtahid must possess a thorough understanding of the principles of Islamic law and their application—which is exactly what Ibn Rushd seeks to provide in his text. Arguing in favor of ijtihad and independent reason-ing, Ibn Rushd uses a simple analogy. Most jurists, he writes, believe that "the one who has memorized the most opinions has the greatest legal acumen. Their view is like one who thinks a cobbler is he who possesses a large number of shoes, rather than one who has the ability to make shoes. It is obvious that even someone who has a large number of shoes will one day be visited by someone he cannot fit. This person will then go to a cobbler who can make shoes that suit his feet."
Source: english.islammessage.com
Ibn Rushd devoted himself to a broad continuum of intellectual subjects, as did many of his contemporaries: The workings of the human body, the movement of the stars, the relationship of reason to religion, and the logic of the law were all suitable subjects of inquiry for a Muslim man of letters. Ibn Rushd refers frequently to the Qur'an and the hadith—the traditions, or reports of the Prophet Muhammad's words and deeds—in his works on natural science, while echoes of his philosophical works can be found in his legal writings.
Given his family history, it was perhaps inevitable that much of Ibn Rushd's life would be devoted to the law. His grandfather is also a major figure in Maliki thought; indeed, many a careless reader has confused the two, since both had the same names, both served as qadi, or judge, in Córdoba, and one died the year the other was born. Ibn Rushd's father was also a judge, and since Ibn Rushd himself heard cases in Seville and Córdoba, jurisprudence was not just an academic matter, but a family métier.
By his own account, Ibn Rushd took 20 years to produce Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid, his primary work of fiqh. The book is intended not for the layman, but for Ibn Rushd's learned peers. Eschewing partisan polemic, Ibn Rushd goes beyond quoting the Maliki position on various legal questions. Instead, he tackles each issue by first describing the areas of agreement among the madhhabs, then outlining the points disputed by the various scholars, and finally discussing the reasons for these differences. What emerges is a detailed exposition of the principles of Islamic law, their use in each school of jurisprudence, and their practical application in the daily lives of Muslims.
Ibn Rushd demonstrates that legal differences result from each school's distinctive intellectual process. Though they differ in other respects, the Shafi'i and Hanbali madhhabs both base their rulings squarely on the hadith, even if this means relying on an isolated, uncorroborated report of the Prophet's behavior. In such cases the Hanafis uphold istihsan, or the preference for whatever solution is judged most appropriate to the situation. The Malikis refer to the consensus of the early Muslim community in Madinah, arguing that Muslims who had observed the Prophet Muhammad first-hand would not deviate from his example. Bidayat al-Mujtahid also makes frequent reference to the Dhahiri school, which accepted only the most literal interpretation of the Qur'an and hadith. This madhhab had a strong presence in al-Andalus, but the school's rigidity ultimately led to its extinction.
The title Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa Nihayat al-Muqtasid holds a clue to Ibn Rushd's ultimate purpose. A literal translation might be The Beginning of the Independent Jurist and the End of the Mere Adherent to Precedent. A mujtahid is one who undertakes ijtihad, defined by fiqh scholar Taha Jabir al-Alwani as "striving and self-exertion; independent reasoning; [or] analytical thought. Ijtihad may involve the interpretation of the source materials, inference of rules from them, or giving a legal verdict or decision on any issue on which there is no specific guidance in the Qur'an and the sunnah," the example-of the Prophet. In addition to knowledge of the Qur'an and hadith and fluency in Arabic, a mujtahid must possess a thorough understanding of the principles of Islamic law and their application—which is exactly what Ibn Rushd seeks to provide in his text. Arguing in favor of ijtihad and independent reason-ing, Ibn Rushd uses a simple analogy. Most jurists, he writes, believe that "the one who has memorized the most opinions has the greatest legal acumen. Their view is like one who thinks a cobbler is he who possesses a large number of shoes, rather than one who has the ability to make shoes. It is obvious that even someone who has a large number of shoes will one day be visited by someone he cannot fit. This person will then go to a cobbler who can make shoes that suit his feet."
Source: english.islammessage.com
Saladin - Story of a Hero
In the year 1095, Alexius Comnenus, Emperor of Byzantium, sent a series of frantic messages to Pope Urban II in Rome. Couched in the elaborate style of the time and dwelling at length on Comnenus' troubles, the messages could have been summarized in one word: "Help." Asia's fierce Seljuk Turks had conquered the vast Anatolian reaches of the Emperor's domain and were almost at the gates of Constantinople. Without help, Comnenus told the Pope, Byzantium's undermanned army could not hold out and Constantinople, the bastion of Christendom in the East, would surely fall to the Turks.
Urban went Comnenus one better. At the Council of Clermont in France in November, 1095, in what historian Philip Hitti has called "probably the most effective speech in history," he not only rallied troops to save Constantinople but set in motion a series of "holy wars" to free the Holy Land and Jerusalem from 400 years of Muslim rule. They were wars that would later be called Crusades and which would call forth onto the stage of medieval history some of that period's most remarkable figures, One of them, a hero to both Islam and Christianity, was Al-Malik al-Nasir al-Sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin.
By the time Saladin made his appearance, Urban's exhortations had succeeded beyond his most extravagant hopes. The crusaders had saved Constantinople, conquered the Holy Land, and had ruled what they called the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem for 70 years. The crusaders being a tiny minority in a sea of hostile Muslims, their rule was not an easy one. On the other hand, with Islamic power fragmented among the Seljuk-dominated caliph of Baghdad, the rival Fatimids of Cairo and a semi-independent warlord in Syria called Nur al-Din, crusader rule also seemed permanent.
Saladin, son of a high-ranking Kurdish officer in Nur al-Din's army, was an Arab by culture, language and inclination. Born in Tikrit, Iraq, in 1138, he was called Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Yusuf son of Ayyub) but later assumed the additional name of Salah al-Din (Rectifier of the Faith). From these beginnings, he became one of the few Muslims of the times famous enough to win a westernized version of their names. The crusaders, and later all of Europe, shortened Salah al-Din to Saladin—the name under which he was later romanticized in the West in countless poems and legends.
Late in the year 1168, Saladin took part in an expedition commanded by his uncle and sent to Egypt by Nur al-Din to head off a Frankish take-over. Nur's soldiers eluded the Franks and entered Cairo as liberators. Saladin's uncle died two months later and in March, 1169, Saladin, at 31, was appointed Sultan of Egypt.
Two years later, the last Fatimid caliph died and Saladin founded his own dynasty, the Ayyubids. Using Egypt as a power base, he also began the long task of unifying Islam in order to fulfill his vow.
There followed an 18-year period during which Saladin put his Egyptian base in order, his two chief rivals—King Amalric of Jerusalem and his erstwhile suzerain, Nur al-Din—died, and Saladin unified the country between the Nile and the Tigris under his rule. This was a period of sporadic clashes with the forces of the Leper King, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and his successor, King Guy of Lusignan, of truces almost invariably broken by the Franks and restored, thanks to Saladin's legendary tolerance. But open warfare was carefully avoided. Then, in 1186, the treacherous Reginald of Chatillon, bandit-knight and master of the Castle of Kerak in Jordan, who had previously made it known that he intended to conquer Mecca itself, attacked a large caravan traveling through the desert beneath his mountain eyrie. For Saladin this was the last straw. He proclaimed a holy war against the crusaders and vowed to kill Reginald with his own hand.
On July 4, 1187, a vast force under Saladin's banner defeated the Frankish army in the battle of the Horns of Hattin—in which Saladin struck down the captured Reginald as promised. Then on October 2, almost 90 years after the first crusaders took the Holy City, came the supreme moment of Saladin's career—the capture of Jerusalem.
This momentous event, however, sent ripples of indignation across Europe and brought on the Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion Hearted and King Philip II of France. Five years later, after a period of battles, sieges, counter-sieges and diplomatic negotiations, Saladin and Richard signed a peace treaty under which the Muslims kept Jerusalem and the interior and the crusaders were permitted to retain, for a short while longer, their tenuous hold on the coastal towns. Saladin, having fulfilled his oath, withdrew to Damascus where, at the age of 55, he died, already a hero and soon to be a legend.
It seems that Saladin was a slender man of medium height with a dark complexion, dark hair, eyes and beard, and a rather melancholy expression. He had tremendous endurance and simple tastes in food. He liked fresh fruit and sherbet, drank barley-water when he was suffering, and enjoyed boiled rice. When not in the field he liked nothing better than an evening surrounded by scholars, friends and poets, discussing theology and law or listening to readings of the Koran, which if well rendered could move him to tears. He kept a small book in his pocket in which he wrote down quotations from his favorite authors, and he would often read aloud from it to illustrate a point in his conversation. Saladin liked chess, but his favorite pastime was polo—largely because it involved horses. Horses were his weakness and he offered them frequently as special gifts. He could reel off the pedigree of an Arabian mare without a moment's hesitation.
Although Saladin had all the wealth of Egypt and Syria at his disposal, the trappings of power had no attraction for him. When he became supreme ruler of Egypt after the death of the Fatimid caliph, for instance, he preferred a small simple house to the caliph's fabulous palace (4,000 rooms, a 120,000-volume library and sackfuls of jewels). Knowing that others liked ostentation, however, he gave away most of the contents of the palace.
Unlike the colorfully-dressed crusaders, Saladin usually wore a simple wool or linen cloak. As a youth, as a concession to the treachery that lurked behind every Egyptian curtain, he wore a coat of mail under his robes. His personal retinue—loyal men who were willing to die for him, and often did—followed his example. In his later years he wore a padded coat while on horseback to keep off the chill.
In contrast to the deference shown to other autocrats, there was no need to fawn in Saladin's presence. Ignoring protocol, he commanded loyalty by his personal bearing and example, his gentle character and his magnanimity. During audiences for example, the jostling petitioners often trod on the very cushion where the Sultan sat smiling.
More important, perhaps, was his relationship with his officers and principal emirs. During one long tour of inspection, his friend Baha al-Din, who later wrote a history of Saladin, was riding in front of the Sultan and inadvertently splashed mud all over him, ruining his clothes. "But he only laughed and refused to let me go behind," the historian related. Discussion was free and unrestrained by any need for flattery. At one officers' meeting the Sultan asked for a drink but nobody paid any attention. He had to repeat his request several times, a secretary recounted, before he was served. For his followers to have felt so free in his presence, Saladin must have inspired a trust which was unthinking.
Little is known about Saladin's wife, except that he married her in Egypt and that she stood by him through thick and thin and gave him 16 sons. There is no record that Saladin ever took on the four wives allowed by Islam. It is evident that his campaigns were a personal sacrifice, since he had to leave his wife and children for long spells, and it was well known that nothing pleased him more than sitting in the cool gardens of his palace in Damascus, playing with his younger children. His eldest son, al-Afdal, became one of his principal lieutenants, but there is more than one hint in the chronicles that his favorite was his third eldest, al-Zahir.
If Saladin was an unusual sovereign, he was a more unusual—even unique—general. In addition to his talents as commander, strategist and planner, Saladin was chivalrous to a fault, a trait that made him famous in the West.
Although he could be inflexible when the occasion demanded, he genuinely disliked bloodshed. In fact, the only stain on his record was the execution of about 300 knights of the two main military orders, the Templars and the Hospitalers, at Tiberias a few months before he captured Jerusalem. And even that act when considered in the context of those unsettled times, was no awful crime. When the crusaders first occupied Jerusalem in 1099 they killed thousands, including women and children. When Saladin recaptured the city, there was no killing and no desecration of holy places, and Christian pilgrims were allowed free access to their places of worship.
The Sultan, far from becoming drunk with power, seemed to feel that his new responsibilities demanded more and more restraint. At the famous siege of Acre several years later the most colorful of Saladin's adversaries, Richard the Lion Hearted, violated an agreement and slaughtered the city's entire 3,000-man garrison. Saladin apparently forgave Richard this villainy: during a later skirmish in front of Jaffa, Richard's horse was killed under him and Saladin sent him a steed to replace it, with the message: "It is not right that so brave a warrior should have to fight on foot."
Saladin always preferred negotiation and diplomacy to fighting. War to him was a necessary means of reaching certain objectives—a last resort when arbitration had failed. Over-lenience to his enemies and a somewhat naive faith in their oaths were considered faults, and he repeatedly found himself in difficulties because of his efforts to wage a humane war. Although he was pictured in the West as the death knell of Christendom and its worst enemy, he appeared to have a two-level approach to the Christians. He never wavered in his zeal to drive the Franks out of the Holy Land and restore the banner of Islam over Jerusalem. But when dealing with individual Christians he showed respect and even admiration for their beliefs, as can be seen in his decision not to tear down the Church of the Holy Sepulchre but, on the contrary, to allow priests to hold prayers there and receive pilgrims from across the sea.
Saladin was especially chivalrous towards women and children. Once he was besieging a castle near Aleppo and after protracted and costly efforts, managed to capture it. Then, a little girl, the sister of Aleppo's ruler, came to his camp and Saladin received her with gifts and kindness. As all little girls will, she asked for one thing more: the castle which he had just captured. Without a moment's pause, Saladin gave her the fortress which had cost him a siege of 38 days.
During one of his periodic attacks on the Castle of Kerak, Saladin learned there was a wedding party underway inside. He politely inquired in which wing it was being held, and then directed his catapults elsewhere. (The bride sent out cakes and other samples from the wedding feast.) After the capture of Jerusalem, the widow of his treacherous enemy, Reginald of Chatillon, asked Saladin to release her imprisoned son. He agreed, providing she ordered the garrison of Kerak to surrender the castle, which had so far remained out of his grasp. To show his good faith, Saladin released the prisoner and returned him to his mother—in advance. The widow failed to persuade the garrison to surrender, and sent her son back to Saladin. When the garrison of Kerak was finally starved into surrendering, Saladin returned the son to his mother, and to top it all rewarded the garrison for its bravery in fighting without its commander: he bought back their wives and children from the Bedouin of the area who had taken them in exchange for food.
Although he was supreme commander of the Muslim armies, which at times counted up to 70,000 men, he was often overruled in the councils of war by his officers and had to bow to their will. Such free discussion gave scope for initiative, and Saladin was always open to suggestions. A humble coppersmith from Damascus once came forward and claimed he had discovered a chemical compound which could destroy the supposedly fireproof Frankish siege-towers near the walls of Acre. Saladin allowed the young man to try out his discovery, and sure enough, to the surprise of the Franks, the discovery—a preparation of naphtha--brought the towers down.
Besides providing a focal point for Islam at a time when it was threatened from without and within, Saladin helped his people in more fundamental ways. He encouraged the establishment of institutes of higher learning in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. He also set up courts of law. Unlike other potentates, before and since, Saladin did not set himself above the law. A merchant once filed a lawsuit against the Sultan, claiming Saladin had seized the property of a former slave of his on the pretext that the slave actually belonged to him. The merchant produced documents in support of his claim, and demanded that Saladin give back the property. If AI-Malik al-Nasir al-Sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub were not the man he was, the merchant would have disappeared from the face of the earth for such seeming impudence. But Saladin hired a lawyer and himself appeared in court, where he sat beside the merchant and testified that the slave had always belonged to him until he had been freed, and that therefore the property had passed on to his heirs. Then the lawyer took over and produced witnesses who proved the merchant's documents were forgeries, and the merchant lost the case.
Saladin, as usual, took pity on the defeated. He gave the merchant a robe and enough money to cover the expenses of the trial and his journey home—just to show there were no hard feelings.
After peace with the Franks was achieved Saladin gave up plans for a pilgrimage to Mecca to turn his attention to affairs of state which had been neglected during the wars. This champion of Islam never had the supreme satisfaction of performing the hajj to Mecca, which countless thousands of his subjects had been able to enjoy, thanks to his protection.
When all the accounts of the Sultan's life and times are weighed, it seems that in his own sphere of activity, Saladin was a man of real greatness, with nothing Low or vain or petty about him. All his life he had impressed others by his example and even his enemies the crusaders (who often praised him) could console themselves that they had been vanquished by no ordinary adversary.
Saladin's epitaph might well have been his parting words to al-Zahir shortly before his death. "I commend thee to Almighty God," he said, placing his hand on his son's head. "He is the source of all good. Do the Will of God, which is the Way of Peace. Beware of bloodshed; de not trust in that, for spilled blood never sleeps. Strive to gain the hearts of thy subjects and watch over all of their interests, for thou art appointed by God and by me to look after their welfare. I have become as great as I am because I have won the hearts of men by gentleness and kindness. Never nourish ill feeling toward any man, for Death spares none. Be prudent in thyself. God will pardon the penitent, for He is gracious."
Source: english.islammessage.com
Urban went Comnenus one better. At the Council of Clermont in France in November, 1095, in what historian Philip Hitti has called "probably the most effective speech in history," he not only rallied troops to save Constantinople but set in motion a series of "holy wars" to free the Holy Land and Jerusalem from 400 years of Muslim rule. They were wars that would later be called Crusades and which would call forth onto the stage of medieval history some of that period's most remarkable figures, One of them, a hero to both Islam and Christianity, was Al-Malik al-Nasir al-Sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin.
By the time Saladin made his appearance, Urban's exhortations had succeeded beyond his most extravagant hopes. The crusaders had saved Constantinople, conquered the Holy Land, and had ruled what they called the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem for 70 years. The crusaders being a tiny minority in a sea of hostile Muslims, their rule was not an easy one. On the other hand, with Islamic power fragmented among the Seljuk-dominated caliph of Baghdad, the rival Fatimids of Cairo and a semi-independent warlord in Syria called Nur al-Din, crusader rule also seemed permanent.
Saladin, son of a high-ranking Kurdish officer in Nur al-Din's army, was an Arab by culture, language and inclination. Born in Tikrit, Iraq, in 1138, he was called Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Yusuf son of Ayyub) but later assumed the additional name of Salah al-Din (Rectifier of the Faith). From these beginnings, he became one of the few Muslims of the times famous enough to win a westernized version of their names. The crusaders, and later all of Europe, shortened Salah al-Din to Saladin—the name under which he was later romanticized in the West in countless poems and legends.
Late in the year 1168, Saladin took part in an expedition commanded by his uncle and sent to Egypt by Nur al-Din to head off a Frankish take-over. Nur's soldiers eluded the Franks and entered Cairo as liberators. Saladin's uncle died two months later and in March, 1169, Saladin, at 31, was appointed Sultan of Egypt.
Two years later, the last Fatimid caliph died and Saladin founded his own dynasty, the Ayyubids. Using Egypt as a power base, he also began the long task of unifying Islam in order to fulfill his vow.
There followed an 18-year period during which Saladin put his Egyptian base in order, his two chief rivals—King Amalric of Jerusalem and his erstwhile suzerain, Nur al-Din—died, and Saladin unified the country between the Nile and the Tigris under his rule. This was a period of sporadic clashes with the forces of the Leper King, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and his successor, King Guy of Lusignan, of truces almost invariably broken by the Franks and restored, thanks to Saladin's legendary tolerance. But open warfare was carefully avoided. Then, in 1186, the treacherous Reginald of Chatillon, bandit-knight and master of the Castle of Kerak in Jordan, who had previously made it known that he intended to conquer Mecca itself, attacked a large caravan traveling through the desert beneath his mountain eyrie. For Saladin this was the last straw. He proclaimed a holy war against the crusaders and vowed to kill Reginald with his own hand.
On July 4, 1187, a vast force under Saladin's banner defeated the Frankish army in the battle of the Horns of Hattin—in which Saladin struck down the captured Reginald as promised. Then on October 2, almost 90 years after the first crusaders took the Holy City, came the supreme moment of Saladin's career—the capture of Jerusalem.
This momentous event, however, sent ripples of indignation across Europe and brought on the Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion Hearted and King Philip II of France. Five years later, after a period of battles, sieges, counter-sieges and diplomatic negotiations, Saladin and Richard signed a peace treaty under which the Muslims kept Jerusalem and the interior and the crusaders were permitted to retain, for a short while longer, their tenuous hold on the coastal towns. Saladin, having fulfilled his oath, withdrew to Damascus where, at the age of 55, he died, already a hero and soon to be a legend.
It seems that Saladin was a slender man of medium height with a dark complexion, dark hair, eyes and beard, and a rather melancholy expression. He had tremendous endurance and simple tastes in food. He liked fresh fruit and sherbet, drank barley-water when he was suffering, and enjoyed boiled rice. When not in the field he liked nothing better than an evening surrounded by scholars, friends and poets, discussing theology and law or listening to readings of the Koran, which if well rendered could move him to tears. He kept a small book in his pocket in which he wrote down quotations from his favorite authors, and he would often read aloud from it to illustrate a point in his conversation. Saladin liked chess, but his favorite pastime was polo—largely because it involved horses. Horses were his weakness and he offered them frequently as special gifts. He could reel off the pedigree of an Arabian mare without a moment's hesitation.
Although Saladin had all the wealth of Egypt and Syria at his disposal, the trappings of power had no attraction for him. When he became supreme ruler of Egypt after the death of the Fatimid caliph, for instance, he preferred a small simple house to the caliph's fabulous palace (4,000 rooms, a 120,000-volume library and sackfuls of jewels). Knowing that others liked ostentation, however, he gave away most of the contents of the palace.
Unlike the colorfully-dressed crusaders, Saladin usually wore a simple wool or linen cloak. As a youth, as a concession to the treachery that lurked behind every Egyptian curtain, he wore a coat of mail under his robes. His personal retinue—loyal men who were willing to die for him, and often did—followed his example. In his later years he wore a padded coat while on horseback to keep off the chill.
In contrast to the deference shown to other autocrats, there was no need to fawn in Saladin's presence. Ignoring protocol, he commanded loyalty by his personal bearing and example, his gentle character and his magnanimity. During audiences for example, the jostling petitioners often trod on the very cushion where the Sultan sat smiling.
More important, perhaps, was his relationship with his officers and principal emirs. During one long tour of inspection, his friend Baha al-Din, who later wrote a history of Saladin, was riding in front of the Sultan and inadvertently splashed mud all over him, ruining his clothes. "But he only laughed and refused to let me go behind," the historian related. Discussion was free and unrestrained by any need for flattery. At one officers' meeting the Sultan asked for a drink but nobody paid any attention. He had to repeat his request several times, a secretary recounted, before he was served. For his followers to have felt so free in his presence, Saladin must have inspired a trust which was unthinking.
Little is known about Saladin's wife, except that he married her in Egypt and that she stood by him through thick and thin and gave him 16 sons. There is no record that Saladin ever took on the four wives allowed by Islam. It is evident that his campaigns were a personal sacrifice, since he had to leave his wife and children for long spells, and it was well known that nothing pleased him more than sitting in the cool gardens of his palace in Damascus, playing with his younger children. His eldest son, al-Afdal, became one of his principal lieutenants, but there is more than one hint in the chronicles that his favorite was his third eldest, al-Zahir.
If Saladin was an unusual sovereign, he was a more unusual—even unique—general. In addition to his talents as commander, strategist and planner, Saladin was chivalrous to a fault, a trait that made him famous in the West.
Although he could be inflexible when the occasion demanded, he genuinely disliked bloodshed. In fact, the only stain on his record was the execution of about 300 knights of the two main military orders, the Templars and the Hospitalers, at Tiberias a few months before he captured Jerusalem. And even that act when considered in the context of those unsettled times, was no awful crime. When the crusaders first occupied Jerusalem in 1099 they killed thousands, including women and children. When Saladin recaptured the city, there was no killing and no desecration of holy places, and Christian pilgrims were allowed free access to their places of worship.
The Sultan, far from becoming drunk with power, seemed to feel that his new responsibilities demanded more and more restraint. At the famous siege of Acre several years later the most colorful of Saladin's adversaries, Richard the Lion Hearted, violated an agreement and slaughtered the city's entire 3,000-man garrison. Saladin apparently forgave Richard this villainy: during a later skirmish in front of Jaffa, Richard's horse was killed under him and Saladin sent him a steed to replace it, with the message: "It is not right that so brave a warrior should have to fight on foot."
Saladin always preferred negotiation and diplomacy to fighting. War to him was a necessary means of reaching certain objectives—a last resort when arbitration had failed. Over-lenience to his enemies and a somewhat naive faith in their oaths were considered faults, and he repeatedly found himself in difficulties because of his efforts to wage a humane war. Although he was pictured in the West as the death knell of Christendom and its worst enemy, he appeared to have a two-level approach to the Christians. He never wavered in his zeal to drive the Franks out of the Holy Land and restore the banner of Islam over Jerusalem. But when dealing with individual Christians he showed respect and even admiration for their beliefs, as can be seen in his decision not to tear down the Church of the Holy Sepulchre but, on the contrary, to allow priests to hold prayers there and receive pilgrims from across the sea.
Saladin was especially chivalrous towards women and children. Once he was besieging a castle near Aleppo and after protracted and costly efforts, managed to capture it. Then, a little girl, the sister of Aleppo's ruler, came to his camp and Saladin received her with gifts and kindness. As all little girls will, she asked for one thing more: the castle which he had just captured. Without a moment's pause, Saladin gave her the fortress which had cost him a siege of 38 days.
During one of his periodic attacks on the Castle of Kerak, Saladin learned there was a wedding party underway inside. He politely inquired in which wing it was being held, and then directed his catapults elsewhere. (The bride sent out cakes and other samples from the wedding feast.) After the capture of Jerusalem, the widow of his treacherous enemy, Reginald of Chatillon, asked Saladin to release her imprisoned son. He agreed, providing she ordered the garrison of Kerak to surrender the castle, which had so far remained out of his grasp. To show his good faith, Saladin released the prisoner and returned him to his mother—in advance. The widow failed to persuade the garrison to surrender, and sent her son back to Saladin. When the garrison of Kerak was finally starved into surrendering, Saladin returned the son to his mother, and to top it all rewarded the garrison for its bravery in fighting without its commander: he bought back their wives and children from the Bedouin of the area who had taken them in exchange for food.
Although he was supreme commander of the Muslim armies, which at times counted up to 70,000 men, he was often overruled in the councils of war by his officers and had to bow to their will. Such free discussion gave scope for initiative, and Saladin was always open to suggestions. A humble coppersmith from Damascus once came forward and claimed he had discovered a chemical compound which could destroy the supposedly fireproof Frankish siege-towers near the walls of Acre. Saladin allowed the young man to try out his discovery, and sure enough, to the surprise of the Franks, the discovery—a preparation of naphtha--brought the towers down.
Besides providing a focal point for Islam at a time when it was threatened from without and within, Saladin helped his people in more fundamental ways. He encouraged the establishment of institutes of higher learning in Cairo, Damascus and Jerusalem. He also set up courts of law. Unlike other potentates, before and since, Saladin did not set himself above the law. A merchant once filed a lawsuit against the Sultan, claiming Saladin had seized the property of a former slave of his on the pretext that the slave actually belonged to him. The merchant produced documents in support of his claim, and demanded that Saladin give back the property. If AI-Malik al-Nasir al-Sultan Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub were not the man he was, the merchant would have disappeared from the face of the earth for such seeming impudence. But Saladin hired a lawyer and himself appeared in court, where he sat beside the merchant and testified that the slave had always belonged to him until he had been freed, and that therefore the property had passed on to his heirs. Then the lawyer took over and produced witnesses who proved the merchant's documents were forgeries, and the merchant lost the case.
Saladin, as usual, took pity on the defeated. He gave the merchant a robe and enough money to cover the expenses of the trial and his journey home—just to show there were no hard feelings.
After peace with the Franks was achieved Saladin gave up plans for a pilgrimage to Mecca to turn his attention to affairs of state which had been neglected during the wars. This champion of Islam never had the supreme satisfaction of performing the hajj to Mecca, which countless thousands of his subjects had been able to enjoy, thanks to his protection.
When all the accounts of the Sultan's life and times are weighed, it seems that in his own sphere of activity, Saladin was a man of real greatness, with nothing Low or vain or petty about him. All his life he had impressed others by his example and even his enemies the crusaders (who often praised him) could console themselves that they had been vanquished by no ordinary adversary.
Saladin's epitaph might well have been his parting words to al-Zahir shortly before his death. "I commend thee to Almighty God," he said, placing his hand on his son's head. "He is the source of all good. Do the Will of God, which is the Way of Peace. Beware of bloodshed; de not trust in that, for spilled blood never sleeps. Strive to gain the hearts of thy subjects and watch over all of their interests, for thou art appointed by God and by me to look after their welfare. I have become as great as I am because I have won the hearts of men by gentleness and kindness. Never nourish ill feeling toward any man, for Death spares none. Be prudent in thyself. God will pardon the penitent, for He is gracious."
Source: english.islammessage.com
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baaz
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Abdur-Rahaman ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah alee Baaz (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Bāz), also known as Bin Baaz, was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.
Youth
Ibn Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1909 to a family with a reputation for their interest in Islam. His father died when he was only three, placing a big responsibility on his mother to raise him. When asked about his childhood, the sheikh said: “my father died when I was three years old, and I only had my mother who took care of me and educated me encouraging me to learn more about Sharia; she also died when I was twenty six.” By the time he was thirteen he had begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal in supporting his family, he still found time to study the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafsir. In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after being afflicted with a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was twenty, he had totally lost his sight and become blind.
Education
At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern, sophisticated university system. However, Ibn Baaz managed to learn a great deal through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his association with different scholars whom he learned from. These include: 'Abdullaah bin Fayreej whom he studied the Qura'n with at an early age and memorized it and read it to him.
• Muhammad ibn Zayd, the chief judge in the Eastern region.
• Raashid ibn Saalih al-Khunayn.
• 'Abdul-Lateef ibn Muhammad ash-Shudayyid.
• 'Abdullaah bin 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Kimar
• 'Abdullaah bin Qu'ood.
• Saalih ibn Hussayn al-'Iraaqee.
• 'Abdul-Rahmaan al- Warraaq.
• The Mufti of his time, Muhammad ibn Ibraheem ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh. Ibn Baaz studied under this scholar for ten years. He had studied all the branches of Sharee'ah from him during the years 1927 until 1938.
• Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ibn Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hassan ibn ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
• Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Ateeq, the chief judge of Riyadh at the time.
• Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Baaz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
• Sa’ad Waqqaas al-Bukhaaree, one of Mecca’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.
• Saalih ibn 'Abdul-Azeez ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hasan ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhaab, one of the judges in the city of Riyadh.
Career
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:
• The judge of Al Kharj district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh from 1938 to 1951.
• Held a teaching position in Riyadh at the Ma'had al-'Ilmee in 1951
• In 1951 after spending fourteen years in al-Kharj as a judge, he was transferred to Riyadh where he became a teacher in the Riyadh Institute of Science and taught in the Faculty of Sharia from 1961 to .
• In 1961 he was appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
• In 1970 he became the Chancellor of the University upon the death of Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh and he remained chancellor until 1975.
• In 1975 a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the rank of Minister.
• In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars and was granted presidency of the administration for scientific research and legal rulings.
• President of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatawa.
• President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the World Muslim League.
• President of the Higher World League Council.
• President of the Islaamic Fiqh Assembly based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the Higher Council of the Islamic University of Medina.
• Member of the Higher Committee for Islaamic Da'wah in Saudi Arabia.
Over the years, he held a large number of positions as president or member of various Islamic councils and committees, and chaired a number of conferences both within Saudi Arabia and overseas, in addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa. In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.
Death
On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Baaz died at the age of 90 whilst prostrating in prayer. The next day, following Friday prayer, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Bin Baaz's death.
Source: wikipedia
Youth
Ibn Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1909 to a family with a reputation for their interest in Islam. His father died when he was only three, placing a big responsibility on his mother to raise him. When asked about his childhood, the sheikh said: “my father died when I was three years old, and I only had my mother who took care of me and educated me encouraging me to learn more about Sharia; she also died when I was twenty six.” By the time he was thirteen he had begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal in supporting his family, he still found time to study the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafsir. In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after being afflicted with a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was twenty, he had totally lost his sight and become blind.
Education
At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern, sophisticated university system. However, Ibn Baaz managed to learn a great deal through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his association with different scholars whom he learned from. These include: 'Abdullaah bin Fayreej whom he studied the Qura'n with at an early age and memorized it and read it to him.
• Muhammad ibn Zayd, the chief judge in the Eastern region.
• Raashid ibn Saalih al-Khunayn.
• 'Abdul-Lateef ibn Muhammad ash-Shudayyid.
• 'Abdullaah bin 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Kimar
• 'Abdullaah bin Qu'ood.
• Saalih ibn Hussayn al-'Iraaqee.
• 'Abdul-Rahmaan al- Warraaq.
• The Mufti of his time, Muhammad ibn Ibraheem ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh. Ibn Baaz studied under this scholar for ten years. He had studied all the branches of Sharee'ah from him during the years 1927 until 1938.
• Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ibn Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hassan ibn ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
• Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Ateeq, the chief judge of Riyadh at the time.
• Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Baaz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
• Sa’ad Waqqaas al-Bukhaaree, one of Mecca’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.
• Saalih ibn 'Abdul-Azeez ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hasan ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhaab, one of the judges in the city of Riyadh.
Career
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:
• The judge of Al Kharj district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh from 1938 to 1951.
• Held a teaching position in Riyadh at the Ma'had al-'Ilmee in 1951
• In 1951 after spending fourteen years in al-Kharj as a judge, he was transferred to Riyadh where he became a teacher in the Riyadh Institute of Science and taught in the Faculty of Sharia from 1961 to .
• In 1961 he was appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
• In 1970 he became the Chancellor of the University upon the death of Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh and he remained chancellor until 1975.
• In 1975 a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the rank of Minister.
• In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars and was granted presidency of the administration for scientific research and legal rulings.
• President of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatawa.
• President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the World Muslim League.
• President of the Higher World League Council.
• President of the Islaamic Fiqh Assembly based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the Higher Council of the Islamic University of Medina.
• Member of the Higher Committee for Islaamic Da'wah in Saudi Arabia.
Over the years, he held a large number of positions as president or member of various Islamic councils and committees, and chaired a number of conferences both within Saudi Arabia and overseas, in addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa. In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.
Death
On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Baaz died at the age of 90 whilst prostrating in prayer. The next day, following Friday prayer, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Bin Baaz's death.
Source: wikipedia
Ahmad Deedat
He is a Muslim Scholar with more then 5 decades of experience, amazingly he has more knowledge of Christianity then Islam and due to this, any Christian missionary thinks 100 times before debating with him. He with exact
Born in the
The most significant of these was in 1936 where he worked at a Muslim owned store near a Christian seminary on the
As fate would have it, Ahmad Deedat looked impatiently in the store of his Muslim owner to find any book that is interesting, by pure chance he found out a book entitled Izharal-Haq, meaning the Truth revealed. This book recorded the techniques and enormous success of the efforts of Muslims in
Armed with this new found zeal, Ahmed Deedat purchased his first Bible and began holding debates and discussions with the trainee missionaries. When they beat a hasty retreat in the face of his incisive counter arguments, he personally called on their teachers and even priests in the surrounding areas. These successes spurred Ahmed Deedat in the dirrection of Da’wah. Not even his marriage, birth of Children and a 3 year sojourn to
With missionary zeal to project the Truth and beauty of Islam, Ahmed Deedat immersed himself into a host of activities over the next three decades. He conducted classes on Bible studies and gave numerous lectures. He established the As-Salaam, an institute to train propagators of Islam. He, together with his family, almost single-handedly erected the buildings including the masjid which is still a landmark today.
He was a founder member of the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI) and became its President, a position he still holds today. He has published over 20 books and distributed millions of copies free of charge. He has delivered thousand of lectures all over the world and successfully engaged Christian Evangelists in public debates. Several thousand people have come into the fold of Islam as a result of these efforts Due to his extensive knowledge of Christianity many of Christian Scholars with whom he debated have converted.
He is also popular due to his very humorous way of explaining Religion.
In a fitting tribute to this monumental achievement, he was awarded the King Faisal International award in 1986, a prestigious recognition of enormous value in the world of Islam.
No number of awards and honors can truly capture the man’s essence and zeal for Islam. This anthology of books is no exception. It demonstrates Sheikh Deedat’s analytical compilations drawn from personal encounters and experiences against Christian distortions.
In 1996 Sheikh Ahmed Deedat suffered from a serious stroke and since then was unable to move or speak. Please pray to Allah (swt) for his health and well being.
On the 8th of August 2005 / 2 Rajab 1426, Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat passed on yo meet his creator. This was After succumbing to asevere stroke that left him paralysed for More than nine years.
To commemorate the passing away of this world renowned personality the IPCI held a tribute to its founder & president the late Sheikh Ahmed Deedat on Saturday, 20 August 2005 at the
At the the event some were moved to tears when an on screen 15 minute visual presentation on the life and times of Sheikh Deedat concluding with his Janazah.
The full part of this one hour documentary is available from the IPCI on the life of this icon of the muslim world, Marhoom Sheikh Ahmed Hoosen Deedat.
His life and times should be an example that muslims should emulate. The IPCI has received approximately one thousand messages of condolences both nationally and internationally.at the Saturday afternoon event, message of condolences were read out from hrh Prince Khalid Al Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz, Dr Ahmed Totonji, Dr Zakir Naik, Professor Ali Mazrui amongst, mayor of Durban Obed Mlaba & many others.
Present at the function were the ambassadors of
source: famousmuslim.com
HARUN YAHYA
Adnan Oktar, who writes his books under the pen-name "Harun Yahya", is an idealist person who devoted his entire life to share his views on the existence and unity of God and the graces of the Quranic morals with other people. Starting from his university years, he has spent every moment of his life, serving to this cause and never dreaded facing difficulties. There has been several campaigns of persecution against Mr. Oktar because of his faith and ministry. He has been arrested many times, kept in custody, tortured by Turkish authorities for many months,
Below, you will find the brief biography of Adnan Oktar, whose works you will find on website listed at the end of the page.
Adnan Oktar was born in 1956 in Ankara and spent his life in Ankara until the end of high school. His commitment to Islam got even more steadfast during high school years. Reading various religious books during this period, he gained profound knowledge about Islam. Moreover, he himself grasped important facts and decided to share these with the people surrounding him. In 1979, Adnan Oktar moved to Istanbul to attend Mimar Sinan University. It was by this time that he undertook the mission to call people to the faith and morals of Islam.
Years in Mimar Sinan University
By the time Adnan Oktar entered Istanbul Mimar Sinan University, the school was already under the influence of various illegal Marxist organizations and militantly atheistic views were prevalent in the university. Everyone, be him a faculty member or a student, was a materialist adhering to the atheist way of thinking. Indeed, instructors took every opportunity to propagate the materialistic philosophy and Darwinism in their lectures albeit irrelevant with their topic.
In an environment where each and every religious and moral value was disrespected and outright rejected, Adnan Oktar started to call the people around him to the unity and existence of God. As may be understood, under such circumstances, any theistic idea was not given an opportunity to gain ground. As Mediha Oktar, his mother, relates, during that period he only had a few hours sleep each night, spending his time reading, taking notes and keeping files. He read hundreds of books, including the basic works on Marxism, communism and materialistic philosophy and thoroughly studied the books on secular ideologies, both classical works and rarely-read ones. He worked on them, marking the significant sections and taking notes at the back. He became highly knowledgeable about these philosophies and ideologies, far better than their own advocates. He also made extensive research on the evolutionary theory, the allegedly scientific basis of these ideologies, and gathered documents and information about it.
Having gathered ample information on deadlocks, contradictions and lies inherent in these philosophies and ideologies based on the rejection of God, Mr. Oktar used this accumulation to tell the facts. He told the existence and unity of God and the truth of the Qur'an in the light of rational and scientific evidence almost to everyone, including the students and instructors in the university. In the course of a conversation in the school cafeteria, on the corridors or during breaks, one could see him refuting the materialist philosophy and Marxism, quoting from these ideologies' own reference books.
He particularly gave emphasis to the theory of evolution, i.e. Darwinism. This theory, advanced against the fact of creation, was widely adopted by university students.
His First Booklet on Darwinism
With this purpose in mind, Adnan Oktar primarily concentrated his efforts on proving the invalidity of this deception. As Darwinism was advanced in the name of science, he thought science would serve as the best means to disclose its fallacy. He wrote a booklet titled The Evolutionary Theory, which was a summary of his extensive researches and studies. He, himself, paid all costs of this booklet by selling some of the estates he inherited from his family. Then, he started distributing free copies of this booklet to university students and discussed it with anyone he met. This booklet was indeed a comprehensive work revealing that the evolution theory was a fraud which had no scientific and rational value whatsoever. Furthermore, some militant students at the university were straightforwardly threatening Oktar stating that he would put his life to risk if he did not stop his activities. Yet, all these pressures and threats made Oktar even more committed and resolute.
In a university under the Marxists' domination where terror was reigning, the religious people were harassed because of their beliefs. At that time in Turkey, many young people were murdered because of the ideological tension. Under such circumstances, Adnan Oktar was openly preaching the existence and the unity of God, and the righteousness of the Qur'an. In a school where people never dared to disclose their faith, he regularly went to the Molla Mosque and fulfilled his prayers, never being intimidated the reactions and threats he encountered.
The Anxiety of the Atheist Instructors
Adnan Oktar always entered the lectures with scientific documents and research files he always kept with him and had discussions with the instructors about the materialist philosophy and the evolutionary theory. At that time, there were two well-known faculty members who were continuously talking about evolution and making atheist propaganda. Thus, they were popular among Marxist students and earned their respect. However, their desperate efforts to defend their ideas throughout the discussions they had with Adnan Oktar, and the illogical answers they provided revealed the futile and unrealistic nature of their ideologies.
One day after the lecture, one of these instructors made a brief, yet efficient discussion about the deadlocks of the evolutionary theory with Adnan Oktar. This person could bring no reasonable explanation and answer to the scientific and rational arguments provided by Adnan Oktar. All he could do was to leave that place immediately.
However, that he met such a defeat before the very eyes of the students was what most distressed him. From that time on, this person, who used to wander around the corridors and hold serious lengthy philosophical conversations with his students after the lectures, started to hastily run to his room all alone to avoid Adnan Oktar.
Alone for Three Years
Adnan Oktar was alone when he started communicating Islam at Mimar Sinan University. For more than three years, there was no one supporting his views. However this lack of support did not change his commitment. He knew that God was his sole Companion and he did all this to earn the good pleasure of God.
Adnan Oktar made a remarkable exam score in the entrance exams of the Mimar Sinan University. He had an exceptional ability in drawing. If it was what his goal, he could easily have a degree in fine arts and make a brilliant career. He could normally think, "First let me make my career and then I can start communicating Islam"; but he didn't. He devoted all his time, energy and means to only one purpose.
Having no support throughout these years, Adnan Oktar could simply think his efforts to be vain and simply give up. But he did not. With determination and commitment, he continued to convey the words of God to people around him. Keeping in mind the words of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, "The skill is not to have many listeners but to earn the good pleasure of God", he went on.
In 1982, for the first time, a few young people who were new at Mimar Sinan University, decided to support Mr. Oktar in his ideological struggle. As months and years passed by, the number of young people embracing the same views increased. The evidence for creation, the invalidity of Marxism and materialist philosophy, which was then a dominant ideology, were the major subjects of Adnan Oktar's conversations with these young people. His main ambition was to guide them in being honorable people. From 1982 to 1984, a group of 20-30 young people was formed.
During the two years following 1984, conversations held with young people, who were then attending private high schools in Istanbul, were about moral values. During these years, Oktar did not attend Mimar Sinan University. He enrolled to a new faculty, Istanbul University, Philosophy Department.
His name appeared in Nokta (The Point) magazine for the first time in 1986 and this was the first time he became to be known by the general public.
First impression in the press
The news about Adnan Oktar appeared as the cover story of Nokta (The Point) magazine after the visit of Rusen Cakir, a correspondent for the Nokta (The Point) magazine, to the mosque where Adnan Oktar gathered with his friends and held conversations. The story published under the headline "Disciples from Colleges" covered basically Adnan Oktar and the way he communicated the message of Islam to the young people who shared his ideas. During this period, many university students, mostly from Bosphorus University, one of the most prestigious universities of Turkey, started to participate in the conversations of Adnan Oktar.
Until the beginning of the summer of the same year, press organs made a full coverage of Adnan Oktar almost everyday. Many newspapers carried his name to the headlines. Adnan Oktar, who spread the message of Islam into the section of society which seemed to be the most secularized, was understandably startling for the media.
The First Persecution
The powers in the Turkish society who are at odds with Islam, which are traditionally organized under the banner of Freemasonry, were greatly disturbed by the ministry led by Adnan Oktar. On the other hand, some distinguished families of Istanbul were concerned about their children who changed their way of living and started to observe their religious duties. Essentially these two factors initiated a campaign of persecution to halt the activities of Adnan Oktar.
In the summer of 1986, Adnan Oktar was arrested for a crime he never had the chance to know. As was related later, he was arrested because of his words "I am from the nation of Abraham and Turkish ethnicity." This statement appeared in an interview which was published in a newspaper. This was also the time when false reports, unfounded information and slanders started to appear in the media.
Torture in the Mental Hospital
Adnan Oktar was first arrested and imprisoned. Then, he was transferred to Bakirkoy Mental Hospital and placed under observation on the pretext that he was mentally unwell. In the hospital, he was placed in the "14A" ward, a special section where only very dangerous patients who were immune to punishment were kept. Since murders were very ordinary incidents among these mentally sick people, Oktar was expected to be murdered. For a certain period of time, he was chained to bed by his ankles and exposed to cruel treatments. By force, he was given drugs blurring consciousness. Meanwhile, his young friends who had the chance to secretly visit and see him witnessed that he never lost his commitment and enthusiasm in the meanwhile. Moreover, all the things he went through added more to his commitment.
Oktar was held in prison and mental hospital for a total of 19 months and then acquitted and released by the court since his statements were found to be inoffensive. After his release, he saw that during the time he was in the mental hospital, the number of his young supporters increased dramatically. Since visiting him was prohibited they could only see him behind the hospital bars. A few minutes talk they had with Adnan Oktar behind these bars -one could only go to this place by jumping over the hospital fences- made these young people have a profound and everlasting love and respect for him.
Darwinism
Since 1979, the year he started to communicate his views about religion, disclosing the real face of the Darwinism had been the major goal of Adnan Oktar. This subject never lost its importance throughout the years however. The theory of evolution always had priority for Oktar. With resoluteness, he carried out his studies on Darwinism. In 1986, he compiled all his valuable researches on Darwinism in his book Living Beings and Evolution. In the light of scientific sources, this book showed the impasse of the theory of evolution and revealed the fact of creation.
During those years, the friends of Adnan Oktar also concentrated their efforts on the evolutionary theory. They put forth a great effort to tell people the groundless nature of the theory. In colleges and high schools, scientific arguments were carried out among students. This was a total surprise to some instructors blindly attached to Darwinism. In their lifetime, this was the first time they met such students, who were very knowledgeable about the theory. To their surprise, they actually knew more than themselves and defended creation eloquently.
These were actually the preliminary works of the campaign which would be launched in 1998. The goal of the campaign was already set: to eradicate the evolution theory and materialism from the Turkish society.
By the time Adnan Oktar was released in 1988, most of his friends were in the university. Mr. Oktar's efforts to spread the message of Islam and moral values were no longer limited to schools. It was the time when different sections of society were informed about these views. Adnan Oktar and his friends took upon themselves the responsibility to remind young people, who aimed nothing but to make the most of their life, that they will be hold responsible for their acts and thoughts and that they will be ultimately judged in the presence of God. Accordingly, they recommended them to reorient their lives and submit to the Will of God. Indeed, some of those who were indulged in extremes as a way of life abandoned this degenerate life style and became conscientious and responsible people.
The Science Research Foundation
During the two years following his release in 1988, Adnan Oktar laid the ideological basis of the Science Research Foundation which was founded in 1990. He held conversations over moral values with his friends who shared his views. It was during this period that the intellectual groundwork of the Science Research Foundation was shaped by the contribution of Adnan Oktar.
Finally, in January 1990, Adnan Oktar and his young friends founded the Science Research Foundation to carry out their services under the name of an institution and to address to larger masses. Adnan Oktar was declared the Honorary President of the foundation. The Foundation carried out several activities; the members of the foundation published books and conducted cultural studies, held panels, discussions and conferences to cherish and revive moral values.
After the establishment of the foundation, a great police raid was made to a regular meeting in which more than 100 members participated. More than a hundred members were taken into custody and were interrogated by the police. The following day, some newspapers covered the story of this operation as if a big crime ring was caught. Majority of the members were released in 3-4 hours. However the slander campaign launched by the press continued for days. The press wrote incredible scenarios about Adnan Oktar and the members of the foundation. The main purpose of the subjective news was to mislead the security and judicial institutions by these imaginary accusations. Yet all these efforts were in vain. Adnan Oktar who was kept in custody and interrogated for a week was released, as there was no element of crime in the incident. It was evident that the same circles were trying to give a message in their own way.
Cocaine Plot
During 1990, activities of the Science Research Foundation continued with an even stronger determination. In the midst of 1991, two foundation members officially married. However, the families of these young people filed complaints against this marriage. What is more, Adnan Oktar was surprisingly blamed for this ordinary marriage, which had by no means any illegitimate aspect. Accordingly, Adnan Oktar was once again arrested. However, this time, the existence of a more inclusive plot was evident. Officers who broke into the house of Mr. Oktar in Ortakoy where he lived with his mother found a packet of cocaine in a book. There were some thousand books over the bookshelves covering two walls, and the officers found the cocaine in a few minutes as if they had just left it there.
Just after this event Adnan Oktar, who was then in Izmir with a couple of his friends, was arrested. He was then transferred to Istanbul Security Headquarters, where he was detained for 62 hours. After 62 hours, he was sent to Forensic Medicine Institution for a cocaine test. The result was very interesting indeed! Very high doses of a by-product of cocaine were detected in Adnan Oktar's blood!
Yet subsequent evidences proved that this was merely a plot. Firstly, it was found out that the cocaine alleged to be found in Mr. Oktar's house was part of the plot. A short while before this plot, Adnan Oktar felt that a stealthy plan was being hatched against him and left his house in Ortakoy, Istanbul. Then, he called his mother and said that it was likely that a plot was being hatched against him and he wanted his mother to clean and check the house thoroughly with a couple of other people so that they could be witnesses. Upon this, Mr. Oktar's mother Mediha Oktar called one of her neighbors and the doorkeeper and they all together thoroughly cleaned the house, dusted one by one all the books over the bookshelves. Despite the fact that Adnan Oktar had never been at home after this cleaning, 16 police officers raided the flat and suddenly found a "a packet of cocaine" in one of the books. The neighbor of Mediha Oktar and the doorkeeper gave their individual testimonies before the notary public stating "We cleaned Adnan Oktar's books thoroughly one by one; and there was not such a packet there."
The second part of the cocaine plot was the cocaine by-product detected in Adnan Oktar's blood. Scientific and judicial evidences disproved this allegation. Adnan Oktar had been in the Security Headquarters for 62 hours and the test was conducted after 62 hours. Normally, by looking at the amount of the by-product of cocaine detected in the blood, one can scientifically calculate the exact amount of cocaine taken. This calculation can also indicate how many hours ago the cocaine was taken. The dose of the cocaine detected in Adnan Oktar's blood was, however, at a fatal level, had it been taken 62 hours ago. In other words, such a high dose of cocaine would kill him if he had taken it 62 hours ago. This result clearly revealed that the cocaine detected in Adnan Oktar's blood was given to his body during those 62 hours. In other words, he was given cocaine during the time he was detained in the security headquarters. The cocaine was actually mixed to his food when he was under police detainment.
This fact was also confirmed by 30 international forensic medicine institutions, including Scotland Yard. They all examined the file sent to them about the case. Their conclusive view was the following: "Cocaine was mixed to his food when he was under police detainment. The event is a plot. "
The Secluded life of Adnan Oktar
After Mr. Oktar shaped the mission of the Science Research Foundation, he closely monitored the activities of the foundation for an uninterrupted two years and then by 1991, he devoted all his time to work on his books. Especially after the cocaine plot made against him, he retreated into a secluded life in order both to prevent similar plots and assaults and to have time for his books. He spent all his time in his house. He occasionally visited his friends and participated in discussions. He constantly refused to give interviews to newspapers and TV channels despite their insistent requests.
During this time, Adnan Oktar's involvement in the activities of the Science Research Foundation was limited to giving ideas at the stage of laying down the general principles of the foundation. Meanwhile, he was only giving some recommendations to the members of the foundation about the principles of the Qur'an and good manners. This period lasted until November 12, 1999, the day a police operation was conducted against the SRF community.
Communicating Islam to the Prominent People
One of the major goals of Adnan Oktar was to make a radical change in society's firm conviction about religion that "religion is a phenomenon that addresses merely to elderly people or a particular section of society." This conviction utterly hampered the penetration of the Qur'anic truth to a considerable part of society. Those who were to set examples for the young people were homosexuals, forgers, indecent people etc. Degenerate masses, totally bereft of their religious and moral values, were committing themselves to more destruction each day. However, there might be a hope to save majority of these people if they were told the truth.
In order to eliminate this prejudice prevalent in society, Adnan Oktar took the initiative to contact people who could make a "symbolic" impact over society and inform them about moral values. This was why some SRF members contacted celebrities like models, singers and movie stars. This is explained in the press release of the SRF as follows:
Gulay Pinarbasi is a notable example of this spiritual awakening. She was a model before she met the SRF community; but then she decided to change her entire life. Soon she abandoned her old way of living and started a decent life. She devoted all her time to scientific and religious studies and after a while she started her career as a columnist in a conservative newspaper. Meanwhile, some male models who were also impressed by the truths told by the SRF members quit their career and started to reorient all their lives in a totally different way.
Unrelenting Struggle against Darwinism
In early 1998, Adnan Oktar and his friends launched a great intellectual campaign against Darwinism. To start with, thousands of free copies of Adnan Oktar's book, The Evolution Deceit and the booklets based on this book were distributed in every corner of Turkey. The Science Research Foundation started to hold a series of conferences "The Collapse of the Evolution Theory and the Fact of Creation" all around Turkey. The first three of these conferences which were held in Istanbul and Ankara hosted world renowned American scientists as lecturers.
Then similar conferences were held in 120 different cities and towns of Turkey. In these conferences, the SRF members, each an expert in his own field, delivered lectures. The purpose was to scientifically disprove Darwinism, a fallacy propagated under the guise of science, and thus to bring the materialist thought and moral understanding to ruin.
These activities carried out by the Science Research Foundation in the leadership of Adnan Oktar proved to be a great success. People, who were not knowledgeable about the theory of evolution until then, had the opportunity to learn the real truth about the evolutionary theory and the dimensions of the scientific forgery it committed worldwide. Turkish people acknowledged the fact that the education system, based on the indoctrination of the evolutionary theory to the young brains, was a part of the stealthy plan against the social and moral values and our future generations.
Publication of books, organization of conferences, production of videotapes and CDs were the basic activities carried out by the contribution of the Science Research Foundation. These productions were essentially about the scientific invalidity of the evolutionary theory, the ideological background of the theory and the fact of creation.
The books written under the pen name "Harun Yahya" and the productions made by the contribution of the Science Research Foundation include more than 190 books on political, scientific and religious issues, 14 documentaries, dozens of tape-cassettes and interactive CD on the collapse of the theory of evolution and the fact of creation. This collection of high quality works with aesthetic appeal and well-founded content is an important source.
And Pressure Again...
All these committed activities highly annoyed and disquieted some particular centers. With the provocation of materialist centers and Mason circles, they launched a campaign against these activities. The circles in question made declarations like "Conferences held by the Science Research Foundation must absolutely be stopped." The aim was to prevent any scientific study refuting evolution. They were enraged by the deathblow these activities gave to their philosophy they could hardly sustain. Unable to provide any scientific response, they only claimed that these activities had to be stopped as soon as possible. They could not stand the total rebuttal of the theory they were blindly attached to before the very eyes of the Turkish Public. These efforts of Adnan Oktar and his young friends to prove the scientific invalidity of the theory of evolution continued until the fall of 1999. This was exactly the time when the news about the Global Freemasonry, a great book by Harun Yahya in three volumes, spread. All these laid the ground for the greatest police operation of the Turkish Republic.
Surely Adnan Oktar was not openly accused of "inviting people to the true path of God, reminding them God, religion and the good morals of Islam, and standing against materialism, disbelief and immorality."
By November 12, 1999, some media organs, which had enmity against Adnan Oktar, employed their usual methods to produce groundless slanders, scenarios and lies. Inconceivable lies and slanders appeared in the press every day, all of which, interestingly, contradicted with one another.However, as Adnan Oktar always states, they, too, have inevitably submitted themselves to the Will of God and, albeit unknowingly, they perform the duty assigned to them in the best manner possible since this is what is predestined for them by God.
They are not aware but they actually served to the purposes of Muslims in the sense that Muslims were tested and they earned the good pleasure of God by means of these incidents. Furthermore, by this way, those who tell the truth became apparent so that everyone could recognize them.
In accordance with the verse, "Repel (Evil) with what is better" (Surah Fussilat: 34), Adnan Oktar always has a peaceful and tolerant approach to those who bear enmity against him. He underlines the fact that "The fate God creates is always perfect and there is goodness in all".
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