Biruni University

Who is Biruni?

Al-Biruni, a Turkish-Islamic scholar who shed light on the world of science with the first discoveries and inventions he brought to the field of science in the world, studied subjects such as physics, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, trigonometry, geography, geodesy, pharmacology, geology, philology, religion and created a total of 113 works.

Abu Rayhan Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Biruni h. 3 Dhu al-Hijjah 362 / m. He was born on September 4, 973 in Kas, the center of the Khwarezm region. the exact date of al-Biruni's death is not known. h by researchers today. 453 / m. the date of 1061 is accepted as the date of death of Abu Reyhan Biruni. In addition, Biruni does not give a detailed information about his family, ancestry, relative or ethnic origin in his works.

The First Training is from Abu Nasr Mansur

Al-Biruni, who attracted the attention of the evil eye at a younger age due to his brilliant intelligence, was the famous mathematics and astronomy scholar of the period Abu Nasr Mansur b. 'Ali b. He grew up in the nature of Iraq. Mansur took care that Biruni was brought up and received a good education. As a matter of fact, al-Biruni mentions Ibn Irak as “my teacher” in his work al-Asaru'l-baqiyya. Influenced by the works of the Greek philosophers Aristotle, Archimedes and Democritus, al-Biruni began his scientific studies at the age of 17. He calculated the altitude of the sun and the longitude of the city. From the movements of the sun, he determined when the seasons began. He found the diameter of the Earth to be very close to the present value. He became the founder of the science of geodesy. He argued that trigonometry, which he learned while in India, should be considered a separate science from astronomy. He proposed to use the radius as a unit in trigonometric functions.

Al-Biruni, who started scientific studies from his teenage years, was forced to leave Khwarezm, where he maintained his life until the age of 22, due to a number of political and military upheavals in the Khwarezm region. Al-Biruni, who lived in the Rey region for a while, later returned to the land where he was born again and created his works that would bring him to the top of the history of science.

He has developed many tools and calendar systems

Al-Biruni developed many instruments for astronomy and geography measurements. Unfortunately, many of the measuring instruments he developed have been lost over time. Only a pycnometer, a mechanical astrolabe and some map projections became measuring instruments that have survived to the present day. Al-Biruni was also a very good encyclopedia writer. In his book Al-Asar'il-Baqiye an'il-Quruni'i Khaliya, he showed the calendar systems in use in the Middle and Near East.

He laid the foundation of astronomy

Describing the early medieval sciences of India, he described the basics of mathematics, astronomy and astrology. He wrote a detailed mathematical geography work with the book of al-Qanun al-Masudi. He determined the topography of Central Asia in his book Isthraj al-Awtar fi Dair. Kitabu'i Jamahir fi Ma'rifeti gave detailed information about more than 50 minerals, minerals, metals, alloys, porcelain substances in Cevahir. In his book, he showed the specific gravity of each substance, which serves to distinguish substances from each other. He listed the plants he had studied throughout his life in his book Kitabü's-Saydele and explained in a comprehensive way which natural remedies are good for diseases.

After the seas, there is land!

700 years before Newton, Al-Biruni put forward the first ideas on the theory of gravity, which Newton proved mathematically. As a result of his observations with the telescopes he developed, 600 years before Galileo, who confirmed that the planets revolved around the sun, Al-Biruni defended the idea that the ‘earth rotates’. To the question why, if the earth is spinning, the trees and stones do not spring up, he answered that there is a charm in the center and everything falls into the center of the earth. He predicted that the North, South, East and West meet at different points; that there is a land behind the seas (today's America).

the century was called the "Biruni Century”

and XI. abu Reyhan al-Biruni, who represents the medieval Turkish-Islamic world, is an important figure who has devoted his whole life and existence to science. Georges Sarton, described as the father of modern science, XI. he gave the name of the century “Biruni Century”. As a matter of fact, the world's leading Historian of Islamic Science, Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin, 27-year-old Biruni and 18-year-old Ibn Sina's “Is the speed of light immeasurable, that is, is it la-mutenahi, or is it measurable? So can it be measured over time?” he expresses that his discussions on the subject cannot even happen in today's Turkey. In fact, the words of these two eminent scientists clearly express the place and importance of Biruni during the period in which he lived.

He never stopped learning

The famous Fiqh scholar Abu'l-Hasan al-Velwaleci tells:

“I went to visit Abu Rayhan al-Biruni. He was lying on the sick bed with his heart in his throat, breathing hard. While he was there, he said to me: One day you told me about an equation for calculating the rights of grandmothers in inheritance, how was it? Feeling a little sorry for him, I said: Are you still asking me about them even in this situation? He said: Is it better for me to leave this world knowing about this issue, or is it better to say goodbye without knowing? So I explained the matter to him again. He listened and memorized. Then he told me about the things he was going to do. I left him a little later. I had barely progressed when I heard loud crying and shouting. I turned around and looked, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni had passed away.”

"The Universal Genius Who Lived in Central Asia”

Al-Biruni passed away at the age of 75. He inspired scientists such as Newton, Toricelli, Copernicus, Galileo, who came long after him. The UNESCO Courier magazine, published in 15 languages including Turkish, devoted the issue it published in 1974 to Al-Biruni. He introduced al-Biruni as “the universal genius who lived in Central Asia thousands of years ago”.

Turkish-Islamic scholar al-Biruni, who devoted his whole life to knowledge and learning what he did not know and shed light on the world of science with the first discoveries and inventions he brought to the field of science in the world, has studied subjects such as physics, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, trigonometry, geography, geodesy, pharmacology, geology, philology, religion and has created a total of 113 works. Unfortunately, only a few of these works have survived to this day.