Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the “founder of Indology”, “Father of Comparative Religion”, “Father of modern geodesy”, and the first anthropologist. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was one of the finest scholars the world has ever produced. He has made immense contributions to the world of science, geography, astronomy, physics and many other fields. His works, along with those of other great scientists, have established the grounds of modern science. Even though he lived in the mediaeval times, his speculations and observations hold good till date. He formulated many mathematical solutions to unsolved problems and even determined the latitudes and longitudes of many regions through his keen observation. He devised a few instruments to help determine certain values such as the radius of earth and the specific gravity of metals. He also had vast knowledge about the culture, customs, literature and religions of different places around the world, since he travelled to various regions along with his patrons. This helped him to write volumes about the places he visited, especially India. These books can be regarded as encyclopaedias about the places, and these are a manifestation of his observant quality, as these books contain minute descriptions of the topics he has dealt with.
He was born in the outer district (Bīrūn) of Kath, the capital of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm (Chorasmia) in Central Asia – now part of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in the northwest of Uzbekistan. Al-Biruni spent the first twenty-five years of his life in Khwarezm where he studied Islamic jurisprudence, theology, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medicine and philosophy and dabbled not only in the field of physics, but also in those of most of the other sciences.
Biruni left his hometown at a young age and he wandered around Persia and Uzbekistan. Then, after Mahmud of Ghazni conquered the emirate of Bukhara, he moved to Ghazni, a town in today’s Afghanistan, which served as the capital of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Biruni is most commonly known through his close association with Mahmood Ghaznavi, a famous Muslim king who also ruled India, and his son Sultan Masood. Impressed by his scholarship and fame, Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi took Biruni along with him on his journeys to India several times. Biruni travelled to many places in India over 20 years, and studied Hindu philosophy, Mathematics, Geography and religion from the Pundits. In return, he taught them Greek and Muslim sciences and philosophy. In his book Tahqiq-i-Hind, he described the social, political, religious and economic condition of India. In his account he highlights choice parts of the Gita, the Upanishads, Patanjali, Puranas, the four Vedas (Check out the types of Vedas and their features), scientific texts (by Nagarjuna, Aryabhata, etc.), relating stories from Indian mythology to make his point.
Alberuni unreservedly praised In­dian philosophy. He was particularly impressed by the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita.
He also compared Indian thought to the Greek thought of Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen and others, and at times with Sufi teaching. His book is a survey of India’s life based on his studies and observations in India between 1017 and 1030.
After deep immersion in Brahmanical texts and society, Alberuni begins with India with several general remarks about the Hindus and their society. Alberuni said a lot about India, the land, its people, its religion, its philosophy, its sciences, and its literature. Let us see Alberuni’s description of India –
Al-Biruni was well versed in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist and linguist. He studied almost all the sciences of his day and was rewarded abundantly for his tireless research in many fields of knowledge. Royalty and other powerful elements in society funded Al-Biruni’s research and sought him out with specific projects in mind. Influential in his own right, Al-Biruni was himself influenced by the scholars of other nations, such as the Greeks, from whom he took inspiration when he turned to the study of philosophy. A gifted linguist, he was conversant in Khwarezmian, Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit, and also knew Greek, Hebrew and Syriac. He spent much of his life in Ghazni, then capital of the Ghaznavids, in modern-day central-eastern Afghanistan. In 1017 he travelled to the Indian subcontinent and wrote a treatise on Indian culture entitled Tārīkh al-Hind (History of India), after exploring the Hindu faith practised in India. He was, for his time, an admirably impartial writer on the customs and creeds of various nations, his scholarly objectivity earning him the title al-Ustadh (“The Master”) in recognition of his remarkable description of early 11th-century India.Ninety-five of 146 books known to have been written by Bīrūnī are devoted to astronomy, mathematics, and related subjects like mathematical geography

Abu Rayhan al-Biruni was one of the finest scholars the world has ever produced. He has made immense contribution to the world of science, geography, astronomy, physics and many other fields. His works, along with those of other great scientists, have established the grounds of modern science. Even though he lived in the medieval times, his speculations and observations hold good till date. He formulated many mathematical solutions to unsolved problems and even determined the latitudes and longitudes of many regions through his keen observation. He devised a few instruments to help determine certain values such as the radius of earth and the specific gravity of metals. He also had vast knowledge about the culture, customs, literature and religions of different places around the world, since he travelled to various regions along with his patrons. This helped him to write volumes about the places he visited, especially India. These books can be regarded as encyclopaedias about the places, and these are a manifestation of his observant quality, as these books contain minute descriptions of the topics he has dealt with.One of his encyclopaedic works is the ‘Tahqiq ma li-l-hind min maqulah maqbulah fi al-aql aw mardhulah’ (Verifying All That the Indians Recount, the Reasonable and the Unreasonable). As the title suggests, it encompasses all the knowledge that al-Biruni had gained about India as a whole like its culture, literature, customs, rituals, religion and science.
Another encyclopaedic work of his which needs to be mentioned is ‘Al-Athar al-baqiyyah an al-qurun al-khaliyyah’ (The Chronology of Ancient Nations). He dedicated this book to Prince Qabus. This book includes details about different cultures around the world.
This great scholar breathed his last in 1048 AD in the Ghazna region, which is presently known as Ghazni, Afghanistan.
In Iran, Abu Rayhan Biruni’s birthday is celebrated as the day of the surveying engineer
After a period in which al-Bīrūnī undertook extensive travels—or rather escapes from wars, and a constant search for patrons—the entire domain of the Sāmānids fell under the brutal reign of Maḥmūd, son of Sebüktigin. Maḥmūd took Ghazna as his capital in 998 and demanded that both al-Bīrūnī and Avicenna join his court. Avicenna managed to escape, but al-Bīrūnī did not, and he worked in Ghazna until the end of his life when he was not accompanying Maḥmūd on his campaigns into northern India. Even though al-Bīrūnī was possibly the unwilling guest of a merciless warrior, he still made use of the occasion to pen the acute observations about India that would earn him fame as an ethnographer, anthropologist, and eloquent historian of Indian science.
An example of Al-Biruni’s analysis is his summary of why many Hindus hate Muslims. Biruni notes in the beginning of his book how the Muslims had a hard time learning about Hindu knowledge and culture.[70] He explains that Hinduism and Islam are totally different from each other. Moreover, Hindus in 11th century India had suffered waves of destructive attacks on many of its cities, and Islamic armies had taken numerous Hindu slaves to Persia, which – claimed Al-Biruni – contributed to Hindus becoming suspicious of all foreigners, not just Muslims. Hindus considered Muslims violent and impure, and did not want to share anything with them. Over time, Al-Biruni won the welcome of Hindu scholars. Al-Biruni collected books and studied with these Hindu scholars to become fluent in Sanskrit, discover and translate into Arabic the mathematics, science, medicine, astronomy and other fields of arts as practiced in 11th-century India
The dispassionate account of Hinduism given by Al-Biruni was remarkable for its time. He stated that he was fully objective in his writings, remaining unbiased like a proper historian should. Biruni documented everything about India just as it happened. But, he did note how some of the accounts of information that he was given by natives of the land may not have been reliable in terms of complete accuracy, however, he did try to be as honest as possible in his writing.[70] Dr. Edward C. Sachau compares it to “a magic island of quiet, impartial research in the midst of a world of clashing swords, burning towns, and plundered temples.”[73] Biruni’s writing was very poetic, which may diminish some of the historical value of the work for modern times. The lack of description of battle and politics makes those parts of the picture completely lost. However, Many have used Al-Biruni’s work to check facts of history in other works that may have been ambiguous or had their validity questioned
Selection of extant works
A Critical Study of What India Says, Whether Accepted by Reason or Refused (تحقيق ما للهند من مقولة معقولة في العقل أو مرذولة); or Indica; or Kitāb al-Hind; Kitab al-Bīrūnī fī Taḥqīq mā li-al-Hind.;[76] or Alberuni’s India (Translation)[77] – compendium of India’s religion and philosophy.
Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (Kitab al-tafhim li-awa’il sina‘at al-tanjim[78]); in Persian
The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (الآثار الباقية عن القرون الخالية) – a comparative study of calendars of cultures and civilizations, (including several chapters on Christian cults)[79] with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information.
Melkite Calendar, or Les Fetes des Melchites – Arabic text with French translation extract from The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries.[80]
The Mas’udi Law (قانون مسعودي) – encyclopedia of astronomy, geography, and engineering, dedicated to Mas’ud, son of Mahmud of Ghazni of the eponymous title.
Understanding Astrology (التفهيم لصناعة التنجيم) – a question and answer style book about mathematics and astronomy, in Arabic and Persian.
Pharmacy – on drugs and medicines.
Gems (الجماهر في معرفة الجواهر) – geology manual of minerals and gems. Dedicated to Mawdud son of Mas’ud.[citation needed]
Astrolabe
A Short History
History of Mahmud of Ghazni and his father
History of Khawarezm
Kitab al-Āthār al-Bāqīyah ‘an al-Qurūn al-Khālīyah.[81][82]
Risālah li-al-Bīrūnī (Epître de Berūnī)[83]
Destructive effects of Mahmud’s invasion –
Mahmud ended the prosperity of India and so cruelly exploited and penalized the people that the Hindus became disgruntled like the dust particles. There came the downfall of Hinduism and the feeling of hatred prevailed in the hearts of remaining Hindus.
Hindus suffer from some defects such as they desire to live in isolation from other countries. They considered the foreigners as untouchable and boycotted them.
The educational centres were subjugated by Mahmud, which led to the disintegration of education. As a result the educational centres were concentrated in Kashmir, Banaras and other places due to their distance from Islamic centres. Political Condition –
The entire country was divided into small states which occasionally used to quarrel among themselves. These states were jealous of each other and constantly engaged in fights against one another. Malwa, Sindh, Kannauj and Kashmir were prominent states among them.
The feeling of nationalism among the Indians was almost absent.