05-02-2003, 05:11 AM
Ibn Al-Haitham (354-430 A.H. / 965-1039 A.D.)
His Birth and Early Life:
His name is Al-Hasan Abu `Ali Muhammad bin Al-Hasan bin Al-Haitham.
- He was born in Basra, Iraq.
- He was one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists and the founder of optics.
- He worked in a governmental body in Iraq.
- Later, he devoted himself to research and study.
- He studied philosophy and anatomy and was well versed in the latter, especially that of the eye.
His Journey to Egypt:
- Once he said: “If I had been in Egypt, I would have performed a project that will allow the Egyptians to make use of the Nile letting aside any shortage in its water. Knowing this, the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim summoned him and he did travel to Egypt. When he saw the river sources, he realized that he could not do what he intended. In sadness, he returned to Egypt where he worked in a governmental body.
Ibn Al-Haitham spent the rest of his life in Cairo, writing and copying references. Each year, he would scribe copies of Euclid’s Elements in geometry and Ptolemy’s Almagest in astronomy, sell them and live on their revenue throughout the whole year.
- Ibn Al-Haitham was famous everywhere and he was known for abundant knowledge and many writings.
- He excelled in many fields, including:
- Geometry
- Philosophy
- Logic
- Medicine
- Astronomy
- The top of his achievements was in the filed of optics; he was the first to accurately describe the parts of the eye and the process of vision. He aborted the Greek theory of vision that objects are seen by rays of light emanating from the eyes; according to him the rays originate in the object of vision and not in the eye.
- He discovered the laws of refraction and reflection and the relation between the angle of the light fall and its refraction.
- He carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent colors.
- He studied various physical phenomena like shadows, eclipses, rainbow, and the physical nature of light.
- His research in catoptrics centered on spherical and parabolic mirrors and spherical aberration.
- He also discussed the theories of attraction between solid matters, and their acceleration due to gravity.
- He also pointed to the first law of mechanics.
- He left a list of books in different fields: mathematics, astronomy, optics, medicine and anatomy.
- His famous books include:
- Kitab Al-Manazhir (seven volumes)
- Musadarat Iqlidis
- Hall Shukuk Iqlidis
- Taqwim Al-Sina`ah Al-Tibbiyah
- Tashrih Al-`Ain wa Kaifiyat Al-Ibsar
- He wrote many treatises and essays, including:
- Misahat Al-Mujasiym Al-Mukafi’ Al-`Adad wa Al-Mujassam
- Muqaddimat Dil` Al-Musabba`
- Tarbi` Al-Da’irah
- Istikhraj Adlu` Al-Muka`ab
- `Ilal Al-Hisab Al-Hindi
- Al-Tahlil wa Al-Tarkib
Quotations:
- “So long as I live, I shall exert my efforts aiming at three things:
First: to benefit the seekers of truth in my life and after my death
Second: I have made this endeavor in order to prove the conception formed in my mind regarding these sciences
Third: to be an asset on which I rely when I am old”
[/color:00251b4cd8]