Al-Birjandi

Abd al-Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Birjandi (d. 934 AH /1528 CE) prominent 16th century Muslim astronomer, mathematician and physicist who lived in Birjand, Iran.

His works

He wrote some more than 13 books and treatises; [ [http://www.iranica.com/ Encyclopaedia Iranica ] ]

1. Sharh al-tadhkirah (A commentary on al-Tusi's memoir). The text, in some copies of the manuscript from 17th century, is written throughout in black and red ink with diagrams illustrating many of the astronomical elements discussed. [ [http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=105223 The Institute of Ismaili Studies - The Calligraphic Tradition in Islam ] ] The 11th chapter of the book was translated to Sanskrit in 1729 at Jaipur by Nayanasukhopadhyaya. Kusuba and Pingree present an edition of the Sanskrit, and in a separate section, an English translation facing the Arabic original. That chapter has attracted attention among European scholars since the late 19th century. [ [http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9789004124752 Powell's Books - Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Science, #47: Arabic Astronomy in Sanskrit Arabic Astronomy in Sanskrit: Al-Birjand? on Tadhkira II, Chapter 11 and Its Sanskrit Tranal-Birjand? on Tadhkira II, Cha by Takanori Kusuba ] ] Al-Birjandi on Tadhkira II, Chapter 11, and Its Sanskrit Translation by Kusuba K. and Pingree D. ISBN 9789004124752 was published in 2001 by Brill Academic Publishers.

2. Sharh-i Bist Bab dar Ma'rifat-i A'mal-i al-Asturlab (Commentary on "Twenty Chapters Dealing with the Uses of the Astrolabe" of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi; Persian. [ [http://www.library.yale.edu/neareast/exhibit2007.htm Manuscript Exhibition 2007 ] ]

3. Risalah fi Alat al-Rasad (Epistle on observational instruments); Arabic

4. Tadhkirat al-Ahbab fi Bayan al-Tahabub (Memoir of friends: concerning the explanation of friendship [of numbers] ); Arabic.

He also wrote some treatises on theology.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

In Islamic astronomy and astrophysics, al-Birjandi continued Ali al-Qushji's debate on the Earth's rotation. In his analysis of what might occur if the Earth were rotating, he develops a hypothesis similar to Galileo Galilei's notion of "circular inertia", [Harv|Ragep|2001b|pp=63-4] which he described in the following observational test (as a response to one of Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi's arguments):

Notes

References

*Harvard reference
last=Ragep
first=F. Jamil
year=2001a
title=Tusi and Copernicus: The Earth's Motion in Context
journal=Science in Context
volume=14
issue=1-2
pages=145–163
publisher=Cambridge University Press
*Harvard reference
last=Ragep
first=F. Jamil
year=2001b
title=Freeing Astronomy from Philosophy: An Aspect of Islamic Influence on Science
journal=Osiris, 2nd Series
volume=16
issue=Science in Theistic Contexts: Cognitive Dimensions
pages=49-64 & 66-71

ee also

*List of Iranian scientists and scholars
*Islamic science
**Islamic astronomy
*List of Muslim scientists
**List of Muslim astronomers