One such scholar was al-Beruni (973-1048; another was Firdausi),
"commissioned" by Mahmud of Ghazni to produce his monumental commentary on
Indian philosophy and culture — Kitab fi
tahqiq ma li'l-hind. "In his search for pure knowledge he is
undoubtedly one of the greatest minds in Islamic history." ♣ Romila Thapar calls him "perhaps the finest intellect of central Asia ...
His observations on Indian conditions, systems of knowledge, social norms,
religion ... are probably the most incisive made by any visitor to India."
Born near modern
Khiva in Uzbekistan,
he possessed "a
profound and
original mind of
encyclopedic scope
... conversant with
Turkish, Persian,
Sanskrit, Hebrew,
and Syriac
(Armenian) in
addition to the
Arabic in which he
wrote. He applied
his talents in many
fields of knowledge,
excelling
particularly in
astronomy,
mathematics,
chronology, physics,
medicine, mineralogy
and history." ♣
Al-Beruni wrote his
work on India to
provide, in his own
words, "the
essential facts for
any Muslim who
wanted to converse
with Hindus and to
discuss with them
questions of
religion, science,
or literature." He
traveled in India
for thirteen years,
observing,
questioning,
studying. The result
was a comprehensive
exposition of Indian
thought and society.
"Not for nearly 800
years would any
other writer match
al-Beruni's profound
understanding of
almost all aspects
of Indian life." ♣
He read the major
Indian religious and
astronomical texts;
in his account he
highlights choice
parts of the
Gita,
the
Upanishads,
Patanjali,
Puranas,
the four
Vedas,
scientific texts (by
Nagarjuna, Aryabhata,
etc.), relating
stories from Indian
mythology to make
his point. He also
compares Indian
thought to the Greek
thought of Socrates,
Pythagoras, Plato,
Aristotle, Galen and
others, and at times
with Sufi teaching.
Here is one of his
observations on the
Hindus of his day:
"The Hindus believe
that there is no
country but theirs,
no nation like
theirs, no kings
like theirs, no
religion like
theirs, no science
like theirs.They are haughty,
foolishly vain,
self-conceited, and
stolid. They are by
nature niggardly in
communicating that
which they know, and
they take the
greatest possible
care to withhold it
from men of another
caste among their
own people, still
much more, of
course, from any
foreigner
...
Their haughtiness is
such that, if you
tell them of any
science or scholar
in Khorasan and
Persis, they will
think you to be both
an ignoramus and a
liar.
If they traveled and
mixed with other
nations, they would
soon change their
mind, for their
ancestors were not
as narrow-minded as
the present
generation is."
His translator,
Edward Sachau,
observes:
"To
al-Beruni the Hindus
were excellent
philosophers, good
mathematicians and
astronomers, though
[out of a certain
self-confidence] he
believes himself to
be superior to them,
and disdains to be
put on a level with
them. He does not
conceal whatever he
considers wrong and
unpractical with
them, but he duly
appreciates their
mental achievements
... and whenever he
hits upon something
that is noble and
grand both in
science and in
practical life, he
never fails to lay
it before his
readers with
warm-hearted words
of approbation.
Speaking of the
construction of the
ponds at holy
bathing-places, he
says: "In this they
have attained a very
high degree of art,
so that our people
(the Muslims), when
they see them,
wonder at them, and
are unable to
describe them, much
less to construct
anything like them."
Al-Beruni records some of the
more
egregious plundering by his boss, Mahmud of Ghazni (esp. at Mathura
and
Somnath); for obvious reasons he doesn't explicitly denounce it though
his text
betrays a definite sense of lament. He does say that Mahmud
"utterly ruined the prosperity of the country",
created a hatred of
Muslims
among the locals, and caused the Hindu sciences to retreat "far
away from
those parts of the country conquered by us" to places "where our
hands
cannot yet reach." Sachau also notes that "he dares not attack
Islam, but
he attacks the Arabs", reproaching the original Arabs for
destroying the civilization of Persia.
Besides
his work on India, "In
his works
on astronomy, he discussed with approval the theory of the
Earth's
rotation on its axis and made accurate calculations of latitude
and
longitude. In those on physics, he explained natural springs by the
laws of
hydrostatics and determined with remarkable accuracy the specific
weight of
18 precious stones and metals. In his works on geography, he
advanced
the daring view that the valley of the Indus had once been a sea
basin. In
religion he was a Shi'ite Muslim, but with agnostic tendencies.
His
poetical works in the main seek to combine Greek wisdom and Islamic
thought." ♣ He also corresponded with the famous philosopher Ibn Sina (Avicenna). A
lunar crater is named after him.
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