Abu’l-Rayhan Muhammad B. Ahmad Al-Biruni was the most original brilliant scholar of his times, known as al-Ustadh, “The Master”. He was distinguished in mathematics, astronomy, geography, history, chronology, physical and natural sciences. His 180 writings range from brief treatises on a specific subject to major works that encompass a wide field of knowledge.
Al-Biruni was born in an Iranian family in Kath, the capital of Khwarizm, on the southern shores of the Aral Sea. Until he was twenty-five years old, he remained in Khwarizm, where he studied with masters such as the mathematician, Abu Nasr Mansur b. `Ali b.`Irak Djilani and corresponded with Ibn Sina. Thereafter he traveled widely, taught and wrote. His mother tongue was Persian, but he wrote his scientific works in Arabic. In a work on medicinal drugs, he said he exceeded 80 lunar years of age. Al-Biruni probably died in Ghazna around 442/1050.
