ALBIRUNI A MUSLIM SCHOLAR IN MINING SCIENCE REALM

Satya Permana 12120012

A Short Story

Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni Rahimahullah, is one of the most influential Muslim scholars from Persia who lived from 973 to 1048 AD. Al-Biruni spent most of his life in Central Asia and India. During his life, Al-Biruni was the expert in various branches of discipline such as history, physics, mathematics, astronomy, linguistic, religion, and geography.

Journey of Life

Al-Biruni was born in 973 in the Northeastern part of Persia, in Khorasan Province to be precise. Just like other kids at his time, he was taught since young age Arabic, Persian, basic Islamic sciences, and natural sciences, where eventually he was interested in mathematics and astronomy and this led him to be a well-known and influential scholar in the world, particularly in mining realm.

During his journey in pursuing sciences, he met Sultan Mahmud, a ruler of Ghazni, a large town located in modern Afghanistan. Sultan Mahmud’s kingdom stretched exceeding the modern Afghanistan’s borders that included Iran, Pakistan, and India. It was in this large kingdom that Al-Biruni had the resources and ability to show what he was capable of doing as a scholar. In an attempt to maintain his power and hegemony, Sultan Mahmud began his military expedition to

India, in which Al-Biruni participated and it was during this expedition that he came in contact with various lessons in India, particularly its geography.

Invention in Mining Realm

In addition to being expert in history and culture of India, Al-Biruni also managed to see and identify geographical variations from their original sources thanks to the expedition. Upon analyzing the various types of soil particles in Gangga River from their sources up to the Bay of Bengal, Al-Biruni successfully formulated a theory on erosion and how soil was formed and the role that water played in this process.

In his study, he found ancient fossils of sea animals in mountains that disconnected India from all parts of the world. From his finding, he concluded that it was impossible for snails from the deepest sea to travel thousands of miles to land to reach the mountain feet. It was from this that Al-Biruni arrived at a conclusion that at a certain point of time the Himalayan Mountains were once the bottom of the sea and it moved to its current point after millions of years. This study directly provided a knowledge in the current modern era on tectonic plate and how the continents moved and shifted from time to time.

Al-Biruni also pioneered the sciences in geology thanks to his success in collecting, analyzing, and compile hundreds of metals and gems. He managed to describe their qualities, how they were made, and where they could be found. His work on gems had been a standard to understand precious stones for hundreds of years and it continued to develop until now. Al-Biruni surprisingly laid the basics of the one oldest discipline related to earth physical environment. In his book entitled Al-Jawahir or Book of Precious Stones, Al-Biruni explained various minerals. He classified every mineral by their colors, odor, hardness, compactness, and weight.

Al-Biruni also continued this amazing achievement until the early 1000s. He studied how wells and sources of water brought water to the surface, to make it possible to apply it in mining hydrogeology. Also, he combined statics and dynamics into a mechanic study which is now a branch of physics on the movement working on objects and the effect of force produced particularly in relation to earth and soil which was eventually applied in mining geotechnical.

For 75 years of his life, Al-Biruni had managed to revolt many scientific traditions. When he died in 1048, he had written more than 100 books, most of which had unfortunately been missed. His intelligence and mastery of various disciplines and his ability to combine them gave birth to better understanding as per their functions. This also makes him one of the greatest Muslim scholars of all time.

References:

Ajram, K. (1992). The Miracle of Islamic Science. Cedar Rapids, IA: Knowledge House Publishers.

Dallal, A. (2010). Islam, Science, and the Challenge of History. New Haven & London: Yale University Press.

Hadi, N. (2016). Al-Biruni, Profil Ilmuan Muslim Yang Luar Biasa. Cerita Kisah Cinta Penggugah Jiwa - Cerita Kisah Cinta Penggugah Jiwa: Kisah Para Nabi, Rasul, Orang Shaleh, Umat Terdahulu, Dan Masa Depan. Retrieved from https://kisahmuslim.com/5631-al-biruni-profililmuan-muslim-yang-luar-biasa.html

Khan, M. (2008). The Muslim 100. Leicestershire, United Kingdom: Kube Publishing Ltd.

Morgan, M. (2007). Lost History. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Sasongko, A. (2018). Ilmuwan Muslim Pemerhati Dunia Pertambangan. Republika Online. Retrieved from https:// republika.co.id/share/p691ep313

The Book Most Comprehensive In Knowledge on Precious Stones (Kitab-al-Jamahir Fi Ma’rifat Al-Jawahi). Source: https://kitaabun.com/

Contributor: Muhammad Alif Zahrandika

12119036