A man of great wisdom with unmatched desire for science

Here are 5 things you need to know about Al Biruni 

1. His full name was Abu Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni.

Born on September 4, 973 CE in Khwarezm, Khorasan (modern-day Uzbekistan,) Al-Biruni studied science tirelessly until his death in 1052 CE.

2. He discovered seven different ways of finding the direction of the north and south, many centuries before the rest of the world, Al-Biruni discussed that the earth rotated on its axis and made accurate calculations of latitude and longitude. These observations are contained in his book "Al-Athar Al-Baqia."

3. Al-Biruni excelled in geometry and arithmetic, he possessed considerable knowledge of algebra too.Besides having expertise in spherical trigonometry, Al-Biruni was an adept in Indian arithmetic. He wrote Rashikat-al-Hind (The Zodiac in India).

4. In a nutshell, Al-Biruni’s works total 146 books,from voluminous anthropology to complex astronomy and astrology; from composite chemistry to comparative sociology; from scientific mathematics to phenomenal physics; and yet more demanding from behavioral psychology to principle philosophy.

5. A crater on the moon has been christened ‘Al-Biruni’, as a mark of tribute to this great scholar.The town where he was born is now named Biruni, in honour of this great scholar.

Al-Biruni was a true Muslim Scientist who benefitted from both the Islamic guidance and scientific investigations. He said: "My experience in the study of astronomy and geometry and experiments in physics revealed to me that there must be a Planning Mind of Unlimited Power. My discoveries in Astronomy showed that there are fantastic intricacies in the universe which prove that there is a creative system and a meticulous control that cannot be explained through sheer physical and material causes."