آموزشی - اطلاع رسانی

In the name of God

Abu Ali al- Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina was a Persian Physician and philosopher. He was born in 980 A.D1. at Afshana near Bukhara which was the capital of the Samanid Dynasty at that time. We know many details of his life for he wrote an autobiography which has been supplemented with material from a biography written by one of his students.

The young Abu Ali received his early education in Bukhara, and by the age of ten had become well versed in the study of the Qoran and various sciences. He started studying philosophy by reading various kinds of Greek, Islamic, and other books on this subject and learnt logic and some other subjects from Abu Abdallah Natili, a famous philosopher of the time. While still young, he attained such a degree of expertise in medicine that his renown spread far and wide. At the age of 17, he was fortunate in curing Nuh Ibn Mansour, the Samanid King, of an illness in which all the well- known physicians had given up hope. On his recovery, the king wished to reward him, but the young physician only desired permission to use his uniquely stocked library.

Ibn Sina wrote about 450 works, of which around 240 have survived. Of the surviving works, 150 are on philosophy while 40 are devoted to medicine, the two fields in which he contributed most. He also wrote on psychology, geology, mathematics, astronomy, and logic.

Ibn Sina’s two most important works are the Book of Healing (the Kitab al-Shifa) and the Canon on Medicine. The first is a scientific encyclopedia covering logic, natural sciences, psychology, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic and music. The second is the most famous single book in the history of medicine. These books were begun while he was in Hamadan.

Ibn Sina also made astronomical observations and we know that some were made at Isfahan and some at Hamadan. He made several correct deductions from his observations. For example, he observed Venus as a spot against the surface of the sun and correctly deduced that Venus must be closer to the Earth than the sun.

In physics, his contribution comprised the study of different forms of energy, heat, light and mechanic, and such concepts as force, vacuum and infinity. He made the important observation that if the perception of light is due to the emission of some sort of particles by the luminous source, then the speed of light must be finite.

Ibn Sina is known to have corresponded with al-Biruni. In a book2, 18 letters which Ibn Sina sent to al-Biruni in answer to questions that he had posed are given. The letters cover topics such as philosophy, astronomy, and physics.

Now, Ibn Sina is seen as promoting natural science and arguing against religious men who attempt to obscure the truth.

* adapted from htt://www.sjsu.edu/depts/Museum/avicen.html

2. I.M Muminov (ed.), al-Biruni and Ibn Sina: Correspondence (Russian) (Tashkent, 1973)

autobiography: a personal account of one’s own life, especially for publication ; story of person’s life written by himself

supplemented: provided

versed: experienced or skilled in; knowledgeable about

various: different

attained: gain, accomplish

expertise: expert, skill, knowledge, or judgment

renown: fame, high distinction

fortunate: lucky, prosperous

given up: renounce o r cease (an activity)

permission: consent, authorization

stocked: filled with items needed

survived: continue to live or exist

devoted: dedicated

contributed: afforded, supplied helped

astronomy: the scientific study of celestial bodies

geometry: the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties and relations of points, lines, surfaces and solids.

deductions: conclusions deduced

comprised: included

due to: because of

emission: the process or an act of emitting

luminous: radiant, bright, shining

corresponded: to communicate by interchange of letters

obscure: make unintelligible, dark, indistinct or obscure ,not well – known ,not clearly seen or understood

1. When Ibn Sina was born, Hamadan was the capital of the Samanid Dynasty.

2. Ibn Sina started his education in Bokhara.

3. He became famous when he died.

4. Only about half of his works are survived.

5. farabee’s works interested ibn sina & encouraged him to study philosophy

6. He made some correct deductions from his astronomical observations.

7. Nuh Ibn mansour mas the samanid king between 997 – 1019 years .

1. Ibn Sina contributed most in ………………………..

a. psychology and medicine c. philosophy and medicine

b. logic d. astronomy

2. Ibn Sina made his astronomical observations in ………………

a. Afshana c. Bukhara

b. Hamadan and Isfahan d. Khormaithan

1. How did Ibn Sina notice the speed of light?

2. What did he infer by observing Venus?

3. How do we know Ibn Sina’s details of life?

1.In physics, his contribution included…………………………………………………

2. One of his famous books is Alshifa which was ………………………………………...