The Torch of Reason by Beruni

At the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Center of Islamic Civilization is being built in the city of Tashkent. This complex is a grand and unique project unprecedented in our history. Today, the magnificent building is rising, and the construction has entered its final stage. To enrich the center’s content based on scientific and innovative approaches, nearly two thousand local and foreign scholars, specialists, and designers are working together. Content is being developed in various forms—models, mock-ups, facsimiles, and scientific-innovative media projects based on the concept of civilizations, historical figures, and discoveries in Central Asia. In particular, the section dedicated to individuals includes the discoveries of Eastern scholars such as Abu Rayhan Beruni, who created the globe, and Ahmad Fergani, who invented the nilometer. For example, the exhibition dedicated to Abu Rayhan Beruni, who made a significant contribution to world science and culture, features his manuscripts, a model of the globe he designed, scientific publications about his life and work, and multimedia materials.

Abu Rayhan Beruni was one of the most renowned scholars of the Eastern Renaissance era. He authored numerous works and treatises on geography, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, geodesy, philology, and other sciences. Beruni was the first in his time to propose that the Earth is spherical and revolves around the Sun, and he calculated the Earth’s radius to be approximately 6,000 kilometers.

For Abu Rayhan Beruni, there were no boundaries between sciences. In his manuscripts, he not only described phenomena but also sought to compare and discover interrelations. His efforts in this interdisciplinary approach to science were exceptionally successful.

“India” is one of Beruni’s masterpieces. The full title of the work is Kitab fi Tahqiq ma li’l-Hind min Ma’qulatin Maqbulatin fi al-‘Aql aw Marzulatin (“The Book Confirming What the Indians Recount, Whether Rational or Irrational”). In this book, the scholar expressed his thoughts on the motion of the Earth. During his research, Beruni was able to determine the existence of the continents of North and South America without ever embarking on a sea voyage—500 years before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. According to researchers, this work is considered a monument to Indian science and culture, and serves as an encyclopedia of the ancient and medieval periods of the country. To write the India treatise, Beruni mastered the Sanskrit language, which opened new paths for his research and helped him acquire extensive knowledge and historical information about India. In the book, he presented a wide range of significant and well-founded information about India’s nature, history, geography, ethnography, culture, sciences, religions, customs, flora and fauna, and peoples. Beruni introduced major changes and innovations to the astronomy of his time. The precision in his writings and scientific research laid the foundation for astronomical works developed in subsequent centuries. According to sources, Beruni began independent observational work at the observatory in Khwarazm at the age of 18, and by the age of 22, he had written his first short treatises. Through his observations, he fully understood that one cannot determine a person's fate based on the positions of the planets, and that such beliefs are far from the truth. For this reason, he thoroughly explained the fallacy of predicting human destiny based on celestial bodies in his book The Art of Deception, also known as The Book of Warning from the Judgments of the Stars.

In the book Lost Enlightenment, authored by American historian, journalist, and renowned researcher Frederick Starr director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in the United States—the development of the history and culture of Central Asia from ancient times to the Timurid period is extensively explored. Based on his research into the life and scientific activity of Abu Rayhan Beruni, the author presents the following observations: “In the field of chemistry, Central Asians achieved accomplishments such as inducing reactions, using crystallization as a method of chemical purification, and measuring specific gravitational forces for application in heavier elements almost as if laying the groundwork for Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table of 1871”. Through this, Frederick Starr describes Abu Rayhan Beruni as a thinker who served as a bridge between ancient Roman and European Renaissance civilizations. In his book, the author deeply analyzes the stages of formation and development of Central Asian civilization, revealing the region’s immense contribution to global science and culture with factual evidence. The work not only unveils the key aspects of the region’s scientific and cultural heritage but also helps readers understand its role in world civilization. It is worth noting that Lost Enlightenment serves as a valuable and essential resource not only for the academic community but also for all readers interested in the history and culture of Central Asia.

At the beginning of this year, facsimile copies of two rare manuscripts directly related to Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage were brought to our country from the Library of Islamic Civilization under the Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. One of these is the work At-Tafhim by the great scholar Abu Rayhan Beruni, a treatise in Persian dedicated to the study of celestial bodies, which was transcribed in 1197. The second manuscript is Shahnameh by Abulqosim Ferdowsi, copied during the medieval period. This manuscript is written in Nastaʿliq script and follows the stylistic tradition of Timurid calligraphy, containing 29 miniatures. These miniatures bear distinctive features of the Kamoliddin Behzod school. The exact place and scribe responsible for copying these manuscripts remain unknown. Reportedly, they were purchased at an auction held in the Netherlands ten years ago and later brought to Malaysia. At that time, the library administration announced that copies of these manuscripts would be handed over to the collection of the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan.

These manuscripts are expected to be displayed in the historical exhibition “Beruni and the World” at the museum of the Center of  Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, which is being enriched through scientific and innovative projects based on the vision of the Head of State. This media project will feature Beruni’s manuscript works, a model of the globe created by the scholar, scientific publications about his life and activity, as well as multimedia materials. Additionally, the “First Renaissance Era” exhibition at the Center will include a model of an invention by Leonardo da Vinci inspired by Beruni’s drawings. This is no coincidence. According to a widely discussed statement by the renowned Italian scientist Mario Taddei, Leonardo da Vinci drew inspiration from Beruni’s sketches in his inventions. This truth is yet another reason for us to take great pride in our ancestors.

It is also worth noting that the model of the globe one of Beruni’s discoveries, which will be featured in the museum exhibition is being created by the Italian company “Magister Art” using scientific and innovative methods in accordance with international standards. In this process, representatives of the foreign company are being provided with accurate and well-founded information, evidence, and data by local scholars.

At the heart of such initiatives to widely promote the legacy of this great scholar lies an undeniable truth: Abu Rayhan Beruni is the torchbearer of the First Renaissance and this torch will never be extinguished.