Abu Rayhan al-Biruni (973-ca. 1050), a Moslem astronomer, mathematician, geographer, and historian, was the most acute interpreter of India to Islam in the Middle Ages. Al-Biruni was born near Kath in Khwarizm (now a part of Uzbekistan) on Sept. 4,...

BĪRŪNĪ, AL- (ah 362–442/973–1051 ce), more fully known as Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī; Muslim scientist and polymath. Among the most brilliant,...

AMBEDKAR, B. R. (1891–1956), statesman, writer, reformer, and creator of a new Buddhist movement in India; member of an untouchable caste. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, affectionately known as Babasaheb, was born in Mhow (now Mahu), India, where his...

973-c. 1050 Arab Mathematician, Astronomer, and Geographer Al-Biruni, sometimes referred to as Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, conducted a great deal of original mathematical and astronomical work, most notably when he collaborated with Abu al-Wafa (940-998) on...

(1891–1956), Indian reformer and statesman. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji (Babasaheb) Ambedkar has two claims to fame. He was India's undisputed untouchable leader of the untouchables, creating a movement that has brought much progress to that...

Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Bīrūnī (September 15 973 in Kath, Khwarezm – December 13 1048 in Ghazni) was a Persian (Tājīk)[1][2][3] Muslim polymath[4] of the 11th century. Biruni was well-known in the Muslim world, but unlike...

[In the essay that follows, originally delivered as a lecture in 1974, Embree considers al-Bīrūnī's contribution to the study of the history of India and claims that his work neither reduces the complexity of Indian civilization to a false simplicity nor loses its clarity in describing a proliferation of beliefs, practices, and events.]

[In the essay that follows, Lawrence contends that al-Bīrūnī's account of Islamic mysticism, specifically Sūfism, exemplifies his approach to knowledge in general—careful observation and documentation in an attempt to comprehend the unfamiliar.]

[In the essay that follows, originally presented at a 1973 conference, Peters discusses al-Bīrūrūni's "literary history" of India which was conceived as a way of providing religious and cultural information for Islamic scholars.]