SOURCE: "Abu-Rayhan Bīrūnī, A Lover of Truth," in Bīrūnī Symposium, Iran Center, 1976, pp. 13-26.

[In the following essay, originally presented at a 1973 symposium, Youssefl argues that al-Bīrūnīsis distinguished within the context of the Islamic Renaissance for the independence and originality of his thought, as well as for his rigorous attention to scientific objectivity.]

Abu-Reyhān Bīrūnī (362/973-440/1048) is known as a mathematician, astronomer, natural and social scientist, and physicist, and he is also famous as a chronologist, historian and geographer. At the same time he was a very thorough investigator of several great religions and their customs. Jalāl Homāyi has said that he is unparalleled as a scholar in the Islamic world.¹ His numerous works, numbering about 180,² present to the reader the vast domain of his knowledge. But the topic of this article is only one aspect...