SHEIK AL RAEES BU ALI SINA.(Avicenna)
Avicenna
SHEIK AL RAEES BU ALI SINA-
THE GREAT AVICENNA
Name : Bu Ali Sina
Title : Sheik al Raees
Born : Safar 370 H At : Bukhara
Died : 4 Ramadan 428 H At : Hamadan
Age : 58 years
Biography
Early life
Avicenna was born c. 980 in Afšana, a village near Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan), the capital of the Samanids, a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan. His mother, named Setareh, was from Bukhara; his father, Abdullah, was a respected Ismaili scholar from Balkh, an important town of the Samanid Empire, in what is today Balkh Province, Afghanistan. His father worked at the government of Samanid in the village Kharmasain. After five years, his younger brother, Mahmoud, was born. Avicenna first began to learn the Quran and literature in such a way that when he was ten years old he had essentially learned all of them.
A number of theories have been proposed regarding Avicenna's madhab. Medieval historian Ẓahīr al-dīn al-Bayhaqī (d. 1169) considered Avicenna to be a follower of the Brethren of Purity. On the other hand, Dimitri Gutas along with Aisha Khan and Jules J. Janssens demonstrated that Avicenna was a Sunni Hanafi. However, Shia faqih Nurullah Shushtari and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, in addition to Henry Corbin, have maintained that he was most likely a Twelver Shia.Also Sharaf Khorasani, According to rejecting invitation of Sunni Governor Sultan Mahmoud Ghazanavi by Avicenna, believes that Avicenna was a Shiite besides that His Family were Ismaili Shiite. Similar disagreements exist on the background of Avicenna's family, whereas some writers considered them Sunni, more recent writers thought they were Shia.
According to his autobiography, Avicenna had memorised the entire Quran by the age of 10. He learned Indian arithmetic from an Indian greengrocer,ءMahmoud Massahi and he began to learn more from a wandering scholar who gained a livelihood by curing the sick and teaching the young. He also studied Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) under the SunniHanafi scholar Ismail al-Zahid. Avicenna taught some extent of philosophy books such as Introduction (Isagoge)'s Porphyry (philosopher), Euclid's Elements, Ptolemy's Almagest by an unpopular philosopher, Abu Abdullah Nateli, who claimed philosophizing.
As a teenager, he was greatly troubled by the Metaphysics of Aristotle, which he could not understand until he read al-Farabi's commentary on the work. For the next year and a half, he studied philosophy, in which he encountered greater obstacles. In such moments of baffled inquiry, he would leave his books, perform the requisite ablutions, then go to the mosque, and continue in prayer till light broke on his difficulties. Deep into the night, he would continue his studies, and even in his dreams problems would pursue him and work out their solution. Forty times, it is said, he read through the Metaphysics of Aristotle, till the words were imprinted on his memory; but their meaning was hopelessly obscure, until one day they found illumination, from the little commentary by Farabi, which he bought at a bookstall for the small sum of three dirhams. So great was his joy at the discovery, made with the help of a work from which he had expected only mystery, that he hastened to return thanks to God, and bestowed alms upon the poor.
He turned to medicine at 16, and not only learned medical theory, but also by gratuitous attendance of the sick had, according to his own account, discovered new methods of treatment. The teenager achieved full status as a qualified physician at age 18, and found that "Medicine is no hard and thorny science, like mathematics and metaphysics, so I soon made great progress; I became an excellent doctor and began to treat patients, using approved remedies." The youthful physician's fame spread quickly, and he treated many patients without asking for payment.
Adulthood
Ibn Sina's first appointment was that of physician to the emir, Nuh II, who owed him his recovery from a dangerous illness (997). Ibn Sina's chief reward for this service was access to the royal library of the Samanids, well-known patrons of scholarship and scholars. When the library was destroyed by fire not long after, the enemies of Ibn Sina accused him of burning it, in order for ever to conceal the sources of his knowledge. Meanwhile, he assisted his father in his financial labors, but still found time to write some of his earliest works.
The Book of Healing (Arabic: کتاب الشفاء Kitab Al-Shifaʾ, Latin: Sufficientia) is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) from ancient Persia, near Bukhara in Greater Khorasan.Despite its English title, it is not concerned with medicine. Also called The Cure it is intended to "cure" or "heal" ignorance of the soul. This book is Ibn Sina’s major work on science and philosophy. He probably began to compose the al-Shifa in 1014, completed it around 1020, and published it in 1027.The book is divided into four parts: logic, natural sciences, mathematics (aquadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music), and metaphysics. It was influenced by ancient Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, Hellenistic thinkers such as Ptolemy, earlier Persian and Muslim scientists and philosophers such as Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Al-Farabi (Alfarabi) and Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī.
When Bu Ali Sina’s adoption of the True Faith became well kown to the people, Mahmud Ghaznavi too learnt that he was a follower of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s). But Bu Ali Sina was the least worried. He was ready to sacrifice his life for the love of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s)!
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| A drawing of Avicenna from 1271. |
When Ibn Sina was 22 years old, he lost his father. The Samanid dynasty came to its end in December 1004. Ibn Sina seems to have declined the offers of Mahmud of Ghazni, and proceeded westwards to Urgench in modern Turkmenistan, where the vizier, regarded as a friend of scholars, gave him a small monthly stipend. The pay was small, however, so Ibn Sina wandered from place to place through the districts of Nishapur and Merv to the borders of Khorasan, seeking an opening for his talents. Qabus, the generous ruler of Tabaristan, himself a poet and a scholar, with whom Ibn Sina had expected to find asylum, was on about that date (1012) starved to death by his troops who had revolted. Ibn Sina himself was at this time stricken by a severe illness. Finally, at Gorgan, near the Caspian Sea, Ibn Sina met with a friend, who bought a dwelling near his own house in which Ibn Sina lectured on logic and astronomy. Several of Ibn Sina's treatises were written for this patron; and the commencement of his Canon of Medicine also dates from his stay in Hyrcania.
Ibn Sina subsequently settled at Rey, in the vicinity of modern Tehran, the home town of Rhazes; where Majd Addaula, a son of the last Buwayhid emir, was nominal ruler under the regency of his mother (Seyyedeh Khatun). About thirty of Ibn Sina's shorter works are said to have been composed in Rey. Constant feuds which raged between the regent and her second son, Shams al-Daula, however, compelled the scholar to quit the place. After a brief sojourn at Qazvin he passed southwards to Hamadãn where Shams al-Daula, another Buwayhid emir, had established himself. At first, Ibn Sina entered into the service of a high-born lady; but the emir, hearing of his arrival, called him in as medical attendant, and sent him back with presents to his dwelling. Ibn Sina was even raised to the office of vizier. The emir decreed that he should be banished from the country. Ibn Sina, however, remained hidden for forty days in sheikh Ahmed Fadhel's house, until a fresh attack of illness induced the emir to restore him to his post. Even during this perturbed time, Ibn Sina persevered with his studies and teaching. Every evening, extracts from his great works, the Canon and the Sanatio, were dictated and explained to his pupils. On the death of the emir, Ibn Sina ceased to be vizier and hid himself in the house of anapothecary, where, with intense assiduity, he continued the composition of his works.
Meanwhile, he had written to Abu Ya'far, the prefect of the dynamic city of Isfahan, offering his services. The new emir of Hamadan, hearing of this correspondence and discovering where Ibn Sina was hiding, incarcerated him in a fortress. War meanwhile continued between the rulers of Isfahan and Hamadãn; in 1024 the former captured Hamadan and its towns, expelling the Tajik mercenaries. When the storm had passed, Ibn Sina returned with the emir to Hamadan, and carried on his literary labors. Later, however, accompanied by his brother, a favorite pupil, and two slaves, Ibn Sina escaped from the city in the dress of a Sufi ascetic. After a perilous journey, they reached Isfahan, receiving an honorable welcome from the prince.
Later life and death
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| Gravestone of Avicenna,Hamedan, Iran |
The remaining ten or twelve years of Ibn Sīnā's life were spent in the service of the Kakuyid ruler Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, whom he accompanied as physician and general literary and scientific adviser, even in his numerous campaigns.
During these years he began to study literary matters and philology, instigated, it is asserted, by criticisms on his style. A severe colic, which seized him on the march of the army against Hamadan, was checked by remedies so violent that Ibn Sina could scarcely stand. On a similar occasion the disease returned; with difficulty he reached Hamadan, where, finding the disease gaining ground, he refused to keep up the regimen imposed, and resigned himself to his fate.
His friends advised him to slow down and take life moderately. He refused, however, stating that:I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length". On his deathbed remorse seized him; he bestowed his goods on the poor, restored unjust gains, freed his slaves, and read through the Quran every three days until his death. He died in June 1037, in his fifty-eighth year, in the month of Ramadan and was buried in Hamadan, Iran.
Other Contributions.
Chemistry
Ibn Sīnā used distillation to produce essential oils such as rose essence, forming the foundation of what later became aromatherapy.
Unlike, for example, al-Razi, Ibn Sīnā explicitly disputed the theory of the transmutation of substances commonly believed by alchemists:
Four works on alchemy attributed to Avicenna were translated into Latin as:
- Liber Aboali Abincine de Anima in arte Alchemiae
- Declaratio Lapis physici Avicennae filio sui Aboali
- Avicennae de congelatione et conglutinatione lapidum
- Avicennae ad Hasan Regem epistola de Re recta
Liber Aboali Abincine de Anima in arte Alchemiae was the most influential, having influenced later medieval chemists and alchemists such as Vincent of Beauvais. However Anawati argues (following Ruska) that the de Anima is a fake by a Spanish author. Similarly the Declaratio is believed not to be actually by Avicenna. The third work (The Book of Minerals) is agreed to be Avicenna's writing, adapted from the Kitab al-Shifa (Book of the Remedy). Ibn Sina classified minerals into stones, fusible substances, sulfurs, and salts, building on the ideas of Aristotle and Jabir. The epistola de Re recta is somewhat less sceptical of alchemy; Anawati argues that it is by Avicenna, but written earlier in his career when he had not yet firmly decided that transmutation was impossible.
Astronomy and astrology
Avicenna wrote an attack on astrology titled Resāla fī ebṭāl aḥkām al-nojūm, in which he cited passages from the Quran to dispute the power of astrology to foretell the future. He believed that each planet had some influence on the earth, but argued against astrologers being able to determine the exact effects.
Avicenna's astronomical writings had some influence on later writers, although in general his work could be considered less developed than Alhazen or Al-Biruni. One important feature of his writing is that he considers mathematical astronomy as a separate discipline to astrology. He criticized Aristotle's view of the stars receiving their light from the Sun, stating that the stars are self-luminous, and believed that the planets are also self-luminous. He claimed to have observed Venus as a spot on the Sun. This is possible, as there was a transit on May 24, 1032, but Avicenna did not give the date of his observation, and modern scholars have questioned whether he could have observed the transit from his location at that time; he may have mistaken a sunspot for Venus. He used his transit observation to help establish that Venus was, at least sometimes, below the Sun in Ptolemaic cosmology, i.e. the sphere of Venus comes before the sphere of the Sun when moving out from the Earth in the prevailing geocentric model.
He also wrote the Summary of the Almagest, (based on Ptolemy's Almagest), with an appended treatise "to bring that which is stated in the Almagest and what is understood from Natural Science into conformity". For example, Avicenna considers the motion of the solar apogee, which Ptolemy had taken to be fixed.
Poetry
Almost half of Ibn Sīnā's works are versified. His poems appear in both Arabic and Persian. As an example, Edward Granville Browne claims that the following Persian verses are incorrectly attributed to Omar Khayyám, and were originally written by Ibn Sīnā:
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine remained a medical authority for centuries. It set the standards for medicine in Medieval Europe and the Islamic world, and was used as a medical textbook through the 18th century in Europe. It is still used in Unani medicine, a form of traditional medicine practiced in India.
The Book of Healing
The Book of Healing (Arabic: کتاب الشفاء Kitab Al-Shifaʾ, Latin: Sufficientia) is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abū Alī ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) from ancient Persia, near Bukhara in Greater Khorasan.Despite its English title, it is not concerned with medicine. Also called The Cure it is intended to "cure" or "heal" ignorance of the soul. This book is Ibn Sina’s major work on science and philosophy. He probably began to compose the al-Shifa in 1014, completed it around 1020, and published it in 1027.The book is divided into four parts: logic, natural sciences, mathematics (aquadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music), and metaphysics. It was influenced by ancient Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle, Hellenistic thinkers such as Ptolemy, earlier Persian and Muslim scientists and philosophers such as Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Al-Farabi (Alfarabi) and Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī.Other Books of Avicenna.
Circumstances
Ibn Sina created an extensive corpus of works during what is commonly known as the Islamic Golden Age, in which the translations of Greco-Roman, Persian, and Indian texts were studied extensively. Greco-Roman (Mid- and Neo-Platonic, and Aristotelian) texts translated by the Kindi school were commented, redacted and developed substantially by Islamic intellectuals, who also built upon Persian and Indian mathematical systems, astronomy, algebra, trigonometry and medicine. The Samanid dynasty in the eastern part of Persia, Greater Khorasan and Central Asia as well as the Buyid dynasty in the western part of Persia and Iraq provided a thriving atmosphere for scholarly and cultural development. Under the Samanids, Bukhara rivaled Baghdad as a cultural capital of the Islamic world.
The study of the Quran and the Hadith thrived in such a scholarly atmosphere. Philosophy, Fiqh and theology (kalaam) were further developed, most noticeably by Avicenna and his opponents. Al-Razi and Al-Farabi had provided methodology and knowledge in medicine and philosophy. Avicenna had access to the great libraries of Balkh, Khwarezm, Gorgan, Rey,Isfahan and Hamadan. Various texts (such as the 'Ahd with Bahmanyar) show that he debated philosophical points with the greatest scholars of the time. Aruzi Samarqandi describes how before Avicenna left Khwarezm he had met Al-Biruni (a famous scientist and astronomer), Abu Nasr Iraqi (a renowned mathematician), Abu Sahl Masihi (a respected philosopher) and Abu al-Khayr Khammar (a great physician).
Theology
Avicenna was a devout Muslim and sought to reconcile rational philosophy with Islamic theology. His aim was to prove the existence of God and His creation of the world scientifically and through reason and logic. Avicenna's views on Islamic theology (and philosophy) were enormously influential, forming part of the core of the curriculum at Islamic religious schools until the 19th century. Avicenna wrote a number of short treatises dealing with Islamic theology. These included treatises on the prophets (whom he viewed as "inspired philosophers"), and also on various scientific and philosophical interpretations of the Quran, such as how Quranic cosmology corresponds to his own philosophical system. In general these treatises linked his philosophical writings to Islamic religious ideas; for example, the body's afterlife.
There are occasional brief hints and allusions in his longer works however that Avicenna considered philosophy as the only sensible way to distinguish real prophecy from illusion. He did not state this more clearly because of the political implications of such a theory, if prophecy could be questioned, and also because most of the time he was writing shorter works which concentrated on explaining his theories on philosophy and theology clearly, without digressing to consider epistemological matters which could only be properly considered by other philosophers.
Later interpretations of Avicenna's philosophy split into three different schools; those (such as al-Tusi) who continued to apply his philosophy as a system to interpret later political events and scientific advances; those (such as al-Razi) who considered Avicenna's theological works in isolation from his wider philosophical concerns; and those (such as al-Ghazali) who selectively used parts of his philosophy to support their own attempts to gain greater spiritual insights through a variety of mystical means. It was the theological interpretation championed by those such as al-Razi which eventually came to predominate in the madrasahs.
Avicenna memorized the Quran by the age of ten, and as an adult, he wrote five treatises commenting on suras from the Quran. One of these texts included the Proof of Prophecies, in which he comments on several Quranic verses and holds the Quran in high esteem. Avicenna argued that the Islamic prophets should be considered higher than philosophers
Stories related to SHEIK AL RAEES BU ALI SINA.
PERSONS SEE THE PROPHET (SAW) IN THEIR DREAM.
Then we have anther incident reported by Sheik Bahai in his book “Kashkool”. A Momin used to pass by the grave of Bu Ali Sina in Hamadan. The person used to offer prayers for the persons buried in the grave yard, but he never prayed for Bu Ali Sina thinking that he didn’t die on the Right Faith!One night the person slept and saw the Prophet (SAW) in his dream. He saw Bu Ali Sina sitting near the Prophet (SAW). The person was much surprised to seeBu Ali in the company of the Prophet (SAW). He told to the Prophet (SAW) that Bu Ali Sina wasn’t following the Right Path and why he was allowed to be so close to the Prophet (SAW)? The Prophet (SAW) gave only one reply to the person, “O person, despite your ignorance you know that the faith of the persons following only Six Imams (a.s) isn’t right. Then how is it possible that the erudite, learned, Bu Ali Sina wouldn’t recognize the True Faith?”
HIS BELIEF IN HAZRAT ALI (A.S) & HIS WAY OF LIFE.
Bu Ali Sina had composed a quartet which says that Allah has written the name of Ali (a.s) on every human face twice in an inverted manner.. He said the Arabic alphabet “Ain”---the first alphabet in Ali (a.s)’s name, is the eye. The straight bone of the nose is the alphabet “Laam’---the second alphabet in Ali (a.s)’s name. He said that the eye-brows are like the alphabet “Yaa- the third and last alphabet in Ali (a.s)’s name. If you write Ali in Arabic and look at it, it would look like the human face! Bu Ali Sina was the first to come up with this idea.
This was the peak of his love for the Ahl al Bayt (a.s). But his early life was spent as a Ismaili, then he turned to the Zaidiya beliefs. He was deeply engrossed in philosophy and logic. But sometimes these disciplines take a person astray. There was a time when he manifested an attitude of infidelity in his behavior. The Ulema of all the schools declared him an infidel at one time! But ultimately dawned the day when he became the follower of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s) and followed the Right Path till his death! Although he wasn’t an Alim of the Faith, he was a scholar in his own rights. He knew that without practicing the Faith, there will not be any meaning in his love for the Ahl al Bayt (a.s). Therefore, the day he adopted the love for Ahl al Bayt (a.s), he shunned the use of alcohol, distributed all his wealth in charity and stopped being cruel or unkind to others. He returned all the money he had obtained from anyone in a wrong manner. He started reciting the Holy Quran regularly and used to finish one reading of the Book in three days. The day the love of Ahl al Bayt (a.s) came in his heart, he totally stopped doing anything sinful. He was a true lover of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s).
A FAMOUS INCIDENT ABOUT CHANGE IN WAY OF LIFE.
This is a well known incident about Bu Ali Sina which drastically changed his life. That was the moment when the love for Ali (a.s) and the Ahl al Bayt (a.s) got established in his heart. He shunned the use of alcohol and gave up all taboo habits. He started regular recitation of the Quran. Once he was traveling with a caravan, which was customary those days. The group consisted of persons who were singing, drinking alcohol and missed their obligatory prayers on the way. The caravan used to travel all the day. Bu Ali Sina desired to read the Quran or some other book. But the din created by the youths in the caravan was so much that he wasn’t able to do it. He was very upset traveling with the group. He thought of a way to punish them. In the night when the people of the caravan slept, he tied the chains of the animals of the caravan in a particular way. During the day when the animals traveled, the chains made some jingling sound that the travelers in the caravan fell asleep. The caravan kept moving the whole day, without any din or noise, as if the men were in semi-delirium. The men spontaneously kept smiling all the while. The next night he tied the chains of the animals in another manner. When the caravan moved the next morning, the sound produced by the chains made the men cry spontaneously. They kept crying the whole day. The men thought of stopping their cries, but they couldn’t do it. The men thought that there is some secret that had made them smile one whole day and cry on the next day. The next night when Bu Ali Sina went near the animals to repeat his act, the men caught him. When they knew that it was the great Bu Ali Sina who was very much disturbed with their singing and noise during the journey, they begged his pardon and the journey continued peacefully.
HEALING A PRINCESS.
When Bu Ali Sina was a youth of 18 years, he had the opportunity of treating a princess. The princess was ill for a long time despite being treated by 70 eminent physicians of the time. The seventy physicians put their heads together and devised several ways of treating her, but to no avail. The condition of the princess was deteriorating day after day. Bu Ali Sina’s father was in the employ of the king. When the conference of the physicians was over, Bu Ali Sina obtained access to the chambers where the physicians were seated. He asked them what conclusion they had arrived at for the treatment of the princess. They said that such-and-such was the cause of the disease and they delineated the line of treatment. Bu Ali Sina spelled out seventy reasons that their diagnosis and line of treatment was erroneous. The physicians accepted his arguments and said that they hadn’t thought of those aspects. The king witnessed the discussion and was astonished at the dexterity of the youth. The king was keenly interested to know the line of treatment suggested by Bu Ali Sina. He explained in a few minutes the disease the princess was suffering from and the line of treatment. Within a few days the princess was restored to health and Bu Ali Sina established his reputation as a physician of very high caliber. He had a very sterling quality. He always encouraged others and was always ready to disseminate his knowledge!
AN INCIDENT IN ISFAHAN.
He was passing through the bazaar of Isfahan when he noticed a small child asking an iron-smith to give him some embers of burning coal that he wanted to take home for his mother. The child gave money to the iron-smith for the burning coal. The man asked him if he had brought any container to carry the red hot coal. The child said that he had forgotten to bring it, but he took sand from the ground, put it on his palms and asked the man to put the burning, hot coal on it. Bu Ali Sina was much surprised that the child of four years was so intelligent. He asked the child his name. He said that he was Bahman Yar. Bu Ali Sina asked the child to become his disciple. The child grew into a famous philosopher of his time and a trusted lieutenant of Bu Ali Sina
BU ALI SINA’S COMPETITION WITH HIS DISCIPLE.
Once a very interesting debate took place between Bu Ali Sina and his disciple, Bahman Yar. It was a long, philosophical argument and only a summary is being mentioned here for the easy comprehension of the readers. One topic of discussion in philosophy is that man changes with time, as do the other animals and plants. Bahman Yar too believed that man changes every second. Bu Ali Sina said that there will be no change in the human being with passage of time. After long, inconclusive argument, Bu Ali Sina became quiet. Bahman Yar insisted on getting a reply to his argument from his mentor. The people said why he was keeping quiet and not replying to his disciple. Bu Ali Sina said that Bahman Yar had a right to ask the question again and again! The men said that he had put an argument in front of him. Bu Ali Sina said that Bahman Yar’s argument was that man changes every second. He said that, according to his argument, he was a changed different,Bu Ali Sina and therefore not liable to give any reply to him! Bahman Yar accepted defeat. He accepted that, after all, a mentor is a mentor!
THE LAST DAYS OF BU ALI SINA & HIS DEATH.
When we consider the life of Bu Ali Sina, we understand the difference between the Ulema of the Religion and the scholars of the worldly disciplines. The history tells us that Bu Ali Sina spent 20 to 22 years as an itinerant wanderer and ultimately came to the court of the king of Isfahan. Now Bu Ali Sina was a true lover of the Ahl al Bayt (a.s). He was a much married person. As a result of this he started getting fits of epilepsy. He got himself treated. The treatment required doing enema seven to eight times every day. His intestines got damaged because of this repeated operation. One of his slaves was inimical to him. The person mixed some mild poison and opium in his medicine. After taking the medicine he went so weak that it was difficult for him even to stand up. The ruler of Isfahan had to travel to Hamadan on some important work. Bu Ali Sina requested him to take him along on the trip. He said that he wanted to visit the place where he had spent most of his youth. He reached there and on 4 Ramadan 428 H he breathed his last!
I have no reference to any of these stories.
Really sorry for any kind of mistake.
Really sorry for any kind of mistake.
Well Done Brother
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