Ibn al-Banna' al-Marrakushi
| Ibn al‐Bannāʾ al‐Marrākushī | |
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| Born |
29 or 30 December 1256 Marrakech, Morocco |
| Died | 31 July 1321 |
| Residence | Islamic civilization |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Al-Zarqali, Ibn Isḥāq al‐Tūnisī |
| Academic work | |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Main interests | Mathematics, Astronomy |
| Moroccan literature |
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| Moroccan writers |
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| Forms |
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| Criticism and awards |
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| See also |
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Ibn al‐Bannāʾ al‐Marrākushī al-Azdi, also known as Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Azdi (Arabic: ابن البنّاء) (29 December 1256 – c. 1321), was a Moroccan mathematician, astronomer, Islamic scholar, Sufi, and a one-time astrologer.
The crater Al-Marrakushi on the Moon is named after him.
Biography
Ibn al-Banna' (lit. the son of an architect) was born in Marrakesh in 1256.[1] Having learned basic mathematical and geometrical skills he proceeded to translate Euclid's Elements into Arabic.[1]
Works
Ibn al-Banna' wrote between 51 to 74 treatises, encompassing such varied topics as Algebra, Astronomy, Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Logic. One of his works, called Talkhīṣ ʿamal al-ḥisāb (Arabic, تلخيص عمل الحساب ) (Summary of arithmetical operations), includes topics such as fractions, sums of squares and cubes etc. Another, called Tanbīh al-Albāb,[2] covers topics related to:
- calculations regarding the drop in irrigation canal levels,
- arithmetical explanation of the Muslim laws of inheritance
- determination of the hour of the Asr prayer,
- explanation of frauds linked to instruments of measurement,
- enumeration of delayed prayers which have to be said in a precise order,and
- calculation of legal tax in the case of a delayed payment
Yet another work by Ibn al-Banna' was Rafʿ al-Ḥijāb (Lifting the Veil) which included topics such as computing square roots of a number and theory of continued fractions.[1] This work was also the first mathematical work since Brahmagupta to use an algebraic notation, which was then further developed by his successor Abū al-Hasan ibn Alī al-Qalasādī two centuries later.[3]
See also
Notes
- 1 2 3 G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Science; The Carnegie Institution; Washington; 1927; vol 2; p. 998.
- ↑ A Djebbar: Mathematics in medieval Maghreb; AMUCHMA-Newsletter 15; Universidade Pedagógico (UP), Maputo (Mozambique), 15.9.1995.
- ↑ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "al-Marrakushi ibn Al-Banna", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
References
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "al-Marrakushi ibn Al-Banna", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
Further reading
- Ahmed Jabbar and Mohammed Ablagh : "Life and Works of Ibn al-Banaa al-Murrakushi", Publication of the Faculty of Letters, Rabat, 2001
External links
- Samsó, Julio (2007). "Ibn al‐Bannāʾ: Abū al‐ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUthmān al‐Azdī al‐Marrākushī". In Thomas Hockey; et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 551–2. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version)
- Vernet, J. (2008) [1970-80]. "Ibn Al-Bannā Al Marrākushī". Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Encyclopedia.com.
- The Filāḥa Texts Project: Ibn al-Bannā’
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