New research sheds light on forgotten 11th-century Muslim scientist who fundamentally transformed the history of physics

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Researchers from the University of Sharjah and the Warburg Institute are diligently studying the works of an 11th-century Arab-Muslim mathematician to show their influence on the evolution of optical sciences and how they fundamentally transformed the history of physics from the Middle Ages to modern times in Europe.

Their research focuses on the legacy of al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Haytham known in Latin as "Alhazen" and in particular on his most influential work entitled Book of Optics renowned in Arabic as Kitab al-Manazir and broadcast for the first time in Europe via its Latin translation called ' Perspective '. Ibn al-Haytham was born in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in 965, during the Abbasid Caliphate.

Divisions IV to V of this authoritative work have recently been translated from Arabic into English and published by the Warburg Institute under the title "The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham, Books IV to V: On Reflection and images seen by reflection”. Having already translated Divisions I-III into English, the Warburg Institute brings together a broad network of scientists “for collaborative humanities inquiry into (Ibn) al-Haytham and the questions his work raises.”

“The role of Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) in these processes is both well known, but limited; only half of his scientific works are translated into English and a quarter have not yet been published.

Contributions and methodology

Introducing the new translation, the Warburg Institute describes Ibn al-Haytham as "perhaps the greatest mathematician and physicist of the medieval Arab/Islamic world." His reputation rests not only on the large quantity of material he was able to process, but also on his rigorous scientific methodology.

“He (Ibn al-Haytham) treats both the mathematics of rays of light and the physical aspects of the eye in seven complete books. His reintegration of the entire science of optics sets the stage for the entire subsequent development of the subject… influencing such figures as William of Ockham, Kepler, Descartes and Christaan ​​Huygens.

Professor Nader El-Bizri, from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Sharjah, has just published an academic review of the Warburg Institute's translation of Ibn al-Haytham. The article, printed in the International Review of Classical Tradition, highlights the strong influence that the Arab-Muslim optician has exerted over the ages until the present day.

of Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics, writes Professor El-Bizri, "constituted a monumental founding work in the history of sciences and visual arts from the Middle Ages to the beginning of the modern period in the European environment and the Islamic context… The reception of Ibn al-Haytham's work Optics in the European environment took place from the High Middle Ages via the Toledo circle of Gerard of Cremona in terms of Latin translations and subsequent influence on the Franciscan, Dominican and Jesuit opticians across Europe.

“This influenced François d'Aguilon's discourse Opticorum libri sexe within the Jesuit mathematical school in Antwerp and had a direct impact on the work of Johannes Hevelius Selenography . The Optics was also consulted by Girard Desargues, René Descartes, Johannes Kepler and Christaan ​​Huygens.

Current translations and impact

Professor El-Bizri works closely with the Warburg Institute to help reintroduce Ibn al-Haytham to the West. “A remarkable thinker, not only did Ibn al-Haytham revolutionize optical thinking by mathematizing its study, (but) his thinking also had similar revolutionary effects in medieval Europe. »

The Warburg Institute is investing in the English translation of Ibn al-Haytham's writings on optics, which Professor El-Bizri describes as "voluminous." “Ibn al-Haytham's Book of Optics clearly indicates the impact of Arab sciences and philosophy on the history of sciences and architectural and visual arts in Europe, while demonstrating how science and the arts influence each other. of how studies of optics in their mathematized physics inspired the invention of the projective geometric constructions of perspective as a new method of Renaissance painting and architectural design.

Professor El-Bizri adds: “The impact of this book is fundamental not only in the history of science from the High Middle Ages to the early modern period in Europe, but it has also been fundamental for architecture and the visual arts of the Italian Renaissance. and until the end of the Baroque era. Moreover, it has additional significance in modern conceptions of the mathematization of physics, the use of scientific experimentation, and the philosophical analysis of perception.

Asked about the importance of translating Ibn al-Haytham into English despite nearly 1,000 years, Professor El-Bizri says the Arab-Muslim scientist's theories and methodologies, particularly those dealing with optics, are still considered “fundamental” in the literature. Ibn al-Haytham had a "fundamental impact on the history of science and the arts in Europe".

The influence of Ibn al-Haytham's writings in the European environment, according to Professor El-Bizri, cannot be neglected. The Arab-Muslim scientist had “a notable effect on the personality of Biagio Pelacani da Parma”. Questions super common perspective of Léon Battista Alberti The photo that of Lorenzo Ghiberti Commentaries leading to the first Latin version printed in Friedrich Risner's publication Thesaurus Opticae in the 16th century.

“Then, in the 17th century, it influenced the thinking of François d’Aguilon. Opticorum libri sexe within the Jesuit mathematical school of Antwerp and had a direct impact on the work of Johannes Hevelius Selenography .”

In the Book of Optics notes Professor El-Bizri, Ibn al-Haytham establishes an “inventive and precise scientific experimental method ( al-iʿtibār al-muḥarrar ) with its repeated controlled verifiable tests, framed by isomorphic compositions between physics and mathematics .

He adds that Ibn al-Haytham in his Optics "aims to elucidate the nature of visual perception through studies of the anatomy and physiology of the eyes, the optic nerves and the frontal part of the brain, as well as the cognitive psychology and the analysis of psychosomatic ocular motor kinesthetic acts. »