The Life and Works of Abu al-Qasim Maslama Ibn Ahmad Ibn Qasim Ibn Abdullah al-Majriti (338-398 A.H. / 950-1007 or 1008 C.E.)
Based mainly on the more general article about Muslim Madrid found at the Muslim Heritage website, the following description is probably the best single source on al-Majriti available on the internet:
In Muslim Iberia, in Andalusia (Al-Andalus), under the Caliphate of al-Hakam II (961-76) flourished scholars in all of the classical branches of science. Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti the Cordoban (known under the name al-Majriti because he was born in Madrid [in Arabic, Majrit] where he lived for a long time before resettling and staying in Cordoba until his death) had been preceded by competent Iberian scientists - men like Ibn Abi 'Ubaydah of Valencia, a leading astronomer, in the ninth century. But al-Majriti was in a class by himself and was possibly the earliest great Hispano-Muslim scientist [1]. He assimilated Muslim sciences in the Arab Orient where he seems to have had close contacts with the originators of the famous Epistles (Rasa'il) of the Ikhwan as-Safa (the "Brethren of Sincerity / Purity"; possibly a model for the modern Western esoteric tradition's "White Brotherhood"), to which encyclopaedia he has been attributed partial authorship, most probably in error and maybe because the organisation of subjects in his Ghayat al-Hakim is similar to one that of the Rasa'il, which was one of the sources of the Ghayat, and al-Majriti actually bought to Spain a new edition of this encyclopaedia.
He was the leader of mathematicians in Andalusia and according to Sa'id al-Andalusi, he was the best mathematician of his time, applying himself to the observation of the stars [2]. According to Zarkali, he was the most knowledgeable in astronomy [3]. The lustre of his name was increased by his skill in the science of the division of inheritances [4].
He wrote a number of works on mathematics and astronomy, studied and elaborated the Arabic translation of Ptolemy's Almagest, wrote a commentary on Ptolemy's Planisphaerium (which was translated by Rudolph of Bruges [first half of twelfth century] [5]); he was the first to have ever commented Ptolemy's astronomical map; he wrote a treatise on the astrolabe (which was translated into Latin by Johannes Hispanensis / John of Seville c. 1133-1142 C.E. [6]), he made astronomical observations in about 979 C.E., he brought al-Khwarizmi's astronomical tables (Zij, ephemeredes) into the reach of European Christendom [7] whilst also enlarging and correcting them (they were translated from al-Majriti by Adelard of Bath in 1126 C.E. and also by Hermann the Dalmatian. Robert of Chester's work on the subject was less a translation from al-Majriti than an adaptation of the tables of al-Battani and al-Zarqali for the coordinates of London, 1149 C.E., and he also revised al-Khwarizmi's tables for the same position. Parts of Maslama's revision of Al-Khwarizmi's tables concerning lunar motion were incorporated into a treatise by Pedro Alfonso [apparently written in Arabic], which was translated into Latin in 1120 C.E. by Walcher, Prior of Malvern [8]. Plato of Tivoli also played a role in translating al-Khwarizmi via al-Majriti's writings), he adapted them to the era of the Hejra (thus aiding historians who used ancient Persian dates [9]), he wrote a summary of al-Battani's zij [10] which became a reference for astronomers, and he introduced the techniques of surveying and triangulation.
One of al-Majriti's major contributions in land surveying was the introduction, alongside another Muslim Andalusi scholar Ibn al-Saffar, of new methods hitherto unknown in Iberia. Indeed, the practice of triangulation, unknown to the Romans, was introduced from the East in the astrolabic treatises of both al-Majriti and Ibn al-Saffaar [11]. It must be reminded that Maslama's treatise on the astrolabe was translated into Latin by John of Seville only in the 12th century whereas the Muslims had used the astrolabe for surveying long before.
Al-Majriti developed number theory and Euclidean geometry, wrote treatises on commercial arithmetic (al-mutamalat) dealing with sales, cadaster, and taxes, using algebraic, geometrical and arithmetical operations [12] and became the vehicle for the introduction of Muslim trigonometry into European Christendom, chiefly in his use of the sine and tangent functions [13].
Most of all, al-Majriti is reputed for his (al)chemical works. He was considered an authority of his time in chemistry. He made many contributions to the field by drawing a clear distinction between chemistry and semiology, freeing chemistry from myths and sorcery. He called for the scientific study of chemistry based on experimentation and investigation. He considered that mathematics is necessary for the study of chemistry. He took interest in combustion and the resulting reactions.
He wrote an important alchemical work, the "Rank of the Wise Man and Isagoge of Teaching" (Rutbat al-Hakim wa mudkhal al-tathm) (here shortened to the "Sage's Step" or "Rank of the Wise" [Rutbat al-Hakim]), and the astrological work, the "Goal of the Wise" (Ghayat al-Hakim, also known as the Picatrix, read the book details for Antioch Gate's republication of the critical Arabic text of this work).
The Sage's Step was collected and put together in the year 1009 C.E., two years after al-Majriti's death. In it, he first expresses his views on the way an aspiring alchemist should be educated: by studying mathematics, books from Euclid and Ptolemy, natural sciences with Aristotle or Apollonius of Tyana; then he needs to acquire a manual ability and practice precise observation, reasoning about chemical substances and their reactions; in his research he needs to follow the laws of nature, like a physician: a physician diagnoses the disease and administers the medicine, but it is Nature who acts.
Amongst other things, the book gives formulae and instructions for purification of precious metals [14]. In this work, al-Majriti was the first to prove the principle of conservation of mass, credited eight centuries later to the French Lavoisier [15]. There is one observation of particular interest to chemists as it is the first definite description of a substance which was destined in the hands of Priestly and Lavoisier, to play an historic role - mercuric oxide (Maslama earned fame for his preparation of oxide of mercury; nobody succeeded before him in transforming mercury thus):
"I took natural quivering mercury, free from impurity, and placed it in a glass vessel shaped like an egg. This I put inside another vessel like a cooking pot, and set the whole apparatus over an extremely gentle fire. The outer pot was then in such a degree of heat that I could bear my hand upon it. I heated the apparatus day and night for forty day, after which I opened it. I found that the mercury (the original weight of which was a quarter of a pound) had been completely converted into red powder, soft to touch, the weight remaining as it was originally [16]."
That no gain of weight was observed is not surprising as some of the mercury would have probably been lost by volatilisation, while the increase in weight of mercury on oxidation is only about 8% [17]. The fact, however, Holmyard notes, that the author attempted to carry out the experiment quantitatively is in itself important, as indicating that he paid attention to the fundamental chemical principle of conservation of mass, not universally observed until centuries later [18].
Al-Majriti also had a great interest in zoology and he dealt with animal anatomy. He wrote a book on the generation of animals [19].
As a final note, it will be mentioned that Maslama ibn Ahmad al-Majriti set up something extraordinary that was going to affect the whole manner in which scholarship was to be conveyed – he created a whole school of scholars in Cordoba which was attended by several great scientists in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, chemistry and zoology. This major breakthrough in scholarship is given a good deal of interest by Glick, who tells us that the process of scientific interchange is predicated upon the emergence of concrete networks of scientific communication ("schools") within the various disciplines, and that the earliest such network to appear was the group of astronomers and mathematicians associated with Maslama of Madrid [20]. Al-Majriti's school of astronomers, constituted by his own disciples and their students marks the beginning of science as an organized activity in al-Andalus [21]. All of Maslama's students adopted his concerns and worked within the disciplinary framework that he established; all immersed themselves in the works of al-Khwarizmi; all commented on the uses of the Sindhind and the astrolabe [22]. Maslama's students, as enumerated by Said al-Andalusi, and their students, are enumerated in Figure 4 of Glick's work referred to here. All those for whom no other field is mentioned cultivated mathematics in the sense conveyed in al-Khwarizmi's or al-Farabi's classifications of the sciences, with astronomy subsumed within the rubric of mathematics [23].
Al-Majriti's school was probably a precursor of what is now known as the "University", in the true sense of "the whole, a corporate body" (a rendering of the Latin root), unlike the modern University which is more of a Diversity, with faculty professors autistically obsessing (no offence intended regarding autism, which is a very interesting psychological condition) over their own niche of science - "their" field - generally ignoring those of others even within the same academic faculty, although there is a laudable trend now of incorporating an Arts/Sciences module in undergraduate degree courses, where students of one kingdom become acquainted with a taught subject in the other.
To summarise, al-Majriti's accomplishments illustrate how the fundamentals of Muslim scholarship and science passed to Western Christendom and were to have a decisive role in the rise of modern science and learning.
Major Works
Al-Majriti wrote in many scientific fields, including chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and zoology. Among these writings, those referred to by Sarton [24] and Zarkali [25]:
- "Rutbat al-Hakim" (The Steps of the Scholar);
- "Ghayat al-Hakim" (The Goals of the Scholar) - read the book details for Antioch Gate's republication of the critical Arabic text of this work;
- "Risala fi al-Usturlab" (Treatise on the Astrolabe);
- "Sharh Kitab al-Majesti li Batlimus" (Commentary of Ptolemy's Almagest);
- "Kitab Timar al-Adad fi al-Hissab".
It is worth noting that al-Majriti's books were taught in European universities.
Article Bibliography
- F.B. Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980.
- M.J. Rubiera de Epalza: Madjrit; in Encyclopaedia of Islam; new Series; Vol V; 1986; pp. 1107-9.
- P. Guichard: Mise en valleur du sol et production: de la Revolution agricole au difficultes du bas moyen age; in Etats, Societes et Cultures du Monde Musulman Medieval; edited J.C. Garcin et al; Vol 2; Presses Universitaires de France; p.2000; pp. 175-98.
- T. Glick: Islamic and Christian Spain in the early Middle Ages, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1979.
- W. Hartner, `The Principle and use of the astrolabe,' in W. Hartner, Oriens-Occidens, Hildesheim, 1968.
- C. H. Haskins: Studies in the history of Mediaeval science; Frederick Ungar Publishing Co.; New York; 1967 ed.
- E. J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; Oxford at the Clarendon Press; 1931;
- M. A. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam: The underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp 66-90.
- G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927.
- S. P. Scott: History of the Moorish Empire; The Lippincoat Company; Philadelphia; 1904
- J. Vernet: Al-Madjriti; Encyclopaedia of Islam; vol 5; New series; 1986; pp. 1109-10.
References
[1] G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927; Vol 1, p. 668.
[2] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[3] Zarkali, Eminent Figures and Personalities, vol. 7. p. 224.
[4] E. J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; p. 77.
[5] Texts and Rudolph's translation was printed in Bale, 1536 and Venice, 1558: Sphaerae atque astrorum coelestium ratio, natura et motus; ad totius mundi fabricationis cognitionem fundamenta.
[6] G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927; op cit; Vol. 2 for translations of Muslim scientific works.
[8] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[9] F. B. Artz: The Mind of the Middle Ages; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press, 1980.pp. 152-3:
[10] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[11] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 228.
[12] J. Vernet: Al-Madjriti; op cit; pp. 1109-10.
[13] G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927; Vol. 2, p.125.
[14] M. A. Kettani: Science and Technology in Islam: The underlying value system, in Z. Sardar edt: The Touch of Midas; Science, values, and environment in Islam and the West; Manchester University Press, 1984, pp 66-90. p. 79.
[15] M. Ali Kettani: Science, op cit, p. 79.
[16] E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; op cit; pp. 78-9.
[17] E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; pp. 78-9.
[18] E.J. Holmyard: Makers of Chemistry; pp. 78-9.
[19] G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927; Vol. 1, p. 668.
[20] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[21] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[22] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[23] T. Glick: Islamic; op cit; p. 255.
[24] G. Sarton: Introduction to the History of Sciences; in 3 vols; The Carnegie Institute; Washington; 1927; Vol. 1, p. 668.
[25] Zarkali, Eminent Figures and Personalities, vol. 7. p. 224.