Al Thabit

 3. Al-Thabit / Thabit ibn Qurra*  

*Born*: 210–211 AH / 826 CE, Harran (Bilad al-Sham, Syria), Wednesday, 26 Safar 288 AH  

*Died*: 18 February 901 CE (aged 78–79 lunar), Julian Calendar, Baghdad  

*Era*: Islamic Golden Age  

*Main Interests*: Mathematics, Mechanics, Astronomy, Astrology, Translation, Number Theory  

*Notable Ideas*: Early reformer of the Ptolemaic system  


Al-Sabi Thabit ibn Qurra al-Harrani (836–901) was an astronomer and mathematician born in present-day Turkey, known for translating classic Greek works on astronomy and for discovering an equation to determine amicable numbers. He was a Mandaean physician, known in Latin as Thebit.


*Early Life*: Thabit was a member of the Sabian religious sect. His heritage had strong traditions of Hellenistic culture and pagan worship of the stars. This background, and especially his knowledge of Greek and Arabic, made him an attractive prospect to join a special community of scholars.


*Contributions and Achievements*: Thabit is credited with dozens of treatises covering a wide range of fields and subjects. While some were written in his native Syriac, most were in Arabic. He was trilingual, a skill that enabled him to play a key role in the 9th-century translation movement in Baghdad. He translated works from both Syriac and Greek into Arabic, producing Arabic versions of important Hellenistic and Greek writings. Many of Thabit’s Arabic translations are the only surviving versions of significant ancient works. The medieval astronomical theory of the trepidation of the equinoxes is often attributed to Thabit.


According to Copernicus, Thabit determined the length of the sidereal year as 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 12 seconds (an error of 2 seconds). Copernicus based his claim on a Latin text attributed to Thabit. Thabit published his commentaries on the Sun. In the fields of mechanics and physics, he can be identified as the founder of statics. He observed the conditions of equilibrium of bodies, beams, and levers. Thabit also wrote on philosophical and cosmological topics, questioning some of the basic principles of Aristotelianism.


Thabit also wrote important treatises related to Archimedean problems in statics and mechanics. Besides all his contributions, he also established and supervised a school of translation, translating a large number of books from Greek into Arabic. A large number of Thabit’s writings survive, while many do not. Most of the books are on mathematics, followed by astronomy and medicine. The existing books are written in Arabic, but some are in Syriac. In the Middle Ages, some of his books were translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona.


Thabit’s efforts provided a foundation for continuous work in examining and reforming Ptolemaic astronomy. His life exemplifies the fact that individuals from various backgrounds and religions contributed to the flourishing of sciences like astronomy in Islamic culture.


*Death*: Thabit died in Baghdad. Thabit and his grandson Ibrahim ibn Sinan studied the curves required to make sundials, which is commendable and a great source of inspir

ation for learners.

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