Sharing

Here's the presentation during viva for anyone of interest.

SUMMARY OF THE THESIS (1)
 In the treatment of knowledge, al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta becomes the subject of this study.
 They represented the Muslim traveler, geographer, and even scholar of the Middle Period (950 A.D. – 1500 A.D.). Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta lived during the early and the later Middle Period respectively.
 Studying the lives of these two personalities, indirectly unfurls the socio-culturo-political milieu of the Middle period, whose political, social, and intellectual order very much determined al-Biruni’s and Ibn Battuta’s treatment of knowledge.
 Treatment of knowledge as the central theme of this thesis revolves around their philosophy, objective, attitude, epistemology, methodology, transmission, and contribution of knowledge.

(2)
 Post 950 A.D. witnessed the political instability of the Central Asian region, which was caused by the rising of provincial governors to power in the faraway regions, thus reduced the Abbasid Caliphs to mere figureheads.
 The development compelled al-Biruni to flee from one country to another as dynasties such as Banu Iraq at Kath, Buyid at Rayy, Samanid at Bukhara, Ziyarid at Gurgan, and Ma’munid at Jurjaniyya were threatened by wars and disorders. Al-Biruni finally settled and buried at Ghazna ruled by the Ghaznavid dynasty after spending approximately 30 years, serving the rulers.
 The political chaos and instability did not in the least hamper cultural and intellectual growth. The rulers and their courts became the foci of cultural and learning activities as each of them competed in the accumulation of the greatest books, building of impressive libraries, and gathering or patronizing prominent and celebrated scholars and intellectuals.
 As such, al-Biruni driven by his philosophy and attitude towards knowledge availed himself to these opportunities and saw the scope and depth of his knowledge expanded even during the years as ‘prisoner-scholar’ of Sultan Mahmud.

(3)
 Ibn Battuta set out on his celebrated journey in 1329 A.D. almost a century after the Mongol invasion. Soon after being responsible for the second massive destruction of lives and properties in 1258 A.D., they established peace and stability in the regions they controlled, thus provided safe passages for merchants, traders, royal ambassadors, scholars, theologians, jurists, Sufi shaykhs and students, as well as officers looking for lucrative posts in the outlying regions under the Muslim rules.
 The relative peace assured by the Mongols of Ilkhanid dynasty in Iraq and Persia, Kipchap dynasty in the province of Crimea (Golden Horde), and Chaghatay dynasty in Transoxiana was further enforced by the Marinid of Morocco, the Mamluk of Egypt, the Delhi Sultanate of India, and the Mali kingdom of Africa, some of which were commerce minded states.
 The sea routes and caravan trails, which thronged with personalities with each of their definite purpose, became Ibn Battuta’s constant companions for the next three decades.
 His knowledge of people, places, food, customs, culture, geography, plants, animals, sciences, and last but least religious sciences be they theology, Sufi practices and jurisprudence expanded as he interacted with them, lodged as madrasah, khanqah, zawiyah, attended halaqah and circles in mosques, as well as visited places, Sufi shaykhs, and tombs.

(4)
 Al-Biruni’s travel was confined to the Central Asian region and parts of North Western India (actually Pakistan), whose part of the journey was retraced by Ibn Battuta as part of his 75,000 miles distance, which covered over 44 modern countries situated in 3 different continents.
 They were both governed by the worldview of Islam, which helped determine their philosophy, attitude, objective, epistemology and methodology of knowledge aside from the socio-culturo-political order of the early and later Middle Period.
 Al-Biruni’s philosophy embraces his belief that Allah is Omniscient and therefore does not justify ignorance, man has instinctive tendency to acquire knowledge, the quest for knowledge is the supreme goal in human life, and knowledge has almost a divine quality and very much in conformity with the fundamental tenets of Islam.
 They both demonstrated determination, objectivity, passionate, and being observant in their educational pursuits.

(5)
 Ibn Battuta’s philosophy maybe embodied in his determination to visit all the Muslim countries of his time, not to follow the same route twice, that to outdo what the others travelers had done.
 Both religious and rational sciences were available during their time but somehow the emphasis differed. Two centuries after the acquisition and translation of foreign sciences, post 950 A.D. period was ready to venture into rigorous assimilation, appropriation, enrichment, and transmission movement, which introduced new fields of knowledge or the existing knowledge being molded in the worldview of Islam. The new excitement and the practicality of certain fields of knowledge, dominated the interest of scholars and intellectuals of the period.
 Thus, al-Biruni’s preoccupation with as diverse a field as medicine and astronomy, mathematics and chronology, physics and history, anthropology and religion, geography and natural science, astrology and meteorology, history and sun clocks, ethics and geology, medicine and poetry seemed natural. Religious sciences though conspicuously absent, as the other Muslim scholars, al-Biruni worked within the confine of the framework of Islam.

(6)
 When the Saljuqs assumed power in 1055 A.D. from the Buyids, they ensured that religious sciences in Sunni flavor became the central curriculum of the madaris, with the objective of neutralizing the Shi’i’s influence particularly in the regions under the Fatimids and the Buyids.
 The Saljuqs pioneered in the madrasah establishment throughout the empire according to the Nizamiyah model in Baghdad. Sciences other than religious were taught outside the madrasah at the houses of the patrons and learned or other places. Thus, the situation remained until the time Ibn Battuta set foot to almost all the Muslim countries of his time.
 Apart from, maktab or kuttab, majalis, halaqah, madaris, there appeared zawiyah, khanqah and ribat, which were Sufi lodges and institutions along with the development of Sufi order thus added other avenues for learning mystical religious sciences. Being born into the family of jurists, Ibn Battuta’s inclination towards religious sciences particularly jurisprudence and theology apart from his interest in Sufi practices had the upper hand.

(7)
 Early education of al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta must have been at maktab or kuttab, being responsible for the removal of illiteracy and the teaching of reckoning, grammar, poetry, history (akhbar), and above all al Qur’an..
 Al-Biruni’s higher or advance education must have been sitting in the majalis in the court of rulers or houses of the learned or other institutions or even self instructed or individual instruction in the form of subhah, discipleship.
 Likewise Ibn Battuta advanced his knowledge of religious sciences by sitting in halaqah in mosques or he could have attended lectures in madrasah as well as being a disciple to certain theologians, jurists or Sufi shaykhs.
 Apart from these, his knowledge of other things was due to direct observation by being among the subjects understudy, which was also practiced by al-Biruni with respect to his study on the Hindus and their land.


(8)
 Al-Biruni’s immense contribution is testified by the number of books, which as revealed by a number of sources is between 113 – 180 books of which only 22 survived. Out of these only 13 have been published most of which from Arabic and a handful in Persians had also seen the light.
 Among the notables are Tahqiq Ma li’l Hind, al-Athar al-Baqiah, al-Qanun al-Mas’udi, Tahdid li’l Amakin, Tafhim, al-As’ilah wa al-Ajwibah, al-Jawahir, and al-Saydanah. Spread throughout these books is his knowledge of anthropology, astronomy, mathematics, natural sciences, astrology, geography, history, geology, minerals, et cetera.
 Cultural contacts with the other religious communities and sects, and manuscripts of ancient nations were accessible in his home country and while living in India, provided first hand knowledge in their religious, philosophical, and sciences aspects.
 Al-Biruni was a pioneer in many other sciences and some of his works are yet to find their match.

(9)
 Tuhfat al-Nazar fi Ghara’ib al-Amsar wa ‘Aja’ib al-Asfar (The Gift of those Beholders on the Pecularities of the Cities and the Marvels of Journeys) or simply Rihla Ibn Battuta is the sole written document attributed to Ibn Battuta, which unfortunately was received with much incredulity.
 That aside, Rihla provides a wealth of information on the culture-socio-political conditions of 14th Century Muslim Countries together with the non Muslim countries under the Christian King Andronicus III of Constantinople, the Hindu King Arya Chakravarti of Sri Lanka, and the Emperor Qan of Yuan Dynasty.
 As some claimed, Rihla Ibn Battuta had also provided much of the only or surviving knowledge of the 14th century. His interest in people, food, celebration, clothes, manners, local practices, plants, animals et cetera has certainly add interests to his Rihla.
 Most significant, al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta who lived to experience the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan and metropolitan Muslim cities of the Middle Period, and interacted with foreign cultures and elements were both objective with their views and reactions as opposed to their attitude towards fellow Muslims, who committed or inclined to acts of transgression.

(10)
 Undoubtedly, al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta were two outstanding figures that Muslim civilization of the Middle Period had ever produced. Al-Biruni’s extensive scholarship and learning surpassed his reputation as a traveler whilst Ibn Battuta’s celebrated journey camouflaged his intellectual achievement. Irrespective of these facts, our study largely revolves around their treatment of knowledge.
 In so doing, their educational and intellectual geography; philosophy, objective, epistemology, and methodology of knowledge; and their contribution to Muslim intellectual and scientific traditions dominate our discussion.
 In the course of our analysis, similarities and differences surface much to our delight for the knowledge that they seemed worlds apart at the preliminary stage of this study. Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta can be considered pioneers in their field. Up to the time of modern means of communication, Ibn Battuta surpassed others in his feat whilst al-Biruni’s major works still need to find their match.

(11)
 The Muslims rejoice and celebrate their achievements but most importantly the positive attitude towards knowledge as exemplified by both and the early Muslims, must be upheld. The Muslim intellectual and scientific traditions should be the beacons, thereby help maneuvering in the uncharted grounds. In other words, Muslims of the past and their achievement should not be sidelined in the face of Western achievements.
 Today’s challenge demands some original and creative thoughts in providing solutions to contemporary problems. This could only be achieved by embracing Islam as the Worldview replete with concepts and principles in building a real civilization, which include the real purpose of pursuing knowledge and education.
 For this to materialize, our approach to the Muslim intellectual and scientific traditions must be that of contemporary Islamic Asalah. To again play our role of ‘abd and khalifah, the dynamic role of the towering Muslim figures of the past must be emulated and treatment of knowledge should result in ta’dib and thus formed the foundation and basis of future Muslim Civilization.