Ibn al-Haytham

Ibn al-Haytham (full name Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham; commonly known as ibn al-Haytham, Ali al-Hasan, al-Basri,Smith AM. Alhacen’s theory of visual perception: a critical edition, with English translation and commentary, of the first three books of Alhacen’s De aspectibus, the medieval Latin version of Ibn al-Haytham’s Kitab al-Manazir. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society or in older texts as the Latinized "Alhazen"; Arabic: أبو علي، الحسن بن الحسن بن الهيثم‎‎) was a scientist from the Islamic Golden Age. Despite being virtually unknown in the modern West, he was an extremely important figure in the history and philosophy of science, as his experiments in optics were essentially the first step in the development of what would one day be called the scientific method.Malik, Kenan (2010-10-22). "Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science, By Jim Al-Khalili". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-10-22.Nomanul Haq|Haq, Syed (2009). "Science in Islam". Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. ISSN 1703-7603. Retrieved 2014-10-22.Sabra, A. I. (1989). The Optics of Ibn al-Haytham. Books I–II–III: On Direct Vision. London: The Warburg Institute, University of London. pp. 25–29. ISBN 0-85481-072-2.
==Biography==
===Obligatory disclaimer===
Many of the details of Alhazen's life have been lost to time, with the anecdotes we have available to us being often contradictory, depending on which historian is relating the information.Tbakhi A, Amr SS. Ibn Al-Haytham: father of modern optics. Ann Saudi Med. 2007 Nov-Dec;27(6):464-7. doi: 10.5144/0256-4947.2007.464. PMID: 18059131; PMCID: PMC6074172. The primary source of biographical information about Alhazen being related to us by the 13th century historian Ibn al-Qifti, who was born over a century after the death of Alhazen.
===Alhazen's life===
Alhazen was born in the city of Basra in what is now modern day Iraq in about the year 965 CE. Initially Alhazen was trained for the judiciary, and was appointed a judge for Basra. Alhazen became disillusioned with the diverse religious movements of the time, which proved incredibly contradictory, and so he turned to the scientific endeavor instead.
Alhazen quickly became famous for his knowledge of science and mathematics, and so was invited by the Shia caliph of Egypt to help "regulate the flow of the during floods." Al-Hakim had a reputation as an unstable tyrant, and so when Alhazen realized that regulating the flow of the Nile by building a damn "south of Amwan" was a futile endeavor, he faked insanity to avoid capital punishment. Instead of being sentenced to death, Alhazen was sentenced to house arrest, with his possessions seized by the state. He remained in house arrest for a decade, until al-Hakim's assassination in 1021.
It was during this ten year period of house arrest that Alhazen wrote his magnum opus the Book of Optics. He also wrote his introduction to the scientific method during this time. Alhazen was a prolific writer, having written over two hundred works, fifty of which survive to this day.
Following his release from house arrest, Alhazen moved into a domed building close to the Grand Mosque of Cairo, where he taught mathematics and physics, and copied texts for a living. 
Alhazen continued to live in Cairo until his death in the year 1040 CE.Corbin, Henry (1993) [Original French 1964], History of Islamic Philosophy, translated by Sherrard, Liadain; Sherrard, Philip, London: Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies, , OCLC 22109949
==Book of Optics==
His magnum opus was the Book of Optics (Kitab al-Manazir; Arabic: كتاب المناظر), a compendium of optical knowledge famous for, among other things, disproving the (the idea that our eyes project light onto objects rather than receive it, which was considered possible at the time). What is most impressive about this was his emphasis on rigorous experiment, rather than appeals to argumentation or reason. Al-Haytham was the first to describe a theory, make a prediction based on that theory, design an experiment which could refute it, and then carry out the experiment and successfully disprove it. In other words, he was essentially the first known user of the scientific method, although the particulars would not be laid out until Francis Bacon some centuries later.
==Scientific views==
The following quote from his work Doubts Concerning Ptolemy illustrates this perspective nicely:Sobhi Rayan. Analogical reasoning roots in Ibn al-Haytham's scientific method of research. International Journal of Computational Bioinformatics and In Silico Modeling, 2014.
==External links==
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*Ibn Al-Haytham: The First Scientist on YouTube
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Muslims
Category:Physicists
Category:Mathematicians
Category:Philosophy of science