Athīr al-Dīn al-Abharī

Athīr al‐Dīn al‐Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar ibn al‐Mufaḍḍal al‐Samarqandī al‐Abharī, also known as Athīr al‐Dīn al‐Munajjim (born probably in Abhar, Iran – died 1265 or 1262^[2] Shabestar, Iran)^[1] was a philosopher, astronomer, astrologer and mathematician. Other than his influential writings, he had many famous disciples.

Life

His epithet al-Abharī suggests that he or his ancestors originally stem from the Abhar tribe.^[1] He is said to have been a student or teacher in various schools at Khurāsān, Baghdad, and Arbil, living for some time in Sivas.^[1] Ibn Khallikān reports that he was student of Kamāl al‐Dīn ibn Yūnus, but other sources state that he worked as an assistant to Fakhr al‐Dīn al‐Rāzī. He may have died of paralysis in Azerbaijan.^[1]

Works

Astronomy

• Risāla fī al‐hayʾa (Treatise on astronomy).
• Mukhtaṣar fī al‐hayʾa (Epitome on astronomy).
• Kashf al‐ḥaqāʾiq fī taḥrīr al‐daqāʾiq, where he accepts the view that the celestial bodies do not change and maintains that stars have volition and it is the source of their motion.^[1]

Mathematics

• Several works on Iṣlāḥ (Correction) of Euclid, one of which is an attempt to prove the parallel postulate, which was commented upon and criticized by Shams al-Dīn al-Samarqandī.^[1]

Philosophy

• Kitāb al-Hidāyah (Guide on Philosophy): a book dealing with the complete cycle of Hikmat, i.e., logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics.
• Isāghūjī fi al-Manṭiq (Commentary on Porphyry's Isagoge), a treatise on logic.

Notes

References

• Sarıoğlu, Hüseyin (2007). "Abharī: Athīr al‐Dīn al‐Mufaḍḍal ibn ʿUmar ibn al‐Mufaḍḍal al‐Samarqandī al‐Abharī". In Thomas Hockey; et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. New York: Springer. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0.  (PDF version)
• Brockelmann, C. "al- Abharī , At̲h̲īr al-Dīn Mufaḍḍal b. ʿUmar." Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2008. Brill Online.

Further reading

• Calverley, Edwin E. (1933). "Al-Abharī's "Isāghūjī fi l-Manṭiq"". Macdonald.