مجله تاریخ علم
سال نهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 11، پاییز و زمستان 1390)

The Elements of Euclid، sometimes knows as the “The Book of Euclid”، and in the mathematical texts of the Islamic period often referred to as “The Book of the Elements”، is one of the main sources of Islamic mathematics. This paper addresses the history of the translation of this book and its recension by Naṣīr al-Dīn Ṭūsī. Then، through a comparison of the first chapter of the fourth part of Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī’s Durrat al-Tāj with the Arabic translation of Isḥāq ibn Ḥunayn and the recension of Ṭūsī، it is shown that the text of Shīrāzī is in fact a Persian translation of Ṭūsī’s Recension of the Elements، despite the existence of some differences between the two texts. One of these differences، which is analyzed in the last part of this paper، is a single figure produced by Shīrāzī and containing all the 48 propositions of the first book of the Elements.

According to Abū al-Barakāt Baghdādī، time and place are a priori conditions of motion; moreover، against the peripatetic philosophers، for whom time is the measure of motion، he holds that time is the measure of existence. Nevertheless، he believes that we can define motion on the basis of our intuitive non-scientific concept of time and، by so doing، we can resolve the apparent circularity of the Aristotelian definition of motion. Concerning the mode of existence of motion، Avicenna presents two notions of motion: motion as an intermediary state (ḥarakat bi-maʿnā al-tawassuṭ) and motion as the transversal of a given distance (ḥarakat bi-maʿnā al-qaṭʿ). He believes that motion defined by the first notion is a mental construct، while motion defined by the second notion has a real existence. Against the objections to the second notion، Abū al-Barakāt believes that motion cannot be merely mental، even if its existence is momentary and unstable. Concerning the cause of motion، Abū al-Barakāt agrees with Avicenna that the cause of motion cannot be the moving body itself. In this article، the two philosophers’ views on the unity of motion and the contrariety of motions are also discussed.

The arguments for the immobility and centricity of the Earth in the Islamic astronomical literature are mostly found in the Hayʾa books. The reason is that these books treat of mathematical cosmology on the basis of solid spheres and the Earth''s position with respect to them. These arguments، which are rooted in Ptolemy''s Almagest، are based on observation and some pre-suppositions. In this article، we examine these arguments one by one and try to find their pre-supposition by way of their analysis. This analysis reaveals two major pre-suppositions: 1) for the motion to continue، the cause of the motion has to accompany the moving object; 2) the speed of a falling object is related to its wright.

The first part of the paper describes the Persian translation of Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s Taḥrīr Kitāb Uqlīdis by Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī، with a primary focus on his appendix to book i. Part of a larger encyclopedic collection، al-Shīrāzī’s translation continued to be read for centuries. As evidence of the work’s influence، al-Shīrāzī’s appendix to book i was included in a nineteenth century printed edition of Muḥammad Barakat’s commentary on book i of al-Ṭūsī’s treatise. I discuss this later use of al-Shīrāzī’s appendix in the second part of the paper.

Starting his intellectual life as a precociously young medical practitioner، Quṭb al-Dīn Shīrāzī (634-710 A. H.) was compelled to wander far and wide in his quest for knowledge. Recognized and admired as a savant، and enjoying the patronage of key political figures of his era، Shīrāzī''s activities as a scholar continued even during his appointment as judge in Rūm، and while serving as ambassador on behalf of his Ilkhan patrons. This paper examines a number of early chronicles in order to shed more light on Shīrāzī''s itinerant life as a well-known intellectual luminary of the period.

Quṭb al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī (634H/1236CE-710H/1311CE) wrote four major works on astronomy: Nihāyat al‐idrāk fī dirāyat al‐aflāk (“The utmost attainment in comprehending the orbs)، in Arabic، first edition completed mid-Shaʿbān 680/November 1281); the Ikhtiyārāt‐i Muẓaffarī (“Selections for Muẓaffar al-Dīn Arslan” [a minor ruler in Qasṭamūnī (modern Kastamonu، Turkey)]، in Persian، completed sometime between 680/1281 and 684/1285); al‐Tuḥfa al‐shāhiyya (“The imperial gift” dedicated to the Vizier Amīr Shāh ibn Tāj al‐Dīn Muʿtazz ibn Ṭāhir in Siwās، in Arabic، first edition completed last part of Jumādā I 684/ July or August 1285); and Faʿalta fa‐lā talum (“You’ve done it so don''t blame [me]”)، a supercommentary on the Tadhkira fī ʿilm al‐hayʾa by Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī، in Arabic، completed sometime after the Tuḥfa، which، Shīrāzī claims in Faʿalta، was plagiarized by a certain al-Ḥimādhī، whence the need for this rather vituperative work). None of these works has been edited or translated، which is rather surprising given the importance of all these texts for an understanding of Islamic astronomy. As a small contribution toward the goal of giving Shīrāzī’s works the editions they deserve، an edition and translation of the introduction and conclusion of the Nihāya are presented below.