Question

Who wrote Kitab-al-Hind?

Answer 1

Hint: Kitab-al-Hind was a book which was written in the 11th century. It is a book about the Indian subcontinent.

Complete answer: Al-Beruni’s full name was Abu Raihan Muhammad ibn Ahmad. He was born in 973 A.D. He was a prolific writer and a great linguist. He was of Iranian origin. Al-Beruni was very knowledgeable in physics, astronomy, mathematics and natural sciences. He also wrote the book Kitab-al-Hind which is a book written about the Indian subcontinent. Al-Beruni spent a large part of his life in Ghazni which is in modern-day Afghanistan. He was one of the greatest Muslim historians during the 11th century. Kitab-ul-Hind is a very lucid book which consists of 80 chapters. The book covers an array of topics like religion, astronomy, manners, alchemy, social life, laws and others. He used various quotes from Gita, Patanjali, Puranas etc.
He was a great Indologist whose works have been referred to a study about India’s culture and ethos. He is often called the ‘first anthropologist’. He was a great traveller and in 1017 he travelled the Indian subcontinent and its various parts. He studied the religion, philosophy and language of the people and in his book Tarikh-ul-Hind he writes a beautiful account of it in Arabic. He is regarded as the founder of ‘Indology’.

Note: Al-Beruni’s writings are impartial and also point out the weaknesses of Indian culture and society. His observations are regarded as highly scientific and they do not ruin or disfigure his observations.