gems, Arabic mineralogy

The great polymath Muslim scholar, Abu al-Rayhn Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973-1048 CE), generally known as Al-Biruni, was one of the first Muslim scholars who demonstrated a modern scientific outlook. He lived a full life of 75 years and undertook ground-breaking research in almost all of the natural science fields then known. George Sarton described him as “one of the greatest scientists in Islam, and, all considered, one of the greatest of all times”. Al-Biruni was an early exponent of the experimental scientific method and also a pioneer of comparative sociology.