Analysis Of Kitab Tarikh Al Hind ( History Of India )

Kitab Tarikh Al-Hind (History of India), written by Al-Biruni, is an ancient text that gives scholars insight into the interactions between Muslims and Hindus during the 11th century. In this opening excerpt of the text, Al-Biruni gives an introduction to his in-depth analysis of the Hindu people from his Muslim point of view and education. In this selection, he lays out where he may encounter problems extracting the true meaning out of the Hindu people because of his bias and Muslim history. Al-Biruni’s History of India is an example of how the dual religions of Islam and Hinduism were both present in the Indian subcontinent during the 11th century, and how bias affects interpretation of other religions. The author of this excerpt, AbÃ… « Rayá ¸ ¥Ã„ n Muá ¸ ¥ammad ibn Aá ¸ ¥mad Al-BÄ «rÃ… «nÄ «, or Al-Biruni, was a scholar during the medieval Islamic era. Born in Khwarezm in 973, he was well versed in religion, history, geography, geology, science, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and natural sciences, and also distinguished himself as a historian, chronologist and linguist. Al-Biruni was alive during the Ghaznavid dynasty, which was centered in the city of Ghazni, what is now modern-day central-eastern Afghanistan. Religiously, he was considered a Shi’ite Muslim, but many times his agnostic tendencies can be seen, especially in his writing. In 1017 he traveled to the Indian subcontinent and authored Kitab Tarikh Al-Hind (History of India) after being commissioned by Mahmud to explore the Hindu