Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min maqula maqbula fi al-aql aw mardhula

Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min maqula maqbula fi al-aql aw mardhula (Verifying What Pertains to India of Reasonably Acceptable or Discarded Tenets), also widely known as Kitab al-Hind or Tarikh al-Hind, is an encyclopedic study of Indian civilization, religions, sciences, geography, and customs written by the Khwarazmian scholar Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (362–440 AH / 973–1048 CE) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.

Background and Composition

Al-Biruni traveled across parts of northwestern India and the Punjab after entering the service of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1. While in the region and later in Ghazna—a city with a sizable Indian population—he spent years studying Sanskrit, reading Indian texts, and consulting local scholars Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1. He completed the work around 423 AH (c. 1030 CE), about two years after the death of Mahmud of Ghazna Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1. Al-Biruni intended the book to serve as an accurate, documented foundation for any Muslim who sought to debate or converse with Indian scholars as an intellectual equal Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min ….

Methodology and Sources

In his introduction, al-Biruni stresses the epistemological distinction between eyewitness observation (iyan) and transmitted report (khabar), detailing how human bias, sectarian partisanship, and passion corrupt historical transmission Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min …+1. He resolved to present Indian beliefs neutrally and directly from their own primary sources rather than through hostile polemics Majallat al-Risala+1.

To achieve this, al-Biruni translated Sanskrit works into Arabic and engaged directly with texts including the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita, and the works of Patanjali Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1. He noted the difficulty of deciphering Indian scientific literature because Indian writers composed their treatises in poetic verse, heavily relying on metaphors and employing numerous synonyms for single concepts to fit metrical constraints Buhuth wa Maqalat fi al-L….

Throughout the work, al-Biruni employs a comparative method, contrasting Indian doctrines with Greek philosophy—citing Socrates, Plato (such as the Timaeus and Phaedo), Aristotle, and Galen—as well as with Islamic Sufism, Persian traditions, and Mani's Book of Mysteries Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1. While he identified conceptual parallels between Greek metaphysics and elite Indian theology, he maintained that Greek thought was superior in its logical methodology and scientific rigor, remarking that India had produced no figure like Socrates to purify science from myth Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.

Contents and Structure

The work covers Indian civilization across multiple disciplines:

• Religion and Philosophy: Al-Biruni distinguishes between the theological concepts of the educated elite—whom he described as monotheists professing a transcendent God free from anthropomorphism—and the idolatrous practices of the common populace Majallat al-Risala. He discusses doctrines of reincarnation (tanasukh), liberation (moksha / najat), yoga, and the cosmic egg of Brahma (baydat Brahm) Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…. Eleven chapters of the book are devoted specifically to religious doctrines Qissat al-Hadara.
• Astronomy, Mathematics, and Chronology: The largest portion of the work concerns astronomical theories, cycles of time, and calculation, occupying forty-two chapters Qissat al-Hadara. It reviews astronomical tables (zijes), Indian numerals, and calendrical systems Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min …+1.
• Society, Customs, and Geography: The book details the caste system, the status and obligations of Brahmins, ritual prohibitions, script varieties, festivals, laws, and the physical geography of the subcontinent Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1. Political history occupies only a small portion of the text Qissat al-Hadara.

Reception and Modern Editions

The work was brought to modern scholarly attention through the German orientalist Edward Sachau, who edited the original Arabic text and published it in London in 1887 under the title Alberuni's India Mujaz Dairat al-Maarif al…+1. Sachau followed it with an English translation accompanied by notes and commentary in two volumes, published in London in 1888 and reprinted in 1910 Majallat al-Risala+1. Sachau praised al-Biruni's intellect as one of the greatest in human history, and scholars of oriental studies have regarded the treatise as an unprecedented achievement in the objective cross-cultural study of non-Islamic civilization Tahqiq ma li al-Hind min ….