ᶜAlī Al-Qushjī
Descripción
Qushjī, ʿAlī al- | 173 Shalabī, Hind. Al-Tafsīr al-‘ilmī li-l-Qurʾān al-karīm bayna al-naẓarīyyāt wa-l-taṭbīq. Tunis: H. Shalabī, 1985. Shaltūt, Maḥmūd. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-karīm. al-ajzāʾ alʿasharah al-ʾūlā. 12th ed. Cairo: Dār al-Shurūq, 2004.
Abdelkhalek Cheddadi
Qushjī, ʿAlī al-
Abu al-Qāsim ʿAlā al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Qushjī-zāde (his Turkish name), or Qūshchī, was born in Samarkand (c. 1402) where his father worked as “falconer” at the Samarkand court of Uluğ Bey (d. 1449), a grandson of Tīmūr Lang (Tamarlane: 1336–1405). He took courses from renowned scholars of the time in the religious and linguistic sciences, mathematics, and astronomy. Among his fellow students were Jamshīd al-Kāshī (d. 1429), Qāḍīzāde al-Rūmī (d. c. 1440), and Uluğ Bey. It was in this scholarly atmosphere that ʿAlī al-Qushjī was raised, and this seems to have had a profound effect on his intellectual outlook. When he had completed his education in Samarkand, and without the permission of his supervisors Uluğ Bey and Qāḍīzāde, he secretly went to Kirmān where he continued his studies on astronomy and the mathematical sciences (c. 1423– 1427) with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414–1492), known as Mollā Jāmī. While he was in Kirmān, he completed the reading of Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s (1201–1274) famous work al-Tajrīd fī ilm al-kalām and its commentary. Around 1428, he returned to Uluğ Bey and presented a monograph (Risāla fī Ḥall ishkāl al-muʿaddil) in which he solved a variety of problems. The treatise pleased Uluğ Bey who addressed him as “my virtuous son” (farzand-i arjumand). Al-Qushjī was then involved in observational works as an astronomer at the Samarkand Observatory. He was sent to China by Uluğ Bey as his ambassador to improve his education. When he came back from China, he calculated the earth surface and the meridian.
After the deaths of al-Rūmī and al-Kāshī, the administration of the Samarkand Observatory commissioned work from al-Qushjī, who is believed to have completed the Ulughbek’s Zīj (astronomical table). Al-Qushjī worked at the observatory and was involved in the preparation of Zīj. During this process, he broke new scientific ground by rejecting the principles of Aristotelian physics and metaphysics, thus laying the groundwork for a new physics. Although he followed a long line of Islamic scholars by asserting the possibility of the Earth’s motion, he did not depend on Aristotle’s philosophical concepts to prove his assertion. Although he is often referred to as “Sahib-i rasad” (Head of Observation) and contributed to the preparation and correction of the Zīj, to what extent and at what stage is unclear. This question becomes especially problematic in view of al-Qushjī’s criticisms of it and his pointing out mistakes, in his Sharh-i Zīj UlugbBek (Commentary on Ulughbek’s Zīj). After the assassination of Uluğ Bey in 1449, life in Samarkand became difficult for scholars. AlQushjī decided to leave Samarkand to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. On his way, he stopped in Herat, where he spent a considerable amount of time and where he continued to write his books. He completed his theological work Sharḥ al-Tajrīd (a commentary on Nasīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s [d. 1274] work al-Tajrīd fīʿ ilm al-kalām) and presented it to Abū Saʿīd Mirza (d. 1469), the nephew of Uluğ Bey. After Abū Saʿīd’s defeat by the “White Sheep” (Akkoyunlu) Turkoman chieftain Uzun Ḥasan in 1469 at the battle of Qarabagh, al-Qushjī left for Tabrīz. He had a good relationship with Uzun Ḥasan and was sent to Istanbul with a diplomatic mission to settle a dispute between the Ottoman and White Sheep states. When he completed this mission, al-Qushjī returned to Tabrīz. A short time later, at the invitation of Muḥammad II (1451– 1481), al-Qushjī and all his family and students
174 | Qushjī, ʿAlī alleft permanently for Istanbul around 1472. During his journey to Istanbul, he was paid 2,000 akcas per stop in the Ottoman lands until he reached his destination. When they approached Istanbul, the Ottoman sultan sent a group of scholars to welcome him. Sources say that as they crossed the Bosporus to Istanbul, a discussion arose with Muṣliḥ al-Dīn Mustafa (Khōja-zāde) (d. 1488) about the causes of its high and low tides in the oceans. When ʿAlī al-Qushjī met with the sultan after this welcome meeting, the sultan asked him about Khōja-zāde. “He is a unique person in the Ottoman lands,” replied al-Qushjī. “He is a unique scholar even in the lands of Iran and the Arabs,” said the sultan to al-Qushjī. When al-Qushjī met the sultan, he presented his mathematical work al-Muḥammadiyya fī al-ḥisāb, named in his honor. Al-Qushjī spent the remaining two to three years of his life in Istanbul, working at the court of Sultan Muḥammad II and teaching at his madrasa named the Ṣaḥn-i Thamān Madrasa (founded by Sultan Muḥammad II). After the battle of Otlukbeli with Uzun Ḥasan in 1473, at which he was present with the sultan, he was appointed as a chief mudarris at Hagia Sophia Madrasa, where he served until his death. After this appointment, the study of mathematics and astronomy became very popular among the Ottoman scholars who followed his courses. During the short period of time he was in Istanbul, al-Qushjī educated and influenced a large number of students including Mollā Jāmī, Mīram Čelebī, and Mollā Lutfī, who, along with al-Qushjī’s writings, were to have an enormous impact on future generations and pioneered science in the Ottoman state. He corrected the longitude of Istanbul from 60° to 59° and confirmed the latitude of Istanbul as 41° 14'. Al-Qushjī died on 15 December 1474 ce in Istanbul and was buried in the cemetery of the Abū Ayyūb Mosque. Works. As a philosopher-theologian, mathematician, astronomer, and linguist ʿAlī al-Qushjī
produced original studies in both practical and theoretical astronomy. A polymath, he wrote many books in a variety of disciplines, including language and literature, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and astronomy. Compared to his contemporary colleagues such as Jamshīd alKāshī and Qāḍīzāde al-Rūmī, he excelled in producing books, textbooks, and short monographs dealing with various fields. Apart from his own books, he made many commentaries on previous scholars’ books, which became more popular than the original texts and themselves became the subject of numerous commentaries. There are many copies of his books and commentaries in the world’s libraries, and they were used in madrasas as textbooks. According to Ihsan Fazlioğlu, “Al-Qushjī sought to define body (jism) as being predominantly mathematical in character. He claimed that the essence of a body is composed of discontinuous (atomic) quantity while its form consists of continuous (geometrical) quantity. When a body is a subject of the senses, it then gains its natural properties.” Fazlioğlu emphasizes that. One consequence of al-Qushjī’s anti-Aristotelian views was his striking assertion that it might well be possible that the Earth is in motion. Here al-Qushjī followed a long line of Islamic astronomers who rejected Ptolemy’s observational proofs for a stationary Earth; al-Qushjī, however, refused to follow them in depending on Aristotle’s philosophical proofs, thus opening up the possibility for a new physics in which the Earth was in motion. Al-Qushjī’s views were debated for centuries after his death, and he exerted a profound influence on Ottoman-Turkish thought and scientific inquiry, in particular through the madrasa and its curriculum. His influence also extended to Central Asia and Iran, and it has been argued that he may well have had an influence, either directly or indirectly, upon early modern European science, to which his ideas bear a striking resemblance.
Qushjī, ʿAlī al- | 175 ʿAlī al-Qushjī wrote numerous books on a range of fields. Some of them are original contributions while others are textbooks. Risāla dar ʿilm al-h. isāb (Treatise on the Science of Arithmetic). Most probably this was written while he was in Samarkand, along with his enlarged Arabic version of this work, al-Risāla al-Muḥammadiyya fī al-hisāb. This treatise consisted of one introduction and two maqalas (books). The treatise is written as three books: (1) Indian mathematics, (2) Sexagesimal fractions, and (3) Geometry. It was a mid-level textbook in Ottoman madrasas. In his interpretation of these math ematical sciences, he tried to free mathematics from Hermetic-Pythagorean mysticism. As a result, Ottoman mathematics gained a practical character, which hindered traditional studies such as the theory of numbers. Al-Risāla al-Muhammadiyya f ī al-hisāb (Treatise on Arithmetic). This treatise, which consists of one introduction and two fann, was dedicated to Sultan Muḥammad II (1472). It is an enlarged Arabic translation of the previous work. It was a textbook in the Ottoman madrasas until Bahāʾ al-Dīn alʿĀmilī’s book Hulāsat al-Hisāb was written. In the field of astronomy, al-Qushjī wrote nine works: two in Persian and seven in Arabic. In terms of astronomical achievements, ʿAli al-Qushjī is an unknown quantity. This is regrettable since he is one of the major figures in astronomy of the fifteenth century. He made very significant contributions during the observational program of the Zīj-i Uluğ Bey at the Samarkand Observatory. His corrections both before and after publication of the Zīj were essential. This Zīj was a collaborative work of the Samarkand mathematical-astronomical school that was prepared in accordance with both the theoretical discussions that took place in the madrasa and the observations that were made at the observatory. Risāla dar ʿilm-i Hay ʾ at (Treatise on the Science of Astronomy). Also known as Risāla dar
falakiyyāt (Treatise on Astronomy) this was written in Samarkand in 1458. The treatise contains an introduction on the principles of geometry and physics and two maqalas: (1) Spherical astronomy, structure of the universe, and the movement of the sun, the moon, and the planets; and (2) Geography, chronology, determining the azimuth of Qibla, sizes and distances of the sun, the moon, and the planets. As a short textbook, it was widely used throughout madrasas in the Muslim world. Al-Risāla al-fathiyya or al-Fathiyya fī ilm al-hayʾa (Treatise of Conquest). An enlarged Arabic version of the previous manuscript. Because it was completed on the day of the conquest of Uzun Ḥasan, al-Qushjī named this book as al-Fathiyya and presented it to Sultan Muḥammad in 1473. It was one of the most common middle-level textbooks throughout the Ottoman madrasas. Sharh-i Zīj-i Uluğ Bey (Commentary on Zīj of Uluğ Bey). Also known as Sullam al-samā (Stairs of Heavens), according to Salih Zeki, this is the most important work of al-Qushjī. In this commentary, he authenticates the theorems and problems mentioned in the introduction of the Zīj. Additionally, he corrects the mistakes in the Zīj, which are attributed to Uluğ Bey. Risāla fīasl al-khārijī yumkinu fī al-sufliyayn (Treatise on the Eccentric Hypothesis Being Possible for the Two Lower [Planets] Just as for the Others). This is a book dealing with an eccentric model instead of epicyclical models for both inner and outer planets; it has vital importance for a heliocentric cosmologyastronomy, on the path to Copernicus through Regiomontanus. It is one of the most important books of ʿAlī al-Qushjī, who critiques and edits previous authors such as Ptolemy and Muslim astronomers, in particular Kutb al-Dīn Shirāzī’s ideas in his book al-Tuhfat al-Shahiyya alHayʾa.
176 | Qushjī, ʿAlī alRisāla fī H all Ishkāl al-Muʾ addil al-Qamar li ʾ l-Masīr (Fāʾ ida fī ishkāl utārid) (A Treatise Regarding the Solution of the Equant Problem). In this theoretical monograph, al-Qushjī criticizes and corrects opinions and ideas pertaining to Mercury’s motions mentioned in Ptolemy’s Almagest. This book is one of the rare books on the Samarkand mathematical-astronomical school’s work in the field of theoretical astronomy. Al-Sharh al-Jadīd ʿ alā al-Tajrīd (A New Commentary on Tajrîd). This is a commentary on Naṣīr al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī’s (d. 1274) work al-Tajrīd fī ʿilm al-kalām about theology (kalām). Before preparing the work, he had considered almost all works written before him and added his own ideas when necessary. Because of this, it was named and renowned as al Sharḥ al-Jadīd among the Ottomans. It contains ʿAlī al-Qushjī’s philosophical ideas on metaphysics, physics, optics, and mathematics. In this commentary, he makes the rather startling case that astronomy should dispense with its dependence on Aristotelian physics. Even more surprising, he claims that since there are no good observational proofs for the Earth’s motion and since he does not wish to depend on Aristotle’s natural philosophical arguments, the Earth’s rotation is a possibility. The influence of the book went beyond the Ottoman territory toward Central Asia and the Balkans. Sharh al-Risāla al-Wāʿ iziyya (A Commentary on the Treatise of al-Wāʿiziyya). This is a short commentary to ʿAdūd al-Dīn al-ʿIjī’s treatise on preaching, Fāida fī al-Waʿz. ʿAlī al-Qushjī’s
c ommentary became more popular among scholars than previous commentaries and was used as a textbook in the madrasas. In addition to the works listed above, ʿAlī alQushjī wrote many treatises, commentaries, and monographs on various scientific areas. Bibliography Fazlıoglu, Ihsan. “Qūshjī: Abū al-Qāsim ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad Qushči-zāde.” In The Biographical Encyclopaedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference, edited by Thomas Hockey, et al., 946–948. New York: Springer, 2007. Ihsanoglu, Ekmeleddin, et al. Osmanlı astronomi literatürü tarihi (OALT) [History of Astronomy Literature during the Ottoman Period]. Istanbul: IRCICA, 1997. Ragep, F. Jamil. “Ali Qūshjī and Regiomontanus: Eccentric Transformations and Copernican Revolutions.” Journal History of Astronomy 36 (2005): 359–371. Ragep, F. Jamil. “Freeing Astronomy from Philosophy: An Aspect of Islamic Influence on Science.” Osiris 16 (2001): 66–71. Rosenfeld, Boris A., and Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. Mathematicians, Astronomers and Other Scholars of Islamic Civilization and Their Works (7th–19th c.). Istanbul: IRCICA, 2003. Saliba, George. “Al-Qūshjī’s Reform of the Ptolemaic Model for Mercury.” Arabic Sciences and Philosophy 3 (1993): 161–203. Sayılı, Aydin. The Observatory in Islam and Its Place in the General History of the Observatory. Ankara: TTK, 1960. Ünver, A. Süheyl. Türk Pozitif İlimler Tarihinden Bir Bahis Ali Kuşçi: Hayatı ve Eserleri. Istanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi, 1948.
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