Abdal Hakim Murad Ibn Al-Haytham Youth Depression The Blue Qur ...

and even psychology and therefore
revolutionized the study of optics and
laid the foundations for the scientific
method. (Don’t worry I thought it was all
down to Sir Isaac Newton too!)
Ibn al-Haytham was the first to introduce
experimental evidence as a requirement
for accepting a theory, and his Book
of Optics was actually a critique of
Ptolemy’s book Almagest.
In his spare time, Ibn Al-Haytham built
the first camera obscura or pinhole
camera, in history. He went on to explain
that we see objects upright and not
upside-down, as the camera does,
because of the connection of the optic
nerve with the brain, which analyses and
defines the image.
During his practical experiments, Ibn Al-
Haytham often used the term al-Bayt al-
Muthim, which was translated into Latin
as camera obscura, or dark, private or
closed room.
Many of Ibn Al-Haytham’s works,
especially his huge Book of Optics, were
translated into Latin by the medieval
scholar Gerard of Cremona. This had
a profound impact on the 13th century
philosophers Roger Bacon and Witelo,
and even on the 15th-century works of
Leonardo da Vinci.
In 1040 at the age of 75, Ibn al-
Haytham died in Cairo, Egypt where he
had lived for most of his life.
Today, the camera has gone from the
humble beginnings of Ibn Al-Haytham’s
dark front room, the qamara, to become
a sophisticated digital device, while the
study of optics has blossomed into a
whole science covering lasers to optical
sectioning of the human retina and a
thousand years since it was written,
the Book Of Optics is still quoted by
professors training research students
to be factual and not be swayed by
opinions or prejudice.
A crater on the moon is named in Ibn
al-Haytham’s honour, as is the asteroid
59239 Alhazen.
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