Sibt al-Maridini
Born on 1423
Died on 1506
Sibt al-Maridini;
full name Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ghazal (1423 – 1506 AD), was an Egyptian-born astronomer and mathematician. His father came from Damascus. The word “Sibt al-Maridini” means “the son of Al-Mardini’s daughter”. His maternal grandfather, Abdullah al-Maridini, was a reputed astronomer of the eighth century AH. He was a disciple of the astronomer Ibn al-Majdi (d. 850/1506).
Sibt al-Maridini taught mathematics and astronomy in the Great Mosque of al-Azhar, Cairo. He was also a timekeeper (muwaqqit) of the mosque. He wrote no fewer than fifty treatises in astronomy (sine quadrants, sundials, astronomical tables and prayer times) and wrote at least twenty-three mathematics textbooks.
Al-Sakhawy counted two hundred books that were written by Sibt al-Maridini, on Islamic law, astronomy, and mathematics. Libraries that specialize in ancient manuscripts, all over the world, have transcripts of his works.
Sibt al-Mardini’s declared that “the opinion of the muezzins (those who call people to prayer) is less correct than that of the legal scholars and it is the latter that should be used as the basis for the determination of prayer time”.
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