Qusta ibn Luqa (820–912) (Costa ben
Luca, Constabulus) was a Syrian Melkite Christian physician, philosopher,
astronomer, mathematician and translator. He was born in Baalbek.
Travelling to parts of the Byzantine Empire, he brought back Greek texts and
translated them into Arabic.
Personal
life
Qusta ibn Luqa
al-Ba'albakki, i. e. from Baalbek or Heliopolis, Lebanon, a Melkite Christian,
was born in 820 and flourished in Baghdad. He was a philosopher, physician,
mathematician and astronomer. He died in Armenia in A.D. 912.
Translations
Translations of Diophantos, Theodosius of Bithynia's Sphaerica, On Days and
Nights (Περὶ ἡμερῶν καὶ νυκτῶν -De diebus et noctibus), On the places of
habitation (Περὶ οἰκήσεων - De habitationibus), Autolycus' On the moving sphere
(Περὶ κινουμένης σφαίρας - De sphaera quae movetur), On Risings and Settings
(Περὶ ἐπιτολῶν καὶ δύσεων - De ortibus et occasibus), Hypsicles' On Ascensions
(Ἀναφορικός), Aristarchus, Theophrastus’ Meteora, Galen’s catalogue of his
books, Hero of Alexandria's (Heron's) Mechanics, and John Philoponus were made
or revised by him, or made under his direction.
He wrote commentaries on Euclid and a treatise on the Armillary sphere. He
was a prominent figure in the Graeco-Arabic translation movement that reached
its peak in the 9th century. At the request of wealthy and influential
commissioners, Qusta translated Greek works on astronomy, mathematics,
mechanics and natural science into Arabic.
He also produced works of his own: more than sixty treatises are attributed
to him. He wrote mainly on medical subjects, but also on mathematics and
astronomy. Only a small part of his production has so far been edited. The
extant editions of Qusta’s medical works show that he was thoroughly acquainted
with Hippocratic-Galenic humoral medicine– the theoretical system that
constituted the basis of formal medicine in Islam.
Original
works
His original works,
many listed in the Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadim, dealt with contemporary science,
medicine, astronomy and philosophy. A Latin translation of his work ‘On the
Difference between the Spirit and the Soul’ (De Differentia Spiritus et Animae)
was one of the few works not attributed to Aristotle that was included in a
list of ‘books to be 'read,' or lectured on, by the Masters of the Faculty of
Arts, at Paris in 1254, as part of their study of Natural Philosophy. This
translation was made by Joannes Hispalensis, (John of Seville, fl. 1140). He
wrote a treatise on Nabidh. His Medical Regime for the Pilgrims to Mecca: The
Risālā Fī Tadbīr Safar Al-ḥa is available in translation.
Testimonials
Of him Ibn al-Nadim says: "He is an excellent translator; he knew well
Greek, Syriac, and Arabic; he translated texts and corrected many translations.
Many are his medical writings."
Qusta was with Hunayn Ibn Ishaq the author who best served Greek culture
in the Arab civilization.
Involvement
with peers
He was also involved,
with his fellow-Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq, in an epistolary exchange with
the Muslim astronomer, Abu Isa Yahya ibn al-Munajjim, who had invited them to
embrace Islam. Both refused, and provided their reasons for rejecting
al-Munajjim's Islamic faith.
Writings
· Risalah fī Auja Al
Niqris by Qusta Ibn Luqa. Edited with translation and commentary
by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine
and Sciences, Aligarh, 2007 (ISBN 978-81-901362-8-0).
· Rislah fī al Nabidh (Arabic
translation of Qusta ibn Luqa by Rufus. Edited with translation and commentary
by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine
and Sciences, Aligarh, 2007 (ISBN 978-81-901362-7-3).
· Rîsâlah-i Nabîdh of
Qustâ bin Lûqâ by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, Supplement to 'Studies in the
History of Medicine and Science' (SHMS), Jamia Hamdard, Vol. IX(1985),
pp. 185–201.
· Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal
bi‐ʾl–kura al‐nujūmiyya (On the use of the celestial globe; with some
variations as to title), which contains 65 chapters and was widely disseminated
through at least two Arabic recensions as well as Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, and
Italian translations. The Latin translation is edited by R. Lorch - J.
Martínez: Qusta ben Lucae De sphera uolubili, in Suhayl,
vol. 5
· the extant astronomical
work, Hayʾat al‐aflāk (On the configuration of celestial
bodies; Bodleian Library MS Arabic 879, Uri, p. 190), which is one of the
earliest compositions in theoretical (hayʾa) astronomy
· Kitāb al‐Madkhal ilā
ʿilm al‐nujūm (Introduction to the science of astronomy – astrology)
· Kitāb al‐Madkhal ilā
al‐hayʾa wa‐ḥarakāt al‐aflāk wa‐ʾl‐kawākib (Introduction to
the configuration and movements of celestial bodies and stars)
· Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal
bi‐ʾl‐asṭurlāb al‐kurī (On the use of the spherical astrolabe; Leiden
University Library MS Or. 51.2: Handlist, p. 12)
· Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal
bi‐ʾl‐kura dhāt al‐kursī (On the use of the mounted celestial sphere). It
is identical to Kitāb fī al‐ʿamal bi‐ʾl-kura al‐nujūmiyya mentioned
above.
· The Introduction to
Geometry. Translation and Commentary by Jan P. Hogendijk in Suhayl,
vol. 8
Influence
He was named (as Kusta
Ben Luka) by the poet William Butler Yeats as a source for the ideas
in the poet's philosophical treatise, A Vision.
Sumber
Labels:
Mathematician
Thanks for reading Biografi ibn Luqa. Please share...!
