Ibn al-Haytham Quotes
Abu Ali al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham, known to the Latin West as Alhazen, was an Arab mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher and one of the greatest scientific minds of the medieval world. His seven-volume Book of Optics established a new theory of vision and a methodology for natural inquiry grounded in systematic experimentation, anticipating central themes of the early modern scientific revolution. The quotes below are attributed to Ibn al-Haytham, organized by topic.
Browse Ibn al-Haytham by topic
Ibn al-Haytham on God
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“I constantly sought knowledge and truth, and it became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.”
Firas al-Khateeb, Lost Islamic History
Ibn al-Haytham on Knowledge
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Attributed to Ibn al-Haytham:
“Reason and experiment together are the only ways to certain knowledge.”
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“Ehsan Masood, Science and Islam p: 169”
Whosoever seeks the truth will not proceed by studying the writings of his predecessors and by simply accepting his own good opinion of them. Whosoever studies works of science must, if he wants to find the truth, transform himself into a critic of everything he reads . He must examine tests and explanations with the greatest precision and question them from all angles and aspects.
Ibn al-Haytham on Life
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“Alhazen, quoted in “Muslim Journeys.” Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013. Also in Ibn al-Haytham Brief life of an Arab mathematician: died circa 1040 (September-October 2003)”
The seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspends his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus
Ibn al-Haytham on Nature
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Attributed to Ibn al-Haytham:
“Vision occurs when light from objects enters the eye.”
Ibn al-Haytham on Time
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“Firas al-Khateeb, Lost Islamic History”
I constantly sought knowledge and truth, and it became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.
Ibn al-Haytham on Truth
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Attributed to Ibn al-Haytham:
“Truth is sought for its own sake.”
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Attributed to Ibn al-Haytham:
“The duty of any man who studies the writings of scientists is to be the enemy of all that he reads, attacking it from every side.”
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Attributed to Ibn al-Haytham:
“He who seeks truth makes himself the enemy of authority.”
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“Whosoever seeks the truth will not proceed by studying the writings of his predecessors and by simply accepting his own good opinion of them. Whosoever studies works of science must, if he wants to find the truth, transform himself into a critic of everything he reads . He must examine tests and explanations with the greatest precision and question them from all angles and aspects.”
Ehsan Masood, Science and Islam p: 169