📄 Abstract
This article examines the intellectual contributions of Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973–1048), with particular emphasis on his approach to the study of Indian civilization, comparative religion, science, and geography. The primary objective of the study is to examine how Al-Biruni developed an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to knowledge and how his methods enabled him to investigate a civilization different from his own through language, textual study, observation, comparison, and critical inquiry. The study focuses especially on Kitab al-Hind, in which Al-Biruni explored Indian religious and philosophical traditions alongside mathematics, astronomy, geography, chronology, customs, and social organization. It also considers Kitab al-Athar to examine his comparative treatment of religious calendars, festivals, and traditions across different civilizations. Particular attention is given to his learning of Sanskrit and his engagement with Indian scholars which allowed him to approach Indian thought through its own conceptual and literary traditions. The article further analyses the relationship between his scientific method and his broader intellectual outlook, including his reliance on mathematical reasoning, observation, comparison, and critical examination of earlier authorities. His geographical ideas are also discussed, especially his recognition that the limits of contemporary geographical knowledge did not necessarily represent the limits of the physical world. The study argues that Al-Biruni's enduring significance lies not merely in the breadth of subjects he investigated, but in the disciplined method through which he sought to understand unfamiliar intellectual and cultural traditions. His work demonstrates the importance of linguistic knowledge, empirical inquiry, comparative analysis, and awareness of the limits of existing knowledge in the study of human societies and the natural world.
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📚 How to Cite:
Dr. Md. Abu Bakkar Mondal, Mahmudul Hasan Mondal , AL-BIRUNI: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO INDIAN CIVILIZATION, RELIGION, SCIENCE AND GEOGRAPHY , Volume 12 , Issue 8, August 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 818 - 827 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28934