Choose the correct statements regarding Al-Biruni.
A. He was appointed as Qazi by Delhi Sultan.
B. He wrote a book named 'Rihla'.
C. He was well versed in Arabic and Persian.
D. He was the sultan of Khwarizm.
E. He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → C, E only
A. He was appointed as Qazi by Delhi Sultan. Incorrect. This was Ibn Battuta, whom Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq appointed the qazi or judge of Delhi.
B. He wrote a book named ‘Rihla’. Incorrect. The Rihla is Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, written in Arabic. Al-Biruni wrote the Kitab-ul-Hind.
C. He was well versed in Arabic and Persian. Correct. Al-Biruni was well versed in several languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit.
D. He was the sultan of Khwarizm. Incorrect. Al-Biruni was born in Khwarizm in 973 and received his education there; he was a scholar, not its ruler. It was Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni who invaded Khwarizm in 1017.
E. He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage. Correct. Sultan Mahmud took several scholars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni; Al-Biruni arrived there as a hostage but came to like the city and spent the rest of his life there.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.1 From Khwarizm to the Punjab … Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present-day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of learning, and Al-Biruni received the best education available at the time. He was well versed in several languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Although he did not know Greek, he was familiar with the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers, having read them in Arabic translations. In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm, he took several scholars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni; Al-Biruni was one of them. He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage, but gradually developed a liking for the city, where he spent the rest of his life until his death at the age of 70.… 2.1 An early globe-trotter … Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, called Rihla, written in Arabic, provides extremely rich and interesting details about the social and cultural life in the subcontinent in the fourteenth century.… 2.1 An early globe-trotter … The Sultan was impressed by his scholarship, and appointed him the qazi or judge of Delhi.…” |