Meera, a history student in Delhi, is preparing a project on an eleventh-century scholar from Central Asia. She learns that he was brought as a hostage to the capital of a Sultan who had invaded his homeland, and that he later came to like that city. He studied the languages and texts of the subcontinent, spent years with its learned men, and wrote a long account of its people in Arabic. Her teacher tells her that accounts written by such outsiders are of special value to historians.
The scholar in the passage was well versed in several languages. Which one of the following languages did he NOT know?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Greek
Option (1) Syriac — Incorrect. Syriac was one of the languages Al-Biruni knew well, along with Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit.
Option (2) Hebrew — Incorrect. Hebrew was also among the languages he was well versed in.
Option (3) Greek — Correct. Al-Biruni did not know Greek. He read Plato and other Greek philosophers in Arabic translations, so this is the language he did not know.
Option (4) Persian — Incorrect. Persian was among his languages; he was born in Khwarizm, an important centre of learning where he got the best education of the time.
NCERT (2026-27): “1.1 From Khwarizm to the Punjab |