The summary of arithmetic
The great book “The summary of arithmetic” composed in Arabic by the celebrated pre-eminent mathematician and scholar sheikh Bahaee, concerning mathematics and arithmetic’s.
“The summary of arithmetic” is known as the most comprehensive and useful books on mathematics
It was considered as the text book and was taught in many religious schools.
Such as Najaf seminary, Isfahan, Mashhad and Qom, as well as many other scientific centre’s all over the world.
There have been written many annotations on it:
- The explanation on the summary of arithmetic by “Mullah Hossein Neishabouri”
- The explanation on the summary of arithmetic by “Fazel khalkhali”
-The annotation on the summary of arithmetic by “Mullah Muhammad Jafar Astarabadi
- The annotation written by the student of sheikh Bahaee “Fazel Javad and many other annotations
Although the book is written in brief, it includes the essential principles of mathematics.
The book starts with the basic subjects of mathematics and at the end; the author concerns the insoluble problems indicating some of the mathematical problems in arithmetic and algebra which were insoluable at that time.
The great mathematician later “Mirza Abdul Qafar Najm al- Dawleh” composed a book called “solution of what is insoluable” on the insoluable problems of “the summary of arithmetic”.
The author
Sheikh Baha al-Din Muhammad Ameli, known as Sheikh Bahaei, celebrated philosopher, jurist, mathematician, astronomer, theosophist, historian, poet and man of letters, born in 1546 in Lebanon into an educated family. His father Hossein Ibn Abdul Samad Harethi was a prominent scholar.
In his childhood emigrated to Iran with his family. He joined to Safawid dynasty (the dynasty which ruled Iran from 150 till 1786) in Isfahan.
Sheikh Bahaei was known as “Sheikh al-Islam” (honorific title). He was an outstanding scholar, fully versed at all the common sciences of his own time and had a profound knowledge about different scientific fields.
Sheikh Bahaei travelled to many countries: Egypt, Syria, Hejaz, Iarq, Palestine, Azerbaijan and Herat and studied in the presence of great scholars. He was one of the most significant scholars in the 16th and the 17th centuries.
Sheikh Bahaei studied commentary, Hadith and Arabic literature in the presence of his father; philosophy, theology and some of the intellectual sciences under Mullah Abdullah Modarres Yazdi; mathematics in the presence of Mulla Ali Maz’hab and Mullah Afzal Qazi and Mullah Muhammad Baqer Yazdi. He also studied medicine in the presence of Imad al-Din Mahmoud.
His students:
Over forty scholars of the 17th century studied in his presence, some of them are as follwing:
1- Mullah Sadra (leading Iranian philosopher 1570 – 1640)
2- Mullah Mohsen Feiz Kashani
3- Mullah Iz al-Din Farahani (famous poet in the 17th century)
4- Mullah Baqer Khorasani
5- Sheikh Javad Baghdadi
6- Mullah Muhammad Taqi Majlesi
7- Seyyed Iz al-Din Hosseini Ameli
Works:
He was one of the most prolific authors, 123 works are attributed to him. The most important are as following:
1- Jame’ Abbasi (his most important work, on jurisprudence. It was written by order of Shah Abbas I)
2- Kashkul (a collection of different sciences and some poems in Persian and Arabic)
3- The forty Hadiths
4- Samadieh (on syntax)
5- The choice part
And many other books and treatises.
Sheikh Bahaei died in 1622.
The book structure
1- Definition of arithmetic
2- The subject of arithmetic
3- Definition of number
4-The steps of number
5- Addition
6-Subtraction
7-Division
8-Mulltiplication
9-Fraction
10-Definition of line and its different sorts
11-Geometric shapes
12-The Preliminaries of algebra
13- on equations
14-weighing the ground to build a subterranean water canal
15- How to measure the width of river and streams
16-on the insoluble problems
The book was translated into German in1843 as well as in French in 1846.
Sources :
The summary of arithmetic