Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

Abu Ali Husain bin Abdulah bin Sina, Avicenna (980-1037A.D./ 370-428 A.H.) is considered as the most outstanding peripatetic philosopher and physician of Iran in the Islamic world.
His father was the native of Balkh and during the rule of Nuh bin Mansur Samani (977-997 A.D./ 366-387 A.H.) he went to Bokhara. He joined the government service in an important town named Kharmaisan and married to a woman of his neighboring village. Avicenna was born there in 980 A.D./ 370 A.H. Avicenna first started learning the Holy Quran and literature and when he was only ten years old he was well versed in the Holy Quran and literature which astonished everybody.
He learned Indian mathematics under Mahmud Massahi, jurisprudence under Ismail Zahed and the philosophy and the introduction to the Aristotle and Ptolemy's logic under Abu Abdullah Husain bin Ibrahim al Tabari Natili Then Avicenna studied the texts and its exegesis of the books regarding the natural sciences and metaphysics which according to his statement "opened the gates of knowledge for him." He was then inclined to medical sciences and started reading the books in this field. In a very short duration he became an outstanding physician such that the distinguished physicians came to learn from him. Avicenna according to his own statement by the age of 18 years studied and mastered all the sciences of his era. He says "During that period I had excellent memory in knowledge but now my knowledge is perfected. Knowledge is the same which I had studied and till now I had not found a new thing".
When he was 22 years old Avicenna lost his father and in 392 A.H he left Bokhara for Gorganaj in the north-west of Khwarizm. Then he after a period he left for Ray, then Qazwin and arrived in Hamedan. After residing in Hamedan he left for Isfahan and was welcomed in the city after undergoing very tiring journey. For a long period he stayed in Isfahan. He accompanied A'la al-Dowlah on his trip to Hamedan and became critically ill and passed away in (1037 A.D. / 428 A.H) at an age of 58 and was buried in the Hamedan city.
Avicenna in spite of his turbulent and eventful life was a most distinguished thinker and prolific writer. In the catalogues 131 books written directly by Avicenna and 111 books ascribed to him are mentioned.
The printed and translated works of Avicenna are as follows:
1 - Ash-Shafa
2 - An-Najat
3 - Al-Isharaat wal Tanbihaat
4 - Kitab al-Insaf
5 - Mantiq al-Mashraqin
6 - Risalah Azhawiyyah fi Amr al Ma'ad
7 - Uyun al-Kikmah.
8 - Tas'a Rasail fil Hikmah wal Tabi'iyat
9 - A.F. Miren from 1889 till 1899 A.D. published some works of Avicenna in French translation titled "The Mystical Epistles of Avicenna", in four parts which were published in Leiden.
10 - Fi Ma'ani Kitab Rhetorica
11 - Risalah fi al-Iksir
12 - Risalah fi Marifah-tun-Nafs al-Natiqa wa Ahwalaha.
13 - Al-Taliqat
14 - Al-Qanum fil Tibb
15 - Al-Nuktu wal Fawaid.
16 - Al-Mabda wal Ma'ad.
Avicenna has also left behind many works in Persian and the most famous among then is the book "Danishnameh A'laee" which is mentioned in Arabic and Persian sources with the titles "Al-Hikmah tul A'laiyyah", "Ar-Risalahtul - A'laiyyah", "Hikmat A'laee" and "Kitab-i A'laee. Avicenna has also written many treatises which have been mentioned by Ibn Abu Asiba'a. The treatises in Persian written by Avicenna are as follows: Risalah Nabs, Meraj Namah, Kanwaz al-Muazzamin, Zafar Namah, I'lal Tasalsul Maujudat.