The Center for the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage Organizes a Seminar “Al-Hamdani and His Scientific Contributions.”
The Center for the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage at the University of Baghdad organized a seminar on Sunday, 8/3/2026, at 10:00 a.m., entitled “Al-Hamdani and His Scientific Contributions.” The seminar was held in the hall of Professor Nabila Abdul-Munim Dawood and attended by a number of professors and researchers. The lecture was delivered by Dr. Sahar Hassan Abdul-Rasool, a faculty member at the Center. She introduced Al-Hamdani (Al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Ya‘qub, d. 350 AH / 961 CE), who belonged to the largest tribes of Bakil and traced his lineage to Hamdan. His father was a traveler who moved between Basra, Kufa, Baghdad, and Egypt, eventually settling in Sa‘da. Al-Hamdani later moved to Mecca in 305 AH / 917 CE for over six years before returning to Sa‘da, which was a center of Zaydi Imams and attracted many scholars and students of knowledge. Al-Hamdani was called “the Tongue of Yemen” in recognition of his knowledge and eloquence. It was said of him: “No one was born in Yemen like him in knowledge, understanding, language, poetry, and mastery of Arabic sciences, including grammar, language, poetry, genealogy, biography, and history.”
Dr. Sahar highlighted his most prominent work, “Al-Aklil,” a scientific encyclopedia written in 330 AH / 941 CE in ten volumes, covering the history and culture of ancient Yemen. Of these, the first, second, eighth, and tenth volumes have survived. She also mentioned the “Jewels of the Ancient Ones” in gold and silver, with the first edition prepared and edited by Muhammad Al-Sha‘ibi in 1983, among other works.
She explained that his writings demonstrate the scholarly methodology he employed in acquiring knowledge. Like other Muslim scholars, he began by studying the works of his predecessors, examining their points of agreement and disagreement, and ultimately forming his own reasoned conclusions. He relied on a scientific, empirical approach—a precise research method based on systematic observation and controlled experimentation to test hypotheses.
