Famous People

Avicenna

2014-01-22T07:58:00.001-08:00

Avicenna


Full name	Abū 'Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā
Other names	Sharaf al-Mulk, Hujjat al-Haq, Sheikh al-Rayees
Born	August c. 980 Afshana near Bukhara (capital of the Samanid Empire), in present-dayUzbekistan
Died	June 1037 (aged 56–57) Hamadan, Persia
Era	Medieval era (Islamic Golden Age)
Region	Greater Khorāsān under theSamanid Empire (19 years in Bukhara); Khwārazm under the Samanids (13 years in Gorgānj); Jorjān under the Ziyarids: 1012–14 AD; Persia under the Buyids (Ray: for 1 year; Hamadān: for 9 years; Isfahān: for 13 years; died in 1037 AD in Hamadān.)^[1]
Main interests	Medicine, philosophy, logic, Islamic theology (kalam), physics, poetry,science
Notable ideas	Father of modern medicine; pioneer of aromatherapy
Major works	The Book of Healing, The Canon of Medicine
Influenced by[show]
Influenced

Pūr Sinɑʼ (Persian ابن سینا or ابو علی‌ سینا or پور سينا Pur-e Sina; [ˈpuːr ˈsiːnɑː] "son of Sina";^{[full citation needed]} August c. 980 – June 1037), commonly known as Ibn Sīnā, or in Arabic writing Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Sīnā^[2] (Arabic أبو علي الحسين بن عبد الله بن سينا) or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] polymath, who wrote almost 450 works on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving works concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine.^[7]

His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine,^[8] which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities.^[9] The Canon of Medicine was used as a text-book in the universities of Montpellier and Leuvenas late as 1650.^[10] Ibn Sīnā's Canon of Medicine provides a complete system of medicine according to the principles of Galen (andHippocrates).^[11]^[12]

His corpus also includes writing on philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, physics, as well aspoetry.^[13] He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age.^[14]

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

The only source of information for the first part of Avicenna's life is his autobiography, as written down by his student Jūzjānī. In the absence of any other sources it is impossible to be certain how much of the autobiography is accurate. It has been noted that he uses his autobiography to advance his theory of knowledge (that it was possible for an individual to acquire knowledge and understand the Aristotelian philosophical sciences without a teacher), and it has been questioned whether the order of events described was adjusted to fit more closely with the Aristotelian model; in other words, whether Avicenna described himself as studying things in the 'correct' order. However given the absence of any other evidence, Avicenna's account essentially has to be taken at face value.^[17]

Avicenna was born c. 980 in Afšana, a village near Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan), the capital of the Samanids, a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan. His mother, named Setareh, was from Bukhara;^[18] his father, Abdullah, was a respected Ismaili^[19] scholar from Balkh, an important town of the Samanid Empire, in what is today Balkh Province, Afghanistan. His father was at the time of his son's birth the governor in one of the Samanid Nuh ibn Mansur's estates. He had his son very carefully educated at Bukhara. Ibn Sina's independent thought was served by an extraordinary intelligence and memory, which allowed him to overtake his teachers at the age of fourteen. As he said in his autobiography, there was nothing that he had not learned when he reached eighteen.

A number of different theories have been proposed regarding Avicenna's madhab. Medieval historian Ẓahīr al-dīn al-Bayhaqī (d. 1169) considered Avicenna to be a follower of the Brethren of Purity.^[20] On the other hand, Dimitri Gutas along with Aisha Khan and Jules J. Janssens demonstrated that Avicenna was a Sunni Hanafi.^[20]^[20]^[21] However, Shia faqih Nurullah Shushtari andSeyyed Hossein Nasr, in addition to Henry Corbin, have maintained that he was most likely a Twelver Shia.^[19]^[20]^[22] Similar disagreements exist on the background of Avicenna's family, whereas some writers considered them Sunni, more recent writers thought they were Shia.^[21]

According to his autobiography, Avicenna had memorised the entire Qur'an by the age of 10.^[8] He learned Indian arithmetic from an Indian greengrocer, and he began to learn more from a wandering scholar who gained a livelihood by curing the sick and teaching the young. He also studied Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) under the Hanafi scholar Ismail al-Zahid.^[23]

As a teenager, he was greatly troubled by the Metaphysics of Aristotle, which he could not understand until he read al-Farabi's commentary on the work.^[19] For the next year and a half, he studied philosophy, in which he encountered greater obstacles. In such moments of baffled inquiry, he would leave his books, perform the requisite ablutions (wudu), then go to the mosque, and continue in prayer (salat) till light broke on his difficulties. Deep into the night, he would continue his studies, and even in his dreams problems would pursue him and work out their solution. Forty times, it is said, he read through the Metaphysics of Aristotle, till the words were imprinted on his memory; but their meaning was hopelessly obscure, until one day they found illumination, from the little commentary by Farabi, which he bought at a bookstall for the small sum of three dirhams. So great was his joy at the discovery, made with the help of a work from which he had expected only mystery, that he hastened to return thanks to God, and bestowed alms upon the poor.

He turned to medicine at 16, and not only learned medical theory, but also by gratuitous attendance of the sick had, according to his own account, discovered new methods of treatment. The teenager achieved full status as a qualified physician at age 18,^[8] and found that "Medicine is no hard and thorny science, like mathematics and metaphysics, so I soon made great progress; I became an excellent doctor and began to treat patients, using approved remedies." The youthful physician's fame spread quickly, and he treated many patients without asking for payment.

Adulthood[edit]

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A drawing of Avicenna from 1271

Ibn Sina's first appointment was that of physician to the emir, who owed him his recovery from a dangerous illness (997). Ibn Sina's chief reward for this service was access to the royal library of the Samanids, well-known patrons of scholarship and scholars. When the library was destroyed by fire not long after, the enemies of Ibn Sina accused him of burning it, in order for ever to conceal the sources of his knowledge. Meanwhile, he assisted his father in his financial labors, but still found time to write some of his earliest works.

When Ibn Sina was 22 years old, he lost his father. The Samanid dynasty came to its end in December 1004. Ibn Sina seems to have declined the offers of Mahmud of Ghazni, and proceeded westwards to Urgench in modern Turkmenistan, where the vizier, regarded as a friend of scholars, gave him a small monthly stipend. The pay was small, however, so Ibn Sina wandered from place to place through the districts of Nishapur and Merv to the borders of Khorasan, seeking an opening for his talents. Qabus, the generous ruler of Dailam and central Persia, himself a poet and a scholar, with whom Ibn Sina had expected to find asylum, was on about that date (1012) starved to death by his troops who had revolted. Ibn Sina himself was at this time stricken by a severe illness. Finally, at Gorgan, near the Caspian Sea, Ibn Sina met with a friend, who bought a dwelling near his own house in which Ibn Sina lectured on logic and astronomy. Several of Ibn Sina's treatises were written for this patron; and the commencement of his Canon of Medicine also dates from his stay in Hyrcania.

Ibn Sina subsequently settled at Rai, in the vicinity of modern Tehran, (present day capital of Iran), the home town of Rhazes; where Majd Addaula, a son of the last Buwayhid emir, was nominal ruler under the regency of his mother (Seyyedeh Khatun). About thirty of Ibn Sina's shorter works are said to have been composed in Rai. Constant feuds which raged between the regent and her second son, Shams al-Daula, however, compelled the scholar to quit the place. After a brief sojourn at Qazvin he passed southwards to Hamadãn where Shams al-Daula, another Buwayhid emir, had established himself. At first, Ibn Sina entered into the service of a high-born lady; but the emir, hearing of his arrival, called him in as medical attendant, and sent him back with presents to his dwelling. Ibn Sina was even raised to the office of vizier. The emir decreed that he should be banished from the country. Ibn Sina, however, remained hidden for forty days in sheikh Ahmed Fadhel's house, until a fresh attack of illness induced the emir to restore him to his post. Even during this perturbed time, Ibn Sina persevered with his studies and teaching. Every evening, extracts from his great works, the Canon and the Sanatio, were dictated and explained to his pupils. On the death of the emir, Ibn Sina ceased to be vizier and hid himself in the house of an apothecary, where, with intense assiduity, he continued the composition of his works.

Meanwhile, he had written to Abu Ya'far, the prefect of the dynamic city of Isfahan, offering his services. The new emir of Hamadan, hearing of this correspondence and discovering where Ibn Sina was hiding, incarcerated him in a fortress. War meanwhile continued between the rulers of Isfahan and Hamadãn; in 1024 the former captured Hamadan and its towns, expelling the Tajikmercenaries. When the storm had passed, Ibn Sina returned with the emir to Hamadan, and carried on his literary labors. Later, however, accompanied by his brother, a favorite pupil, and two slaves, Ibn Sina escaped from the city in the dress of a Sufi ascetic. After a perilous journey, they reached Isfahan, receiving an honorable welcome from the prince.

Later life and death[edit]

Avicenna's tomb in Hamadan, Iran.

The inside view of Avicenna's tomb in Hamadan, Iran.

The first page of a manuscript, authored by Ibn Sina.

The remaining ten or twelve years of Ibn Sīnā's life were spent in the service of Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, whom he accompanied as physician and general literary and scientific adviser, even in his numerous campaigns.

During these years he began to study literary matters and philology, instigated, it is asserted, by criticisms on his style. A severe colic, which seized him on the march of the army against Hamadan, was checked by remedies so violent that Ibn Sina could scarcely stand. On a similar occasion the disease returned; with difficulty he reached Hamadan, where, finding the disease gaining ground, he refused to keep up the regimen imposed, and resigned himself to his fate.

His friends advised him to slow down and take life moderately. He refused, however, stating that: "I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length".^[24] On his deathbed remorse seized him; he bestowed his goods on the poor, restored unjust gains, freed his slaves, and read through the Qur'anevery three days until his death. He died in June 1037, in his fifty-eighth year, in the month of Ramadan and was buried in Hamadan, Iran.^[25]

Arvind Kejriwal

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Arvind Kejriwal (born 16 August 1968) is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi. Born in Haryana, Kejriwal is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, where he studied mechanical engineering. He worked for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) as a Joint Commissioner in theIncome Tax Department. He is well-known for his efforts to enact and implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act at grassroots level and his role in drafting a proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

Kejriwal won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006 for his contribution to the enactment of the Right to Information Act. In 2006, after resigning from the IRS, he donated his Magsaysay award money as a corpus fund to found an NGO, Public Cause Research Foundation. In 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and he defeated Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in her constituency in the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election.

Early and personal life

Kejriwal was born in the village of Siwani, Haryana, on 16 August 1968 to Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi, a well-educated and well-off couple. He has a younger sister and a brother. His father was an electrical engineer who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, and whose work led to many changes in the family's residence. Kejriwal spent most of his childhood in north Indian towns such as Sonepat, Ghaziabad and Hisar. He was educated at Campus School in Hisar.^[1]

Kejriwal studied mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and then from 1989 he worked for Tata Steel. He left that job in 1992, having previously taken leave of absence in order to study for the Civil Services Examination,^[1] and spent some time in Kolkata, at theRamakrishna Mission in North-East India and at Nehru Yuva Kendra.^[2]

Kejriwal is married to Sunita, who is also an IRS officer and his batchmate from National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie and the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur. The couple have a daughter and a son. Kejriwal is a vegetarian. He has been practicing Vipassana for many years.^[1]

Arvind Kejriwal

7th Chief Minister of Delhi

Kristen Stewart

2013-06-20T20:47:00.003-07:00

Kristen Stewart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kristen Stewart
Stewart in 2012
Born	Kristen Jaymes Stewart April 9, 1990 (age 23) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1999–present

Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990)^[1] is an American actress who is best known for playing Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga. She has also starred in films such as Panic Room (2002), Speak (2004), Zathura (2005), The Messengers (2007), Adventureland (2009), The Runaways (2010),Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), and On the Road (2012).

Early life[edit]

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California.^[2]^[3]^[4] Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox.^[5] Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia, who has also directed a film.^[4]^[6]^[7]^[8] She has an older brother, Cameron B. Stewart, and an adopted brother, Taylor.^[9]^[10] Stewart attended school until the seventh grade and then continued her education by correspondence^[4] until completing high school.^[11]

Career[edit]

Early work[edit]

As she grew up with a family who all worked behind the camera, Stewart thought she would become a screenwriter/director, but never considered being an actor. "I never wanted to be the center of attention – I wasn't that 'I want to be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on everything."^[12]Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play.^[13]

After she auditioned for a year, Stewart gained her first role in a small, nonspeaking part in the Disney Channel original film The Thirteenth Year.^[5] Then, she was cast in the film The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas as the "ring toss girl".^[5] She subsequently appeared in the independent film The Safety of Objects (2001), in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy in the film Panic Room (2002), as the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). She was nominated for a Young Artist Awardfor her performance.^[14]

After Panic Room's success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, Cold Creek Manor (2003), playing the daughter of Dennis Quaid's and Sharon Stone's characters. She was nominated again for aYoung Artist Award for her performance.^[14] About this time in her career, she started homeschooling because of her irregular schedule, which was affecting her grades. She said, "I started homeschooling because my teachers were failing me. I think it was just resentment – I made more work for them. But homeschooling is great; you can study what you want, which allows you to get more excited about what you're doing".^[14]