Empirical Horizons in Islamic Historiography: Abū Rayḥān Al-Birunī

From the main features of the tradition of Islamic historiography is variety of its forms, types, methods, topics and schools. However, today, Islamic historiography is known by its mere narrative methods and schools, which are only part of this widespread tradition. In other words, the narrative aspect of Islamic historiography have overshadowed its other aspects. Therefore, researchers in this field also emphasize on the same aspect in describing Islamic historiography, but this article emphasizes that in Islamic historiography, there are other methods and schools in addition to the narrative method. On this basis, in this article we are looking for empirical horizons in Islamic historiography, with an emphasis on historiography of Abū Rayḥān Al-Birunī. This article seeks to answer the question: “Are there empirical and observational trends and methods in Islamic historiography tradition?” The main research hypothesis is that by studying and analyzing the tradition of Islamic historiography, one can find empirical horizons (i.e. approaches based on observation, examination and historical criticism) in the works of some of the greatest Muslim historians. One of the most prominent of these historians is the Abū Rayḥān Al-Birunī