Abbas Ibn Firnas

Ibn Firnas made various contributions in the field of astronomy and engineering. He constructed a device which indicated the motion of the planets and stars in the Universe. In addition, Ibn Firnas came up with a procedure to manufacture colourless glass and made magnifying lenses for reading, which were known as reading stones.

• Name — Abbas ibn Firnas • Native Name — عباس ابن فرناس • Born — c. 810 CE • Birthplace — Ronda, Takurunna province, Emirate of Córdoba • Died — 887 CE • Place of death — Córdoba, Emirate of Córdoba • Known for — Astronomy, engineering, medicine, invention

Scholarly consensus indicates that ibn Firnas (full name: Abu al-Qasim Abbas ibn Firnas ibn Wirdas al-Takurini) was: born in Ronda, Takurunna province; he lived in Córdoba, and, was an Umayyad mawlā (client) of Berber descent. His lineage may have been linked to the early Muslim conquests of the Iberian Peninsula. Later accounts emphasizing Arabic contributions to science may identify Abbas ibn Firnas in the broader frame of Islamic cultural heritage or as a muladí.

Abbas ibn Firnas devised a means of manufacturing colourless glass. He invented various glass planispheres, and he made corrective lenses ("reading stones"). Abbas bin Firnas also devised an apparatus consisting of a chain of objects that could be used to simulate the motions of the planets and stars, and he developed a process for cutting rock crystal that enabled Al-Andalus to cease exporting quartz to Egypt to be cut. He introduced the Sindhind to Al-Andalus, which had important influence on astronomy in Europe. He also designed the al-Maqata, a water clock, and a prototype for a kind of metronome.

Some seven centuries after the death of Firnas, the Algerian historian Ahmad al-Maqqari (d. 1632) wrote a description of Ibn Firnas that included the following: Al-Maqqari is said to have used in his history works "many early sources no longer extant", but in the case of Ibn Firnas, he does not cite his sources for the details of the reputed flight, though he does claim that one verse in a ninth-century Arab poem is actually an allusion to Ibn Firnas's flight. The poem was written by court poet Mu'min ibn Saïd, under Muhammad I (emir of the Emirate of Córdoba, d. 886), who was acquainted with (and usually critical) of Ibn Firnas. The pertinent verse runs: "He flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture." No other surviving sources refer to the event. It has been suggested that Ibn Firnas's attempt at glider flight might have inspired the attempt by Eilmer of Malmesbury between 1000 and 1010 in England; however, there exists no recorded evidence to support this hypothesis.

According to limited secondary sources, approximately 20 years before Ibn Firnas attempted to fly he witnessed a man named 'Armen Firman' wrap himself in a loose cloak stiffened with wooden struts and jump from a tower in Córdoba, intending to use the garment as wings on which he could glide. The alleged attempt at flight was unsuccessful, and the garment slowed his fall enough that he sustained only minor injuries. However, secondary sources that deal exhaustively with Ibn Firnas's flight attempt make zero references to 'Armen Firman'. Al-Maqqari's account of Ibn Firnas – the sole primary source of the flight story – makes no mention of 'Firman'. Because 'Firman's' jump is said to have been Ibn Firnas's source of inspiration, the lack of any mention of 'Firman' in Al-Maqqari's account may point to synthesis — the tower jump later confused with Ibn Firnas's gliding attempt in secondary writings. It is likely that 'Armen Firman' is, in fact, the Latinized name of Abbas ibn Firnas.

The authorities additionally record the headings Abbas Ibn Farnas, Ibn Firnas, Abbas Qasim Ibn Firnas, Abbas ibn Fernas and Ibn Firnans. His recorded language was Arabic. His recorded confession was Islam.

Abbas Ibn Firnas is recorded with the occupation inventor. Recorded as inventor, physician, chemist, musician and poet. Established in IdRef (French universities) under 17579779X. Abbas Ibn Firnas is established in Library of Congress under no2014081645.