Abstract
AbstractThe problem of the Qibla was one of the central issues in the scientific culture of Medieval Islam, and to solve it properly, one needed mathematics and observation. The mathematics consisted of two parts: plane trigonometry (to construct the trigonometric tables) and spherical trigonometry (as the problem belongs to spherical astronomy). Observation and its instruments were needed to find the geographical coordinates of Mecca and the given location; these coordinates (latitude, longitude) will be the input data in the formulas of the Qibla. In his Almagest, Abū al-Wafāʾ produced a brilliant work to solve the problem. He worked on both mathematics and observation, and reached accurate and easy “modern” solutions. In plane trigonometry, he introduced the trigonometric functions with new definitions, proved the formulas for sines, approximated the sine of degree one, and thus constructed the tables of sines and tangents with high accuracy. In spherical trigonometry, he proved four new spherical theorems, including the tangent rule (which was based on the new definitions and this rule allowed him to work out the easiest solution, as will be shown). In observation, he described three instruments which he used over several years in Baghdad. This paper is a detailed technical and analytical description of Abū al-Wafāʾ's mathematical methods and the Qibla determinations, supplemented with many important original Arabic texts with translation and commentary.
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