Other works[edit]

Influence of Melodies on the Souls of Animals[edit]

Alhazen also wrote a Treatise on the Influence of Melodies on the Souls of Animals, although
no copies have survived. It appears to have been concerned with the question of whether
animals could react to music, for example whether a camel would increase or decrease its
pace.

Engineering[edit]
In engineering, one account of his career as a civil engineer has him summoned to Egypt by
the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, to regulate the flooding of the Nile River. He carried
out a detailed scientific study of the annual inundation of the Nile River, and he drew plans for
building a dam, at the site of the modern-day Aswan Dam. His field work, however, later made
him aware of the impracticality of this scheme, and he soon feigned madness so he could
avoid punishment from the Caliph.[134]

Philosophy[edit]
In his Treatise on Place, Alhazen disagreed with Aristotle's view that nature abhors a void, and
he used geometry in an attempt to demonstrate that place (al-makan) is the imagined threedimensional void between the inner surfaces of a containing body.[135] Abd-el-latif, a supporter of
Aristotle's philosophical view of place, later criticized the work in Fi al-Radd ala Ibn alHaytham fi al-makan (A refutation of Ibn al-Haythams place) for its geometrization of place.[136]
Alhazen also discussed space perception and its epistemological implications in his Book of
Optics. In "tying the visual perception of space to prior bodily experience, Alhacen
unequivocally rejected the intuitiveness of spatial perception and, therefore, the autonomy of
vision. Without tangible notions of distance and size for correlation, sight can tell us next to
nothing about such things."[137]

Theology[edit]
Alhazen was a devout Muslim, though it is uncertain which branch of Islam he followed. He
may have been either a follower of the Ash'ari school of Sunni Islamic theology according
to Ziauddin Sardar[138] and Lawrence Bettany[139] (and opposed to the views of
the Mu'tazili school),[140] a follower of the Mu'tazili school of Islamic theology according to Peter
Edward Hodgson,[141] or a possibly follower of Shia Islam according to A. I. Sabra.[142][need quotation to verify]
Alhazen wrote a work on Islamic theology in which he discussed prophethood and developed a
system of philosophical criteria to discern its false claimants in his time. [143] He also wrote a
treatise entitled Finding the Direction of Qibla by Calculation in which he discussed finding
the Qibla, where Salat prayers are directed towards, mathematically.[144]
He wrote in his Doubts Concerning Ptolemy:
Truth is sought for its own sake ... Finding the truth is difficult, and the road to it is rough. For
the truths are plunged in obscurity. ... God, however, has not preserved the scientist from error
and has not safeguarded science from shortcomings and faults. If this had been the case,
scientists would not have disagreed upon any point of science... [145]
In The Winding Motion, Alhazen further wrote:
From the statements made by the noble Shaykh, it is clear that he believes in Ptolemy's words
in everything he says, without relying on a demonstration or calling on a proof, but by pure
imitation (taqlid); that is how experts in the prophetic tradition have faith in Prophets, may the

blessing of God be upon them. But it is not the way that mathematicians have faith in
specialists in the demonstrative sciences.[146]
Alhazen described his theology:
I constantly sought knowledge and truth, and it became my belief that for gaining access to
the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and
knowledge.[147]