Alhazen (965-1040?), Arab scientist and natural philosopher, who made important contributions in optics, astronomy, and mathematics. His Arab name is Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham. His major work, Optics, included valuable analyses and explanations of light and vision.
Alhazen was born in Basra, in what is now Iraq. He was invited to Cairo by the Muslim ruler al-Hakim. After failing in an attempt to regulate the flow of the Nile, Alhazen feared that al-Hakim would punish him. To avoid punishment, he pretended to be insane until al-Hakim's death. He devoted the rest of his life to scientific study.
Alhazen's most important and original contributions were in optics. He developed a broad theory that explained vision, using geometry and anatomy. This theory says that each point on a lighted area or object radiates light rays in every direction, but only one ray from each point, which strikes the eye perpendicularly, can be seen. The other rays strike at different angles and are not seen.
In astronomy, Alhazen added to the theories of the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. He also summarized or explained some of the difficult mathematical theorems of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid.
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