The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing/The author’s preface
THE AUTHOR’S PREFACE.
In the Name of God, gracious and merciful!
This work was written by Mohammed ben Musa, of Khowarezm. He commences it thus:
Praised be God for his bounty towards those who deserve it by their virtuous acts: in performing which, as by him prescribed to his adoring creatures, we express our thanks, and render ourselves worthy of the continuance (of his mercy), and preserve ourselves from change: acknowledging his might, bending before his power, and revering his greatness! He sent Mohammed (on whom may the blessing of God repose!) with the mission of a prophet, long after any messenger from above had appeared, when justice had fallen into neglect, and when the true way of life was sought for in vain. Through him he cured of blindness, and saved through him from perdition, and increased through him what before was small, and collected through him what before was scattered. Praised be God our Lord! and may his glory increase, and may all his names be hallowed—besides whom there is no God; and may his benediction rest on Mohammed the Prophet and on his descendants!
The learned in times which have passed away, and among nations which have ceased to exist, were constantly employed in writing books on the several departments of science and on the various branches of knowledge, bearing in mind those that were to come after them, and hoping for a reward proportionate to their ability, and trusting that their endeavours would meet with acknowledgment, attention, and remembrance—content as they were even with a small degree of praise; small, if compared with the pains which they had undergone, and the difficulties which they had encountered in revealing the secrets and obscurities of science.
(2) Some applied themselves to obtain information which was not known before them, and left it to posterity; others commented upon the difficulties in the works left by their predecessors, and defined the best method (of study), or rendered the access (to science) easier or placed it more within reach; others again discovered mistakes in preceding works, and arranged that which was confused, or adjusted what was irregular, and corrected the faults of their fellow-labourers, without arrogance towards them, or taking pride in what they did themselves.
That fondness for science, by which God has distinguished the Imam al Mamun, the Commander of the Faithful besides the caliphat which He has vouchsafed unto him by lawful succession, in the robe of which He has invested him, and with the honours of which He has adorned him), that affability and condescension which he shows to the learned, that promptitude with which he protects and supports them in the elucidation of obscurities and in the removal of difficulties,— has encouraged me to compose a short work on Calculating by (the rules of) Completion and Reduction, confining it to what is easiest and most useful in arithmetic, such as men constantly require in cases of inheritance, legacies, partition, law-suits, and trade, and in all their dealings with one another, or where the measuring of lands, the digging of canals, geometrical computation, and other objects of various sorts and kinds are concerned—relying on the goodness of my intention therein, and hoping that the learned will reward it, by obtaining (for me) through their prayers the excellence of the Divine mercy: in requital of which, may the choicest blessings and the abundant bounty of God be theirs! My confidence rests with God, in this as in every thing, and in Him I put my trust. He is the Lord of the Sublime Throne, May His blessing descend upon all the prophets and heavenly messengers!