Abu Sa'id Ahmed ibn Mohammed ibn Abd al-Jalil al-Sijzi (c. 945 - c. 1020, also known as al-Sinjari and al-Sijazi; ; Al-Sijzi is short for "Al-Sijistani") was an Iranian Muslim astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. He is notable for his correspondence with al-Biruni and for proposing that the Earth rotates around its axis in the 10th century.
He dedicated work to 'Adud al-Daula, who was probably his patron, and to the prince of Balkh. He also worked in Shiraz making astronomical observations from 969 to 970.
Al-Sijzi studied intersections of conic sections and circles. He replaced the old kinematical trisection of an angle by a purely geometric solution (intersection of a circle and an equilateral hyperbola.)
Al-Biruni tells us that Al-Sijzi invented an astrolabe, called "al-zà «raqë", whose design was based on the idea that the Earth rotates:
Al-Biruni also referred to Al-Sijzi as a prominent astronomer who defended the theory that the Earth rotates in al-QÃÂnà «n al-MasÃ¿à «dë.
The fact that some people did believe that the Earth is moving on its own axis is further confirmed by a reference from the 13th century which states:<blockquote> "According to the geometers [or engineers] (muhandisën), the earth is in constant circular motion, and what appears to be the motion of the heavens is actually due to the motion of the earth and not the stars."</blockquote>