Born on October 24, 1924, in Bitlis, Fuat Sezgin pursued his primary education in Dogubayazit. He continued his secondary and high school education in Erzurum. In 1942, he relocated to Istanbul to pursue his university education with the aspiration of becoming an engineer.
Shortly after arriving in Istanbul, Fuat Sezgin was introduced to a conference by a relative of his who was studying at Istanbul University's Faculty of Literature. This conference featured renowned German orientalist Hellmut Ritter, who was considered an authority in the field of “Islamic Sciences and Orientalism”. He attended the lecture with a sense of awe and described himself as “mesmerized” by Ritter's discourse. During the lecture, Ritter spoke about esteemed Islamic scholars, extolling luminaries like al-Khwarizmi, Ibn al-Haytham, Abu al-Wafa’ al-Buzjani, Ibn Yunus, al-Jazari, and al-Biruni, elucidating their profound contributions to global science.
Hearing these truths from a Western scientist profoundly affected Fuat Sezgin. Consequently, he pursued a different goal in Istanbul, a city he had originally come to for studying engineering. Fueled by his great admiration for Hellmut Ritter and a newfound curiosity about his own civilization, he resolved to enroll in the Department of Arabic and Persian Philology at Istanbul University. He was now a student of Ritter, and he embraced his lessons with great passion. Following his teacher’s counsel to learn a new language each year, he directed his efforts towards mastering Arabic and achieved fluency in due course. Over time, he managed to learn languages such as Latin, Persian, Hebrew, and Assyrian well enough to read them from their own sources.
He graduated from the university in 1947 with his graduation thesis titled “Evolution of Ilm al-Badi”. Sezgin, who worked as a civil servant in various state institutions in Istanbul for two years, published his first Arabic translation work in 1948. In 1949, he began working at the Central Library of Istanbul University, where he completed his doctorate studies and received his Ph.D. in 1950.
The words he heard from his teacher, Hellmut Ritter, during his student years, “The main foundation of sciences is based on Islamic sciences”, became a pivotal moment in his life. On the advice of his teacher, he decided to write his dissertation on al-Bukhari.
Consequently, he started to work on his dissertation titled “The Sources of al-Bukhari” within the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at Istanbul University. In this thesis, he posited that al-Bukhari, a significant figure in Islamic culture as a source of hadith, “relied on written sources” and not on oral sources, contrary to popular belief.
While he remained to prepare his dissertation, his mentor, Hellmut Ritter, returned to Germany. Subsequently, Sezgin enrolled at the Faculty of Theology in Ankara and continued his studies under the guidance of the esteemed hadith scholar Prof. Dr. Tayyip Okic. In 1951, he commenced his role as a tafsir assistant at the Faculty of Theology at Ankara University. In 1954, he successfully completed his dissertation thesis titled “Research on the Sources of al-Bukhari”, yet he did not cease his studies. He traveled to Pakistan, Egypt, and Germany for the Congress of Orientalists, and meticulously examined the manuscripts located in libraries, one by one. A one-year scholarship initially granted to him by a German foundation was extended due to the foundation's recognition of his dedication and diligence. His quest for knowledge led him to traverse cities and countries like Damascus, Cairo, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Spain, and Italy. During these travels, he continued his studies in the libraries. However, in 1961, Sezgin was forced to leave the university along with some of his professors. Undeterred, he dedicated his days to the Suleymaniye Library maintaining an unyielding focus on his studies. Yet, after careful contemplation, he reached a decision to journey to Germany. On March 13, 1963, he left Istanbul, the city he loved so deeply.
As the years elapsed and he was asked about his departure, he recounted those times with the following sentences: “My love for my homeland was profound. I harbored a strong desire to contribute meaningfully. I had established an institute, and it was working like clockwork. I thought I had not yet finished collecting all the material for my book. I did not want to be away from Istanbul; I did not want to move away from the East, from Iran and Egypt. But I chose Frankfurt because it was the only ‘Institute for the History of Science’ in the world. Its director, Willy Hartner, was a dear friend of mine and had previously served as the rector.”
In Germany, he initially served as an assistant professor at the University of Frankfurt. However, his tenure there was terminated by the faculty. Even the professors admired his resilience in the face of adverse conditions and despondency. He displayed an unwavering determination in the face of potential unemployment, expressing a readiness to take up even manual labor as a construction worker if necessary to complete his thesis. However, he breathed a sigh of relief when he received an offer from the University of Marburg and started working there as a professor. Two years later, he returned to Frankfurt University, where he began a new associate professorship thesis on Jabir ibn Hayyan in the Department of Chemistry in the History of Science. By 1964, he had ascended to the rank of professor in the field of History of Sciences.
Finally, in 1967, he published the first volume of his “History of Sciences”, for which he had begun collecting materials in the 1950s, traveled to 50 countries, visited hundreds of libraries, and examined four hundred thousand works. A greeting card from his mentor, Hellmut Ritter, conveyed his profound admiration: “No one has ever undertaken such a feat. No one will be able to follow in your footsteps. Congratulations.” As it turned out, Ritter's assessment was entirely accurate. This work is unique in its field. This exceptional work, comprising the contributions of Muslim scholars and grounded in the most authoritative sources, stands as a paramount resource for those engaged in the study of this field.
In 1968, he received the award for “The Most Excellent Work on Islamic Sciences”. With the support he received from Arabia, he founded the “Institute for the History of the Arab Islamic Sciences” at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in 1982, which is considered an example in its field and introduced Muslim scholars to the entire world. Later, he founded the Museum of the History of Islamic Science and Technology. In this museum, eight hundred inventions made by Muslim scientists are replicated and exhibited. He also introduced the Islamic civilization with a five-volume work containing the items exhibited in the museum.
Fuat Sezgin accepted the offer to establish a museum in Istanbul, leading to the inception of the Museum of the History of Islamic Science and Technology in Gulhane Park on May 24, 2004. Proficient in 27 languages, Fuat Sezgin devoted over six decades to researching the history of Islamic science and technology. His entire life was dedicated to promoting Islamic Civilization. His unrelenting commitment, considering work as a form of worship, served as an inspiration. He believed that progress hinged solely upon it. On June 30, 2018. He passed on at the age of 94. His legacy encompasses a multitude of awards, numerous titles, and dozens of works for humanity.
Fuat Sezgin’s contributions to world science are countless. Words are not enough to describe his efforts. Perhaps we should try to understand such a scholar, instead of talking about him, who even in the last moments of his life said, “You are making me waste my time here; get me out of here; I need to study.”
