Ibn al‐Samḥ, known also as al‐Muhandis (the geometer), Is a noted mathematician and astronomer in Andalusia and an important member of the school of Maslama al‐Majrīṭī centered in Cordoba.
Because of political unrest, Ibn al‐Samḥ flees to Granada where he lives out the rest of his life.
There he works in the service of the local chief, the Berber Ḥabbūs ibn Māksan (reigned: 1019–1038), whose Jewish Minister, Samuel ben Nagrella, is also interested in mathematics and astronomy.
Ibn al‐Samḥ works in the fields of astronomy, mathematics, and, possibly, medicine.
The 14th‐century historian Ibn al‐Khaṭīb states that Ibn al‐Samḥ wrote an essay on history, but there is no other evidence for this assertion.
Ibn al‐Nāshī, one of Ibn al‐Samḥ's most important disciples, gives a list of nine books written by his teacher.