-I-
The status of Medicine in the Islamic World
The Scientific movement in the early Islamic centuries has various aspects. One of them is the contribution of the early Arab Scientists, which took different forms, their role in scientific progress, the theories they have provided us with, and their methods and influence on the western world which started, as a result, viewing science in a new light during the middle ages.
In fact it is not easy to divide the whole unity of science, and claim that this science belongs completely to the Greeks or the Arabs or the West. It is not possible to divide science because it does not belong to one nation, nor to one race. It is the result of co-operation, and communication, among scientists and many other factors. This paper considers the case of medicine in the Arab Islamic World and investigates its nature and schools.
To understand the nature of Arab medical schools in the Arabic Islamic World, we have to deal with the status of medicine before the 12th century; the Bimaristans: their system and different purposes; medical educational assemblies: their role in configurating physicians' minds and the method that was followed and then conclude with the results. It is worth noticing that examples have been provided.
Medicine was the first science that the Muslims knew in their environment. The ancient Arabic sources mention Al-Harith Ibn Keladah (d. 634 A.D), the Arabian who travelled from the Arab peninsula to Persia to study medicine in Jundisabur where there was a well known Bimaristan (hospital). After he had finished his studies in Jundisabur, Al-Harith returned home to practise his science and to treat those who were in need of his knowledge.
The ancient sources inform us about Al-Harith especially Ibn Golgol , the
most famous historian in the fourth century of Hijra (10th century), who said
that Al-Harith «studied medicine in Persia and Yemen and was alive in the days
of the Prophet(1). According to other
sources (2) , the Prophet advised
Saad Ibn Abi Waq'qas when he was sick to consult Al-Harith, the physician.
The power and authority of physicians began to increase during the rule of
Mu'awiyah (660-680), who founded the Umayyad state. Mu'awiyah ordered his men to
bring the best physicians from Jundisabur to care for his health, specially that
he was afraid his enemies No doubt the successive physicians made great contributions and were the
pioneers of medicine during the rule of Mu'awiyah and his sons. During the rule
of Umayyad Caliph Marawan Ibn al-Hakam (d. 685), the Persian physician
Masarjawayh played a vital and effective role, when he started, by order of
Marawan, to translate the Medical Encyclopaedia of the Alexandrian priest Ahrun,
from Syriac into Arabic. Masarjawyh's translation of Ahrun's book is considered
to be the first translation of a medical book in Islam from a foreign language
into Arabic The Abbasids represent a very strong and important stage in the development
of science, because they encouraged scientists, and tried to establish a solid
scientific movement in the Islamic world, especially after they chose Baghdad to
be the new capital, instead of Damascus. As we know the Abbasids were
rationalistic. Most of the Caliphs were among the "Mutazilah scientists. The
adoption of rationalism led to the flourishing of the sciences through the
Islamic academy of science "Bayet al-Hikma" Practising medicine in Baghdad during the Abbasids rule was the
responsibility of two families: (1) The family of Bukhtishu, and (2) the family
of Masaway.
The Bukhtishu family came to Baghdad by the order of the Caliph Al-Mansour
who was sick and suffering from pain in his stomach. He sent his men to bring
Georges b. Jibril b. Bukhtishu to treat him in the year (148H. / 765). Georges
was the chief physician (rais al atibba) in Jundisabur When Georges left to Jundisabur after four years he ordered his son to stay
in Baghdad to continue his mission. Both father and son wrote medical books in
Syriac which were later translated into Arabic by Hunain b. Ishaq .
Hunain b. Ishaq (194-264 H.) who took the lead in the official movement of
translation, was one of the most important figures both in translation and
medicine. He translated the books of Hippocrates and Galen, and wrote down many
medical books among which is his famous one about the eye (Al Ashr Maqalat fi
al-'Ayn) The Ten Treatise on the Eye - Max Meyerhof verified and
studied it critically While the process of translation was going on, The Arabs began to organise
Medicine as a profession, especially the bimaristans (hospitals) and practicing
medicine among people.
Ancient Arabic sources - like al-Qifti No doubt we have some good knowledge about the contribution of the Arab
Muslim physicians who took part in the process of developing
medicine
1- Al-Razi was one of the well known Muslim physicians in the West during the Middle Ages. Ibn al-Nadim enumerated the works of al-Razi among which are these major works: (1) Kitab al-Asrar The Book of Secrets, (2) Kitab al-Tib al-Mansuri Liber Almansouris, (3) Kitab al-Hawi (11) The Comprehensive Book, and (4) A Treatise on al-Judari wa al-Hasbah Small pox and measles.
Kitab al-Asrar was first translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187), while Kitab al-Tib al-Mansouri appeared in the Latin translation in Milan in 1480, and so did the treatise on al-Judari wa al-Hasbah. As for al-Hawi (Continens) its translation had been made by Faraj Ibn Salim in 1279, and reprinted many times in Latin. This book had a great influence in Europe. Montgomery Watt, while dealing with al-Razi said "His greatest work is one translated into Latin as the Continens, The Comprehensive Book. It was an encyclopedia of all medical science up to that time, and had to be completed by his disciples after his death. For each disease he gave the views of Greek, Syrian, Indian, Persian and Arab authors, and then added notes on his clinical observations and expressed a final opinion." (12)
2- Ibn Sina was known as a philosopher and physician. His fame in these two fields was the cause of his influence in the West. Here we are dealing with his medical contribution that became so evident in his famous work Kitab al-Qanun fi al-Tib. The Organon in Medicine. This book was translated by Gerard of Cremona into Latin and published in Europe several times. The importance of al-Qanun came from two things:
a) Its well organized data, its method and scientific style. This is because Ibn Sina was a good philosopher and had an organized logical mind.
b) His description of some diseases such as mediastinitis and pleurisy. Also he mentioned the nature of phthisis and the spreading of diseases by water and soil, and gave the right diagnosis of ankylostomiasis (13) .
-II-
Bimaristans in the Islamic World
Those who learn and study medicine and practice it as a profession must work in hospitals to get experience and practice the medical profession, so that they gain this experience from the cases they examine under the supervision of master scientists. Von Grunebaum says about the necessity of hospital visits for medical students "The medical student must always visit the hospitals and must be very careful of the conditions and situations of the persons found there, while he is accompanied by the most intelligent medical teachers, and must ask about patients' conditions, their symptoms, remembering what he read about changes and their significance whether good or bad. If he understands these things he will achieve a high rank in his profession (14) .
Ibn Abi Usaibia'h said: "Hippocrates cared greatly about his patients and
their treatment. It is said that he was the first to invent and build the
Bimaristan and the first to renew it, by allocating - near his house - part of
his garden for the patients and assigned some servants to perform the
treatments. He called this the «Akhssendokin», i.e. a patient complex. Also the
word Bimaristan-which is of Persian origin-has the same meaning as (Bimar) in
Persian means disease and (stan) is location or place, i.e. location or place of
disease (15). This is the text we
find in the «Uyun al-Anba» of Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah about the historical development
of the Bimaristans or hospitals. But Max meyerhof
(16) mentioned that the first hospital to be built in
the Islamic world is that which was based in Baghdad by the order of Harun
al-Rashed; then hospitals were built successively everywhere. Does Meyerhof's
opinion present the absolute truth, or does this opinion contain some clear
fallacies?
Ibn Qutayibah al-Dainuri was interested in his book Leadership and
Politics Moreover we find other proofs in (Ibn al-Atheer) in
al-Kamel
1- The Bimaristan system: The people who are
interested in establishing any institution must set an administrative or
technical system to be followed. Of course the physicians in the Islamic world
put in mind to follow a precise system inside the hospitals so that it would be
based upon academic graduation which fulfills two amis: First, the welfare of
the patients to be dealt with their treatment according to the updated rules of
medical treatment. Second, Bimaristans used for teaching medicine to the newly
graduated physicians responsible to treat patients successfully. Therefore the
Bimaristans in the Islamic world were followed all the technical rules that
fulfilled the two purposes together.
Ibn Jubair Concerning the technical choice of bimaristanic site they used to choose the
best location with regard to the health conditions. They preferred to build the
Bimaristans over hills or by rivers. Al Adoudi's bimaristan is a good example of
this; it was built by Adoud al-Dawla b. Bawaih Concerning organization, it was natural that the physicians comprehended the
necessity of separating men and women, therefore they took into consideration as
much as possible to divide the Bimaristan into two sections, one for men and the
other for women. Each section was independent, each having large halls for the
patients.
Concerning the administrative organization of the Bimaristan, it was as
follows: each section contained a hall for each type of disease, while each hall
had one physician or more and each group of doctors in a section had a chief
doctor. The halls were specialized: a hall for internal diseases another for
splinted patients, another for oculists, and another one for delivery a special
hall for each type of disease including communicable diseases Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah discribed in his book Uyun al-Anba Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah tells us The chief of all physicians in the hospital was called (AI Saoor). The
administrative and medical system in the hospital was based upon using boys who
worked as employees or health workers, assistants or dressers; some of them were
servants and they cleaned the Bimaristan and cared after the patients when
necessary.
According to this order and system the Bimaristan was performing its medical
job from a diagnostic point of view, disease definition and prescription of
treatment. Moreover, they understood the necessity of adjoining a pharmacy to
the Bimaristan to give out the drugs, which were given according to the
physician's prescription, and the pharmacy was called «Al
Sharabkhana» And as it is the case today, they used to inspect the Bimaristan. This was
the responsibility of an employee assigned by the minister or the Caliph and
given the authority to enter the hospital to be acquainted with the patients'
status and the care offered to them, the food given to them and whether the boys
were serving them or not. Whether the physician is performing his duty perfectly
or he neglecting it. This system assured the stay and continuity of the
Bimaristan in a serious way that allowed it to work with a high competence
technically, scientifically and administratively.
It is worth mentioning that each patient had his own card on which the
physician recorded his observations while treating the patient. Also the
phsician had his own special register to record his observations on the diseases
he was treating. The physician performed his experiments and tests according to
his observations. If the physician faced any problem in any matter of diagnosis,
he went to the head of his division or the chief physician. Frequently the
physicians held meetings to discuss cases. Undoubtedly these discussions and
consultations were considered as a small scientific conference of physicians. We
do the same today.
We notice that the historians of Arab medicine wrote special long pages on
the medical personalities about whom discussions were held to set the work
system in the hospital, or the Bimaristan between the physicians. There were
shifts for the doctors, some worked in the morning and others at night, some
worked a certain time in the morning and another period at night, so that they
cared for the patient. At the same time they could get enough rest to allow them
to continue working in the Bimaristan, supervise the treatment system and
medical care of the patients.
Al-Maqrizi mentioned in his plans Ibn al-Okhowa described in his book (al-Hisba) the entrance of the patient to
the outpatient clinic to see the physician. He said in a very important text
«the physician asks the patient about the cause of his illness and the pain he
feels. He prepares for the patient syrups and other drugs, then he writes a copy
of the prescription to the parents attending with the patient. Next day he
re-examines the patient and looks at the drugs and asks him if he feels better
or not, and he advises the patient according to his condition. This procedure is
repeated on the third day and the fourth... till the patient is either cured or
dead. If the patient is cured, the physician is paid.
If the patient dies, his parents go to the chief doctor, they present the
prescriptions written by the physician. If the chief doctor judges that the
physician has performed his job perfectly without negligence, he tells the
parents that death was natural; if he judges otherwise, he tells them: take the
blood money of your relative from the physician; he killed him by his bad
performance and negligence. In this honorable way they were sure that medicine
is practiced by experienced well trained persons 2- Bimaristan Varieties according to different Purposes
In the early Islamic state, Muslims comprehended the different form and
purposes that should be considered in Bimaristans. Normally, they should deal
with this point seriously, precisely due to its importance to the patient and
the physician as well as the desired degree of care for the patient. Certainly
the Bimaristan established to serve the fighters in the battle field during the
hustle of the battle must differ from that built for the patients affected by
mental disease who do not have to hustle, but doctors might hustle away from
them but this is different, or those built for a commercial caravan or the
pilgrimage to Al-Kaaba.... and so on.
Each type of diseases might require a special Bimaristan for a group of
patients. This can be noticed at least by specialization of Bimaristans for
leprotics and mentally affected patients.
a) Mental Disease Bimaristan
Muslims realised the importance of the care for mentally affected
patients. They frequently added to the big Bimaristans special places isolated
by iron bars, specially for patients with mental diseases Muslim physicians knew that psychiatric and mental diseases required a
special type of care and that the physician must be acquainted with the etiology
of the disease from which the patient is suffering.
It is worth mentioning that Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah
b) Leprotic Bimaristan:
This was built specially for leprotics. At the start of our talk about
Bimaristans we referred to what Nushirawy mentioned about al-Waleed b. Abd
al-Malek saying that he was the first who was interested in establishing such
types of Bimaristans.
According to Ibn al-Qifi c) Road Bimaristan:
Arabs knew this type of Bimaristans and they realized its importance,
because the pilgrimage to Holy places or the commercial caravans that travailed
for long distances required care for the travelers, such as treating wounded
persons or saving a person asking for help.
Therefore, they equipped the caravans with medical missions where physicians
worked and had boys to help them. Ibn al Qifti presented to us an important test
while he was talking about «Al-Hakam b. Ali al-Hakam al-Damaski», he said «he
was a doctor in the beginning of «Al Abbassid state», Mu'awiyah b. Abi Sofian
sent him as a doctor with his son Yazeed to Mecca when he sent Yazeed as Emeer
of the pilgrimage in that epoch. Al-Hakam said: He is the doctor my father sent
with Yazeed when he went to Mecca and I was the doctor who went with Abd al
Samad b. Ali b. Abd Alla b. Abbas to Mecca Undoubtedly, Ibn al-Qifti's text we just mentioned kept the oldest idea about
this type of Bimaristans. Ibn Katheer d) Prison Bimaristan:
The Muslims cared medically for the imprisoned the same way they did
for people outside the prison. This is clear from the letter the minister, Issa
b. Ali al-Garrah It was Sinan b. Thabit who financially supported al-Sayeda Bimaristan,
according to what Ibn al-Qifti said «On the first of Moharam 306 Hijri, Sinan b.
Thabit inaugurated Bimaristan al-Sayeda in the Yahia Market and he stayed in it
and he organized the work of physicians in it. Each month 600 Dinars were spent
on the Bimaristan by Youssef b. Yahia al-Monajem because Sinan did not
contribute to the expenditure of the bimaristan e) The Mobile Bimaristan:
This type of Bimaristan visited villages, peripheries and cities
caring for the health of people who lived away from the state capital and
allowed the state services to reach anyone who needed treatment in the state.
Ali b. Issa al-Garrah - al Muqtadir's minister - ordered the first state
physician Sinan b. Thabit, in a written letter, to let doctors travel to the
peripheries of the state. He said in his letter «I thought of people who live in
the peripheries and that among them are patients who do not receive any medical
care because there are no doctors there. So, assign - May God prolong your
life-some physicians to visit the peripheries; also a pharmacy containing drugs
and syrups. They have to travel all through the peripheries and stay in each
region enough time to perform treatment of patients, then they move to another
one It was the state's responsibility to care for the Bimaristans. The senior
physicians were aware of establishing work rules and bases to teach the students
who came to learn medicine from everywhere. Therefore, medicine schools were
established in the Islamic world, in which teaching was performed by two
methods:
1- The theoretical method in the medical schools, and 2- A
practical method for training and practice where students gathered around the
doctor in chier to see and examine the patients and the treatment he prescribed.
When the students finished the studying period they applied for an exam, took an
oath and got their certificates. When they started to practice medicine, they
always worked under the state's supervision. This means of course that the
Bimaristans were institutes for teaching medicine and to complete the study for
junior doctors (43) . From a
practical point of view, the professors prescribed the treatment for the
patients, they examined them in the presence of the students who received their
learning through professors, they writing their instructions. They performed
these instructions in an organized way and they did a follow up to the patients
and hence they acquired the necessary practical experience for a medical
student. Muslim contribution in the field of medicine can be exposed
throughout three main points which are, (1) the medical assemblies, (2)
Al-bimaristan, and (3) the method that they followed.
-III- Medical Educational
Assemblies The Arab Historian Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, recognized and wrote down many things
related to science and scientists in his book (Uyun al-Anba Fi Tabaqat
al-Atibba) Sources of Information on the Classes of Physicians. He
mentioned many characteristics concerning scientists assemblies. The medical
assembly of Amin al-Dawla b. al-Thalmeed who knew many languages specially
Syriac and Pahlavy as well as Arabic Scientifc assemblies between physicians sometimes were held in the
Bimaristans, we find Zahed al-Ulama who established al-Farki Bimaristan
assembling his pupils there to answer their queries Most educational assemblies acquired the form of a debate. Seif al-Deen
al-Amidi's assembly adopted this form and eventually people praised «his
eloquence in debating and research» Sometimes during science assemblies, a physician wrote books for the students
who had graduated under his teaching and who had become themselves teachers of
science. The writing of books in this case was not meant for teaching or
dictating but they were meant to urge the students to more studies and
comprehension Arab physicians' way of teaching had its characteristics and Abou Bakr
al-Razi, maybe the physicians' leader and one of the best physicians of his time
to preserve for us in their writings the essentials that a physician should know
well, and that teachers should engrave in the pupils mind.
These teachings were not just theoretical, but they came out of experience
and practice, Abou Bakr al-Razi was the best clinical physician, had no
competitor in this field, beside being a good teacher of medicine and its
writing. His book (The Guide or al-Fusul) is a good example. During his teaching
sessions pupils crowded around him in circles according to the precedence of
their joining these sessions. He used to present them patients and let them ask
about the illness and try to diagnose it; if they failed he would intervene and
give the final decision» This quotation refers to many things in the field of medical education by
these professors and their assemblies either in the Bimaristans or outside them.
Al-Razi's educational assembly was of two kinds, one for theoretical teaching
the other for the practical one As for the practical teachings, like during his theoretical ones, students
placed themselves in circles around the patient's bed in the hospital. He
explained to them rare cases one after the other. In this way al-Razi used the
patient as a book to be read daily and continuously to be able to understand the
symptoms of his illness The most important thing in this matter, is that the teacher explained to his
pupils in the assemblies each case he examined and noted his questions and his
observations in a special page. He started by asking the patient, and the pupils
around him, asking his name, age, country of origin, trips and his illness, the
date it started, place of pain and symptoms. He assured that the patient was the
best person to explain the extent of what he feels. He also asked the patient
about his family and its members, and whether they felt the same symptoms.
To achieve all that, al-Razi examined his pupils and graduates. He asked
first in the field of anatomy, and if the pupils failed to answer, he did not
continue the clinical examination because their failure in this subject made
them unworthy even if they passed the clinical exam Mohazb al-Deen abd Al-Rahim b. Ali al-Dakhwar's assembly in the second half
of the sixth century Hijri and the first quarter of the seventh century Hijri,
was the same. Students used to gather around him in the Bimaristans while he
examined patients. He taught them and explained the cases in front of them. One
of his students, Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, says: «I saw him once in the hall of the
fevered; doctors felt the pulse of one patient and diagnosed weakness and
prescribed chicken soup to give him strength, he said that his speech and the
look of his eyes denoted weakness, then he felt the pulse of his right hand then
of the other and said: Feel the pulse of his left hand, we found it strong, he
then said: look at his right hand and how near his elbow the vein divides in two
branches one remains and can be felt the other moves over the ulna towards the
fingers, which we found true. He then said: this is a rare case but some people
show this phenomena, and many physicians diagnose it wrong as weak pulse but it
is just that they are feeling half the vein When al-Dakhwar finished in the Bimaristan he devoted his time first to
transcription, studying and reading, then to his pupils. He asked them in «They
came in and so did groups of doctors and practitioners, each read his lesson,
discussed it with him explained it as much as he could then if there was need
for further explanation or if there was a problem he would discuss it with the
best of the attendants Al-Dakhwar's system in theoretical teaching had a special character. He
scrutinized the next he had, and tried as much as possible to bring out a text
without mistakes, whenever someone read to him, "he would have a copy of the
text in his hands, he looked at it, and compared it, if he found a mistake in
the copy being read he would order its correction" This was al-Dakwar's scientific assembly, where, he taught many pupils and
physicians. He wanted scientists to remember him and commemorate him, therefore
he transformed his home into a school for medicine, and it was considered one of
the best known schools in Damascus, and was known in the history of Arab
medicine as the Dakhwarian school the reputation of which in the seventeenth
century Hijri spread all over the world. And from it graduated many well known
doctors who spread all over the world presenting mankind their knowledge and
studies.
Al Dakhwar succeeded in inspiring his students with the correct scientific
doctrines which he himself had learned in his teacher, Tag al-Deen al-Kindi's
assembly. This was very clear in his other interests besides medicine.
Actually, Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah preserved for us a great treasure in his book
(Uyun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atiba). In this book he deals with physicians not
history, but at the same time he praises the interest in history, al-Dakhwar was
not only a great figure in medicine during Ibn Usaibi'ah lifetime, nor was he
only a Sheikh who taught this historian doctor, nor only did he establish a
school well known in the Islamic world, and that became a true science institute
attracting researches from all places, but he also wrote the history of medicine
in consecutive periods, relating to his pupils among whom was Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah
what he remembered, and what he heard from his elders about the science and
views of his predecessors. This is not strange as al-Dakhwar the scientist and
doctor was a descendant of Tag al-Deen al-Kanadi, who taught him how to look for
the truth and seek its origin, this is the characteristic of a true scientist
who ascribes sayings to their owners and not take the credit himself for science
and learning and diminish others' abilities, as some ignorant people do nowadays
pretending to know everything and deny the merit to others.
We have many examples of what Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah wrote, which show
al-Dakhwar's views who connected good ideology to good morals and so spoke
truthfully and honestly
-IV-
The Fundamentals of
Method
The method is considered
to be the core idea that characterizes any science. Scientists who work without
a method will never achieve a scientific discovery and will never get the chance
for any scientific addition and hence will repeat opinions of others. Arab
scientists and physicians realized the importance of concluding the ideas after
following a clear method in their researches and following certain rules.
Therefore they brought both sense and reason (intellect), they discussed
intellectually and logically what sense exposed in the light of what previous
scientists had recorded.
Though it is difficult to claim that Muslims had clearly written about method - as it is the case today - it is obvious from their writings that they followed a precise scientific method in studying and teaching when they talked about the topics they wrote and wanted people to learn.
Scientists and physicians in the period of the flourishing Islamic state
achieved brilliant scientific results, which - for certain - were transmitted to
the Western world, to Latin Europe, and European science benefited from them,
during the Renaissance epoch. This made Ali Sami al-Nashar, when speaking about
influence of the Islamic method on the West, assert while writing his
introduction "I knew for sure that I am in front of the greatest discovery that
the European world had ever known which is the discovery of experimental methods
of the Islamic world in its most perfect form"
(60) .
The talk about method could be divided into two parts:
A- The steps followed during research and study.
B- The characteristic and general features that characterized
the method and allowed it to serve the purposes of scientific research and
reflection upon the scientific works, the character and the nature of genuiness
and seriousness, and hence allowed them to achive important scientific
discoveries by which they went ahead of the European world for many
centuries.
A- The steps followed in the research:
As previously mentioned, the method is the core of scientific research
so that if you start the study of any topic without following a specific method
to treat the topic through it, or without following a specific plan during your
research, you will achieve nothing, i.e. you will not get any useful research
result to be used theoretically and practically.
Though scientists in the capital of the Islamic state and in its peripheries
did not have specialized clear writings - which we call method - the rules and
regulations and the steps were clear in their minds and they used to draw the
attention of the reader and the student to its importance from time to time.
We can conclude from their several writings, the general rules followed in
the medical researches that led to the flourishing of that science in a way that
astonished the Latin world.
1- Observation and Description
It is familiar to find some diseases that have similar symptoms to the
extent that makes the distinction between them require a highly skilled
physician. Muslim physicians have dealt frequently with such matters. We know
this through several examples and observations found in the history of Arab
Medicine. Here is al-Razi Scientists have comprehended the steps of observation, description,
comparison and detection of points of similarities and differences. They
realized that there are qualitative observations that explain to us the
different sides of what we are studying.
Example 1: Qualitative Observation
Al-Bughdady was interested in the study of Diabetes Mellitus symptoms. He
mentioned in two successive paragraphs "while examining the urine you must
observe the amount whether a little or a lot, the colour of urine, its taste,
and consistency i.e. whether it is thin or thick...". In another paragraph he
said «while examining the urine we should examine three things: the colour, the
consistency and weight, in addition we have to examine the odour, the
temperature by putting your finger in it, as well as its sour taste»
Example 2: Comparative observation and the relation between
sensation and intellect Al-Bughdady did not stop following his
observation. He proved that Galen committed mistakes. Galen mentioned that the
lower jaw in human beings consists of two parts attached together by a joint at
the chin, but al-Bughdady could - through his precise observation - describe the
real situation which is: the lower jaw in the mammalians consists of two parts
which unite together sooner or later, the degree of union increases or decreases
to form strong symphysis at the middle of the chin in different types of
mammalians. In high mammalians and human beings the union of bone at the middle
of the chin occurs strongly immediately after the delivery so that the lower jaw
forms a single bone Al-Bughdady was acquainted with the reasons of Galen's opinion on this point,
but his observations contradicted what Galen assumed and hence he could, through
concentrating his attention on what he observed, realise the point of
similarities and differences of what he had in front of him, being provided with
an ability of precise distinction and understanding.
Al-Bughdady found in a certain place near Cairo a Tomb full of human bones
where he counted more than two thousands skulls. When he examined the shape of
the bones and joints and the way of their articulation, he proved that the lower
jaw is formed of one piece rather than two as Galen assumed in the sixth chapter
of his book «The Children Bones» where he said that: «The lower jaw is formed of
two parts which is proved by the fact that it can be cracked at its middle when
it is crumbled».
But according to the precise observations of al-Bughdady «if the lower jaw
was formed of two attached parts by a joint, we could see that joint at least in
the brittle decayed bones, because the crumbling of bones starts firstly at the
joints» We can notice from all these examples, the importance of the step of precise
scientific observation to the Arab scientists and the degree of correlation
between the observation and the continuous description directly from reality,
and the extent of their thinking to correlate between the parts of the observed
subjects that they describe. This is proved by the example given by al-Bughdady
which was just mentioned, that shows how just one empirical observation
acquainted him with a wrong opinion that dominated for a long period and was
adopted by the physicians since Galen. We will ascertain more precise
observations while we review some important points.
But we are concerned mostly to demonstrate that al-Bughdady-and other
scientists also-did not rely upon Galen and other persons sayings. This will
become evident in case of Ibn al-Nafis. The sensational observations of those
scientists were accompained with good works of mind in what the sense was
exposed to. The sense might be wrong but the mind should correct this mistake.
2- Experimental and Testing:
Muslim physicans were concerned with referring to experiment because
it is the best witness to the correctness of an opinion. That is why al-Razi
mentioned in his book (The Characteristics of Things) many texts on experiment,
"we add what we know by experiment and people know that we do not give our
confidence to anything except after its test and experimentation" Al-Razi believes also that the skilled physician must have two
characteristics together "one, he should be skilled in the scientific art of
medicine and the other, he must have at the same time a lot of
experiences" From this point of view, we find that al-Razi was committed always to
experiment as it is considered the principal criterion in judging things. As
long as experiment is the criterion that the physician always resorts to "to
distinguish between the truth and the falsehood in what concerns these
caracteristics that might be submitted to the denial of those who could not
understand the aims of science" Such texts and others reveal to what extent, the scientists of that epoch
were concerned with the establishing of science upon correct scientific basis.
It is impossible to use standards through which the science works today in the
twentieth century as a basis to judge a science produced by the Islamic mind
more than a thousand years ago approximately.
Muslims were skilled in the art of medicine and they achieved important
achievements, they attributed in the way of distinction between one disease and
another and the definition of many of communicable diseases which can be called
epidemics. They did not only distinguish between communicable diseases, but they
described each disease separately from the observations they made and the signs
of disease occurrence and progress. There are many examples to demonstrate this
fact. For example, al-Razi was the first to describe precisely and clearly small
pox and measles We can notice the precision of that description which al-Razi presented in
the distinction between small pox and measles where he says "the appearance of
small pox is preceded by a continuous fever which causes backache and itching in
the nose and shivering during sleep. The important symptoms that denote its
occurrence: backache with fever and burning pain all over the body, facial
congestion and sometimes facial contractions, acute redness of the cheeks, eyes
pressure sensation in the body which extends to the muscles, throat and chest
pain accompanied with difficulty of breathing, cough and restlessness.
Irritability, nausea, anxiety are more pronounced in measles than in small
pox Among other examples we find Avicenna who "distinguished between pneumonia
and pleurisy, acute and secondary meningitis, intestinal and renal
colics" These three examples reveal the intelligence of the physicians in the Islamic
World and their insight about the cases presented to them and the way of giving
successful treatment to such diseases after they examined them carefully and
recognized its etiology and the facts and the way of its progress through
scientific observations.
We find also that Muslims knew in detail other important diseases whose
diagnosis was not known in the old medicine Among the medical features of Muslims worth mentioning is Surgery. They were
the first to use anaesthesia in surgical operations The belief that predominated since the epoch of Galen till the time when Ibn
al-Nafis first appeared was that blood originates in the liver from which it is
transported to the right ventricle in the heart, then it flows in the veins to
the different body organs to nourish them, some of the blood enters the left
ventricle through pores in the diaphragm, where it is mixed with the air coming
from the lungs. But, Ibn al-Nafis found that the process of blood purification
occurs in the lungs due to its union with the air and hence it is purified, then
it is transported to the left ventricle hence the small blood circulation
discovered by Ibn al-Nafis. As the historians of science assert «Ibn al-Nafis,
described precisely the blood circulation eight hundred years before the
Portuguese Servit to which this discovery is attributed B- The Characteristics of the Methods
There were general characteristics ascribed to the method used by the
different scientists and physicians, during the flourishing of Islamic
development. These characteristics can be described as follows
1- Debating and not accepting ideas without proof.
2- Conscious and accurate analysis.
3- Scientific honesty. This feature characterised the books
written by Arab scientists through the ages. Scientific honesty can be put in
the following order:
a) Refer opinions to their owners.
b) Not to take credit for others' creativity.
c) Arab scientists used some statements that indicated complete
uncertainty such as: «Some physicians told me» or «Aleppo citizens told me» or
«I copied from some history books» or «I found in some books».
4- Freedom of opinion and stating observations without adhering
to ancient theories.
5- Arab scientists were self confident and esteemed the bold
scientific opinion, and their writings were characterized by fluent style and
accuracy of presentation and being free of contracdictions and they sometimes
depended on using equivocations.
Results
It cannot be said that the study of the history and development of Arab
medicine has been completed, as we cannot also say that Arab physicians were
just copiers from the Greek medicine heritage they had studied and understood.
In reality they were aware of the details of medical theories specially those
reached by Hippocrates and Galen. This did not stop them from having their own
participation, and of correcting some mistakes in old theories.
Although many Orientalist studies deprived Arab and Islamic share in the
medical heritage from its seriousness and originality in relation to theory and
application, this opinion was mainly due to racism or misunderstanding.
This study we cannot be considered to have covered all aspects of the
problem, or to have defined the development in a decisive manner. We cannot
ascertain that. But this study gave us some important results, which if added to
the results of other studies could help in better writting the history of the
development of Arab medicine theoretically and from the view point of
application.
The indications of this study could be stated in the following points.
1- Scientists throughout the Islamic world understood the Greek
medical heritage, first they translated it magnificently by the care of Hunain
b. Ishaq who travelled the nations in all directions searching for manuscripts
and lost pieces (shreds of them. Ibn Al-Nadim, Ibn Golgol, Ibn al-Qifti, and Ibn
AbiUsaibi'ah, confessed that Hunain's translations and his school played a great
role in understanding this heritage. These writings also transferred to us some
of Hunain's pupils translations, details of the translations and whether
translated from Greek or Syriac. It is clear that there were medical assemblies,
the most famous of which was that of «Yuhanna b. Massoyweh» Hunain b. Ishaq's
teacher. These asemblies played a good role in increasing the growth of medical
knowledge. Al Razi's assembly was a real school for teaching pupils. These
assemblies of teaching medicine, were propagated between the fifth and the
seventh century of the Hijri. After the translation era, started a period of
flourishing and development as physicians had the opportunity to study from text
books and to make clinical observations.
2- The period between the twelfth and thirteenth century was
characterized by the propagation of medical assemblies. These assemblies were
usually held in physician's homes. These can seen by the assemblies of Ibn
al-Thalmeed and al-Dakhwar, students read with their professors important books
and teachers explained the difficult parts.
3- The practical side of the study took place in the Bimaristan
under the supervision of great physicians. In this light the bimaristans could
be considered as true faculties for medicine paractical study.
4- In different periods of Islamic development, physicians
encouraged Caliphs and men of influence and power to build hospitals which were
called Bimaristans. From what we reviewed, we see that the building of
Bimaristans started in an early stage of the history of the Islamic nation. They
were built in all parts of the Islamic world. Physicians also understood, in
those times, that medicine needed to be practiced in hospitals with precise
organization both in management and treatment. New physicians were subject to
pass an examination, and the profession itself was controlled by the government,
through a man called Al-Mohtasib (Health Inspector). They had to pass
examinations and get certificates. This proves the precision used in the
practice of medicine in the Islamic world. The Bimaristans were of different
types differing according to the type of disease treated in each, this shows us
the precise understanding of the nature of diseases.
5- Study in the bimaristan meant the presence of clinical cases
(the patient) in front of the student who osculated him and noted the course of
the illness and observed any change in the symptoms. There were different kinds
of bimaristans throughout the Islamic world, and these were under strict
control.
6- Students attended physicians' teaching sessions in the
bimaristans, after having completed the studies. They were examined
theoretically and practically by the physician and were given certificates of
graduation but had to practice medicine in the bimaristans under the professors'
supervision.
7- Physicians taught in a scientific way, so, for the
theoretical part of the study, there were certain books a student had to read
and understand under the surpervision of his teacher, these books were those of
Hippocrates, Galen, Hunain, al-Razi and Ibn Sina. The student also had to note
the teacher's lectures, and that, led to the many versions for one writing. For
the practical part, the students watched the teacher's way of diagnosis, and
also attended the debates between the professors on some diseases.
8- Scientific method was systematically the most important
pillar for medical practice and for understanding it in a scientific way. The
different writings of physicians of that time show this clearly, as we find them
following the trial rules of scientific method in its best form even before this
method was discovered or created in the West. In this field the study points out
that the many participations had special common characteristics that could be
summarized as follows:
a) Medical study depended on observing and describing, as we
found detailed descriptions of illnesses that physicians teated.
b) Physicians made comparisons between different illnesses
specially that some of these had similar manifestations.
c) Cases were diagnosed after a meticulous clinical examination
of the patient and after a proper understanding of the illness.
d) Physicians often turned to experiments, and we met many texts
refereing to this fact.
e) Descriptive comparison of some studies showed mistakes made
by the Greek physicians, specially Galen, and this drove Muslim physicians to
correct them.
f) They used instruments and tools in the many surgeries they
performed.
g) Physicians studied and criticized the Greek heritage.
h) We, often, find that physicians followed the meticulous
analytic system in using the heritage they came about.
i) The studies that were done in the Islamic world were strictly
scientifically honest. Never did any physician claim the merit for another's
work, but always quoted other's ideas using precision in referring them to their
owner, this gave them greater self confidence and a free courageous
opinion.
9- The Arabic writings and inventions were transferred from the
Arab world to Latin Europe. This genuine and diversified transferred heritage,
led to the development of medicine in Latin Europe.
Footnotes
(1) Ibn Golgol, Tabaqat al-'atiba' wal-hukama' (The
Generations of Physicians and Wise Men) ed. by Fu'ad Sayyid, Imprimerie de
L'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Le Caire, 1955, P. 54.
(2) Ibn Golgol mentioned some stories about the
advice of the Prophet to some men to visit physicians when they become ill. But
Fu'ad Sayyid who edited the book of Ibn Golgol and verified it refuted-these
stories, Ibid, P. 54.
(3) Some historians such as Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah used
to say that Mu'awiyah used his physician Ibn Athal to get rid of his enemies.
Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah Uyun al Anba, ed. by Nazar Reda, Dar Al-Hayat
Publishing House, Beirut, 1965. P. 171.
(4) Max Meyerhof stated that "It was a Persian
Jew, Massarjawaih, who translated Ahron's Pandects into Arabic and
was responsible for what was probably the earliest scientific book in that
language". Meyerhof, M., 'Science And Medicine', in The Legacy of
Islam, ed. by Sir Thomas Arnold & Alfred Guillaume, Oxford
University Press, 1952. P. 314 -5. (5) When al-Ma'mun established Bayt al-Hikma (The
House of Wisdom) he stipulated that the rulers of the countries he conquered
must submit the books instead of the Jiziah. The ancient sources mentioned that
when al-Ma'mun achieved his great victory over the Rum (830 A.C.) he knew that
they used to collect the Philosophy books in the cellars. Al-Ma'mun asked their
king to give him these books instead of the Jiziah. Teofils (ÊíæÝíá) the king
accepted and considered it a great gain for him, but al Ma'mun considered it a
great blessing for him. see: Faroukh, O., The History of Arab
Science, Dar al-Ilm Li-Al-Malayeen, Beirut, 1977, P. 113.
(6) Jundisabur was the famous centre of medical
sciences before Islam. Its hospital (bimaristan) was founded to absorb the
Graeco - Alexandrian medical sciences. Many physicians , especially the
Syriac-speaking Christians, contributed in developing medicine in that hospital,
also they took part in the early medical movement in Islam.
(7) Hunain b. Ishaq, Kitab al-Ashr Maqalat fi
al-Ayn, The Ten Treatises on the Eye , Arabic-English edition by
Max Mayerhof, Al-Maktaba al-Amiriyya, Cairo, 1928. This book influenced both the
Arab and European medicine in the middle ages.
(8) Al-Qifti, Ta'rikh al-Hukama The History
of Wise Men, Dar Al-Athar, Beirut, p.p. 132 -133.
(9) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun al Anba,
ed. By Nazar Reda, the library of Dar al-Hayat, Beirut, 1965. Also, A.Muller
edition, Cairo - Konisberg, 1882.
(10) Professor Hamarneh noted as a result of his
investigation in the field of Arabic Medicine that "medicine and allied
sciences, for example, were first imported but soon improved upon and greatly
enriched by significant additions, investigations, and intelligent personal
observation, experience, and experiments". (11) Max Mayerhof notes that "The greatest medical
work of Rhazes, and perhaps the most extensive ever written by a medical man, is
his al-Hawi, i.e. 'Comprehensive Book', which includes indeed Greek, Syriac, and
early Arabic medical knowledge in their entirety".
(12) Watt, W. M., The Majesty that was
Islam, PP. 227-228.
(13) Professor Watt emphasized the effect of Ibn
Sina (Avicenna) in the West by saying "His Vast Canon of Medicine was translated
into Latin in the twelfth century and was used much more than the works of Galen
and Hippocrates. It dominated the teaching of medicine in Europe until at least
the end of the sixteenth century". Watt, W.M., The Majesty that was
Islam, P 228.
(14) Von Grunebaum, G.E., The Civilization
of Islam, Arabic Translation by A. Gaweid, P. 424.
(15) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun al
Anba, P. 45.
(16) Max Mayerhof, "Science and Medicine", in
The Legacy of Islam by T. Arnold, The Arabic translation by
Gorgeis Fathallah, Dar al-Taleia, Beirut, 1972, P.423.
(17) Ibn Qutayibah, Al-Emama We'll-Seyasa,
Leadership and Politics, Cairo, 1328 H., V.2, P 12.
(18) Ibn Al-Atheer, Al-Kamel Fi al-Tareikh,
The perfect in History, Cairo, 1290 H. V. 4P. 219.
(19) Al Maqrizi, Kitab al-Mawa'ez wa al-Eitbar,
The Book of Wisdom and Consideration - Maqrizi Plans, Dar Sader,
Beirut, V. 2, P 405.
(20) Noshrawy, A.R., The Islamic Bimaristans
in the Middle Ages, Arabic Translation by M. Kh. Badra, The Arab Legacy
Bul. No. 21, P 202.
(21) Isa, A., The History of Bimaristans in
Islam, Damascus, 1939, P. 9.
(22) Ibn Joubir, Rehlat Ibn Jouber, The
Journey of Ibn Jouber, Cairo, 1358 H.
(23) Isa Bey, A., The History of the
Bimaristans in Islam, PP. 20, 40.
(24) Khayrallah, A., Outline of Arabic
Contributions to Medicine and Allied Sciences, Beirut, 1946, PP.63-68.
(25) Noushirawy, A.R., The Islamic
Bimaristan, P. 201.
(26) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun al
Anba, P. 415.
(27) Ibid, P 732.
(28) Ibid, PP. 732, 733.
(29) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun al
Anba, PP. 415.
(30) Ibid.
(31) Al Maqrizi, Kitab, al-Mawa'es Wa
al-Eitbar, V. 2, P. 405.
(32) Ibn al Okhwa, Ma'alem al-Qurba fi Talab
al-Hisba, The Features of Relations in al-Hisba, Cambridge, 1937,
P. 167.
(33) Noshrawy, A.R., The Islamic
Bimaristans, P.202.
(34) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun
al-Anba, P. 337.
(35) Al-Qifti, Tarikh al-Hukama, P.
249.
(36) Ibid, P. 123.
(37) Ibn Katheer, Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya,
The beginning and the End, The Library of knowledge, Beirut, 1966,
Vol. 12 P. 188.
(38) Al-Qifti, Tarikh al Hukama, P.
132.
(39) Ibid, P. 133.
(40) Ibid, P. 130.
(41) Ibid, P. 133.
(42) Ibid, P. 132.
(43) Marhaba, A. R., The Course in the
History of Arab Science, The Lebanese Publishing House, Beirut, 1970, P.
50.
(44) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun
al-Anba, P. 349.
(45) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun
al-Anba, P. 353.
(46) Ibid, P. 353.
(47) Ibid, P. 350.
(48) Ibid, P. 341.
(49) Al-Samarai, K., 'Who is Abou Bakr al-Razi',
P. 15.
(50) Nagi, K., "al-Razi the Pioneer of Clinical
Medicine" P. 30, 35.
(51) Ibid, P. 25.
(52) Al-Samarai, K., "Who is Abou Bakr al-Razi?",
P. 19.
(53) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, op.cit. P. 732.
(54) Ibid. P. 732.
(55) Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, op.cit. P. 732.
(56) Ibid. P. 732.
(57) Ibid. P. 732, 733.
(58) Ibid. P. 733.
(59) When Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah was researching some
sides of Amin al-Dawla Ibn al-Talmeed, he asked al-Dakhwar who repeated to him
what he had heard of stories with their references. These were repeated by Ibn
Abi Usaibi'ah as he heard it from his master he says: "Al Hakim Mohazab al-Deen
b. Ali, he says: Sheikh Mowafak al-Deen b. Ilias b. al-Motran say: my father
told me: Ismail Ibn Rashid said: Abou al-Farag b. Thoma and Abou al-Farag the
Christian said: We were gathered in the presence of Amin al-Dawla b. al-Talmeed
when a woman asked to enter with a young boy, he allowed her, when he saw the
boy he told her that the son is suffering from burning while urinating and
urinated sand. She said yes. He then prescribed medication and she left. We
asked the symptoms on which he based his diagnosis, and that if the problem was
in liver or the spleen his colour would be the same. He said: when he came in he
was scratching himself and I found his fingers cracked and dry, I understood
that the scratching was because of the sand and that the substance that made him
scratch must have come in touch with his hands and caused their cracking and
dryness, and my diagnosis was right". Al-Dkhwar was always very accurate in
stating what he heard and from whom he heard it, to his pupil Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah,
the authenticity of the story depends on the truth of its narrator Al-Dakhwar
understood fully this point when he went to Tag al-Deen al-Kanadi's assembly to
acquire knowledge and benefit and later to pass it along to his own students. We
also find this virtue in Abi Usaibi'ah's book Uyun
al-Anba'a.
(60) Al-Nashar, A. S., Methods of Research
in Islam, Al-Nahda Al-Arabia Publishing House, Beirut, 1978, P.11.
(61) When Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah was researching some
sides of Amin al-Dawla Ibn al-Talmed, he asked al-Dakhwar who repeated to him
what he had heard of stories with their references. These were related by Ibn
Abi Usaibi'ah as he heard it from his master he says: "Al Hakim Mohazab al-Deen
Abdel Rahman b. Ali, he says: Sheikh Mowafak al-Deen b. Ilias b. al-Motran say:
my father told me: Ismail Ibn Rashid said: Abou al-Farag b. Thoma and Abou
al-Farag the Christian said: We were gathered in the presence of Amin al-Dawla
b. al-Talmeed when a women asked to enter with a young boy, he allowed her, when
he saw the boy he told her that the son is suffering from burning while
urinating and urinated sand. She said yes. He then prescribed medication and she
left. We asked the symptoms on which he based his diagnosis, and that if the
problem was in liver or the spleen his colour would be the same. He said: when
he came in he was scratching himself and I found his fingers cracked and dry, I
understood that the scratching was because of the sand and that the substance
that made him scratch must have come in touch with his hands and caused their
cracking and dryness, and my diagnosis was right. "Al-Dakhwar was always very
accurate in stating what he heard and from whom he heard it, to his pupil Ibn
Abi Usaibi'ah, the authenticity of the story depends on the truth of its
narrator Al-Dakhwar understood fully this point when he went to Tag al-Deen
al-Kanadi's assembly to acquire knowledge and benefit and later to pass it along
to his own students. We also find this virtue in Abi Usaibi'ah's book "Uyun al
Anba'a".
(62) Al-Nashar, A.S., Methods of Research in
Islam, Al-Nahda Al-Arabia Publishing House, Beirut, 1978, P.11.
(63) Olman, M., Islamic Medicine,
Arabic Translation by Y. Al-Kilani, Kuwait, P.125.
(64) Ibid. P. 125.
(65) Ibid. P. 126.
(66) Ibid.
(67) Galal, M., The Arab Methodology of
Scientific Research in Natural and Cosmological Sciences, The Lebanese
Publishing House, Beirut, 1972, P. 128.
(68) Ibid. P. 187.
(69) Ibid. P. 182.
(70) Hitti, P., Islam: A way of
life, P. 116.
(71) Ashour, S.A., Islamic Civilization and
its influence upon Europe, The Arabic Renaissance House, Cairo, 1963, P.
154.
(72) Marhaba, A., The Concise History of
Arab Sciences, P. 96.
(73) Ibid.
(74) Toukan, K. H., The History of Arab
Sciences, P. 20.
(75) Ibn Al-Ibri, The Abridged History of
the States, (Tarikh Moukhtasar al-Dowal), Beirut, P. 131.
(76) Marhaba, A., The Concise History of
Arab Science, P. 96.
(77) Toukan, K. H., The Arab
Sciences, P. 20.
(78) Ibid.
(79) Toukan, K. H., The Arab
Sciences, P. 20.
(80) Ibid., P. 21.
(81) Ibid., P. 21.
(82) Ibid., P. 20. (83) Toukan, K. H., The Arab
Sciences, P. 24.
Concerning Ibn al-Nafis see:
(83) Ashour, S. A., Islamic
Civilization, P. 158.
(84) Aly, M., The Muslim Contribution in
Civilization. The House of University Knowledge, Alexandria, 1983, Pp.
113-114.
As Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah stated: Ahrun
was an Alexandrian Physician and Christian priest. He devoted himself to
medicine and wrote his main Encyclopedia of Medicine. Massarjawiayh translated
the book of Ahrun from Syriac into Arabic, and after that Hunain b. Ishaq made
corrections to the book. See: - Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, "Uyun al-anba". P. 232.
Maurice Gaudefroy
- Demombynes while he was comminting and descriping the status of Arab
physicians informed us that "like the theologians, they profit by the Greek
heritage, but not by its teaching of the art of reasoning; they make use of the
whole range of Greek learning, first through Syriac translations, and later,
directly from the originals. The Monophysite medical centre at Gundeshapur was,
from the 5th century, both a university and a school of medicine, to which the
"Abbasid Caliphs turned for their physicians, and which gradually migrated
altogether to Bagdad." P.204.
Maurice Gaudefroy - Demombynes, Muslim
Insitutions, trans. from the French by John P. Macgregor, George Allen
& Unwin LTD, London, 2nd impression, 1954.
Also we find Professor Max
Meyerhof considers "The academy of Jundeshapur continued as the scientific
centre of the new Islamic empire."
Meyerhof, M., "Science And Medicine". P.
314.
See: Hamarneh, S., "Arabic
Histrography as related to the Health Professions in medieval Islam", P.23, in,
SUDHOFFS ARCH IV, Band 50. Heet 1, Marz 1966.
Mayerhof, M., 'Science And
Medicine', P. 324.
While Hitti mention that "true to its name al-Hawi was a
veritable medical encyclopedia summing up what the Arabs knew of Greek, Syriac,
Persian, and Hindi medicine and enriched by the addition of the author's
experiments and experiences" P.116.
"The book was first translated into Latin
(1279) under the auspices of Charles, king of Naples and Sicily by the Jewish
physician Faraj ben Salim, translator of other Arabic medical works"
P.116.
See: Hitti, P., Islam: Away of life, University of
Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1970.
We can understand that Arabic was really a
scientific language in studying medicine and other science. We also notice that
characteristic in every other field of science.
Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah who preserved for us Ibn Abi al-Ashaat on The
Book of Single Medication he had written says: "Ahmed Ibn Mohamed
al-Baladi asked me to write this book, and before him Mohamed b. Thawab, so in
this book I wrote about them and their standings, and I started in the month of
Rabii al-Awal of the year three hundred and fifty three, and they had reached a
high rank in learning medicine, and became experts in its practice, to them and
to my pupils and those interested in by writings, you should study, enlarge your
knowledge and develop it".
See: Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, Uyun al-Anba, P. 354.
See: Ibid. P.
a) Aly, M., Studies in Arab
Medicine, Dar al-Maarifa al-Gameya, Alexandria, 1990.
b) Aly, M.
An Introduction to the History of Arab Medicine, Dar al-Ulum
al-Arabia, Beirut, 1987.
c) Aly, M. & Zaydan, J., Kitab Sharh Fusul
Hippocrates Li Ibn Al-Nafis, Al-Dar al-Misrya al-Libnanya, Cairo, 1991.