Medicine in the Islamic Civilization #

Sources, Scholars, and Pioneers of Islamic Medical Science #

Science and history of medicine in Islamic civilization during the classical period:

Overview: #

It is said: “Medicine was non-existent, and Hippocrates brought it into existence. It was dead, and Galen revived it. It was scattered, and Al-Razi gathered it. It was incomplete, and Ibn Sina perfected it.”

Primary Sources: #

1. Herbal Medicine #

Ibn Ḥabīb, ʿAbd al-Malik. [Herbal Medicine]. 9th century. ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb al-Sulami al-Qurṭubī was a prominent Andalusian scholar known for his work on herbal remedies and Mālikī jurisprudence. Although specific medical texts have not survived, he represents the early scholarly engagement with Greco-Arabic and folk medicine in al-Andalus.

ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb (d. 238 AH / 853 CE) #

Full Name: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb ibn Sulaymān ibn Hārūn al-Sulami al-Ilbīrī al-Qurṭubī, Abū Marwān.

• A leading scholar and jurist of al-Andalus in his era.
• Originally from Toledo (Ṭulayṭila), belonging to the Banū Sulaym or their freedmen.
• Born in Ilbīra, he later resided in Córdoba. He also visited Egypt before returning to al-Andalus, where he passed away in Córdoba.
• Renowned for his expertise in history, literature, and especially in Mālikī jurisprudence.

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2. Al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine) #

Al-Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ. Al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb [The Comprehensive Book on Medicine]. 10th century. Translated into Latin as Liber Continens, this encyclopedic work synthesizes Greco-Roman, Indian, and Islamic medical knowledge and remained influential in both the Islamic world and medieval Europe.

Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (d. 313 AH / 925 CE) #

Latinized: Rhazes

Full Name: Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī

• A philosopher and one of the preeminent figures in the field of medicine.
• Born and educated in Rayy (Iran), later moved to Baghdad after the age of thirty.
• Initially interested in music, poetry, alchemy, and chemistry before turning to medicine and philosophy.
• Directed the hospital in Rayy and later became chief physician at the Muqtadiri Hospital in Baghdad.
• Known for his teaching system: patients would first be assessed by students in layers, escalating to al-Rāzī if needed.
• He became blind near the end of his life and died in Baghdad. The exact year of death is debated between 290 and 320 AH.

Key Works:

• Al-Ḥāwī fī al-Ṭibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine) — his magnum opus, translated into Latin and widely disseminated in Europe.
• Kitāb al-Manṣūrī (The Book Dedicated to al-Manṣūr) — also translated into Latin.
• Other works include treatises on smallpox and measles, kidney and bladder diseases, pharmacology (al-Aqrabādhīn), food properties, and more.
• Authored over 232 books and treatises, according to Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah.

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3. Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine) #

Ibn Sīnā, Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn. Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb [The Canon of Medicine]. 11th century. Translated into Latin as Canon Medicinae, this monumental medical encyclopedia was used as a standard medical text in Europe for six centuries. It integrates Aristotelian philosophy with clinical practice and pharmacology.

Ibn Sīnā (d. 428 AH / 1037 CE) #

Latinized: Avicenna

Full Name: Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā, also known as al-Shaykh al-Raʾīs (The Master Scholar)

• A polymath and philosopher famed for his contributions to medicine, logic, metaphysics, and natural sciences.
• Born in a village near Bukhara, originally from Balkh.
• Educated in Bukhara, he traveled widely, debated with scholars, and held administrative posts.
• Served as vizier in Hamadan, later moved to Isfahan, where he composed many of his works.
• Died in Hamadan during a return journey, after falling ill.

Legacy and Key Works:

• Al-Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb (The Canon of Medicine) — a monumental medical encyclopedia, relied upon in Europe for six centuries, and translated into Latin (Canon Medicinae).
• Other important works include Al-Shifāʾ (The Book of Healing), Al-Ishārāt wa al-Tanbīhāt, Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān, and numerous treatises on philosophy, logic, ethics, and theology.
• Wrote poetic compositions in philosophical themes and compiled dictionaries and linguistic texts.

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4. Al-Shāmil fī al-Ṣināʿa al-Ṭibbiyya (The Comprehensive Book on the Art of Medicine) #

Ibn al-Nafīs, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Abī al-Ḥazm. Al-Shāmil fī al-Ṣināʿa al-Ṭibbiyya [The Comprehensive Book on the Art of Medicine]. 13th century. This vast medical encyclopedia, parts of which are extant in manuscript form, includes Ibn al-Nafīs’s groundbreaking description of pulmonary blood circulation, predating William Harvey by centuries.

Ibn al-Nafīs (d. 687 AH / 1288 CE) #

Full Name: ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī ibn Abī al-Ḥazm al-Qurashī, known as Ibn al-Nafīs

• Considered the most knowledgeable physician of his time.
• Originated from Qirsh (near Transoxiana), born in Damascus and died in Cairo.
• Authored several important works, notably:

o          Al-Mūjiz fī al-Ṭibb — an abridgment of Ibn Sīnā’s Canon.

o          Fāḍil ibn Nāṭiq — a philosophical allegory similar to Ibn Ṭufayl’s Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān.

o          Al-Shāmil fī al-Ṭibb — a massive encyclopedic work, some volumes of which are preserved in manuscript form (e.g., in Damascus and Stanford University).

o          Other notable works include Sharḥ Fuṣūl Abūqrāṭ, Bughyat al-Fiṭan fī ʿIlm al-Badan, and Al-Risāla al-Kāmiliyya fī al-Sīra al-Nabawiyya.

• Known for writing from memory, direct observation, and personal inference — rarely copying or referencing other works.
• He donated his wealth and personal library to the Manṣūrī Hospital in Cairo.

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5. Al-Ṭibb al-Nabawī (Prophetic Medicine) #

Ibn al-Qayyim, Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr. Al-Ṭibb al-Nabawī [Prophetic Medicine]. 14th century. This work, embedded in Zād al-Maʿād, discusses the health practices, remedies, and dietary guidelines mentioned in the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (ḥadīth), reflecting the integration of spiritual and physical health in Islamic thought.

Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 AH / 1350 CE) #

Full Name: Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb ibn Saʿd al-Zurʿī al-Dimashqī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh, Shams al-Dīn

• A major Islamic reformer, scholar, and jurist.
• Born and died in Damascus. A prominent disciple of Ibn Taymiyyah, whose works he refined and disseminated.
• Imprisoned and tortured alongside his teacher; released after Ibn Taymiyyah’s death.
• Deeply devoted to scholarship, known for his extensive handwritten manuscripts and personal library.

Notable Works:

• Al-Ṭibb al-Nabawī (Prophetic Medicine) — a spiritual and practical medical guide based on Prophetic traditions, part of his larger work Zād al-Maʿād.
• Other influential books include:
• Iʿlām al-Muwaqqiʿīn, Zād al-Maʿād, Miftāḥ Dār al-Saʿāda, Ighāthat al-Lahfān, al-Rūḥ, Miftāḥ al-Janna, and al-Fawāʾid.

• Wrote on medicine of the body and soul (Ṭibb al-Qulūb), and was critical of speculative theology and pseudo-philosophy.
• His works on theology, ethics, social reform, and jurisprudence remain widely studied and respected.