Three Notable Muslim Scholars in Medical History
Highlight:
His textbook was rated over the works of Hippocrates and Galen and remained relevant for over six centuries. Hence, earned him the nicknames “Father of Early Modern Medicine” and “Father of Clinical Pharmacology”.
Islam is
a beautiful religion that touches on all aspects of our life. The Prophet (SAW)
enjoins his followers to strive for knowledge from cradle to the grave and to
make the world a better place. It was reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “the
best of people are those who are most beneficial to people” (Al-Muttah,
Hadith 232). Almighty Allah says in the
glorious Qur’an: “...Allah will rise up to ranks those of you who believe
and who have been granted knowledge” (Q58 vs 11). Historically, Islam is
the foundation of civilization. Many Islamic scholars contributed significantly
to science and technology, philosophy, language, astronomy, and many others.
Some notable Muslim scientists in history are Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi a
renowned Persian scientist nicknamed the ‘grandfather of computer science’ due
to his development of the concept of the algorithm in mathematics; Abu Walid
Mohammad Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) a great thinker whose work spans across
philosophy, medicine, law, theology, and grammar; Thabit ibn Qurra (826-901) best
known for his work in astronomy.
This
article will focus on three notable Muslims who contributed significantly to
medicine and healthcare in history.
1. Ibn Sina (980-1037) ‘Avicenna’ –
Ibn Sina
was a notable Islamic scholar who memorized the holy Quran by the age of ten.
He began his journey in medicine at the age of sixteen years after learning
about Islam at an early age. He became a reputable physician within just two
years of learning medicine after treating the King of Bukhara when other
renowned physicians had given up. He is known for his famous book al-Qanun fi
al-Tibb (‘Canon’) which is an encyclopedia of medicine written in Arabic text
and translated to other languages. His book covered the entire medical
knowledge available at the time from both ancient and Muslim sources. The
‘Canon’ is considered ‘The First Textbook of Medicine on the Earth’ and was
rated over the works of Hippocrates and Galen and remained relevant for over six
centuries. Hence, earned him the
nicknames “Father of Early Modern
Medicine” and “Father of Clinical Pharmacology”. Ibn Sina travelled across many regions and
created impacts through writing and curing illnesses. He spent his last years
under the service of Abu Ja’far ‘Ala Addaula. He died in 1037 A.D. and was
buried in Hamedan, Iran.
2. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi ‘Albucasis’
(936CE – 1013CE)
Al-Zahrawi
was a famous Muslim scientist in the pre-modern era whose works in medical
sciences are still being referenced. He was born in Madinat al-Zahra in Islamic
Spain. His medical and surgical encyclopedia named Al-Tasrif li-man ‘ajaza ‘an
al-ta’lif, was a result of about fifty years of medical practice and
experience. His book was translated into Latin, English, and French and was
used for training medical students and doctors in European universities in the
12th century. He classified over 300 diseases and described their
symptomatology and treatment. He also included images and descriptions of about
200 surgical instruments. He was the first to describe haemophilia as a
hemorrhagic disease transmitted by unaffected women to their male children
(that is, X linked). His book on surgery was the most referred to and had the
widest influence in Europe. Al-Zahrawi was a great surgeon and physician, an
exceptional educationist, and an Islamic scholar.
3. Ibn Al-Nafis – Full name, Ala al-Din
Abu al-Hassan Ali Ibn Abi-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi (1213-1288)
He is a
Damascus-born Muslim physician who trained at Bimaristan al-Noori Medical
College Hospital and worked as a physician at the Al-Nassri Hospital and Al
Mansouri Hospital, all before he clocked 30 years old. He was an orthodox Sunni
Muslim. He is known for his ground-breaking view on pulmonary circulation described
in his Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna’s Canon which advanced the knowledge
of the human circulatory system. His postulations included the impermeability
of the interventricular septum as was formerly believed at the time, the role
of pulmonary circulation in the transportation of blood from the right
ventricle to the left ventricle, and small communications between the pulmonary
artery and pulmonary vein. His view was later confirmed after 400 years by
Marcello Malpighi who predicted the existence of pulmonary capillaries.
These
three scholars are few among many Muslim physicians who have made significant
impact in medicine historically. However, most recent Western textbooks rarely
mention Islamic scholars whose contribution to medicine has influenced the
evolution of medical innovations, practices and procedures that are still
relevant today. Historian bias in medical history has been criticized in
several literatures. Nevertheless, some current global medical practices can be
traced to the advances in the early and medieval Islamic ages.
References
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scientists inventions.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/most-famous-muslim-scientists-inventions-ahmad-sanusi-husain/
Khan, M. A., Raza, F., & Khan, I. A.
(2015). Ibn Sina And The Roots Of The Seven Doctrines Of Preservation Of Health.
Acta medico-historica adriatica : AMHA, 13 Suppl 2, 87–102.
Majeed A. (2005). How Islam changed medicine.
BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 331(7531), 1486–1487. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7531.1486
Shahpesandy, H. , Al-Kubaisy, T. ,
Mohammed-Ali, R. , Oladosu, A. , Middleton, R. and Saleh, N. (2022) A Concise
History of Islamic Medicine: An Introduction to the Origins of Medicine in
Islamic Civilization, Its Impact on the Evolution of Global Medicine, and Its
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