1

I. A. During the Middle Ages, Muslim scholars and scientists made many

advancements in the medical field that were later transferred and adopted into to

European society through Spain. B. Although the Middle Ages were, for Europe, a time

of intellectual stagnation, this generalization of the period does not hold true when

looking at Arab lands. Intellectual institutions flourished, healthcare systems were

implemented, and rulers were more interested than ever before in the patronage of

Islamic arts and sciences. C. Through the lives of Ibn Ishaq, ar-Razi, Ibn Sina, al-

Zahrawi, the impact of Islamic medicine can be understood. D. Likewise, it is through the

common thread of Islam, that intellectual knowledge, was transferred first to Spain and

then came to be understood throughout the rest of Western Europe.

II. A. There has been a debate among scholars as to whether the term Arabic

medicine, or Islamic medicine, is a better title for the advancement of medical field in

Arab-speaking countries during the Islamic “Golden Age,” which lasted roughly from the

middle of the 6th century CE up until the beginning of the 14th century CE.1 B. While it is

true that many physicians of the time, such as ar-Razi and Ibn Sina, were not Arabs, but

rather Persians, their following of the Islamic faith is what identifies this advancement of

medicine as an Islamic achievement.2 Islamic physicians realized their moral

responsibility, and their duty to God in their profession. They followed the Hadiths and

the Koran in their practices. The Koran states that ‘“when I am ill, it is He who cures

1
Richard C. Martin, editor, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (New York: Macmillan Reference
USA, 2004), 445.
2
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), xi.
 2

me,’” thus physicians understood and believed their work to be truly the work of God.3

C. Though many of these physicians were not Arabic by birth, they did “live within the

sphere of Islamic culture and have helped in a most enduring way to shape this [Islamic]

culture and to give it its particular stamp.”4

III. Early Islamic medicine owes much of its foundation to the Greeks. Hellenistic

thinkers such as Euclids, Hippocrates and, most importantly, Galen, were the founding

fathers for much of Islamic medical thought. During the 8th century CE, Greek works

were just beginning to be translated. However, less than a century later all of Galen’s

works had been painstakingly transformed into Arabic tongue.5 A. As Galen’s work

spread throughout the Dar al-Islam, his theories on topics such as humors, metabolism,

digestion, and blood flow permeated through the doctrines of Islamic medicine. B. The

influence of Hippocrates can also be seen in Islamic medicine, through the well-known

Hippocratic Oath, which was a required pledge of all Islamic physicians. Although

Hippocrates was a key figure in the development of Islamic medicine, his complete set of

writings were never fully translated into Arabic.6 C. With the translation of Greek works,

Islamic scientists and physicians were then ready to expand the original ideas and critic

previous Greek writings based on their own experiences.7 In Abu Bakr ar-Razi’s later

work, he criticized parts of Galen’s writings in his book, Doubts Against Galen.8

IV. A. The Umayyad Caliphate, which lasted from approximately 661-750 CE,

saw the very first translations of Greek scientific writings into Arabic. However, it was

3
Abul Fadl Mohsin Ebrahim, Organ Transplantation, Euthanasia, Cloning, and Animal Experimentation
(Kano, Nigeria: The Islamic Foundation, 2001) 17.
4
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), xi.
5
Ullman, xi.
6
Ullman, 11, 15.
7
Paul Lunde, “Science: The Islamic Legacy” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Aramco
Publishing, 2006), 5.
8
Azim A. Nanji, editor, The Muslim Almanac (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1996), 202.
 3

not until this caliphate was overthrown by the Abassid Caliphate that rapid developments

in Islamic medicine truly occurred. B. Under the Abassids, the Bayt al-Hikmah, or Royal

Library, was created in Baghdad and became a center for Islamic medical studies.9

During the late Abassid Caliphate, Muslim medicine survived through the funding of

rivaling princes and institutions of learning, “which flourished even with the

disintegration of the unitary empire and the establishment of local dynasties and

principalities.10 C. Advances in surgical procedure and licensing of physicians are just a

few of the signs of progress, which occurred during this time. Another contributing factor

for the advancement of Islamic medicine was the process of papermaking, which had

derived from the East. This invention was noticed by the Arabs in 751 CE and instantly

created a medium for the spread of Islamic medical research and knowledge.11

V. A very instrumental figure in the transmission of Greek medical thought into

the Islamic world was Hunayn Ibn Ishaq. A. He was born the son of an apothecary in 808

CE, who sent him to Baghdad, determined that he would study medicine.12 B. He

translated Galen and Hippocrates into Arabic under the patronage of various caliphs and

elites. His work shaped the Arabic language into a scientific language by introducing

“analytical-syntactical constructions, which made Arabic into an instrument capable of

expressing complicated and abstract ideas.”13 C. He did not merely translate the works of

others, but he was the author of many medical sources as well. He is said to have

9
Muhammad Salim Khan, Islamic Medicine (Boston: Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1986), 11, 14.
10
Nanji, 197, 198.
11
Paul Lunde, “Science in Al-Andalus” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Armaco
Publishing, 2006), 21.
12
Paul Lunde, “Science in the Golden Age” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Armaco
Publishing, 2006), 10, 11.
13
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), 8.
 4

completed at least twenty-nine of his own medical writings. In his text, Kitab al-Mudkhal

fi t-Tibb, Ibn Ishaq explains the fundamentals of Islamic medicine.

VI. One of the greatest classical Islamic physicians, Abu-Bakr Muhammad ibn-

Zakariyya’ar-Razi, was born in 865 CE to the city of Rayy, what is now Tehran. A.He,

like many of the physicians of the time, was accomplished in many areas of study. He

was instrumental in the development of Islamic society’s first hospitals, and was the

director for the both the hospital of Rayy and Baghdad.14 During his life he is wrote no

less than 184 works, many of which were devoted to medical studies.15 He used animal

experimentation to introduce the idea of mercury compounds as a purgative. After his

death, his pupils compiled and published twenty-three volumes of ar-Razi’s writings,

which are known as the Kitab al-Hawi. He probably never meant for them to be

published, for they were mostly material notes of his own observations during

experiments. His writings, however, proved useful for many future physicians.16 B. His

most famous work is notably shorter than many of his other writings, and is called de

Pestilentia, which examined smallpox, chicken pox, and measles. This work was a very

valuable source in dealing with these contagious diseases in both the Middle East and

Europe.17 Ar-Razi has undoubtedly achieved great works for the advancement of Islamic

medicine. His uniqueness can be attributed to his “open advocacy of experiment and

observation.”18

14
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), 43.
15
Paul Lunde, “Science in the Golden Age” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Armaco
Publishing, 2006), 11
16
Ullman, 43.
17
Richard C. Martin, editor, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (New York: Macmillan
Reference USA, 2004), 446.
18
Lunde, 11.
 5

VII. Abu-l-Qasim Jhalaf ibn-al- ‘Abbas al-Zahrawi lived from approximately

930-1013 CE and was known for his work in the advancement of surgery as a field of

Islamic medicine.19 He became a physician in Cordoba under the patronage of Caliph ar-

Rahman III. During this time, he wrote an extensive medical encyclopedia consisting of

thirty treatises. A. Al-Zahrawi’s most important contributions to Islamic Medicine,

however, were due to his expertise as a surgeon. His extensive knowledge of the human

body and of surgical skills is apparent in his text, Kitab al-Tasrif orThe Book of

Concessions, which served as an illustrated surgical guide for centuries to come.20 B. “As

a result surgery, which up till now had been left to cuppers and barbers, was thanks to

Abu ‘l Qasim al-Zahrawi, completely integrated into scientific medicine.”21

VIII. Working in the medical field in the same period of al-Zahrawi was arguably

the greatest physician of classical Islamic medicine. Abu-‘Ali al-Husayn ibn-‘Abd-Allah

ibn-Sina, is known today as the “‘prince of physicians,’” for the very fact that he shaped

the face of both Muslim and European medicine.22 A. In the year 980 CE Ibn Sina was

born in the city of Bukara. However, he spent much time traveling through Persia, until

finally settling in Jurjan. According to his own biography, he began practicing medicine

as a physician at age sixteen.23 B. His contributions to Islamic medicine are plenty. He is

most famous for his extremely well read Qanun fi al-Tibb or Cannon of Medicine. This

five volume work is based off the ideas of Greek thinkers, Galen and Hippocrates,

although Ibn Sina rarely quotes them directly. He did not necessarily develop any new

ideas, nor did he include any personal experiences with patients. C. It is interesting to
19
Richard C. Martin, editor, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (New York: Macmillan Reference
USA, 2004), 447.
20
Muhammad Salim Khan, Islamic Medicine (Boston: Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1986), 14.
21
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), 44.
22
Khan, 14.
23
Ullman, 45.
 6

note that, while Arabic was usually the language used for intellectual as well as religious

writings, Ibn Sina originally wrote his works in his native language of Persian, and they

were later translated into Arabic.24 His Qanun provided a base of knowledge for

physicians, which was used in Europe and the Middle East until the 16th century.25

IX. Perhaps the most influential achievement of Islamic medicine was the

creation of the hospital as an institution of medical care. The idea for these hospitals was

based on the idea of a broad healthcare program developed by Walid B. Abdal-Malik at

the beginning of the 8th century CE. A. The first actual hospital was built during the

Abassid Caliphate by Harun al-Rashid in Baghdad in 745 CE.26 This hospital, or

bimaristan, became the “cradle of the Baghdad school of medicine.”27 B. The institution

and the establishment of hospitals spread throughout Islamic societies. Caliphs would

oversee the building, and each hospital was open to the general public regardless of

religion, sex, or ethnicity. Medical staff, physicians, and patient care were funded through

endowments and charitable acts.28 The hospital also served as a place of intellectual

learning, with physicians from all over the Arab world coming to give lectures on their

studies.

C. Adudi Hospital in Baghdad, which was built in 982 CE, employed twenty-four

physicians and surgical specialists. A traveler who visited the hospital explained, “‘It was

as large as a castle and had its own water supply from the Tigris River.’”29 The large

hospital in Cordoba also had running water, as well as separate wards for different types

24
Richard C. Martin, editor, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World (New York: Macmillan
Reference USA, 2004), 447.
25
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), 46.
26
Azim A. Nanji, editor, The Muslim Almanac (Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc., 1996), 201.
27
Muhammad Salim Khan, Islamic Medicine (Boston: Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1986), 14.
28
Nanji, 202.
29
Nanji, 202.
 7

of illnesses. These facilities were open twenty-four hours a day and were forbidden to

turn any patient away without adequate medical treatment.30

X. Those on Arab soil were not the only individuals to profit from the Islamic

advancement of medicine in the Middle Ages. Europeans would soon acquire great

knowledge from their neighbors to the East. A. Due to various political, cultural, and

economic factors, Europe’s intellectual activity and exploration during the Middle Ages

had decreased. Ancient manuscripts and sources of intellectual thought had been lost in

the chaos. In contrast, during the Middle Ages, Islamic medicine had been flourishing. B.

Through the Islamic culture, which was transplanted to Spain under the Ummayyad

caliphate in the 8th century CE, translation occurred, and thus began the transfer of

knowledge to the West. With the Umayyad caliphate came many followers of Islam. “As

a result, many scholars, poets, philosophers, historians, and musicians migrated to al-

Andalus, and established the basis of the intellectual tradition and educational system

which made Spain so outstanding for the next four-hundred years.”31 C. By the 10th

century CE, a large number scientific works were being translated from Arabic to Latin.32

Though this transfer of Islamic medical thought was transfused throughout both Spain

and Sicily, many scholars note that “the Iberian Peninsula was the real home of the

scientific revival in the West.”33 Paper mills were also found in Spain as early as the 8th

century, which aided in the circulation of Islamic knowledge. There were also enormous

institutions of translation in Toledo, Catalonia, Cordoba, and Salerno. Because of the

nature of its practicality and utility, the field of medicine was a very popular subject for
30
Paul Lunde, “Science in the Al-Adalus” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Armaco
Publishing, 2006), 23.
31
Lunde, 21.
32
Paul Lunde, “The Bodleian Remembers” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Armaco
Publishing, 2006), 30.
33
Franco Cardini. Europe and Islam (Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers Inc., 2001), 90.
 8

translation in each of these schools. Because of this Islamic influence intellectual learning

was deeply imbedded into Spanish society. Even when the Christians conquered Toledo

the 11th century CE, the pursuit of knowledge through the translation of Arabic into Latin

was allowed to continue.

XI. Many works of Islamic physicians were translated and read alongside the

writings of Greek thinkers. A. Ibn Sina, for example, was considered second to only

Galen and Hippocrates themselves. His Qanun was copied no less than thirty-six times

and was used in European universities up until the 16th century CE.34 European thinkers

used the advancements made by the Islamic physicians to develop their own ideas and

make new discoveries. B. Yet, over the years the influence of Islamic scientific studies

has been largely forgotten. When studying the history of medieval medicine under a

shaper microscope, the advances of Muslim medicine can be seen paving the way to

future European medical developments. C. It was essentially Islamic culture “with its

tolerance and encouragement of both secular and religious learning, [that] created the

necessary climate for the exchange of ideas.” 35 It was the culture of the Islamic society,

transferred to Europe through Spain which allowed for intellectual this exploration of

medicine in the West to occur.

34
Manfred Ullman, Islamic Medicine (George Square, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1978), 46.
35
Paul Lunde, “Science in Al-Andalus” in Science: The Islamic Legacy (Washington D.C.: Aramco
Publishing, 2006), 21.