KULLIYYAH OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER

ENGINEERING
ETHICS, VALUES AND TECHNOLOGY

Muslim contribution in medicine under the Islamic Civilization

Name: ABDINASIR SULEIMAN OSMAN

Matric: G1410565
Course Code: RKGS 6000
Lecturer: PROF. DR. ABDI OMER SHURIYE

SUBMISSION DATE: 27/10/2014

Contents
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4

1.

1.1.

Brief Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4

1.2

Medicine in mediaeval Islamic World ............................................................................. 4

Yaqoob al-Kindi (pharmacology) ............................................................................................ 6

1.

Impact .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Mohammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (pharmacology, anatomy, surgery, and bacteriology) ...... 7

1.

Impact .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Abu Ali al- Husayn ibn Sina (physician, and sugery) ............................................................. 8

2.

Impact .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Abu Qasim khalaf ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi (surgery) ................................................................ 9

3.

Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Ibn Al-Nafis (Pulmonary circulation).................................................................................... 12

4.

Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 13
Yuhannah bin Masawayh (pharmacy) ................................................................................... 13

5.

Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Ali ibn Abbas (Medicine) ...................................................................................................... 14

6.

Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 15
7.

Abu Zaid Hunain (Ophthalmologists) ................................................................................... 15

8.

Abdul Lateef Al-Baghdadi (Anatomists) .............................................................................. 16

Impact ........................................................................................................................................ 16
Al - Idrisi (plants) .................................................................................................................. 16

9.
10.

Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Baitar (botany) ............................................................................ 17

11.

Islamization of Knowledge................................................................................................ 18

Importance of Islamization of Knowledge ................................................................................ 18

The principle of civilization in Islam ........................................................................................ 19
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 20
References ..................................................................................................................................... 21

Abstract

Within a century after the death of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) the
Muslims not only conquered new lands, but also became scientific innovators with
originality and productivity. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence of to
Europe.Muslim scientists have contributed extensively medicine in almost all its branches
including clinical treatment, psychotherapy, pharmacy, anatomy, botany, surgery,
ophthalmology, Pharmacology, psychology, psychiatrist, midwifery, gynecology,
hospitals, bacteriology, pulmonary circulation, and physician. In this report I will discuss
medical scholars who were almost contributed to any field of modern medicine for
instance: Yaqoob Al-kindi, Al-Razi, Ibn Sina, Al-Zahrawi, Ibn-Al-Nafis, Yuhannah bin
Musawayh, Ali Ibn Abbas, Abdul lateef Al-Baghdadi, Al-Idrisi and Abu Mohammed Ibn
Al-Baitar. In addition, this report will also promote Islamization of Knowledge and its
necessity for solving current Muslim worlds educational problems. It is also hoped that,
by remembering all those Muslim heroes and their contributions, contemporary Muslim
societies, scholars will be inspired.

1.

Introduction

1.1.

Brief Introduction

Through Islam, the human body is a home of gratefulness, in what way it

functions, by what method to keep it fresh and safe, in what manner to prevent diseases
from attacking it or remedies those diseases, have been important issues for Muslims.
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) himself insisted people to take medicines for your
diseases, as people at that time were reluctant to do so. He also said: God created no
illness, but established for it a cure, except for old age. When the antidote is applied, the
patient will recover with the permission of God. This was solid inspiration to boost
Muslim scientists to discover, progress, and spread over empirical laws. Ample
considerations were specified to medicine and public health precaution. The first hospital
was constructed in Baghdad 706 AC. The Muslims also used camel convoys as
transportable hospitals, which stimulated from place to place. Ever since the religion did
not prohibit it, Muslim scholars used human bodies to study anatomy and physiology and
to support their students realization on how the body works. This pragmatic study
allowed surgery to mature very quickly.

1.2

Medicine in mediaeval Islamic World

In the early Islamic period (661750 AD), Muslims believed that Allah provided
a treatment for every illness. Around the ninth century, the Islamic medical community
began to develop and utilize a system of medicine based on scientific analysis. The
importance of the health sciences to society was emphasized, and the early Muslim
medical community strived to find ways to care for the health of the human body.
Medieval Islam developed hospitals, expanded the practice of surgery. Important medical
thinkers and physicians of this time were Al-Razi (Rhazes) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna).
Their knowledge on medicine was recorded in books that were influential in medical
schools throughout Muslim world and Europe, and Ibn Sina in particular (under his
4

Latinized name Avicenna) was also influential on the physicians of later medieval
Europe. Throughout the medieval Islamic world, medicine was included under the
umbrella of natural philosophy, due to the continued influence of the Hippocratic Corpus
and the ideas of Aristotle and Galen. The Hippocratic Corpus was a collection of medical
treatises attributed to the famous Greek physician Hippocrates of Cos (although it was
actually composed by different generations of authors). The Corpus included a number of
treatises which greatly influenced medieval Islamic medical literature.
The study of medicine in Greece began no later than the eighth century BCE by
Asclepius, known as the god of healing (Shibli 1989; Hart 2000). Al-Zahrawi
(Abulcasis) (was considered the father of modern surgery as he developed material and
technical designs that are still used in neurosurgery today. He was born in Al-Zahra, a
suburb of Cordova. During his era, neurosurgery in the Islamic world became a respected
specialty practiced by reputable physicians. On the other hand, European surgery was
belittled and practiced by barbers and butchers. This is why in AD 1163 the council of
Tours declared the following resolution: "Surgery is to be abandoned by the schools of
medicine and by all decent physicians." Al-Zahrawi wrote about fracture of the skull (AlOkbi 1971): "The types of skull fractures are numerous, their shapes are different, and
their causes are many. For example, some skull fractures are due to a blow by a sword
that splits the whole skull and reaches the dura, the same as the ax does to the wood,
therefore it is called axial fracture. Sometimes the sword does not split the skull
completely; it is thus called incomplete axial fracture. Such a fracture can be small or big.
Another type is comminuted fracture, which can be due to a hit by a stone or a fall on a
stone; and this fracture can reach the dura or only be limited to the outer part of the bone.
This fracture can also be small or big. A third type is the hairy type of skull fracture
which is so tiny and linear like a hair. A fourth type is the depressed fracture, which
occurs due to a fall or a blow so the bone is depressed like a brass jar when hit by a blunt
instrument. This usually happens when the bone is soft as children. The types of these
fractures are diagnosed by examining the wound, removing the debris and contused pan
of the scalp, exposing the skull, and feeling it by the spatulas. The hairy fracture is
difficult to discover and can be diagnosed by exposing the skull, and smearing it with ink;
the linear fracture thus appears stained."
5

The Aim of this report is prove that Muslim scientists have contributed in medicine
before one thousand years in any field of medicine. The report covers areas such as
psychotherapy, pharmacy, anatomy, botany, surgery, ophthalmology, Pharmacology,
psychology, psychiatrist, midwifery, gynecology, hospitals, bacteriology, pulmonary
circulation, and physiology.

1. Yaqoob al-Kindi (pharmacology)

Yaqoob al-Kindi (801-873), in his most important work on medicine De Gradibus,

demonstrated the application of mathematics and quantification to medicine, particularly
in the field of pharmacology. This included the development of a mathematical scale to
quantify the strength of drugs, and a system that allowed a doctor to determine in advance
the most critical days of a patient's illness, based on the phases of the moon. In his
Treatise on Diseases Caused by Phlegm, he provided the first scientific explanation and
treatment for epilepsy. He was the first to use the method of experiment in psychology,
which led to his discovery that sensation is proportionate to the stimulus. He was also the
earliest to realize the therapeutic value of music and attempted to cure a quadriplegic boy
by using music therapy in his Aqrabadain (Medical Formulary), he described many
preparations drawn from plant, animal and mineral sources. To the drugs known to
physicians such as Hippocrates and Galen, Kindi added knowledge drawn from India,
Persia and Egypt. Like many Islamic works, the books contained information based upon
medicinal herbs, aromatic compounds, such as musk, and inorganic medicines. Islamic
contribution to the history of medicine saw the first divide between medicine and
pharmacology as separate sciences. Kindi invented a discipline of medicine called
posology, which dealt with the dosages of the drugs. Dosages for the drugs were a
guessing game in the ancient world. He formulated easy-to-use table that pharmacists
could refer to when filling out prescriptions. By documenting amounts with a
mathematical formula that anyone could follow, al-Kindi revolutionized medicine. Drugs
could now be formulated according to set amounts with the result that all patients would
6

receive standardized dosages. His book on posology, Risala fe marifat quwa al-adwiya
al-murakkaba was translated into Latin as De Medicinarum Compositarum Gradibus
Investigandis Libellus (The investigation of the strength of compound medicine).

Impact
Yaqoob Al-kindi was made an excellent achievement in field of Pharmacology and
also he was the first one who used the method of experiment in psychology which led to
his discovery that sensation is proportionate to the stimulus. Kindi invented also a
discipline of medicine known as posology and this is a part of medicine concerned with
dosage.

1. Mohammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (pharmacology, anatomy, surgery,

and bacteriology)
Al Razi: He was greatest scientist of medicine like pharmacologist, anatomist,
psychologist, surgeon, bacteriology etc. He was known to Latin west as Rhazes(865-925
AD) , a Persian born at Rayy near modern Tahran. Rhazes was undoubtedly the physician
of Islamic world and one of the great physicians of all times. (Arnold, 1931; Browne,
1921) in surgery Al-Razi is attributed to be the first to use to selton in surgery and animal
gut sutures. (syed and khan, 2009).
Impact
Al Razi was said to have written more than 200 books, with 100 of these books on
medicine. Al razis work had a significant impact on the renaissance. Firstly, Razis
discovery of smallpox was the first differentiation of the specific disease from many
Eruptive fevers that assailed man. The renaissance physicians utilized his methods of
differentiation when they attempted to do the same with other diseases hundreds of years
later. Additionally, his treatise of smallpox was used by physicians to treat cases of this
disease through the renaissance, saving countless lives. His work on hygiene set an
example that renaissance physicians followed and attempted to improve. (syed and khan,
2009).

2. Abu Ali al- Husayn ibn Sina (physician, and sugery)

Ibn Sina:

Another famous physician Abu Ali al- Husayn ibn Sina, known

universally to west as Avicenna (980-1037 AD), was one of the greatest scholar of the
Islamic world and west Europe. (Arnold, 1931) he was born at Afshena in the Persian
province of Bukhara. (Campbell, 1926).He was physcho therapist, surgeon , anaesthetist,
physiologist etc. it is said that 21 major and 24 minor works have been attributed to ibn
sina by al Qifti; while Brokelman has ascribed to him 9 9 books -68 books on religion
and metaphysics, 11 on astronomy and natural philosophy, 16 on medicine and 4 political
compositions (Ali,2001).
Among the hundred books that he had written, the most renowned is Qanun fil- Tibb.
The Qanun contain about million words and excessively divided into major section; the
whole is divided into five books: the first two book deals with physiology and hygiens,
third and forth deals with treatment and fifth is on material medicine .( Campell,1926) In
field of surgery Ibne sinas description of the surgical treatment of cancer holds true even
today. About 1,000 years ago he said that the excision must be wide and bold;all veins
running to the Tumour must be included in the amputation. Even if this is not sufficient,
then the area affected should be cauterized. (Syed, and Khan,2009) The most prominent
personality in the realm of medical science was Ibn Sina , famous in the west as
Avicenna (980-1037). In his book Al Qanun fill Tibb ( The cannons of medicine) he has
discussed in detail the diseases of children (Ahmad, 1996) this work became kind of
bible of medieval medicine. (Schacht and Broworth, 1974).
Impact
Ibn Sina (Avicenna) was honoured in west with the title of prince of physicians.
Ibn Sinas work also had a significant impact on the renaissance. First, his canon of
medicine was the most widely studied work of medicine in Europe from the 12th to the
17th century. It also served as a chief guide to medicinal science in European universities.
Needless to say the impact of this book on renaissance science was enormous, as it was
their primary sources of medical information. Ibne Sinas discovery that certain diseases
could be spread through water and soil affected the research of many renaissance
8

physicians. Knowing how diseases were transmitted, their job of finding cures for the
diseases became much easier. It also provided a base for their studies into how diseases
were spread. (syed, and khan,2009; Esposito,1999) This book exerted a great impact on
the development of medicine in the west and was part of the courses of medical studies at
several European universities. Different portion of the book were translated into
European languages. For instance, the fifth volume of the book on compound medicines
was translated into German by J.V. Sontheimer at Freiburg in 1844; while the portion of
the third volume dealing with matter relating to the eye was translated into German by J.
Hirchberg at Leipzig in 1902. Some portion of the book relating to anatomy along with a
discussion on kidney and bladder was translated into French by P. De koning in 1896.
(Campbell, 1926) This book translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona in twelfth
century. (Arnold, 1931).

3. Abu Qasim khalaf ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi (surgery)

Abu Qasim khalaf ibn Abbas al-Zahrawi (936-1013 AD) was also known as
Abulcasis in the west. He was born in Zahra in the neighborhood of Cordova, the capital
of Spain. He became one of the most distinguish surgeons of the Muslim medieval
period. He studies medicine and other current Islamic sciences at the schools of Cordova.
He was renowned court physician to Caliph Al- Hakim-II of Spain. He contributed
original significant work on medicine for long time.(said, 1991) Along with this he
served as a important educator and psychiatrist. Hitti consider him as the greatest surgeon
of the Arabs which indicates that he was greatest both in the eastern and the western
Muslim world.(Hitti, 1958) He introduced such new ideas as cauterization of wounds
crushing a stone inside the bladder and the necessity of vivisection and dissection.(Hitti,
1958) Al-Zahrawi, was known as the renowned surgeon and also regarded as the father of
modern surgery for his encyclopedia work title Al-Tasrif Liman Ajaza an al-Talif (book
of concession or the method of medicine) thirty volume medical encyclopedia completed
in 1000 AD, before the thirty year of his death, which was later translated to Latin and
used a standard textbook on surgery in Europe in several centuries. (syed and khan,

2009)t took the author about forty years to complete this encyclopedia, in the preparation
of which he has frequently referred to eminent and roman physician.(Ali,2001)
In his al-Tasrif, a medical encyclopedic work, Al-Zahrawi discussed all aspect of
the healing arts known at that time.He discussed in his Tasrif, the anatomy of human
body in first two treatises. They also include chapters on general medical identification of
terms and classification; remedial agents and pathology; prognoses and diagnoses;
counseling the patient with compassion; and the need to know the patients general
condition and his personal history. Of the remaining parts of the book, the 28th, 29th and
30th treaties deserve special mention. The 28th treatise was greatly appreciated in Europe
under the Latin title Liber servitors which deals mainly with the preparation and
manufacturing processes of products and extracts from the three natural kingdoms, i.e.,
plants, minerals and animals. Pharmaceutical techniques for making tables, lozenges,
troches, syrups, etc., are also discussed in it. Likewise, the 29th treatise is also of great
historical importance. It is on synonyms of drugs in several language, namely Arabic,
Greek, Syriac, Latin and Spanish, arranged in the alphabetical order; substitutes of drugs
in case of non-availability of the original ones; and weight and measures as used in
various localities. Comparisons between different weight and measures have also been
made it. (Hamarnah, 1995) And the last part of 30th treatise of the book comprising three
sections is on surgery. The first section containing 56 chapters deals in detail with
different aspects of cauterization and the tools and techniques used in it. The second
section comprising 93 chapter deals with matters relating to incision, perforation, wounds
and their healing, bloodletting, wet and dry cupping; while the third section is devoted to
the discussion of fractures and dislocation of joint including fracture of the pelvis, bonesetting, bruises joints including fracture of the use of medical dressing and
bandages.(Azmi, 1984) He was also famous for influential al-Tasrif introduced his
famous collection of over 200 surgical instruments. Some of which the author had
designed and developed himself. Many of these instruments were never used before by
any previous surgeons. (Syed and khan, 2009)
Al-zahrawi also had great expertise in midwifery and gynecology. He skillfully
performed caesarean operation and wrote in detail about them. Likewise, he successfully
performed the operation of craniotomy for bringing out the dead fetus.(Ali, 2001) He
10

discussed the lithotomy and became the first to practice it on women. He recommended
removing the broken patella with the surgical operation. According to the available
information he was the first Muslim surgeon who introduced new and better obstetrical
forceps to operate the women. (Hamarnah,p-584)He was also an excellent orthopedic
surgeon of his time. He was the first to undertake treatment of the fracture of the pelvis.
He has written in detail about different kinds of simple and compound fractures as well as
dislocation of joints including those of the shoulder joints. His advice to immobilize the
shoulder joints is very similar to the (A-0) splint of the modern age. He also developed a
plaster of his own formula, and the modern plaster known as plaster of Paris is an
improved form of the said plaster. Likewise, as dentist his main contribution was that he
made sophisticated instruments to cleanse dirty teeth as well as pull off decaying ones by
shaking and loosening them. He also developed the art of setting artificial teeth made
from the bones of animals. He is also credited with having developed and applied the
method of tying gold and silver wires to bridge the gaps between the teeth.(Ali, 2001)
Being a good educator and psychiatrist he devoted his writings on these fields. He
discussed in his Tasrif the education and behavior of the children, their etiquette, school
curriculum and academic specialization. As a psychiatrist he prepared such drugs that
were based on opium and that introduced the patient towards happiness and joy. After
having the dose it relaxes the soul, dispels the bad thought and worries, moderate,
temperaments and also treated in other ways.(Hamarnah, p-584).
Impact
Since Al-Zahrawi flourished in Spain he influenced the scholars of the west and
exercised such influence that his work was translated into European languages by
eminent scholars and translators of the west Gerald of Cremona who is credited to be the
greatest translator of the west who translated a large number of mathematical,
astronomical, medical and other works from Arabic into Latin and various edition were
published at Venice in 1497, at Basel in 1541 and at oxford in 1778. It held its place for
centuries as the manual of surgery in Salerno, Mantpellier and other early schools of
medicine. It contained illustration of instruments which influence other Arab authors and
helped lay the foundations of surgery in Europe. A colleague of Al-Zahrawi was Hasday
11

Ben-Shaprut, the Jewish minister and physician who translated into Arabic, with the
collaboration of a Byzantine monk Nicholas, the splendid illustrated manuscript of the
Material Madica of dioscorides, which had been sent as diplomatic present to Abdul
Rahman III from the Byzantine Emperor Constantine II.(Hitti,) According to Seyyed
Hossein Nasr, Al- Zahrawi, who is the greatest Muslim figure in surgery. Albucasis
composed his famous concession or concession, which Gerard of Cremona translated into
Latin, which was also studied for several centuries in Hebrew and Catalan
translation.(Nasr,1968) The other Christian western scholars were Rogerious Frugardi,
Rolandus Pernensis, Arnald of villanova and other. These translation works were used in
various institutions of Europe as the text book and the main work on medical science. It
is therefore he could not exercise so much influence on Muslim east. His writing became
the landmark for future physicians to guide and encouraged them and he also emphasized
on importance on human anatomy and physiology. He discussing the brain disclosed that
it has three factions, memory thought and imagination.(kirmani and singh,2005) Abucasis
wrote another medical work titled in the Latin translation Liber saitories, book xxviii of
this treatise was published in Venice in 1471 by Nicholas Jenson. It was translated into
Latin by Simon Jenuensis and the Jew Abraham of Tortosa. A Latin version is in the
British museum. This compitation described the medical preparations obtained from
minerals, plants and animals and represents an early example of chemistry applied to the
practice of medicine.(Campbell,1926)
There are few medical scholars those who were famous almost for one field of work
on medical science and they are also influence on west:

4. Ibn Al-Nafis (Pulmonary circulation)

His full name is Abdu-I-Hasan Ala-ud Din Ali ibn Abi-Hazm, popularly known as
Ibn al-Nafis (1213-1288) was a great Muslim scholar and physician of his time. Ibn-alNafis have had contributions to medicine but the one which had a great significance in
history was his discovery of the pulmonary circulation, which was re-discovered by other
scientists after a lapse of three centuries1 In this article we discuss the contributions made
12

by Ibn al-Nafis to the discovery of coronary and pulmonary circulations in human (J.
Shehatha & A.Y. Taha, 2012).

Impact
The most voluminous of his books is Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb, which was planned to be
an encyclopedia comprising 300 volumes, but was not completed as a result of his death.
The manuscript is available in Damascus. His book on ophthalmology is largely an
original contribution. His most famous book is The Summary of Law (Mujaz al-Qanun).
Another famous book, embodying his original contribution, was on the effects of diet on
health, entitled Kitab al-Mukhtar fi al-Aghdhiya. His discovery of Pulmonary Circulation
based on his anatomical knowledge Al-Nafis stated that the blood from the right
chamber of the heart must arrive at the left chamber but there is no direct pathway
between them. The thick septum of the heart is not perforated and does not have visible
pores as some people thought or invisible pores as Galen thought. The blood from the
right chamber must flow through the vena arteries (pulmonary artery) to the lungs, spread
through its substances, be mingled there with air, pass through the arteria venosa
(pulmonary vein) to reach the left chamber of the heart and there form the vital spirit.
Elsewhere in his book he also said that "The heart has only two ventricles ...and between
these two there is absolutely no opening. Also dissection gives this lie to what they said,
as the septum between these two cavities is much thicker than elsewhere. The benefit of
this blood (that is in the right cavity) is to go up to the lungs, mix with what is in the
lungs of air, then pass through the arteria venosa to the left cavity of the two cavities of
the heart and of that mixture is created the animal spirit."

5. Yuhannah bin Masawayh (pharmacy)

Yuhannah bin Masawayh (777-857) known in Latin Europe as Mesue Senior, and
sometime as jenus damascenes, was born at Gundishapur where his father was a
pharmacist. He was appointed head of the medical school at Baghdad and physician to
the caliph Harun al- Rashid.(Campbell, 1926,60) He served under four caliphs Al
Mamun, Al Mutasim, Al wathiq, Al Matawakkil. He wide about medical especially
13

gynecological problem.(Syed, and khan,2009) The Arabs did not accept irrationally the
Greeks interpretations of anatomy or Galens Book of Anatomy. They scrutinized it
thoroughly Yuhanna Ibn Masawaya, while writing his book on anatomy processed
monkeys. He fully operated upon them to make his knowledge sounder and to get more
information about the human body. (Husain, 2004) He also wrote the earliest Systematic
treatise on ophthalmology. The book titled al Arhr Maqlat fi al Ayn( the ten treaties of the
eye) was the earliest existing text book of ophthalmology.(syed and khan, 2009)
Impact
The Muslims were the pioneers in the field of pharmacopeia and made most
scientific development in this branch. The eminent physician Yahannah bin Masawayh of
Damascus authored a valuable book on Material Medical which was translated into Latin
as De simplicus and was acknowledged as a standard authority on this subject for
centuries. He was referred by to the Rhazes as the author of various medical works are
now lost in the Arabic. There are nine Latin editions of the works of Mesue in the British
museum.(Campbell, 1926)

6. Ali ibn Abbas (Medicine)

Ali ibn Abbas: He was Persian and known in west as Haly Abbas. He was native of
ahwaz in south- west Persian and enjoyed great eminence fifty years after the time of
Rhazes. He died in 994 AD. His renowned work was Al-kitab al- Maliki. Al- Maliki is
generally regarded as one of the best work of the medieval period. This royal book was
the standard textbook of Arabian medicine until it was replaced by the Canon of Ibn Sina
about a century later.(Campbell, 1926) he also expertise as obstetrician is clearly
reflected in his book . He wrote on short and long cervicitis, uterine, tumors and ulcer
action of cervix. He was the first to teach the expulsion of the foctus was due to the
contraction of the fetus.(Ahmad,1996)

14

Impact
His principle work Al-Maliki was translated into Latin and then after it was
translated by Machael de Capella and comprising a valuable chapter on anatomy which
has exercised a far reaching influence on the progress of anatomy in Europe for centuries.
(Campbell, 1926, Browne, 1921) Another work of his medical Encyclopedia, Kamil -al
sinaah al Tibbiiya consists of twenty volumes, on the theory and practice of medicine
and contains scientific contribution to diabetics, surgery and materia medica. Its Latin
translation also influenced the west considerably. Haly Abbas corrected many of the
errors of Hippocrates and Galen. There are many words like Elixir, Senna.

7. Abu Zaid Hunain (Ophthalmologists)

Ophthalmologist is a specialist in the medical and surgical eye problem. Muslims

have made vast researcher in ophthalmic surgery and developed it to a very distinguished
stage and have produced a number of outstanding surgeons.
Elgood thinks that Pannus was first described not by the Greeks but by the Arabs.
Glaucoma under the name of Head ache of the pupil, was first described by an Arab,
Abu Zaid Hunain (809 A.D.). In his book, Al Asharul Haqadat Fil Ayn, he
writes: As for the aqueous humour there in develop diseases either qualitatively or
tquantitatively. When it increases, it forms an obstruction between the pupil and the
light. In the 6th tract he says. It occurs in the intermediates space between the Iris and
the Crystalline lens. The Muslim surgeons also differentiated white ulcer (Hypopyon) of
cornea from corneal ulcer. We owe many words like retina and cataract to the descriptive
Anatomy of the Muslim scientist. (Elgood, 1951).

15

8. Abdul Lateef Al-Baghdadi (Anatomists)

Abdul Lateef Al-Baghdadi His full name Abu Muhammad Abdul Latif IbnJusuf(1162-1231), was born at Baghdad, where he studied philosophy and philology and
later alchemy and medicine.(Campbell, 1926) Only at the age of 28, he dissected the
human body and also authored a scholarly book on anatomy. He refuted and practically
demonstrated that Galens concept that the lower jaw and the sacrum consisted far more
than one piece was absolutely wrong.( Pormann and Smith, 2007).
Impact

He wrote 166 of work on various subjects, anatomy, fevers, diet, pulse, diabetes,
apoplexy, antidotes and Materia Medica. One of his book was available that was
compendium memorabilium Eygpt. Now it is in Bodleian Library were transcribed by
Joseph white of oxford in 1782. It was published in French, German and many other
languages (Campbell, 1929). These are the medical scholar of Abbasids period that
period are known as golden age of Islam because where Muslim contributed distinguish
in the field of scientific knowledge.

9. Al - Idrisi (plants)

Al-Idrisi was born in Cordova, Spain in 1099. His major involvement was in
medicinal plants which he labeled in many books, such as Kitab al-Jami-li-Sifat Ashtat
al-Nabatat. He composed plants and data not described previously and compiled this to
the subject of botany. From him a large number of new medicines from plants with their
assessments suited to medical doctors. Al-Idrisi also prepared unique assistances to
topography, as connected to economics, physical factors and cultural aspects. He penned
geographical encyclopedias, the largest called Rawd-Unnas wa Nuzhalat Nafs (Pleasure
of Men and Delight of Souls). Al-Idrisi also inscribed on the themes of fauna, zoology
and therapeutically features. His work was soon translated into Latin and his books on
geography especially stayed famous in the East and West for more than a few spans.

16

10.

Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Baitar (botany)

Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Baitar was working in the field of botany, also from Spain.
He was one of the paramount scientists of Muslim from Spain and one of the chief
botanists and pharmacists of the Middle Ages. He travelled on many wandering voyages
to gather plants as far as Africa and Asia. He composed Kitab al-Jami al-Adiwaya alMufrada, one of the supreme botanical accumulations allocating with medicinal plants in
Arabic. The encyclopedia was completed of over 1,400 items, many of which were not
known before. The book discussed to the works of 150 authors, mostly Arabic and cited
about 20 early Greek scientists. It was translated into Latin and printed as late as 1758.
Ibn al-Baitars works were categorized by thoughts, investigation and classification
and exercised a profound influence on Eastern as well as Western botany and medicine.
Even though many of his works were translated and published late in the western
languages. Many earlier scientists had deliberated numerous portions of his books and
quoted a number of references toit. Medicine is regarded as one of the extensive fields of
life sciences to which Muslims had noticeable influences through their prosperous
cultivation. These assistances were unprecedentedly comprehensive, divergent, and
educative to the amount that the spectator of these everlasting influences may have faith
in that medicine had not be present earlier to the advancement of Muslims.
When Islam emerged, Arabs, during the pre-Islamic era, were familiar with this
primitive medicine. Prophet Muhammad, (Peace be upon him (PBUH)) called for
medication. Osama bin Sharik (May Allah be pleased with him) quoted the Prophet as
saying:
Seek medication because Allah has created a medication for each disease except
senility
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was known to strive for medication with honey, dates
and natural herbs, among other materials which were known as Prophetic Medicine.
However, Muslim scientists did not confine themselves to Prophetic Medicine; they
understood that life sciences, including medicine, necessitate constant investigation and
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surveillance. Muslims medical scientists were described by their understanding of

specialization. They were, for example, categorized into ophthalmologists identified as
(Al-Kahalyin), surgeons, practitioners of the so-called hijama, known as hajjamoun, and
gynecologists, among others.
During the Abbasid era, Muslims shined in all divisions of medicine. They amended
the mistakes made by their former scientists concerning various concepts. Moreover, they
did not restrain themselves to sheer copying and translation; rather, they continued on
doing research and remedying the errors of their ancestors.

11.

Islamization of Knowledge

Muhammad Naqib Al- Attas says: The process of Islamization of knowledge

requires firstly, the separation of the foreign elements and disease from the body of
knowledge and secondly, the neutralized body of knowledge will be remolded in the
crucible of Islam.
Ismail Raji Al Faruqi Says: It must be made clear that the Islamization of
knowledge represents only one aspect of Islamization. In its entirety, Islamization of
knowledge is the comprehensive, normative framework for individuals and society, for
thought and action, for education and practice, for knowledge and organization, for the
rulers

and the ruled, for this world and for the world to come. By applying

Islamization to everything one does, a Muslim seeks the pleasure of Allah [p.b.u.h] by
practicing what is true and just, through transformation and improvement, to achieve
happiness, peace and security in this life as well as in the hereafter.

Importance of Islamization of Knowledge

To create Awareness in the Ummah of the crisis of ideas. This involves enlighten

the Ummah about the place and methodologies of the crisis of Islamic thought in the
perspective of its cultural and civilizational existence.

To foster a deeper understanding of the nature of the crisis of ideas in

contemporary Islamic thought, its causes, and its solutions.

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To define the critical relationship between the failure of Islamic thought and its

methodology; the current absence of the Ummah as a civilization; and its failure to
success as a free progressive and prosperous nation.

To work toward reviving the ideologies of the Ummah, reinvigorating and

gradually redeveloping its methodology, and elucidating its viewpoint and its intimate
relationship with original Islamic goals

To implement the requisite steps to allow the developing contemporary Islamic

culture and methodology to avail themselves of the fountains of Islamic principles of

legacy, as well as modern sciences and knowledge, by making them accessible and
digestible to Muslim students.

To provide help in researching, studying, and working on the methodology and its

presentation, with a view toward elucidating Islamic concepts and intellectual outlook
and toward laying the foundation for the evolution of Islamic social sciences and
humanities.

To prepare the requisite intellectuals cadres to broaden the field of Islamization of

Knowledge through providing stipends for studies, providing academic supervision, and
establishing academic programs of Islamic studies in all fields of contemporary social
sciences and humanities.

The principle of civilization in Islam

Civilization: An advanced state of intellectual, cultural, and material development in
human society, marked by progress in the arts and sciences, the extensive use of recordkeeping, including writing, and the appearance of complex political and social
institutions.
The Meaning of Civilization is the manifestation of beliefs in every aspect of human
life. Thus the Islamic civilization can also be defined, namely the manifestation of
Islamic faith (tawhid) in every aspect of Muslim life or changing the mind set and heart
of the people.
Islamic civilization is more emphasis on the human dimension of how to build it
especially spiritual and intellectual, and rather than emphasizing the things that are
physical or material.

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Conclusion

Muslim had not only translated the medical work but they also contributed a lot to
it. Al Razi, Ibn Sina, Ali bin Isa, al Zahrawi etc. were very famous medical scholar and
their remarkable contributions were not only famous in the world rather they impacted on
west. Most of their work had translated into Latin and many European languages.
European universities gave great important to these work. Till 18th century, London
universities taught Ibn Sinas Canon fit Tibb. In brief we can say that the Muslim medical
scholars played a very remarkable role in European renaissance. Moreover, 1,000 years
ago Islamic medicine was the most advanced in the world at that time. Even after ten
centuries, the achievements of Islamic medicine look amazingly modern.
One thousand years ago the Muslims were the great torchbearers of international
scientific research. Every student and professional from each country outside the Islamic
Empire, aspired, yearned, a dreamed to go to the Islamic universities to learn, to work, to
live and to lead a comfortable life in an affluent and most advanced and civilized society.
Today, in this twentieth century, the United States of America has achieved such a
position. The pendulum can swing back. Fortunately Allah has given a bounty to many
Islamic countries an income over 100 billion dollars per year. Hence Islamic countries
have the opportunity and resources to make Islamic science and medicine number one in
the world once again.
In summary, Muslim scholars were contributing in medicine within three years after
the death of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in 632 CE, early Islamic period,
Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans empire period, until now.

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