Centuries before the advent of Islam the Arabs had their
own system
of
medicine in the
form
of herb and shrubs
which was based on
Chaldean medicine
and on their own experience. Gradually Greek medicine attracted
their attention. Harith
ibn Kaldah was the first to introduce Greek medicine e
to
the Arabs.
Khalid
ibn Yazed
ibn
Mu'awiya had some Greek and Egyptian books translated into Arabic during
the 'Umayyah period. But the science of medicine flourished during the
time of the Abbasids.
Initially, the Muslims made arrangements for
the translation of Greek, Indian, Persian and Chaldean medical works into Arabic, and thusreceived
their
knowledge
of
medicine from these nations. Before theyaccepted
at
face
value
the information they extracted, they conductedresearch
in various branches in medicine to verify what they gathered
from
these texts.
In addition, they made many valuable new
discoveries
in
medical theory and practical. By combining their discoveries,
with
the information
they filtered
from other sources they evolved an entirely new system of medicine.
The Arabs had a fair knowledge of anatomy as it is
obvious from the names of the internal and external organs of the human and
animal bodies found in the literature of pre-Islamic Arabia. When they became acquainted
with the Greek anatomical descriptions, they made investigations on them, pointed
out many errors in the work of their predecessors, and made many new
discoveries in this field.
In order to verily the Greek anatomical ideas prevailing
at that time, Yuhanna ibn Masawaih made dissections of apes supplied to him by
the order of the 'Abbasi Khaleefah Mu'tasim Billah. After
this verification he composed his work on anatomy. The
works of some
Muslim
physicians and surgeons, like Tashrili al-Mansuri by Mansur ibn Muhammad,
contain illustrations of human organs, which are not found in the Greek works.
These illustrations also throw light on the Muslims' practical knowledge
of anatomy.
In the field of physiology the work of the Muslim
physicians is quite valuable. For instance, Ala al-Din Abu al-Hassan 'Ali
ibn Abi Hazm al Qarshi of Damascus explained the theory of the minor
circulation of blood three centuries before William Harvey, who is
credited with this discovery. Also, al-Qarshi suggested that food is fuel for
the maintenance of the body's heat. Abu al-Faraj 'Ali ibn al-Hussein held that
there are canals in the nerves through which sensations and movement
are
transmitted.
The contributions of Muslims in the field of
bacteriology are quite revolutionary. According to Browne,
Muslims were fully aware of the theory of germs. Ibn Sina was the first to state
that bodily secretions are contaminated by foul foreign earthly bodies before
getting the infection. Ibn Khatimah of the 14th century CE stated that man is
surrounded by minute bodies which enter the human body and cause disease. His observation
was made from the great plague that effected many parts of the world. Ibn
al-Khatib (1313 - 1375 CE), a Spanish physician, wrote a treatise called On
the Plague. His observation was:
"The existence of contagion is established by
experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and
trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The
fact of infection becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he who
establishes contact with the afflicted gets the disease, whereas
he who is not in contact remains safe, and how transmission is affected
through garments, vessels and earrings."
Some Muslims also gave new suggestions regarding the
treatment of diseases. Abu ai-Hassan, the physician of'Adud al-Dawlah"
introduced
the process of bleeding as a treatment of cerebral hemorrhage which is often
due to blood pressure.
Al-Razi suggested nourishing food for the treatment of general
weakness.
The
Muslim physicians were the first to use the stomach tube for the performance of
gastric lavage in the case of gas poisoning. They were fully aware of the
principles of phototherapy centuries before Browne Sequard, who is ascribed to
discovering this method of treatment.
Sa'id ibn Bishr ibn 'Abdus suggested light foods and
cold producing medicines for the treatment ofgeneral paralysis and facial
paralysis. Ibn al-Wafid gave emphasis upon the treatment of diseases through
food control. They discovered the treatment for epidemic jaundice and suggested
a reasonable quantity of opium as a treatment of mania. For epistaxis they
suggested the pouring of cold water on the head.
In the science of surgery there were also many
advancements made by Muslims. They introduced the cauterizing agents in
surgery. They were the first to apply the method of cooling to stop the
hemorrhage, and suture wounds with silken threads.
It cannot go unnoticed that one of the most famous and
eminent figure in Islamic medical field was Ibn Sina. It is
said that for a thousand years he has retained his original renown as one of
the greatest thinkers and medical scholars in history, His most important
medical works are the Qanun (Canon) and a treatise on cardiac drugs.
In the 11th century CE Ibn Zuhr gave a complete
description of the operation of tracheotomy, which was not mentioned by the
Greeks. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi invented many surgical instruments illustrated
in his book Al- Tasrif. In the same book he described the methods of operations
for various diseases. While describing the operations of the skull and its
parts, the Muslim surgeons made a mention of operations of the uvula and
nasal cavity. They also used methods of tonsillectomy and paracentesis ofthe
ear drum.
The Muslim opticians did valuable and original work in
the treatment of eye diseases and surgery. Many of the surgical
principles formulated by Muslims are still utilized today. The method of
operation of cataracts was first described by them. They knew that cataracts
were due to the incapacity of the eye lens. Ibn al Haytham described the
structure of the eye and gave revolutionary ideas regarding the mechanism of
sight and describing various types of lenses.
The art of midwifery was highly developed by Muslims.
Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi invented the method of cranicolsy for the delivery of
dead fetus and applied it himself. A book entitled AI-Athar al-Baqiyyah in
the University of Edinburgh contains an illustration showing an Arab physician
performing cesarean operation.
During the time of'Umayyah rule, the Muslims developed
the institution Of hospitals.During the time of the 'Abbasi Khaleefah Harun
aI-Rasheed a hospital was built in Baghdad, which was the first in the history
of this city. Many new hospitals were established shortly afterwards. Some of them
had their own gardens in which the medicinal plants were Cultivated. The
large hospitals had medical schools attached to them. Besides such hospital
there were a large number of mobile hospitals in the Muslim world.
The Muslim hospitals served as models for the
hospitals established in different parts of Europe, particularly
in Italy and France during the 14th century CE due to the influence
of the Crusades. The Crusaders were inspired by the magnificent hospitals of the
Seljuq ruler Nur al-Dir, in Damascus and those of the Mamluk Sultan aI-Mansur
Qala'un in Cairo.
- Discoveries of various Acids
Sulfuric & Nitric acids
- Preparation of Drugs
- Applied Chemistry
- Paper
Chemistry
deals
with
the
composition and properties of substances and the changes of composition they
undergo. It has been divided into Inorganic and Organic. The conception of this
division in modem Chemistry came from al-Razi's classification Of chemical
substances into mineral, vegetable and animal.
Inorganic
chemistry,
which deals with the preparation and properties of the elements and their
compounds, originally arose from the study
of minerals and metals. Organic chemistry, which deals
with carbon compounds, developed through the investigation
of animal and plant Products.
Contribution of Muslims to Chemistry
A Greek philosopher, Empedocles,
held the view that all the four elements, air, water, earth and fire, were
the primal elements, and that the various substances
were made by their intermixing. He regarded them to be distinct and
unchangeable. Aristotle considered these
elements to be changeable, i.e .
one
kind of matter could be changed into another kind.
Jabir ibn Hayyan,
a
great Muslim chemist of the 8th century CE, modified the Aristotelian doctrine
of the four elements, and presented the so called
sulfur mercury theory of metals. According to this theory, metals
duller essentially because of different proportions
of
sulfur and mercury in them. He also formulated the theory of
geologic formation of metals. Unlike his Greek predecessors,
he
did not merely speculate, but performed experiments
to
reach certain conclusions. He recognized and stated the importance of experimentation
in chemistry.
He
combined the theoretical knowledge of the Greeks and the practical knowledge of
craftsmen, and made noteworthy advances both in the
theory and practice of chemistry.
Jabir's contribution to chemistry is very great. He gave a
scientific description of two principle operations of chemistry. One
of them is calcination which is employed in the extraction ofmetals from their
ores. The other is reduction which is employed in numerous chemical treatments.
He improved upon the methods of evaporation, melting,
distillation, sublimation and crystallization. These are the
fundamental methods employed in the purification of chemical substances, enabling
the chemist to study their properties and uses, and
to prepare them. The process of distillation is particularly used for taking
extracts of plant
material.
The most important discovery made by Jabir was the preparation
of sulfuric acid. The importance of this discovery can be realized by the fact that
in this modem age the extent of the industrial progress of a country is mostly judged by the amount of sulfuric acid used in that country. Another
important acid prepared by him was nitric
acid which he obtained by distilling a mixture of alum and copper sulfate. Then
by dissolving ammonium chloride into this acid, he
prepared aqua regia which unlike acids, could dissolve gold in it.
Jabir classified chemical substances, on the basis of some
distinctive features,
into bodies (gold, silver, etc.)
and souls (mercury,
sulfur, etc.)
to make the study of their properties easier.
In the same century Jabir 's work
was further advanced by al-Razi who wrote many chemical treatises, and
described a number of chemical Instruments. He applied his chemical knowledge
for medical purposes, thus laying the foundation of applied chemistry.
Abu Mansur distinguished between sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate.
He had some knowledge of arsenious oxide, cupric
oxide,
antimony and other substances. He knew the toxicological effects of copper and
lead compounds, the depilatory virtue of quicklime, the
composition of plaster of Paris and its surgical use.
Muslim Chemistry
The great Muslim surgeon, Khalaf
ibn 'Abbas al-Zahrawi wrote a great medical encyclopedia, Al-Tasrif, which
contains interesting methods of preparing drugs by sublimation and distillation,
but it's most important part is the surgical one.
Ibn
Sina wrote a treatise on minerals that provided one of the main sources of
geological knowledge, and chemistry in Western Europe until the Renaissance.
The Muslim chemists applied their chemical knowledge to a large number
of industrial arts. One of them is mentioned here, which
will enable the reader to estimate the extent of their knowledge of Applied Chemistry.
Paper is also featured in the pioneering works of the Muslims. Paper
was invented by the Chinese who prepared it from the cocoon of the silk worm.
Some specimens of Chinese paper dates back to the second century CE. The first
manufacture of the paper outside China occurred in Samarqandin
757 CE. When Samarqand was captured by the Muslims, the manufacture of paper
spread all over the Muslims World. By the end of the 12th century CE, there
were four hundred paper mills in Fas alone .
In Spain the main center of manufacturing of paper was Shatiba which remained a
Muslim city until 1239 CE. Cordova was the center of the paper business in
Spain.
The Muslims developed this art. They prepared paper not only
from silk, but also from cotton, rags and wood. In the middle of the 10th
century CE the paper industry was introduced into Spain. In Khurasanpaper
was made from linen.
Joseph Karabacek, in
one of his works, explains the process of making paper in minute detail,
describing how the pulp is prepared to make sheets, washed and cleaned them,
colored, polished and pasted. No text comparable to this in any other language
exists from that time.
The preparation of pulp involves a large number of complicated chemical
processes, which indicates the level of achievement in chemistry reached by
Muslims.
The manufacture of writing paper in Spain is one of the most
beneficial contributions of Muslim to Europe. Without paper the scale on which popular education
in Europe developed would not have been possible. The
preparation of paper from silk would have been impossible in Europe due
tothe
lack of silk production there.
The Muslims method of producing paper from cotton could only be
useful for the Europeans. After Spain the art of paper making was established
in Italy in1268 CE. France owed its first paper mills to Muslim Spain. From
these countries the industry spread throughout Europe.
