Medicine
In Islam, the human body is a source
of appreciation, as it is created by
Almighty Allah (God). How it
functions, how to keep it clean and
safe, how to prevent diseases from
attacking it or cure those diseases,
have been important issues for
Muslims.
Ibn Sina (d. 1037), better known to
the West as Avicenna, was perhaps
the greatest physician until the
modern era. His famous book, Al-
Qanun fi al-Tibb, remained a
standard textbook even in Europe, for
over 700 years. Ibn Sina's work is still
studied and built upon in the East.
Prophet Muhammad himself urged
people to "take medicines for your
diseases", as people at that time were
reluctant to do so. He also said,
"God created no illness, except that
He has established for it a cure,
except for old age. When the
antidote is applied, the patient will
recover with the permission of God."
Since the religion did not forbid it,
Muslim scholars used human
cadavers to study anatomy and
physiology and to help their students
understand how the body functions.
This empirical study enabled surgery
to develop very quickly.
Al-Razi, known in the West as
Rhazes, the famous physician and
scientist, (d. 932) was one of the
greatest physicians in the world in
the Middle Ages. He stressed
empirical observation and clinical
medicine and was unrivalled as a
diagnostician. He also wrote a
treatise on hygiene in hospitals.
Kahaf Abul-Qasim Al-Sahabi was a
very famous surgeon in the eleventh
century, known in Europe for his
work, Concession (Kitab al-Tasrif).
Other significant contributions were
made in pharmacology, such as Ibn
Sina's Kitab al-Shifa' (Book of
Healing), and in public health. Every
major city in the Islamic world had a
number of excellent hospitals, some
of them teaching hospitals, and many
of them were specialized for
particular diseases, including mental
and emotional. The Ottomans were
particularly noted for their building
of hospitals and for the high level of
hygiene practiced in them.