Post by Islamic Revival on Oct 12, 2005 13:40:54 GMT -5
Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Ahmad ibn al-Baitar Diya al-din al-Malaqi, the greatest Muslim botanist and pharmacist of the Middle Ages, was born near Malaga (Spain) towards the end of the 12th Century, in the month of Rabi-us-Sani. His year of birth is normally estimated to be 575 AH (1190 AD).
He belonged to the famous Baitar family of Malaga. The family owed its name to the fact that most of its members were veterinary surgeons by profession, known as “baitarah” in Arabic. He studied in Seville under Abul-Abbas Ahmad ibin Mohammad bin Mufarraj al-Nabati, Abdullah ibn Salih and Abul-Hajjaj. He was trained as an outstanding herbalist. In those days all the physicians were designated as “herbalists” — in view of the fact that most medicines were obtained from plants, though there were many medicines which had their origin from other sources as well. The science of pharmacy had progressed considerably in Spain by that time. Arabic books and technical terms were also translated into English and other European languages.
Young Ibn al-Baitar grew up in a rather unsettled Spain. By 1212 AD, a crusade was proclaimed against the Muslims. And the resulting defeat of the Muslims at Las Navas de Tolosa saw about half a million Muslims emigrating to Ifriqiyah. It is believed that in 1219 AD, Ibn al-Baitar migrated to the orient. He reached Morocco in 1220. From there he travelled eastwards and passed through Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli and reached Barce in Libya, and finally moved on to Syria and Egypt.
In Egypt, Ayyubid al-Malik al-Kamil, the reigning king, appointed him as chief botanist and he was accepted as an authority on the medicinal plants and their utilization. He extensively botanised in Syria, Lebanon, as far east as Mosul (Iraq), Egypt, Wadi Halfa in Sudan, Arabia, Asia Minor (Turkey), Greece and Armenia. Most of the time he was accompanied by his disciples and the most outstanding of them was Ibn Abi Usaybi’a.
During the Ayyubid regime, a peaceful atmosphere prevailed in Egypt and Syria, thus many learned people preferred to settle there. Schools of learning were prospering and the atmosphere was very conducive for research scholars, and other learned people, who were given due recognition by the king and his courtiers. Malik Kamil’s patronage of educated persons may be judged by the fact that he participated in scholarly discourses and took active part in the propagation of knowledge.
Ibn al-Baitar served Malik al-Kamil for 20 years, from 1218 to 1238 AD. After the death of Malik al-Kamil, Ibn al-Baitar served Malik Shah Najmuddin Ayub, who had great regard for him. In view of this, he continued to enjoy all the privileges till his death in 646 A H.
Among the students of Ibn al-Baitar, Ibn Abi Usaybi’a had the privilege of collecting and studying plants with his teacher. He has praised Ibn al-Baitar for his politeness, his command over contemporary literature of the time and for his astounding memory. However, his main historical work ‘Kitab Uyun al-anba’ fi tabqat al-atibba (Source of Information on the Classes of Physicians) which gives a series of bibliographies of the most eminent physicians from the earliest times to his own, is rather brief so far as the account of his teacher is concerned. Ibn Abi Usaybi’a has stated that when he met Ibn al-Baitar for discussion, the teacher used to refer to Dioscorides, pointing out the medicines and their properties. Later, he would refer to Galen and indicate the temperament, function and the quality of each medicine. Then he would refer to subsequent physicians and point out the similarities, differences and mistakes. It was most surprising that for each medicine he discussed, he could point out exact references indicating the work where the medicine was referred to and the context in which it was referred. Every one was astounded by his amazing memory.
Ibn al-Baitar critically studied medicinal plants and relevant literature from Greece, Spain, North Africa and Asia Minor, as a result of which he prepared more than 150 manuscripts. He has enumerated the properties of more than 1,400 hundred items of plant, animal and mineral world. Out of these, 300 medicinal plants were new to science. In each case he has indicated the plants to be used as medicinal plants and as food plants. He has indicated the medicines which are to be taken during the night and those which are to be taken during the day.
He was an intelligent physician, inclined towards experimentation. He had full confidence in observations, inferences and deductions. He wrote nothing without experimentation and due contemplation. He prescribed only those items which he considered suitable. In view of his vast travels, he had first hand knowledge of plants. Wherever he went, he always tried to elicit relevant information from the local learned people and experts. He took an artist, Rashid Uddin, with him for preparation of the illustrations. These illustrations showed the plants in the embryonic stage, during the full bloom and in the late fruiting stage, when the plant had started drying up. It is rather sad that the illustrations prepared under his supervision have since been destroyed.
According to Sarton,the author of Introduction to the History of Science (1931, p.522): “Ibn al-Baitar was unquestionably the greatest herbalist or apothecary amongst the Muslims, may be the greatest of the Middle Ages, for no one surpassed him even outside Islam. From the time of Dioscorides and Galen down to the sixteenth century no contributions equalled his in bulk and quality. Unfortunately they came too late, when Arabic influence was already on the decline and thus they failed to be integrated in the main stream of Western knowledge and to affect materially its progress.”
Professor M.M. Sharif, the author of Muslim Thought, its Origin and Achievements (1959) states that Ibn al-Baitar was the author of “Ukitab al jami limufradat al-adwiya wal-aghdhiya, a collection of simple medicine which in Europe held the position of a standard materia medica for centuries. Its translation into Latin, Simplicibus, was printed in 26 editions during and after the 15th century, and was used in the formation of the first London pharmacopoeia issued by the College of Physicians in the reign of James I. Some parts of its Latin version were printed as late as 1758 at Cremona.” Thus, Ibn al-Baitar is credited with the transformation of pharmacy from the olden days to the modern times and for the introduction of 400 new medicines.
He belonged to the famous Baitar family of Malaga. The family owed its name to the fact that most of its members were veterinary surgeons by profession, known as “baitarah” in Arabic. He studied in Seville under Abul-Abbas Ahmad ibin Mohammad bin Mufarraj al-Nabati, Abdullah ibn Salih and Abul-Hajjaj. He was trained as an outstanding herbalist. In those days all the physicians were designated as “herbalists” — in view of the fact that most medicines were obtained from plants, though there were many medicines which had their origin from other sources as well. The science of pharmacy had progressed considerably in Spain by that time. Arabic books and technical terms were also translated into English and other European languages.
Young Ibn al-Baitar grew up in a rather unsettled Spain. By 1212 AD, a crusade was proclaimed against the Muslims. And the resulting defeat of the Muslims at Las Navas de Tolosa saw about half a million Muslims emigrating to Ifriqiyah. It is believed that in 1219 AD, Ibn al-Baitar migrated to the orient. He reached Morocco in 1220. From there he travelled eastwards and passed through Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli and reached Barce in Libya, and finally moved on to Syria and Egypt.
In Egypt, Ayyubid al-Malik al-Kamil, the reigning king, appointed him as chief botanist and he was accepted as an authority on the medicinal plants and their utilization. He extensively botanised in Syria, Lebanon, as far east as Mosul (Iraq), Egypt, Wadi Halfa in Sudan, Arabia, Asia Minor (Turkey), Greece and Armenia. Most of the time he was accompanied by his disciples and the most outstanding of them was Ibn Abi Usaybi’a.
During the Ayyubid regime, a peaceful atmosphere prevailed in Egypt and Syria, thus many learned people preferred to settle there. Schools of learning were prospering and the atmosphere was very conducive for research scholars, and other learned people, who were given due recognition by the king and his courtiers. Malik Kamil’s patronage of educated persons may be judged by the fact that he participated in scholarly discourses and took active part in the propagation of knowledge.
Ibn al-Baitar served Malik al-Kamil for 20 years, from 1218 to 1238 AD. After the death of Malik al-Kamil, Ibn al-Baitar served Malik Shah Najmuddin Ayub, who had great regard for him. In view of this, he continued to enjoy all the privileges till his death in 646 A H.
Among the students of Ibn al-Baitar, Ibn Abi Usaybi’a had the privilege of collecting and studying plants with his teacher. He has praised Ibn al-Baitar for his politeness, his command over contemporary literature of the time and for his astounding memory. However, his main historical work ‘Kitab Uyun al-anba’ fi tabqat al-atibba (Source of Information on the Classes of Physicians) which gives a series of bibliographies of the most eminent physicians from the earliest times to his own, is rather brief so far as the account of his teacher is concerned. Ibn Abi Usaybi’a has stated that when he met Ibn al-Baitar for discussion, the teacher used to refer to Dioscorides, pointing out the medicines and their properties. Later, he would refer to Galen and indicate the temperament, function and the quality of each medicine. Then he would refer to subsequent physicians and point out the similarities, differences and mistakes. It was most surprising that for each medicine he discussed, he could point out exact references indicating the work where the medicine was referred to and the context in which it was referred. Every one was astounded by his amazing memory.
Ibn al-Baitar critically studied medicinal plants and relevant literature from Greece, Spain, North Africa and Asia Minor, as a result of which he prepared more than 150 manuscripts. He has enumerated the properties of more than 1,400 hundred items of plant, animal and mineral world. Out of these, 300 medicinal plants were new to science. In each case he has indicated the plants to be used as medicinal plants and as food plants. He has indicated the medicines which are to be taken during the night and those which are to be taken during the day.
He was an intelligent physician, inclined towards experimentation. He had full confidence in observations, inferences and deductions. He wrote nothing without experimentation and due contemplation. He prescribed only those items which he considered suitable. In view of his vast travels, he had first hand knowledge of plants. Wherever he went, he always tried to elicit relevant information from the local learned people and experts. He took an artist, Rashid Uddin, with him for preparation of the illustrations. These illustrations showed the plants in the embryonic stage, during the full bloom and in the late fruiting stage, when the plant had started drying up. It is rather sad that the illustrations prepared under his supervision have since been destroyed.
According to Sarton,the author of Introduction to the History of Science (1931, p.522): “Ibn al-Baitar was unquestionably the greatest herbalist or apothecary amongst the Muslims, may be the greatest of the Middle Ages, for no one surpassed him even outside Islam. From the time of Dioscorides and Galen down to the sixteenth century no contributions equalled his in bulk and quality. Unfortunately they came too late, when Arabic influence was already on the decline and thus they failed to be integrated in the main stream of Western knowledge and to affect materially its progress.”
Professor M.M. Sharif, the author of Muslim Thought, its Origin and Achievements (1959) states that Ibn al-Baitar was the author of “Ukitab al jami limufradat al-adwiya wal-aghdhiya, a collection of simple medicine which in Europe held the position of a standard materia medica for centuries. Its translation into Latin, Simplicibus, was printed in 26 editions during and after the 15th century, and was used in the formation of the first London pharmacopoeia issued by the College of Physicians in the reign of James I. Some parts of its Latin version were printed as late as 1758 at Cremona.” Thus, Ibn al-Baitar is credited with the transformation of pharmacy from the olden days to the modern times and for the introduction of 400 new medicines.