Ibn
Sina (980 - 1037 CE)
Abu
Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina was born in Bukhara. Known
in the West by his Latinised name, Avicenna, this Muslim physician
became the most famous and influential of all the Muslim philosopher-scientists.
He earned patronage from the rulers of Bukhara and Hamadan
for curing illnesses that other physicians could neither diagnose
nor cure.
Ibn
Sina displayed great intelligence as a child and by the age
of ten had already studied the Qur'an and the Arabic classics.
By the age of 16, he had studied Islamic law, philosophy,
natural philosophy and Greek logic and by 18 he had built
up a reputation as a physician.
Whilst
Ibn Sina is best known for his studies and practice of medicine,
gaining the title 'doctor of doctors', he also made important
contributions to philosophy, mathematics, chemistry and astronomy.
His philosophical encyclopedia, Kitab al-Shifa (Book of Healing)
brought Aristotelian and Platonic philosophy together with
Islamic theology in dividing the field of knowledge into theoretical
knowledge (mathematics, physics and metaphysics) and practical
knowledge (ethics, economics and politics).
Ibn
Sina's most famous book, al-Qanun fi al-Tibb (The Canon of
Medicine) is still one of the most important medical books |
