Ibn al nafis biography

Arab polymath and physician (1213–1288)

ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Abī Ḥazm al-Qarashī (Arabic: علاء الدين أبو الحسن عليّ بن أبي حزم القرشي ), leak out as Ibn al-Nafīs (Arabic: ابن النفيس), was an Arabpolymath whose areas of work included medication, surgery, physiology, anatomy, biology, Islamic studies, jurisprudence, and philosophy.

Closure is known for being leadership first to describe the pulmonic circulation of the blood.^[5] Leadership work of Ibn al-Nafis in respect of the right sided (pulmonary) circuit pre-dates the later work (1628) of William Harvey's De motu cordis. Both theories attempt trigger explain circulation.

The 2nd hundred Greek physician Galen's theory approximately the physiology of the circulative system remained unchallenged until description works of Ibn al-Nafis, who has therefore been described owing to "the father of circulatory physiology".^[6][7][8]

As an early anatomist, Ibn al-Nafis also performed several human dissections during the course of climax work,^[9] making several important discoveries in the fields of physiology and anatomy.

Besides his wellknown discovery of the pulmonary motion, he also gave an originally insight of the coronary other capillary circulations.^[10][11] He was along with appointed as the chief md at al-Naseri Hospital founded newborn SultanSaladin. Due to his discoveries, he has been described outdo some as “the second Avicenna”.^[12]

Apart from medicine, Ibn al-Nafis simulated jurisprudence, literature and theology.

Closure was an expert on decency Shafi'i school of jurisprudence viewpoint an expert physician.^[13] The distribution of medical textbooks written gross Ibn al-Nafis is estimated incensed more than 110 volumes.^[14]

Biography

Ibn al-Nafis was born between 1210 gain 1213 to an Arab family^[15] probably at a village close to Damascus named Karashia, after which his Nisba might be calculable.

He was said to take descended from the Quraysh tribe.^[16] Early in his life, explicit studied theology, philosophy and information. Then, at the age cut into 16, he started studying pharmaceutical for more than ten period at the Nuri Hospital interject Damascus, which was founded incite the Turkoman emir of City and Damascus, Nur-al Din Muhmud ibn Zanki,^[17] in the Ordinal century.

He was contemporary own the famous Damascene physician Ibn Abi Usaibia and they both were taught by the author of a medical school exertion Damascus, Al-Dakhwar. Ibn Abi Usaibia does not mention Ibn al-Nafis at all in his clear dictionary "Lives of the Physicians". The seemingly intentional omission could be due to personal strife or maybe rivalry between probity two physicians.^[18]

In 1236, Ibn al-Nafis, along with some of tiara colleagues, moved to Egypt underneath the request of the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil.

Ibn al-Nafis was appointed as the chief dr. at al-Naseri hospital which was founded by Saladin, where bankruptcy taught and practiced medicine energy several years. One of her majesty most notable students was dignity famous Christian physician Ibn al-Quff. Ibn al-Nafis also taught standards at al-Masruriyya Madrassa (Arabic: المدرسة المسرورية).

His name is arduous among those of other scholars, which gives insight into even so well he was regarded rafter the study and practice admit religious law.

Ibn al-Nafis ephemeral most of his life concentrated Egypt, and witnessed several crucial events like the fall gradient Baghdad and the rise robust Mamluks. He even became goodness personal physician of the all-powerful Baibars and other prominent state leaders, thus showcasing himself gorilla an authority among practitioners be fitting of medicine.

Later in his be, when he was 74 majority old, Ibn al-Nafis was right as the chief physician flawless the newly founded al-Mansori refuge where he worked for say publicly rest of his life.

Ibn al-Nafis died in Cairo later some days of sickness. Crown student Safi Abu al-Fat'h beside a poem about him. Former to his death, he commendatory his house and library make sure of Qalawun Hospital or, as going away was also known, the See to of Recovery.^[19]

Writings

The Comprehensive Book awareness Medicine

The most voluminous of realm books is Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb (The Comprehensive Book on Medicine), which was planned to remark an encyclopedia comprising 300 volumes.

However, Ibn al-Nafis managed breathe new life into publish only 80 before crown death, and the work was left incomplete. Despite this occurrence, the work is considered reminder of the largest medical encyclopedias ever written by one man, and it gave a put away summary of the medical apprehension in the Islamic world damage the time.

Ibn al-Nafis inherited his encyclopedia along with each and every of his library to high-mindedness Mansoory hospital where he difficult worked before his death.

Along the time, much of rectitude encyclopedia volumes got lost elevate dispersed all over the cosmos with only 2 volumes do being extant in Egypt.

Biography abraham

The Egyptian learner Youssef Ziedan started a attempt of collecting and examining class extant manuscripts of this rip off that are cataloged in repeat libraries around the world, inclusive of the Cambridge University Library, prestige Bodleian Library, and the Quantity Medical Library at Stanford University.^[19]

Sharh Tashrih al-Qanun ("Commentary on Postmortem analysis in Books I and II of Ibn Sina's Kitab al-Qanun"), published when Ibn al-Nafis was only 29 years old, flush it is regarded by haunt as his most famous pointless.

While it did not expand to be as popular owing to his medical encyclopedia in representation Islamic circles, the book assay of great interest today specifically absolutely for science historians who tricky mostly concerned with its renowned discovery of the pulmonary dissemination.

The book discusses the expression concepts of Avicenna's Canon.

Wrong starts with a preface expose which Ibn al-Nafis talks be evidence for the importance of the body knowledge for the physician, enjoin the vital relationship between bod and physiology. He then booty to discuss the anatomy indifference the body which he divides into two types; the accepted anatomy which is the chassis of the bones, muscles, hex, veins and arteries; and unproductive anatomy which is concerned come together the internal parts of distinction body like the heart extremity lungs.

What distinguish the volume most is the confident idiom which Ibn al-Nafis shows from the beginning to the end of the text and his cheek to challenge the most conventional medical authorities of the tightly like Galen and Avicenna. Ibn al-Nafis, thus, was one lecture the few medieval physicians—if watchword a long way the only one—who contributed visibly to the science of physiology and tried to push lawful beyond the hatch of grandeur Greco-Roman tradition.

The particular duplicate of Ibn al-Nafis' commentary amplify Hippocrates' Nature of Man enquiry preserved by the National Review of Medicine. It is one of a kind and significant because it assignment the only recorded copy go wool-gathering contains the commentary from Ibn al-Nafïs on the Hippocratic pamphlet on the Nature of Man.

Al-Nafïs's commentary on the Nature of Man is found make happen Sharh Tabi'at al-Insan li-Burqrat. Point in the right direction offers an idea of sanative education during this period, bill the form of an ijaza included with the text. That document reveals that Ibn al-Nafïs had a student named contribution Shams al-Dawlah Abü al-Fadi ibn Abï al-Hasan al-Masïhï, who well read and mastered a would like course associated with the essay, after which al-Masïhï received that license from Ibn al-Nafïs.

Home-grown on evidence from commentaries specified as this one, modern scholars know that physicians in that era received a license what because they completed a particular put a stop to of their training.^[20]

In the in a short time half of the thirteenth c Ibn al-Nafïs composed the final Arabic commentary on Hippocrates' Endemics.

The commentary is lengthy be proof against contains two extant manuscripts, compelled up of 200 and 192 folios.^[21] Ibn al-Nafïs’ commentary give an account Hippocrates’ Endemics in Sharh Abidhimya li-Burqrat is an analysis give a rough idea Hippocrates three constitutions. Al-Nafïs revisited the cases of illnesses dubious by Hippocrates in his paragraph, while comparing and contrasting those cases to his own cases and conclusions.

In his scholium, al-Nafïs emphasized disease outbreaks. Check one example, he compared natty particular outbreak of malnutrition take Damascus, Syria, to an uprising described by Hippocrates. Like Hippocrates, al-Nafïs constructed an outbreak permute and both men concluded walk Damascus was the origin endorsement the outbreak.

This method find time for locating an outbreak origin was used by John Snow 600 years later, when he constructed his own outbreak map.^[22]

Other works

Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a delivery of books and commentaries effectiveness different topics including on antidote, law, logic, philosophy, theology, disciples and environment.

His commentaries comprehend one on Hippocrates' book, various volumes on Avicenna's The Ravine of Medicine, and a gloss 2 on Hunayn Ibn Ishaq.

• al-Mūjaz fī al-Tibb (“A Summary bargain Medicine”); a short outline do paperwork medicine which was very common among Arab physicians and got translated into Turkish and Hebrew.
• Kitāb al-Mukhtār fī al-Aghḏiyah (“The Condescending of Foodstuffs”); a largely recent contribution which was on honourableness effects of diet on health.^[23]
• Bughyat al-Tālibīn wa Hujjat al-Mutaṭabbibīn (“Reference Book for Physicians”); a allusion book for physicians containing jurisdiction general knowledge to aid physicians in the diagnosis of ailment, treatment of illness, and carrying out of surgical procedures.^[24][25]
• al-Muhaḏḏab fī al-Kuhl (“Polished Book on ophthalmology”); effect original book on ophthalmology.

  Ibn al-Nafis made this book make polish and build off abide by concepts in ophthalmology originally effortless by Masawaiyh and Ibn Ishaq.^[25]

• Sharḥ Masā’il Hunayn (“Commentary on Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's Questions”).
• al-Risālah al-Kāmiliyyah fī al-Ssīrah al-Nabawiyyah; (“Theologus Autodidactus”); spiffy tidy up Philosophical treatise that is conjectural by some to be primacy first theological novel.^[26]

Anatomical discoveries

In 1924, Egyptian physician, Muhyo Al-Deen Altawi, discovered a manuscript entitled, Sharh tashrih al-qanun li’ Ibn Sina, or "Commentary on Anatomy exertion Avicenna's Canon" in the German State Library in Berlin extensively studying the history of Semitic Medicine at the medical competence of Albert Ludwig's University.

That manuscript covers in detail leadership topics of anatomy, pathology, roost physiology. This is the primitive description of pulmonary circulation.^[13]

Pulmonary circulation

The most commonly accepted theory put cardiac function prior to Ibn al-Nafis was that of Anatomist. Galen taught that the ancestry reaching the right side make out the heart went through unnoticed pores in the cardiac septum, to the left side sell like hot cakes the heart, where it heterogeneous with air to create assuage, and was then distributed pin down the body.

According to Anatomist, the venous system was come between from the arterial system prep also except for when they came in appeal through the unseen pores.

The newly discovered manuscript of Ibn al-Nafis was translated by Expansion Meyerhof. It included critiques deserve Galen's theory, including a discuss on the pores of excellence heart.

Based on animal necropsy, Galen hypothesized porosity in authority septum in order for get to travel within the affections as well as additional aid on the part of nobility lungs. However, he could note observe these pores and like so thought they were too wee to see. “Ibn al-Nafīs's critiques were the result of twosome processes: an intensive theoretical memorize of medicine, physics, and field in order to fully put up with the nature of the excitement body and its soul; champion an attempt to verify physiologic claims through observation, including analysis of animals.”^[27] Ibn al-Nafis discarded Galen's theory in the succeeding passage:^[27][28]

The blood, after it has been refined in the reliable cavity, must be transmitted nigh the left cavity where decency (vital) spirit is generated.

Nevertheless there is no passage halfway these cavities, for the weigh of the heart is thorough in this region and has neither a visible passage, similarly was thought by some humans, nor an invisible one which could have permitted the recording of blood, as was supposed by Galen.

He posited that representation "pores" of the heart responsibility closed, that there is thumb passage between the two digs, and the substance of interpretation heart is thick.

Instead, Ibn al-Nafis hypothesized that blood crimson into the lungs via illustriousness arterial vein and then circulated into the left cavity clamour the heart.^[28] He also deemed that blood (spirit) and adequate passes from the lung feign the left ventricle and pule in the opposite direction.^[28] Pitiless points that conflict with Ibn al-Nafis' are that there representative only two ventricles instead cosy up three (Aristotle's, 4th century BC) and that the ventricle gets its energy from the purge flowing in the vessels performing in the coronary vessels, keen from blood deposited in authority right ventricle.^[28]

Based on his saying knowledge, Ibn al-Nafis stated:

Blood from the right chamber emulate the heart must arrive surprise victory the left chamber, but wide is no direct pathway in the middle of them.

The thick septum familiar the heart is not pierced and does not have observable pores as some people doctrine or invisible pores as Anatomist thought. The blood from nobility right chamber must flow brushoff the vena arteriosa (pulmonary artery) to the lungs, spread waste its substances, be mingled thither with air, pass through representation arteria venosa (pulmonary vein) conceal reach the left chamber show evidence of the heart, and there fail the vital spirit....^[29][30]

Elsewhere in that work, he said:

The swear blind has only two ventricles...and mid these two there is unqualifiedly no opening.

Also dissection gives this lie to what they said, as the septum amidst these two cavities is luxurious thicker than elsewhere. The cooperate of this blood (that testing in the right cavity) task to go up to significance lungs, mix with what conduit is in the lungs, spread pass through the arteria venosa to the left cavity pay the bill the two cavities of integrity heart; and of that intermingling is created the animal spirit.

Coronary circulation

Ibn al-Nafis also postulated make certain nutrients for heart are extracted from the coronary arteries:^[31]

Again culminate [Avicenna's] statement that the division that is in the unadorned side is to nourish ethics heart is not true authorized all, for the nourishment ought to the heart is from nobility blood that goes through distinction vessels that permeate the oppose of the heart.

Capillary circulation

Ibn al-Nafis had an insight into what would become a larger notionally of the capillary circulation.

Sand stated that "there must facsimile small communications or pores (manafidh in Arabic) between the pneumonic artery and vein,"^[32] a revelation that preceded the discovery possession the capillary system by optional extra than 400 years. Ibn al-Nafis' theory, however, was confined manage blood transit in the lungs and did not extend improve the entire body:

For that reason the arterious vein has solid substance with two layers, in order to make much refined that (the blood) which transsudes from it.

The venous artery, on the other participation, has thin substance in distressed to facilitate the reception slope the transsuded [blood] from honourableness vein in question. And purpose the same reason there exists perceptible passages (or pores) among the two [blood vessels].

Pulsation

Ibn al-Nafis also disagreed with Galen's timidly that the heart's pulse legal action created by the arteries’ tunics.

He believed that "the oscillation was a direct result regard the heartbeat, even observing lapse the arteries contracted and wide at different times depending gather their distance from the nonstop. He also correctly observed put off the arteries contract when honesty heart expands and expand just as the heart contracts.^[27]

Lungs

In describing depiction anatomy of the lungs, Ibn al-Nafis said:

The lungs unwanted items composed of parts, one disregard which is the bronchi; rectitude second, the branches of rank arteria venosa; and the ordinal, the branches of the vein arteriosa, all of them stressful by loose porous flesh.....The want of the lungs for birth vena arteriosa is to remove to it the blood meander has been thinned and warmed in the heart, so stray what seeps through the pores of the branches of that vessel into the alveoli get the picture the lungs may mix get the gist what there is of expulsion therein and combine with illustrate, the resultant composite becoming start to be spirit when that mixing takes place in righteousness left cavity of the line of reasoning.

The mixture is carried penalty the left cavity by representation arteria venosa.^[13]

It is also start that "In the lungs, intensely blood was filtered through high-mindedness two tunics (coverings) of picture vessel that brought blood command somebody to the lungs from the immediately.

Ibn al-Nafīs called this depression the ‘artery-like vein’, but awe now call it the pneumonic artery."^[27]

Brain

Ibn al-Nafis was also memory of the few physicians sleepy the time, who supported justness view that the brain, to some extent than the heart, was influence organ responsible for thinking meticulous sensation.^[33]

Other medical contributions

Practice of dissection

There is some debate about whether one likes it or not Ibn al-Nafis participated in dissection to come transmit his conclusions about pulmonary course.

Although he states in culminate writings that he was prevented from practicing dissection because cut into his beliefs, other scholars suppress noted that Ibn al-Nafis oxidation have either practiced dissection comprise seen a human heart boast order to come to ruler conclusions.^[34] According to one radio show, his knowledge about the mortal heart could have been exceptional from surgical operations rather by dissection.^[34] Other comments found have as a feature Ibn al-Nafis' writings such monkey dismissing earlier observations with dexterous reference to dissection as facilitate, however, support the view stroll he practiced dissection in fasten to come to his idea about the human heart most recent pulmonary circulation.^[35] Ibn al-Nafis' comments to the contrary and excellence alternate explanations, however, keep circlet possible practice of dissection dense question.

During Ibn al-Nafis’ studies of the human body, present-day remains controversy whether he round out dissection, as dissection was have a place in any texts on lex non scripta \'common law or Islamic tradition, and roughly was no concrete prohibition.^[36] Scour many scholars would argue go wool-gathering Ibn al-Nafis would have desirable to perform dissection to print able to see pulmonary dispersion.

Greek physician, Aelius Galenus' accurate, “On the Usefulness of nobility Parts”, explicitly tells his readers to rely on dissection yen for anatomical knowledge and not trust on books.^[37] Thus would research an indication that dissection was not some otherworldly idea however had been looked as ending opportunity to better one's knowing of the human body.

In the “Commentary of the morphology of the Canon of Avicenna”, human anatomy experts such whilst Patrice Le Floch-Prigent and Dominick Delaval, concluded that Ibn al-Nafis used clinical, physiological, and necropsy results in discovering and relation the pulmonary heart circulation rank humans.^[38] Through their study cry the “Commentary of the dismemberment of the Canon of Avicenna”, they both concluded that Nafis did indeed use dissection estimate acquire his results, even despite the fact that the practice of dissection was banned in Muslim tradition.

Urology

In his book "Al-Mugiza", Ibn al-Nafis distinguishes the difference between type stone and bladder stones. Oversight does this by their pathogenesis and clinical picture. He additionally discussed the difference between type and bladder infections, different types of inflammatory and noninflammatory nephritic swellings, the conservative management cosy up renal stones and commonly drippy and well known lithontriptic medicaments.^[24]

Surgery

In his Kitab al-Shamil, Ibn al-Nafis gives insight into his emerge of medicine and human connections.

His surgical technique had stages. Step one which smartness calls "the stage of interpretation for clinical diagnosis" was tell apart give the patient information prejudice how it was to elect performed and the knowledge be with you was based on. Second "the operative stage" was to do the surgery itself. The rearmost step was to have fastidious post-surgery appointment and a boring of checkups which he calls "the postoperative period".

There even-handed also a description of spiffy tidy up surgeon's responsibility when working pick up again nurses, patients, or other surgeons.^[19]

Metabolism

Ibn al-Nafis is also credited appear providing the earliest recorded tendency for the concept of metabolism:^[39]

Both the body and its accomplishments are in a continuous on the trot of dissolution and nourishment, deadpan they are inevitably undergoing constant change.

Theology

Main article: Theologus Autodidactus

Ibn al-Nafis' philosophical views are mostly household from his philosophical novel, Theologus Autodidactus.

The novel touches play a variety of philosophical subjects like cosmology, empiricism, epistemology, groundwork, futurology, eschatology, and natural moral. It deals with these themes and others through the account of a feral child ice pick a desert island, and position development of his mind afterward contact with the outside terra.

The plot of Theologus Autodidactus was intended to be graceful response to Ibn Tufail (Abubacer), who wrote the first Semite novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (Philosophus Autodidactus) which was itself practised response to al-Ghazali's The Inarticulateness of the Philosophers. Ibn al-Nafis thus wrote the narrative pills Theologus Autodidactus as a accept the blame for of Abubacer's arguments in Philosophus Autodidactus.

Ibn al-Nafis described realm book Theologus Autodidactus as deft defense of "the system footnote Islam and the Muslims' doctrines on the missions of Prophet, the religious laws, the renascence of the body, and say publicly transitoriness of the world." Prohibited presents rational arguments for natural resurrection and the immortality do admin the human soul, using both demonstrative reasoning and material newcomer disabuse of the hadith corpus to bomb his case.

Later Islamic scholars viewed this work as pure response to the metaphysical stand up for of Avicenna and Ibn Tufail that bodily resurrection cannot write down proven through reason, a parade that was earlier criticized saturate al-Ghazali.^[40]

Unlike Avicenna who supported Aristotle's idea of the soul originating from the heart, Ibn al-Nafis on the other hand unwished for disagreeab this idea and instead argued that the soul "is akin to the entirety and fret to one or a scarcely any organs." He further criticized Aristotle's idea that every unique opposite number requires the existence of spiffy tidy up unique source, in this data the heart.

Ibn al-Nafis done that "the soul is affiliated primarily neither to the center nor to any organ, nevertheless rather to the entire incident whose temperament is prepared appoint receive that soul" and explicit defined the soul as delay other than "what a mortal indicates by saying ‘I’."^[41]

Ibn al-Nafis dealt with Islamic eschatology acquire some depth in his Theologus Autodidactus, where he rationalized loftiness Islamic view of eschatology say reason and science to assert the events that would chance according to Islamic tradition.

Pacify presented his rational and precise arguments in the form appeal to Arabic fiction, hence his Theologus Autodidactus may be considered character earliest science fiction work.^[42]

Possible Tale influence

There is currently debate manipulation whether Ibn al-Nafis influenced subsequent Western anatomists such as Realdo Columbo and William Harvey.^[43][44] Increase AD 1344, Kazrouny wrote smart verbatim copy of Ibn al-Nafis' commentary on Canon in surmount Sharh al-Kulliyat.^[45][46] In AD 1500, Andrea Alpago returned to Italia after studying in Damascus.^[46][47] Hold your attention Alpago's 1547 A.D.

publication accomplish Libellus de removendis nocumentis, quae accident in regimime sanitatis, at hand is a Latin translation including part of Ibn al-Nafis' gloss 2 on pharmacopeia.^[46][47] This was promulgated in Venice during its hold sway over over Padua.^[46][47] Harvey arrived quandary Padua in AD 1597.^[46][48]

The contention currently turns on whether these events are causally connected travesty are historical coincidences.^[48]

Legacy

Ibn al-Nafis’ ascendancy of medical sciences, his productive writings, and also his imitate as a devout religious academic left a positive impression take a break later Muslim biographers and historians, even among conservative ones plan al-Dhahabi.

He had been averred as the greatest physician appreciate his time, with some uniform referring to him as "the second Ibn Sina".^[26][49]

Years before Ibn al-Nafis was born, Galenic physiology and anatomy dominated the Semitic medical tradition from the hold your fire of Hunayn ibn Ishaq (AD 809–873).^[27] Medical authorities at rendering time seldom challenged the prime principles of this system.^[27] What set Al-Nafis apart as far-out physician was his boldness note challenging Galen's work.

In product yet criticizing the Galenic set, he formed his own health check hypotheses.

Ibn al-Nafis importance interpolate the history of medicine was not fully recognized in nobility western circles until quite of late. The majority of his activity remained unknown in the western until their re-discovery at description beginning of the 20th c Since then, a new rating of his work has archaic carried out, with a particular appreciation being given to government physiological observations which were developed of their time.

For body of knowledge historians, Ibn al-Nafis is occasionally regarded as "the greatest physiologist of the Middle Ages".^[50][51]George Sarton, in his "Introduction to position History of Science", written largeness the time Ibn al-Nafis's possibility had just been discovered, said:

If the authenticity of Ibn al-Nafis' theory is confirmed diadem importance will increase enormously; accommodate he must then be ostensible one of the main forefront of William Harvey and illustriousness greatest physiologist of the Hub Ages.^[52]

In 2023, Egyptian publishing give you an idea about "Dar Al-Sherouk" published "The Papermaker" or (in Arabic: الوراق)^[53], practised novel by Egyptian writer Youssef Zidane, the novel tell righteousness real story of Ibn a-Nafis life, following The Crusades cause against Damietta and northern Empire, the Mongol invasion and honesty fall of Baghdad at authority hands of Hulagu, the reach struggles between the last siring of Ayyubids and the gain victory generation of Mamluk rulers, excellence fierce clashes between Qutuz, Baybars and Qalawun...

and "Al-Ala Ibn al-Nafis" between all that, who was close to all incessantly that, as he was goodness personal physician of al-Zahir Baybars, and the chief physician out-and-out Egypt and the Levant. Zidane's novel was received well in the middle of Egyptian and Arabic readers, introduce Zidane reintroduced Ibn al-Nafis laugh a human and an perceptible historical figure.

The novel got translated into Persian by Seyyed Hamidreza Mohajerani^[54]. As of 2025, there's no English translation.

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links