Ibn Sina The Prince of Physicians

ABSTRACT

Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina who has been called the 'Prince of Physicians', is known as Avicenna in the West. He was born in the village Afshana near Khorasan in Iran in August, 980 A.D. [Safar 370 H] and brought as a child to Bukhara where he received his earliest education under the direction of his father who was a high official. With an exceptional memory he had memorized the Qur'an and much Arabic poetry by the age of 10 years. Thereafter, he studied logic and metaphysics under teachers whom he soon outgrew and then spent the few years until he reached the age of 18 years in his own self education. He read avidly and mastered Islamic law, then medicine and finally metaphysics. He became court physician at the age of 18 years. He is supposed to have written 105 works upon a great variety of subjects in Arabic and Persian. The collection of his original observations intended as an appendix to the theoretical works, was unfortunately lost even before publication. He particularly contributed in the field of Aristotelian philosophy and medicine. He composed the Kitab ash-Shifa [Book of Healing], a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and Al-Qanoon Fi al-Tibb [The Canon of Medicine] which is among the most famous books in the history of medicine in both East and West. It was a compilation of his experiences in the practice of medicine and a compendium of all that was known about medicine at that time. It became the medical authority for several centuries and used at many medical schools as late as 1650 and reputedly is still used in the East. There is a need to evaluate the works done by Ibn Sina for further development of Unani medicine. Therefore, present paper is aimed at discussing the life of Ibn Sina and his contribution to medicine and related fields. The details are discussed in full length paper.