after Al Khwarizmi in honor of his many achievements in the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
- Many people credit him as the inventor of algebra. His book “Hisab Al-Jabr Al-Muqabala” is widely regarded as one of the most important works in the history of mathematics.
- He oversaw the House of Wisdom, a prestigious library in Baghdad, during his time there.
- The Persian mathematician died sometime after 847 of natural causes
al-Zahrawi (also known as Abulcasis)
Abulcasis, or Abu Al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Al-Abbas Al-Zahrawi, was a famous Muslim surgeon who lived from 936 until 1013 A.D. His expertise in both conventional medical practice and the use of both basic and complicated medicines earned him the title of “Pharmacist Surgeon.”
“Kitab Al-Tasrif”, a thirty-volume encyclopedia of medical practice, is his most important contribution to history. Known in English as “The Method of Medicine”, the most important part of this encyclopedia is made up of three books on surgery: one on cauterization, one on incision, perforation, venesection, and wounds, and one on bone-setting. The book, which covers over 190 descriptions of different surgical instruments, remained a staple in many European universities until the 19th century.
From a medical standpoint, Abulcasis, whose area of specialization was cauterization, pioneered the discovery of what causes paralysis and the identification of the genetic basis for hemophilia. He also discovered and analyzed an abdominal pregnancy, a form of ectopic pregnancy that was lethal in his day. The surgeon also invented tools used in cataract and Caesarean section operations.
Other contributions made by al-Zahrawi
- For a surgeon, his apt description of nearly 200 different surgical instruments was unprecedented. He described in great detail how to use various probes, surgical blades, scalpels, and hooks. The surgical scissors, gripping forceps, and obstetrical forceps were also innovations of his.
- Using animal bones, Abulcasis developed a number of dental tools and prosthetic teeth.
- It is generally agreed that al-Zahrawi pioneered modern operational surgery. Thyroid removal had previously not been performed until his time.
- The surgeon is said to have had tremendous influence on many great minds, including Abu Muhammad bin Hazm, Guy de Chauliac and Jacques Daléchamps.
Abu Bakr al-Razi
Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, who was known as Rhazes to the Westerners, was a Persian physician who doubled as a philosopher and alchemist. Aside from being regarded as one of the most notable figures in medicine, the scholar was seen by some medicine historians as the most original physician of the Islamic Golden Age.
The 10th-century Persian polymath is best known for differentiating smallpox from measles. Al-Razi wrote more than 200 books during his lifetime. His most important medical work was known as “Al-Hawi fi al-Tibb”, a book that had major impact on the study of gynaecology and ophthalmic surgery
This physician was also one of the early pioneers of obstetrics and ophthalmology, which were all a study of issues surrounding the eye. As a result, he became the first physician to notice that pupils often dilate when it reacts with a strong light source.
Rhazes also delved into alchemy and was the first to present a systematic classification of chemical substances, reaction and various apparatus.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes)
Ibn Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Rushd, or Averroes as he is known in the Latin West, was born and raised during a unique time in Western intellectual history, when the Muslim world’s interest in philosophy and religion was declining.
The Andalusian polymath and jurist was known to have authored more than 100 books and treatises. Averroes was born into a wealthy family in 1126. His education ranged from theology to medicine. He studied with great philosophers such as Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Zuhr.
It was during his time as chief physician that he had a pivotal realization that changed the course of his philosophical development. Abu Ya’Qub Yusuf, the caliph (ruler) of Cordova, was so impressed by ib