
- 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 ibn Rushd that he asked him to re-translate and provide commentary on the writings of the Greek philosopher Aristotle.
Between the years 1169 and 1195, Averroes composed many summaries and commentaries on Aristotle’s works. The commentaries went from the Muslim world to the Jewish and Christian worlds thanks to their translation from Arabic into Hebrew and then into Latin.
The interest in Greek philosophy that ibn Rushd sparked in the Middle Ages laid the groundwork for the Renaissance several centuries later.
“Fasl al-Maqal” (The Decisive Treatise), “Kashf al-Manahij” (Exposition of the Methods of Proof) and “Tahafut al-Tafut” (The Incoherence of the Incoherence) were all books he wrote between 1179-1180.
Averroes is said to have died from natural causes in 1198. He was 72 years. Averroism, his school of philosophy, influenced many scholars that followed after him, including Al-Bitruji, Maimonides, Boethius of Dacia, Samuel ibn Tibbon, Thomas Aquinas, Gaetano da Thiene, John of Jandun, and Pietro Pomponazzi.
Fatima bint Muhammad al-Fihri al-Quraysh made some major strides during the Islamic Golden Age. This Arab woman was praised for her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, allowing her to leave an indelible mark in the history books.
Fatima was able to put her father’s and husband’s fortune to good use after they passed away. In the wake of her loss, Fatima channeled her energy into a project that would help future generations. She did this in hopes of repaying the kindness shown to their family by the citizens of Fez in Morocco after they arrived from the Tunisian city of Kairouan. Later, in 859 C.E., Fatima established al-Qarawiyyin University.
For several centuries, the Al-Qarawiyyin University was the largest institution of its kind in Africa. Scholars and students from all around the world flocked to this institution to bask in its rich knowledge pool. According to tradition, Al-Qarawiyyin was the alma mater of numerous illustrious Muslim thinkers, including the judge Abu Bakr Ibn Al-‘Arabi, Abu Walid Ibn Rush