The valuable contributions of Al-Razi (Rhazes) in the history of pharmacy during the middle ages
Dr. Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal
MD, MS, FRAS (Ireland), RCS (Plast.Cert), DM (Plast,
UK)
M B. Pharm , PhD (Biopharmaceutics, UK)
Summary:
Al Razi was a Hakim, an alchemist and a philosopher. In
medicine, his contribution was so significant that it can only be compared to
that of Ibn Sina. Some of
his works in medicine e.g. Kitab al- Mansoori, Al-Hawi, Kitab al-Mulooki
and Kitab al-Judari
wa al- Hasabah
earned everlasting fame.
Al-Razi was the first in Islam to write a book based on home medical (remedial)
advisor entitled Man la Yahduruhu Teb for the general public.
In his book Mnafi' al-Aghthiyyah, al-Razi followed a pattern that had been
introduced earlier by Galen but in it, al-Razi attempted to correct several
errors made by Galen himself.
The development of professional pharmacy, as a separate entity from medicine,
started in Islam under the patronage of the early' Abbasiyyah
caliphs in
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Arabic pharmacy (Saydalah)
as a profession with a separate entity from medicine was recognized by the
ninth century. This century not only saw the founding and an increase in the
number of privately owned pharmacy shops in
This early rise and development of professional pharmacy in Islam (over four
centuries before such development took place in
In this study, only certain important aspects of the influence of Al-Razi on the development of pharmacy and medical therapy in the ninth century will be briefly discussed.
Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (864-930
C.E.) was born at
At an early age he gained eminence as an expert in medicine and alchemy, so
that patients and students flocked to him from distant parts of
He was first placed in-charge of the first
Al Razi was a Hakim, an alchemist and a philosopher. In medicine, his
contribution was so significant that it can only be compared to that of Ibn Sina. Some of his works in
medicine e.g. Kitab al- Mansoori,
Al-Hawi, Kitab
al-Mulooki and Kitab
al-Judari wa
al- Hasabah earned everlasting fame.
Kitab al-Mansoori,
which was translated into Latin in the 15th century, comprised ten volumes and
dealt exhaustively with Greco-Arab medicine. Some of its volumes were published
separately in
His book al-Judari wal Hasabah was the first treatise on smallpox and
chicken-pox, and is largely based on al-Razi's
original contribution: It was translated into various European languages.
Through this treatise he became the first to draw clear comparisons between
smallpox and chicken-pox.
His book Al-Hawi was the largest medical encyclopaedia composed by
then. It contained on each medical subject all important information that was
available from Greek and Arab sources, and this was concluded by him by giving
his own remarks based on his experience and views. A special feature of his
medical system was that he greatly favoured cure through correct and regulated
food. This was combined with his emphasis on the influence of psychological
factors on health. He also tried proposed remedies first on animals in order to
evaluate in their effects and side effects. He was also an expert surgeon and
was the first to use opium for anaesthesia.
The best survey of al-Razi's works
from the medieval period seems to be an epistle by al-Biruni
written about 1037. Through this epistle, can be seen concealed sides of
al-Razi's life and his contributions as a prolific author
and compiler to pharmacy and medical therapy. To understand and appreciate him
fully, however, one should look upon him as the product and in the context of
his time.
For in the West and
On the professional level, al-Razi introduced many useful, progressive, medical
and psychological ideas. He also attacked charlatans and fake doctors who
roamed the cities and the countryside selling their nostrums and 'cures'. At
the same time, he warned that even highly educated doctors did not have the
answers for all medical problems and could not cure all sicknesses or heal
every disease. Al-Razi exhorted practitioners
to keep up with advanced knowledge by continually studying medical books and
expose themselves to new information. He further classified diseases into three
categories: those which are curable; those that can be cured; and those which
are incurable. On the latter, he cited advanced cases of cancer and leprosy
which if not cured, the doctor should not take blame.
Al-Razi was the first in Islam to write a book based on home
medical (remedial) advisor entitled Man la Yahduruhu
Teb for the general public. He dedicated it to
the poor, the travellers, and the ordinary citizens who could consult it for
treatment of common ailments when the doctor was not available.
This book, of course, is of special interest to the history of pharmacy since
books on the same theme continued to appear and has found acceptance by readers
to the present century. In its 36 chapters, al-Razi described diets and drugs
that can be found practically every where in apothecary shops, the market
place, in well-equipped kitchens, and in military camps. Thus, any intelligent
mature person can follow its instructions and prepare the right recipes for
good results. Some of the illnesses treated are headaches, colds, coughing,
melancholy, and diseases of the eye, ear, and stomach. In a feverish headache,
for example, he prescribed, 'two parts of the duhn
(oily extract) of rose, to be mixed with part of vinegar, in which a piece of
linen cloth is dipped and compressed on the forehead'. For a laxative, he
recommended 'seven drams of dried violet flowers with twenty pears,
macerated and mixed well, then strained. To the filtrate, twenty drams of sugar
is added for a draft'. In cases of melancholy, he invariably recommended
prescriptions including either poppies or their juices (opium) or clover
dodder (Curcuma epithymum Muss.) or both. For an eye
remedy, he recommended myrrh, saffron, and frankincense, two drams each to be
mixed with one dram of yellow arsenic and made into tablets. When used each
tablet was to be dissolved in a sufficient quantity of coriander water and used
as eye drops.
Al-Razi followed the same method in his book Bur as-Sa'ah,
in which he prescribed remedies to cure ailments in one hour, or at least in a
short time, so that the patient did not need frequently to call on his doctor
and to pay larger fee.
In his other book on diets, their uses and disadvantages, Mnafi' al-Aghthiyyah,
al-Razi followed a pattern that had been introduced earlier by Galen. In it, al-Razi
attempted to correct several errors made by Galen and to introduce new data
missed by the latter.
Ibn Masawayh was another
physician who wrote on the same topic. According to
al-Razi, Ibn Masawayh did
more harm than good in his exposition of the subject. These misgivings
challenged al-Razi to undertake the writing of a comprehensive study, Mnafi' al-Aghthiyyah which is of great interest
not only to pharmacy and medicine but to the history of the culinary art as
well. Emphasizing specific matters and general regulations for healthy living,
al-Razi discussed breads, waters, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, spices,
meats, and fishes. He explained in detail their kinds, methods of preparation,
physical properties, and therapeutic modes of action, and pointed out when they
were useful and when not.
He described the disadvantages of frequent consumption of wines leading to
alcoholism, 'which often causes many serious diseases as epilepsy, paralysis,
senile tremor in older people, cirrhosis, hepatitis, mental disorders,
visionary distortions, obesity, debility, and impotence.
While al-Razi paid much attention to curing the body's ills, he did not ignore
cures for infirmities of the soul. The proof of his concern for psychotherapy
seems quite evident. On completing his medical encyclopaedia, al-Mansuri, on the diagnoses and treatment of body
diseases, he filled in the gap by writing a counterpart at- Tibb ar-Ruhani on the
medicine of the soul. His concern for, and penetration into, human
nature, its complexities, and the directions leading into it, confirm his
appreciation of the importance of psychotherapy and psychology as two important
parts of the healing art.
In his famous al-Mansuri,
however, al-Razi devoted four out of the book's total of ten treatises, to
diets and drugs, medicated cosmetics, toxicology and antidotes, amelioration of
laxatives, and compounded remedies, all of which are of pharmaceutical
interest.
Al-Razi's last and largest medical encyclopaedia is
his al-Hawi fit-Tibb,
which embraces all areas of medical knowledge of the time. It included sections
related to 'pharmacy in the healing art', materials arranged in alphabetical
order, compounded drugs, pharmaceutical dosage forms and toxicology. It also
included numerous medical recipes and tested prescriptions that influenced
'medical therapy' in Islam and in the West during the Middle Ages.
In his use of mineral drugs as external and internal remedies, including vitriols, copper, mercuric and arsenic salts, sal ammoniac, gold scoria, chalk, clay (as in the terra sigillata and Armenian clay), coral, pearl, tar, and
bitumen, al-Razi, encouraged and pioneered chemotherapy in Islamic medicine.
Although he recommended poppies and opium internally as
somniferous agents and to quiet coughing, and externally to relieve eye and
wound pains, he warned against their deadly effects (two drams are fatal).
Conclusion:
The development of professional pharmacy, as a separate
entity from medicine, started in Islam under the patronage of the early' Abbasiyyah caliphs in
References :
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1995.
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by
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Medicine). By Hwaa Irfan . Published in Islam
on-line website on
4-
Medicine Lecture Series. Website http://www.medinfo.ufl.edu/other/histmed/
5- In Abi Osaiba’a : Oyon Al-Anba’a Fi Tabaqat Al Ateba’a
. Dar al Hayat –
1965 . (in Arabic).
6- Analysis study about Al-Razi ,
by Albert Zaki Eskander ,
7- Islamic Medicine OnLine , by Dr.Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal,
http://www.islamicmedicine.org/