in medicine. Through his researches and discoveries, he managed to
surpass his contemporary scientists and even those who came after him.
He, alone, managed to write the largest medical encyclopedia in
history.
He is the scientist and physician, `Alaa'u Ad-Deen `Ali Ibn Abi
Al-Hazm, known as Ibn An-Nafees.
Birth and Early Years
`Alaa'u Ad-Deen `Ali Ibn Abi Al-Hazm Al-Qurashi was born in Damascus
in 607 A.H. 1210 A.C. He started seeking knowledge in his early years.
He memorized the Glorious Quran, learnt how to read and write, and
studied jurisprudence, Hadeeth, and the Arabic language. Then, he
directed his efforts to the study of medicine and his teacher was
Muhaththab Ad-Deen`Abdur-Raheem `Ali who was known as Ad-Dikhwaar.
This teacher was one of the most famous ophthalmologists. He wasalso
manager of the NooriHospital in Damascus and head of the physicians in
Syria and Egypt. In the NooriHospital, the giant corporation
established by Noor Ad-Deen Mahmood Ibn Zinki, Ibn An-Nafees studied
medicine and his teachers were the two famous physicians Al-Muhaththab
Ad-Dikhwaar and `Imraan Al-Israa`eeli whotaught many of the well-known
physicians ofthat time.
Back then, Damascus was ruled by the Ayyoobid Dynasty who paid a lot
ofattention to science and knowledge. They made Damascus and Cairo, as
well as other cities under their control, great centers of knowledge
which received students and scholars from all overthe world.
After spending a short time studying medicine, Ibn An-Nafees became a
skillful physician whose knowledge and experience was equal to that of
his great teachers,and he became famous everywhere.
In Cairo
In 633 A.H. 1236 A.C., Ibn An-Nafees traveled to Egypt and stayed in
Cairo,the capital of the AyyoobidState. Ibn An-Nafees joined the
NaasiriHospital which was established by SultanAn-Naasir Saladin
Al-Ayyoobi in 577 A.H. 1181 A.C. Ibn An-Nafees worked in the hospital
asa physician, and later as ateacher of medicine. Owing to his
studious nature and excellence in medicine, he became head of the
Hospital and manager of its Medical school. Some years later, he moved
to work as head of the MansooriHospital which was established by
SultanAl-Mansoor Ibn Qalawoonin 680 A.H. 1281. Ibn An-Nafees occupied
several positions until he became the physician of Sultan Ath-Thaahir
Beibers. Ibn An-Nafees was famous throughout the whole country. He
leda life of affluence in Cairo. He built a spacious house and
allocated part of it to be a library whichwas full of reference books
in all fields of knowledge. In this place, Ibn An-Nafees used to meet
the most well-known scientists, princes, high ranking people, and
students in order to study issues related to medicine, jurisprudence,
and language.
Ibn An-Nafees: Discovererof the Minor Blood Circulation System
For several centuries, scientists of medicine from all over the world
were of the opinion that the first scientist to discover blood
circulation was the British doctor, William Harvey, in 1628. Harvey
wrote a book entitled 'Anatomical Essay on the Motion of the Heart and
Blood in Animals' in which he gave an accurate account of the
mechanism of the circulatory system.
This false assumption prevailed until the academic world was surprised
when an Egyptian physician proved that it was Ibn An-Nafees who
discovered the blood circulation. The Egyptian physician, Muhyid-Deen
At-Tataawi, proved this fact in his PhD thesis which he submitted for
Freiberg University, Germany in 1343 A.H. 1924 A.C. At-Tataawi
discovered this outstanding piece of information after he found a
manuscript from Ibn An-Nafees' book 'The Explanation of Anatomy in
Al-Qaanoon Book' in the Berlin Library.
In this book, Ibn An-Nafees, prior to William Harvey, provided a
scientific description of the minor circulatory system. At-Tataawi,
with this discovery, astonishedall his teachers and drew the attention
of many scientists and researchersin the field. In the forefront of
these scientists was the GermanOrientalist Mayer Hoove who worked as a
resident physician in Egypt and spoke Arabic fluently. In 1931, he
published a detailed treatise in which he confirmed the truth of this
astonishing fact. Thus, after seven centuries, Ibn An-Nafees regained
his right once again.
Other contributions to medicine
The discovery of the blood circulation system is one of the unique,
unprecedented contributions of Ibn An-Nafees to medicine. He was also
the first physician to describe the arteries that carry blood to the
heart muscle, although there is a common misconception among medical
historians that a scientist named Stokes was the first to discover
arteries. There is yet another unprecedented discoveryby Ibn An-Nafees
that should not be ignored; he described the tiny capillaries that
allow a constant interchange between the blood and waste products in
the tissues.
Three centuries later, the Italian scientist Riyaldoa Colombo talked
about these capillaries.
His writings
Ibn An-Nafees' fame was not limited to medicine. He was one of the
greatest scholars of his time in the Arabic language, philosophy,
jurisprudence, and Prophetic Hadeeths. He has many books in these
fields such as:
- The Kaamiliyyah Treatise on the Prophetic Biography
- Faadil Ibn Naatiq which is similar to the famous book Hayy Ibn Yaqdhaan
- The Concise Book in the Fundamentals of HadeethScience
- The Way to Eloquence inArabic grammar
In the field of medicine, he had many writings and contributions such as:
- Explanation of Hippocrates Collection
- The Abridged Book on the Experimented Kohl
- The Concise Book on Medicine
- The Explanation of Anatomy in Al-Qaanoon Book (the Canon)
- The Comprehensive Book on the Medical Profession which is the
greatest of Ibn An-Nafees' works and thelargest medical encyclopedia
ever written by one person.
His death
During his last days, Ibn An-Nafees became seriously ill after he
reached eighty years. He stayed in bed for six days.Some physicians
advised him to drink some wine, claiming that he would recover. Ibn
An-Nafees refused to drink even a drop and said: I will not meet
Allaah (i.e. die) witha drop of wine in my stomach . He died on Friday
the 21 st of Thul-Qi'dah 687 A.H., the 17 th of December 1288. Before
his death, he made a will that all his possessions, money, books, and
house should be allocated to the MansooriHospital as an endowment. -
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