Of all the sciences studied and cultivated by Arab-Muslim scientists, the curative science and allied subjects were the most highly subjects were the most highly developed by them. They deserve to be credited with having introduced experimental methods in the study and treatment of diseases at a time when their European counterparts looked upon some serious diseases like small-pox and epidemics as manifestations of the wrath of, and punishment from, God. They also became harbingers of modern medicine by making spectacular achievements in almost all the branches of medicine, anatomy, surgery, ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry, dentistry, bone-setting, epidemiology, midwifery, the art of nursing patients in hospitals, preventive medicine and public health.

This volume contains indepth, illuminating and comprehensive accounts of ten most outstanding Arab-Muslim medical scientists who may well be regarded as chief representatives of Islamic medicine spread over a vast period of nearly one thousand years of Muslim intellectual ascendancy right from the beginning of the Islamic era in the early seventh century to the close of the sixteenth century. It is hoped that this well-documented book will be hailed in academic circles as a valuable addition to scanty literature on Muslim contributions to science and civilization.

Dr. Abdul Ali is professor at the Department of Islamic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. His publications include Dirasat fi al-Hadarat al-Islamiyat al-Arabiyan (Studies in Arab-Islamic Legacy to Life Sciences (1993), Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East (1996), and Arab Legacy to Humour Literature (1998). In addition, he has had numerous research papers and articles published in leading journals of international repute both at home and abroad.

The literature product by medieval Arab-Muslim medical scientists in the Arabic language on medicine and allied subjects was vast and tremendous. They cultivated the curative science with great zeal and made spectacular achievements in almost all its branches, namely, clinical treatment, pharmacy, anatomy, surgery, ophthalmology, neuropsychiatry, dentistry, bone-setting, epidemiology, midwifery, the art of nursing patients, organization of hospitals, preventive medicine and public health. They are also credited with having introduced experimental methods in the study of diseases and their treatment at a time when their European counterparts looked upon some serious diseases like small-pox and epidemics as manifestations of the wrath of, and punishment from, God.

While the names of some physicians like Ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Ibn Sina, Abdul Qasim al-Zahrawi and Ibn Zuhrare popularly known across the globe, the works and achievements of some equally important and original writers on Islamic medicine such as ‘Ali ibn al-Baytar, ibn al-Abbas, Ibn al-Jazzar ‘Ali Bin Ridwan, Ibn al-Bayar, Ibn al-Nafis, Dawud al-Antaki, etc., are not so well known. In the following pages an attempt has been made to give illuminating and comprehensive accounts of ten most outstanding Arab-Muslim medical scientist, whose works are counted among the classics on Islamic medicine. An idea of their contributions to modern medicine may be had from the fact that their books were enthusiastically translate into Latin and other languages well as studied as textbooks in European universities for several centuries.

It is an established fact the science of medicine developed a great deal at the hands of the Arabs and Muslims. They cultivated it with great zeal and made spectacular achievements in almost all the branches connected with the curative science, namely, medicine, pharmacy, anatomy, surgery, the art of nursing patients, organization of hospitals, etc. It was they who introduced experimental methods into the study of diseases and their treatment at a time when their European counterparts looked upon some serious diseases like small-pox and epidemics as manifestation of the wrath of, and punishment from, God.

In this connection it should be clearly borne in mind that the history of the Arab-Islamic legacy to medicine begins right from the lifetime of the Propher Muhammad himself (peace be upon him), who brought about a revolution in the science of preserving and restoring health by laying down fundamental principles as preventive measures for the improvement of the both physical can psychic hygiene-a fact which is generally neglected by historians of medicine while talking of the Islamic legacy to medicine science.