The Sweet Rememberance of Dr Zaharah

Condolence To Dr Zaharah Loman

Photo: 1: Dr Zaharah and Dr Nik Omar at Geneva, Switzerland cafe in year 2006
Photo 2: Dr Zaharah is as bikers, we use to ride all over Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.









Dr Zaharah Loman [ Wife of Dr Nik Omar ] passed away early morning at 5.00 am on 28 August 2011 at our Gelang Mas, Pasir Mas residence, due to Chronic Rheumatic Heart Disease which she suffered for many years. She left Dr Nik Omar and her three intelligent children by the name of Nik Izuddin Omary, Nik Siti Nurbaya and Nik Azwien Syafiqa.

Dr Zaharah is a qualified BHMS graduate in year 2000 and she received her Diploma in Acupuncture in 2002. She is a good lady Homeopath and Acupuncturist.

She has been practising integrated medicine at Dr Nik Omar Homeopathic Medical Centre at various places .
In year 2001 she started her practise at Kuala Lumpur for 3 years and in 2003 she moved to Pasir Mas and started her professional medical profession till she passed away yesterday.

Who ever came in contact with her was impressed by her sagacity and medical acumen. She has been to many International Homeopathic Conference in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Belgium and Indonesia.

It is indeed very difficult to fill the gap, created by her sudden death.

Thank you from Dr Nik Omar

For Long And Lasting Erection

For long ans lasting erection
You may try homeopathic medication
Homeopathic is natural and organic medicinal product

You need consultation to get good effect

" Dear Sir,

" Thanks for your help. I was nearly broke when my wife asked for divorced as my erection was 100 % lost and I am lost in my way. After taken you homeopathic medication for two months, with the grace of Allah, my erection has come back and now I have almost 100 % of my erection, thanks again."

Dr M. Rehman ,Bangladeshi , a lecturer at local University at Kuala Lumpur.

Low Sperm Counts

Question by a Patient – Dear doctor, I am married for 6 years and still my wife is not able to conceive. As per the reports after my test, it indicates that I have less sperm count. Will Your Medication HTI P2000 help me increasing my sperm count?

Dr Nik – HTI P2000 is a special homeopathic preparation formulated by Dr Nik Omar for the last 30 years. Itis one of the best herbal or organic remedies from homeopathy , that are extremely helpful in treating your low sperm count condition.

HTI P2000 is highly recommended in azoospermia, low sperm counts, oligo-spermia conditions. So it is advisable to you to take consult Dr Nik [ tel 019 9401915 ] as it will help you increasing your sperm count.

Testimonials

Dear Dr Nik:
" Thanks for your help. I was diagnosed as Low Sperm Count and after consulting you and consuming your medication for 4 months , my wife has conceived " Mr Ahmad, Kuala Lumpur.

Dear Dr Omar,
" After taken the small and sweet pills give to me after seeing you last 3 months. I feel more energatic and my sexual performance is much better than before . I am looking forward for my wife to get pregnant soon " - Dr M from Saudi Arabia.

Dear Sir,

" I was impreessed with my friend who has taken your homeopathic medication for few months and his wife got pregnant. I want your to give me the same medication and I have problems of Olio Spermia. Please help me. ", H A D from UAE

Read more info from
http://www.homeopathymalaysia.org.my
For help call 03 4042 2020

Is It Mandatory Shots For B C G ?

MANDATORY SHOTS

Vaccination: BCG
Age: At birth
For: Prevention of tuberculosis
Worst case scenario if you don't get the shot: You can die from TB. It usually affects people whose immune system is compromised, mainly those with cancer and HIV.

“It will prevent to a large extent severe tuberculosis. That means tuberculosis of the blood and the brain. It will not prevent TB of the lung. We don't have anything better for it. It may to some extent help TB of the lung but in most cases, not.

“Some parents don't want to give their children the BCG jab simply because it leaves an ugly scar but I think it's important and TB is a big problem nowadays. It is estimated that almost a third of the world's population harbours the bacteria. It will be a problem when your immune defences are down. That's when it starts to flare up.

“In the past we used to vaccinate the BCG at birth and screen children at school entry and we used to give the second BCG vaccine when they were 12 years of age. We have stopped doing that. Now there is only one BCG vaccination for life. Sometimes for some children there is no scar formation. If we don't see a scar we repeat the BCG otherwise there's only one jab for life.”

Vaccination: Hepatitis B
Age: At birth, 1 month and 5 months
For: Prevention of Hepatitis B
Worst case scenario if you don't get the jab: You can get liver cancer.

“Hepatitis B is endemic in Malaysia. It is transmitted the same way that HIV is – via blood, sexual intercourse. It affects the liver so you get hepatitis, chronic liver damage and jaundice. 10% of carriers will end up with cancer at some point in their life. There's no cure for Hepatitis B.

“We routinely tell parents that if any of their family members – mum, dad or anyone else within the same household – has Hepatitis B, then after the routine vaccination, all the family members, plus the child, need to be checked to ensure they are protected against Hepatitis B. That's the only time we will check the blood. Otherwise, we won't bother checking the blood for Hepatitis B. We just assume they are protected against it.”

Vaccination: The triple (Diphtheria, tetanus and Pertussis) and polio
Age: 3-dose schedule (2-3 months, 3-4 months and 4-5 months) with booster shots given at 18 months-2 years and 5-7 years. In total, five shots.
For: To prevent against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio
Worst case scenario if you don't get the jab: Diphtheria and tetanus can be fatal. The child might have to be ventilated for pertussis. Polio can affect the lungs, heart and kidneys.

“These are all pre-war diseases. We still have them in Malaysia and throughout the world. People who get diphtheria are those who are not vaccinated against it. We can see it in our illegal immigrants or well-educated parents who oppose the idea of vaccination.

“Diphtheria basically is a bacteria which is soil-bound and it can go through your respiratory tract. It causes a membrane swelling to your throat and if it affects your wind pipe, it can actually block it up and you can die from that. It also releases a toxin into the blood which is harmful to your nerves and heart. It is a disease you can prevent but it's life-threatening.

“Tetanus is lockjaw. Again, you can get this from cuts, bruises and it is soil-bound. It causes muscle spasms, paralysis and seizures. So, it is something you can prevent as well.

“Pertussis is whooping cough. It's a problem in children who are not vaccinated. Children under two months who get pertussis can get it bad. They can end up in the ICU and needing to be ventilated. They cough and cough and cough until they stop breathing.

“The old name for it is the hundred-day cough or the three-month cough. Whatever we do, the child will cough for three months. The treatment for pertussis which is an antibiotic will only prevent pertussis from spreading to another child but once you've established pertussis you can't do anything about it.

“You can only treat and support the child while the coughing episode gets worse and typically that starts around the second week where the coughing gets worse and worse and lasts for about two to three weeks before it gets better.

“Polio is one disease we are trying to eradicate in the world. We used to give oral polio vaccine. I think in some government hospitals they still give the oral polio vaccine but in most private hospitals we give the injection.

“Oral polio vaccine is a live virus but a weakened virus. You can get polio from that. But the risk is very minute – one in a million chance. That's the disadvantage of oral polio vaccine. In the United States they only see vaccine-associated polio, they don't get wild polio. So that's why they have also changed theirs to injection polio vaccine from oral vaccine.”

Fact About Vaccination - BCG ?

Vaccination Information
This is one of the most important aspect of preventive pediatrics. Immunization in India has still not achieved the goal of "Immunization of All children". Even amongst the doctors there still remains controversy as the specific timing of vaccination. Immunization schedule given below is the most commonly accepted schedule.
National Immunization Schedule
AGE VACCINE ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION
3 rd day to 3 month B.C.G Intradermal
2 nd Month 1 st dose Polio-OPV Oral
3 rd Month 2 nd dose Polio – OPV

Triple Antigen – DPT

Oral
Intra Muscular
4 th Month 3 rd dose Polio – OPV
Triple Antigen – DPT

Oral
Intra Muscular
5 th Month 4 th dose Polio – OPV
Triple Antigen – DPT

Oral
Intra Muscular
6 th Month 5 th dose Polio – OPV Oral
7 th Month to 9 month Measles Vaccine Subcutaneous

18 Month 1 st Booster Dose of Polio
Triple Antigen – DPT

Oral
Intra Muscular
4 to 5 Year 2 nd Booster Dose Of Polio
Triple Antigen – DPT

Oral
Intra Muscular
Adults Tetanus Toxoid Every 2-5 Year

Measles Vaccine:
Only can be given to a child at the age of 9 month or even before that, if there is an epidemic of measles. A booster dose of MMR should be given at the age of 15-18 months.

Effectiveness of BCG:

Controversy regarding effectiveness of BCG is still going on. BCG does not prevent formation of primary complex but it certainly helps to prevent severe form of Tuberculosis Therefore it should be advised to all neonates

Oral Polio Vaccine

Low grade fever which may appear 12-24 hour after vaccination and lasts for a day or two.

Triple Vaccine
Low grade fever 12-24 hour after the injection
Immunization other than Routine

Cholera
Used only during an epidemic of cholera. It can be combined with TAB vaccine or given alone. Dose 0.5 ml IM or subcutaneous. Children below 2 year will require 0.2 ml and those between 2-10 year require 0.3 ml.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes_Melitus

Diabetes is confirmed by increased blood sugar level. Clinically if a patient exhibits signs and symptoms of diabetes will not be labelled as diabetic patient until and unless his blood sugar level is not increased.

Maintenance of blood sugar level within a range is an auto regulating system, a unique quality, like other regulating systems of a normal healthy person.
Some disturbance develops in this normal regulating system in case of diabetes that creates a hindrance in the normal process of its metabolism.

See a very funny thing that is being practised in conventional medicine, that is, in case of a Diabetic patient we try to spend our whole skills to control the raised blood sugar level (one of an important sign of Diabetes only) and ignore the other signs and symptoms of Diabetes. Whereas, homeopathy pays its whole attention on all symptoms of diabetes not only on raised blood sugar level.
So we people under integrated medicine mostly allow a patient of Diabetes for no restrictions of diet, even little sugar.


Merits of Classical Homeopathy:

It manages the raised blood sugar level but before that it tries to control its complications. Complications of a diabetic patient (such as CRF) should be manage first, then blood sugar level comes down automatically. A diabetic under care of such treatment never complains for sexual inefficiency.

Discussion:

Maintaining of blood sugar level within normal limits does not mean that diabetes is under control for instance - control of fever by means of medicines in case of septicaemia is not a guaranty for control of the basic disease i.e. septicaemia etc. In the similar way normal blood sugar level in a diabetic patient is not a control sign of diabetes itself.
There is no doubt that raised blood sugar level may damage patient's kidneys but such fear remains with modern system of medicine only because it has no drug for Diabetes itself.
While treating a patient homeopathically it has been found that blood sugar level of a diabetic patient starts regulating itself.

Except homeopathy no other medicine can correct the diabetes itself.
It can be judged easily - a normal healthy person can consume sugar without showing signs of raised blood sugar level, patients taking classical homeopathy also can consume sugar without showing any complications, while most patients, taking other medicines can not utilise sugar.

*Notice: Information on this web site is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem, promptly contact your professional healthcare provider.

Statements and information regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Please consult your healthcare provider before beginning any course of supplementation or treatment.

Symptoms and signs of Diabetes

1. Frequent trips to the bathroom:
2. Unquenchable Thirst:
3. Losing Weight Without Trying
4. Weakness and Fatigue:
5.Tingling or Numbness in Your Hands, Legs or Feet:

Homeopathic Remedies For Diabetes:

Acid Phos., Diabene, Renocal, Arg Nit., Ars Alb., Sygarium Jamb., Sulphur.

Vagina Tightening

Each woman makes you feel younger and sexy, your confidence and making it easier to be a tight vagina wants to have an orgasm. The laxity of the vagina, especially in women older than thirty years she gave birth and is a significant problem. Levante significantlyextends the vagina during childbirth, and this situation is not easy at all.


How narrow the vagina

Today, many amelyattan aesthetic vaginal tightening vajnaya products have a more strict as possible. Sıkışaltırıcı Vagina products are often recommended by doctor because there are no side effects.

A tight vagina orgasm helps women and sex before makes it more enjoyable. In addition, a tight vagina gives women more confidence and allows you to take morepleasure in men.

Vagina tightening methods;

Cosmetic surgery: the most effective way to tighten the vagina. Most women after childbirth in vagina tightening surgery, but serious complications related to the vagina during and after the operation in the case of doctors başvurulmasının oluşabilme as a last resort to this method highlights.

Creams: The surest way to tighten the vagina is not a side effect of the creams madefrom natural products. In general, these products are derived from plants such as aloevera and majikani tighten the vagina and vaginal dryness, while helping to prevent odors.

The vagina exercises: exercise a lot you can do to tighten the vagina. Kegel exercises and pelvic floor muscle exercises sıkılaştırabilirsiniz vagina, but can cause some problems in this exercise done badly is useful to consult a doctor before.

Try Homeopathic Method

Kemaskan Vagina Anda Dengan Ubat-Ubat Homeopati
Untuk Anjalan Faraj

Some homeopathic product are very effective in in the process of vagina tightening especially after child birth. Somo good homeopathic remedies are: Arnica Montana, Calendula, Rhus Tox., China Off., Ruta., Sepia.

Homeopathic medication must be given according to the law of cure - Similar Similibus Curentur or lets likes be treated with likes.

Difference Between Homeopathic & Allopathy In Treating Renal Failure

Dr Dr Goyal

1) In comparison to life long treatment in allopathy. // Homeopathic medicines can be stopped in 2 to 5 years depending on the severity and underlying cause of the disease.

2) Damaged Kidneys cannot be repaired in allopathy. Modern medicine try to facilitate the bodily waste products to pass out by the process of dialysis through artificial or by transplanted natural kidney and simultaneously by doing forced diuresis with the help of tab. Lasix, Dytor etc. that eventually lead to more damage to the remaining nephrons (renal cells).// Though Homeopathy does not provide any substitute (dialysis or new Kidney) for any organ (Kidney) but it can revive the damaged organ as it has been proved at many times in my treated TB Cases where I always found normal tissue in place of fibrocavitory lesions (Completely damaged tissue).

3) The process of dialysis can not be stopped once a patient starts on it. As the time passes this procedure has to done more frequently. Even doctors cannot imagine that it can be slow down (gap in dialysis can be increased) so they (doctors) compel their patient to come for dialysis more frequently.//Patient's kidneys may start improving as soon as he starts taking homeopathic treatment. It helps the patient withdrawing from dialysis. That's why homeopath advises his patient to increase gap in the subsequent dialysis.

4) There is no curative procedure for CRF in modern medicine. Kidney transplantation and Dialysis does not cure renal failure, but instead keeps a person alive by performing the crucial functions of the kidneys. //But homeopathy stimulates someone's immune system to perform normal functions, in this way damaged kidneys and other organ's functions start improving.

5) There is very high percentage of rejection of new kidney.// If such patient starts taking homeopathic treatment that would minimize the rejection percentage.

6) In allopathic system patient has to spend Rs.5000 to 20000/- per month exclusively on medicines. Expanses of hospital's fee and investigations are superfluous. // Homeopathic treatment cost depends on the severity of disease and knowledge and experience of the doctor, even a costliest doctor's treatment remains quite economical than allopathic expenses

7) In case of kidney transplanted patients kidney's linked diseases like Diabetes mellitus and Hypertension may become uncontrolled instead of taking full medical care.// But Classical Homeopathic treatment not only repairs the damaged kidneys but simultaneously it helps in maintaining the blood sugar level and blood pressure to a normal level.

8) In allopathic system damage is a continuous process, it can be slow down up to a certain limit but cannot be stopped.// Very well selected Homeopathic medicine can stop the further damage of diseased organ without delay and further treatment may revive the damaged tissue.

9) In the similar way it can not treat (correct) the cysts or tumors of kidneys. // It can treat the tumors as well as polycystic kidneys also.

10) Doctors and patient always remain worried about the bio-chemistry (Sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, etc.) otherwise some complications may likely to occur. Even with taking care of all the measures patient starts complaining of symptoms related to electrolyte imbalance almost every day. // Once patient's immunity improves (you can feel it just within days) all organs' functions will start improving simultaneously bio-chemistry also becomes normal naturally.

11) Doctors (except classical homeopaths) remain busy in managing one or the other problem. // Classical Homeopaths have to take lot of time for the first prescription then things become quite easier in comparison to other doctors.

12) Allopathic doctors know that they have very limited role in such cases so they keep on experimenting on different food supplements etc.// While we have enough evidences of more damage to the remaining nephrons by experimenting with any artificial food material or chemicals.

Vagina Discharge and Treatment

Membrane rupture caused by inflammation of the vagina white vaginal discharge or a liquid. Generally, young women are more under the influence. A very common problem among women with vaginal discharge during ovulation may increase fairly. In addition, women under stress is also very much current can be observed.

Infected needles and gloves used in medical examinations, the other with a sexually transmitted disease, sexual intercourse, depilatory creams, excessive use of female condom, the use of synthetic underwear, frequent vaginal discharge may cause an abortion. Fragrant and sticky fluid from the vagina, back and abdominal pain, weakness, vaginal discharge in the formation of rings around the eye symptoms.

By following a regular eating schedule, making sure to clean undergarments and genital area and staying away from stress can prevent vaginal discharge.

Homeopathy Medication Fro Vagina Discharge:

Leucorrhoea: Puls, Sepia, Mang Phos., Aconite, Merc Sol
Gonorrhoea: Medorrhinum, Cicuta, Merc Cor., Sepia, Aconite.
Syhlilis : Syphillunum, Sulphur., Secale, Cicuta, Thuja
Ithayness: Thuja, Sulphu, Merc. Hepar Sulp.

Blood In Semen

Airmani atau Sperma Bercapur darah

What is blood in the semen?

The presence of blood in the semen (ejaculate) is also called hematospermia. Hematospermia is an uncommon condition.

What are the causes of blood in the semen?

Blood in semen can be caused by many conditions affecting the male genitourinary system. Areas affected include the bladder, urethra, the testicles, the tubes that distribute semen from the testicles (known as the seminal vesicles), the epididymis (a segment of the spermatic ducts that serves to store, mature and transport sperm), and the prostate gland.

Blood in the semen is most commonly a result of a prostate-gland biopsy. More than 80% of men who undergo a prostate biopsy may have some blood in their semen that persists for three to four weeks. Likewise, vasectomy can lead to bloody semen for about one week after the procedure.

In men with hematospermia who have not had a recent prostate biopsy or vasectomy, a number of benign and malignant conditions of the male genital system may be the cause. In many situations, no definitive cause is found.

The following conditions have been reported in association with hematospermia:

benign or malignant tumors of the prostate, bladder, testes, or seminal vesicles,


infections (including, but not limited to, chlamydia, herpes, cytomegalovirus, and trichomoniasis),


inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis), epididymis (epididymitis), or urethra (urethritis),


calculi (stones similar to kidney stones) in the seminal vesicles or prostate,


polyps in the urethra,


ejaculation-duct obstructions,


metastatic cancers (that have spread from other sites in the body) located in the genitourinary system, and


cysts, hemorrhage, or other abnormalities in the seminal vesicles.

Bahasa Melayu.

Ubat-Ubat Homeopathy yang sesuai digunakan:
------------------------------------------

Hamemalis, Arnica Mont., Seln., Canthris., Sulphur, Trillium. Semua ubat homeopathy tidak boleh dimakan sebarangan. Ianya harus mengikut gejala penyakit dan harus mendapat nasihat doktor.

Homeopathic Medical Education

Islamic Medicine : 1000 Years Ahead of Its Times

Islamic Medicine: 1000 years ahead of its times
by Ibrahim B. Syed. Edited by Shahid Athar, M. D.

Within a century after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the Muslims not only conquered new lands, but also became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. By the ninth century, Islamic medical practice had advanced from talisman and theology to hospitals with wards, doctors who had to pass tests, and the use of technical terminology.
The then Baghdad General Hospital incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. The fountains cooled the air near the wards of those afflicted with fever; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night the pain of the restless was soothed by soft music and storytelling. The prince and pauper received identical attention; the destitute upon discharge received five gold pieces to sustain them during convalescence.

While Paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo and Cardboard had hospitals open to both male and female patients; staffed by attendants of both sexes. These medical centers contained libraries pharmacies, the system of interns, externs, and nurses. There were mobile clinics to reach the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. There were regulations to maintain quality control on drugs.
Pharmacists became licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Legal measures were taken to prevent doctors from owning or holding stock. in a pharmacy. The extent to which Islamic medicine advanced in the fields of medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, pharmacy, ophthalmology, psychotherapy and psychosomatic diseases are presented briefly.

INTRODUCTION

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is ranked number one by Michael Hart, a Jewish scholar, in his book The 100: The Most Influential Persons in History, was able to unite the Arab tribes who had been tom by revenge, rivalry, and internal fights, and produced a strong nation acquired and ruled simultaneously, the two known empires at that time, namely the Persian and Byzantine Empires.

The Islamic Empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the West to the borders of China on the East. Only 80 years after the death of their Prophet, the Muslims crossed to Europe to rule Spain for more than 700 years. The Muslims preserved the cultures of the conquered lands.
However when the Islamic Empire became weak, most of the Islamic contributions in an and science were destroyed. The Mongols bunt Baghdad (1258 A.D.) out of barbarism, and the Spaniards demolished most of the Islamic heritage in Spain out of hatred.

The Islamic Empire for more than 1000 years remained the most advanced and civilized nation in the world. This is because Islam stressed the importance and respect of learning, forbade destruction, developed in Muslims the respect for authority and discipline, and tolerance for other religions.
The Muslims recognized excellence and hungering intellectually, were avid for the wisdom of the world of Galen, Hippocrates, Rufus of Ephesus, Oribasius, Discorides and Paul of Aegina. By the tenth century their zeal and enthusiasm for learning resulted in all essential Greek medical writings being translated into Arabic in Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad.

Arabic became the International Language of learning and diplomacy. The center of scientific knowledge and activity shifted eastward, and Baghdad emerged as the capital of the scientific world. The Muslims became scientific innovators with originality and productivity. Islamic medicine is one of the most famous and best known facets of Islamic civilization, and in which the Muslims most excelled.

The Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. In the words of Campbell' "The European medical system is Arabian not only in origin but also in its structure. The Arabs are the intellectual forebears of the Europeans."

The aim of this paper is to prove that the Islamic Medicine was 1000 years ahead of its times. The paper covers areas such as medical education, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery, ophthalmology, pharmacy, and psychotherapy.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

In 636 A.D., the Persian City of Jundi-Shapur, which originally meant beautiful garden, was conquered by the Muslims with its great university and hospital intact. Later the Islamic medical schools developed on the Jundi-Shapur pattern. Medical education was serious and systematic.

Lectures and clinical sessions included in teaching were based on the apprentice system. The advice given by Ali ibnul-Abbas (Haly Abbas: -994 -A.D.) to medical students is as timely today as it was then'. "And of those things which were incumbent on the student of this art (medicine) are that he should constantly attend the hospitals and sick houses; pay unremitting attention to the conditions and circumstances of their intimates, in company with the most astute professors of medicine, and inquire frequently as to the state of the patients and symptoms apparent in them, bearing in mind what he has read about these variations, and what they indicate of good or evil."

Razi (Rhazes: 841-926 A.D.) advised the medical students while they were seeing a patient to bear in mind the classic symptoms of a disease as given in text books and compare them with what they found (6).

The ablest physicians such as Razi (Al-Rhazes), Ibn-Sina (Avicenna: 980-1037 A.D.) and Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar: 116 A.D.) performed the duties of both hospital directors and deans of medical schools at the same time. They studied patients and prepared them for student presentation. Clinical reports of cases were written and preserved for teaching'. Registers were maintained.

Training in Basic Sciences

Only Jundi-Shapur or Baghdad had separate schools for studying basic sciences. Candidates for medical study received basic preparation from private tutors through private lectures and self study. In Baghdad anatomy was taught by dissecting the apes, skeletal studies, and didactics.

Other medical schools taught anatomy through lectures and illustrations. Alchemy was once of the prerequisites for admission to medical school. The study of medicinal herbs and pharmacognosy rounded out the basic training. A number of hospitals maintained barbel gardens as a source of drugs for the patients and a means of instruction for the students.

Once the basic training was completed the candidate was admitted as an apprentice to a hospital where, at the beginning, he was assigned in a large group to a young physician for indoctrination, preliminary lectures, and familiarization with library procedures and uses. During this pre-clinical period, most of the lectures were on pharmacology and toxicology and the use of antidotes.

Clinical training: The next step was to give the student full clinical training. During this period students were assigned in small groups to famous physicians and experienced instructors, for ward rounds, discussions, lectures, and reviews. Early in this period therapeutics and pathology were taught.

There was a strong emphasis on clinical instruction and some Muslim physicians contributed brilliant observations that have stood the test of time. As the students progressed in their studies they were exposed more and more to the subjects of diagnosis and judgment. Clinical observation and physical examination were stressed. Students (clinical clerks) were asked to examine a patient and make a diagnosis of the ailment.

Only after an had failed would the professor make the diagnosis himself. While performing physical examination, the students were asked to examine and report six major factors: the patients' actions, excreta, the nature and location of pain, and swelling and effuvia of the body. Also noted was color and feel of the skin- whether hot, cool, moist, dry, flabby. Yellowness in the whites of the eye (jaundice) and whether or not the patient could bend his back (lung disease) was also considered important (8).

After a period of ward instructions, students, were assigned to outpatient areas. After examining the patients they reported their findings to the instructors. After discussion, treatment was decided on and prescribed. Patients who were too ill were admitted as inpatients. The keeping of records for every patient was the responsibility of the students.

Curriculum:
There was a difference in the clinical curriculum of different medical schools in their courses; however the mainstay was usually internal medicine. Emphasis was placed on clarity and brevity in describing a disease and the separation of each entity. Until the time of Ibn Sina the description of meningitis was confused with acute infection accompanied by delirium. Ibn Sina described the symptoms of meningitis with such clarity and brevity that there is very little that can be added after I 000 yearS6.

Surgery was also included in the curriculum. After completing courses, some students specialized under famous specialists. Some others specialized while in clinical training. According to Elgood9 many surgical procedures such as amputation, excision of varicose veins and hemorrhoids were required knowledge.

Orthopedics was widely taught, and the use of plaster of Paris for casts after reduction of fractures was routinely shown to students. This method of treating fractures was rediscovered in the West in 1852. Although ophthalmology was practiced widely, it was not taught regularly in medical schools. Apprenticeship to an eye doctor was the preferred way of specializing in ophthalmology. Surgical treatment of cataract was very common. Obstetrics was left to midwives.

Medical practitioners consulted among themselves and with specialists. Ibn Sina and Hazi both widely practiced and taught psychotherapy. After completing the training, the medical graduate was not ready to enter practice, until he passed the licensure examination. It is important to note that there existed a Scientific Association which had been formed in the hospital of Mayyafariqin to discuss the conditions and diseases of the patients.

Licensing of Physicians: In Baghdad in 931 A.D. Caliph Al-Muqtadir learned that a patient had died as the result of a physician's error. There upon he ordered his chief physician, Sinan-ibn Thabit bin Qurrah to examine all those who practiced the art of healing. In the first year of the decree more than 860 were examined in Baghdad alone.
From that time on, licensing examinations were required and administered in various places. Licensing Boards were set up under a government official called Muhtasib or inspector general . The Muhtasib also inspected weights and measures of traders and pharmacists. Pharmacists were employed as inspectors to inspect drugs and maintain quality control of drugs sold in a pharmacy or apothecary. What the present Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is doing in America today was done in Islamic medicine I 000 years ago.

The chief physician gave oral and practical examinations, and if the young physician was successful, the Muhtasib administered the Hippocratic oath and issued a license. After 1000 years licensing of physicians has been implemented in the West, particularly in America by the State Licensing Board in Medicine. For specialists we have American Board of Medical Specialties such as in Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, etc.

European medical schools followed the pattern set by the Islamic medical schools and even in the early nineteenth century, students at the Sorbonne could not graduate without reading Ibn Sina's Qanun (Cannon). According to Razi a physician had to satisfy two condition for selection: firs0y, he was to be fully conversant with the new and the old medical literature and secondly, he must have worked in a hospital as house physician.

HOSPITALS

The development of efficient hospitals was an outstanding contribution of Islamic medicine (7). Hospitals served all citizens free without any regard to their color, religion, sex, age or social status. The hospitals were run by government and the directors of hospitals were physicians.

Hospitals had separate wards for male patients and female patients. Each ward was furnished with a nursing staff and porters of the sex of the patients to be treated therein. Different diseases such as fever, wounds, infections, mania, eye conditions, cold diseases, diarrhea, and female disorders were allocated different wards. Convalescents had separate sections within them. Hospitals provided patients with unlimited water supply and with bathing facilities.

Only qualified and licensed physicians were allowed by law to practice medicine. The hospitals were teaching hospitals educating medical students. They had housing for students and house-staff. They contained pharmacies dispensing free drugs to patients. Hospitals had their own conference room and expensive libraries containing the most up-to-date books. According to Haddad, the library of the Tulum Hospital which was founded in Cairo in 872 A.D. (I 100 years ago) had 100,000 books.

Universities, cities and hospitals acquired large libraries (Mustansiriyya University in Baghdad contained 80,000 volumes; the library of Cordova 600,000 volumes; that of Cairo 2,000,000 and that of Tripoli 3,000,000 books), physicians had their own extensive personal book collections, at a time when printing was unknown and book editing was done by skilled and specialized scribes putting in long hours of manual labour.

For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patients and their medical care.

From the point of view of treatment the hospital was divided into an out- patient department and an inpatient department. The system of the in-patient department differed only slightly from that of today.
At Tulun hospital, on admission the patients were given special apparel while their clothes, money, and valuables were stored until the time of their discharge. On discharge, each patient - received five gold pieces to support himself until he could return to work.

The hospital and medical school at Damascus had elegant rooms and an extensive library. Healthy people are said to have feigned illness in order to enjoy its cuisine. There was a separate hospital in Damascus for lepers, while, in Europe, even six centuries later, condemned lepers were burned to death by royal decree.

The Qayrawan Hospital (built in 830 A.D. in Tunisia) was characterized by spacious separate wards, waiting rooms for visitors and patients, and female nurses from Sudan, an event representing the first use of nursing in Arabic history. The hospital also provided facilities for performing prayers.

The Al-Adudi hospital (built in 981 A.D. in Baghdad) was furnished with die best equipment and supplies known at the time. It had interns, residents, and 24 consultants attending its professional activities, An Abbasid minister, Ali ibn Isa, requested the court physician, Sinan ibn Thabit, to organize regular visiting of prisons by medical officers (14).

At a time when paris and London were places of mud streets and hovels, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova had hospitals which incorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern. It was chiefly in the humaneness of patient care, however, that the hospitals of Islam excelled. Near the wards of those afflicted with fever, fountains cooled the air; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night music and storytelling soothed the patients.

The Bimaristans (hospitals) were of two types - the fixed and the mobile. The mobile hospitals were transported upon beasts of burden and were erected from time to time as required. The physicians in the mobile clinics were of the same standing as those who served the fixed hospitals.
Similar moving hospitals accompanied the armies in the field. The field hospitals were well equipped with medicaments, instruments, tents and a staff of doctors, nurses, and orderlies. The traveling clinics served the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. These hospitals were also used by prisoners, and by the general public, particularly in times of epidemics.

BACTERIOLOGY

Al-Razi was asked to choose a site for a new hospital when he came to Baghdad. First he deduced which was the most hygienic area by observing where the fresh pieces of meat he had hung in various parts of the city decomposed least quickly.

Ibn Sina stated explicitly that the bodily secretion is contaminated by foul foreign earthly body before getting the infection. Ibn Khatima stated that man is surrounded by minute bodies which enter the human system and cause disease.

In the middle of the fourteenth century "black death" was ravaging Europe and before which Christians stood helpless, considering it an act of God.

At that time Ibn al Khatib of Granada composed a treatise in the defense of the theory of infection in the following way: To those who say, "How can we admit the possibility of infection while the religious law denies it?" We reply that the existence of contagion is established by experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The fact of infection becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he who establishes contact with the afflicted gets the disease, whereas he who is not in contact remains safe, and how transmission is effected through garments, vessels and earrings.

Al-Razi wrote the first medical description of smallpox and measles - two important infectious diseases. He described the clinical difference between the two diseases so vividly that nothing since has been added. Ibn Sina suggested the communicable nature of tuberculosis. He is said to have been the first to describe the preparation and properties of sulphuric acid and alcohol. His recommendation of wine as the best dressing for wounds was very popular in medieval practice. However Razi was the first to use silk sutures and alcohol for hemostatis. He was the first to use alcohol as an antiseptic.

ANESTHESIA

Ibn Sina originated the idea of the use of oral anesthetics. He recognized opium as the most powerful mukhadir (an intoxicant or drug). Less powerful anesthetics known were mandragora, poppy, hemlock, hyoscyamus, deadly nightshade (belladonna), lettuce seed, and snow or ice cold water. The Arabs invented the soporific sponge which was the precursor of modem anesthesia. It was a sponge soaked with aromatics and narcotics and held to the patient's nostrils.

The use of anesthesia was one of the reasons for the rise of surgery in the Islamic world to the level of an honourable speciality, while in Europe, surgery was belittled and practiced by barbers and quacks. The Council of Tours in 1163 A.D. declared Surgery is to be abandoned by the schools of medicine and by all decent physicians." Burton stated that "anesthetics have been used in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became the fashion in civilized West."

SURGERY

Al-Razi is attributed to be the first to use the seton in surgery and animal gut for sutures.

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas Al-Zahrawi (930-1013 A.D.) known to the West as Abulcasis, Bucasis or Alzahravius is considered to be the most famous surgeon in Islamic medicine. In his book Al-Tasrif, he described hemophilia for the first time in medical history. The book contains the description and illustration of about 200 surgical instruments many of which were devised by Zahrawi himself.

In it Zahrawi stresses the importance of the study of Anatomy as a fundamental prerequisite to surgery. He advocates the re implantation of a fallen tooth and the use of dental prosthesis carved from cow's bone, an improvement over the wooden dentures worn by the first President of America George Washington seven centuries later.

Zahrawi appears to be the first surgeon in history to use cotton (Arabic word) in surgical dressings in the control of hemorrhage, as padding in the splinting of fractures, as a vaginal padding in fractures of the pubis and in dentistry. He introduced the method for the removal of kidney stones by cutting into the urinary bladder. He was the first to teach the lithotomy position for vaginal operations. He described tracheotomy, distinguished between goiter and cancer of the thyroid, and explained his invention of a cauterizing iron which he also used to control bleeding.
His description of varicose veins stripping, even after ten centuries, is almost like modern surgery. In orthopedic surgery he introduced what is called today Kocher's method of reduction of shoulder dislocation and patelectomy, 1,000 years before Brooke reintroduced it in 1937.

Ibn Sina's description of the surgical treatment of cancer holds true even today after 1,000 years. He says the excision must be wide and bold; all veins running to the tumor must be included in the amputation. Even if this is not sufficient, then the area affected should be cauterized.

The surgeons of Islam practiced three types of surgery: vascular, general, and orthopedic, Ophthalmic surgery was a speciality which was quite distinct both from medicine and surgery. They freely opened the abdomen and drained the peritoneal cavity in the approved modern style. To an unnamed surgeon of Shiraz is attributed the first colostomy operation. Liver abscesses were treated by puncture and exploration.

Surgeons all over the world practice today unknowingly several surgical procedures that Zahrawi introduced 1,000 years ago .

MEDICINE

The most brilliant contribution was made by Al-Razi who differentiated between smallpox and measles, two diseases that were hitherto thought to be one single disease. He is credited with many contributions, which include being the first to describe true distillation, glass retorts and luting, corrosive sublimate, arsenic, copper sulfate, iron sulphate, saltpeter, and borax in the treatment of disease .

He introduced mercury compounds as purgatives (after testing them on monkeys); mercurial ointments and lead ointment." His interest in urology focused on problems involving urination, venereal disease, renal abscess, and renal and vesical calculi. He described hay-fever or allergic rhinitis.

Some of the Arab contributions include the discovery of itch mite of scabies (Ibn Zuhr), anthrax, ankylostoma and the guinea worm by Ibn Sina and sleeping sickness by Qalqashandy. They described abscess of the mediastinum. They understood tuberculosis and pericarditis.

Al Ash'ath demonstrated gastric physiology by pouring water into the mouth of an anesthetized lion and showed the distensibility and movements of the stomach, preceding Beaumont by about 1,000 years" Abu Shal al- Masihi explained that the absorption of food takes place more through the intestines than the stomach. Ibn Zuhr introduced artificial feeding either by gastric tube or by nutrient enema. Using the stomach tube the Arab physicians performed gastric lavage in case of poisoning. Ibn Al-Nafis was the first to discover pulmonary circulation.

Ibn Sina in his masterpiece Al-Quanun (Canon), containing over a million words, described complete studies of physiology, patlhology and hygiene. He specifically discoursed upon breast cancer, poisons, diseases of the skin, rabies, insomnia, childbirth and the use of obstetrical forceps, meningitis, amnesia, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis as a contagious disease, facial tics, phlebotomy, tumors, kidney diseases and geriatric care. He defined love as a mental disease.

OPHTHALMOLOGY

The doctors of Islam exhibited a high degree of proficiency and certainly were foremost in the treatment of eye diseases. Words such as retina and cataract are of Arabic origin. In ophthalmology and optics lbn al Haytham (965-1039 A.D.) known to the West as Alhazen wrote the Optical Thesaurus from which such worthies as Roger Bacon, Leonardo da Vinci and Johannes Kepler drew theories for their own writings.

In his Thesaurus he showed that light falls on the retina in the same manner as it falls on a surface in a darkened room through a small aperture, thus conclusively proving that vision happens when light rays pass from objects towards the eye and not from the eye towards the objects as thought by the Greeks. He presents experiments for testing the angles of incidence and reflection, and a theoretical proposal for magnifying lens (made in Italy three centuries later).

He also taught that the image made on the retina is conveyed along the optic nerve to the brain. Razi was the first to recognize the reaction of the pupil to light and Ibn Sina was the first to describe the exact number of extrinsic muscles of the eyeball, namely six. The greatest contribution of Islamic medicine in practical ophthalmology was in the matter of cataract.

The most significant development in the extraction of cataract was developed by Ammar bin Ali of Mosul, who introduced a hollow metallic needle through the sclerotic and extracted the lens by suction. Europe rediscovered this in the nineteenth century.

PHARMACOLOGY

Pharmacology took roots in Islam during the 9th century. Yuhanna bin Masawayh (777-857 A.D.) started scientific and systematic applications of therapeutics at the Abbasids capital. His students Hunayn bin Ishaq al-lbadi (809-874 A.D.) and his associates established solid foundations of Arabic medicine and therapeutics in the ninth century. In his book al-Masail Hunayn outlined methods for confirming the pharmacological effectiveness of drugs by experimenting with them on humans. He also explained the importance of prognosis and diagnosis of diseases for better and more effective treatment.

Pharmacy became an independent and separate profession from medicine and alchemy. With the wild sprouting of apothecary shops, regulations became necessary and imposed to maintain quality control." The Arabian apothecary shops were regularly inspected by a syndic (Muhtasib) who threatened the merchants with humiliating corporal punishments if they adulterated drugs." As early as the days of al-Mamun and al-Mutasim pharmacists had to pass examinations to become licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the physician's prescriptions. Also by this decree, restrictive measures were legally placed upon doctors, preventing them from owning or holding stock in a pharmacy.

Methods of extracting and preparing medicines were brought to a high art, and their techniques of distillation, crystallization, solution, sublimation, reduction and calcination became the essential processes of pharmacy and chemistry.
With the help of these techniques, the Saydalanis (pharmacists) introduced new drugs such as camphor, senna, sandalwood, rhubarb, musk, myrrh, cassia, tamarind, nutmeg, alum, aloes, cloves, coconut, nuxvomica, cubebs, aconite, ambergris and mercury.

The important role of the Muslims in developing modern pharmacy and chemistry is memorialized in the significant number of current pharmaceutical and chemical terms derived from Arabic: drug, alkali, alcohol, aldehydes, alembic, and elixir among others, not to mention syrups and juleps. They invented flavorings extracts made of rose water, orange blossom water, orange and lemon peel, tragacanth and other attractive ingredients. Space does not permit me to list the contributions to pharmacology and therapeutics, made by Razi, Zahrawi, Biruni, Ibn Butlan, and Tamimi.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

From freckle lotion to psychotherapy- such was the range of treatment practiced by the physicians of Islam. Though freckles continue to sprinkle the skin of 20th century man, in the realm of psychosomatic disorders both al-Razi and Ibn Sina achieved dramatic results, antedating Freud and Jung by a thousand years. When Razi was appointed physician-in-chief to the Baghdad Hospital, he made it the, first hospital to have a ward exclusively devoted to the mentally ill."

Razi combined psychological methods and physiological explanations, and he used psychotherapy in a dynamic fashion, Razi was once called in to treat a famous caliph who had severe arthritis. He advised a hot bath, and while the caliph was bathing, Razi threatened him with a knife, proclaiming he was going to kill him.

This deliberate provocation increased the natural caloric which thus gained sufficient strength to dissolve the already softened humours, as a result the caliph got up from is knees in the bath and ran after Razi. One woman who suffered from such severe cramps in her joints that she was unable to rise was cured by a physician who lifted her skirt, thus putting her to shame. "A flush of heat was produced within her which dissolved the rheumatic humour."

The Arabs brought a refreshing spirit of dispassionate clarity into psychiatry. They were free from the demonological theories which swept over the Christian world and were therefore able to make clear cut clinical observations on the mentally ill.

Najab ud din Muhammad'", a contemporary of Razi, left many excellent descriptions of various mental diseases. His carefully compiled observation on actual patients made up the most complete classification of mental diseases theretofore known." Najab described agitated depression, obsessional types of neurosis, Nafkhae Malikholia (combined priapism and sexual impotence). Kutrib (a form of persecutory psychosis), Dual-Kulb (a form of mania) .

Ibn Sina recognized 'physiological psychology' in treating illnesses involving emotions. From the clinical perspective Ibn Sina developed a system for associating changes in the pulse rate with inner feelings which has been viewed as anticipating the word association test of Jung. He is said to have treated a terribly ill patient by feeling the patient's pulse and reciting aloud to him the names of provinces, districts, towns, streets, and people. By noticing how the patient's pulse quickened when names were mentioned Ibn Sina deduced that the patient was in love with a girl whose home Ibn Sina was able to locate by the digital examination. The man took Ibn Sina's advice , married the girl , and recovered from his illness.

It is not surprising to know that at Fez, Morocco, an asylum for the mentally ill had been built early in the 8th century, and insane, asylums were built by the Arabs also in Baghdad in 705 A.D., in Cairo in 800 A.D., and in Damascus and Aleppo in 1270 A.D. In addition to baths, drugs, kind and benevolent treatment given to the mentally ill, musico-therapy and occupational therapy were also employed. These therapies were highly developed. Special choirs and live music bands were brought daily to entertain the patients by providing singing and musical performances and comic performers as well.

CONCLUSION

1,000 years ago Islamic medicine was the most advanced in the world at that time. Even after ten centuries, the achievements of Islamic medicine look amazingly modern. 1,000 years ago the Muslims were the great torchbearers of international scientific research. Every student and professional from each country outside the Islamic Empire, aspired, yearned, a dreamed to go to the Islamic universities to learn, to work, to live and to lead a comfortable life in an affluent and most advanced and civilized society. Today, in this twentieth century, the United States of America has achieved such a position. The pendulum can swing back. Fortunately Allah has given a bounty to many Islamic countries - an income over 100 billion dollars per year. Hence Islamic countries have the opportunity and resources to make Islamic science and medicine number one in the world, once again.

Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D is Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40292 and President, Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc, 7102 W. Shefford Lane, Louisville, KY 40242-6462

Islamic Medcine During Abbasid Caliphate

Khilafah al-'Alam al-Islami


The Abbasid Caliphate

Abbasid Caliphate (Baghdad)
750-1258


The Abbasid Khilafah

751: Battle of Talas: Arabs learn papermaking from Chinese prisoners of war Tang Dynasty Chronology
752 CE, 134 A.H Beginning of Abbasid Khilafah.
750-850: The Four orthodox schools of law are established
755 CE, 137 A.H Revolt of Abdullah bin Ali. Murder of Abu Muslim.
756, 138 A.H Abdul Rahman founds the Umayyad state in Spain.
763 CE, 145 A.H Foundation of Baghdad. Defeat of the Abbasids in Spain.

765: A school of medicine is established in Baghdad.
767 CE, 150 A.H Khariji state set up by Ibn Madrar at Sijilmasa.
767: Death of Abu Hanifa who founded the Hanafite School of Law.
786 CE, 169 A.H Haroon Rashid becomes Khalifah.
792 CE, 175 A.H Invasion of South France.

795: Death of Anas ibn Malik who founded the Malikite School of Law.
800 CE, 184 A.H Scientific method is developed. Algebra is invented by Al-Khawarizmi.
805 CE, 189 A.H Campaigns against the Byzantines. Capture of the islands of Rhodes and Cypress.

809 CE, 193 A.H Death of Haroon Ar-Rashid. Accession of Amin.
814 CE, 198 A.H Civil war between Amin and Mamun. Amin killed and Mamun becomes the Khalifah. Bayt-ul-Hikmat is founded in his time.
820: Death of Shafi'i who founded the Shafi'ite School of Law.
855: Death of Ahmad ibn Hanbal who founded the Hanbalite School of Law.900 CE, 287 A.H Pendulum developed by Yunus Al-Masri.

850-875: The Tradition is formalized.
870: Death of Bukhari who edited one of the important compendia of Tradition.
875: Death of Muslim who edited one of the important compendia of Tradition.
976 CE, 365 A.H Muhammad bin Ahmad introduces the number Zero.
1000 CE, 390 A.H Al-Haytham discovers that white light consists of various rays of colored light. The building of the Great Mosque of Cordoba is completed.

1005 CE, 395 A.H Mahmood Ghaznavi captures Multan and Ghur.
1010: Firdawsi completes his Epic of Kings, the great epic poem of Persia.
1055-1250: Expansion of Islam under the Seljuks and Christian responses.
1055: Seljuk Turks establish a protectorate in Baghdad.

1055 CE, 447 A.H Baghdad is conquered by the Seljuk Turks. Abbasid-Seljuk rule starts, which lasts until 1258 when Mongols destroy Baghdad.
1071: Battle of Manzikert. Seljuks defeat the Byzantines and establish control over Asia Minor.
1085 CE, 477 A.H Christians get Toledo (in Spain).
1091 CE, 484 A.H Normans capture Sicily, ending Muslim rule there.
1095 CE, 488 A.H The first crusade takes place.
1096-1099: First CrusadeThe Crusading Era Chronology
1099 CE, 492 A.H Crusaders capture Jerusalem. They mercilessly slaughter everyone inside its walls.

1099: Crusaders take Jerusalem.
1100 CE, 493 A.H Muslims introduce negative numbers.
1144 CE, 538 A.H Imam-ud Din captures Edessa from Christians. Second crusade takes place.
1147-1149: Second Crusade

1187: Saladin captures Jerusalem from the Crusaders.

1187 CE, 583 A.H Salahuddin captures Jerusalem from Christians in the most peaceful way possible. Third crusade takes place in which Christians only get Acre after months of bloodshed.
1189-1192: Third Crusade
1194 CE, 590 A.H Muslims occupy Delhi, India.

1236 CE, 633 A.H Christians conquer Cordoba (in Spain).
1258 CE, 656 A.H Mongols sack Baghdad. Thousands of people killed and great libraries burned. Fall of Baghdad. End of Abbasid rule.

The Abbassids

The 'Abassid caliphate (758-1258) was founded on two disaffected Islamic populations: non-Arabic Muslims and Shi'ites. For the most part, the Islamic impetus to the Abassid revolution lay in the secularism of the Umayyad caliphs. The Umayyads had always been outsiders—as a wealthy clan in Mecca, they had opposed Muhammad—and the secularism and sometime degeneracy that accompanied their caliphate delegitimized their rule for many devout Muslims.

The Abbasids took their name from al-'Abbas, a paternal uncle of Muhammad and early supporter of the Prophet. Their close kinship to Muhammad and the position of al-'Abbas as a Companion of the Prophet served them well in gaining support. As early as 718 AD, during the reign of Umar II, Muhammad ibn 'Ali, a great-grandson of al-'Abbas, began to proselytize in Persia to rally support for returning the caliphate to the family of the Prophet, the Hashimites.

What made the 'Abbasid seizure of the caliphate unique was the heavy reliance on client Muslims, or mawali. The mawali were foreigners who had converted to Islam; because, however, they were foreigners they could not be incorporated into the kinship-based society of Arabs. They had to be voluntarily included into the protection of a clan, that is, they had to become "clients" of the clan (which is what the word mawali means). For the most part, they were second-class citizens even though they were Muslims.

The overwhelming majority of foreigners who rallied to the Hashimiyya cause were Iranian. Historians have argued that the 'Abbasid caliphate represented a shift in Islam from Semitic to Iranian culture; other historians argue that there really no such shift. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

When the 'Abbasids took power, the center of Islamic culture shifted from the Semitic world in Arabia and Syria to the Iranian or Persian world in Iraq. By shifting the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, the 'Abassids brought about a dynamic fusion of Persian and Semitic culture.

The dynasty was started when Abu'l-'Abbass assumed the caliphate from 750-754 AD / 132-136 AH. Both he and his successor, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (754-775 / 136-158), ruthlessly consolidated power and began a series of administrative moves that would characterize Islamic government for the next several centuries.

As with Umayyads, they separated themselves from the general Islamic populace, but they surrounded themselves with foreigners rather than Arabs, particularly in the military. This bred bitter resentment, particularly among Arabs, such as the Khorosanian Arabs, that had helped them rise to power.


The Umayyads

The Umayyads, however, did not take being removed from power lying down. In 756, the Umayyads established a rival empire in Spain, though they did not set up a rival caliphate until 929. They were aided in their seizing of power by Kharjite North Africans and, in particular, Berbers, who had been instrumental in the conquest of Spain earlier.

The Umayyad caliphate flourished in Spain for the next three centuries and the Islamic culture that grew on this fertile soil, the Moorish culture, was dramatically different from the Iranian-Semitic culture that grew up around the 'Abbasid Caliphate.


The Early Years

The 'Abassids only came to power with the help of diverse and disaffected populations; even though they consolidated power fairly ruthlessly in the beginning, their control over the world of Islam unravelled quickly. The first threat came with the establishment of Umayyad rule in Spain which, because of its distance, obviated any military reconquest of the area. Soon after, rival Islamic states were set up by Berber Kharjites in North Africa in 801.

The Shi'ites were a particular thorn in 'Abassid rule; the 'Abassids had come to power by using both Shi'ite help and rhetoric. The Shi'ites, however, were not a single, unitary group, and the 'Abassids abandoned their ties to the Shi'a beliefs. Efforts were made to make peace with moderate Shi'ites, but these soon broke down. An uprising in Mecca in 786 led to a massacre of Shi'ite 'Alids—the survivors, however, fled to the western region of Africa, or the Maghreb, and established a new and independent kingdom, the Idrisid kingdom.

By the beginning of the ninth century, the caliph's control over the Islamic world was beginning to crumble. It was into this increasingly bleak picture that al-Mamun suddenly appeared.


Al-Ma'mun

Abd Allah, or al-Ma'mun, had not been named as a successor to the caliphate—this instead fell to his brother, Muhammad, called al-Amin. The brothers soon fell out, however, and al-Mamun seized the caliphate in 813. As with his predecessors, he tried to incorporate Shi'ites into the Islamic government, but his entire reign was spent in quelling disturbances among Shi'ites and anit-Shi'ites. He seems to have just held the line in the disintegration of the 'Abbasid caliphate. There are, however, two great innovations that irrevocably changed the course of Islamic history.

The first was a military revolution begun by his brother, al-Mu'tasim. The constant revolutions and the deep division in Islamic society convinced al-Ma'mun that he needed a military force whose only loyalty was to him. So his brother, who would later become caliph (833-842 / 218-27), assembled a military force of slaves, called Mamluks.

Many of the Mamluks were Turkish, who were famous for the horsemanship. But the Mamluk military also consisted of Slavs and some Berbers. By the middle of al-Wathiq's reign, the Mamluk army had completely displaced the Arabian and Persian army under the caliph. This army, and al-Mu'tasim's abandonment of Baghdad for Samarra, caused bitter resentment among Muslims and would irreperably sever the protective bond between the Islamic sovereign and the Islamic people.

It also introduced a new ethnic group in the Islamic world, the Mamluks, who would eventually play a powerful role in the drama of power and decline in medieval Islam.

More importantly, al-Ma'mun energetically patronized Greek, Sanskrit and Arabic learning and so altered the cultural and intellectual face of Islam. He adopted a radical theological position, called Mu'tazilism, which was regarded as somewhat heretical by more orthodox Muslims.
Nevertheless, Mu'tazilism had as one of its fundamental beliefs the idea that Muslims should obey a single ruler. In order to facilitate the spread of Mu'tazilite teaching, al-Ma'mun established a university, the House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma ).

It was here that Hellenistic and Indian works made their way into Islamic culture through a series of translations. Islam incorporated into its culture and belief the philosophical method of inquiry of the Hellenist world—it is for this reason that philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle were passed on to succeeding generations.

This incorporation led to a new Islamic intellectual practice, faylasafa, or philosophy, based on principles of rational inquiry and to some extent empiricism.


Decline

After the caliphate of al-Mu'tasim and that of his son, al-Wathiq (842-47 / 227-32), the centralized power of the caliphate declined centrifugally. By 945, the area around Iraq fell to a dynasty of amirs , the Buyid dynasty. The 'Abbasids remained as caliphs until 1030, but they were only figureheads.

Islamic history entered a new phase. The history of early Islam is a history of the spread of a single cultural force throughout the Iranian, Semitic, North African, and to a lesser extent, the Hellenistic and European worlds. That single cultural force was religious, social, linguistic, and political and was based almost entirely on Arabic culture and world view.

In the earliest years, there is a remarkable consolidation in the regions where Islam spreads—there is by and large an acceptance of a central authority, a government structure, a religion, a language, and a cultural chauvinism. During the latter years of the Umayyad caliphate, that cultural and political unity began to break down.

The 'Abbasids, in adopting Iranian culture in part and in distancing themselves from their Semitic origins (for instance, by instituting Mamluk armies), further accelerated the cultural divisions in the world of Islam. After only two hundred years in power, the unified cultural and political world of Islam broke down into a myriad independent cultural and political units.

And thus began the medieval period in Islam, a period of cultural and political disunity and decentralization. This was not, however, a bad thing; Islamic culture, split into several different groups that were often divided along ethnic lines, expanded the cultural and intellectual richness of the religion.

By the end of the medieval period, even the fiction of a cultural or political unity of Islam had been completely destroyed. The historical process, then, of medieval Islam was primarily about cultural and political decentralization—modern Islam would be the history of powerful cultural centers in this divided world.



Accomplishments of the Abbassids

The Abbasid Khilafah lasted from 750-1258 CE. Khalifah Abu Jafar Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Khalifah, moved the capital of the Islamic Empire from Damascus in Syria to Baghdad in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was the richest province in the empire in tax and agricultural productions. Baghdad was between the Tigris and Euphrates River so it became the center of trade, learning, and government.

Economy

Baghdad's economy relied on taxes, and wealth generated by trade and manufacturing. The empire was rich in gold, silver, copper, and iron and used them in trade. Farmers grew dates, rice, and other grains. In addition, the Abbasids introduced new breeds of livestock.

They also spread cotton. Traders from Scandinavia to Africa came to Baghdad for the products of its industries too. Leather goods, textiles, paper, metalwork, and perfumes were sold in the city. The Abbasids developed something very similar to the banking system.
They did not have bank buildings but business people invested in long distance trade and goods were bought on credit. They also had a postal system. Muslim rule unified the eastern world. They introduced a uniform coinage system that made commerce easier. The Abbasids treated non-Muslims well. In their time, there were 11000 Christian churches, and hundreds of synagogues and fire temples.

Learning

The great wealth made the Abbasids able to support learning and arts. Muslims believed long before Columbus's time that the earth was round. They invented algebra. They wrote the first accurate descriptions of measles and smallpox. They had clean hospitals.

They built the Bayt-al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in which scholars from different lands came and studied. It served as a museum, library, translation office, school, and meeting center. Books about mathematics, meteorology, optics, mechanics, astronomy, philosophy, medicine, etc. were translated into Arabic from Hebrew, Greek, Persian, Syriac, and other languages.

Al-Razi, Ibn Sina, Al-Biruni, and Al-Khwarizmi were some of the famous scholars of that time. Muslims collected writings of the schools of Alexandria and the best philosophical works of ancient Greek. There were special departments under qualified professors for promotion and prosecution of special branches of study. Astronomical observations were made in Mamun's reign.

Among these equinoxes, eclipses, the apparitions of comets and other celestial bodies was most important. The size of the earth was calculated from the measurement of a degree on the shores of the Red Sea. At this time, Europe was asserting the flatness of the earth. Abul Hassan invented the telescope.
The telescope was improved and used in the observatories of Maragha and Cairo with great success. The first observatory of Islam was made in Mamun's reign at Shamassia on the plains of Tadmur. Afterwards several more were created

Islamic Medicine

Islamic Medicine
By: Hasan Ghaznawi, M. D.
Edited by: Shahid Athar , M. D.


lslam is the religion of all times and places. It is a perfect system of temporal values. By practicing its laws Muslims all over the world not only attain spirituality but the pinnacle of all other glories and gain the wealth of health.

There is a great inter-relationship between modern medicine and some of our Islamic teachings.

Every word of Qur'an is in fact an experience of great reality and science is just an effort made towards this reality. Knowledge is limitless and its horizons are constantly expanding with every strike of progress disclosing fresh informations and according to Qur'anic knowledge is a comprehensive text and it involves all branches of sciences, religion, technology, agriculture, engineering and medicine. It is definitely a miracle of our sacred religion that it expands on all branches of human knowledge. This is known from the following quotation from Qur'an:

"We have revealed to you the Scripture so that it might be a clear evidence for every thing."

In the following paper I have tried to elucidate that the guidelines given in the Quran and Sunnah concerned with the promotion of physical health of humans have been duly proved by years of modern medical scientific research all over the world. Some of them which I am going to deal with in this paper.


Prayers PRAYERS:

In Sura Moon "God deprecates those who are careless in their prayers offer them only for show." The blessed Prophet told us "Prayers are certainly health promoting." Although the real purpose of prayers is to worship Allah yet there is a large number of additional benefits also.


Exercise EXERCISE:

As we eat three times daily we need exercises to lessen the cholesterol in the body which increases in the blood after meals, thickens it and leads to the deposition of slit in the arteries.

In addition to saving us from the sins and elevating us to the heights of spirituality, prayers are great help in maintaining our physical health. They keep our body active, help digestion and save us from muscle and joint diseases through regular balanced exercise. They help the circulation of blood and also mitigate the bad effect of cholesterol. Prayers play a vital role in acting as a preventive measure against heart attack, paralyses, premature senility, dementia, loss of control on sphineters, diabetes mellitus etc.

In addition to saving us from the sins and elevating us to the heights of spirituality, prayers are great help in maintaining our physical health. They keep our body active, help digestion and save us from muscle and joint diseases through regular balanced exercise. They help the circulation of blood and also mitigate the bad effect of cholesterol. Prayers play a vital role in acting as a preventive measure against heart attack, paralyses, premature senility, dementia, loss of control on sphineters, diabetes mellitus etc.

Collateral circulation plays a major role in decreasing the danger of heart attack in patients. Patients above 55 years of age in which this type of circulation is developed have less severe attacks. It is possible to speed up the development of collateral circulation by regular and balanced exercises which is present in the prayers are not only potent, preventive measure against coronary heart diseases but also help in the development of collateral circulation in those people who have already suffered from a heart attack or are prone to it.

Heart patients should offer-the five obligatory prayers regularly as they get the permission from their doctor to leave bed.

The arrangement of prayers is such that those at the time of empty stomach are brief but those after meals are longer and give more exercise to the body.

During the month of Fast (Ramadan) the additional twenty Rakaat (Tarawih) are added to the late evening prayers because more than normal food is usually consumed after breaking fast.

The performance of prayers put almost all muscles of the body in action. Different groups of muscles are activated while performing prayers. During Sajda blood supply to the brain is improved. One of the useful methods to strengthen the muscles of the knee joints to mitigate the strain on knees in osteo arthritis is the regular exercise of these muscles during prayers.


Heart HEART:

This vital organ of the body has to be always healthy and efficient as it is responsible for the circulation of blood. Diseased heart results in deterioration of the healthy body. This knowledge we obtained after centuries of scientific research yet it was simply told to us fourteen hundred years ago by our great Prophet (peace be upon him).

"Verily in the body there is such apiece of flesh that if it remains alright the whole body keeps well but if this piece of flesh develops some defect the whole body becomes unhealthy. Behold,- this piece of flesh - it is heart." (Bokhari, Muslim ...)


Siesta SIESTA:

It was the habit of our blessed Prophet to sleep for a while after lunch, his companions also followed this practice. This short nap gives relief to the vital organs of the body like heart and brain.


Moderation in Food MODERATION IN FOOD:

Both Qur'anand Hadith have touched this topic, Qur'an tells us in Ayah 30 of Sura Al Airaf:

"O children of Adam, look to your adornment of every place of worship and eat and drink but not prodigal Lo! He loveth not the prodigals."

Strenthening this order, the Prophet has strictly forbidden over eating in the following Haith:

"It is enough to eat few morsels of food to keep one's back straight."

"If you must eat more, be sure that only one third of your stomach is filled with food, one third is left for water and the remaining one third for air."

"A Muslim eats in one intestine (stomach) whereas a non believer eats in seven intestine."

It has been proved beyond doubt that over eating is the root of many diseases and also responsible for premature senility. It produces obesity, predisposes to dangerous diseases like diabetes, menitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease and paralysis.


Diabetes Mellitus DIABETES MELLITUS:

This is due to insulin deficiency. Overeating gets the special cells of the pancreas (islets of Langerhans) over worked so it cannot meet the increased demand for insulin . Those cells may get tired, atrophy and causes difficiency of insulin .


Paralysis, Coronary Heart Disease and Premature Senility PARALYSIS, CORONARY HEART DISEASE & PREMATURE SENILITY:

Their basic course is the narrowing of the coronary arteries. Paralysis is the natural result of blocking of an artery in the brain, should this happen in the heart Myocardial infection results. Premature senility is installed when majority of the arteries in the body get narrowed.

Slit in the form of cholesterol and triglycerides is deposited in the arteries. Over eating increases blood cholesterol levels. Pork and beef contain high cholesterol values while on the other hand birds have the least amount. Qur'an mentioned that birds meat is one of the specialties of Paradise.

Olive has been repeatedly mentioned in Qur'an, and statistics shows that heart attacks occur more in Northern Italy where they use butter and margarine for cooking than in Southern Italy where olive oil is generally used.

Patients suffering from narrowing of the coronary artery usually develop the heart attack after a heavy meal.


Forbidden Articles of Food FORBIDDEN ARTICLES OF FOOD:

1. Blood:
Ingested blood on reaching the intestine is acted upon by various bacteria normally present there resulting in poisonous products like ammonia which is toxic to the liver.Therefore,God has forbidden us to eat or drink blood and has prescribed such a method for slaughtering animals that most of their blood is shed.

2. Pork:
There are two harmful worms harbored by pigs, one is "TAENIASOLIUM" which on ingestion passes to the brain and causes epilepsy. The other one is "TRICHINELLASPIRALIS" which passes to the muscles and brain causing muscular swelling and pain and also epilepsy. Pork has more fat and cholesterol than any other meat.

3. Alcohol:
Numerous diseases have been attributed to alcohol like dyspeptic trouble, peptic ulceration, cancer stomach, pancreatitus, cirrhosis liver, vitamin deficiency and coronary heart disease.


Islamic Medicine: Circumcision CIRCUMCISION:

One of the criteria of Islam is that every Muslim should be circumcised. This is medically suggested nowadays as a toxic substance called Smegma may collect under the redundant skin causing cancer of the genitalia in both man and his wife, inflammation of the penis, phthisis, sticking of the redundant skin over the urethral opening leading to difficulty in urination.


Washing after Defecation WASHING AFTER DEFECATION:

This beneficial habit saves us from Pilonidal sinus which is an abscess with hair inside occurring near anal opening.

Pylonephritis: This is more in women due to the proximity of the urethral opening to the anus so toilet paper while being used may bring germs like E. coli to the urethra.


Ablution ABLUTION:

A prerequisite of prayers yet one of the most hygienic procedure as it usually keeps the exposed parts of our body clean and also the parts of entry like mouth and nose thus avoiding infection.


Prevention of Infection PREVENTION OF INFECTION:

Infection may be transmitted through dirty hands or dirty food. Hands: It is essential to wash our hands before and after meals. Our blessed Prophet told us:

"It is a blessing to wash your hands before and after meals." (Abu Daud & Tirmizi)

He has also advised us not to clean our hands with a towel before meals as they may convey infection from one person to the other particularly viral diseases like infective hepatitis or bacterial infection like Typhoid dysentries and cholera.

Or Prophet said:

"Whosover gets up from slumber should not dip his hand in any utensil unless he washes them three times, who knows what things he has been touching during sleep." (Bokhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Nisai)


Islamic Medicine: Articles of Beverages ARTICLES OF BEVERAGES:

These articles should be handled with great care. If the food is in open utensil they should be covered to avoid contamination. Stressing this our Prophet said "Cover up the utensils and tie the mouth of the water skins." He said, "Why did you not cover the utensil carrying the milk even if - it was with a piece of wood." (Bokhari, Muslim)


Dental Hygiene DENTAL HYGIENE:

Particular stress has been laid by our Prophet on this as it is very important in the prevention of disease. He attached great importance to "Miswak" a twig of a tree used for brushing teeth. "If I had not thought this to be an unbearable hardship for my followers I would have prescribed the use of Miswak before every prayers." (Bokhari, Muslim)

According to modern dentistry the best method of using a Miswak or a tooth brush is up and down the length of the teeth and this exactly the way our Prophet used his Miswak.


Islamic Medicine: Khillala KHILLALA:

The blessed Prophet said "Whosoever eats should pick bits and pieces from in between his teeth." It is beneficial act so that those do not rot and produce disease.


Heatstroke HEATSTROKE:

Covering the head and neck as our Prophet used to do, mitigate the danger of hyperpyrexia which is due to imbalance of the heat control centre situated in the hind brain, which may lead to death.


Islamic Medicine: Treatment of Fever TREATMENT OF FEVER:

Death occurs if the temperature of the body exceeds 106 degrees irrespective of the cause. Medically speaking the first line of treatment is to lower the temperature by cold water, ice sponging or even immersing the patient in cold water. On this Prophet said:

"The fever is related to the Hell. Application of cold water keeps it away." (Ibne Maja)


Islamic Medicine: Constipation CONSTIPATION:

The blessed Prophet advised that while defaecating keep pressure on the left foot (Tibrani). In squatting position this maneuvers will cause pressure on the descending colon. Medically this helps evacuation of feaces from the descending colon thus relieving constipation, particularly when muscles of the abdomen are weak.


Disease of Digestion DISEASES OF DIGESTION:

Several Hadiths pertaining to this were said:

"It is unbecoming to eat in the Bazar (Market)."

"Whosoever eats earth aid his death." (Tibrani)

"Use curry with food even if it is in the form of water." (Tibrani).

"Vinegear is a very good curry."

"The best curry is common salt."

Salt depletion through perspiration during summer is increased thus it is obligatory to use common salt during this period.

Our Prophet liked pumpkin (one of the vegetables) as it is easily digested and less likely to produce flatulence.

Our Prophet said.

"It is not right to eat your food quickly, besides this one should eat from what lies nearest to one." (Bokhari, Muslim)


Epidemic Prevention EPIDEMIC PREVENTION:

Hygiene is very important. Cleanliness prevent infection entering the citadel of human body and this guards us against ill health and epidemics- God ordered our Prophet in Sura Al-Muddassir:

"O, Prophet keep your apparel clean and meticulously avoid filth and rubbish." Our Prophet said, "God Almighty is himself pure and likes purity, God himself is clean and likes cleanliness." (Tirmizi)

"God Almighty dislikes dust, dirt and disheveled hair." "Avoid three things which are cursed. To urinate at the source of water, in the shade, in the pathways." (Ibn Maja)

"No one should pass water in standing water." (Bokhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood)

"If any one of you yawns,,cover your mouth with hands." (Muslim, Abu Dawood)

One should avoid coughing, sneezing, yawning or laughing with fully open mouth near other persons as the breathed out bacteria may spread in the atmosphere and be conveyed to other persons.


Islamic Medicine: Street and Roads STREET AND ROADS:

Town planning is based on broad and airy roads so that there is no obstruction to the flow of traffic and to avoid congestion which helps in spreading diseases. Our blessed Prophet fourteen hundred years ago said "keep the breadth of the streets seven arms length".


Acupuncture ACUPUNCTURE:

This method was mentioned in the authenticated Hadith as an effective treatment of several disease. Research work is being carried out in China and other parts of the world to use acupuncture as a method of treatment.

There are other aspects of medicine which have been dealt with in Islam for example:

1. Quacks should not treat patients.
2. 2. Treatment and prevention of diseases have been recommended and practiced by the Prophet.
3. 3. When you visit a patient do not stay long.

There are many priceless gems of knowledge in the Qur'an and Hadith from which man can benefit immensely. These are but brief facts of medicine which have been mentioned before in Qur'an and Hadith and there is a lot more to be discovered and studied.