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The Life and Travels of Ibn Sina
By A.I. Makki
Abu Ali al-Husayn bin Abdallah bin Sina was one of the rare people who excelled in all his undertakings. The world knows him today as a master philosopher, scientist, and a mathematician. He was also the most illustrious physician of the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Ibn Sina, as he was popularly known, was born in the year 980 C.E at a time when Islamic civilization was at its peak in the Eastern world. The rulers of the Muslim world vied with one another to attract the best of talent among the scholars of the Muslim world to adorn their courts. Libraries were built and fortunes were spent to encourage learning among the people in Muslim lands. Education was valued for its own sake and acquiring knowledge was looked upon as a religious duty. Teachers were employed in schools and mosques to further the cause of disseminating knowledge to the common people. The rich employed private tutors to teach their wards and children from the confines of their homes. Some teachers taught students in their homes. Medical students were given intensive training in hospital spread throughout the Arab lands to prepare them for private practice.
Ibn Sinas father was from the city of Balkh that lay on the trade route to India. He was a scholar who had read widely on religion and philosophy. Balkh was an important commercial center. It was also a city famous for its cultural, religious, and intellectual centers. He had moved to Bukhara, the capital of Samanid dynasty, who ruled over Transaxonia. Bukhara was a meeting place of caravans and a commercial trading center and had some of the finest schools for learning. It was also a home for Muslim scholars of renown. Ibn Sinas father was appointed as a governor of a large village called Kharmaithan. He married in this village and had two children out of the wedlock-the first of whom was Ibn Sina. Later the whole family decided to make their home in Bukhara.
EDUCATION
Ibn Sina had memorized the Holy Quran at the age of ten, studying in the traditional Madrasah. Here, he was taught calligraphy and had studied a few Arabic books. The teachers and the other students were amazed by his ability to get a quick grasp of different subjects during his days in school.
Ibn Sinas father was pleased at his sons intelligence and inclination towards studies. He encouraged him to learn mathematics, philosophy, along with Islamic Jurisprudence which governed all actions and behavior of Muslims. He employed a teacher to teach him logic, geometry, and astronomy from Greek works.
After completing his education with the tutor, he began to study by himself and mastered the natural sciences, metaphysics, and medicine while he was in his teens. At the age of seventeen, he was an established physician. Determined to learn all there was to know, he concentrated on the study of logic and the different branches of philosophy. While talking about those days, he said:
"During this time, I neither slept in the night nor did anything else during the day apart from my studies. Whenever a puzzling question came up, I would go to the mosque and pray to Allah (swt) to open up my mind for knowledge, until all vague things became clear, and the difficulty in learning was eased for me. I would then go back to my house, light a lamp, and return to my reading and writing. Whenever sleep overtook me, I would carry the questions that haunted my mind and dream up the answers for them. I continued to do this until I mastered all the sciences that I had studied within my human limits."
He found the subject of metaphysics difficult. He read and reread the book of Aristotle on the subject without really understanding it. One day, while browsing through a bookshop, he chanced upon a book written by al-Farabi on the subject and rushed home to read it. The book made it easy for him to master the subject of metaphysics.
JOURNEY TO GURGANJ
One day the Amir of Bukhara fell ill. The physicians of the court failed to treat the sickness. Ibn Sina was by now a famous doctor. He was sent for and was charged to treat the Amir. At that time, Ibn Sina was just twenty years old. The young doctor correctly diagnosed the nature of the problem and administered the medicine. The Amir responded to the treatment and he was cured of his illness. He decided to reward Ibn Sina and asked him to name his reward. In return, Ibn Sina wished for a unrestricted access to the royal library which was immediately approved by the Amir. The Royal library had many rooms filled with a huge collection of books. Each room was filled with books on one subject only. Ibn Sina began to make use of this library, but soon after that, it was burnt down by an accidental fire and many of its rare books were destroyed.
At the age of 21, Ibn Sina wrote a book on sciences for the first time and titled it as al-Majmu. He wrote two other books; one on the subject of jurisprudence called as al-Hasil wal Mahsul, and one on the subject of ethics called al-Birr wa lithm.
After his fathers death, Ibn Sina was forced to leave Bukhara and headed for Gurganj. There were rumors of wars. Mahmud Ghaznawi was threatening to attack Transaxonia and occupy it. His journey to Gurganj was the first of many journeys which would keep him wandering from place to place for the rest of his life.
The city of Gurganj lay to the west of the River Oxus. It was a trading center for caravans traveling from Turkey and Russia. The Amir welcomed Ibn Sina and provided him with an income to meet his needs. Many scholars had sought shelter in this city and had made it their home under the protection of the Amir which included doctors, philosophers, and mathematicians. For Ibn Sina, this was an opportunity to learn and interact with them.
THE TRAVELING SCHOLAR
From Gurganj, Ibn Sina decided to head for Jurjan which was on the southeastern tip of the Caspian Sea. His friend on this journey was al-Masihi and a guide to take them safely across the desert. The Amir of Jurjan enjoyed a reputation of being a patron of outstanding scholars, and he was well read on the subjects of philosophy and astronomy. Ibn Sina hoped to find gainful employment in his court.
It was a difficult journey across the desert. Food and water was sparse. Water was found in wells separated from each other by a journey of three to four days. On the fourth day of their journey, the travelers were caught in the middle of a great storm. Al-Masihi, his friend, became ill and perished in the journey. Ibn Sina and his guide managed to cross the desert safely and parted ways when they reached the city of Abiward on the road to Jurjan.
Ibn Sina journeyed on until he reached the city of Jurjan. It was a prosperous city built on the banks of a river surrounded by fruit trees. The merchants of the city traded in Chinese silk, spices from the East, Russian fur, and leather. Ibn Sina hoped to stay there with the patronage of the Amir. However, as soon as he reached Jurjan, he was told that there had been a revolt in the kingdom and the Amir had been killed. As soon as he heard the news, Ibn Sina decided to leave the city.
He headed back to the desert to travel the way he had come, but he became ill and had to return to Jurjan. The new ruler of Jurjan had heard about Ibn Sina and received him kindly. A scholar, who had read his books, provided him with a house to live in, and soon a steady stream of visitors came to see him on a daily basis. He converted his house into a small school where students and scholars could visit him and learn about different subjects of philosophy, logic, and medicine.
In Jurjan, Ibn Sina met Abu Abdullah al-Juzjani who was to become his companion and friend for the rest of his life. He persuaded Ibn Sina to tell him the story of his life from the beginning until the present time. From there, he wrote the story of his life and stayed with him until his death in the year 1037 C.E. He was a daily visitor to his house and helped him write many of his books.
JOURNEY TO THE CITY OF RAYY
After staying for three years in Jurjan, Ibn Sina felt it was time to leave this place and head for the region of Khurasan. At that time, the region of Khurasan was covered by a large part of modern Iran and the present-day Afghanistan. It was bordered on the east by River Oxus. Under the Abbasid Caliphate, the region had been developed to contain some of the finest and the largest Islamic cities of the Muslim world.
Ibn Sina decided to head for the city of Rayy, with its capital in Jibal. There were two other large cities near Jibal, Hamdhan, and Isfahan which were ruled by three rival Amirs. Rayy was a commercial center and it was on the great caravan road of Khurasan. The road started from Baghdad and went east across the Oxus river until it reached the borders of China.
The Amir of Rayy was very young and his mother ruled the city on his behalf. Ibn Sina was received kindly in the court for his fame had spread before him to the city of Rayy. She told him that her son suffered from melancholia and hoped that he could cure him as he had cured the Amir of Bukhara of his illness. Ibn Sina was very pleased to offer his skills as a doctor and, in return, he asked for the unrestricted use of the Royal library which was one of the largest in the Islamic world, to which she readily agreed. In the passage of time, he managed to cure the young Prince of Rayy out of his depression and he became one of his favorites.
In the meantime, Ibn Sina continued to work on his book al-Qanun fi at-Tibb. It was an encyclopedia on medicine. In those days, Islamic medicine was a highly developed profession and worked on principles that could be compared to many modern medical practices of today. Arab doctors would be given the license to practice after undergoing rigorous examinations and tests to asses their competency in dealing with medical problems. City hospitals were divided into wards which were under the supervision of eminent physicians and administrators. Traveling physicians practiced medicine in rural areas for the benefit of the people. Scientists worked hard in Arab laboratories to manufacture new drugs, mixing them with syrups, gums, and rinds to improve their taste.
Ibn Sina was eager to acquire firsthand practical knowledge for all the illnesses he had studied. He traveled to rural areas and set up free clinics that gave him an opportunity to observe medical cases which would have been inaccessible to him in the city. He carefully recorded his observations in a book and then followed it through with a systematic examination of the possible causes that had led to the disease in the patient. He also offered treatments for the illnesses under consideration. In the second book of al-Qanun, he recorded 760 drugs sold by the pharmacists of his day, making his own observations and comments on their application and their effectiveness in curing the disease under his treatment.
Ibn Sina continued to remain in Rayy for a period of three years, a time, which he devoted to writing different books. In that period, he became interested in politics and advised the young Amir of Rayy to assert himself and take over the duties of ruling Rayy into his own hands. By doing this, he earned the anger of the Amirs mother as-Sayyida and she ordered him to leave the city. In this manner, he was forced to leave Rayy and set off on his journeys once more.
JOURNEY TO THE CITY OF HAMADHAN
Ibn Sina left Rayy along with al-Juzjani, his friend, and companion over the years and headed west towards the city of Hamadhan which was ruled by Amir Shams ad-Dawla. They decided to take the northern road to Hamdhan so that they could see the city of Qazwin on the way. After a journey of five days, they reached Qazwin which had been built on the foot of a chain of mountains separating it from the Caspian Sea. It was a very old city. It had for centuries served as a fort protecting the strategic mountain pass that led to the Caspian Sea. Three hundred villages depended on the city of Qazwin for their livelihood and many people came from there carrying their goods into the markets of the city for sale.
After a short stay in Qazwin, they were on their way to Hamadhan, which they reached after a journey of five days. It was a larger city and more prosperous than Qazwin and was built on the trading route of Khurasan. It had long rows of markets and a grand mosque for Friday Prayers. The city had been fortified by a strong wall with four gates, one on each side, facing the four directions.
Ibn Sina was introduced to the Amir. The Amir had an attack of colic and sought the help of Ibn Sina to treat the problem. The treatment took over forty days, during which Ibn Sina had to remain in the palace. In this period, he came to know the Amir very well and formed a close bond of friendship with him. Ibn Sina successfully cured him out of his illness, and the grateful Amir sent him home laden with rich gifts.
Later, the Amir led his army against an attack on the Kurds, and he took ibn Sina with him on this expedition as his personal doctor. When they returned, the Amir offered Ibn Sina the post of a minister, which made him the second most important man in the kingdom. Ibn Sina accepted the job, and his posting was met with disapproval of the army of the Amir. The soldiers revolted and forced Ibn Sina to go into hiding. The soldiers ransacked and wrecked his house and demanded that Ibn Sina be killed.
The Amir wanted to restore peace in the army, but he refused to put his friend to death. However, he did not do anything to help Ibn Sina, until he suffered from another attack of colic. Ibn Sina was sent for and he cured the Amir out of his colic pains. The Amir restored the position of the vizier to him for the second time.
THE MINISTER
Al-Juzjani was very pleased to see his friend reinstated in his old position, but he felt that the new duties of the state would leave Ibn Sina with less time to devote to his writing works. It was at his urging that Ibn Sina undertook another important work which was to be known as Kitab ash-Shifa (The Book of Healing), the longest treatise on philosophy ever written by a single man. The complete book would cover four major sections dealing with logic, physics, mathematics, and metaphysics. Ibn Sina also abridged the book and translated it into Persian, giving the post-Islamic Persia, its first book on philosophy, logic, and natural sciences.
The people around Ibn Sina were amazed at the amount of energy that he packed into a day. He would get up before dawn and after the morning prayers would proceed to write a few pages of his book ash-Shifa, after which, he would meet his students. He would then attend to his duties as the vizier. At lunchtime, he would return home and entertain his guests. In the afternoon, he would meet the Amir and apprise him about state matters. In the evening, he would meet his students and the visiting scholars and would continue to work until it was well past midnight with his friend al-Juzjani at his side.
His daily schedule was disrupted by war. The Amir had decided to lead his army against his enemies, and he took Ibn Sina with him. The war was difficult and exhausting and matters were made worse when the Amir had another attack of colic. Ibn Sina advised him to take some rest and get over his illness, but the Amir would have none of it. He refused his advice and his health took a turn for the worse. It started to gradually decline, until one day he collapsed and died.
The new Amir Taj ad-Dawla, along with his army asked ibn Sina to retain his job as the vizier. Ibn Sina refused for he wanted to work on his book ash-Shifa. Freed from his duties to the state he managed to write at the rate of fifty pages every day; writing entirely from memory, without referring to other books. In this way, he once more gave a great deal to the world of learning. It is the longest of his writing still in existence today.
JOURNEY TO THE CITY OF ISFAHAN
The political events of Hamadhan forced Ibn Sina to resume his journey once again and this time he decided to travel to the city of Isfahan. Isfahan was ruled at that time by Prince Ala ad-Dawlah Abu Jafar. The journey to Isfahan was difficult but it ended well. They were welcomed in Isfahan by a number of friends and a royal party. They brought with them many gifts and took Ibn Sina to a richly furnished house which would be his home in Isfahan. In the court, Ibn Sina was received with honor by the Amir of Isfahan.
Isfahan was one of the finest cities of the east. It was built in the southeast of Jibal, on the western edge of the desert. It stood on the banks of a river, surrounded by plains which produced all kinds of fruit and saffron. The city was famous for its silk and cottons.
Ibn Sina stayed for 14 years in Isfahan. He devoted all his time to reading, writing, teaching, and holding discussions with other Islamic scholars. On Friday evenings, he would attend a meeting with other scholars in the presence of the Amir. Ibn Sina was clearly the most learned among the scholars and spoke knowledgeably on different topics.
Ibn Sina never used to do things in moderation. He would keep on working until the point of exhaustion. After that, he would rest for an hour or so and then resume work again with equal enthusiasm. Friends advised him to slow down and to take life in moderation, but that was simply not in his character. "I prefer a short life with width to a narrow one with length, he would reply to his well-wishers. Although, he was a great doctor, he never took care of his health. He lived his life to the fullest.
Accompanying a military expedition to Hamdhan in 1037 C.E, he was stricken with a severe case of colic that did not respond to the usual treatment. He died at the early age of 57.
THE PRINCE OF SCHOLARS
At the time of his death, his fame had spread everywhere. He was compared to Aristotle. The Persian poet Nizami called him, "the Philosopher of the Eas" and the "proof of God." Dante thought his medical books were equal to those written by Hippocrates and Galen.
He had a clear and an enjoyable style of writing which was accurate and clear. He made even the most difficult subjects easy to read. Some of his poems are still learnt by Arab students today. At the time of his death, he was the author of more than one hundred books and many short essays.
Among the dozens of medical books attributed to him, the "Canon of Medicine" was the greatest. A manuscript written in more than a million words, and it carried the Hippocratic and Galenic medical traditions. It also described the Syrian-Arabic and Indo-Persian medical practices and included notes on Ibn Sinas own observations and medical experiments. The Canon was regarded as a major reference work in the Islamic medical world until the nineteenth century, and the Western civilization used the text for more than five hundred years.
The Canon points out, among other things, the importance of dietetics (Arab medicine which recommends the use of natural products and healing through dietary regulation in preference to a treatment by conventional drugs). The importance of climate and environment and its influence on health, the surgical use of oral anesthetics, treatment of contagious diseases, and the dangers of spreading disease by soil and water. Ibn Sina recommended the testing of a new drug be done first on animals and then on human beings. He advised surgeons to treat cancer in the early stages itself and remove all the diseased tissue during surgery. He also noticed a close relation between emotions and physical condition of the patients. One of the unusual psychological disorders described by Ibn Sina was Love sickness. The likely symptoms were fever, loss of weight and strength, and various chronic complaints. The great doctor had a simple remedy: unite the sufferer with the beloved in marriage.
Over the centuries, his writings have inspired philosophers, theologians, and physicians of the Muslim world. In the West, he was known as Avicenna, and his writings introduced to them the Greek philosophical thought, Islamic intellectual, and scientific works and were one of the contributors to the Renaissance in Europe in the middle Ages. His Canon translation went into 15 Latin editions at the end of the fifteenth century and was the basic medical reference book for a longer period than any other book on medicine ever written by a man.
Last update : 08-11-2002 03:14
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