Islamic Medicine: 1000 Years Ahead of its Times

Ibrahim B. Syed

SUMMARY Within a century after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace beupon him) the Muslims not only conquered new lands, but also becamescientific innovators with originality and productivity. They hit thesource ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. By the ninthcentury, Islamic medical practice had advanced from talisman andtheology to hospitals with wards, doctors who had to pass tests, and theuse of technical terminology. The then Baghdad General Hospitalincorporated innovations which sound amazingly modern.

The fountains cooled the air near the wards of those afflicted withfever; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night the pain ofthe restless was soothed by soft music and storytelling. The prince and pauper received identical attention; the destitute upon dischargereceived five gold pieces to sustain them during convalescence. WhileParis 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 ofinterns, externs, and nurses. There were mobile clinics to reach thetotally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remote areas. There were regulations to maintain quality control on drugs. Pharmacistsbecame licensed professionals and were pledged to follow thephysician's prescriptions. Legal measures were taken to preventdoctors 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 arepresented briefly.

INTRODUCTION Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who is ranked number oneby Michael Hart', a Jewish scholar, in his book The 100: The MostInfluential Persons in History, was able to unite the Arab tribes whohad been tom by revenge, rivalry, and internal fights, and produced a strong nation acquired and ruled simultaneously, the two knownempires at that time, namely the Persian and Byzantine Empires.The Islamic Empire extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the West tothe 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 than700 years. The Muslims preserved the cultures of the conquered lands.However when the Islamic Empire became weak, most of the Islamiccontributions in an and science were destroyed. The Mongols bunt Baghdad (1258 A.D.) out of barbarism, and the Spaniards demolishedmost of the Islamic heritage in Spain out of hatred.

The Islamic Empire for more than 1000 years remained the mostadvanced 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, andtolerance for other religions. The Muslims recognized excellence andhungering intellectually, wereavid for the wisdom of the world ofGalen, Hippocrates, Rufus of Ephesus, Oribasius, Discorides and Paulof Aegina. By the tenth century their zeal and enthusiasm for learningresulted in all essential Greek medical writings being translated intoArabic in Damascus, Cairo, and Baghdad. Arabic became theInternational Language of learning and diplomacy.

The center of scientific knowledge and activity shifted eastward, andBaghdad emerged as the capital of the scientific world. The Muslimsbecame scientific innovators with originality and productivity. Islamicmedicine is one of the most famous and best known facets of lslamiccivilization, and in which the Muslims most excelled. The Muslims werethe great torchbearers of international scientific research. They hit the source ball of knowledge over the fence to Europe. In the words ofCampbell' "The European medical system is Arabian not only in originbut also in its structure. The Arabs are the intellectual forebears of theEuropeans."
The aim of this paper is to prove that the Islamic Medicine was 1000years ahead of its times. The paper covers areas such as medicaleducation, hospitals, bacteriology, medicine, anesthesia, surgery,opthalmology, 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 greatuniversity and hospital intact. Later the Islamic medical schoolsdeveloped on the Jundi-Shapur pattern. Medical education was serious and systematic. Lectures and clinical sessions included in teaching werebased 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 thingswhich were incumbent on the student of this art (medicine) are that heshould constantly attend the hospitals and sick houses; pay unremittingattention to the conditions and circumstances of their intimates, incompany with the most astute professors of medicine, and inquire frequently as to the state of the patients and symptoms apparent inthem, bearing in mind what he has read about these variations, andwhat 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 diseaseas 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 thesame time. They studied patients and prepared them for studentpresentation. Clinical reports of cases were written and preserved forteaching'. Registers were maintained.

Training in Basic Sciences

Only Jundi-Shapur or Baghdad had separate schools for studyingbasic sciences. Candidates for medical study received basic preparationfrom private tutors through private lectures and self study. In Baghdadanatomy was taught by dissecting the apes, skeletal studies, and
didactics. Other medical schools taught anatomy through lectures andillustrations. Alchemy was once of the prerequisites for admission tomedical school. The study of medicinal herbs and pharmacognosy rounded out the basic training. A number of hospitals maintainedbarbel gardens as a source of drugs for the patients and a means ofinstruction for the students.
Once the basic training was completed the candidate was admitted asan apprentice to a hospital where, at the beginning, he was assigned ina large group to a young physician for indoctrination, preliminarylectures, and familiarization with library procedures and uses. Duringthis preclinical 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. Duringthis period students were assigned in small groups to famous physiciansand experienced instructors, for ward rounds, discussions, lectures, and reviews. Early in this period therapeutics and pathology weretaught. There was a strong emphasis on clinical instruction and someMuslim physicians contributed brilliant observations that have stoodthe test of time. As the students progressed in their studies they wereexposed 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 adiagnosis of the ailment. Only after an had failed would the professormake the diagnosis himself. While performing physical examination,the students were asked to examine and report six major factors: thepatients' 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 theeye (jaundice) and whether or not the patient could bend his back (lungdisease) was also considered important (8).

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

Curriculum There was a difference in the clinical curriculum of different medicalschools in their courses; however the mainstay was usually internal medicine. Emphasis was placed on clarity and brevity in describing adisease and the separation of each entity. Until the time of Ibn Sina thedescription of meningitis was confused with acute infectionaccompanied by delirium. Ibn Sina described the symptoms of meningitis with such clarity and brevity that there is very little that canbe added after I 000 yearS6. Surgery was also included in thecurriculum. After completing courses, some students specialized underfamous 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 castsafter reduction of fractures was routinely shown to students. Thismethod of treating fractures was rediscovered in the West in 1852.Although ophthalmology was practiced widely, it was not taughtregularly in medical schools. Apprenticeship to an eye doctorwas the preferred way of specializing in ophthalmology. Surgical treatment ofcataract was very common. Obstetrics was left to midwives. Medicalpractitioners consulted among themselves and with specialists. Ibn Sinaand Hazi both widely practiced and taught psychotherapy. After completing the training, the medical graduate was not ready to enterpractice, until he passed the licensure examination. It is important tonote that there existed a Scientific Association which had been formedin the hospital of Mayyafariqin to discuss the conditions and diseases ofthe patients.

Licensing of Physicians

In Baghdad in 931 A.D. Caliph Al-Muqtadir learned that a patienthad died as the result of a physician's error. There upon he ordered hischief physician, Sinan-ibn Thabit bin Qurrah to examine all those whopracticed the art of healing. In the first year of the decree more than860 were examined in Baghdad alone. From that time on, licensingexaminations were required and administered in various places. Licensing Boards were set up under a government official calledMuhtasib or inspector general . The Muhtasib also inspected weights and measures of traders andpharmacists. Pharmacists were employed as inspectors to inspect drugsand maintain quality controlof drugs sold in a pharmacy orapothecary. What the present Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isdoing in America today was done in Islamic medicine I 000 years ago.The chief physician gave oral and practical examinations, and if theyoung physician was successful, the Muhtasib administered theHippocratic oath and issued a license. After 1000 years licensing ofphysicians has been implemented in the West, particularly in Americaby the State Licensing Board in Medicine.

For specialists we have American Board of Medical Specialities suchas in Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, etc. European medical schoolsfollowed the pattern set by the Islamic medical schools and even in theearly nineteenth century, students at the Sorbonne could not graduatewithout reading Ibn Sina's Qanun (Cannon). According to Razi aphysician had to satisfy two condition for selection: firs0y, he was to befully conversant with the new and the old medical literature andsecondly, he must have worked in a hospital as house physician.

HOSPITALS

The development of efficient hospitals was an outstandingcontribution of Islamic medicine (7). 'ne hospitals served all citizensfree without any regard to their color, religion, sex, age or social status.The hospitals were run by government and the directors of hospitalswere physicians. Hospitals and separate wards for male patients and female patients.Each ward was furnished with a nursing staff and porters of the sex ofthe patients to be treated therein. Different diseases such as fever, wounds, infections, mania, eye conditions, cold diseases, diarrhea, andfemale disorders were allocated different wards. Convalescents hadseparate sections within them. Hospitals provided patients with unlimited water supply and withbathing facilities. Only qualified and licensed physicians were allowedby 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 librariescontaining the most up-to-date books.

According to Haddad, the library of the Tulum Hospital which wasfounded 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; thelibrary of Cordova 600,000 volumes; that of Cairo 2,000,000 and thatof Tripoli 3,000,000 books), physicians had their own extensivepersonal book collections, at a time when printing was unknown andbook editing was done by skilled and specialized scribes putting in longhours of manual labour. For the first time in history, these hospitals kept records of patientsand their medical care. From the point of view of treatment the hospital was divided into anout- patient department and an inpatient department. The system ofthe in-patient department differed only slightly from that of today. Attile Tulun hospital, on admission the patients were given special apparel while their clothes, money, and valuables were stored until thetime of their discharge. On discharge, each patient - received five goldpieces to support himself until he could return to work.The hospital and medical school at Damascus had elegant rooms andan extensive library. Healthy people are said to have feigned illness inorder to enjoy its cuisine.

There was a separate hospital in Damascusfor lepers, while, in Europe, even six centuries later, condemned leperswere burned to death by royal decree.
The Qayrawan Hospital (built in 830 A.D. in Tunisia) wascharacterized by spacious separate wards, waiting rooms for visitorsand patients, and female nurses from Sudan, an event representing thefirst use of nursing in Arabic history. The hospital also providedfacilities for performing prayers.
The Al-Adudi hospital (built in 981 A.D. in Baghdad) was furnishedwith die best equipment and supplies known at the time. It had interns,residents, and 24 consultants attending its professional activities, AnAbbasid 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 andhovels, Baghdad, Cairo, and Cordova had hospitals which incorporatedinnovations which sound amazingly modern. It was chiefly in thehumaneness of patient care, however, that the hospitals of Islamexcelled. Near the wards of those afflicted with fever, fountains cooled the air; the insane were treated with gentleness; and at night music andstorytelling soothed the patients.

The Bimaristans (hospitals) were of two types - the fixed and themobile. The mobile hospitals were transported upon beasts of burdenand were erected from time to time as required. The physicians in themobile clinics were of the same standing as those who served the fixedhospitals. 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 clinicsserved the totally disabled, the disadvantaged and those in remoteareas. These hospitals were also used by prisoners,and by the generalpublic,particularly in times of epidemics.
BACTERIOLOGY Al-Razi was asked to choose a site for a new hospital when he cameto Baghdad. First he deduced which was the most hygienic area byobserving where the fresh pieces of meat he had hung in various partsof the city decomposed least quickly.

Ibn Sina stated explicitly that the bodily secretion is contaminated byfoul foreign earthly body before getting the infection. Ibn Khatimastated that man is surrounded by minute bodies which enter the humansystem and cause disease. In the middle of the fourteenth century "black death" was ravagingEurope and before which Christians stood helpless, considering it anact of God. At that time Ibn al Khatib of Granada composed a treatise in thedefense of the theory of infection in the following way:To those who say, "How can we admit the possibility of infection whilethe religious law denies it?" We reply that the existence of contagion isestablished by experience, investigation, the evidence of the senses and trustworthy reports. These facts constitute a sound argument. The factof infection becomes clear to the investigator who notices how he whoestablishes contact with the afflicted gets the disease, whereas he who isnot 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 differencebetween the two diseases so vividly that nothing since has been added.Ibn Sina suggested the communicable nature of tuberculosis. He is saidto have been the first to describe the preparation and properties ofsulphuric acid and alcohol. His recommendation of wine as the bestdressing for wounds was very popular in medieval practice. HoweverRazi was the first to use silk sutures and alcohol for hemostatis. He wasthe first to use alcohol as an antiseptic.

ANESTHESIA Ibn Sina originated the idea of the use of oral anesthetics. Herecognized opium as the most powerful mukhadir (an intoxicant ordrug). 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 spongewhich was the precursor of modem anesthesia. It was a sponge soakedwith aromatics and narcotics and held to the patient's nostrils.The use of anesthesia was one of the reasons for the rise of surgery inthe 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 abandonedby the schools of medicine and by all decent physicians." Burton statedthat "anesthetics have been used in surgery throughout the East for centuries before ether and chloroform became the fashion in civilizedWest."

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

Abu al-Qasim Khalaf Ibn Abbas Al-Zahrawi (930-1013 A.D.) knownto the West as Abulcasis, Bucasis or Alzahravius is considered to be themost famous surgeon in Islamic medicine. In his book Al-Tasrif, he described hemophilia for the first time in medical history. The bookcontains the description and illustration of about 200 surgicalinstruments many of which were devised by Zahrawi himself. In itZahrawi stresses the importance of the study of Anatomy as afundamental 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 thewooden dentures worn by the first President of America GeorgeWashington seven centuries later. Zahrawi appears to be the firstsurgeon in history to use cotton (Arabic word) in surgical dressings in the control of hemorrhage, as padding in the splinting of fractures, as avaginal padding in fractures of the pubis and in dentistry.

Heintroduced the method for the removal of kidney stones by cutting intothe urinary bladder. He was the first to teach the lithotomy position forvaginal operations. He described tracheotomy, distinguished betweengoiter and cancer of the thyroid, and explained his invention of acauterizing iron which he also used to control bleeding. His descriptionof varicose veins stripping, even after ten centuries, is almost likemodern surgery. In orthopedic surgery he introduced what is calledtoday Kocher's method of reduction of shoulder dislocation andpatelectomy, 1,000 years before Brooke reintroduced it in 1937. Ibn Sina's description of the surgical treatment of cancer holds trueeven today after 1,000 years. He says the excision must be wide andbold; all veins running to the tumor must be included in theamputation. Even if this is not sufficient, thenthe area affected should be cauterized.

The surgeons of Islam practiced three types of surgery: vascular,general, and orthopedic, Ophthalmic surgery was a speciality whichwas quite distinct both from medicine and surgery. They freely openedthe abdomen and drained the peritoneal cavity in the approved modernstyle. To an unnamed surgeon of Shiraz is attributed the firstcolostomy operation. Liver abscesses were treated by puncture andexploration. 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 werehitherto 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 . Heintroduced mercury compounds as purgatives (after testing them onmonkeys); mercurial ointments and lead ointment."

His interest in urology focused on problems involving urination,venereal disease, renal abscess, and renal and vesical calculi. Hedescribed hay-fever or allergic rhinitis. Some of the Arab contributions include the discovery of itch mite ofscabies (Ibn Zuhr), anthrax, ankylostoma and the guinea worm by IbnSina and sleeping sickness by Qalqashandy. They described abscess ofthe mediastinum. They understood tuberculosis and pericarditis.Al Ash'ath demonstrated gastric physiology by pouring water into themouth of an anesthetized lion and showed the distensibility andmovements of the stomach, preceding Beaumont by about 1,000 years"Abu Shal al- Masihi explained that the absorption of food takes placemore through the intestines than the stomach. Ibn Zuhr introducedartificial feeding either by gastric tube or by nutrient enema. Using thestomach 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 amillion words, described complete studies of physiology, patlhology andhygiene. He specifically discoursedupon breast cancer, poisons,diseases of the skin, rabies, insomnia, childbirth and the use ofobstetrical forceps, meningitis, amnesia, stomach ulcers, tuberculosis asa contagious disease, facial tics, phlebotomy, tumors, kidney diseasesand geriatric care. He defined love as a mental disease.

OPHTHALMOLOGY

The doctors of Islam exhibited a high degree of proficiency andcertainly were foremost in the treatment of eye diseases. Words such asretina 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 ownwritings. In his Thesaurus he showed that light falls on the retina in the samemanner as it falls on a surface in a darkened room through a smallaperture, thus conclusively proving that vision happens when light rayspass from objects towards the eye and not from the eye towards theobjects as thought by the Greeks. He presents experiments for testingthe angles of incidence and reflection, and a theoretical proposal formagnifying lens (made in Italy three centuries later).

He also taught that the image made on the retina is conveyed alongthe optic nerve to the brain. Razi was the first to recognize the reactionof the pupil to light and Ibn Sina was the first to describe the exactnumber of extrinsic muscles of the eyeball, namely six. The greatestcontribution of Islamic medicine in practical ophthalmology was in the matter of cataract. The most significant development in the extractionof cataract was developed by Ammar bin Ali of Mosul, who introduceda hollow metallic needle through the sclerotic and extracted the lens bysuction. Europe rediscovered this in the nineteenth century.

PHARMACOLOGY

Pharmacology took roots in Islam during the 9th century. Yuhannabin Masawayh (777-857 A.D.) started scientific and systematicapplications of therapeutics at the Abbasids capital. His studentsHunayn bin Ishaq al-lbadi (809-874 A.D.) and his associates establishedsolid foundations of Arabic medicine and therapeutics in the ninthcentury. In his book al-Masail Hunayn outlined methods forconfirming the pharmacological effectiveness of drugs byexperimenting with them on humans. He also explained the importanceof prognosis and diagnosis of diseases for better and more effectivetreatment. Pharmacy became an independent and separate profession frommedicine and alchemy. With the wild sproutingof apothecary shops, regulations became necessary and imposed to maintain qualitycontrol." The Arabian apothecary shops were regularly inspected by asyndic (Muhtasib) who threatened the merchants with humiliatingcorporal punishments if they adulterateddrugs." As early as the days of al-Mamun and al-Mutasim pharmacists had to pass examinations tobecome licensed professionals and were pledged to follow the
physician's prescriptions. Also by this decree, restrictive measures werelegally placed upon doctors, preventing them from owning or holdingstock in a pharmacy.

Methods of extracting and preparing medicines were brought to ahigh 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, theSaydalanis (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 pharmacyand chemistry is memorialized in the significant number of currentpharmaceutical and chemical terms derived from Arabic: drug, alkali,alcohol, aldehydes, alembic, and elixir among others, not to mentionsyrups and juleps. They invented flavorings extracts made of rosewater, orange blossom water, orange and lemon peel, tragacanth andother attractive ingredients. Space does not permit me to list the contributions to pharmacology and therapeutics, made by Razi,Zahrawi, Biruni, Ibn Butlan, and Tamimi.
PYCHOTHERAPY From freckle lotion to psychotherapy-such was the range of treatment practiced by the physicians of Islam. Though frecklescontinue to sprinkle the skin of 20th century man, in the realm ofpsychosomatic disorders both al-Razi and Ibn Sina achieved dramaticresults, antedating Freud and Jung by a thousand years. When Raziwas appointed physician-in-chief to the Baghdad Hospital, he made it the, first hospital to have a ward exclusively devoted to the mentallyill." Razi combined psychological methods and physiologicalexplanations, and he used psychotherapy in a dynamic fashion, Raziwas once called in to treat a famous caliph who had severe arthritis.

He advised a hot bath, and while the caliph was bathing, Razi threatenedhim with a knife, proclaiming he was going to kill him. This deliberateprovocation increased the natural caloric which thus gained sufficientstrength to dissolve the already softened humours, as a result the caliphgot 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 torise was cured by a physician who lifted her skirt, thus putting her to shame. "A flush of heat was produced within her which dissolved therheumatic humour." The Arabs brought a refreshing spirit of dispassionate clarity intopsychiatry. They were free from the demonological theories whichswept over the Christian world and were therefore able to make clearcut clinical observations on the mentally ill.
Najab ud din Muhammad'", a contemporary of Razi, left manyexcellent descriptions of various mental diseases. His carefullycompiled observation on actual patients made up the most completeclassification of mental diseases theretofore known." Najab describedagitated depression, obsessional types of neurosis, Nafkhae Malikholia(combined priapism and sexual impotence). Kutrib (a form ofpersecutory psychosis), Dual-Kulb (a form of mania) .

Ibn Sina recognized 'physiological psychology' in treating illnessesinvolving emotions. From the clinical perspective Ibn Sina developed asystem for associating changes in the pulse rate with inner feelingswhich has been viewed as anticipating the word association test ofJung. He is said to have treated a terribly ill patient by feeling thepatient'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 thepatient was in love with a girl whose home Ibn Sina was able to locateby the digital examination. The man took Ibn Sina's advice , marriedthe girl , and recovered from his illness.

It is not surprising to know that at Fez, Morocco, an asylum for thementally ill had been built early in the 8th century, and insane, asylumswere built by the Arabs also in Baghdad in 705 A.D., in Cairo in 800A.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 therapieswere highly developed. Special choirs and live music bands werebrought daily to entertain the patients by providing singing andmusical performances and comic performers as well.

CONCLUSION 1,000 years ago lslamic medicine was the most advanced in the worldat that time. Even after ten centuries, the achievements of Islamicmedicine look amazingly modern. 1,000 years ago the Muslims werethe great torchbearers of international scientific research. Everystudent and professional from each country outside the IslamicEmpire, aspired, yearned, a dreamed to go to the lslamic universities tolearn, to work, to live and to lead a comfortable life in an affluent andmost advanced and civilized society.
Today, in this twentieth century, the United States of America hasachieved such a position. The pendulum can swing back. FortunatelyAllah has given a bounty to many Islamic countries - an income over100 billion dollars per year. Hence Islamic countries have theopportunity and resources to make Islamic science and medicinenumber one in the world, once again.

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