THE RESURRECTION OF AVICENNA

THE RESURRECTION OF AVICENNA

By: Jum’an

Avicenna is Latinized articulation of Arabic name Ibn Sina. He was born in 980 AD in Afshana village in Uzbekistan, died 1037 at the age of 58 in Isfahan, Iran. His mother Setareh was from the very same village, while his father Abdulla was a respected Ismaili scholar from Afghanistan. Avicenna’s real name was Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdullah Ibn Sina but he is commonly referred to under his Latinized name Avicenna. In the Muslim world, he is known as Ibn Sina. Avicenna was one of the most learned men of his time in a wide variety of subjects including mathematics, geometry, physics, metaphysics, philology, and astronomy. He is often considered one of the greatest thinkers and scholars in history. In particular, he is regarded by many as the father of early modern medicine

One of his monumental work completed in 1025 "The Canon of Medicine" (In Arabic Al-Qanun fi'l-Tibb), an immense medical encyclopedia, is one of the most famous and influential books in the history of medicine, forming the basis of our modern understanding of human health and disease. It presents an overview of the contemporary medical knowledge. This work was very popular not only in the Muslim world, but was also studied in European universities for centuries.  The Canon of Medicine remained a medical authority for centuries. It set the standards for medicine in Medieval Europe and the Muslim world, and was used as a medical textbook through the 18th century in Europe. Canon of Medicine is written in Arabic, the language of the science in the Middle East instead of Persian. It was translated into Latin (by Gerard of Cremona in the 12^thcentury and was printed 15 times before 1500), Hebrew, Persian and Urdu. Yet many of the inaccuracies from those first translations remain in current English translations. Until 2013 when three prominent authors translated Canon of Medicine into English directly from the Arabic Avicenna’s texts, titled: AVICENNA'S MEDICINE: A New Translation of the 11th-Century Canon with Practical Applications for Integrative Health Care  By Mones Abu-Asab Ph.D., Hakima Amri Ph.D., Marc S. Micozzi M.D. Ph.D.

Mones Abu-Asab is a senior scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Hakima is associate professor of biochemistry at Georgetown University and Marc S. Micozzi is professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University.  This new translation presents the actual words of Avicenna translated directly from the original Arabic, getting rid of the inaccuracies and errors of most translators, explains current medical interpretations and ways to apply Avicenna’s concepts today and reveals how Avicenna’s understanding of what known today as proteins, lipids, and organic acids. With this new translation, Avicenna's work becomes just as relevant today as it was 1,000 years ago. This is really a resurrection of Avicenna. Praises come from many medical experts and institutions for this book, published in 2013. To me the most touching one came from Larry Dossey, M.D., author of Healing Words and One Mind. He said: “The next time you visit your physician, whisper a prayer of thanks to Avicenna, because many of the foundations of modern medicine--empirical observation, objectivity, and rationalism--surfaced through his towering genius a millennium ago. Avicenna’s Medicine is a valuable link in medicine’s rich history. As the authors make clear in this marvelous translation, Avicenna’s relevance to our era has not been exhausted.”  The other praises you can read them here. A millennium after his life, Avicenna remains one of the most highly regarded physicians of all time. Thanks to the authors!