A pioneer in Muslim medicine Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr al-Ḥafīd (the grandson) (507-595 AH/1113-1199 AD) Historical study

Abstract

Al-Andalus was characterized in the Islamic era by the emergence of extended scientific families whose members were successive to head science in one or more fields for a long time. Among those families is the Banī Zuhr family, which was famous for its political and scientific role in Andalusia over two centuries. This study deals with one of the prominent figures of this family in the field of medicine, philosophy and literature, who also excelled in administration when he assumed the ministry. He is the minister, physician and writer Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Zuhr, nicknamed al-Ḥafīd (the grandson) (507-595 AH/1113-1199 AD). The study begins with a brief introduction about the Banī Zuhr family, then goes on to talk about the physician and writer Abū Bakr ibn Zuhr al-Ḥafīd, starting with his birth, upbringing, and pursuit of knowledge, and then discusses his qualities and the position he held among the common people, leaders, and princes. The study also aims to identify his most prominent scientific influences in the fields of medicine and literature, and to trace his students who benefited from his knowledge and experiences, especially in the field of medicine. There is no doubt that the study reached some results and recommendations that may illuminate the path of researchers interested in studying the scientific efforts of this family, or its counterparts among the prominent scientific families extending in al-Andalusia or other provinces of the Islamic world. The researcher was keen to refer to the original sources, and to benefit from modern references relevant to the subject of the study.