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Manuscript/Mixed Material al-Dustūr الدستور /

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About this Item

Title

  • al-Dustūr

Other Title

  • الدستور /

Summary

  • Little is known about the author of this treatise on medical remedies, Nağīb al-Dīn Al-Samarqandī, apart from the fact that he was killed during the pillage of Herat (present-day Afghanistan) by the Mongols in 1222. His premature death notwithstanding, al-Samarqandī composed an impressive number of medical treatises dealing with pharmacology, dietetics, toxicology, and ophthalmology, and books on medicine in general. Al-Samarqandī showed a degree of modernity and independent thinking in his treatment of pathology. He appeared to set aside the theory of the four humors of the body dating back to ancient Greek medicine and adopted a more pragmatic approach to therapeutics, one that considered medicine and pharmacology in a broader and more empirical sense. This treatise opens with an investigation of the 15 causes that can make a remedy more or less effective and continues with a systematic description of simple and composite remedies for different kinds of illnesses. Each of the 19 chapters is devoted to a particular remedy, starting with syrups and drinkable medicines and moving on to describe the medical use of remedies found in nature or that can be prepared by the physician. World Digital Library.
  • Manual on pharmaceutics, including composition, preparation and use of medicines.

Names

  • Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī, Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī, -1222

Created / Published

  • 920 H [1514 M]

Headings

  • -  Manuscripts, Arabic--Washington (D.C.)
  • -  Medicine, Arab--Formulae, receipts, prescriptions
  • -  Pharmacology--Early works to 1800

Notes

  • -  Binding: new leather.
  • -  fol. 55b-fol. 86b.
  • -  Library of Congress. Arabic manuscripts, SM-4.
  • -  Ms.
  • -  Nastaʻliq script.
  • -  Paper: yellowed cream; originally split from spine; damage from termites and humidity throughout manuscript; many pages now repaired. Text in black ink, with names of medicines in red; marginal notes on first four leaves. No title page.
  • -  Title from margin of fol. 55b.
  • -  With: al-Adwīyah al-maʻrūfah al-mustaʻmalah / Muḥammad ibn ʻAlī
  • -  Fihris al-makhṭūṭāt al-ʻArabīyah fī Maktabat al-Kunghris, 9.
  • -  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress website.
  • -  Arabic.
  • -  Incipit: لحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة وسلامه على خير خلقه محمد وأله الطيبين الطاهرين. قال الشيخ البارع نجيب الملة والدين السمرقندى تغمده الله برحمته: إن الواجب على كل ذي لب أن يتقرب إلى الله تعالى ويتوسل إليه بكل ما تيسر له من المقربات وأحسن الوسايل وأجود الذرايع بعد امتثال الأوامر والنواهي ما يعود إلى نفع المسلمين عامة ويرجع إلى دفع الأذى عنهم خاصة.

Medium

  • 32 leaves (21 lines), bound : paper ; 24 x 17 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • R128.3 .N35 1514

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2008401026

Online Format

  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Najīb Al-Dīn Al-Samarqandī, Muḥammad Ibn ʻAlī, -1222. al-Dustūr. [920 H M, 1514] Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401026/.

APA citation style:

Najīb Al-Dīn Al-Samarqandī, M. I. ʻ. (1514) al-Dustūr. [920 H M] [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2008401026/.

MLA citation style:

Najīb Al-Dīn Al-Samarqandī, Muḥammad Ibn ʻAlī, -1222. al-Dustūr. [920 H M, 1514] Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2008401026/>.