al-Shamil fi al-Sinaa al-Tibbiyya
- Author died
- 687 AH
- Editions
- Al-Majmaʿ al-Thaqāfī
al-Shamil fi al-Sinaa al-Tibbiyya (The Comprehensive Book on the Art of Medicine) is a monumental Arabic medical encyclopedia authored by the physician and scholar Ibn al-Nafis (d. 687 AH / 1288 CE) . Designed as an exhaustive compendium of theoretical and practical medical knowledge, it represents one of the largest encyclopedic endeavors in the history of Islamic medicine .
Scope and Composition
According to biographers such as al-Dhahabi and Taj al-Din al-Subki, Ibn al-Nafis originally conceived the work on an extraordinary scale; its index indicated an intended size of 300 volumes, of which he managed to fair-copy eighty volumes before his death . Ibn al-Nafis composed his treatises directly from memory without consulting reference texts during drafting, relying on his extensive knowledge, personal clinical observations, and deductions . Prior to his death in Cairo, he endowed his estate, library, and writings to the Mansuri Hospital (al-Bimaristan al-Mansuri) .
Structure and Contents
The encyclopedia is organized into major sections (funun), each subdivided into parts and specific treatises:
- The First Discipline (al-Fann al-Awwal): Covers the theoretical foundations of medicine in four parts:
- Natural matters (al-umur al-tabi'iyya): Comprises an introduction and seven treatises covering elements (al-arkan), temperaments (al-amzija), bodily humors/fluids (al-rutubat), organs (al-a'da'), vital spirits (al-arwah), faculties (al-quwa), and functions (al-af'al) .
- Pathology ('ilm al-amrad) .
- Etiology ('ilm al-asbab) .
- Semiotics and Diagnosis ('ilm al-dala'il): Divided into three books treating pain (al-waja'), the pulse (al-nabd—covering its nature, classifications, and causes), and urine (al-bawl) .
- The Second Discipline (al-Fann al-Thani): Comprises four parts, including treatises on manual operations and surgery (al-jiraha / 'amal al-yad), detailing general principles, surgical instruments, and surgical techniques .
- The Third Discipline (al-Fann al-Thalith): Divided into two parts; the second part consists of twenty-eight books dedicated to simple drugs and foods (al-adwiya al-mufrada), arranged alphabetically .
Methodology
In the preface to his pharmacological section, Ibn al-Nafis criticized earlier authors who padded their works either by multiplying entries through synonymy—treating different names for the same substance as separate remedies—or by burdening their treatises with lengthy citations of authorities and book titles . Ibn al-Nafis structured his discussions around verified clinical utility, treating simple drugs, dietary substances, and poisons individually . His pharmacological descriptions integrated classical humoral theory, the principle of treatment by opposites (al-'ilaj bi-l-didd), the body's innate healing capacities, and the circulation of blood and spirits through arteries and veins .
Manuscripts and Publication
Surviving manuscript volumes of the work are preserved in several international collections, including the Zahiriyya Library in Damascus, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, Stanford University in California, and the Egyptian National Library (Dar al-Kutub) in Cairo . An edition of the surviving volumes, including the twenty-eight books on simple drugs and preserved theoretical sections, was edited by Youssef Ziedan and published in forty volumes .
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