MEDI/EVAL SCIENCE AMONG ARABIANS 



The first distinguished Arabian physician was 

 Harets ben Kaladah, who received his education in the 

 Nestonian school at Gondisapor, about the beginning 

 of the seventh century. Notwithstanding the fact that 

 Harets was a Christian, he was chosen by Mohammed 

 as his chief medical adviser, and recommended as 

 such to his successor, the Caliph Abu Bekr. Thus, 

 at the very outset, the science of medicine was divorced 

 from religion among the Arabians; for if the prophet 

 himself could employ the services of an unbeliever, 

 surely others might follow his example. And that 

 this example was followed is shown in the fact that 

 many Christian physicians were raised to honorable 

 positions by succeeding generations of Arabian mon- 

 archs. This broad-minded view of medicine taken by 

 the Arabs undoubtedly assisted as much as any one 

 single factor in upbuilding the science, just as the 

 narrow and superstitious view taken by Western 

 nations helped to destroy it. 



The education of the Arabians made it natural for 

 them to associate medicine with the natural sciences, 

 rather than with religion. An Arabian savant was 

 supposed to be equally well educated in philosophy, 

 jurisprudence, theology, mathematics, and medicine, 

 and to practise law, theology, and medicine with 

 equal skill upon occasion. It is easy to understand, 

 therefore, why these religious fanatics were willing to 

 employ unbelieving physicians, and their physicians 

 themselves to turn to the scientific works of Hippoc- 

 rates and Galen for medical instruction, rather than 

 to religious works. Even Mohammed himself pro- 

 fessed some knowledge of medicine, and often relied 



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