4. Al-Razi / Rhazes
Name: Al-Razi or Rhazes
Full Name: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi
Born: 854 CE, Ray (near Tehran)
Died: 932 or 925 CE, Ray
Era: Medieval Era
Field: Islamic Philosophy, Persian Science, Islamic Medicine
Main Interests: Chemistry, Medicine, and Philosophy
Notable Ideas:
1. First to produce acids like sulfuric acid
2. Wrote limited or extensive notes on diseases like smallpox and chickenpox
3. Pioneer in ophthalmology, author of the first book on pediatrics
4. Pioneering contributions in inorganic and organic chemistry
5. Author of many philosophical works
Al-Razi, Muhammad ibn Zakariya Razi (Persian: محمد زکریای رازی), known to medieval Latinists as Rhazes or Rasis, (26 August
865–925) was a Persian polymath, a prominent figure of the Islamic Golden Age,
physician, alchemist and chemist, philosopher, and scholar. He has many
“firsts” in medical research, clinical care, and chemistry, credited with being
the first to differentiate smallpox from measles and discovering countless
other compounds and chemicals, including kerosene.
ward Granville Browne considers him “perhaps the greatest and
most original of all physicians, and one of the most prolific as an author.”
Razi made fundamental and lasting contributions to the fields of medicine,
alchemy, music, and philosophy, recorded in over 200 books and articles in
various fields of science. He was well-versed in Persian, Greek, and Indian medical
knowledge and made many advances in medicine through his observations and
discoveries.
Educated in music, mathematics, philosophy, and metaphysics, he
chose medicine as his professional field. As a physician, he was an early
proponent of experimental medicine and has been described as the father of
pediatrics. He was also a pioneer of ophthalmology. He was one of the first to
use humorism to differentiate one infectious disease from another. In
particular, Razi was the first physician to distinguish smallpox and measles
through his clinical characterization of the two diseases. As an alchemist,
Razi is known for his study and discovery of sulfuric acid and alcohol. He
became chief physician of Ray and Baghdad hospitals.
Razi was a rationalist and very confident in the power of
argument; he was widely considered by his contemporaries and biographers to be
liberal, free from prejudice, and courageous in expressing his views. He
traveled extensively, mostly in Persia. As a teacher in medicine, he attracted
students of all backgrounds and is said to have been compassionate and devoted
to the service of his patients, whether rich or poor.
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