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Reassessing the influence of Ibn al-Jazzar’s “Al-Samāʾim” on the toxicology discussions
in “Al-Tasrīf li-man 'Ajiza 'an al-Ta'līf” by Al-Zahrāwi
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Leila Yarmohammadi   , Bahareh Sadat Yousefsani , Mohammad Sadr * |
| Institute for Studies in Medical History, Persian and Complementary Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran |
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Abstract: (28 Views) |
Toxicology held a distinguished position in Islamic medicine and was examined both independently and within broader medical and pharmacological discussions across various works. The present study aims to clarify the extent of the influence of Al-Samāʾim by Ibn al-Jazzar (d. 369 AH) on the chapter entitled “Al-Dawāʾ al-Summūmī” in Al-Tasrīf li-man 'Ajiza 'an al-Ta'līf by Abu al-Qāsim al-Zahrāwī. Until recently, Al-Samāʾim had been considered among the lost works, and it was known only through scattered quotations found in the writings of Ibn Samajūn (4th century AH), Marwan ibn Janāh (d. 515 AH), and Ibn al-Baytār (d. 646 AH). A careful examination of the sources revealed that the manuscript known as Maknūn al-Sirr, preserved in the King Saud University Library (No. 7348, Maghrebi script), is in fact the same work as Al-Samāʾim by Ibn al-Jazzar. Like many toxicological works in Islamic medicine, this text does not focus on instructions for preparing poisons or methods of administering them; rather, with the aim of general public awareness, it is devoted to introducing various types of poisons, the symptoms of poisoning, and therapeutic approaches. A word-for-word comparison of the extant manuscript of Al-Samāʾim with the chapter “Al-Dawāʾ al-Summūmī” in the second article of Al-Tasrif demonstrates extensive textual and thematic similarities between the two. This strong resemblance indicates that Al-Zahrāwi, in compiling this section, made direct and substantial use of Ibn al-Jazzar’s work on poisons without explicitly citing either the author or his book.
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| Keywords: History of Medicine, Poisons, Toxicology |
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Full-Text [PDF 1117 kb]
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Memorial article: Original R.(History of medicine) |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/12/10 | Accepted: 2025/12/31
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