The Gateway Chronicle 2020

46
In Islam, waqf is a donation of one’s
wealth to Allah. Funded by these waqf,
public hospitals treated the sick, provided
Illustration of alshelter
for the elderly and housed the
Mansuri hospital
mentally ill. Part of the state budget
was also used to help maintain the
hospitals. Hospitals were also forbidden
by law to refuse people who were incapable
of paying - thereby creating a free
health service similar to a modern-day
NHS. In some cities, there were even hospitals
set up solely for the purpose of
emergencies - resembling an A&E. The
first Islamic hospital was built in 805 in
Baghdad by Harun al-Rashid. By the tenth
century, Baghdad contained 5 more hospitals,
Damascus had six hospitals by the
15 th century and Córdoba had 50 major
hospitals. Seen as the best early Islamic
hospitals, the great Syro-Egyptian establishments
of the 12th and 13th centuries
were home to the best known hospital in
the Islamic world - Al-Mansuri Hospital,
built in Cairo by the sultan Qalawun in
1285 – and Aleppo’s Arghun hospital –
known mostly for its treatment of the
mentally ill. Hospitals were divided into
numerous departments; cleaning staff,
pharmacists and universities were also
typically connected directly to hospitals.
Medical students were also allowed to
shadow physicians and participate in patient
care.
The Islamic Golden Age also made significant
contributions to the field of pharmacology.
A pharmacist was called saydalani
and introduced new drugs including
sandalwood, camphor, senna, rhubarb,
myrrh, nutmeg, mercury and
coconut. As private pharmacy stores
became more numerous and prominent,
they also became less unregulated.
Decrees by the Caliphs al-
Ma’mun and al-Mutasim required
pharmacists to pass examinations
and hold legal paperwork to allow
them to practice the profession.
Pharmacies were also periodically inspected
by government inspectors,
known as muhtasib. As well as his
Canon of Medicine, Ibn Sian also developed
rules for the testing of drugs
and medication, that are still used in
modern day drug testing.
In conclusion, we can see that the Islamic
Golden Age significantly advanced modern-day
science. The innovations of Ibn
Zakariyya al-Razi and Ibn al-Haytham in
experimental observation ensured that future
scientists had a template to allow
them to prove their theories. Ibn al-Haytham
revolutionised the field of optics and
his theory allowed other scientists to make
significant advancements in optics. Books
written by Islamic scholars in the Islamic
Golden Age, such as Canon by Ibn Sina
and Kitab al-Tasrif by al-Zahrawi, provided
a source of medical information for
European doctors and surgeons. The Islamic
improvements of hospitals and
pharmacies created a foundation to allow
other scientists to develop more efficient
and hygienic facilities. However, all these
advances would not have been possible
unless the early Abbasid caliphs had use
teachings from Prophet Muhammad
ﷺ and the Quran promoting knowledge – in
particularly science – as motivation for
their actions.
Taha, 4.4