Profession of Abu Ali Ibn Sina. Persian scientist Avicenna: biography, poetry, works on medicine. Ibn Sina's legacy

Little is known about the early years of Avicenna's life. Only scant information has come down to us about him from the autobiographical work of his student Giuzyani. And, since there is no other evidence, all descriptions of the life of Avicenna are based on this autobiography.

According to her, Avicenna was born around 980 AD. e. in Afsan, a village not far from Bukhara, in the family of Setareg and Abdullah. His mother was a native of Bukhara, while his father, a revered Ismaili scholar, came from the city of Balkh in Afghanistan.

When Avicenna appeared in the family, his father was the manager in one of the estates of Mansur ibn Nukh from the Samanid dynasty.

Greedy for knowledge, Avicenna had an extraordinary mind and ability to science. By the age of ten he knew the Qur'an by heart, and by the age of fourteen he was superior to his teacher in elementary logic. The boy was looking for new knowledge, where and from whom he could. He learns Indian arithmetic from a Hindu merchant, and later deepens his knowledge of this subject with the help of a wandering philosopher.

After that, Avicenna diligently engaged in self-education, reading the works of Hellenistic authors. He also studies Islamic jurisprudence and the teachings of the Hanafi school. And it is at this time that he encounters the difficulties of understanding Aristotle's work on metaphysics. The young man learns the work by heart, but its true meaning remains incomprehensible until, one fine day, Avicenna comes to insight.

labor path

At the age of sixteen, Avicenna focuses her efforts on medicine. He studies this subject not only theoretically, but also actively engaged in practice. He manages to discover new ways in the treatment of patients. According to him, medicine is much simpler than metaphysics and mathematics.

In Bukhara, an interesting incident occurs with Avicenna, when he cures a seizure of the Sultan, while it turned out to be beyond the power of all court healers. Avicenna, on the other hand, easily copes with an unknown, but dangerous disease.

For his success in medicine and the successful treatment of the emir, Avicenna is given access to the library of the Samanid dynasty. The library opens the door to the wonderful world of sciences and philosophy for him, placing at his disposal the works of outstanding scientists and classics.

But this does not last long: the enemies of the dynasty burn the library to the ground, blaming Avicenna for this tragic incident. Shocked by this behavior of his enemies, Avicenna leaves science and helps his father in the field of housekeeping.

Avicenna begins to write at the age of 21. His numerous early works are devoted to questions of logic, ethics, metaphysics, and so on. The works were mainly written in Arabic and Persian.

After the death of his father and the fall of the Samanid dynasty in 1004, he was offered a position at the court of Mahmud of Ghazni. But Avicenna does not accept this offer, but instead goes west, to Urgench, a city on the territory of modern Turkmenistan.

There he works for a pittance for a local vizier. But there is not enough money to live on, and Avicenna moves from one place to another, from Nishapur to Merv and to the very borders of Khorasan.

After endless wanderings, he finally meets a friend in Gordan, near the Caspian Sea, who lets him into his house and offers to take students to teach them logic and astronomy. The most famous works of Avicenna will be written in Gordan. One of his most significant works, The Canon of Medicine, is also associated with this place.

This work consists of five volumes, each of which is devoted to separate subjects. Avicenna pays attention to everything from infectious diseases to venereal diseases. The first and second volumes of the book are devoted to physiology, pathology and hygiene, the third and fourth - the treatment of diseases, and the fifth volume describes the composition and methods of preparation of medicines.

Having earned fame for his labors, Avicenna finally settles in Paradise, a city not far from modern Tehran. The nominal ruler of these places is Majd Addaula, the son of the last amir of the Buwayhid dynasty, while in fact everything in the state is run by his mother, Seyede Khatun.

Here Avicenna will finish about three dozen of his works. However, his stay in these places soon comes to an end, due to a quarrel between Majd Addaula and Shams al-Daula (his younger brother).
Avicenna spends some time in Qazvin, but then goes south to Hamadan, which is ruled by Shams al-Daula. There he becomes a paramedic, eventually rising to the rank of vizier.

However, Avicenna disagrees with the local emir, and he gives the order to expel the objectionable doctor from the province. Only after an epidemic that threatened the lives of many, Avicenna will be restored to the rights to treat others. The doctor spends forty days of his exile in the house of Sheikh Ahmed Fazel.

After the death of the emir, Avicenna quits the post of vizier and hides in the house of a local pharmacist, where he starts writing new works.

He sends a letter to Abu Yafar, the governor of the city of Isfahan, intending to serve the benefit of the local people. However, this request will turn into a serious war between the new emir of Hamadan and the rulers of Isfahan. Avicenna is imprisoned in a fortress.

After the end of the war, Avicenna again returns to the service of the new emir of Hamadan, but soon, having changed her appearance, runs away from the province.

Avicenna would spend almost the rest of her life at the court of Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, ruler of the Kakuid dynasty. He becomes his court physician, and will take the post of chief adviser on matters of literature and science during numerous military campaigns.

Avicenna devotes his last years to the study of literature and philology. Throughout his life, Avicenna wrote many works on philosophy, science, medicine, astrology, astronomy: “Kitab al-shif” (“The Book of Healing”), “Kitab al-najat” (“The Book of Liberation”), “Reslafieb alakam al- nojum”, “Canon of Medicine”, etc.

Last years of life and death

The last period of Avicenna's life is overshadowed by a chronic illness, which only gets worse over the years. His heart stopped in June 1037 in the holy month of Ramadan. At that time he was fifty-eight years old.

Avicenna was buried in the Iranian city of Hamadan.

This Persian philosopher, a representative of the "golden age" of Islam, wrote the book "The Canon of Medicine".

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More than a thousand years have passed since the time when a man endowed with a truly limitless talent lived in Bukhara. His name is Abu Ali Husayn ibn Abdallah ibn Sina. In Europe, he is known as Avicenna. If you call his name to a doctor, he will say that he is a great doctor. If you talk about him with a mathematician, he will note that Avicenna was a great mathematician and astronomer. The writer will tell you that he is a great writer and poet. Philosophers will call him a great thinker, and musicians - a subtle connoisseur and connoisseur of music, a theorist and even the inventor of the gidzhak, a bowed stringed musical instrument now popular in Central Asia. Which of them is right? All at once. The legacy of Avicenna enriched world science and determined its development for many centuries. He owns more than 450 works in 29 fields of science, of which only 274 have survived, or, according to some sources, 276. Six hundred years earlier, Descartes Avicenna wrote: "I think, and this means that I exist." Already at the age of 17, Ibn Sina enjoyed such fame as a skilled healer that he was invited to the court of Nuh ibn Mansur, whom the court physicians could not help. Despite the ridicule of eminent colleagues, the young man managed to make the correct diagnosis and cure the ruler.

How did a very young man manage to do this? Where did he get his knowledge from? Who taught him the sciences and art of healing?

Ibn Sina himself spoke about this in his autobiography, where he describes his life up to 30 years. Further, his faithful disciple Juzjani became his chronicler. Many legends and legends are associated with the name of Avicenna. Truly, the life of this extraordinary man is worthy of admiration.

Abu Ali Hussein ibn Abdallah ibn Hassan ibn Ali ibn Sina was born in 370 AH (980 AD) in the village of Afshan near Bukhara, in present-day Tajikistan. Ibn Sina's father, Abdallah, was from Balkh, an ancient city in northern Afghanistan. In his biography, Ibn Sina wrote: “My father came from there to Bukhara during the reign of Samanid Nuh ibn Mansur and started working there in the divan - office. He was given control of Kharmaysan, the center of one of the districts in the vicinity of Bukhara. From Afshana, one of the nearest villages, he took as his wife my mother named Sitara - "star". I was also born there, and then my brother.” The father very diligently chose the name of the first-born, dreaming about how he would be a respected person, what a prosperous family he would have. He did not know that the lot of the eldest son would be wandering and he would never have a wife or children. But over time, Ibn Sina had a lot of names. He was called Sheikh-ur-Rais. "Sheikh" - because he was a great connoisseur of religion and a philosopher. The honorary title "Rais" indicates that he was a prominent state-political figure and a wise vizier. He was also awarded the high titles of Khudzhatul Khakk, which means "Proof or authority of truth", Khakami buzurg - "Great Healer" and Sharaf-ul-Mulk "Glory, pride of the country". But that was much later. In the meantime, the boy grew up and was unusually smart and inquisitive. His favorite word was "why?". The following parable is told about little Hussein. Once a maid showed him a golden ring and accidentally dropped it into a bag of cereal. Then the girl was distracted, and she forgot about the ring. The bag was filled to the brim with grits and taken to the barn. The next day the ring was found missing. The maid was accused of stealing and kicked out of the house. At this time, the boy was screaming and crying loudly. He sobbed for two days, made different sounds, but no one could understand what the baby wanted. But after a few days he was able to speak coherently and his first words were about the maid and the ring. They believed the boy, poured out the cereal from the bag and really found a ring there. The maid was found, apologized and generously endowed, but the girl refused to return. However, for a long time she told her friends an amazing story about a little boy Hussein.

When Hussein was five years old, his father brought him and his younger brother Mahmud to Bukhara, dreaming of giving the children a good education. The boy was sent to an elementary Muslim school - maktab, where he studied until the age of 10. Despite the fact that Hussein was the youngest student of Khatib Ubayd, he acquired knowledge surprisingly easily. The boy often asked the teacher questions, to which he invariably answered: “Learn the Koran. There are answers for everything." At the same time, Hussein studied with teachers who taught him grammar, style and Arabic. Once Hussein said to the teacher: “I have memorized the entire Qur'an. Now can I ask my questions?” The teacher did not believe it, arguing that the Koran needs to be learned for many years, and only those few who have memorized it are given the honorary title - “hafiz”. “So I am a hafiz!” Hussein said. And he was not slow to prove it, reciting all the suras from memory and not confusing a single word. So even Khatib Ubayd himself did not know the Koran. After that, the teacher said that Ibn Sina no longer needed to visit the maktab. At the age of ten, the future scientist and thinker impressed those around him with an extraordinary memory, excellent knowledge of Arabic literature and a quick mind. He himself wrote in his biography: "By the age of ten I had studied the Qur'an and literary science and made such progress that everyone was amazed." There was also an interesting legend about him. Even as a child, Ibn Sina was distinguished by extraordinary sensitivity, as they said then, he could “divide a hair into forty parts.” The students of the mektab were surprised at his abilities and one day they decided to test it: they put a sheet of paper under the rug on which the boy sat during classes. All day Hussein behaved strangely, first raising his eyes to the ceiling, then looking at the floor, and then said in surprise: “I don’t know, either the ceiling in our school went down, or the floor rose a little.”

After graduating from elementary school, Hussein began to study arithmetic and algebra, and then, under the guidance of a home teacher Abu Abdallah al-Natili, logic, Euclid's geometry and Ptolemy's Almagest. However, Natili was soon forced to admit that he had exhausted his educational material and was no longer able to satisfy the child's curiosity. He gave him tasks for independent work and asked only to bring and show him ready-made answers. The young man had difficulties with the study of Aristotle's Metaphysics. He could not comprehend the content of the work in any way, until he accidentally saw al-Farabi's essay “On the Aims of Metaphysics”, which was a commentary on the work of Aristotle, by a bookseller. Ibn Sina recalled that time as follows: “I returned home and hurried to read the book, and the goals of Metaphysics were immediately revealed to me, since I knew it by heart.” In the same years, Hussein wrote the first independent treatises and even entered into a scientific correspondence-polemic with al-Biruni. Abu Abdallah al-Natili was forced to admit that the student had surpassed him and that the teacher himself would learn from the young man what he himself could not understand. Then Ibn Sina continued to study on his own. He was very attracted to the natural sciences, especially medicine. Hussein became interested in medicine very early. Then he was not yet 12 years old. The famous doctor and philosopher Abu Salah al-Masihi advised the boy to take up this science. The young man studied, without exaggeration, day and night. He read all the books on medicine available to him, began to visit the sick, and after a while became so knowledgeable and experienced that even famous doctors came to him for advice. Ibn Sina had an extensive practice and fame as a wise healer. The young man at that time was barely 16 years old. At the age of 17, Ibn Sina was invited to the court of Nuh ibn Mansur. The ruler had been ill for a long time, and the court physicians could not help him in any way. They openly laughed at the young man, not believing that where they had failed, he would be able to win. The chronicles do not indicate what Nuh ibn Mansur was ill with, but it is reliably known that Ibn Sina was able to establish the correct diagnosis and cure the lord. When Hussein was asked what reward he wanted to receive, he asked permission to use the palace library, which at that time was one of the richest in the entire Middle East. The library has become a real treasure for the young man. There he found books he didn't know about and never saw again in his life. Gates to such depths of knowledge and science were opened before him, which many sages of that time did not even know about. Ibn Sina expanded his scientific knowledge to a grand scale. He studied logic, natural science, medicine, metaphysics and other sciences, and also began to write poetry. As a child, he perfectly mastered the rules of versification. Many literate people knew how to rhyme lines, but only a few of these words could convey joy and tears of the heart, longing and hope. These were the poems of Ibn Sina. He composed the first poems for fun, but gradually his creations were filled with thoughts and feelings. Many people in Bukhara already knew them and passed them on to each other. But this happy time soon came to an end. In 999, his father, Abdallah ibn Hasan, died, and the care of his loved ones fell on the young man's shoulders. However, the Ismaili family was viewed with suspicion. In addition, riots broke out in Bukhara. Soon the robbers burned the emir's library... After the capture of Bukhara by the Turks and the fall of the Samanid dynasty in 1002, Ibn Sina went to Urgench, to the court of the rulers of Khorezm. Even then, he had the idea to create a generalizing work on medicine, where one could find the name of the disease with all its signs, explanations of why it occurs and how it can be treated. For this purpose, Ibn Sina made extracts from various books and summarized them. Thus began the preparation of material for the "Canon of Medicine", on which Ibn Sina worked for many years.

In Khorezm, they began to call him the "prince of doctors." In 1008, after Ibn Sina refused to enter the service of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni, a prosperous life gave way to years of wandering. He wrote some works in the saddle during long journeys. In 1015-1024 Ibn Sina lived in Hamadan, combining scientific activity with participation in political and state affairs. Emir Shams ad-Dawl appreciated the talents of Ibn Sina so highly that he appointed him to the post of vizier. Envious people began to weave intrigues, but the emir did not want to execute Ibn Sina, although he removed him from his post and expelled him from the country. True, a month later, the emir's illness worsened, and the lord found the scientist, showered him with favors, and again made him his minister. Until his death, the great scientist could not return to his homeland, wandering in a foreign land from one city to another. He visited the courts of many rulers. He was friends and collaborated with Masihi, a well-known physician and scientist in the East: he worked in his laboratory, received patients, and performed surgical operations. Together with Biruni, Abu Ali studied astronomy. And in his free time he wrote his works and poems. During this period, the book "Mean Reduction in Logic" appeared, then "Combined Observations" and the philosophical work "Appearance and Return". But still, Ibn Sina called his main work "The Canon of Medicine".

There are many stories about how Avicenna healed people from a wide variety of ailments. Here is one of them. Once Ibn Sina was invited to the ruler, whose son was ill for a long time. Doctors could not find the cause of the disease and cure the boy. Hussein began treatment immediately, but it seemed very strange to the court physicians: the doctor went for walks in the park with the boy, talked, forced him to do gymnastics, ordered to clean the pool in the park and taught the boy to swim, he gave only strengthening medicines. A few months later, the boy appeared before his father healthy, vigorous and cheerful.

Many doctors at that time accused Ibn Sina of quackery, they say, he does not cure ailments, but only strengthens the patient's body. At this time, Ibn Sina was thirty years old. We learn the further history of his life from his student Juzjani. The latter never ceased to wonder how his teacher can reveal the ailments hidden inside the body, because he cannot look inside. Ibn Sina revealed to the student that a person's pulse can tell about the state of the body. “The pulse is the movement of blood vessels, which is composed of contraction and expansion,” he said. - I missed the compression period for a while. I repeated the research until I felt all its signs. After that, the gates of knowledge of the pulse opened before me. I distinguish features of pulse equal and uneven. The pulse can be undulating and spindle-shaped, two-beat, long, trembling, short, small, slow, formic. And all this must be able to distinguish. The pulse is also soft, tense, nervous, low, sawtooth, full, empty. With the help of his method, Avicenna could identify many diseases at the stage of their inception. There is an interesting legend about this. In one village, a crowd of patients gathered to receive Ibn Sina. Ibn Sina suggested that each sufferer take a rope in his hands. By her hesitation and tension, he undertook to establish a diagnosis. One incredulous and cunning woman decided to test a recognized doctor. She put her cat in her bosom, which had recently brought kittens, and tied a rope to her paw, and gave the other end to Ibn Sina. He was very surprised when he took this rope in his hands, and after a minute he declared: “This patient recently gave birth to kittens. She is very malnourished and needs to be fed with milk. No other medication is required."

Ibn Sina successfully restored health to those who had been abandoned by doctors: he corrected dislocations and curvature of the spine, removed stones from the bladder, cut out polyps in the nose, filled an eye fistula for a five-year-old boy. And in the evenings he continued to write "Canon". Juz-jani copied his work cleanly. It often happened that Ibn Sina wrote several books at the same time. But there was a catastrophic lack of time for writing - from morning until late in the evening, suffering people were waiting in front of his house: eminent gentlemen, peasants, and artisans. He didn't refuse anyone. But numerous enemies did not calm down. On the denunciation of Ibn Sina, he was thrown into prison. There, he nursed the chief back to health and received some benefits, promising not to try to escape. Avicenna was released from the shackles, paper and other writing materials were brought. For four months in captivity, Ibn Sina wrote The Book of the Right Path and finalized the Book of Colic. Then from under his pen came the first philosophical story - "The Living, the Son of the Waking One." Subsequently, many people will read this book, confirming that each page is full of wise reflections, philosophical thoughts. Many literary historians are of the opinion that Dante wrote his Divine Comedy under the influence of Abu Ali Ibn Sina.

At this time, a new ruler came to power and freed Avicenna. He moved to another city and continued to write his grandiose work and receive patients. Traditions tell many amazing stories of healing. Once Ibn Sina was approached by relatives of the brother of the Emir of Isfahan himself. The man went crazy. He pretended to be a cow, mooed, butted heads, refused to eat normal human food and demanded to be slaughtered and made into soup. Neither doctors nor priests could help him. Over time, the patient began to quickly lose weight and lose strength. He could only lie down and moo plaintively. Having heard about the amazing gift of Ibn Sina, the emir asked him to examine the patient. Ibn Sina listened to the doctors' story about the disease, talked with the servants, and then ordered to inform the patient that a butcher had been called for him and he would come soon. The patient was very pleased with this news, and he was even able to go out into the yard himself and lie on his side, as befits an animal before slaughter. But the one who portrayed the butcher said that the cow was too skinny and no one would eat it. From that day on, the patient pounced on food and ate everything. Medicines were mixed into all the dishes that were served to him, on the advice of Avicenna. Over time, the emir's brother felt better - he got better, began to mumble less. One morning he woke up, called the servant and said to him: “I had a strange dream: as if I imagined myself to be a cow. I even got scared: suddenly I wake up and turn out to be a cow in fact. But, thank God, I woke up, I look - I'm a man. The disease was defeated.

A little more time passed, and the "Canon of Medicine" was completed. Now five heavy volumes lay on the scholar's desk. Scientists and doctors, reading this work, were immensely surprised - there were so many amazing discoveries on every page of the book.

For the first time in the history of medicine, Ibn Sina analyzed the causes, symptoms and methods of treating such terrible diseases as meningitis, pleurisy, stomach ulcers. He was the first to distinguish the plague from cholera, described leprosy, jaundice and anthrax. The great scientist did not even guess that even after eight hundred years his hypothesis that diseases are carried by some small creatures that live both in water and in the air will be brilliantly confirmed. The "Canon" also contains advice on the upbringing of children, the need for physical exercise, which is "the most important condition" for maintaining health, is noted. In the next place, Avicenna put the diet and sleep regimen. Even during the lifetime of the scientist, the Canon was considered an outstanding medical work and very soon became a recognized medical encyclopedia in all countries of the world. In Europe, doctors studied it for many centuries in a row.

But this was by no means the end of science: Ibn Sina began a new work - The Book of Justice.

Simultaneously with it, he created the poem "Urjuza". This is not an ordinary poem - medicine has become its main character. According to it, even a schoolboy could study medical science, the language of the work was so simple and understandable. Very soon, the amazing poem was translated into Latin and studied in many countries. For more than 600 years Urjuza has been studied in many medical schools. Simultaneously with "Urjuza" Ibn Sina created a work on linguistics - "The Language of the Arabs". Contemporaries of the scientist argued that no one had done such a comprehensive work in the field of language. Unfortunately, this book remained in draft form and, obviously, was irretrievably lost. Unknown robbers also stole another work - The Book of Justice, which consisted of twenty volumes. The loss of this book shocked Ibn Sina and plunged him into deep despondency. But in spite of everything, the great scientist continued to receive patients, instruct students, and work. Almost continuous wanderings from one city to another, strenuous studies, sleepless nights, suffering, imprisonment could not but affect the health of the scientist. Once he wrote a book about stomach colic, and now he himself suffered from this disease. At first, he successfully coped with the illness, until the emir Ala ud-Daula, who was on a campaign, called him to him. Now the preparation of the medicine had to be entrusted to the emir's doctor, and he threw five times more celery seeds into the medicinal mixture than was indicated in the recipe. From such an infusion, the ulcers in the stomach and intestines reopened, and there was no hope of salvation. Abu Ali Hussein ibn Abdallah ibn Sina died in Hamadan on June 18, 1037 at the age of 58 (according to some sources - 57) years after a long debilitating illness. There is a legend that, having a premonition of death, Ibn Sina decided to fight back. He prepared forty medicines to be strictly used in the event of his death. He told this to his faithful disciple. When Ibn Sina died, the student began to follow all the instructions of the scientist with accuracy. After a short time, he noticed with excitement that the body of the teacher was getting younger before his eyes, his breath appeared, his cheeks turned pink. It remained to use the last medicine, but the shocked student dropped the vessel and all the contents spilled onto the ground. A few minutes later, the decrepit body of the old man lay on the couch.

Now a majestic mausoleum has been erected on the grave of the great thinker, but Ibn Sina created the best monument himself - these are more than 200 scientific, philosophical and poetic works that have survived to our time, including “Medicines”, “On the benefits and harms of wine”, “A poem about Medicine, Treatise on the Pulse, Activities for Travelers, Treatise on Sexual Power, Treatise on Chicory, and many other books. But the most famous work of Avicenna was the Canon of Medicine.

This is one of the most famous books in the history of medicine, which tells in detail about everything related to health and disease. This book was translated into Latin and distributed throughout the world in many manuscripts. After the invention of the printing press, the Canon was one of the first books to follow the Bible, and rivaled it in the number of editions. The Canon of Medical Science was first published in Latin in 1473, and in Arabic in 1543. In the first volume of the five-volume work, Ibn Sina outlined the theory of medical science. In it, he defined medicine, explained its goals and objectives, examined the psychotypes of people, gave a concise anatomical outline of the so-called "simple" organs of the human body, considered the causes, manifestations and classifications of diseases and the general rules for their treatment. It also provides recommendations on nutrition, hygiene and lifestyle that contribute to maintaining health at any age. In the second book, Ibn Sina described medicines, emphasizing that any plant can help a person fight diseases. Also included were recipes for using plants to treat various ailments. For example: “if you apply medicinal dressings with radish and honey, this will heal malignant ulcers, and its seeds with vinegar will finally heal gangrenous ulcers”, “if a scorpion stings a person who has eaten radish, then there will be no harm to a person”, “if you drink mint before poisoning, it will repel the action of deadly poisons. In total, the second volume contains recipes for more than eight hundred medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin, indicating their medicinal properties and methods of application. Even medical practitioners and herbalists of Ancient Russia, giving recipes for infusions and ointments, often refer to the name "Avisen". Many medicines proposed by Ibn Sina are used in our time.

The third and fourth books of the "Canon" describe in detail the diseases of all human organs: head, brain and nerves, eye, ear, throat and nose, teeth, lungs and heart, esophagus and stomach, intestines, liver and gallbladder, kidneys and bladder . Advice on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, methods of operations are given. Each section begins with a detailed anatomical description of the corresponding organ. Ibn Sina was the first to understand the principle of the eye and describe it. Previously, it was believed that the eye emits rays that are reflected from objects, return to the eye and give its image. The last, fifth, book is a textbook on the pharmacopoeia, which outlines the principles and methods of compiling medicines. Much attention is also paid to the problems of psychology.

Almost a thousand years have passed since the death of the greatest of the world's scientists, but his memory lives on for centuries, and his legacy still reveals to his descendants the depths of knowledge and wisdom.

What made Avicenna famous in history:

His name is Abu Ali Hussein ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (980-1037), but in Europe his name is Avicenna.

Avicenna is one of the people who left a bright mark on the history of mankind. He is known as a doctor, philosopher, mathematician, musician, poet, great scientist, whose works are left in 29 areas of science.

It is difficult to list all his talents. Sometimes nature reveals its miracles so that they do not forget about its power, and then such geniuses as Avicenna are born.

He is a great physician, who can be compared with Galen and Hippocrates, an outstanding natural scientist of the level of Galileo, mathematician, physicist, chemist, specialist in animal physiology. He also studied music theory, and his knowledge of this came in handy during the Renaissance.

The most brilliant of his books is The Canon of Medicine. But other works also went down in history, became classics - "The Book of Salvation", "The Book of Knowledge", "The Book of Instructions and Notes", "The Book of Fair Trial" ...

He was a forerunner of humanism, for his doctrine of man is the doctrine of the unity of body and soul. And when - in the XI century. Avicenna wrote, usually in Arabic. But this does not mean at all that he is part of the Arab culture. Probably, from his very birth he belonged to the whole world, his works became the property of all civilizations.

And yet, to this day, they argue whose it is. Turkestan, on the territory of which he was born, Uzbekistan, Turkey - all these countries consider Avicenna their property. In Turkey, the monograph "Ibn Sina - the great Turkish scientist" was published relatively recently. The Persians in response declare: “He is ours. He is buried with us. He was at the courts of the emirs.” His presence is also felt in European culture - since the 12th century, there has been a rumor about him. He was a man of worldwide fame. And so it remains today. When the millennium of his birth was celebrated in the 1950s, the whole world participated in the celebration. Huge volumes have been written about him, scientists still use his thoughts, and ordinary people learn wisdom from him.

Ibn Sina had a huge impact on classical Iranian, Uzbek, Arabic and Jewish medieval literature. His most famous story was the story "Alive, the son of the Wakeful". Some researchers claim that she influenced the creation of Dante's "Divine Comedy".

How do we know about a man who lived more than 1000 years ago? From himself and his beloved student. And this, as it seems to skeptics, gives rise to doubts about his genius. Completely baseless skepticism! Because the rumor, starting from the 11th century, carefully kept the memory of his talents, which gave reason to call him a brilliant scientist. The story of Avicenna himself about himself, about his childhood, has survived to this day. The rest was written by Ubaid al-Jurdjani, his favorite student, who spent more than 20 years of his life with him.

From the biography of Avicenna:

Ibn Sina was born in 980 in the small village of Afshan (Central Asia) near Bukhara, the capital of the Samanid state. It is known that the great Alexander the Great passed through these places, a little to the north.

Avicenna is born into a wealthy family. Father, Adallah ibn Hasan, was a tax collector. Not the most respected profession, so to speak, a publican. But at the same time, he is rich, educated, apparently not stupid. It is known that Avicenna's father died a natural death, no one killed him, no one stabbed him for atrocities. Mother Sitara (which means "star") comes from a small village near Bukhara Afshan. Avicenna was born in this village. So a star gave birth to a star.

When the family moved to the capital, the gifted boy had access to broad knowledge, because at that time Bukhara was an educational center, where various philosophers, doctors, poets actively gathered to visit the palace library.

Avicenna, even in early childhood, was distinguished by incredible curiosity, surprising adults with constant questions. The little know-it-all was initially sent to study at an ordinary Muslim school, which he attended for 10 years.

In parallel with the school program, Avicena additionally studied grammar, Arabic, and style. When the boy was 10 years old, he already knew the entire Koran by heart, which, according to Muslim beliefs, was considered the most respected sign.

He received his first education by studying theology. Later, the future scientist became interested in secular sciences - mathematics, medicine and philosophy. Already at the age of 20, Avicenna was known as a famous scientist.

After the fall of the Sasnids in his native country, Ibn Sina traveled to the courts of the Persian princes, serving as a court physician. He enjoyed prestige among European fellow healers. The result of his medical activity was a fundamental work, an encyclopedia of medicine in 5 volumes - "The Canon of Medicine". It instantly became popular and was translated into foreign languages, in Latin it was reprinted as many as 30 times.

Fearing the rapidly developing popularity of Avicenna, Muslim theologians all the time tried to convict him of atheism and heresy. In addition to medical work, he wrote natural scientific and philosophical treatises, poems in Farsi and Arabic. The main theme of his work was a hymn to enlightenment, the eternity of matter, a hymn to science.

From the age of 18, Avicenna absolutely consciously devoted his life to science. He wrote a lot, and his fame grew stronger. At the age of 20, he was invited to a permanent service to the Khorezm Shah Mamun II in Khorezm. Mamun II was one of the best representatives of the powers that be and, of course, the best of those whom Avicenna met on his way. This ruler can be compared, perhaps, with Lorenzo the Magnificent. He also gathered prominent people at the court, invited them from everywhere and did not skimp on money, considering the development of culture and science a matter of paramount importance.

He, like Lorenzo, created a circle, which was called the Mamun Academy. Constant disputes took place there, in which many took part, including Biruni, but Avicenna usually won. His fame grew, he worked hard, he was revered, recognizing his authority in everything. He was happy.

And here a fatal figure appeared on his life horizon - Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi, the creator of the Ghaznevi Sultanate. By origin, he was from among the gulams, the so-called slave-warriors of Turkic origin. That's really really from slave dirt - to big riches! Such people are distinguished by a special arrogance, heightened ambition, self-will, licentiousness. Having learned that the flower of culture had been collected in Bukhara, Mahmud wished that the entire scientific circle should be given to him. The ruler of Khorezm received an order: "Immediately all scientists to me" - there, in Persia, in present-day Iran - it was impossible to disobey.

And then the ruler of Khorezm told the poets and scientists: “Go away, run with the caravan, I can’t help you with anything else ...” Avicenna and his friend secretly fled from Khorezm at night, deciding to cross the Karakum desert. What courage, what desperation! For what? So as not to go into the service of Mahmud, so as not to humiliate himself and show that scientists do not jump on command, like trained monkeys.

In the desert, his friend dies of thirst - unable to bear the transition. Avicenna was able to survive. Now he is back in Western Iran. A certain Emir Kabus, himself a brilliant poet, who gathered around him a wonderful literary constellation, joyfully received Avicenna. How similar are the figures of the Renaissance, whether in Italy or in the East! For them, the main thing is the life of the spirit, creativity, the search for truth. In the new place, Avicenna began to write his greatest work, The Canon of Medicine. He lived in a house bought for him - it would seem, here it is, happiness!

However, the thirst for a change of place, a passion for travel, for novelty drove him all his life from his settled and calm places. Eternal wanderer! He left again, again began to wander through the lands of present-day Central Iran. Why didn't you stay with Qaboos? Among your circle of people, in your home, not knowing the need and persecution?

Around 1023 he stops at Hamadan (Central Iran). Having cured the next emir of a gastric disease, he received a good "fee" - he was appointed vizier, minister-adviser. It seems to be what else you can dream of! But nothing good came of it. The fact is that he treated the service honestly, carefully delved into the details and, as an extremely intelligent and educated person, began to make real proposals regarding the transformation of the system of government and even the troops - that's what is amazing! But Avicenna's proposals turned out to be absolutely unnecessary for the emir's entourage. They had their own ministers of defense! Among the courtiers began to weave intrigues. Envy and malice appeared - after all, the doctor is always so close to the ruler! The case began to take a bad turn, it became clear that he was in danger. For some time he was hiding with friends, but he could not avoid arrest. And then the ruler changed, and the son of the new ruler wanted to have Avicenna near him - his fame was very great, and his practical medical skills are well known. He spent four months in prison. His imprisonment was not hopelessly heavy, he was allowed to write. Having been released, he, together with his brother and his devoted disciple, set off again. And ended up in the depths of Persia, Isfahan.

Isfahan - the largest city of that time with a population of about 100,000 people, noisy, beautiful and bright. Avicenna spent many years there, becoming close to Emir Alla Addaula. Again he is surrounded by a cultural environment, disputes are again held, a relatively calm life is again flowing. Here he works a lot, writes a lot, in terms of volume, most of it was written in Isfahan. The disciples say that he could work all night long, occasionally refreshing himself with a glass of wine. A Muslim who invigorates his brain with a glass of wine...

Avicenna was in a hurry. As a doctor and a sage, he knew that he had little time left to live, and therefore he was in a hurry. What he comprehended then, in those ancient times, seems incredible. For example, he wrote about the role of the retina in the visual process, about the functions of the brain as a center where nerve threads converge, about the influence of geographical and meteorological conditions on human health. Avicenna was convinced that there were invisible carriers of disease. But with what vision could he see them? What? He talked about the possibility of spreading infectious diseases through the air, made a description of diabetes, and for the first time distinguished smallpox from measles. Even a simple listing of what he did is amazing. At the same time, Avicenna composed poetry, wrote several philosophical works, where he posed the problem of the relationship between the material and the bodily. In the poetry of Avicenna, his desire to see the world as one, whole is very succinctly expressed. Here is his quatrain translated from Farsi: “The earth is the body of the universe, the soul of which is the Lord. And people with angels together give sensual flesh. Particles match the bricks, the world of which is created entirely. Unity is perfection. Everything else in the world is a lie." What amazing, deep and serious thoughts!

After Avicenna managed to escape through the desert, he hid from Sultan Mahmud for a long time. The ruler stubbornly searched for the fugitive and even sent out 40 copies of something like a leaflet or prescription with a picture depicting Avicenna. And judging by what was possible to reconstruct from his skull, he was a handsome man, without any particularly pronounced oriental, Asian or European features. Mahmud was never able to return Avicenna (Ibn Sina). + Sultan Mahmud's successor Masud Ghaznevi in ​​1030 sent his army to Isfahan, where Avicenna was, and committed a complete pogrom there. Avicenna experienced a real tragedy: his house was destroyed, many of his works were lost. In particular, the work in 20 parts of the "Book of Justice" disappeared forever. It was one of his last books. Perhaps it was precisely in it that his final, deepest thoughts were contained. But we will probably never know about them.

The circumstances of his personal life are also not known - there is no mention of this in the memoirs of students or simply contemporaries. He wrote poems about women, praising beauty, harmony and perfection. And it's all.

The number of all the works of the philosopher in various sources varies. Some historians claim that he created about 453 books of various scientific directions. In Arabic literature, there are about ten works of the philosopher (astronomy, chemistry, alchemy, etc.) in a preserved incomplete manuscript form. Now they are in libraries around the world.

Avicenna lived an interesting life full of ups and downs. After long wanderings, the Muslim scientist could not return to his homeland, he died in a foreign land in 1037.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina) died on a military campaign, accompanying the emir and benefactor of his Alla Addaul. As a doctor, he knew that his body had exhausted itself, although he was only 57 years old. Previously, he repeatedly treated himself and cured. This time, Avicenna knew that he was dying, and therefore he told his disciples: "It is useless to treat." He was buried in Hamadan, where his tomb was preserved. In the 1950s it was rebuilt anew. Here are the words of Avicenna before his death, transmitted to us, descendants, by his students: “We die in full consciousness and take away with us only one thing: the consciousness that we have not learned anything.” And this was said by a man who enthusiastically devoted his whole life, energy, youth and health to knowledge.

Interesting facts from the life of Avicenna:

1. The native language of Ibn Sina is Farsi-Dari. This is the language of the local inhabitants of Central Asia. On it, the philosopher and scientist wrote gazelles - oriental quatrains. He said that he wrote them for himself, for the soul.

2. At the age of 10, the boy knew the holy book Koran by heart.

3. The people surrounding Avicenna were amazed at the success of a talented teenager. A teacher (a visiting old man) came to his house, teaching physics, astronomy, philosophy, geography, and other subjects. Soon, an incredibly smart student stood on a single level of knowledge of his home teacher, which became the reason for his independent knowledge of various sciences.

4. Avicenna himself said very precisely about the years of his study: "I was the best of those who ask questions."

5. At the age of fourteen, a precocious young man became interested in medicine, studied all the treatises available in the city, and even began to visit the most difficult patients in order to better understand the truths of science.

6. A well-known doctor and author of the main medical textbook of that time, Abu Sahl Masihi, attracted Ibn Sina to medicine.

7. After Avicenna cured the emir, the seventeen-year-old boy was appointed the personal physician of the ruler.

8. Receiving deep knowledge from the new books of the palace library, Avicenna began to have his own students.

9. Before Avicenna explained in detail the structure of the human eye, it was believed that the eye is like a flashlight with rays of a special origin. In a short period of time, the "Canon of Medical Science" has become an encyclopedia of world significance, used in various countries, including the territories of Ancient Russia.

10. Avicenna preferred to talk about serious topics in verse. In this form, he wrote such works as "Treatise on Love", "Hai ibn Yakzan", "Bird", etc.

11. Avicenna was the first doctor to define such complex diseases as plague, jaundice, cholera, etc.

12. When Ibn Sina was 20 years old, he was already the author of several books: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia. Publications on ethics. Medical dictionary.

13. At the age of 18, a literate young man allowed himself to discuss with outstanding scientists of the East and Central Asia by correspondence.

14. Already at the age of 10, Avicenna realized that he had nothing to do at school. Avicenna fully mastered the Arabic language and Farsi, grammar, style, and poetics.

15. And when he began to study mathematics and medicine, he realized that medicine is an easy science and that by the age of 16 he will master it completely.

16. Ibn Sina revealed that viruses are invisible pathogens of infectious diseases, but this hypothesis was confirmed only after 800 years by Pasteur (a French scientist).

17.According to the beliefs of Avicenna, science is divided into three categories: Higher. Average. Inferior.

18. Ibn Sina is the creator of the circle, which he called the Academy of Mamun.

19. Avicenna discovered the process of distillation of essential oils.

20. Avicenna was the court physician of the Samanid emirs and the Dailemite sultans, for some time he was a vizier in Hamadan.

21. During his life, he wrote more than 450 books. Of these, 29 are about science, but the rest are about philosophy and medicine. But only 274 of his works have survived to this day.

22. The scientist made a considerable contribution to psychology, having developed his own doctrine in matters of human temperament (division into hot, cold, wet and dry characters).

23. The philosopher's knowledge of the pulse is impressive. He described in the book all its possible types and states.

24. His works in mechanics (the theory of embedded force), in music (works on the theory of vocal art) are noted.

25. Years of residence in Hamadan allowed the scientist to complete the first volume of his main work - the book "The Canon of Medical Science". This work consists of only five volumes of the following content: 1 volume: medical science - a description of acute chronic diseases, their diagnosis, treatment, surgery. Volume 2: Stories about simple remedies of natural origin. Volumes 3 and 4: recommendations for the treatment of diseases of human organs, fractures of the body. Volume 5: a description of the properties of Avicenna's complex self-prepared medicines, as well as indicating references to the ancient doctors of Europe and Asia.

Wise sayings and quotes of Avicenna:

* The doctor has three weapons: a word, a plant, a knife.

* The soul of the universe is the truth.

* I escaped deceit, unraveled all the knots, Only I could not unravel the knot of death.

* Whoever did not appreciate happiness, he is nearing misfortune.

* Idleness and idleness not only give rise to ignorance, they are at the same time the cause of illness.

* I unraveled the secrets of the wisest words and deeds. From black dust to heavenly bodies.

* Be moderate in food - that's one commandment, The second commandment - drink less wine.

*No hopeless patients. There are only hopeless doctors.

* He who is old cannot burn with young fire.

*Wisdom is what prepares us for the greatest happiness in the life above.

* The soul is like a glass lamp, knowledge is the light that gives fire, and the wisdom of God is oil. If the lamp is on, you are alive; if it goes out, you are dead.

* A fool and a braggart cannot keep secrets, Caution is truly beyond praise, A secret is a prisoner if you protect it, You are a prisoner of a secret, you just blabbed it.

* The doctor must have the eyes of a falcon, the hands of a girl, the wisdom of a snake and the heart of a lion.

* Tell the patient that your stomach hurts - the healthy one will not understand.

* Constant drunkenness is harmful, it spoils the nature of the liver and brain, weakens the nerves, causes nerve disease, sudden death.

*If you exercise, there is no need to use medicines taken for various diseases, if at the same time all other prescriptions are observed.

*If I don't make paths to people's hearts, they won't associate with me, although they won't be for or against me.

* A moderately and timely exercise person does not need any treatment, he is healthy.

*Those who quit physical exercise often wither away, because the strength of their organs weakens due to the refusal to move.

* Alone man would not have survived. All that he needs, he receives only thanks to society.

Avicenna (Ibn Sina)

Full name - Abu Ali Hussein Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Sina (born in 980 - died in 1037)

Great scientist, philosopher, doctor, poet and musician. This man possessed truly encyclopedic knowledge. His scientific works covered all areas of the natural sciences. Ibn Sina was able to become the undisputed authority in the field of medicine for more than 500 years. His books, in particular the "Canon of Medicine" in 5 parts, for 600 years were the main teaching aids for students of European medical universities.

Ibn Sina, better known in the world under the Latinized name Avicenna, was born in September 980 in the small fortified village of Afshan, located not far from Bukhara. In his autobiography, he wrote: “My father was from Balkh and came from there to Bukhara during the reign of

Samonida Nuh Ibn Mansur and took up work there in the divan - the office. He was given the administration of Kharmaysan, the center of one of the byuliks (districts) in the vicinity of Bukhara. From Afshana, one of the nearest villages, he married my mother, named Sitara - a star. I was born there first, and then my brother. Ibn Sina's parents liked the name Hussein. They decided a long time ago to name their first child that way. In noble houses, along with the name, the child was also given a nickname - marten. Father Abdallah laughingly said: “When my boy has a son, let my Hussein not suffer. I have already named his future son Ali. Kunya will be Abu Ali." But the father had no idea what fate awaited his son. Ibn Sina will never have a family, and his whole life is a continuous journey from city to city.

Since childhood, Hussein showed curiosity, asking questions dozens of times a day: why, when, how? The father himself was engaged in the education of his son. His house was a place where scientists from Bukhara often came, so little Hussein's childhood passed in a fertile atmosphere. When the boy was 5 years old, the whole family moved to Bukhara, the capital of the large Samonid state. Educated people from all over the East came to this city: philosophers, poets, doctors, musicians. In addition, the richest palace library was located in Bukhara.

Ibn Sina was admitted to an elementary Muslim school - makteb, which he graduated at the age of 10. He was the smallest student in the class. The curious boy immediately began to ask the teacher (khatib) Ubaid a lot of questions, but in response he heard only one thing: “Learn the Koran. There are answers for everything."

After school, young Hussein studied with another teacher, Abu Abdallah al-Natili, who taught him Arabic, grammar, mathematics, and style. Ibn Sina once said: "I have memorized the entire Qur'an, now I can ask my questions?" Khatib was surprised: “The Quran has been taught for many years, and rare Muslims who know it by heart are given the honorary title of hafis.” “So I am a hafis,” answered the inquisitive student. Hussein brilliantly passed the exam without missing a single word from the Qur'an. He surprised everyone with his phenomenal memory and deep knowledge of Arabic literature.

After completing his school education, Ibn Sina becomes a sheikh. Recalling his childhood, he wrote: "By the age of 10, I had studied the Qur'an and literary science and made such progress that everyone was amazed."

Subsequently, Hussein was engaged in self-education, and his father, seeing the extraordinary abilities of his son, hired the best teachers. Soon, the talented student not only caught up with the mentor, but also repeatedly baffled him with his knowledge, asking tricky questions. “Five, six theorems I studied with the help of a teacher, the rest - on my own. Natili was unable to teach me,” recalled Hussein.

When Ibn Sina was not even twelve years old, on the advice of the famous physician and philosopher Abu Salah al-Masihi, he became seriously interested in medicine. He had to inspect the corpses that remained after the bloody battles. “I visited the sick, and as a result of my experience, such gates of healing were opened that it defies description, but I was 16 years old at that time,” wrote Avicenna.

At first, Ibn Sina studied medicine under the guidance of Abu-l-Mansur Kamari, a well-known Bukhara physician, but soon began an independent practice and in a short time became a well-known doctor. It is not surprising that it was he who was invited to the palace for the treatment of the Emir of Bukhara Nuh ibn Mansur. Why the emir fell ill and how Ibn Sina treated him is not exactly known, but one thing can be said - the treatment helped. The young talented doctor was rewarded with access to the famous Samonid book depository. Ibn Sina worked in the library for several years in a row. It was there that he completed his self-education. Some historians suggest that at this time he decided to create a book on medicine, in which he planned to summarize the experience of previous generations of doctors and his own. At the age of 18, Ibn Sina was in active correspondence with the largest scientists of the East, including the Central Asian scholar and encyclopedist Biruni. And at the age of 20 he wrote several books: a multi-volume medical dictionary, an encyclopedia of natural sciences, books of explanations of laws, consisting of 20 volumes.

Much of what was planned remained unfulfilled due to the death of his father in 999. In addition, the political situation in the country also changed. The Samonid court was destroyed by the attack of the Turkish religious fanatic Mahmud. One of the most beautiful cities - Bukhara - was mercilessly plundered by the Karachinids, a huge library burned down. From that time on, the care of the family fell on the shoulders of Ibn Sina. He decided to move to Guranj, the capital of Khorezm.

His choice was not accidental. Khorezmshah patronized scientists, and his palace became a place for discussion of new scientific theories. Soon Biruni and Masihi arrived in Khorezm. For several years, scientists were engaged in scientific research: they conducted physical and chemical experiments, watched the starry sky.

But a few years later, fate again forced Ibn Sina to look for a new home. The ruler of a neighboring state, Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi, demanded that scientists arrive in the capital in order to give them a special honor - to attend a meeting with the Sultan. In fact, he sentenced them to death.

Ibn Sina and his teacher Masihi refused to go to the Sultan and decided to flee through the Kara-Kum desert. On the third day of their journey, a strong hurricane overtook them. The fugitives got lost, they had no food and water left. Soon Masihi died in the desert, and Ibn Sina miraculously escaped.

But Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi did not retreat from his intention. Messengers were sent to all cities with a description of the appearance of Ibn Sina. A large reward was promised on his head. The wanderings of the great scientist ended in Gurgan. At this time, Ibn Sina began to work on the "Canon of Medicine". Later, fleeing persecution, he visited the lords of the cities of Abiverd, Nishapur, Turs, Ray.

In 1016, the scientist ended up in Hamadan and soon became the court physician, and a little later, the vizier of the ruler of Hamadan. As a doctor, Ibn Sina enjoyed great respect and honor, but as a talented person, he acquired a lot of enemies among the Muslim clergy. The scientist was always distinguished by independence of judgment, and his philosophical convictions diverged from the dogmas of Islam. A contemporary of Ibn Sina, Imam Al Ghazali, called him an infidel, and banned his works. The scientist also made many enemies among the military. They demanded that the obstinate vizier be executed for dissent, but the emir stood up for him and replaced the execution with exile. 40 days after this event, Emir Hamadan suffered another bout of illness, which forced the ruler not only to find Ibn Sina, but also to return the position of vizier to him.

A few years later, the scientist entered the service of the emir from Khafan, Shams ad-Daulah. At this time, he was actively working on the book "Healing". But his whereabouts became known to Sultan Mahmud, Ibn Sina was captured and imprisoned in a fortress on a false denunciation.

In conclusion, he spent 4 months and all this time he worked on new scientific works. In prison, Ibn Sina had no books, but thanks to his phenomenal memory, he did not stop working for a day. At this time, the treatise "On Hay, the son of Yakzan" and others were written.

Ibn Sina spent the last fourteen years of his life in Isfahan, where favorable conditions were created for him for scientific work. During the next campaign of the ruler of Al ad-Dawla against one of the Ghaznevid commanders, Ibn Sina suddenly developed a serious illness. He failed to recover on his own, in June 1037 the outstanding scientist died of painful exhaustion.

Some scientists believe that the death of the famous doctor is associated with an overdose of opium, which he recommended for the treatment of diarrhea and eye diseases.

Before his death, Ibn Sina dictated his will to an unfamiliar person. It indicated that all the property he had acquired should be distributed to the poor, and the servants should be set free.

Many legends, fairy tales, songs have been written about the great scientist, which can still be heard in Bukhara. So one of the legends tells that Ibn Sina was able to create 40 medicines that resurrect the dead, and took the word from his student that after the death of Ibn Sina, he would revive him, using each of these medicines in turn. Soon the teacher died, and the pupil began to fulfill his will. Gradually, under the influence of various drugs, the body of the deceased became more and more young and fresh. It remained to use the vessel with the last medicine, but, worried, the student let go of it. The vessel fell and broke...

This poetic legend embodies the belief of people that the outstanding doctor had a magical gift of healing, and his knowledge was omnipotent, and that Ibn Sina could unravel all the secrets of nature, master its laws in order to defeat diseases and do everything to make life easier suffering. Ibn Sina himself wrote about this in one of his rubai:

From black dust to heavenly bodies

I unraveled the secrets of the wisest words and deeds,

I avoided deceit, unraveled all the knots.

Only the knot of death I could not unravel.

The outstanding scientist Ibn Sina was buried in Hamadan near the city wall, and after 8 months his ashes were transported to Isfahan and buried in the Al ad-Dawla mausoleum.

The bibliography of his works includes 276 titles. In the philosophical heritage of Ibn Sina, the Book of Healing (Kitab ash-shifa) occupies a central place. This work consists of several volumes and covers all sections of philosophy as a science: logic, mathematics, chemistry, physics, metaphysics. Ibn Sina really was a man, as they say now, ahead of his time: he knew how to obtain hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric acids, potassium and sodium hydroxides; considered the father of the distillation of essential oils.

The main philosophical works of the scientist also include "The Book of Instructions and Instructions", "The Book of Knowledge" (in Farsi), in which he was the founder of the Iranian-language philosophical literature. In many areas of scientific research, he introduced a new stream. Ibn Sina wrote many serious scientific works in the form of poems, using figurative sonorous quatrains. Due to the allegorical form in his work, one can single out the "Treatise on Love", "Treatise on Birds" and others.

In addition, Ibn Sina's compositions contain musical and theoretical provisions and he is considered the father-inventor of the gidjak, a bowed instrument common in Central Asia.

Of course, it is worth mentioning separately one of the largest and most famous books in the history of medicine - the work of Ibn Sina "The Canon of Medicine", which summarizes the views and experience of Greek, Roman, Indian and Central Asian doctors. This work was already translated from Arabic into Latin in the 12th century. The book was printed immediately after the Bible and competed with it in the number of editions. At the same time, the name of the author was changed to a simpler, Latinized one - Avicenna.

The Canon of Medicine (Al-Kanun fi-t-tibb) consists of five books.

The first volume contains theoretical information about medical science, covering such areas of knowledge as anatomy, physiology, diagnostics, and surgery. Ibn Sina for the first time gave a scientific definition of the disease as a violation of the functioning of the body. Incredibly, modern scientists still cannot add anything to the teaching about the pulse created by Avicenna. Ibn Sina also described the structure of the muscles of the eye, which revolutionized the medical community.

The second volume of the work tells about a variety of medicines - 811 remedies of plant, animal and mineral origin, arranged alphabetically. Ibn Sina describes their effect on the body, methods of application, rules for collection and storage. The book contains more than 200 prescriptions for drugs made from honey, highlighting its effect on the body. It is interesting that a special place in the book is occupied by recipes for cooking pilaf, which Avicenna recommended as a medicine for malaise, exhaustion of the body, and even for serious illness.

The third volume of the Canon is the most extensive and deals with pathology and therapy. The famous doctor describes various diseases here, talks about how to treat them. Each section of this volume is provided with an anatomical and topological introduction.

The fourth volume is devoted to surgery. In this book, Avicenna describes in detail the treatment of dislocations and fractures, fever, he devotes a special place to the treatment of various tumors, purulent inflammations. At one time, he was the first of the surgeons to perform a craniotomy. Here Ibn Sina talks about viruses. Incredibly, the famous scientist Louis Pasteur was able to confirm Avicenna's hypothesis that viruses are the causative agents of infectious diseases only after 800 years! The book describes diseases such as plague, cholera, jaundice. In addition, Avicenna first analyzed the causes of such serious diseases as meningitis and stomach ulcers.

The fifth volume is devoted to complex medicines, as well as poisons and antidotes.

The "Canon of Medicine" provided Avicenna with "autocratic power for five centuries throughout the medical world of the Middle Ages" and for many centuries was a mandatory guide for doctors.

According to the Muslim chronology, 1954 marked the 1000th anniversary of the birth of Ibn Sina. At the call of the World Peace Council, this date was celebrated all over the world. A new mausoleum of Avicenna was solemnly opened in Hamadan. And since then, every morning people go to him: old and young, healthy and sick, believing in miraculous healing from just touching the ancient grave of the great healer ...