Islamset - Medical Educational Assemblies: Sources of Information on the Glassesof Physicians

Medical Educational Assemblies

Educational assemblies spread throughout the Islamic world through a methodological system. They were sometimes sponsored by the state but most often by the scientists. This has always been their system. We know that a scientist is known by his assembly, his students, and followers, as well as by the influence he has on the following generations, as each of his pupils reflects him; therefore scientist are always careful to teach pupils in their assemblies in a special way different from other teachers.

The Arab Historian Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, recognized and wrote down many things related to science and scientists in his book (Uyun al-Anba Fi Tabaqat al-Atibba) Sources of Information on the Classes of Physicians. He mentioned many characteristics concerning scientists assemblies. The medical assembly of Amin al-Dawla b. al-Thalmeed who knew many languages specially Syriac and Pahlavy as well as Arabic (44) , devoted himself to teach new generations, with the condition that they should master the Arabic language, and if any of his students committed grammar mistakes orif his Arabic seemed not good in construction he sent him to a grammarian to take care of and examine him after that. The assembly of Amin al-Dawla b. al-Thalmeed was probably the biggest assembly of science held at that time. Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah mentions a quotation by Mowafak al-Deen Abdel Latif b. Youssef to have said: A man entered upon him bleeding in summer time so he asked his pupils who were approximately fifty and they did not know the illness. (45) . Scientific assemblies between physicians sometimes were held in the Bimaristans, we find Zahed al-Ulama who established al-Farki Bimaristan assembling his pupils there to answer their queries (46) .

Most educational assemblies acquired the form of a debate. Seif al-Deen al-Amidi's assembly adopted this form and eventually people praised (his eloquence in debating and research) (47) . So did the assembly of Shams al-Deen Ibn Al-Laboudi who (became strong in arguments, good at debating) (48) .

Sometimes during science assemblies, a physician wrote books for the students who had graduated under his teaching and who had become themselves teachers of science. The writing of books in this case was not meant for teaching or dictating but they were meant to urge the students to more studies and comprehension (49) .

Arab physicians' way of teaching had its characteristics and Abou Bakr al-Razi, maybe the physicians' leader and one of the best physicians of his time to preserve for us in their writings the essentials that a physician should know well, and that teachers should engrave in the pupils mind.

These teachings were not just theoretical, but they came out of experience and practice, Abou Bakr al-Razi was the best clinical physician, had no competitor in this field, beside being a good teacher of medicine and its writing. His book (The Guide or al-Fusul) is a good example. During his teaching sessions pupils crowded around him in circles according to the precedence of their joining these sessions. He used to present them patients and let them ask about the illness and try to diagnose it; if they failed he would intervene and give the final decision (50) .

This quotation refers to many things in the field of medical education by these professors and their assemblies either in the Bimaristans or outside them. Al-Razi's educational assembly was of two kinds, one for theoretical teaching the other for the practical one (51). Theoretical teaching took the form of debates between three groups of students; the group in the circle nearest to him were the more advance in learning and practice. Next came the second group of those with less experience and last came the third circle in which new students were grouped. He read to them, explained, argued and listened to their debates answering their queries. Whenever he detected an intelligent pupil he moved him to a circle nearer to him in which he had to spend three years. So he spent one year in each circle. During this period he was taught anatomy, physiology or organ properties and pathology.

As for the practical teachings, like during his theoretical ones, students placed themselves in circles around the patient's bed in the hospital. He explained to them rare cases one after the other. In this way al-Razi used the patient as a book to be read daily and continuously to be able to understand the symptoms of his illness (52).

The most important thing in this matter, is that the teacher explained to his pupils in the assemblies each case he examined and noted his questions and his observations in a special page. He started by asking the patient, and the pupils around him, asking his name, age, country of origin, trips and his illness, the date it started, place of pain and symptoms. He assured that the patient was the best person to explain the extent of what he feels. He also asked the patient about his family and its members, and whether they felt the same symptoms.

To achieve all that, al-Razi examined his pupils and graduates. He asked first in the field of anatomy, and if the pupils failed to answer, he did not continue the clinical examination because their failure in this subject made them unworthy even if they passed the clinical exam (53) .

Mohazb al-Deen abd Al-Rahim b. Ali al-Dakhwar's assembly in the second half of the sixth century Hijri and the first quarter of the seventh century Hijri, was the same. Students used to gather around him in the Bimaristans while he examined patients. He taught them and explained the cases in front of them. One of his students, Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah, says: 侵 saw him once in the hall of the fevered; doctors felt the pulse of one patient and diagnosed weakness and prescribed chicken soup to give him strength, he said that his speech and the look of his eyes denoted weakness, then he felt the pulse of his right hand then of the other and said: Feel the pulse of his left hand, we found it strong, he then said: look at his right hand and how near his elbow the vein divides in two branches one remains and can be felt the other moves over the ulna towards the fingers, which we found true. He then said: this is a rare case but some people show this phenomena, and many physicians diagnose it wrong as weak pulse but it is just that they are feeling half the vein (54) . This is the scientific point of view of al-Dakhwar he had inherited from his medical ancestors who had laid the foundation of medical practice in the Islamic world. This is not strange, as al-Dakhwar studied al-Razi's writings and understood it well. He absorbed the instructions and descriptions of clinical cases that al-Razi mentioned in his book (Al-Hawi).

When al-Dakhwar finished in the Bimaristan he devoted his time first to transcription, studying and reading, then to his pupils. He asked them in 俊hey came in and so did groups of doctors and practitioners, each read his lesson, discussed it with him explained it as much as he could then if there was need for further explanation or if there was a problem he would discuss it with the best of the attendants (55) . This was his system, and he explained the introduction of medicine in the same way, explaining its meanings and construction facilitating it to students.

Al-Dakhwar's system in theoretical teaching had a special character. He scrutinized the next he had, and tried as much as possible to bring out a text without mistakes, whenever someone read to him, "he would have a copy of the text in his hands, he looked at it, and compared it, if he found a mistake in the copy being read he would order its correction" (56) . Al-Dakhwar persisted in the accuracy and precision of the copy, Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah says: Sheikh Mohazab al-Deen's copies that were read to him were very accurate, most of them were in his hand writing. He surrounded himself with all he needed of medical books language books Abou Hanifa al-Danoury's botany book (57) . These are the tools that a scientist needs to perfect his research. After Al-Dakhwar's assembly was over and the attedants left, he returned to his private life ate something then spent the rest of the day studying and reading and stayed a good part of the night working (58) .

This was al-Dakwar's scientific assembly, where, he taught many pupils and physicians. He wanted scientists to remember him and commemorate him, therefore he transformed his home into a school for medicine, and it was considered one of the best known schools in Damascus, and was known in the history of Arab medicine as the Dakhwarian school the reputation of which in the seventeenth century Hijri spread all over the world. And from it graduated many well known doctors who spread all over the world presenting mankind their knowledge and studies.

Al Dakhwar succeeded in inspiring his students with the correct scientific doctrines which he himself had learned in his teacher, Tag al-Deen al-Kindi's assembly. This was very clear in his other interests besides medicine.

Actually, Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah preserved for us a great treasure in his book (Uyun al-Anba fi Tabaqat al-Atiba). In this book he deals with physicians not history, but at the same time he praises the interest in history, al-Dakhwar was not only a great figure in medicine during Ibn Usaibi'ah lifetime, nor was he only a Sheikh who taught this historian doctor, nor only did he establish a school well known in the Islamic world, and that became a true science institute attracting researches from all places, but he also wrote the history of medicine in consecutive periods, relating to his pupils among whom was Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah what he remembered, and what he heard from his elders about the science and views of his predecessors. This is not strange as al-Dakhwar the scientist and doctor was a descendant of Tag al-Deen al-Kanadi, who taught him how to look for the truth and seek its origin, this is the characteristic of a true scientist who ascribes sayings to their owners and not take the credit himself for science and learning and diminish others' abilities, as some ignorant people do nowadays pretending to know everything and deny the merit to others.

We have many examples of what Ibn Abi Usaibi'ah wrote, which show al-Dakhwar's views who connected good ideology to good morals and so spoke truthfully and honestly (59) .