Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar - Razi, Persian ابوبکر محمد زکریای رازی, DMG Abū Bakr Muhammad Zakariya -ye -e Razi (c. 864 in Ray near the present-day Tehran, † 925 ibid.), was an eminent Persian physician, scientist, philosopher and alchemist.

He is also known as Al- Razi, Ar - Razi, Ibn Zakaria ( Zakariya ) or - Latinized - known as Rhazes or Rasis.

Life and works

Before he became a doctor, he worked on music theory. He headed a hospital in Ray and later took over a corresponding location in Baghdad.

Unlike Al -Kindi, he was alchemist, physician and diligently studied natural philosophy, while he was interested in mathematical and logical questions less. Medicine, probably also philosophy, he has learned at Raban Al- Tabri.

He was known as an author of many medical books that were used a long time to study medicine. As one of the first, he focused on the mental side of medicine and healing and thought the relationship between body and soul from the soul determined. A physician should be his opinion also a good " physician of the soul ."

He also appreciated the " millennial knowledge of the books" much more than comparatively short circuiting experience poor logician, upon which philosophy. Then he made a great many experiments and almost all of his statements, especially in medicine, even tried, he considered a great empiricist.

Al- Razi described a method of corpse preservation, which was known in the Middle Ages in Europe and remained, with later improvements, until the second half of the 18th century. His method was mainly due to removal of the viscera, washing the body cavities with vinegar and alcohol as well as completing the corpse with aromatic powders and preservative salts.

He spent his life in Ray, where he was born and died, and for a time in Baghdad. As a doctor, he was very popular, in the field of philosophy, although but a lot rezipiert been almost entirely rejected, so hardly get his writings and are to be reconstructed only by vague polemical responses of its competitors. His philosophical interest was three things: metaphysics, epistemology and ethics.

Although he preached a more or less ascetic life, but lived it myself too little, so that he was often accused of this as criticism and what he " The philosophical way of life " to justify himself in his work shortly before the end of his life. He was rejected by other philosophers, but especially by the Islamic clergy. Al- Razi was not a devout Muslim and a critic of religion. He therefore had many enemies among the conservative clergy, which meant that he gave up his position in Baghdad.

Al- Razi was then the director of the hospital in Ray; this post he would eventually lose because of his theology and prophets critical works. He probably died in 925 ( 932 according to other sources ) as an impoverished man in his sister's apartment in Ray.

Philosophy

Five fundamental principles are to Al- Razis metaphysics in the world forever and from the beginning:

• A Creator ( God ), also known as " perfect intellect ," the compassion and mercy has
• The eternal matter, which is unstructured and consists of atoms
• The universal soul, striving for perfection
• The absolute and eternal time ( in the created world but relative time )
• The absolute and eternal space ( in the created world but relative space )

Despite the eternity of these five primary principles knows Al- Razi also a story of creation, according to which the soul tries to shape the matter, but fails because the latter defends itself, and only thanks to the intervention of God of compassion and mercy of the world is created. The body get all soul particles, but they do not feel well and strive through a kind of rebirth system up to salvation, but if they live their lives "bad", they descend. However, you always have the same opportunities to achieve all of the redemption. This contradicts Al- Razi Islam and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed quite violently, so he was often understood as a heretic. For, according to him so no one can get special abilities, such as the Prophet. Nevertheless, Al- Razi was not an atheist, as well as in his teaching all life arises only with God's help, and striving all life to God or to a god-like state. His epistemology includes prophets from, he even goes so far as to describe them as fraudsters who the people " hide " because they use miracles to " distract from the truth ." In his ethical works " The spiritual medicine" and " The philosophical way of life ", he writes about how the soul can be educated to virtue and which provides good conditions for life and finally for an " upgrade " of the soul. Overall, its ethical system is based on the pursuit of knowledge, on a good act, on compassion for the other, on sensible balance of worldly pleasures ( this but quite enjoying in moderation), on trust in a merciful God and that solved through knowledge all can be. Similar to preach to the accusation that an ascetic life to that of Socrates, but not to live himself, replied Al- Razi in his last work, " The philosophical way of life " that he preferred the life of the late Socrates and that a purely ascetic and reclusive life similar to that of the Sufis was not good, as the single individual is also responsible for the welfare of the individual and the community.

Importance

Al- Razi was a prolific writer, who distinguished himself with 183 publications (books or text posts) in various fields of science and philosophy.

Besides Abu Ali al - Hussein Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina ( Latinized: Avicenna ), he is considered the greatest physician probably not only of the Oriental Middle Ages. Among other things, he structured and translated the huge work of Galen and transformed it into a curriculum for the study of medicine, which had for centuries validity. In addition, he describes in detail the smallpox and measles. Other diseases such as appendicitis or cramps during pregnancy are documented by him. He also publishes a list of the most important remedies. His works were also used in European culture in medical education. He will be the first production of alcohol by the distillation of wine succeeded.

The 27th of August each year in Iran is an official day of remembrance for Mohammad Zakaria Razi.

Works, text editions, translations

• Kitaab al- Sira al - falsafīya ( The philosophical way of life )
• Kitaab at- Tibb ar - Ruhani ( Spiritual Medicine )
• Kitaab al - Mansuri fī al - Tibb (before 903, dedicated to Abu Salih Mansur bin Ishaaq ) Translation into Latin by Gerard of Cremona, 1175: Liber ( medicinalis ) ad Almansorem / Almansorius, Liber ad Almansorem, Liber Nonus; Chapter 26-58 to as the pseudo - Aristotle or Pseudo -Albertus Magnus: Physiognomia; Book 2 also as a pseudo - Aristotle: Physiognomia Prints, inter alia, Venice 1490 ( digitized ), 1493 ( digitized Yale ), 1497 ( digitized: BSB Munich, Yale )

• Pieter de Koning: Traite sur le calcul dans les reins et dans la vessie par Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya 'al- Razi, Leiden 1896.
• Pieter de Koning: Trois traites d' anatomie arabes par Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al - Razi, 'Ali ibn al-' Abbas and ' Ali ibn Sina, Brill, Leiden 1903 (reprint Institute for the History of Arabic - Islamic Science, Frankfurt, 1986, 2 -89 ).

Secondary literature

• Ulrich Rudolph: Islamic philosophy. From the beginnings to the present. Publisher C. H. Beck. Munich 2004, pp. 22-28. ISBN 3-406-50852-9
• TJ DeBoer: History of Philosophy in Islam. From Ms Mann Verlag, Stuttgart 1901, pp. 69-89.
• Julius Ruska: Al- Razi 's book, Secret of Secrets. With introduction and notes in German translation. Springer, Berlin 1937 ( = Sources and Studies in the History of Science and Medicine, Volume VI )
• Julius Ruska: Al Razi ( Rhases ) as a chemist .. In: Journal of Applied Chemistry. Volume 35 (103 ), 1922, pp. 719-721, ISSN 0932-2132