Muslim Pharmacology

When I need a prescription filled, I have my choice of pharmacies to fill it at--Meijer, CVS, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, or the local one around the corner. I know that wherever I go, the same dose will contain exactly the same amount of medicine, and 100mg at Walker Street Pharmacy will be the same weight as 100mg at Walgreens. Safeguards protect me from contaminated medicines.

All these aspects of modern pharmacies appear in Muslim cities such as Baghdad near the ninth century. During this time period, Saydalah, Islamic pharmacy, developed as a separate field from general medical studies, and cities began to have multiple privately-owned pharmacies. In addition to those open to the general public, hospitals had pharmacies attached to formulate the large amounts of medicine needed for their patients. Public health was protected by a Al-Mutasib, who inspected pharmacies to make sure they used standard weights and measures and to inspect the purity of their prescriptions, similar to the manner in which the Food and Drug Administration regulates the pharmaceutical industry in the modern United States. Would-be pharmacists had access to manuals on medical materials, instructions for remedies, and pharmacy management, while today aspiring pharmacists spend several years in college obtaining a degree.

The medical and chemical knowledge possessed today were not all available to the Muslim pharmacists; they built the foundation on which our knowledge is now built. Two important pharmacy scholars were Abu Hasan 'Ali Af-Taban and Hunayn bin Is'haaq. Af-Taban wrote several books and set examples for future pharmacists on using only the best samples, describing procedures precisely, and applying particular remedies to particular ailments rather than broadly. bin Is'haaq translated the works of Greek philosophers and scientists into Arabic and Syriac, making them available to pharmacists of the Islamic world. He also published ten books on the treatment of eyes and eye medication.

Although they didn't have all the advancements and innovations in pharmacy science that are available now, Muslim pharmacies in Baghdad and other cities had a wide base of knowledge and vigorous standards. We have learned much from them, and still imitate many of their inventions and discoveries.

Source: Muslims: Pioneers of Pharmacology