Muslims have experienced a glorious period in various fields for centuries. One of the fields that has succeeded in glory is the field of science. Muslims have been the center of civilization and science since the 8th century, which called the golden age of Islam.
The field of science that advanced in Islam at that time was not only in the field of religion, but also in the fields of medicine, mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, and many more.
One of the great Islamic scientists in several fields, namely philosophy and medicine, is Abu Ali al-Huseyn bin Abdullah bin Hasan Ali bin Sina or often referred to as Ibn Sina.
Ibn Sina or in Europe is often called Avicenna called the Father of World Medicine. This is due to its great contribution in the field of medical science. However, his contribution was not only amazing. So, what and how was Ibn Sina’s life? The following is a brief review.
The Life of Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina has the full name Abu Ali al-Huseyn bin Abdullah bin Hasan Ali bin Sina. He is known by Muslims by the name of Ibn Sina and by Europeans as Avicenna. Ibn Sina is the son of a father named Abdullah and a mother named Setareh.
Ibn Sina born from a distinguished and glorified family. He received a decent education since childhood. In fact, Ibn Sina was not allowed to go into any workforce. His father only asked him to continue learning and studying.
Ibnu Sina’s talent in intelligence has been seen since he was a child. Since the age of 5 years, Ibn Sina had started to study religious education and elementary logistics. In addition, Ibn Sina has also memorized the Qur’an since the age of 10 years. As we discussed the benefits of memorizing the Qur’an for Muslims.
Since the age of 16, Ibn Sina had also studied theology and philosophy. In addition, he also studied with Abu Abdullah An-Naqili, studied the Isaghuji Book about the science of logic, and studied various Euclid activities in the field of mathematics. In fact, he succeeded in mastering the book Almagest by Ptolemy.
After mastering mathematics and philosophy, Ibn Sina began to explore medical science from his teacher, Abu Manshur al-Qamari, author of Al-Hayat wa al-Maut, and Abu Sahal Isa bin Yahya al-Jurjani, author of medical encyclopedia Al-Mi’ah fi Shina’atih Thib.
Not surprisingly, at a very young age, he supported to discuss with various scientists in the medical field. Not only that, Ibn Sina also called to cure the illness suffered by Sultan Samaniyah, Noah bin Manshur (976-997) at the age of 16 years,
Thanks to his services, Ibn Sina was given access to the king’s library in the palace. Since then, he has read many books and studied to find a lot of knowledge. Only at the age of 21 years, Ibn Sina began to work on his monumental masterpieces in various fields of science. The concluding work is Al-Majmu’u or which means An Overview.
Starting from 21 years old, Ibn Sina has obtained 240 papers in various fields of knowledge. His works include the Book of Asy-Syifa, the Book of An-Najat, and Al-Qanun fii Al-Thibb. In addition, there are still many of his works besides.
The Work and Contributions of Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina has contributed a lot in various fields of science, especially philosophy and medicine. Noted, he has published 240 of his writings which are used as references in various fields of science.
Of his many works, here are some of his monumental works and are still used as references in various fields of science:
1. Al-Qanun fii Al-Thib
This Ibn Sina’s paper is often referred to as the first book of modern medical science. Al-Qanun fii Al-Thib has been translated into English under the title The Canon of Medicine.
This book contains a variety of ways of healing and medicine. In it are written millions of items about healing and medicine. Therefore, there are also those who call it the Medical Encyclopedia.
2. Asy-Syifa ’
The contents of the book Asy-Syifa’ are similar to Al-Qanun fii Al-Thib. In the book, Ibn Sina also wrote about the problem of disease and treatment as well as the drugs needed related to the disease in question.
Asy-Syifa is also known as the medical world reference as the World Medical Philosophy Encyclopedia. This book amounts to 18 volumes.
3. Al-Magest
Unlike the previous two books, Al-Magest contains knowledge of the field of astronomy. In the book, Ibn Sina refuted Euclides’ views and doubted the views of Aristotle who called stars immovable.
According to Ibn Sina, the immovable stars seen in the sky were not in one galaxy.
4. De Conglutineation Lagibum
De Conglutineation Lagibum is one of Ibn Sina’s books written in Latin. In this book, he describes the creation of the universe. One of the contents explains the formation of a mountain.
According to Ibn Sina, mountains can arise for two reasons. The first is due to the bulging of the outer shell due to severe earthquake shocks. Second is due to the process of water that seeks a way to flow. The process resulted in the emergence of shared valleys and gave birth to bubbles on the surface of the earth
Wisdom
From the history of Ibn Sina there are some lessons that can be taken by a Muslim, including:
1. As Muslims, we must be people who love truth and science. So, we will be encouraged to continue to learn and accept the changes that exist. Like Ibn Sina, he loved truth and science so much that he was able to make a major contribution to Islam and the whole world, including positive impacts of Islam in West. Because love the truth and science is one of manners of knowledge seeker.
2. As Muslims we shouldn’t hate science. On the contrary, God commands us to always love any knowledge, including medicine, mathematics, chemistry, sociology, and many more. This is because many Muslims hate science because they are considered infidels and come from the West.
3. As Muslims, we must contribute to Islam according to what we can give, whether it is cost, energy, thought, or time. Like Ibn Sina who can contribute optimally in the field of science. He as much as possible gave his entire mind to raise Islam and world civilization.
That was a little story about Ibn Sina. Hopefully his story can inspire us to further strengthen our faith and motivate ourselves to continue to contribute endlessly. May be useful. Aamiin ya rabbal ‘alamiin.