Ibn Sina message. Avicenna is a brilliant medieval scientist, physician, philosopher, poet, musician. Last years of life and death

One of the greatest scientists in the history of the Islamic world is the physician, philosopher and poet Abu Ali Hussein ibn Sina (Abugalisina), better known in the Western world as Avicenna.

Childhood and youth

Ibn Sina was born in 980 (Hijri) in the village of Ashfana, located 30 km from Bukhara. From a young age, he surprised with his talent and unique abilities. At the age of 10, Avicenna already Holy Quran. In addition, he actively studied secular sciences, such as philosophy, astronomy, and literature. But most of all, Ibn Sina succeeded in medicine, which he mastered on his own. When Avicenna was 16 years old, he became the personal physician of the Emir of Bukhara Nuh ibn Mansur. Then the young man got access to the local library, in which he actively studied medicine.

Avicenna's contribution to medicine

Many works of Ibn Sina on signs various diseases survived many centuries and remain relevant today. In particular, he considered the symptom of the disease in combination with other manifestations of diseases. The study of all available symptoms, as the scientist believed, contributes to the determination of the correct diagnosis and the appointment of treatment procedures. Besides, Avicenna shared everything blood vessels in the human body into pulsating (that is, arteries) and at rest (veins).

In his work The Canon of Medicine, he described more than 700 medicinal substances, considering their general and healing properties. About 150 plants described by him are also used in modern medicine. Also, in his most famous treatise, he describes the signs and procedure for treating cancer. In addition, Ibn Sina gives the symptoms of dislocations, burns and minor wounds, as well as methods for repositioning the joints, which in Western medicine are called the “Avicenna method”. It was he who distinguished between cholera and plague, and also described leprosy.

The work "Canon of Medical Science" earned Ibn Sina world fame. It is distinguished by the simplicity of describing diseases, as well as ways to treat them.

Avicenna paid great attention to the prevention of diseases. That is why he called for the observance of the rules of personal hygiene, which are spelled out in his work "On Hygiene". To maintain the purity of his body, Ibn Sina insisted on the need to perform regularly and avoid touching dirty objects. In order to prevent diseases, he also recommended to constantly engage in physical education, calling it the most important condition for the health of the body. Ibn Sina described physical exercises for people different ages. An important role in promoting health, he assigned to the diet and sleep.

Psychology of Avicenna

The scientist also played an important role in the development of psychological science. The main idea of ​​his views is the statement about the dependence of human psychology on the structure of his body. Avicenna identified 4 main types of human character: hot, cold, dry and wet. These species in modern psychology correspond to temperaments.

The study of emotions also plays an important role in the writings of Ibn Sina. He considered them as mechanisms animating the soul, influencing the human body. Emotions, in his opinion, are able to influence the individual, causing certain changes. It was Avicenna who first described the method of psychodiagnostics, characterized by increased heart rate when exposed to external factors. He also conducted the first experiments on the psychology of emotions. The essence of the experiment was to feed two sheep with the same food. But one of them ate under normal conditions, and a wolf was tied near the other. As a result of the experiment, the second ram lost weight and died. It was this experience that confirmed the influence of emotions on the human body.

Ibn Sina and literature

Avicenna wrote many of his works, including "Gazelles", "Qasydy", "Beyty", "Poem about Medicine", in quatrains and rubaiyat. In the Gazelle he writes:

Whoever does not seek bliss on earth, he

They will find them in heaven forever.

And he will see angels at his feet,

Who will renounce earthly worries.

It is noteworthy that at the end of this work there is a phrase "sit down like Bu Ali", by which the author means (r.a.) - the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad (s.g.v.) and the fourth righteous caliph. Thus, Avicenna calls to follow the example of the great companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

The works of Ibn Sina had a great influence on the development of Arabic and Persian literature. The famous poet Omar Khayyam even called Avicenna his teacher.

Political philosophy

The election of a ruler in the Muslim community after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) split the Ummah into Sunnis and Shiites. For quite a long time this issue was the "Achilles' heel" in the Arab Caliphate and often led to conflicts. And Ibn Sina could not ignore him.

According to the greatest thinker, the election of a ruler in the Muslim world should be the result of a compromise between authoritative people. According to the scientist, the ruler must have the following qualities: courage, organizational skills, knowledge of religious canons, justice. If the existing ruler has all the above qualities, then the subjects should obey him unquestioningly, and if he does not correspond to them or violates them, then this obligation is removed from the people.

Avicenna wrote that society is a collection of people with their own unique characteristics and skills. Any society needs cooperation, otherwise it can get bogged down in unrest and instability. In order for society to develop, it needs a reliable ruler who must look after the interests of all segments of the population and have the proper authority. If society manages to come to a compromise and elect a ruler who meets all the necessary qualities, then, as Avicenna argued, it will be free from unrest and rebellion.

The contribution of Ibn Sina to world science can hardly be overestimated, since his works, written 1000 years ago, remain relevant today. The famous scientist became an integral part of the Golden Age of Islamic thought, which gave the world many great minds.

Avicenna (980-1037) - an outstanding Central Asian scientist, philosopher, physician. His real name was Abu Ali Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina.

He was born in the village of Avshan, near Bukhara. Bukhara was then the capital of a large Samanid state. Luxurious temples - mosques were built in it, educated people gathered in it - philosophers, architects, doctors, poets, it was famous for the richest palace library.

Avicenna's father was a rather wealthy official, and soon the whole family moved to the capital.

It is unlikely that family members, looking at the little boy, expected the glory of a brilliant doctor and famous philosopher, the fate of a wanderer along the caravan routes ... But even in childhood, Avicenna amazed everyone with his abilities in the sciences.

"... When I was ten years old," he himself said, "I had already finished studying the Koran (the Koran is the "holy book" of Muslims) and many verbal sciences, so they were surprised at me."

At this time, a learned elder arrived in Bukhara, who became Avicenna's home teacher. Under his guidance, the boy was to study law and mathematics, philosophy and astronomy. Very soon, "whatever question he told me," Avicenna said, "I imagined this question better than he himself." The learned old man had to look for work elsewhere, and the educated boy, beyond his years, began to study science on his own.

At the age of fourteen, he became interested in medicine, read all the medical treatises that could be found in Bukhara, began to visit the sick, and the most difficult ones. It is believed that the well-known doctor Abu Sahl Masihi, the author of the book "Emiya, or the Book of a Hundred Chapters", which for many doctors was then a textbook of medicine, was carried away by his medical studies. Masihi - a follower of the famous doctors of antiquity Hippocrates and Galen - had a great influence on the formation of the views of Avicenna.

When the emir, the head of state, fell seriously ill in the palace, the court doctors could not cure him and invited the seventeen-year-old Avicenna. The treatment proposed by the young man was successful. The emir soon recovered. Avicenna, on the other hand, was appointed personal doctor of the emir and received the right to use the famous palace library. "The gates to such depths of knowledge were opened before me, which I had no idea about," he said.

Young Avicenna has students, often gray-bearded elders, who try to write down every word of their teacher. At the age of 18, he began to correspond and enter into discussions on physics, philosophy, and astronomy with the greatest scientists of the East, including the Central Asian encyclopedic scientist Biruni.

Bukhara in those years was living out its last calm days. The state fell apart, and soon the capital was captured by the Turkic nomadic tribes, the Karakhanids. The city was sacked, the library burned down...

At this time, Avicenna's father died. Avicenna with a trade caravan went to distant Khorezm.

The local ruler - Khorezmshah patronized scientists, in his palace they often gathered for disputes. Following Avicenna, Biruni and Masihi arrived in Khorezm. For several years, scientists received peace and the opportunity to do science. They set up physical and chemical experiments, watched the fall of meteorites. Together with Masihi, Avicenna secretly continued to study the structure of the human body. This could only be done on corpses, and the autopsy of corpses here, as in many countries, was then punishable by death.

A few years later, the cruel and treacherous ruler of a huge neighboring state, Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi, demanded scientists to come to his capital so that they "gain the honor of presence" at a meeting with the Sultan. In fact, many independently thinking scientists and poets were threatened with death every day at the court of the Sultan.

Avicenna and the old doctor Masihi refused to go to the Sultan and fled that same night through the sands of Kara-Kum. On the third day of their journey, a hurricane hit them. They got lost, lost food and water. Old Masihi died in the desert. Avicenna buried him and himself was saved by a miracle.

Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi sent a description of Avicenna's appearance to all cities. Anyone who pointed out the whereabouts of a brilliant doctor would receive an award. Therefore, for several years Avicenna wandered, moved from city to city, fed only by healing in inns. He had to go by a different name. Wandering, Avicenna continued to work hard and wrote more than a dozen books.

Sometimes he stayed for a year or two with some petty ruler, treated his family for all sorts of diseases. But everywhere Avicenna was overtaken by the ominous shadow of the Sultan, and he had to hide again.

Finally, in 1016, he stopped in the city of Hamadan. This city was once called Ecbatana and was the capital of the ancient prosperous state of Media. By the time of Avicenna, the city had decayed and turned into the capital of a provincial small state ruled by semi-literate emirs. Avicenna soon becomes the chief physician of the ruler, and then the chief minister - the vizier.

As before, for all six years of his life in Hamadan, his working day began early in the morning and ended when everyone was already asleep. Here he finished the first volume of his main work - "Canon of Medicine" which consists of five volumes. All the medical knowledge that people had accumulated by that time can be contained in these books.

The first volume is Theory of Medical Science; anatomy, diagnostics, physiology, surgery. This book describes acute and chronic diseases and how to treat them. The second volume deals with simple medicines. There are almost eight hundred of them. The roots and bark of many trees can help a person fight disease. The third and fourth volumes describe diseases of human organs, talk about methods of treatment. How to treat fractures of the skull, nose, jaw, collarbone, ribs - Avicenna also talks about this. The fifth volume deals with complex medicines. Some of them include up to 37 parts. Many medicines are given with reference to the most ancient European and Asian doctors. Others were first prepared and tested by Avicenna.

New information, previously unknown to medical science, met in the "Canon" on every page.

Only more than 800 years later, the French scientist Pasteur confirmed Avicenna's hypothesis about viruses as invisible pathogens of "feverish" (infectious) diseases. Avicenna created such a doctrine of the pulse, to which since then it has been difficult to add anything. “The pulse can be undulating and spindle-shaped, two-beat, long, trembling, short, small, slow, antlike. The pulse can also be soft, tense, nervous, low, sawtooth, full, empty,” says the Canon.

Avicenna was the first to describe the plague, cholera, jaundice, analyzed the causes, symptoms and methods of treating such serious diseases as meningitis, stomach ulcers, and many others. He explained in detail the structure of the muscles of the eye. Before him, everyone believed that the eye, like a flashlight, emits special rays; these rays, reflected from objects, go back and give an image.

In the "Canon" Avicenna writes about the need for a comprehensive upbringing of the child so that a kind, intelligent, skillful and physically healthy person grows out of him.

Very soon, "Canon" becomes a medical encyclopedia in all countries of the world. After the invention of the printing press, "Canon" is printed immediately after the Bible. In Europe and in Asian countries, doctors have been taught from it for many centuries.

Healers and herbalists Ancient Russia they also constantly mention the name of the scientist "Avisen", give his recipes.

The last volume of the "Canon" was already written in another city - Isfahan. Between the first and last volume - about ten years of hard work.

And they were not years of rest for Avicenna. During his viziership, the military leaders rebelled, and Avicenna was almost killed, his friends hid him.

After the death of the ruler, Avicenna was thrown into prison. In prison, he continued to work hard. In four months he wrote three books, one of which - the philosophical story "Alive, the son of the Waking One" - influenced many medieval writers.

Among the books written by Avicenna are not only fundamental medical treatises, but also books on astronomy, mathematics, music theory, the theory of geology, philosophical works, books on linguistics and fiction. Avicenna introduced something new in many areas of human activity. He wrote some serious scientific books as poems, sonorous figurative verses.

Here is the beginning of the poem about medicine "Urjuza": "Poets are the princes of the Universe, doctors guide the body. The eloquence of the above-mentioned pleases the soul, the devotion of the latter heals diseases. This poem contains all theoretical and practical medicine. And in it I set out in verse all my knowledge of this science".

Many books of Avicenna disappeared without a trace, perished in fires. We only know a little about them. Some are buried in book depositories, lying unsorted, and perhaps humanity will open them.

Legends are told about him, songs are sung. He became the hero of fairy tales.

Avicenna died on the road. A half-familiar person wrote a will from his words. Avicenna ordered all his property to be distributed to the poor, the servants to be released into the wild.

For more than 900 years, people have taken care of his grave. Every morning, learned elders and young men gathered at his mausoleum, the sick came, who believed in miraculous healing from just touching the ancient grave of the great healer.

In 1954, according to Muslim chronology, a thousand years have passed since the birth of Avicenna. At the call of the World Peace Council, this date was celebrated in many countries. A new mausoleum of Avicenna was inaugurated in the Iranian city of Hamadan. The Soviet delegation was also present at the opening of the mausoleum among scientists of the world.

Avicena (Ibn Sina)

Abu Ali Husayn ibn Abdallah ibn Sina, or Avicenna(Afshan near Bukhara, August 16, 980 - Hamadan, June 18, 1037) - a medieval scientist, philosopher and doctor, a representative of Eastern Aristotelianism. He was the court physician of the Samanid emirs and the Dailemite sultans, for some time he was the vizier in Hamadan. In total, he wrote more than 450 works in 29 fields of science, of which only 274 have come down to us.

Biography

From an early age, the boy showed exceptional abilities and talent. By the age of ten, he knew by heart almost the entire Koran. Then he was sent to study Muslim jurisprudence at the school where he was the youngest. But soon even the oldest of the students of the school appreciated the mind and knowledge of the boy and came to him for advice, although Hussein was only 12 years old. Later, he studied logic and philosophy, geometry and astronomy under the guidance of the scientist Abu Abdallah Natili who arrived in Bukhara. From the age of 14, the young man began to study independently. And geometry, and astronomy, and music were easy for him until he got acquainted with Aristotle's "Metaphysics". In his autobiography, he mentioned that he read this work several times, but could not understand it. Al-Farabi's book with comments on "Metaphysics" helped in this. At the age of 16, Ibn Sina was invited to treat the Emir of Bukhara himself. In his autobiography, Avicenna wrote: "I took up the study of medicine, supplementing my reading with the observations of patients, which taught me many methods of treatment that cannot be found in books."

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. Here he began to be called 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 his long journeys.

In 1015-1024. lived in Hamadan, combining scientific activity with a very active participation in the political and state affairs of the emirate. For the successful treatment of Emir Shams al-Dawl, he received the position of vizier, but made enemies in military circles. The emir rejected the demand of the military to execute Ibn Sina, but decided to remove him from his post and send him out of his possessions. Forty days later, the emir suffered another bout of illness, which forced him to find a scientist and reappoint him as his minister.

After the death of the emir for trying to go to the service of the ruler of Isfahan, he was imprisoned in a fortress for four months. The last fourteen years of his life (1023-1037) served in Isfahan at the court of Emir Ala ad-Dawla, where they created for him favorable conditions for scientific activity. He was the chief physician and adviser to the emir, accompanied him even on military campaigns. During these years, Ibn Sina, spurred on by criticism of his style, turned to the study of literature and philology. He also continued fruitful scientific work. Completed the "Canon of Medicine". Many manuscripts of works, including the “Book of Justice” (“Kitab ul-Insaf”) burned down during the attack on Isfahan by the Ghazni army. During one of the military campaigns of the ruler of Isfahan, Ibn Sina developed a severe stomach illness, from which he could not cure himself. Ibn Sina died in June 1037, having dictated his will to a stranger before his death. In his will, he instructed to release all his slaves, rewarding them, and distributing all his property to the poor.

Avicenna was buried in Hamadan near the city wall, and eight months later his ashes were transported to Isfahan and reburied in the emir's mausoleum.

Ibn Sina was a scholar possessed by an exploratory spirit and the desire for an encyclopedic coverage of all modern branches of knowledge. The philosopher was distinguished by a phenomenal memory and sharpness of thought.

Heritage

book of healing

Written in Arabic, the encyclopedic work “The Book of Healing” (“Kitab al-Shifa”) is devoted to logic, physics, biology, psychology, geometry, arithmetic, music, astronomy, and also metaphysics. The Book of Knowledge (Danish-name) is also an encyclopedia.

Proceedings in Medicine

Latin copy of the "Canon of Medicine"

The main medical works of Ibn Sina:

• “The Canon of Medicine” (“Kitab al-Kanun fi-t-tibb”) is an encyclopedic work in which the prescriptions of ancient physicians are comprehended and revised in accordance with the achievements of Arabic medicine. In the "Canon" Ibn Sina suggested that diseases can be caused by some tiny creatures. He was the first to draw attention to the contagious nature of smallpox, to distinguish between cholera and plague, to describe leprosy, separating it from other diseases, and to study a number of other diseases. There are many translations of the Canon of Medicine in Latin language. In the "Canon" two books out of five are devoted to the description of medicinal raw materials, medicines and how they are made and used. Of the 2,600 medicines described in the Canon, 1,400 are of plant origin.
• "Medicines" ("Al-Adviyat al Kalbiya") - written during the first visit to Hamadan. The work details the role of the heart in the occurrence and manifestation of pneuma, the features of the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases.
• “Removal of harm from various manipulations through corrections and warnings of errors” (“Daf al-mazorr al kulliya an al-abdon al insonia bit-tadorik anvo hato an-tadbir”).
• “On the benefits and harms of wine” (“Siyosat al-badan va fazoil ash-sharob va manofi’ih va mazorikh”) is the shortest treatise of Ibn Sina.
• "Poem about medicine" ("Urjusa fit-tib").
• "Treatise on the Pulse" ("Risolayi Nabziya").
• "Events for travelers" ("Fi tadbir al-musofirin").
• "Treatise on sexual power" ("Risola fil-l-boh") - describes the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of sexual disorders.
• "Treatise on Vinegar Honey" ("Risola fi-s-sikanjubin") - describes the preparation and medicinal use different composition mixtures of vinegar and honey.
• "Treatise on chicory" ("Risola fil-hindabo").
• "Blood vessels for bloodletting" ("Risola fil-uruk al-mafsuda").
• "Risola-yi Judia" - describes the treatment of diseases of the ear, stomach, teeth. In addition, it describes the problems of hygiene. Some researchers dispute the authorship of Avicenna.

• A copy of the manuscript "Canon of Medicine" (Al-Ganun Fi at-Tibb) by Ibn Sina of 1030, made in 1143 in Baghdad.

Improving physical education

Ibn Sina wrote in his work about the role and place of physical exercises in health and medical practice. He gave the definition of physical exercises - voluntary movements, leading to continuous, deep breathing.

He argued that if a person exercises moderately and in a timely manner and adheres to the regimen, then he does not need any treatment or medication. When he stops these activities, he languishes. Physical exercise strengthens muscles, ligaments, and nerves. He advised taking into account age and health in classes. He spoke about massage, hardening with cold and hot water. Only the feudal lords could take advantage of Avicenna's recommendations.

Improving physical education, invented by him, is alive to this day and has been helping people for a thousand years.

Chemistry

In the field of chemistry, Ibn Sina discovered the process of distillation essential oils. He knew how to extract hydrochloric, sulfuric and nitric acids, potassium and sodium hydroxides.

Astronomy

In astronomy, Ibn Sina criticized Aristotle's notion that the stars reflect light from the Sun, arguing that the stars glow with their own light, however, he believed that the planets also glow by themselves. Claimed to have observed the transit of Venus across the disk of the Sun on May 24, 1032. However, modern scholars doubt that he could have observed this passage at the indicated time in the indicated place. He used this observation to justify that Venus, at least sometimes, in Ptolemaic cosmology is closer to the Earth than the Sun.

Ibn Sina also wrote the Compendium of the Almagest, with commentaries on Ptolemy's book.

While in Gurgan, Ibn Sina wrote a treatise on determining the longitude of this city. Ibn Sina could not use the method used by Abu-l-Wafa and al-Biruni, and suggested new method, consisting in measuring the culminating height of the Moon and comparing it with the height in Baghdad by calculations according to the rules of spherical trigonometry.

In The Book of the Method Preferable to Other Methods in the Construction of an Observing Instrument, Ibn Sina described the observational instrument he invented, which, in his opinion, was to replace the astrolabe; This instrument was the first to use the vernier principle to refine measurements.

Mechanics

Ibn Sina made a significant contribution to the development of the theory of embedded (or imprinted) force - a medieval theory of motion, according to which the cause of the movement of thrown bodies is some force (later called impetus), embedded in them by an external source. In his opinion, the “engine” (a human hand, a bowstring, a sling, etc.) imparts a certain “striving” to a moving body (a stone, an arrow), similar to how fire transfers heat to water. Gravity can also act as an engine.

"Aspiration" happens three types: mental (in living beings), natural and violent. "Natural striving" is the result of the action of gravity and manifests itself in the fall of the body, i.e. in the natural movement of the body, in agreement with Aristotle. In this case, "striving" can exist even in a motionless body, manifesting itself in the resistance of immobility. "Violent striving" is analogous to Philopon's driving force - it is communicated to the thrown body by its "motor". As the body moves, the "violent aspiration" decreases due to the resistance of the environment, as a result, the speed of the body also tends to zero. In a void, the "violent aspiration" would not change, and the body could perform perpetual motion. One could see in this an anticipation of the concept of inertia, but Avicenna did not believe in the existence of emptiness. Ibn Sina tried to quantify the "violent desire": in his opinion, it is proportional to the weight and speed of the body.

Perhaps Ibn Sina's ideas about invested power became known in the Latin West and contributed to the further development of the theory of impetus by Buridan and other scholastics.

Philosophy

In understanding the subject of metaphysics, Ibn Sina followed Aristotle. Following Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina distinguishes between a possible being, existing due to another, and an absolutely necessary existent, existing due to itself. Ibn Sina affirms the eternity of the world to the Creator. Ibn Sina explained creation in eternity with the help of the neoplatonic concept of emanation, thus substantiating the logical transition from the original unity to the multiplicity of the created world. However, unlike Neoplatonism, he limited the process of emanation to the world of the celestial spheres, considering matter not as the end result of the descent of the one, but as a necessary element of any possible being. The cosmos is divided into three worlds: the material world, the world of eternal uncreated forms, and the earthly world in all its diversity. The individual soul forms a single substance with the body, which ensures the integral resurrection of man; the carrier of philosophical thinking is a concrete body, predisposed to the acceptance of a rational soul. Absolute truth can be realized through intuitive vision, which is the culmination of the process of thinking.

The mystical works of Ibn Sina include The Book of Birds, The Book of Love, The Book of the Essence of Prayer, The Book of the Meaning of Pilgrimage, The Book of Getting Rid of the Fear of Death, The Book of Predestination.

Criticism

Around philosophical views Avicenna fought a sharp struggle between supporters and opponents of his ideas.

The Sufis sharply opposed the rationalism of Ibn Sina, blaming his philosophy for the fact that it does not allow a person to get closer to God. Nevertheless, many of the Sufis adopted the philosophical method of Avicenna and his idea of ​​the evolutionary nature of the steps of emanation along the line of ascent.

Muhammad Al-Ghazali, in his famous book "The Refutation of the Philosophers", tried to refute the philosophy of Ibn Sina in all aspects. He opposed the doctrine of the primordial and eternity of the world and its attributes, since, according to Al-Ghazali, this leads to dualism, which contradicts the monotheism of Islam. Al-Ghazali also rejects the principle of emanation, according to which God creates the world not by his own will, but by virtue of natural necessity. He also did not share the ideas put forward by Ibn Sina about causality and the impossibility of bodily resurrection.

Later, the line of Al-Ghazali was continued by the 12th-century thinkers Muhammad Shahrastani in his work “Kitab al-Musaraa” and Fakhruddin Razi. In the 12th century, Ibn Rushd defended the ideas of Eastern peripatetism in his book "Refutation of Refutation". Subsequently, the views of Ibn Sina were defended by Nasir ad-Din at-Tusi.

Psychology

Ibn Sina also developed his own teaching on the temperament and character of a person. According to his teachings, human nature is divided into four simple types: hot, cold, wet and dry (which in modern psychology corresponds to four temperaments). These natures are not stable, but change under the influence of internal and external factors, such as meteorological conditions and the change of seasons. Changes in body fluids can also correct nature in the appropriate direction. In addition to simple natures, Avicenna distinguished four more complex natures, depending on the prevalence of one of the four body fluids (blood, mucus, yellow or black bile).

Literature

Ibn Sina wrote many serious scientific works in the form of poems using quatrains. The "Treatise on Love", "Treatise on Birds" and some other works were written in this form. There are among his works and lyrical poetic works - quatrains and rubaiyat.

The main literary works of Ibn Sina are the philosophical story-allegory "Hai ibn Yakzan", a poem of twenty couplets "Bird", "Salaman and Absal". These works and rubaiyat influenced the development of Arabic, Iranian and Turkic-language literature. In particular, Omar Khayyam, a classic of Iranian-language poetry of the 12th century, called Ibn Sina his teacher.

Music

Avicenna also wrote works on music theory, which are part of his encyclopedic works:

• The Code of the Science of Music in The Book of Healing;
• "Summary of Music" in The Book of Salvation;
• section on music in The Book of Knowledge.

From a theoretical point of view, Ibn Sina, according to the medieval tradition, attributed music to the mathematical sciences. He defined it as a science that studies sounds in their relationships and has the goal of establishing the rules for creating a composition. Based on the teachings of Pythagoras, he believed that music is subordinate to numbers and is in close connection with them.

Ibn Sina was the first in history to provide a solid scientific basis for musical history, considering music from the standpoint not only of mathematics, but also of sociology, psychology, poetics, ethics and physiology.

Ibn Sina, together with Al-Farabi, laid the foundation for the science of musical instruments, which received further development in Europe in much more late time. He gives a detailed classification of types of musical instruments, explains their structure. The sixth section of the "Book of Knowledge" lists the names of almost all existing tools with their descriptions. The works of Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina on the study of musical instruments laid the foundations of instrumental science as a special area of ​​musical science.

The great scientist is also the inventor of the gidzhak, a bowed instrument common in Central Asia.

Abu Ali Ibn Sina

(980-1037)

Portrait of Abu Ali ibn Sina, artist A. Bakirov.

Next to the immortal names of the great thinkers is the name of Ibn Sina, the largest representative of the advanced social and political ideas of the peoples of Central Asia. A philosopher and physician, naturalist and mathematician, poet and literary critic, he was a true encyclopedist of his time. His rich heritage occupies an honorable place in the history of the development of world civilization.

Abu Ali Ibn Sina was born in 980 in the village. Afshan, near Bukhara. The month of his birth according to the Muslim calendar is known - Safar, which corresponds to the second half of August and the first half of September.

The boy was given a name - Hussein.

Five year old Hussein and younger brother Mahmud's father Abdullah moved to Bukhara, where he decided to give his children a good education.

Hussein studied Arabic, and at the age of ten he knew the Koran by heart. The boy also studied arithmetic, Muslim jurisprudence - fiqh.

Ibn Sina tells in his autobiography about the arrival in Bukhara of the scientist Abu Abdullah Natili, who gave him lessons in logic and philosophy.

Later, Hussein studied geometry, astronomy and other sciences, then turned to medicine.

He mastered the science of healing so deeply and thoroughly that famous doctors turned to him for advice.

From the autobiography we learn with what obsession Ibn Sina studied geometry, music, astronomy at night, sometimes driving away fatigue with a cup of wine. Ibn Sina knew well the works of his predecessors Plato, Aristotle and other scientists.

There are lines in the autobiography about the study of Aristotle's Metaphysics. Young Hussein read this work several times, but did not understand it. Then, by chance, in the bazaar, an annoying merchant nevertheless handed him a book. These turned out to be the comments of the great philosopher Abu Nasr Farabi on Aristotle's Metaphysics, which helped to study the famous work.

Both autobiography and historical books provide examples from the medical practice of Ibn Sina. The court physicians could not cure the ruler of Bukhara, Nuh Ibn Mansur, and turned to the young Hussein for help.

He determined the diagnosis of the disease, helped the court doctors restore the emir's health.

Apparently, this incident helped to open access for Hussein to the library of the Samanids, one of the richest in the Near and Middle East.

Information from the autobiography gives us the opportunity to establish that the philosophical book "Studies on the Forces of the Soul" was written by Hussein when he was 17 years old, and the book "Almadzkmul" ("Collection"), which outlines thoughts on rhetoric, poetics and other sciences, was created when the scientist was 21 years old.

In 1005, Ibn Sina moved to Khorezm, where he met the great mathematician and astronomer Beruni and other scientists.

Seven years later, Ibn Sina leaves for Jurjan, then to the cities of Khorasan and Iran.

In Dzhurdzhan, work began on the famous multi-volume "Canon of Medical Science".

In Hamadan, Ibn Sina was a vizier, but he also fell out of favor, even was imprisoned in a zindan, where he also wrote several books.

Since 1024, Ibn Sina has been living in Isfahan, where the ruler of Alauddavla created all the conditions for his scientific work.

Ibn Sina left a huge legacy: the multi-volume "Canon of Medicine", books on logic, physics, mathematics and other sciences.

According to scientists, Ibn Sina wrote more than 450 works, of which about 240 have come down to us.

A number of poetic and literary works of Ibn Sina have been preserved in Arabic and Tajik-Persian.

The work of Ibn Sina had great importance for the development of literature not only in Central Asia, but throughout the East. Along with numerous verses of philosophical and lyrical content, nine of his poems - urdzhuzs, have come down to us, and eight of them are devoted to medicine.

Studying Arabic literature, Ibn Sina became deeply acquainted with the classics of Arabic poetry, which played an important role in shaping him as a poet. At first he wrote small poems, and later qasidas and poems. In this way he promoted science among the people.

As Abu Reyhan Beruni testifies, the ancient Hindus all their scientific works written in verse form. Only these books were popular, they were passed down from generation to generation.

Among the Arabs, many books, even on grammar, were also written in verse and used as teaching aids in madrasas.

The creative heritage of Ibn Sina characterizes him as a tireless fighter for reason and freethinking. His life, mood and sorrows, protest against ignorance, fanaticism and injustice are vividly reflected in poetic works.

In his work, he used the poetic style to spread knowledge among the population. Ibn Sina was especially fond of logic, to which he devoted many books and wrote a poem. There is a reference in the poem that it was written at the request of the vizier of the Khorezm Shah al-Sahli in Gurganj (Khorezm), so that logic would be firmly entrenched in people's memory. The poem consists of 297 bayts (couples), where the author defines science and many terms: category, syllogism, analogy, dialectics, rhetoric, sophistry, etc. This poem, like the poem about medicine, he wrote in his youth.

Ibn Sina wanted the science of healing to be widely popularized among the people.

Urjuza (Al-urjuza fi-t-tibb) is a poem about medicine, one manuscript of which is kept in the funds of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR in Tashkent, the largest both in content and in coverage of material, is in second place after the “Canon of Medical science". The poem was translated into Latin as early as the 12th century by Gerard of Cremona (1114-1187), from the 15th to the 17th centuries. it was printed in Latin. Later this book was translated and published in other European languages. The poem consists of 2652 lines.

Other poems cover topics about the four seasons of the year, about hygiene, about anatomy, etc.

The poems were created in Arabic, have survived to this day and testify to the great poetic talent of Ibn Sina.

Ibn Sina also wrote prose literary and philosophical works. Many of them are known to us - "A Treatise on the Bird", "The Living One, the Son of the Waking One", "Salaman and Ibsal", "The Tale of Yusuf", as well as the work on literary criticism "On the Art of Poetry".

In his poems, Ibn Sina pays great attention to the preservation of human health, gives advice that has not lost its significance in our time. He writes about hygiene, food, treatment of the sick, etc.

Ibn Sina pays more attention to the prevention of disease than to its cure. This is very important even now. Therefore, his work on medicine can be called a hymn to health care.

The proposed book is dedicated to the poetic work of Ibn Sina. It included lyrical lines - gazelles, kasyds, rubais, kytys. This lyric has always enjoyed great success with readers, and it is of great interest today. Poems have been published many times, but urjuza - "Poem about medicine" in poetic form in Russian is printed for the first time. Ibn Sina often uses names medicinal herbs, gives advice on how to use them for various diseases.

The translators of the "Poem on Medicine" did not count on an academic edition. In this version, it is abbreviated. But, undoubtedly, a wide circle of readers is given the opportunity to get acquainted with the work of the greatest scientist and poet.

Abdusadyk IRISOV.

Ibn Sina short biography And Interesting Facts from the life of a medieval Persian scientist, philosopher and physician, a representative of Eastern Aristotelianism are presented in this article.

Avicenna short biography

Ibn Sina, whose Latinized name is Avicenna, was born in 980 in the village of Aftana. 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.

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". The great scientist died in 1037.

Avicenna interesting facts

Ibn Sina's native language 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.

Already at the age of 10, he realized that he had nothing to do at school. Avicenna completely mastered Arabic and Farsi, grammar, stylistics, poetics. He studied in the humanities class. And this boy has not yet begun to study mathematics and medicine. And when he began to study them, he realized that medicine is an easy science and that by the age of 16 he will master it completely.

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

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

Avicenna discovered the process of distillation of essential oils.

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

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.