Sabur ibn Sahl - Muslim Scientist

 ideas don't stay put: They tend to move around.

One example is how ideas from the Islamic world were accepted into Europe.

From Medievalists  :

How Coughs Were Treated in the Middle Ages

Here are five ninth-century recipes for medicines used to treat a cough. They come from the writings of Sabur ibn Sahl, who worked as a physician and pharmacist in Iran, earning a reputation significant enough that he was hired by the Abbasid Caliph and moved to Baghdad. Some of his writings survive, including The Small Dispensatory, which lists over 400 medicines that cover a range of ailments. This includes several recipes for treating coughs. Typically, Ibn Sahl explains what a particular medicine is good for, listing the ingredients and how they should be prepared, and finishing by explaining the final product – either a liquid that one drinks, or a pill or pastille (a lozenge) to be eaten. In some cases, Ibn Sahl also adds bits of information about the weight of the ingredients (a dirham would be the equivalent of just over three grams).

this is interesting because it shows exact measurement of ingredients, not just a vague comment to use this herb.

Biography of Ibn Sahl here. He was a Persian Christian.

Aramco World has an article by David Tschanz about the Islamic roots of modern Pharmacy: what was important was not just that the openness of Muslim rulers let those with knowledge of various faiths to save and expand knowledge at the time when Europe was plunged into the dark ages.

But the importance was not just in copying and tranlating ancient knowledge, but the way these scientists codified, insisted on exact measurements of ingredients, and even experimented to see what worked.

from the Aramcoworld site: Notice the patient with smallpox, and notice how the pharmacist is using a scale to measure the ingredients

The article notes how the intellectual freedom led to a flowering of medical knowledge, incluing this early book on scientific pharmacy:

The first known medical formulary was prepared in the mid-ninth century by Sabur ibn Sahl for pharmacists in both private and hospital pharmacies. The book included medical recipes, techniques of compounding, pharmacological actions, dosages and the means of administration. The formulas were organized by tablets, powders, ointments, electuaries or syrups, and later, larger formularies followed his model.

This openess to science is part of Islamic history, and alas was weakened by strife and especially after Baghdad was utterly destroyed by the Mongol invasion.

Islam in the west is often distorted as the liberal types bow down to the crazies (e.g. terrorist and British rape gangs) as if stopping these criminals was the same as attacking Islam.

But there is another Islam: that of the peaceful traders, of rulers who allowed the Jewish and Christians to live in peace, and who revered scholarship.

One does hope that Trumpieboy will use his personal friendship to promote peace in the Middle East by encouraging these positive Islamic cultures