Abdullah Tabib, also known as Abdullah Yazdi, was a

Unani Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes Un ...

physician and writer from the

Golconda Sultanate The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate ( Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the col ...

of present-day southern India. He is best known for writing the medical book ''Farid'', also known as ''Tibb-i Faridi''.

Biography

Abdullah Tabib was a famous physician of

Golconda Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...

. He lived during the reign of

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (4 April 156511 January 1612) was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda and founded the city of Hyderabad, in South-central India and built its architectural centerpiece, the Charminar. He was an able admi ...

(r. 1580–1612), to whom he dedicated his work ''Farid''. The author calls himself "Abdullah Tabib" in the book's preface. The end of the book's

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

manuscript, in which two leaves were added much later, calls him Abdullah

Yazd Yazd ( fa, یزد ), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd Province, Iran. The city is located southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, the population was 1,138,533. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a Wor ...

i. Another work, ''Subh-i Sadiq'', dates Abdullah Yazdi to the same period, and describes him as an immigrant to India and a pupil of Khwaja Jamaluddin Mahmud Shirazi.

Works

Abdullah Tabib's ''Farid'' is a work on medicine that discusses hygiene and treatment of diseases trough proper food and simple drugs. For example, the author considers ''

polygonum aviculare ''Polygonum aviculare'' or common knotgrass is a plant related to buckwheat and dock. It is also called prostrate knotweed, birdweed, pigweed and lowgrass. It is an annual found in fields and wasteland, with white flowers from June to October. ...

'' (''anjabar'' or knot grass) as the best drug for treating

hematuria Hematuria or haematuria is defined as the presence of blood or red blood cells in the urine. “Gross hematuria” occurs when urine appears red, brown, or tea-colored due to the presence of blood. Hematuria may also be subtle and only detectable ...

. The introduction of the book discusses the essentials of health and its preservation. The book has a chapter dealing with common human diseases, and a conclusion divided into three parts. The author quotes from several earlier writers including

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institutio ...

Masawaiyh Yuhanna ibn Masawaih (circa 777–857), ( ar, يوحنا بن ماسويه), also written Ibn Masawaih, Masawaiyh, and in Latin Janus Damascenus, or Mesue, Masuya, Mesue Major, Msuya, and Mesuë the Elder was a Persian or Assyrian East Syriac C ...

Abu Bakr al-Razi Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ar, أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, translit=Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī, label=none), () rather than ar, زکریاء, label=none (), as for example in , or in . In m ...

, and

Ibn Zuhr Abū Marwān ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Zuhr ( ar, أبو مروان عبد الملك بن زهر), traditionally known by his Latinized name Avenzoar (; 1094–1162), was an Arab physician, surgeon, and poet. He was born at Seville in medieval An ...

. The manuscripts of ''Farid'' are available at

(possibly from late 17th century),

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna, Bihar, is one of the national libraries of India. It was opened to the public on the 29th of October in 1891 by HMJ Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh. Its collection started with 4,000 of Bakhsh's own manus ...

(1763 CE), and the Nizamia Tibbi College Library. The works attributed to Abdullah Yazdi include ''Hashiyah bar Mukhtasar Talkhis'', ''Hashiyah bar Sharh-i Tajrid'', and ''Hashiyah bar Tahzib''. According to

Charles Ambrose Storey Charles Ambrose Storey (1888 - 1968) was a British orientalist. His best known contribution was his ''Persian Literature: A Bio-bibliographical Survey'', published in five volumes between 1927 and 2004. It was envisioned by Storey as a counterpar ...

, a work titled ''Tibb i Faridi'', attributed to Farid al-Din, may be same as Abdullah Tabib's Farid. It is known from a manuscript at the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, but does not contain any preface or colophon. It contains 368 chapters dealing with a particular disease and its treatment.

Notes

References

{{reflist Indian medical writers 16th-century Persian-language writers 17th-century Persian-language writers Medical doctors from Telangana Unani practitioners