809- 873 – Hunayn Ibn Ishaq

809- 873 – Hunayn Ibn Ishaq

 

Hunayn Ibn Ishaq Al-‘Ibadi, Abu Zayd

HUNAYN IBN ISHāQ AL-‘IBāDī, ABū ZAYD

Hunayn ibn Ishaq

Born      809 AD Al-Hira

Died       873 AD

Era          Islamic Golden Age

Region  Caliphate

Main interests   Translation, Ophthalmology, Philosophy, Religion, Arabic grammar

Major works      Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye

Hunayn ibn Ishaq (also Hunain or Hunein) (Syriac: ܚܢܝܢ ܒܪ ܐܝܣܚܩ, Arabic: أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي‎; ’Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn ’Isḥāq al-‘Ibādī, known in Latin as Iohannitius) (809–873) was a famous and influential scholar, physician, and scientist of Assyrian Christian[1] descent. He and his students transmitted their Syriac and Arabic translations of many classical Greek texts throughout the Islāmic world, during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate. Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive translator of Greek medical and scientific treatises in his day. He studied Greek and became known among the Arabs as the "Sheikh of the translators." He mastered four languages: Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Persian. His translations did not require corrections. Hunayn’s method was widely followed by later translators. He was originally from southern Iraq but he spent his working life in Baghdad, the center of the great ninth-century Greek-into-Arabic/Syriac translation movement. His fame went far beyond his own community.[2]

known in the Latin west as Johannitus (b. near Hīra, Iraq, 809;d. Baghdad, Iraq, 873)

was a famous and influential scholar, physician, and scientist of Assyrian Christian descent. AD, Kufa, Iraq Died: Baghdad, Iraq

Hunayn ibn Ishaq (also Hunain or Hunein) (Syriac: ܚܢܝܢ ܒܪ ܐܝܣܚܩ, Arabic: أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي‎; 'Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn 'Isḥāq al-'Ibādī, known in Latin ...

‎Overview - ‎Early life - ‎Accomplishments - ‎See also

Hunayn ibn Ishaq is most famous as a translator. He was not a mathematician but trained in medicine and made his original contributions to the subject. However, as the leading translator in the House of Wisdom at one of the most remarkable periods of mathematical revival, his influence on the mathematicians of the time is of sufficient importance to merit his inclusion in this archive. His son Ishaq ibn Hunayn, strongly influenced by his father, is famed for his Arabic translation of Euclid's Elements.

Hunayn's father was Ishaq, a pharmacist from Hira. The family were from a group who had belonged to the Syrian Nestorian Christian Church before the rise of Islam, and Hunayn was brought up as a Christian. Hunayn became skilled in languages as a young man, in particular learning Arabic at Basra and also learning Syriac.

To continue his education Hunayn went to Baghdad to study medicine under the leading teacher of the time. However, after falling out with this teacher, Hunayn left Baghdad and, probably during a period in Alexandria, became an expert in the Greek language. Hunayn returned to Baghdad and established contact with the teacher with whom he had fallen out. The two became firm friends and were close collaborators on medical topics for many years.

Let us go back to a time before Hunayn was born and describe the events which would lead to a remarkeble period of scholarship. Harun al-Rashid became the fifth Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty on 14 September 786. He brought culture to his court and tried to establish the intellectual disciplines which at that time were not flourishing in the Arabic world. It was during al-Rashid's reign that the first Arabic translation of Euclid's Elements was made by al-Hajjaj. The first steps began to be taken which would allow Greek knowledge to spread through the Islamic empire, a process in which Hunayn was to play a major role.

Al-Rashid had two sons, the eldest was al-Amin while the younger was al-Ma'mun. Harun al-Rashid died in 809, the year after Hunayn's birth, and there was an armed conflict between his two sons. Al-Ma'mun won the armed struggle, became Caliph and ruled the empire from Baghdad. He continued the patronage of learning started by his father and founded an academy called the House of Wisdom where Greek philosophical and scientific works were translated. It should not be thought that the Arabs who were translating these Greek texts simply sat down with a pile of Greek manuscripts and translated them. Most of the difficulty occurred in searching for the manuscripts which were to be translated. In order to find manuscripts of the works of Aristotle and others, al-Ma'mun sent a team of his most learned men to Byzantium. It is thought that Hunayn, being more skilled in the Greek language than any of the other scholars in Baghdad, was on this expedition.

medicine, philosophy, theology, translation of Greek scientific works

Hunayn ibn Ishaq

Born      809 AD Al-Hira

Died       873 AD

Era          Islamic Golden Age

Region  Caliphate

Main interests   Translation, Ophthalmology, Philosophy, Religion, Arabic grammar

Major works      Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye

Influenced[show]

Hunayn ibn Ishaq (also Hunain or Hunein) (Syriac: ܚܢܝܢ ܒܪ ܐܝܣܚܩ, Arabic: أبو زيد حنين بن إسحاق العبادي‎; ’Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn ’Isḥāq al-‘Ibādī, known in Latin as Iohannitius) (809–873) was a famous and influential scholar, physician, and scientist of Assyrian Christian[1] descent. He and his students transmitted their Syriac and Arabic translations of many classical Greek texts throughout the Islāmic world, during the heyday of the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate. Ḥunayn ibn Isḥaq was the most productive translator of Greek medical and scientific treatises in his day. He studied Greek and became known among the Arabs as the "Sheikh of the translators." He mastered four languages: Arabic, Syriac, Greek and Persian. His translations did not require corrections. Hunayn’s method was widely followed by later translators. He was originally from southern Iraq but he spent his working life in Baghdad, the center of the great ninth-century Greek-into-Arabic/Syriac translation movement. His fame went far beyond his own community.[2]

As an example of the lengths that Hunayn went in order to find a particular manuscript we quote his description of a search for a medical manuscript (see for example [1]):-

I sought for [the manuscript] earnestly and travelled in search of it in the lands of Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, until I reached Alexandria, but I was not able to find anything, except about half of it at Damascus.

Al-Ma'mun recruited the most talented men for the House of Wisdom such as al-Khwarizmi, al-Kindi and al-Hajjaj the first translator of Euclid's Elements into Arabic refered to above. There they worked with Hunayn and later also with Thabit ibn Qurra. Hunayn became a close friend of Muhammad Banu Musa although relations between some of the scholars was not good due to rivalry.

In 833 al-Ma'mun died and was succeeded by his brother al-Mu'tasim. The house of Wisdom continued to flourish under successive caliphs. Al-Mu'tasim died in 842 and was succeeded by al-Wathiq [1]:-

Hunayn soon became famous and participated in the scholarly meetings at which physicians and philosophers discussed dificult problems in the presence of Caliph al-Wathiq.

Caliph al-Wathiq was succeeded as Caliph in 847 by al-Mutawakkil who appointed Hunayn to the post of chief physician at his court, a position he held for the rest of his life. Under both these Caliphs internal arguments and rivalry arose between the scholars in the House of Wisdom and Hunayn was most certainly involved in this rivalry. The rivalry could certainly become serious and at one point Hunayn had his library confiscated and he was imprisoned.

Hunayn is important for the many excellent translations of Greek texts which he made into Arabic. In particular he translated Plato and Aristotle. These translations were spread widely through Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.

Abu Zayd Hunayn Ibn Ishaq al-‘Ibadi, the celebrated physician, was the most eminent man of his time in the art of medicine. He possessed a perfect acquaintance with the language of the Yunanis (Greeks), and it was by him that the work of Euclid was translated into Arabic. Thabit Ibn Qurrah, (See no. 125) who came after him, cleared up the difficulties of this work and put it into better order This was also the case with the Almagest [Ptolemy’s well-known work on astronomy.] and the greater part of those books, composed in Greek by physicians and philosophers, which have been rendered into Arabic. Hunayn was the most laborious of all those who were engaged in thus business of translating; some works (it is true) were executed by others. Were it not for this, persons unacquainted with Greek could have derived no benefit from such works, and it is certain that those which remain untranslated are useless except to him who understands that language. Al-Ma’mun was particularly anxious to have books of this kind turned into Arabic, written out and corrected; before him, Ja’far and other members of the Barmak family had encouraged the undertaking, but the efforts of al-Ma’mun were much more successful than theirs. Hunayn himself composed a great number of useful treatises on medical subjects. The life of his son Ishaq has been already given (no. 85). I have read in the History of the physicians (akhbar al-Itaba) that Hunayn went to the bath every day after his ride, and had water poured on himself; he would then come out, wrapped up in a bed-gown, and after taking a cup of wine with a biscuit, lie down, and sometimes fall asleep, till such time as perspiration should cease; he would then get up, burn perfumes to fumigate his person, and have dinner brought in; this consisted in a large fattened pullet stewed in its gravy and cake a of bread two hundred drachms in weight: after supping the gravy and eating the fowl and the bread, he took asleep, and on awaking he drank four pints (ratl)*[ If we read it as ritle it might mean four cups of wine, which is more probable-Ed.] of old wine; if he felt a desire for fruit freshly gathered, he took Syrian apples and quinces. This was his habit till the end of his life. He died on Tuesday, 7th Safar, A.H. 260 (December, A.D. 873).

In the life of his son, the meaning of the word ‘Ibadi has been already given.

The Yunanites were physicians who lived before the time of Islamism; they were sons of Yunan, [Yonan) most probably an altered form of Ionia.] the son of Yafith (Jephet), the son of Nuh (Noah).

Huanyn, a physician, philosopher, and theologian, was the most famous ninth-century translator of works from Greek antiquity into Arabic and Syrinac. His nisba al-͑Ibādī, is from an Arab tribe, al-͑Ibād, the members of which became Christian long before the rise of Islam and continued to belong to the Syrian Nestorian church. His father, Ishāq, was a phramatic (saydalāanī)at Hīra. While still young, Hunayn learned Arabic and Syriac, perfecting his knowledge of the former at Basra. Ibn Juljul incorrectly reports that in Basra, Hunayn met Khalil ibn Ahmed, founder of Arabic grammar; M.Plessner has shown, on chronological grounds, that this would have been impossible1.

Hunayn went to Baghdad to study medicine- a dificult undertaking, according to the picturesque and lively account given by Ibn Abī Usaybi͗a in his ͑Uyūn al-anbā͗. The teaching of medicine was then dominated by Yūhannā ibn Māssawayh, originally from jundīshāpūr. The physicians of that city, highly cultivated men who had long devoted themselves to medicine felt contempt for the people of Hīra, who were concerned primarily with commerce and banking. Further, they were not happy to see these merchants’ sons becoming interested in medicine.

Nevertheless. Ibn Māsawayh agreed to supervise Hunayn’s studies and gave him a book on the various medical schools. Avis for knowledge, Hunayn never tried of raising questions (sāhibsu’āl): one day, when they became particularly urgent and difficult to answer, Ibn Māsawayh flew into a rage and brusquely rebuked his young student:

What makes, the people of Hīra want to study medicine? Go away and find of your friends: he will lend you fifty dirhems. Buy some little baskets for a die hem, some arsenic for three dirhems, and with the rest buy coins of Kūfa and of Qādisiyya. Coat the money of Qādisyya with arsenic and put it in the baskets and stand by the side of the road crying: “Here is true money, good for giving alms and for spending …” Sell the coins; that will earn you much more than the science of medicine2.

He then ordered Hunayn to leave his house.

Refusing to accept defeat, Hunayn resolved to pursue his vacation as a physician. He disappeared from Baghdad for several years, during which time he made a profound study of Greek, either in Alexandria or in the “bilād al-Rūm”, probably in Byzantium. He was remarkably successful in learning the language; Ibn Abī Usaybi͑a recounts in detail that one evening, while visiting friends, Hunayn recited verses from Homer. He also translated a work by Galen for Jibrā͗īl ibn Bukhtīshūʿ Ibn Masawayth, who had sent him away, was forced to recognize his abilities. He was reconciled with Hunayn and accepted him as a dispel: the two became close collaborators.

Following the decision of al- Ma͗mūn (d.833) to have translated made of the works of Aristotle and of other classical authors, a cultural mission was sent to Byzantium to obtain manuscripts. Hunayn, who, according Ibn Abī Usaybi ͑a, poseesed the best knowledge of Greek of anyone of his time, probably was a member of this mission. The rich lords followed the caliph’s example and soon were completing to acquire manuscripts and have them translated.

Hunayn, his son Ishāq, his nephew Hubaysh ibn al-Hassan al-A ͑sam, and another dispel. ͑Īsā ibn Uahyā, earned particular distinction as translators. Alone or in collaboration, Hunayn translated works of P,lato and Aristotle, adn of their commentators. Even more important were his translations of the major portion of the three founders of Greek medicine, whose ideas were also central to the development of Arab medicine: Hippocrates, Galen, and Dioscorides.

Hunayn’s translation methods were excellent and generally correspond to the standards of modern phi logy. severe in his judgement of poor translations made by other writers, he had even more exacting standards for his own work. Referring to his translations of De sectis, he wrote:

I translated it when I was a young man… from a very defective Greek manuscript. Later, when I was fourty-six years old, my pupil Hubasish asked me to correct it after having collected a certain number of Greek manuscripts. thereupon I collated these so as to manuscript with the Syrisc text and corrected thus in all my translation work3.

Hunayn made long journeys in order to find manuscripts, such as that of Galen’ De demonstration : “I sought for it earnestly and travelled in search of it in the lands of Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt, until I reached Alexandria, but I was not able to find anything, except about half of it at Damascus4” .

Hunayn and his disciples strove to render the Greek text as clearly as possible. In fact, Hunayn may be considered one of the creators of the philosophical and scientific idiom of classical Arabic. In his study of Hunayn and his school, G. Bergstrasser emphasizes the superiority of Hunayn’s versions: “The correctness is greater; nevertheless one is left with the impression that this is not the result of anxious effort, but of a free and sure mastery of the language. This is seen in the easier adaptation to the Greek original and the striking exactness of expression obtained without verbosity. It is all this that constitutes the famous fasāha (eloquence) of Hunain.”5

Hunayn soon became famous and participated in the scholarly meetings at which physicians and philosophers discussed difficult problems in the presence of Caliph al-Wāthiq (d. 847). Al-Mutawak-kil (d.861) named him head physician–thereby dismissing the Bukhtīshū͑ famlily from this post–after having assured himself of Hunayn’s absolute loyalty. He asked Hunayn to prepare a poison to be used in eliminating a supposed enemy, encouraging him with both promises of rewards and with threats; Hunayn refused. His intense scientific activity and his favor with the caliph gave rise to jealousy among his colleagues and even among his friends and students. Bukhtīshū͑ ibn Jibrā͗ in particular, sought to turn al-Mutawakkil against him, explOiting Hunayn’s iconoclastic views to this end. He induced Hunayn to spit on an icon in the presence of the caliph, who thereupon dismissed Hunayn from his post, confiscated his library, and had him imprisoned. The catholicos The odosius trated Hunayn with equal severity, excommunicating him and dismissing him from his functions as deacon. But six months later the caliph fell ill and had to recall Hunayn from prison. He again granted him favors, and Bukhtīshū͑ was exlied.

Hunayn retained his post until his death. Although his two sons, Although his two sons, Dā͗ūd and Ishāq, both became physicians, only Ishāq followed in his father’s footsteps, devoting his efforts primarily to the translation of Greek philosophical works.

Hunayn’s immense scientific activity consisted mainly of producing translations or revisions of earlier translations (into Arabic or Syriac) but also included a number of original works. Of the several ancient lists of these writings, the most extensive is that in Ibn Abī Usaybi͑a, ͑Uyūn al-anbā͗7. G. Furlani analyzed this list and attempted to draw up a classification scheme.8 The list in the Fihrist is shorter.9 An even shorter one is that of Ibn al-Qiftī10. A compe but uncritical list of all the works was complied by Lutfi M. Sa͑di.11

For convenience, Hunayn’s works can be divided into those concerning medicine and those dealing with other subjects. Among the medical works are translations of ancient texts, summaries treatises and paraphrases of these texts, and original. For this group treaties. For this group there is a risāla sent by Hunayn to Abu͗l Hasan ͑Alī ibn yahya al-Munaj-jim in which he indicates which works of Galen he has translated12. (For this area of his activity, consult the section of this article by A. Z. Iskandar.)

The nonmedical works are varied. The nature of some has been defficult to classify with certainty as a translation, a paraphrase, or an original work, since all we have is the title. Moreover, many of these works are known only from the lists of Arabic sources.13 Here we shall present only a selection of Hunayn’s works.

On his personal life there is Kitāb ilā ͑Alī ibn Yahya, written in response to the latter’s suggestion that Hunayn become a Muslim. ͑Alī Yahyā ibn was secretary and friend of Caliph al-Mutawakkil. Hunayn also addressed his on the translated works og Galen to him. Risāla fīmā asabahu min al-mihan wal-shadāid(“Letter concerning Affictions and Calamites”) is partially quoted in ibn Abī Usaybi͑a.14 F. Rosenthal, however, contests its authenticity.

Hunayn’s writings in philosophy comprise translations (into Arabic or Syriac) and original works: translations of Plato (the Politics, the Laws, and the Timaeous); translations of Aristotle (Categories, De interpretation, Analytica priora and Analytica posteriora, De anima; fragments of the Metaphysics, and the Ethics, with Prophyry’s commentary); Kitāb fimā yuqra͗u qabl kutub Aflātūn(“What to Read Before the Books of Plato”) (“Compendium of the De caelo et mundo”); Masā͗il muqaddama li-Kitāb Furfüryus al-ma͑rūf bil-Madkhal (“Introductory Questions to the Book of Porphry Known as the Isagoge”), (“Compendium of the Commentary of the Ancient Greeks on Aristole’s Book De caelo et mundo”); (“Commentary on Aristole’s Book on Physiognomy”);15 (“Questions Extracted From the Four Books of Logic”); and a translation of the Book of Dreams of Artemidorus of Ephesus16

To this list should be added some ten philosophical texts by Galen that Hunayn translated into Syriac or Arabic, particularly That Good People May Benefit From Their Enemies, The Prime Mover Is Immobile, and What Plato Says in the Timaeus.17 In addition, Hunayn supposedly translated from the original Greek the allegorical novel upon which Ibn Sīnā was to base his Salamdn wa-Absāl.18

Works on Arabic grammar and lexicography include Kitāh fi ahkādm al-i͑rāh ͑ala madhah al-yūfināniyyīn (“The Rules of Desinential Syntax According to the Greeks”); Kitāb fil-nahw (“On Grammar”): and Kitāb al-nuqat. Hunayn’s grammar was mentioned by Elias of Nisibis in his Majālis. In the sixth majlis Elias speaks of the superiority of the Syriac language to Arabic.19 The same chapter contains a passage in which Elias mentions a book by Hunayn that is not otherwise known, entitledKitāb al-nuqat a͑nī nuqat al-kitāb (“Book of the Points, 1 Mean, Points of the Book”). As proof of the superiority of Syriac, Hunayn states that the Syrians, Greeks, and Iranians had many names for drugs (al-͑aqāqīr wal-adwiya) and instruments (ālāt) that the Arabs did not have.20

Kitāb fī masā͗ilihi al-͑arabiyya (“Book on His Arabic Questions”) is mentioned immediately after a book entitled Kitāb ftasmā͗ al-adwiya al-mufrada ͑alāhūf al-mu͑jam (“Names of Medicines Listed Alphabetically”). Hunayn may have wished to study, in a second book, the problems posed by the translations of terms for certain medicines.

Scientific subjects other than medicine were treated in the following works; Kitāb khawass al-ahidr (“On the Properties of Stones”);21Kitāb al-Jildba (“On Agriculture“): Maqāla fī͗-alwān (“On Colors”); Fi͗l-daw’ wa haqīqatih (“On Light and on Its Nature”);22Maqāla fi tawallud al-nār bayn at-hajarayn (“On the Generation of Fire Between Two Stones”); Maqāla fi͗l-sabab al-ladhī min ajlihi sārat miyāli al-bahr māliha (“The Reason That the Waters of the Sea Are Salty”): Jawdmi’ li-Kitāb Aristū fi͗l āthar al-Udwiyya (“Compendium of Meteorology”);23Maqāla fīl-madd wal-jazr (“On Ebb and Flow“); Maqāla af͑āl al-shams wal-qamar (“On the Effects of the Sun and the Moon”); and Maqāla fī qaw.s qazah (“On the Rainbow”).

Religion is the subject of Maqāla fī khalq al-insfān we annahu min maslaliatihi wal-tafaddul ͑alaylu an tcila muhtfājan (“On the Creation of Man and that it Is in His Interest and That It Is a Grace for Him to Have Been Created Needy”) and Kitfāh fī idrfāk haqfīqat al-adyfān (“How One Grasps the Truth of Religions”). Ibn Ahfī Usaybi͑a also cites Kitāb kavfixvat idrfāk al-diyfāna (“How to Grasp Religion”),24 which may be the same book. The manuscript tradition contains the title fī kayfiyyat idrak haqiqat al-diydna (“How to Understand the Truth of Religion”). Hunayn provides the criteria that make it possible to distinguish error from truth in religious matters. The true is distinguished from the false by the reasons that one adopts at the beginning. Six reasons lead people to accept falsehood; violence, misery and affliction from which one hopes to escape, the desire for glory and honors, the insidious words of a wily man, the listener’s ignorance, and kinship between the preacher and his audience.

Four reasons lead a man to embrace the truth: miracles that surpass human power, discovering proofs of the truth of hidden things in the external and perceptible signs of religion, rational and irrefutable demonstration of the truth that one embraces, and the recognition of the authenticity of the origin of a religion by the successive phases of its development.

This treatise was preserved by Abu͑l Faraj Hibatullah, known as Ibn al-͑Assāl. L. Cheikho, who mentions Hunayn’s book, notes that the Bibliothèqtie Orientale of the University of St. Joseph in Beirut possesses two manuscripts of the book by Ibn al-͑Assāl: A, dating from the fifteenth century, and B, which is from the nineteenth century and is written in Karshuni. The treatise by Hunayn that Ibn al-͑(Assāl reproduces is at the beginning of chapter 12 of the first part (A, pp. 233-238;B, pp. 93-96).25

Other religious works are Maqāla fī dalālai al-qadar ͑ala l-tawhīd (“How Divine Predetermination Is a Proof of the Unicily of God”); Maqāla fi͗-fājāl (“On the Hour of Death”)-the theologian Abū Ishāq al-Mu͗taman ibn al-͑Assāl mentions a Kitah a-ājāl and, according to a tradition reported by Mas͑ūdī,26 an Arabic translation of the entire Old Testament based on the version in the Septuagint, which was considered one of the best in existence.

A miscellaneous work is Nawādir al-falāsifa a collection of stories, letters, and apothegms of ancient Greek philosophers to which Hunayn added his own remarks. At a later period other books were compiled from extracts taken from this collection. There are two manuscripts of the Arabic text, still unpublished, and a medieval Hebrew translation published by A. Loewenthal.27 In 1921 Karl Merkle made a thorough study of the work, in which he discussed the two manuscripts (Escorial and Munich), the title, and the authenticity of its attribution to Hunayn, which dates from the Middle Ages.28 He also examined the translations: the Hebrew (done in 1200 by the Spanish poet Jehuda ben Salomo al-Kharīzī, the translator of Harīrī), the Spanish (Libra de los biienos proxerbios), and the German version prepared by Loewenthal. In addition, Merkle established the relationships between the Ādāh al-falāsifa and the Arabic sources, unpublished as well as published. Finally, he provided a translation, with commentary, of certain passages. The book is based on a similar Byzantine anthology and contains ancient elements.29 The third part deals with the death of Alexander.30 Most of Hunayn’s translations into Syriac have been lost.31

In the Abbasid era, a new interest in extending the study of Greek science had arisen. At that time, there was a vast amount of untranslated ancient Greek literature pertaining to philosophy, mathematics, natural science, and medicine.[3][4] This valuable information was only accessible to a very small minority of Middle Eastern scholars who knew the Greek language; the need for an organized translation movement was urgent. In time, Hunayn ibn Ishaq became arguably the chief translator of the era, and laid the foundations of Islamic medicine.[3] In his lifetime, ibn Ishaq translated 116 works, including Plato’s Timaeus, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and the Old Testament, into Syriac and Arabic.[4][5] Ibn Ishaq also produced 36 of his own books, 21 of which covered the field of medicine.[5] His son Ishaq, and his nephew Hubaysh, worked together with him at times to help translate. Hunayn ibn Ishaq is known for his translations, his method of translation, and his contributions to medicine.[4] He has also been suggested by François Viré to be the true identity of the Arabic falconer Moamyn, author of De Scientia Venandi per Aves.[6]

Early life

Hunayn ibn Ishaq was an Assyrian Christian born in 809, during the Abbasid period, in al-Hira, Iraq.[7][8] As a child, he learned the Syriac and Arabic languages. Although al-Hira was known for commerce and banking, and his father was a pharmacist, Hunayn went to Baghdad in order to study medicine. In Baghdad, Hunayn had the privilege to study under renowned physician Yuhanna ibn Masawayh; however, Hunayn’s countless questions irritated Yuhanna, causing him to scold Hunayn and forcing him to leave. Hunayn promised himself to return to Baghdad when he became a physician. He went abroad to master the Latin language. On his return to Baghdad, Hunayn displayed his newly acquired skills by reciting the works of Homer and Galen. In awe, ibn Masawayh reconciled with Hunayn, and the two started to work cooperatively.[8]

Hunayn was extremely motivated in his work to master Greek studies, which enabled him to translate Greek texts into Syriac and Arabic. The Abbasid Caliph al-Mamun noticed Hunayn's talents and placed him in charge of the House of Wisdom, “Bayt al Hikmah.” The House of Wisdom was an institution where Greek works were translated and made available to scholars.[7] (Silvain Gougenheim argued, though, that there is no evidence of Hunayn being in charge of "Bayt al Hikham"[9]) The caliph also gave Hunayn the opportunity to travel to Byzantium in search of additional manuscripts, such as those of Aristotle and other prominent authors.[8]

Accomplishments

In Hunayn ibn Ishaq’s lifetime, he devoted himself to working on a multitude of writings; both translations and original works.[8]

As a writer of original work

Hunayn wrote on a variety of subjects that included philosophy, religion and medicine. In “How to Grasp Religion,” Hunayn explains the truths of religion that include miracles not possibly made by humans and humans’ incapacity to explain facts about some phenomena, and false notions of religion that include depression and an inclination for glory. He worked on Arabic grammar and lexicography.[8]

Ophthalmology

The eye according to Hunain ibn Ishaq. From a manuscript dated circa 1200.

Hunayn ibn Ishaq enriched the field of ophthalmology. His developments in the study of the human eye can be traced through his innovative book, “Ten Treatises on Ophthalmology.” This textbook is the first known systematic treatment of this field and was most likely used in medical schools at the time. Throughout the book, Hunayn explains the eye and its anatomy in minute detail; its diseases, their symptoms, their treatments. He discusses the nature of cysts and tumors, and the swelling they cause. He discusses how to treat various corneal ulcers through surgery, and the therapy involved in repairing cataracts. “Ten Treatises on Ophthalmology” demonstrates the skills Hunayn ibn Ishaq had not just as a translator and a physician, but also as a surgeon.[5]

As a physicianHunayn ibn Ishaq's reputation as a scholar and translator, and his close relationship with Caliph al-Mutawakkil, led the caliph to name Hunayn as his personal physician, ending the exclusive use of physicians from the Bukhtishu family.[8] Despite their relationship, the caliph became distrustful; at the time, there were fears of death from poisoning, and physicians were well aware of its synthesis procedure. The caliph tested Hunayn’s ethics as a physician by asking him to formulate a poison, to be used against a foe, in exchange for a large sum. Hunayn ibn Ishaq repeatedly rejected the Caliph’s generous offers, saying he would need time to develop a poison. Disappointed, the caliph imprisoned his physician for a year. When asked why he would rather be killed than make the drug, Hunayn explained the physician's oath required him to help, and not harm, his patients.[7]

As a translator Some of Hunayn's most notable translations were his translation of "De materia Medica," which was technically a pharmaceutical handbook, and his most popular selection, “Questions on Medicine.”[4] “Questions on Medicine” was extremely beneficial to medical students because it was a good guide for beginners to become familiar with the fundamental aspects of medicine in order to understand the more difficult materials. Information was presented in the form of question and answer. The questions were taken from Galen’s “Art of Physic,” and the answers were based on “Summaria Alexandrinorum.” For instance, Hunayn answers what the four elements and four humors are and also explains that medicine is divided into therapy and practice. He goes on later to define health, disease, neutrality, and also natural and contranatural, which associates with the six necessary causes to live healthy.[8]

Hunayn translated writings on agriculture, stones, and religion. He translated some of Plato's and Aristotle’s works, and the commentaries of ancient Greeks. Additionally, Hunayn translated many medicinal texts and summaries, mainly those of Galen. He translated a countless number of Galen’s works including “On Sects” and “On Anatomy of the Veins and Arteries.”[8]

Many published works of R. Duval in Chemistry represent translations of Hunayn's work.[10] Also in Chemistry a book titled ['An Al-Asma'] meaning "About the Names", did not reach researchers but was used in "Dictionary of Ibn Bahlool" of the 10th century.

Translation techniques[edit]

In his efforts to translate as much Greek material as possible, Hunayn ibn Ishaq was accompanied by his son Ishaq ibn Hunayn and his nephew Hubaysh. It was quite normal at times for Hunayn to translate Greek material into Syriac, and have his nephew finish by translating the text from Syriac to Arabic. Ishaq corrected his partners’ errors while translating writings in Greek and Syriac into Arabic.[4]

Unlike other translators in the Abbasid period, Hunayn opposed translating texts word for word. Instead, he would attempt to attain the meaning of the subject and the sentences, and then in a new manuscript, rewrite the piece of knowledge in Syriac or Arabic.[4] He also corrected texts by collecting different set of books revolving around a subject and by finalizing the meaning of the subject.[8] The method helped gather, in just 100 years, nearly all the knowledge from Greek medicine.[4]

A selected series of the treatises of Galen

"Kitab ila Aglooqan fi Shifa al Amraz" – This Arabic translation, related to Galen’s Commentary, by Hunayn ibn Ishaq, is extant in the Library of Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences. It is a masterpiece of all the literary works of Galen. It is part of the Alexandrian compendium of Galen’s work. This manuscript from the 10th century is in two volumes that include details regarding various types of fevers (Humyat) and different inflammatory conditions of the body. More importantly, it includes details of more than 150 single and compound formulations of both herbal and animal origin. The book also provides an insight into understanding the traditions and methods of treatment in the Greek (Unani) and Roman eras.

De sectis

Ars medica

De pulsibus ad tirones

Ad Glauconem de medendi methodo

De ossibus ad tirones

De musculorum dissectione

De nervorum dissectione

De venarum arteriumque dissectione

De elementis secundum Hippocratem

De temperamentis

De facultibus naturalibus

De causis et symptomatibus

De locis affectis De pulsibus (four treatises)

De typis (febrium)

De crisibus

De diebus decretoriis

Methodus medendi

Hippocrates and Dioscorides.

Plato's Republic (Siyasah).

Aristotle's Categories (Maqulas), Physics (Tabi'iyat) and Magna Moralia (Khulqiyat).

Seven books of Galen's anatomy, lost in the original Greek, preserved in Arabic.

Arabic version of the Old Testament from the Greek Septuagint did not survive.

"Kitab Al-Ahjar" or the "Book of Stones".

See also[edit] Book of the Ten Treatises of the Eye (book)

Ishaq ibn Hunayn, his son, also a translator and physician.

Islamic reception of Galen

References

A brief introduction to Hunayn bin Ishaq

O'Leary, De Lacy (1949). How Greek science passed to the Arabs. London: Routledge and K. Paul.

Hunain ibn Ishaq, My Syriac and Arabic translations of Galen, ed. G. Bergstrasser with German translation, Leipzig (1925) (in German and Arabic)

Eastwood, Bruce."The Elements Of Vision: The Micro-Cosmology of Galenic Visual Theory"Books

NOTES

1. See M. Plessner, “Der Astronom und Historiker ibn Sā͑id al-Andauisī und seine Geschichie der Wissenschaften.” in Rivista degli studi orientals31 (1956), 235-257. esp. 244 ff.

2. A. Miiiler. ed.. I (Cairo. 1882). 185 (hereinafter IAU).

3. Cited by M. Meyerhof in The Hook of the Ten Treatises xxiv.

4.Ibid.

5.Ibid., xxv.

6. On the histórical authenticity of this event and the reconciliation of facts reported in a contradictory fashion, see Yusuf Habbi. Hunayn Urn Ishāq (Baghdad, 1974), 36-38 (in Arabic). See also F. Rosenthal, “Die arabische Autobiographic” in Stadia arabica,1 (1937), 15-19, which contests the authenticity of the account; B. Hemmerdinger. “Hunain ibn Ishāq et Piconoclasme byzantin.” in Actes du XIIe Congrès international des Etudes byzantines, II (Belgrade. 1964), 467-469, in which the author accepts Lecierc’s view that Hunayn was influenced by the iconoclastic movement during his presumed stay in Byzantium; and G. Sirohmaier, “Hunain ibn Ishāq und die Bilder, “in Kite 43-45 (1965). 525-533.

7. SeelAu I. 184-200.

8. G. Fürlani, “Hunayn ibn Ishāq,” in . 6 (1924), 287-292

9.Flhrisi.G. Hugel. Ed.,I (Leipzig. 1871), 294 ff.

10.Tu͗rlkh ul-hukamā J. Lippert, ed., I (Leipzig. 1903), 171 ff.

11. Lufti M. Sa͑di, “A Biohibliographical Study of Hunayn ibn Ishāq al-lbadi…,” in Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine.2 (1934), 409-446, which draws on the Arab sources and on the list made by Lucien Leclerc, Histoirc tie la médecine arabe 145-152.

12. Compare the ed. and German trans, of this risala by G. Bergsirässer, “Hunain ibn Ishāq über die syrischen und arabischen Galenübersetzungen.” which is Ahhandlungen für die Ktinde des Morgenlandes,17, no. 2 (1925); his “Neue Materialen zu Hunain ibn Ishāq Galen-biblio-graphie.” ibid.,19, no. 2 (1932), also contains biographical details and information on his working methods.

13. For details concerning these works, see M. Steinschneider, “Die arabischen Übersetzungen aus dem griechischen,” in Zeitschrift der Deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft,50 (1896), also reprinted (Graz, 1960). 390 (index); G. Bergsträsser. Hunain ibn Ishak: und seine Schule (Leiden, 1913): F. Peters. Aristoteles Arahus (Leiden, 1968); and ͑Abdurrahmān Badawi, La transmission de la philosophic urecque au nionde arabe. Études de Philosophic Médiévale. no. 56 (Paris. 1968).

14. See IAU, I. 191-197.

15. On this book, see M. Grignaschi, “La ’physiognomonie’ tradutte par Hunayn ibn Ishāq.” in Arahua.21. fuse. 3 (1974). 287-291.

16. T. Fahdted. (Damascus. 1964).

17. See R. Walzer, “Djāiānūs.” in Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed., II (Leiden, 1965). 402-403.

18. See A. F. Mehren, in Muséon,4 (1885). 38 ft., and C. A. Nallino, “Filosofia’orientale’ od ’illummativa’ d’Avicenna?” in Rivista dtgli studi oriental, 10 (1923- 1925), 465.

19. See L. Cheikho, Trots traités anciens (Beirut, 1923), n. 59.

20. See L. Cheikho, al-Mashnq, II (Beirut, 1899), 373.

21. See J. Ruska, Untersuchunenu Über das Steinhuch des Aristoteles (Heidelberg, 1911).

22. This letter was edited by P. Cheikho. in al-Mashriq, II. 1105-1115.

23. This work has been edited with a trans, and notes by Hans Daiber, as Ein Kompendium der Aristotelischen Meteoro-hile in der Fassum des Hunain ibn Ishāq (Oxford, 1975).

24. See IAU, 199.

25. See L. Cheikho, “Un traité inédit de Honein,” in Orienta-lische Studien Theodor Soldeke zum sitbzigstein Geburt-stay (2. März: 1906) xewidmet, Carl Bezold, ed. (Gicssen. 1906), with Arabic text and French trans. The text was reproduced in Cheikho. Seize traités, 2nd ed. (Beirut, 1911), 121-123; and Vingt traités théologiques, 2nd ed. (Beirut. 1920), 143- 146. For other MSS of the text, see G. Graf, Geschichie der christliclharabischen t.iteratur, 11,123-124.

On Hunayn’s religious attitude, see two recent studies; R, Hāddād, “Hunayn b. Ishāq. apologiste chrétien.” in Arabka.21 (1974), 292-302; and P. Nwyia, “Actualité du concept de religion chez Hunayn Ibn Ishāq” ibid., 313-317.

26. On this point, see Kitāb al-tanbīh, Michael Jan de Goeje, ed. (Leiden, 1894), 112.

27. Abraham Loewenthal, Sefer mūsrē ha pīlōsōfim (Frankfürt, 1896), also in German trans. (Berlin, 1896).

28. K. Merkie, Die Sittenspriiche der Philosopher, “Kitāh ādād al-fātdsifa” von Honein ibn Ishāq in der Überar-beitung des Muhammed ibn ͑Ali al-Ansdri (Leipzig, 1921).

29. See G. Strohmaier, “Zu einem vveiberfeindlichen Diogenes-spruch aus Herculaneum,” in Hermes95 (1967), 253-255.

30. On this book, see Hartwig Derenbourg. “Lea traducteurs arabes d’auieursgrecset Tauteur musulman des Aphorismes des philosophes,” in Mélanges Henri Well (Paris, 1898). 117-124; M. Plessner. “Analecta to Hunain ibn Ishāq ’Apopthegms of the Philosophers’ and lis Hebrew Translation,” in Tarbīz,24 (1954- 1955), 60-72. with summary in English, vi ff.; J. Kraemer. ’Arabische Homerverse.” in Zeitschrift der Deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 106 (1956), 292-302; and A. Spitaler. “Die arabische Fassung des Trost-briefs Alexanders an seine Mutter,” in Studi uricntalistici in onore di Giorgio Levi della Vida, 11 (Rome. 1956). 497 ff.

31. See A. Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur (Bonn, 1922), 227-230. On the possibility of attributing certain of the fragments to Hunayn, see G. Furlani. “Brueh-stucke einer syrischen Paraphrase der ’Klemente’ des Eukleides,” in Zeitschrift für Semistik,3 (1924), 28: and J. Schleifer, “Zum syrischen Medizinbuch. II. Der thera-peutische Teil,” in Rivista degli studi orientali.18 (1940), 341-372. Two more recent studies are A. Vööbus. “Discovery of New Syriac Manuscripts on Hunain,” in Ephrem-Hunayn Festival (Baghdad. 1974), 525-528; and W. F. Macomber, “The Literary Activity of Hunayn b. Ishāq in Syriac,” ibid.. 554- 570.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

In addition to the works cited in the notes, other Arab sources are Ibn Juljul. Tabaqāat al—atibbā͗, F. Sayyid, ed. (Cairo, 1955). 68-72: Ibn Sā͑id al—Andalusi, Kitāb Tabaqāt al-Umam L. Cheikho, ed. (Beirut, 1912). 36 ff., French trans, by Régis Blachere as Livres des catégories des nations (Paris. 1935), 80 ff.; Ali ibn Zayd al—Bay—haqi, Tatimmat siwan al—hikma, Mohammad Shafi’i, ed., I (Lahore, 1935), 3 ff.: ʿAlī Ibn Khallikān. Vitae illustrium vivorum Ferdinand Wüstenfeld, ed.. II (Gotiingen, 1843 - 1871), I59 ff. (no. 208); Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum, Jean Baptisle Abbeloos and Thomas Joseph Lamy.eds., III (Louvain, 1875- 1877), 197-200; Chronicon syriacum. Paul Bedjan, ed. (Paris, 1890), 162 ff.: and T a͗rīkh Mukhtasar al—duwaL Antūn Salhānī, ed. (Beirut. 1890), 250-253.

Modern works are L. Leclerc, Histoire de la médceine arabe (Paris. 1876; repr. New York, n.d.), 139-152. which is not a critical study; M. Steinschneider. Die hebraischen Übersefzungen des Mittelalters (Berlin, 1893: repr. Graz. 1956), 1055 (index): and Die ara—bischen Überserzungen aus dem griechischen (Leipzig. 1896; repr. Graz, 1956), 390 (index); H. Suter, Die Mathematiker and Astronomer der Araber (Leipzig. 1900), 20-23: M. Steinschneider, “Die europaischen Übersetzungcn aus dem arabischen,” Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Phil.-hist. KL, 149 . no. 4; and 151 , no. i (1905). photorepr. (Graz. 1956), 98 (index); G. Bergstnisser, Hunain dm Ishak und seine Schule (Leiden, 1913); G. Gabrieli, “Hunayn ibn Ishāq.” in Isis, 6 (1924). 282-292; M. Meyerhof. “New Light on Hunain ibn Ishāqand His Period,” ibid., 8 (1926). 685-724; and “Les versions syriaques el arabes des écrits galéniques.” in Byzantion3 (1926). 35-51: and G. Sarton, Introduction to the History of Science, I (Baltimore, 1927; repr. 1950), 611-613. A long biography of Hunayn and an analysis of his working methods are in the intro. to M. Meyerhof. The Book of the Ten I realises on the Eye Ascribed to Hunain ibn Is—haq (Cairo, 1928).

See also C. Brockelmann, Geschichte der arabisehen Literatur, I (Leiden. 1943)- 224-227, and supp. I (Leiden. 1937). 366-369; F. Rosenthal’s review of R. Walzer. ed., Galen on Medical Experience, in Isis, 36 (1945-1946). 253 AT.; and The Technique and Approach of Muslim Scholarship (Rome. 1947). passim; and G. Graf. Geschichte der chrisilich—arabisehen Literatur, II (Vatican City, 1947), 122-129, which analyzes particularly the philosophical and theological works.

The most recent works are G. Strohmaier, “Hunain b. Ishak alā͑Ibādī “in Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed. III . 578-581; Arabica.21 , fasc. 3 (1974), 229-330. a special issue that contains ten articles prepared for the colloquium on Hunayn held at Paris during the 29th International Congrèss of Orientalists in July 1973: Yūsuf Habbī, Hunayn b. Ishāq (Baghdad, 1974). in Arabic; and Ephrem—Hunayn Festival (Baghdad. 1974); Actes of the Congrèss, which includes sixteen articles on Hunayn: four are in English (those by A. Vööhus. G. Strohmaier. W. F. Macomber. and D. M, Dunlop). and the rest in Arabic