Journal of - International Society for the History of Islamic Medicine

A Study of an Arabic Manuscript ‘Ain-Al-Hayat’ Written on Geriatrics
by Mohammad Ibn Yousuf Harvi and its Translation into English
Ashfaque AHMAD
Collation and editing of Ain Al Hayat became easier
for me because of assistance of our learned teacher and ace
writer Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman and his earlier work of
editing and translating into Urdu.
Hand written copies (manuscripts) of Ain Al Hayat
available in India are only four.
1. 1 st copy with Accession No. 8882 and serial no 226
available at A. P. Government Oriental Manuscript Library
and Research Institute, Hyderabad. It contains
196 pages with 13 lines on each page and 10 words in
each line. The condition of the manuscript is good and
easily readable with good script.
2. 2 nd copy available at Raza Library, Rampur, U.P.
3. 3 rd copy available at Raza Library, Rampur, U.P.
4. 4 th copy available at Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval
Medicine and Sciences (IAMMS), Aligarh, U.P.
The last three copies of Ain Al Hayat were acquired by a
well known academic and author Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman
but the Mss of A. P. Government Oriental Manuscript
Library and Research Institute, Hyderabad was not accessible
to him as per his account in the preface of the book.
Keeping in view the three Mss of Ain Al Hayat (two from
Raza Library, Rampur, and one of IAMMS, Aligarh) he
edited and prepared an ultimate copy of Ain Al Hayat. It
was also translated into Urdu language by him and Arabic
text was printed along with Urdu translation and published
from IAMMS Aligarh.
I got access the manuscript of Ain Al Hayat which is
available at A. P. Government Oriental Manuscript Library
and Research Institute, Hyderabad and the book of
Ain Al Hayat prepared from last three Mss and printed by
IAMMS, Aligarh as described above.
I have made the manuscript of Ain Al Hayat with Accession
No. 8882 available at A. P. Government Oriental
Manuscript Library and Research Institute, Hyderabad my
base manuscript because it was not accessible for the editing
of the earlier book.
The text of Mss has been compared and collated with
the printed book of IAMMS and differences or missed portions
were added in the critical copy of Ain Al Hayat.
Before taking up the translation of this work into English
I had prepared the final edition after collation of these
two copies. In case of torn, missing or faded words the variations
are clarified in foot notes of the Arabic text.
First time ever Ain Al Hayat is going to be translated
into English. This crucial edition of Arabic text is going
to be printed and published along with English translation
by National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage
(Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences),
Hyderabad.
The translation is aimed to the persons who are unaware
of Arabic or Urdu languages and desire to be acquainted
with the experiences and findings of learned Unani physicians
who compiled their treasures in that language.
Author of the book Mohammad Ibn Yousuf Al-Harwi
(D. 1542 AD) was a learned physician with a number of
works to his credit. He was one of the premier physicians
of Mughal era. He came to India from Herat in 1526 AD
along with Mughal emperor Baber (D. 1532 AD). He was
among illustrious physicians of Herat and Khorasan and
was famed in India also due to attachment with Mughal
courts.
Migration of physicians from to India from the cities of
central Asia like Herat, Samarqand, Bukhara etc started in
the period of Babar and Humayun. They are include Mir
Nizamuddin Ali Khaleefa, Mohammad Ibn Yousuf Al-Harwi,
Yousuf Ibn Mohammad Ibn Yousuf Al-Harwi (Moulana
Yousufi), Hakim Abul Buqa, Khwaja Khawand Mahmud
like learned physicians. Ancestors of Shareef family also
belonged to this soil of learning.
Muٱammad ibn Yūsuf Harawī
In 1518 AD Muٱammad ibn Yūsuf al-Harawī composed
in Arabic an alphabetical medical dictionary and encyclopedia.
It covered anatomical and pathological terms
and concepts, medicinal substances, and prominent physicians,
with all the entries arranged alphabetically.
Al-Harawī also wrote a lexicon titled Jawahir al-lughah,
in three chapters: the first explaining terminology for parts
of the body (in alphabetical order), the second on the
names of simple and compound drugs (also in alphabetical
order), and the third on names of diseases, presented
in order from head to toe according to their locations. An
autograph copy of Jawāhir al-lughah exists in which the
author states that he completed the correction of the treatise
in 898/1492 (London, Wellcome Library for the History
and Understanding of Medicine, MS Arab. 143). The
Baٱr al-jawāhir is a very different treatise written later, in
924/1518. It has no subdivisions, but rather presents all the
medical terminology together in alphabetical order, with
the explanations of the numerous anatomical, pathological
and medicinal terms mostly in Arabic but sometimes in
Persian. For a comparison of the two treatises, see A.Z. Iskandar,
“Jawāhir al-lughah wa-Baٱr al-jawāhir: mu‘jaman
mukhtalifan lil-tabib Muٱammad ibn Yūsuf al-Harawī” [in
Arabic], al-Mashriq, 1963, vol. 57, pp. 331-334 and 7 plates;
ISHIM 2011-2012
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