Abu ali ibn Sina

19th century. MS 053

The Book of Healing, also known as Kitaab al-Shifa, is a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia written by Abu ali ibn Sina (980-1037), also known as Avicenna, from medieval Persia. He was a self-taught doctor, practicing medicine since the age of sixteen. The Book of Healing continued to be translated into Hebrew and Latin through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The book is split into four parts: logic, natural sciences, mathematics, and metaphysics.

This copy has an interesting provenance. A handwritten note pasted in states tne following: "This book was taken by me out of the Mahdi's cenotaph in his tomb at Omdurman on the 2nd of September 1898 after the battle of Omdurman ~ Frank Sendamare (sp?), Special Correspondent to the Daily News." This was Kitchener's invasion and defeat of the Sudanese army of the Mahdist Islamic State, led by Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. The tomb of Madhi was bombed in the assault and heavily damaged.

Bibliography

Al-Fadil Ali Alkari. Commentary on Healing, Vol. 2. University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives, MS 053. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/3uoa1r/CP71269051810001451

Urvoy, Dominique. “Avicenna.” In Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. James Clarke & Co, 2002. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780227679319.001.0001/acref-9780227679319-e-280.