The First Medical Text in Preventive Medicine Written in Islamic World

Abstract

Medical books written in Islamic societies have devoted special chapters to preventive medicine named Hefzossehha'. Nowadays, Ferdous Alhekmah is considered as the first medical text authored by Muslim scientists in Islamic countries. But in this review study we offer a more ancient text that belongs to Ali Ibn Musa (Imam Reza PBUH), the 8th Imam of shi'ites. This text was written about 815-818 AD while Imam Reza was in Marv, the Abbasid's capital city during the al-Ma'mun's governance (813-833). This precedes the book of Tabari (810-855), Ferdous Alhekmah. This text was written specifically about preventive medicine and contains nutritional patterns; the effect of weather, sleep, four temperaments and humors on health; personal hygiene; cupping and phlebotomy; health care in travels; sex hygiene and its influence on fetus health and prevention of some especial diseases. This text was different from many books in this field in some ways. Thus, al-Ma'mun commanded some scribes to write the text with gold and therefore it is famous to “Resaleh Zahabieh" which means golden letter.