Avicenna

AVICENNA (IBN SINA) (d. 1037 A.D.)

Abū Alī al-Husayn b. 'Abdalla Ibn sīna. One of the greatest Arabic philosophers and scientists.

Brockelmann 1, 452; EI (s.v. Ibn Sīna). Qānūn at-tibb (The Canon of Medicine)

Ed.: Būlāq, 2 vols. 1877.

T.: MC 719 r (Būlāq ed. p. 91f) A:0

Section XI: ... On the influence of the environment ... The hot regions (masākin) cause curly hair and weaken the digestion. If residence there is prolonged too much and the softness of the body decreases, the inha¬bitants grow old quickly, as is noticed among the Ḥabasha. In fact, these people (in their country) become old at the age of thirty, their hearts are fearful because of failing spirit. The hot countries also make the bodies of their inhabitants weak. (ed. Būlāq I, p. 92; cf. also Arab. Ist.II, p. 145).