Abu Bakr al-Razi

This article is about the 10th-century physician and polymath. For the 12th-century theologian and polymath, see Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. For other uses, see Razi (disambiguation).

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī
Portrait by Hossein Behzad, 1962
Born864 or 865 CE
250 or 251 AH
Ray (Iran)
Died925 (aged 60–61) CE or
935 (aged 70–71) CE
313 or 323 AH
Ray (Iran)
Philosophical work
EraIslamic Golden Age
LanguageArabic (writings)
Main interestsMedicine, philosophy, alchemy, criticism of religion
Notable ideasPioneer of obstetrics and ophthalmology, author of the first book on pediatrics, making leading contributions in inorganic and organic chemistry, also the author of several philosophical works

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī, also known as Rhazes[a] (full name: أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī),[b] c. 864 or 865–925 or 935 CE,[c] was a Persian physician, philosopher and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of medicine,[1] and also wrote on logic, astronomy and grammar.[2] He is also known for his criticism of religion, especially with regard to the concepts of prophethood and revelation. However, the religio-philosophical aspects of his thought, which also included a belief in five "eternal principles", are fragmentary and only reported by authors who were often hostile to him.[3]

A comprehensive thinker, al-Razi made fundamental and enduring contributions to various fields, which he recorded in over 200 manuscripts, and is particularly remembered for numerous advances in medicine through his observations and discoveries.[4] An early proponent of experimental medicine, he became a successful doctor, and served as chief physician of Baghdad and Ray hospitals.[5][6] As a teacher of medicine, he attracted students of all backgrounds and interests and was said to be compassionate and devoted to the service of his patients, whether rich or poor.[7] Along with Thābit ibn Qurra (836–901), he was one of the first to clinically distinguish between smallpox and measles.[8]

Through translation, his medical works and ideas became known among medieval European practitioners and profoundly influenced medical education in the Latin West.[5] Some volumes of his work Al-Mansuri, namely "On Surgery" and "A General Book on Therapy", became part of the medical curriculum in Western universities.[5] Edward Granville Browne considers him as "probably the greatest and most original of all the Muslim physicians, and one of the most prolific as an author".[9] Additionally, he has been described as the father of pediatrics,[10][11] and a pioneer of obstetrics and ophthalmology.[12]


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  1. ^ Walker 1998; Iskandar 2008; Adamson 2021a.
  2. ^ Majid Fakhry, A History of Islamic Philosophy, Columbia University Press (2004), p. 98.
  3. ^ Adamson 2021a.
  4. ^ Hakeem Abdul Hameed, Exchanges between India and Central Asia in the Field of Medicine. Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ a b c Iskandar 2008.
  6. ^ Influence of Islam on World Civilization by Prof. Z. Ahmed, p. 127.
  7. ^ Rāzī, Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā, Fuat Sezgin, Māzin ʻAmāwī, Carl Ehrig-Eggert, and E. Neubauer. Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyāʼ ar-Rāzī (d. 313/925): Texts and Studies. Frankfurt am Main: Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 1999.
  8. ^ Sezgin 1970, p. 276.
  9. ^ Browne 1921, p. 44.
  10. ^ Tschanz David W., PhD (2003). "Arab(?) Roots of European Medicine". Heart Views. 4 (2).
  11. ^ Elgood, Cyril (2010). A Medical History of Persia and The Eastern Caliphate (1st ed.). London: Cambridge. pp. 202–203. ISBN 978-1-108-01588-2. By writing a monograph on 'Diseases in Children' he may also be looked upon as the father of pediatrics.
  12. ^ "Ar-Razi (Rhazes), 864–930 C.E." www.unhas.ac.id. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020. Ar-Razi was a pioneer in many areas of medicine and treatment and the health sciences in general. In particular, he was a pioneer in the fields of pediatrics, obstetrics and ophthalmology.
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