Al Nabati
Tuesday, 01 April 2008
Abu Abbas Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Mufarraj, often called Al-Nabati, or Ibn Rumiya (son of the Christian woman), also Al-Hafiz (he who knows the Qur'an and Hadith (Tradition) by heart), is a Hispano-Muslim botanist born in Seville in 1165-6 or 1171-72,
He was the teacher of his worthy successor, Ibn al-Baytar (see Malaga), with whom he shared the love for plants and the science of botany, and he was part of the group which also included other illustrious figures in the field Abdallah ben Salah and Ibn Al-Hadjadj, of Seville.
He made many botanical excursions in Spain and across the straight; he travelled eastwards, in North Africa, Egypt and further on, to complete his botanical investigations and perform the pilgrimage.
He wrote an account of his journey, Kitab al-Rihla, which deals primarily with his observations of plants many of which were new, e.g. those relative to plants growing along the shores of the Red Sea.
Medicinal properties, particularly of botanicals known to Muslim physicians and apothecaries, he adds, deserve great attention. Some important medicinal plants prescribed today have been explored with success, and more remains to be done, and clues to valuable drugs, he holds, can be found in the early texts in Arabic.
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