Ibn Al-Nafis - Writings

Writings

The most voluminous of his books is Al-Shamil fi al-Tibb, which was planned to be an encyclopedia comprising 300 volumes, but was not completed as a result of his death. The manuscript is available in Damascus.

His book on ophthalmology is largely an original contribution. His most famous book is The Summary of Law (Mujaz al-Qanun). Another famous book, embodying his original contribution, was on the effects of diet on health, entitled Kitab al-Mukhtar fi al-Aghdhiya.

His Al-Risalah al-Kamiliyyah fil Siera al-Nabawiyyah, translated in the West under the title Theologus Autodidactus, has been argued to be both the first theological novel and the first science fiction novel.

He also wrote a number of commentaries on the topics of law and medicine. His commentaries include one on Hippocrates' book, and several volumes on Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine. Additionally, he wrote a commentary on Hunayn Ibn Ishaq's book.

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