story form explanation Scientist "Ibn Al Bitar" has visited many places since his early youth From Andalusia, his homeland,he moved around to Morocco, then to Algeria, after that he went to Tunisia He lived in Egypt for a while and from it he set off to Damascus Then he continued this long journey by going to Greece and Anatolia where he examined plants in their natural habitats and studied them thoroughly and perform his experiments and researches on them In addition to that, he wrote specialized books in botany -Master, Ibn Al Bitar!-What is the matter? Here are the plant samples that you asked me to bring Okay, put them there, please What is the matter, Master? You look occupied May I help you? I have been interested in the researches of the great scientist, Dioscorides ever since I came to Anatolia In spite of being an ancient scientist, he was one of the most distinguished people in this region or even in the whole world in the field of medicine and pharmacy Yes! He is a very famous scientist and he wrote a book of five chapterson everything that he knows about drugs My tutor, "Abu Al Abbas Ibn Al Roumyah"read out this book and explained it to me He even wrote a book and entitled it"The explication of the pharmacy of Dioscorides and Galen,and pointing out the delusions of our translators" but I'm thinking of writing another bookto translate and explain it Since a book like this already exists,why do you want to exert yourself in writting another book that resembles it? It won't resemble it, as I'llfollow another methodology in translating the book I'll mention every term in the Greek language,translate it to Arabic and then define it by the knowledge that Allah has granted me,to simplify the information in it for beginners in botany and pharmacy and help them to understand it Pardon me, Master "Ibn Al Bitar" You have interest in experiments and studies so why do you waste your time writing books? You can take advantage of this time toperform more researches Won't this be of more use? What I'm doing now is also useful It will benefit many upcoming generations of knowledge seekers A scientist's role isn't limited to making new discoveries He also must play a role in transferringwhat he learned from the predecessors to the successors -What a demanding task, Sir!-It is still an enjoyable one for me Being a scientist, "Ibn Al Bitar" knew the magnitudeof the responsibility falling on his shoulders and he carried it out the way he's supposed to After a long journey across the countries of the world "Ibn Al Bitar" returned to Damascus where he decided to reside for the rest of his life Did you benefit from your tripsthe way you hoped for, Sir? Alhamdulillah, O Ahmad! You know, everyday I learned something new and discovered things that I had never thought that I would ever discover I have a surprise for you, O Ahmad What is it, Master? You know that for a doctor, a botanist irreplaceable As the later compounds formulations and medications that former prescribes for his patients This is true! This was what impelled me to author this book What is this? Al Mughni fi al-adwiya al mofrada? Yes, it is a book which I divided to twenty chapters and I've collected in it the drugs that I've learned,those which are indispensable for any doctor I've also classified the drugs according to the organ that it treats in a simple way and I've demonstrated all of this concisely I suppose that it will be a usefulbook for both doctors and medical students You suppose!?This is one of the most important books ever published Thank you, Eminent Scientist! How dedicated you are to knowledge! and how much you are concerned about the interest of the learners! After the return of "Ibn Al Bitar" to Damascus He continued his experiments and researches with the same enthusiasm that hestarted with when he was a young man Are you still in your laboratory, Master? Yes, Ahmad! Is there something that you want? I want you to have some rest I find my rest in work And I have to finish these experiments soon As I still have another set of experiments that I must finish If you may Allow me, Sir I have an advice for you and pardon me if I'm exceeding the proper limits Exceeding the proper limits!On the contrary! You have to advise me and notify mewhenever you see it necessary So tell me what you have! Wouldn't it be better to dedicateyourself to teaching now? As you have written many books and thesis in botany and you've read lots and lots of reference books and ancient books You have performed hundreds of experiments What's the point of performing an experiment that the predecessorshad performed and written its results before you do? Don't forget that I'm performing new experiments as the knowledge and potential that we have now surpasses what was available for the predecessors but I'm not denying that I'm performing experiments that others performed before me I'm doing it to ensure the validity of the experimentand the accuracy of its results I'm accountableto my students for what I'm saying to them and therefore I must verify it andI can't verify except through experiments What about these books that you are authoring... ...the predecessors wrote books that you yourself used as references? The works of the ancient aren't suffice and they are too ambiguous to present to the students This is why they must be corrected and completed so that they can get the most out of them Let's take this book as an example! This book is entitled: "The Canon of Medicine" It was authored by "Ibn Sina" It is one of the most important books in medicine It is important for doctors but a botanist needs a more detailed, specialized book In this book, "Ibn Sina" paid attention to the study plants and he took a general approach in explaining it like: its accurate morphology, that distinguish it from other plants and he mentioned where it grows While I focus on the medical properties of each plant and its use in the remedy and cure of diseases and I specify the medical benefits of each plant separately Knowledge is a long road, O Ahmad and every scientist who crosses this road must leave a trace to enlighten the road for those who will cross the road after him just like this scientist was guided by traces that the predecessors had left I understand, Master I understand "Ibn Al Bitar" was able to compound drugs,and no one else in his age was able precede him in this area This plant is called chicory and I've discovered numerous medical and pharmaceutical uses for it but my most important discovery is that it can help to cure malignant tumors that grows in the body This is great! Coming! You wait here! -Sir, I'm the woman who....-I remember you, Madam You wanted a drug for your sonwho has fever Yes, and he also has a cough now I went to all the doctors like you asked me toand their drugs didn't cure him Drugs helps in curing, Madam but Allah alone is the Healer We're just trying to help the body to heal -Here, take this!-What is this? Spinach!? Yes, it has an antipyretic effect and it also cures chest inflammation If he doesn't get better by tomorrow,take him to the "Al Nouri Bimaristan"P.S: Bimaristan is a Persian word meaning hospital and there you'll find the ultimate care, by the will of God Thank you, Sir! Why didn't you prescribe her a medication, Master? Diagnosis is the doctor's job and I don't want people to rely on any person who handles herbs and ask him for medication if this happened it may endanger some of them It is a trust A human's health and life is a trust and we shouldn't take it lightly The contemporary acknowledged the importance and the knowledge of "Ibn Al Bitar" His name was immortalized in the history of science even after centuries of his death Orientalists said about him: "Ibn Al Bitar is one of the prodigies of botany" As his book "Al Gamii" contained all the sciences of his time and it was a masterpiece that indicates a scientific mind Not only did he examine, study and scrutinize 150 reference books which were written by the predecessors and which he relied on to do his researches He toured the world, looking for medical herbs to see them himself, verify them and perform his experiments on them until he reached a point where he could invent 300 new drugs he mentioned their names, methods of administration and possible substitutes all of these are indications to how the brain of this genius man functioned