Nursing in Arabs and Islam
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At the end of this lecture the student will
be able to:
Describe the first professional nurse in the
history of Islam.
Identify Nursing in Hospitals
Explain Hospitals In Islam
Arabs and Islam
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In Islamic traditions caring is the manifestation
of love for Allah and the Prophet Muhammad
Caring in Islam is more than the act of empathy,
instead, it consists of being responsible for,
sensitive to, and concerned with those in need,
namely the weak, the suffering and the outcasts
of society
This act of caring is further divided into three
principles: Intention, thought, and action
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Intention and thought refer to
who/what/where/when/ and why to care
Action is related to the knowledge necessary to
be able to care
In short, health care is deemed as service to the
patients and to Allah, as opposed to other
professions that are commercially-based
This philosophy was the fundamental motivating
factor for the majority of the doctors and nurses
in the history of Islam
Approach to Health Care Service
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Another aspect of Islamic health care service
that distinguishes it from contemporary Western
health care industry is the holistic approach to
health and wellbeing taken
This holistic approach consisted of treating both
the organic basis of the illness and the disease,
and to provide spiritual support for the patient
This spiritual component comes in the form of
Tawheed (Oneness of Allah), a dimension
lacking in current Western models of Nursing
The First Muslim Nurse
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The first professional nurse in the history of
Islam is a woman named, Rufaidah bento Saad
Al Aslamiah, from the Bani Aslam tribe in
Madina Al Monawarah
She lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad
(saw) and was among the first people in Medina
to accept Islam
Rufaidah received her training and knowledge in
medicine from her father, a physician whom she
assisted regularly
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After the Muslim state was established in
Medina, she would treat the ill in her tent set up
outside the mosque
During times of war, she would lead a group of
volunteers to the battlefield and would treat
casualties and injured soldiers
Rufaidah is described as a woman possessing
the qualities of an ideal nurse: compassionate,
empathetic, good leader and a great teacher,
passing on her clinical knowledge to others she
trained
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Furthermore, Rufaidah’s activities as someone
greatly involved in the community, in helping
those at the more disadvantaged portions of
society symbolize the ethos of care identified
above.
Nursing in Hospitals
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In hospitals built in the Medieval Muslim society
male nurses tended to male patients and female
nurses to female patients
The hospital in Al-Qayrawan was especially
unique among Muslim hospitals for several
reasons built in 830 H
The Al-Dimnah Hospital, constructed in the
Dimnah region close to the great mosque of Al
Qayrawan, was quite ahead of its time.
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It had the innovation of having a waiting area for
visitors, and the first official female nurses were
hired from Sudan to work in this hospital
Moreover, aside from regular physicians working
there, a group of religious Imams who also
practiced medicine, called Fugaha al-Badan
provided service as well, likely by tending the
patients’ spiritual needs
Hospitals In Islam
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The capital of the Islamic caliphate empire kept
changing from one dynasty to another
In each capital, an important medical centre
developed
By the end of the 13th century, there were many
medical centres spread throughout the Arab
world
Ash-Sham (Greater Syria)
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Ash-Sham at that time included what is known
now as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.,
Damascus and Jerusalem were the important
cities.
Damascus:
 The first known hospital in Islam was built in
Damascus in 706 A.D. by the Umayyad Caliph,
Al-Walid Ibn Abdel Malik
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The most important hospital built in Damascus
in the middle ages was named An-Nuri
Hospital, after King Nur Adl-Din Zinki in 1156.
This hospital was built during the Crusades War,
hence the importance of it being built was to
fulfil a need for a well-equipped and well-staffed
hospital
It became not only be first class in care, but the
hospital also was an excellent first class medical
school
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The king donated a whole library rich in medical
books to the hospital.
The hospital adopted medical records, probably
being the first in history
From its medical school, many eminent
physicians graduated, for example Ibn Anl-Nafis,
the scholar who discovered the pulmonary
circulation system.
The hospital served the public for seven
centuries and parts of it still exist today.
Jerusalem
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In 1055 A.D., the Crusaders built Saint John's
Hospital
By the end of the 11th century, it expanded to
such an extent to include a hospital, a palace for
knights, and a convent for the nursing sisters
The medical activities of the hospital were
tremendous because of the large number of
daily admissions of patients, pilgrims, and
wounded soldiers
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After the liberation of Jerusalem by Salah adDin in 1187 A.D., the hospital was renamed was
changed into Al-Salahani Hospital
He expanded the hospital, which continued to
serve the people until its destruction by an
earthquake in 1458 A.D.
Iraq and Persia
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Baghdad
 In 750 A.D., Baghdad was elected and built to
be the capital of the Abbasid dynasty by the
Caliph Abu-Ja’far Al- Mansur
 In 766 A.D., he assigned the dean of the
medical school of Jindi Shapur, Judis IbnBabtishu', to be the court physician and
establish hospitals proportionate to the glory
and prosperity of Baghdad.
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When Harun Al-Rashid followed (786-809 A.D.),
he ordered the grandson of Ibn-Babtishu and his
court physician, Jibril, to build a special hospital
named Baghdad Hospital.
This hospital developed into an important
medical centre. One of its chiefs was Al-Raze,
the eminent internist.
In 918 A.D., the Caliph Al-Muqtadir built two
hospitals in Baghdad.
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One was on the east side of the city, which he
named Al-Sayyidah Hospital, after his mother.
The other was on the west side of the city, which
he named, Al- Muqtadiri Hospital, after himself.
Another important hospital was named Al-Adudi
Hospital which was built in 981 A.D. after King
Adud Al-Dawlah
It was the most magnificent hospital built in
Baghdad before modern times.
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It was built at the request of the Caliph, who
wanted to outdo his predecessors
It was furnished with the best logistical
equipment and supplies known at the time
It had interns, residents, and 24 consultants
attending its professional activities.
It was destroyed in 1258 when the Mongols, led
by Holagu the grandson of Genghis Khan,
invaded Baghdad.
Egypt
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Al-Fustat
 In 872 A.D., Ahmed Ibn-Tulun built a hospital
called Al-Fustat Hospital in the city Al-Fustat,
which is now Old Cairo.
 It served the growing Cairo population for six
centuries.
 It was divided into separate wards. On
admission, the patients were given special
clothes while their clothes, money, and
valuables were stored until they were at the time
of their discharge.
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Cairo
 In 1284 A.D., King Al-Mansur Qalawun built the
famous and important hospital named AlMansuri Hospital.
 The story behind its construction is interesting.
King Al-Mansur Qalawun was an officer in the
Muslim Arabian army fighting the Crusaders.
 While in the Holy Land, he fell sick and was
admitted to An- Nuri Hospital.
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On recovery, he vowed that if he ever became
the ruler of Egypt, he would build a great
hospital in Cairo, even more magnificent than
An-Nuri Hospital, for, the sick, poor, and rich
alike.
At the inauguration ceremony, he asked for a
cup of lemonade from the fountain, which was
normally filled with water.
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After drinking it he declared that by taking it, he
was signifying that the hospital was serving all
people from the king to the least of his subjects.
This was the best hospital built at that time as
reported by the contemporary travelers and
historians of that time such as Ibn-Battuta and
Al-Kalkashandi.
It was divided into different sections according
to medical ailments for different diseases.
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Music therapy was used as a form of therapy
treatment for psychiatric patients.
It served 4,000 patients daily and the patient's
stay in the hospital was free.
Moreover, on his discharge, the patient was
given food and money for compensation for
being out of work during his hospital stay.
Al-Mansuri Hospital has served Cairo for seven
centuries since it's opening has been built.
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It is now used for ophthalmology and renamed
Qalawun Hospital
Its magnificent ancient door is preserved in the
Islamic Museum of Cairo
North Africa
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Tunisia
 In 830 A.D., Prince Ziyadat Allah I, built AlQayrawan Hospital in a district of the Qayrawan
city called Al-Dimnah.
 Subsequently all hospitals in Tunisia were called
Dimnah instead of Bimaristan as they were
called in the East, which is a Persian word
meaning a hospital.
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The Qayrawan Hospital was characterized by
spacious separate wards, waiting rooms for
visitors patients, and female nurses from Sudan.
The hospital also had a prayer hall.
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Morocco
 In 1190 A.D., The king Al-Mansur Ya'qub IbnYusuf built a hospital in the capital city,
Marakesh, and named it the Marakesh Hospital.
 It was a huge hospital beautifully landscaped
with fruit trees and flowers.
 Water entered all the sections through
aqueducts.
 Patients were provided with special apparel: one
for winter and another for summer.
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The pharmacy was taken care of by specialists
called the Saydalah and there was an expensive
private section where each patient was charged
what is equivalent today to $1,501 a day.
One thousand years ago, this fee was quite
expensive.
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Andalusi (Spain)
 In 1366 A.D., Prince Muhammad Ibn-Yusuf Ibn
Nasr built the Granada Hospital in the city of
Granada (Ghirnata), which had a population of
expanded to half a million population.
 The hospital represented the beauty of IslamicArabic architecture in Spain and served the
people until the fall of Granada in 1492 A.D
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Thank You