Kitāb al-ḥāwī

work by al-Rāzī

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June 24, 2026

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The Kitāb al-Hāwī (The Comprehensive Book) is a monumental medical encyclopedia written by the Persian physician and philosopher al-Rāzī (Rhazes) around the 10th century CE. It is considered one of his most significant medical works, surveying a vast range of medical knowledge from Greek, Syrian, early Arabic, and some Indian traditions. Al-Rāzī not only compiled existing knowledge but also added his own considered judgments and clinical experiences as commentary.1

While al-Rāzī was a celebrated physician, he also made contributions to alchemy and philosophy. His medical works, including the Kitāb al-Hāwī, were influential and later translated, though Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine eventually became more widely preferred in European medical schools.12

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al-Rāzī
…Cremona’s 12th-century Latin translation, and Kitāb al-ḥāwī, the “Comprehensive Book,” in which he surveyed Greek, Syrian, and early Arabic medicine as well as some Indian medical knowledge. Throughout his works he added his own considered judgment and his own medical experience as commentary. Among his numerous minor medical treatises is…
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…Cremona’s 12th-century Latin translation, and Kitāb al-ḥāwī, the “Comprehensive Book,” in which he surveyed Greek, Syrian, and early Arabic medicine as well as some Indian medical knowledge. Throughout his works he added his own considered judgment and his own medical experience as commentary. Among his numerous minor medical treatises is…
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history of medicine
Arabian medicine
…on medicine, Kitāb al-hāḳī (“Comprehensive Book”), but whose most famous work, De variolis et morbillis (A Treatise on the Smallpox and Measles), distinguishes between these two diseases and gives a clear description of both.
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…on medicine, Kitāb al-hāḳī (“Comprehensive Book”), but whose most famous work, De variolis et morbillis (A Treatise on the Smallpox and Measles), distinguishes between these two diseases and gives a clear description of both.
Read More