One of the most successful representatives of the physician-philosopher type in the history of Islam: Who is Abu Bakr al-Razi?

Abu Bakr Muhammed Zekeriyya er-Razi was born in Rey in 865, according to Bîrûnî's determination. There is not much information about his life. This famous physician, as the Westerners say, is an interesting person who was interested in philosophy and literature in his youth, wrote poetry, played the oud and sang, and gave up on this after he had a beard and mustache, saying, "It is not appropriate to deal with music any longer." After Hippocrates and Galen, he is known as the "Galene of the Arabs" for his important contributions to the science of medicine.

While he earned his living as a jeweler, this profession aroused his curiosity towards chemistry, and his eyes were disturbed due to the gases and vapors that emerged while doing chemistry experiments in the laboratory he established, and this discomfort continued throughout his life. According to Bîrûnî, the main reason why Râzî turned to medicine after chemistry was the discomfort in his eyes. Although some classical writers say that Râzî started his medical education after thirty and some after forty, when his works, which constitute a rich literature in this field, are examined, it is understood that these are not the kind that someone who is interested in medicine at an old age can achieve.

Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (c. 864 or 865–925 or 935) often known as (al-) Razi or by his Latin name Rhazes, also rendered Rhasis, was a Persian physician, philosopher, and alchemist who lived during the Islamic Golden Age. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of medicine, and also wrote on logic, astronomy, and grammar. He is also known for his criticism of religion, especially with regard to the concepts of prophethood and revelation. However, the religio-philosophical aspects of his thought, which also included a belief in five "eternal principles", are only recorded by authors who were often hostile to him.

There is not enough information about from whom Zekeriyya er-Razi was educated. Although some portray him as the disciple of the physician Ali Rabben et-Tabari, this is wrong; because Ali Rabben died four years before Razi was born. Ibn al-Nedim claims that Razi read from Belhî, a traveling philosopher who was well-versed in philosophy and ancient sciences, and even appropriated what his teacher wrote, but he does not give sufficient information about Belhi's identity. This person could be Abu Zeyd al-Belhi, one of the physicians and philosophers of that period, who went to Baghdad during his long travels and attended the lecture circle of the philosopher Kindi. Because, after Belhi, who was 15 years older than Razi and died nine years after him, had a cold, Razi wrote an article with the title "The reason why Abu Zayd al-Belhi has a cold is the rose he smells in the spring".

Abu Bakr er-Razi was in the science and culture centers in the Khorasan region during his long trip for education; After gaining fame in medicine, he went to Baghdad at the age of thirty-odd upon the invitation of Caliph Muktafi-Billah. In his autobiography, es-Sîretü'l-philsefiyye, he talks about himself as follows: "Those who know me know that my love for science, my passion, and my studies on this path have continued uninterruptedly since my youth. If there is a book I have not read or a scientist I have not met, even if it is in question that I will suffer a great loss, I will put everything aside and read that book and get to know that scholar. As a result of my patient work in this field, I wrote more than 20,000 pages of manuscripts in a year.”

Those who describe him say that they saw this person, who has a big head like a basket, either copying a book, making a draft, or clearing it. Razi, who produced works in all sciences of his age, especially medicine and philosophy, except geometry, who came to terms with many prominent scholars, thinkers, and theologians in the ancient and Hellenistic period and among his contemporaries, criticized them, wrote refutations against those who criticized him and is a brave, free-minded and productive philosopher. Against those who say, "You cannot be a philosopher because your life is not like Socrates'," he stated that no one in his country could surpass him in the field of medicine, that he did not behave in any way unbecoming a philosopher, and that he wrote nearly 200 works on physics and metaphysics, and in es-Sîretü'l-philsefiyye. “If this level of knowledge I have reached is not enough for me to take the name of philosopher, I wish I knew, who is worthy of this name in our age?” he defended himself.

Razi is known as a philosopher who tried to ground the deist worldview, inspired by Plato's philosophy, among the religious and philosophical thought movements that developed in the tolerance environment of the period. He was severely criticized by both his contemporaries and later philosophers and theologians because of his daring views, which argue that the power of reason and sense of justice given by Allah will ensure order among people and lead a happy life and that there is no need for religion or the guidance of a prophet for this. In the literature, he is often referred to as mulhid (defending beliefs and views that will result in leaving the religion) and zindiq. In addition to his denial of views about religion, he could not establish a tradition due to the contradictions of the system he developed for the creation of the universe and the formation of cosmic existence, and the scientific world recognized him mostly for his achievements in the field of medicine.

During his journey to complete his education, Razi conducted research on Greek, Indian, Iranian and Islamic medicine in various centers in the Khorasan region and had medical knowledge that no physician had reached since Galen, the most famous physician of the Hellenistic era. When he returned to Rey, the city where he was born, he was appointed the chief physician of the bimaristan (hospital) there, and due to his extensive knowledge in every field, his superior success in medicine, and his solid character, he took on important duties both as a palace physician and as a consultant in state affairs.

He went to Baghdad at the age of thirty-odd and passed the examination of chief physician of the hospital, which would later be known as Bîmaristân-ı Adudi, among a hundred physicians. In order to carry out the service in a regular rotation, a staff of twenty-four specialists consisting of internal medicine, external medicine, neurology, orthopedics, and ophthalmologists has been added to the hospital. With a very advanced method he developed, Razi had the patients examined first by the assistants and then by the chief assistants in the clinics, and if there was a case that they had difficulty diagnosing, then he would intervene himself. In hospitals, examination, diagnosis, effects of drugs, and the whole course of the case were recorded in notebooks. He is also known as the first physician to use chemistry in the service of medicine in the history of medicine. Although Avicenna despised him by saying that he was an "expert in excising pus-filled boils and examining urine and feces", in fact, he was far ahead of Avicenna in terms of the innovations he brought to the history of world medicine based on his experiments and clinical findings.

Râzî, who is accepted as the master of clinical medicine, says in the introduction of Kitâbü'ş-Şükûk, which he wrote to criticize Galen, whom he owes a lot to him, and that no authority can be trusted other than proven knowledge in medicine and philosophy, and that a philosopher would not welcome the submissive attitude of his students. It is seen that the observation and experiment method that Razi applied in the natural sciences was also successfully applied in the field of medicine. During the examination, he asked about the patient's age, nutrition, diseases, what his complaint was, and when it started, and recorded all the findings together with the diagnoses he made.

It is reported that Razi wrote more than two hundred works in philosophy, chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics, theology, music, and other fields, most of which were related to medicine. Although different numbers are given by different scientists; Three of these works related to medicine are important for the history of medicine.

Abu Bakr er-Razi is of the opinion that wars originate from religions. According to him, these wars caused great disasters. Again, in these works, religions constitute a major obstacle in the development of philosophical thought and in making progress in scientific research. It is seen that people attribute their belief in religion to being under the influence of imitation, habit, laziness, pressure, and fears caused by events.

According to Razi, who believed in a creator God in the history of Islamic thought, but did not accept prophethood and religion, thanks to the power of reason and sense of justice given by God, man can find his own way without the need for the mediation of the prophet or any spiritual person.

In addition, the philosopher argues that the wars that have continued throughout history are due to differences in religion, and therefore the prophets who emerged with the claim of saving humanity prepared the disaster for humanity. In this regard, he does not hesitate to criticize Judaism, Christianity, Manichaeism, and Brahmanism, and sometimes Islam, which he describes as the "true religion".

There is no doubt that Muslim thinkers, who try to ground all kinds of formations, developments, and changes in nature at the theoretical level, and who are in the group known as Tabiyyûn (naturalists), are authorities in the fields of medicine, chemistry (alchemy), botany, zoology, mathematics, and astronomy. At the beginning of these is Razi, the founder of this philosophy movement.

Zekeriyya er-Razi, who had cataracts in his eyes towards the end of his life, died in Rey in 925. Since Ebubekir er-Razi was discredited because of his philosophical and political views, the Islamic world was not interested in his works on different subjects. Abu Bakr er-Razi, whom the Islamic world sees as an apostate, attracted a great deal of attention in the Western world, especially his books in the field of medicine were used as textbooks in universities until the near century.