wow good girl - you done it sis! MashaAllah good work, pointing to a lot of facts associated with muslims but normally concealed.
Im not sure where this goes exactly, but I'll take a try here.
Caesarean Birth - an Islamic View
by Dr. N.H. Naqvi
Until the 16th century C.E. the operation of Caesarean section was a mystery and highly controversial in Europe but in the Middle Ages, Muslims wrote about the operation and even illustrated it with pictures. Towards the end of the 12th Century C.E. the European nations were beginning to surpass their rivals in the Islamic East. The increasing strength of the West took full advantage of scientific and literary discoveries of the Muslims. Far from giving any credit to the Muslims or acknowledging their contributions to science, the Western scholars painted a very distorted picture and left highly biased opinions of their predecessors from the Islamic world. This fact can be very easily illustrated by many examples from the history of medicine.
It is unfortunate that the Western medical historians have not appreciated the value of the writings of early Muslim scholars. On the contrary, for many centuries they have made positive efforts to discredit the Muslims. As an example, it is a generally held view in the West that surgical advancement was discouraged by great Muslim physicians like Ibn Sina because, in his Al-Qanon he did not emphasise surgical procedures. In these futile efforts it is forgotten that Al-Qanon was primarily a treatise on internal medicine and not on surgery. Many European authors of later ages produced medical texts on similar patterns. Moreover these shortsighted historians completely ignored surgical geniuses and the contributions of people like Abu Qasim (known in the West as Al Bucasis). In this context, the history of Caesarean section presents a good example. In 1863 a French medical historian by the name of C. Rique recorded that the operation of Caesarean section was strictly prohibited in Islam . He went on to say that according to Islamic jurists any child born by such an operation should be killed immediately as a child of the Devil. This author also quoted the name of an unknown Arab to justify his conclusion. But even after exhaustive searches this reference can not be found in the authentic Arabic literature. From the middle of the last century until modem times, Rique's statement has been quoted and referred to by many historians without establishing the truth or its validity. The literature on this subject is littered with references to the above quotation without even referring to the original source. On the contrary, no medical historian has ever mentioned that during the middle ages it was a well known belief in Europe that the devil or the Antichrist would be born by Caesarean section before the end of the world. This legend is mentioned and supported by a picture in a book published in 1898 by R. Procter and can be seen in the British Museum.
Unfortunately worthwhile literature of the early Islamic period is scanty and scattered or else is in the wrong hands. Many valuable manuscripts are either in private hands used only as profitable investments or in museums all over Europe and America. The Islamic states and the statesmen who can easily afford to collect and compile copies of these manuscripts for free circulation have never shown any interest in this wealth of inheritance. Lack of interest and research in these early manuscripts has created an atmosphere of doubt and misinformation.
If someone cared to devote time and effort searching through the available literature, a great a deal of truth could easily be found buried under the sands of time. As regards Caesarean section we know that in the pre-Islamic days the Romans used to perform this operation after the death of a pregnant woman. This practice was strictly governed by law. Jewish religious books have also mentioned various rules in relation to a child born by an operation. If we go further back into history, in India we find that the Buddha was possibly born by an operation. A famous Indian medical man by the name of Susruta wrote about such an operation in 6th or 7th century B.C. All these rich sources relating to Caesarean section were available to Muslim scholars of the Middle Ages, when a vast amount of scientific literature was translated into Arabic. In fact many of the Syriac, Creek and Sanskrit texts were only saved and are available to us because of their Arabic translations whilst the originals are lost forever. Many of the famous translators in the Islamic period were Christians or Jews. We known that an Indian by the name of Manka was appointed to translate Susruta's works into Arabic.
A unique and extremely rare manuscript exists in Edinburgh University Library. It is manuscript number 161 called "Al-Asrar-al-Baqiyah-an-al-Qurun-al-Khaliydh" or the Chronological History of Nations. It was written by the famous Muslim, Al-Beruni, who died at the age of 78 in 1048 C.E. Al-Beruni has also left us a large volume on the history of India and many other texts. He travelled extensively in pre-Muslim India and his writings were greatly influenced by these experiences. In particular he was impressed by medicinal plants form India. In the above manuscript Al-Beruni has mentioned that Caesar Augustus (63 B.C. - 14 C.E.) was born by post-mortem Caesarean section. He also wrote that a folk hero Ahmed-Ibn-Sahl was born by Caesarean section after the death of his mother. Apart from these two very relevant references he actually included a picture of the Caesarean section in his book. Without any question this picture is the first ever illustration of such an operation in a textbook and places its author at least 500 years ahead of others.
Another famous name and contemporary of Al-Beruni was Firdousi (935-1025 C.E.), author of the well known "Shahnama". In this 60 000 verses long poems he described the birth of Rustum by Caesarean section. This lively and fascinating description and use of anaesthesia during the operation is there for everyone to read and provides convincing proof that the concept of Caesarean section was mature and its use was an accepted fact.
When we seek help from the religious authorities we discover no less than the towering figure of Imam Abu Hanifah (699 -767 C.E.) who decreed that an operation on a living or dead woman to save the life of an unborn child is allowed in Islam. This is mentioned in a book called Radd-ul-Mukhtar published in 1844 in Egypt.
Further strong evidence is available in the Fatawa Alamgeeria-a collection of Islamic decrees compiled by Sheikh Nitzam -ud -Din of Burhanpur under the auspices of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, who himself was well versed in Islamic Sharia. In this document there is a decree that if a pregnant woman dies and a child is expected to be alive, then the child must be removed by operation. It goes on to say that the operation should also be performed in order to save the life of a mother when the child is known to be dead.
In conclusion it can be proved that Caesarean section has never been prohibited by any Muslim authority. On the contrary, the Muslims in the Middle ages were the first to write about it in text and poetry and to illustrate the operation in pictures. They also formulated rules governing religious matters to allow such a procedure when the need arose.
http://www.ummah.net/history/scholars/c_section/
wow good girl - you done it sis! MashaAllah good work, pointing to a lot of facts associated with muslims but normally concealed.
Insha'Allah I shall continue. But like I said, it will require a lot time and effort. Also most certainly plenty of research and the to put it all together! I'll need plenty of patience!! But since I want to do it, it should be no problem, Insha'Allah.
InshaAllah. All worthwhile things take effort. May Allah be pleased with you. Ameen.
Just thought I'd add a relevant Fatwa, hope you don't mind.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Caesarean section is an operation in which the abdomen is cut in order to bring the child out of the mother. It is said that it is so called after Julius Caesar, because he was the first one to be born in this manner, when his mother died during labour, after which the doctor cut open her stomach and brought him out of her, and Caesar lived to become the emperor of Rome.
Secondly:
Natural childbirth is better for the mother, but this does not mean that Caesarean section should not be used when necessary. Among such cases of necessity are: when the placenta is in the lower part of the uterus (placenta praevia), when the foetus is deprived of oxygen, when there are tumours in the pelvis, when there is high blood pressure, when there is haemorrhaging that threatens the life of the mother and baby, when there are conjoined (“Siamese”) twins, when the foetus is abnormally large, and other cases of necessity where Caesarean section is indicated. This is one of the great blessings of Allaah, an example of His mercy towards His creation.
Many doctors take the matter of resorting to Caesarean section lightly, because they want to earn more money or because they cannot be patient with the mother during natural childbirth. Some women ask for this surgery in order to preserve the gracefulness of their bodies or so as to avoid the pain of childbirth.
Undoubtedly doing this leads to the loss of numerous benefits, and also has effects on the mother and on future births, as referred to by the brother in his question.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
I would like to take this opportunity to point out a phenomenon that has been mentioned to us, which is that many obstetricians, male and female, in the hospitals are too keen for birth to take place by surgical means, which is known as a Caesarean. I am afraid that this may be a plot against the Muslims, because the more births take place in this manner, the more the skin of the abdomen is weakened and pregnancy becomes more dangerous for the woman, and she becomes unable to get pregnant. Some of the people who work in private hospitals have told me that many women come to the hospitals and their specialists tell them that there is no alternative to a caesarean, then they go to this private hospital and give birth naturally. He mentioned that there were about eighty such cases in one month. This means that the issue is serious, and attention must be drawn to it. It should be noted that in this case some pain and exhaustion is inevitable.
“His mother bears him with hardship. And she brings him forth with hardship”
[al-Ahqaaf 46:15]
It is not something to be done as soon as the woman feels a contraction, so that she may avoid pain. Natural childbirth is better than a caesarean. End quote.
Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftoohah (2/question no. 42).
The Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on him) was also asked:
Allaah says in Soorat ‘Abasa (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then He makes the Path easy for him”
[‘Abasa 80:20]
So Allaah guarantees to make it easy for this newborn. Many men and women have noticed that there is haste in performing caesarean sections. Is this a sign of weak trust in Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted?
He replied:
I think that this method which people use nowadays when the woman feels the contractions and goes to the hospital, and they do a caesarean section for her, I think that this is inspired by the shaytaan, and that the harm caused is far greater than any benefits, because a woman is bound to feel pain when in labour, but this pain has a number of benefits:
1 – It is an expiation for sin
2 – It raises her in status if she is patient and seeks reward.
3 – The woman understands the extent of the pain suffered by other mothers.
4 – She will appreciate the extent of the blessing of good health that Allaah bestows on her.
5 – It will increase her love towards her child, because the more difficult it is to attain something, the dearer it becomes.
6 – If the child is born by via the usual, well-known route, this is better for him and the woman.
7 – Damage may be expected from this surgery, because this operation weakens the wall of the uterus etc, which may tear. And it may be successful or unsuccessful.
8 – The woman who gets used to having caesareans is unlikely to give birth in the natural manner, because that is not possible, and there is the risk that the site of the surgery may rupture.
9 – Having surgery results in having fewer children, because if the abdomen is cut three times in different places, it becomes weak and future pregnancy becomes dangerous.
10 – This is a kind of luxury, and luxury is a thing that leads to doom, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, before that, they indulged in luxury…”
[al-Waaqi’ah 56:45]
Women should be patient and seek reward, and should continue to give birth in the natural way, because that is better for them in this world and in the Hereafter. Men should also pay attention to this issue, for we do not know, perhaps our enemies are the ones who have made these operations easy for us so that we will lose these benefits and be subject to these losses.
Question: What is meant by luxury?
Answer: Luxury includes avoiding the natural pain of childbirth. This is a kind of luxury. If luxury does not help one to obey Allaah, then it is either blameworthy or at the very least permissible.
Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (86/question no. 17).
To sum up: Caesarean section should not be resorted to except in cases of necessity, when natural childbirth is not possible, or it poses a danger to the mother or the child.
And Allaah knows best.
JazakAllah Khair for the fatwa bro.
To sum up: Caesarean section should not be resorted to except in cases of necessity, when natural childbirth is not possible, or it poses a danger to the mother or the child.
And Allaah knows best.
Thats what the article is really saying. Muslims are not completely opposed to it because of the certain cases mentioned in the fatwa.
The Muslim scientists made considerable progress in biology especially in botany, and developed horticulture to a high degree of perfection. They paid greater attention to botany in comparison to zoology. Botany reached its zenith in Spain.
Zoology
In zoology the study of the horse was developed almost to the tank of a science. Abu Ubaidah (728-825 A. D.) who wrote more than 100 books, devoted more than fifty books to the study of the horse.
Al-Jahiz
Al-Jahiz, who flourished in Basra is reputed to be one of the greatest zoologists the Muslim world has produced. His influence in the subject may be traced to 'the Persian'Al-Qazwini' and the Egyptian 'Al-Damiri'. His book 'Kitab al Haywan' (book ori animals) contains gems of later theories of evolution, adaptation and animal psychology. He was the first to note changes in bird life through migrations. He described the method of obtaining 'ammonia from animal offal by dry distilling.'
Al-Damiri
Al-Damiri, who died in 1405 in Cairo and who was influenced by Al-Jahiz is the greatest Arab zoologist. His book Hayat Haywarz (Life of animal) is the most important Muslim work in zoology. It is an encyclopedia on animal life containing a mine of information on the subject. It contains the history of animals and preceded Buffoon by 700 years.
Al Masudi
Al-Masudi, has given the rudiments of the theory of evolution in his well known work Meadows of gold. Another of his works Kitab al-Tanbih wal Ishraq advances his views on evolution namely from mineral to plant, from plant to animal and from animal to man.
Botany
In botany, Spanish Muslims made the greatest contribution, and some of them are known as the greatest botanists of mediaeval times. They were keen observers and discovered sexual difference between such plants as palms and hemps. They roamed about on sea shores, on mountains and in distant lands in quest of rare botanical herbs.
They classified plants into those that grow from seeds, those that grow from cuttings and those that grow of their own accord, i.e., wild growth. The Spanish Muslims advanced in botany far beyond the state in which "it had been left by Discords and augmented the herbology of the Greeks by the addition of 2,000 plants" Regular botanical gardens existed in Cordova, Baghdad, Cairo and Fez for teaching and experimental purposes. Some of these were the finest in the world.
The Cordovan physician, Al-Ghafiqi (D. 1165) was a renowned botanist, who collected plants in Spain and Africa, and described them most accurately. According to G. Sarton he was "the greatest expert of his time on simples. His description of plants was the most precise ever made in Islam; he gave the names of each in Arabic, Latin and Berber". His outstanding work Al Adwiyah al Mufradah dealing with simples was later appropriated by Ibn Baytar."
Abu Zakariya Yahya
Abu Zakariya Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn AlAwwan, who flourished at the end of 12 century in Seville (Spain) was the author of the most important Islamic treatise on agriculture during the mediaeval times entitled Kitab al Filahah. The book treats more than 585 plants and deals with the cultivation of more than 50 fruit trees. It also discusses numerous diseases of plants and suggests their remedies. The book presents new observations on properties of soil and different types of manures.
Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Al-Baytar
Abdullah Ibn Ahmad Ibn Al-Baytar, was the greatest botanist and pharmacist of Spain--in fact the greatest of mediaeval times. He roamed about in search of plants and collected herbs on the Mediterranean littoral, from Spain to Syria, described more than 1,400 medical drugs and compared them with the records of more than 150 ancient and Arabian authors.
The collection of simple drugs composed by him is the ilaost outstanding botanical work in Arabic. "This book, in fact is the most important for the whole period extending from Discords down to the 16th century." It is an encyclopedic work on the subject. He later entered into the service of the Ayyubid king, Al-Malik, as his chief herbalist in Cairo. From there he traveled through Syria and Asia Minor, and died in Damascus.
One of his works Al-Mughani-fi al Adwiyah al Mufradah deals with medicine. The other Al Jami Ji al Adwiyah al Mufradah is a very valuable book containing simple remedies regarding animal, vegetable and mineral matters which has been described above. It deals also with 200 novel plants which were not known up to that time.
Other Notable Botanists
Abul Abbàs Al-Nabati also wandered along the African Coast from Spain to Arabia in search of herbs and plants. He discovered some rare plants on the shore of Red Sea. Another botanist Ibn Sauri, was accompanied by an artist during his travels in Syria, who made sketches of the plants which they found. Ibn Wahshiya, wrote his celebrated work al-Filahah al-Nabatiyah containing valuable information about :animals and plants.
Many Cosmographical encyclopedias have been written by Arabs and Persians, which contain sections on animals, plants and stones, of which the best known is that of Zakariya al-Kaiwini, who died in 1283 A. D. Al-Dinawari wrote an excellent 'book of plants' and al-Bakri has written a book describing in detail the 'Plants of Andalusia'
Ibn Maskwaih, a contemporary of Al-Beruni, advanced a definite theory about evolution. According to him plant life at its lowest stage of evolution does not need any seed for its birth and growth. Nor does it perpetuate its species by means of the seed.
The great advancement of botanical science in Spain led to the development of agriculture and horticulture on a grand scale. "Horticulture improvements" says G. Sarton, "constituted the finest legacies of Islam, and the gardens of Spain proclaim to this clay one of the noblest virtues of her Muslim conquerors- The development of agriculture was one of the glories of Muslim Spain."
http://www.itsislam.net/articles/biology_by_muslims.asp
is this procedure acceptable in islam?.....even thou as reasons are mentioned above can this act be taken in action?
..what re the side effects?.....a summary please.....
am just curious........coz i was born through caesarean......
By Dr. N. H. Naqvi
Until the 16th century C.E. the operation of Caesarean section was a mystery and highly controversial in Europe but in the Middle Ages, Muslims wrote about the operation and even illustrated it with pictures. Towards the end of the 12th Century C.E. the European nations were beginning to surpass their rivals in the Islamic East. The increasing strength of the West took full advantage of scientific and literary discoveries of the Muslims. Far from giving any credit to the Muslims or acknowledging their contributions to science, the Western scholars painted a very distorted picture and left highly biased opinions of their predecessors from the Islamic world. This fact can be very easily illustrated by many examples from the history of medicine.
It is unfortunate that the Western medical historians have not appreciated the value of the writings of early Muslim scholars. On the contrary, for many centuries they have made positive efforts to discredit the Muslims. As an example, it is a generally held view in the West that surgical advancement was discouraged by great Muslim physicians like Ibn Sina because, in his Al-Qanon he did not emphasise surgical procedures. In these futile efforts it is forgotten that Al-Qanon was primarily a treatise on internal medicine and not on surgery. Many European authors of later ages produced medical texts on similar patterns. Moreover these shortsighted historians completely ignored surgical geniuses and the contributions of people like Abu Qasim (known in the West as Al Bucasis). In this context, the history of Caesarean section presents a good example. In 1863 a French medical historian by the name of C. Rique recorded that the operation of Caesarean section was strictly prohibited in Islam . He went on to say that according to Islamic jurists any child born by such an operation should be killed immediately as a child of the Devil. This author also quoted the name of an unknown Arab to justify his conclusion. But even after exhaustive searches this reference can not be found in the authentic Arabic literature. From the middle of the last century until modem times, Rique's statement has been quoted and referred to by many historians without establishing the truth or its validity. The literature on this subject is littered with references to the above quotation without even referring to the original source. On the contrary, no medical historian has ever mentioned that during the middle ages it was a well known belief in Europe that the devil or the Antichrist would be born by Caesarean section before the end of the world. This legend is mentioned and supported by a picture in a book published in 1898 by R. Procter and can be seen in the British Museum.
Unfortunately worthwhile literature of the early Islamic period is scanty and scattered or else is in the wrong hands. Many valuable manuscripts are either in private hands used only as profitable investments or in museums all over Europe and America. The Islamic states and the statesmen who can easily afford to collect and compile copies of these manuscripts for free circulation have never shown any interest in this wealth of inheritance. Lack of interest and research in these early manuscripts has created an atmosphere of doubt and misinformation.
If someone cared to devote time and effort searching through the available literature, a great a deal of truth could easily be found buried under the sands of time. As regards Caesarean section we know that in the pre-Islamic days the Romans used to perform this operation after the death of a pregnant woman. This practice was strictly governed by law. Jewish religious books have also mentioned various rules in relation to a child born by an operation. If we go further back into history, in India we find that the Buddha was possibly born by an operation. A famous Indian medical man by the name of Susruta wrote about such an operation in 6th or 7th century B.C. All these rich sources relating to Caesarean section were available to Muslim scholars of the Middle Ages, when a vast amount of scientific literature was translated into Arabic. In fact many of the Syriac, Creek and Sanskrit texts were only saved and are available to us because of their Arabic translations whilst the originals are lost forever. Many of the famous translators in the Islamic period were Christians or Jews. We known that an Indian by the name of Manka was appointed to translate Susruta's works into Arabic.
A unique and extremely rare manuscript exists in Edinburgh University Library. It is manuscript number 161 called "Al-Asrar-al-Baqiyah-an-al-Qurun-al-Khaliydh" or the Chronological History of Nations. It was written by the famous Muslim, Al-Beruni, who died at the age of 78 in 1048 C.E. Al-Beruni has also left us a large volume on the history of India and many other texts. He travelled extensively in pre-Muslim India and his writings were greatly influenced by these experiences. In particular he was impressed by medicinal plants form India. In the above manuscript Al-Beruni has mentioned that Caesar Augustus (63 B.C. - 14 C.E.) was born by post-mortem Caesarean section. He also wrote that a folk hero Ahmed-Ibn-Sahl was born by Caesarean section after the death of his mother. Apart from these two very relevant references he actually included a picture of the Caesarean section in his book. Without any question this picture is the first ever illustration of such an operation in a textbook and places its author at least 500 years ahead of others.
Another famous name and contemporary of Al-Beruni was Firdousi (935-1025 C.E.), author of the well known "Shahnama". In this 60 000 verses long poems he described the birth of Rustum by Caesarean section. This lively and fascinating description and use of anaesthesia during the operation is there for everyone to read and provides convincing proof that the concept of Caesarean section was mature and its use was an accepted fact.
When we seek help from the religious authorities we discover no less than the towering figure of Imam Abu Hanifah (699 -767 C.E.) who decreed that an operation on a living or dead woman to save the life of an unborn child is allowed in Islam. This is mentioned in a book called Radd-ul-Mukhtar published in 1844 in Egypt.
Further strong evidence is available in the Fatawa Alamgeeria-a collection of Islamic decrees compiled by Sheikh Nitzam -ud -Din of Burhanpur under the auspices of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, who himself was well versed in Islamic Sharia. In this document there is a decree that if a pregnant woman dies and a child is expected to be alive, then the child must be removed by operation. It goes on to say that the operation should also be performed in order to save the life of a mother when the child is known to be dead.
In conclusion it can be proved that Caesarean section has never been prohibited by any Muslim authority. On the contrary, the Muslims in the Middle ages were the first to write about it in text and poetry and to illustrate the operation in pictures. They also formulated rules governing religious matters to allow such a procedure when the need arose.
Picture of Caesarean Birth
http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/seerah_0054.jpg
so many times ive thought what it would be like to make an islamic museum of the contribution to wordly benefit by muslims.
format_quote Originally Posted by IbnAbdulHakim
I think it would be great for us..more recgonisable of Islamic history or Muslims people of history!
That is really cool
JazakiAllahu khair for sharing with uz
Mashaa Allaah, that's really kool!
Caesarean section without anesthetic? Ouch! They must have been the geniuses of their times!
yea..very very geniuses thou!
format_quote Originally Posted by Iqram
The pain of the contractions probably made the cut feel like a scratch.
However, the article did say:
Another famous name and contemporary of Al-Beruni was Firdousi (935-1025 C.E.), author of the well known "Shahnama". In this 60 000 verses long poems he described the birth of Rustum by Caesarean section. This lively and fascinating description and use of anaesthesia during the operation is there for everyone to read and provides convincing proof that the concept of Caesarean section was mature and its use was an accepted fact.
I forgot bout this thread...btw the use of anesthetics was also something brought up by Muslims in the past...subhanAllah...
Indeed, I heard something similar. And of course, Al-Jabbar/Algebra. But I don't have much respect for him. He's the one that makes school life so difficult.format_quote Originally Posted by Light of Heaven
I forgot bout this thread...btw the use of anesthetics was also something brought up by Muslims in the past...subhanAllah...
But yeah. This is interesting. I didn't know Muslims were the inventors of C-Section!
Yeaaaaaaa...! A lot of Muslim names were changed in the textbooks and we didn't know that....it's only now after getting out of school that you realize this. Too late to tell them lol...but u sure can teach your children when they go to school. I'm definitely gunna do it..
www.1001inventions.com is also good...they're on facebook too.
Remember "Kevin Costner - Robin Hood prince of thieves" movie ?.
There is a scene when the Muslim Azeem helped Little John's wife to birth her baby in the first caesarean birth in England.
Okay, Azeem is a fake character, he never existed. But we can see, Kevin Costner was agree if caesarean birth performed first by Muslims.
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