Al-Tamimi, the physician

Muhammad Al-Tamimi
Native name	Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Sa'id al-Tamimi
Born	early 10th century CE Jerusalem
Died	990 CE Egypt
Residence	Islamic civilization
Academic background
Influences	Aristotle, Dioscorides, Galen, Paul of Aegina, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, Ibn al-Jazzar
Academic work
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Main interests	Islamic medicine
Notable works	Al-Murshid ilā Jawāhir-il-Aghdhiyah
Influenced	Maimonides, `Ali ibn `Abd al-`Azim al-Ansari, Ibn al-Baitar, Al-Nuwayri, Daniel Le Clerc

Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد التميمي‎‎), known by his kunya, "Abu Abdullah," but more commonly as Al-Tamimi, the physician, was a tenth century Arab physician, who came to renown on account of his medical works. Born in Jerusalem, Al-Tamimi spent his early years in and around Jerusalem where he studied medicine under the tutelage of two local physicians, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Nu'aym, and a Christian monk, Anba Zecharia ben Thawabah. Al-Tamimi possessed an uncommon knowledge of plants and their properties, such that his service in this field was highly coveted and brought him to serve as the personal physician of the Ikhshidid Governor of Ramla, al-Hassan bin Abdullah bin Tughj al-Mastouli, before being asked to render his services in Old Cairo, Egypt. Around 970, Al-Tamimi had settled in Old Cairo, Egypt, and there prospered in his medical field, writing a medical work for the vizier, Ya'qub ibn Killis (930–991), a Baghdadi Jew who came to work in Egypt under the auspices of the Fatimids. He specialized in compounding simple drugs and medicines, but is especially known for his having concocted a theriac reputed as a proven antidote in snake and other poisons, which he named tiryaq al-fārūq (the antidote of salvation) because of its exceptional qualities.

Little is known of al-Tamimi's personal life. Among al-Tamimi's contemporaries was the famed Arab geographer, Al-Muqaddasi, also of Palestine. Like Al-Muqaddasi, he brings down in his writings curious anecdotes about the geography of the land of Israel (Palestine) and the agronomic practices of its inhabitants, as well as its mineral resources.

Al-Tamimi's most-prized medical work is The Guide to the Fundamentals of Foodstuffs and the Powers of Simple Drugs (Arabic: كتاب المرشد الى جواهر الأغذيه وقوت المفردات من الأدويه‎‎), known also under its abbreviated name, Al-Murshid, of which only portions have survived. This work which treats on the properties of certain plants (antidotes) and minerals has laid the foundation for subsequent works written on medicine by other authors, particularly that composed by Ibn al-Baytar in Cairo (d. 1248/646 H), in which he treats on various antidotes used to remedy poisons inflicted by snakebite and scorpion stings, and an important Arabic treatise on antidotes for poisons written by `Ali ibn `Abd al-`Aẓim al-Anṣāri in Syria in 1270 (669 H), entitled Dhikr al-tiryaq al-faruq (Memoir on Antidotes for Poisons), where he quotes from al-Tamimi's works, some of which are no longer extant. Maimonides (1138–1204), the Jewish rabbi and physician, also made use of his works, and is quoted as saying of him: "This man who was in Jerusalem, and whose name was al-Tamimi, composed a book, calling it 'al-Murshid,' that is to say, 'that which leads aright.' They say that he was [a man] of great learning experience. Now although most of his words were accounts drawn from others, and occasionally he would err by bringing down the words of others, nevertheless he has generally mentioned many peculiar remedies in the nature of foods, what are seen as affecting many cures [for ailments]. I have therefore deemed it fitting to speak of them, what seemed to me of them to be right in foods and in medicines."

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