A Hospital Handbook for the Community: Evidence for the Extensive Use of Ibn Abi 'l-Bayan's al-Dustur al-bimaristani by the Jewish Practitioners of Medieval Cairo

Abstract

Al-Dustūr al-bīmāristānī by Ibn Abī 'l-Bayān forms an important part of the Arabic tradition of hospital dispensatories and has remained well-known to the traditional practitioners of the Middle East. So far, eleven fragments of the Dustur have been identified in the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collections at the Cambridge University Library, of which eight are in Arabic script and three are in Judaeo-Arabic. This article discusses the significance of these fragments, particularly those in Judaeo-Arabic. We also provide editions and translations of two of the fragments.