The Convergence of Judaism and Islam. Religious, Scientific, and Cultural Dimensions

Pharmacopoeias for the Hospital and the Shop r 197

describes in detail the procedure for dissolving sugar in vinegar.^23 How-
ever, this recipe also shows al-Kuhin al- ̔Attar using the Baghdadi ratl
while Ibn Abi ’l-Bayan leaves the choice of the Egyptian or Baghdadi ratl
to the person making up the medicine—one would expect the opposite,
with the hospital being more precise than the private shop.
Several recipes in al-Dustur al-bimaristani have more detailed indica-
tions than their counterparts in Minhaj al-dukkan, as in the recipe for
barberry pastilles (Berberis vulgaris, quras al-amirbaris al-rawandi). See
table 11.3.

Table 11.2 Two Versions of the Recipe for Squill Oxymel Syrup

al-Dustur al-bimaristani, p. 46 Minhaj al-dukkan, p. 37

Squill oxymel syrup Squill oxymel syrup
From Ibn Bayan’s Dustur
Beneficial for hemiplegia and facial
paralysis and joint pains and bad con-
stitution and coarseness of the spleen;
opens obstructions in the liver.
Take from a medium squill bulb at
harvest time the

Take from a medium squill bulb at harvest
time the
quantity of one and a half ratls [1 ratl=
app. 300 grams] Chop finely with a

quantity of one and a half ratls. Chop finely
with a
wooden knife and place in a linen
cloth and suspend

wooden knife and place in a linen cloth and
place in
in a vessel filled with strong vinegar a glass vessel filled with seven and a half
ratls of
strong wine vinegar
Let there be the space of two fingers
between it

Let there be the space of two fingers be-
tween it
and the vinegar and the vinegar
Stop the mouth of the vessel and place
in the hot sun

Stop the mouth of the vessel and leave in
the sun
for two months; take out of the sun.
For every ratl of sugar or good pure
honey, add

Then take of this vinegar four uqiyyas for
every ratl of
four uqiyyas [1 uqiyya= app. 24
grams] of the squill vinegar. Cook as
plain

sugar. Let it reach [the desired] consistency

and

oxymel, remove and use. remove.