194 r Leigh N. Chipman
altogether. Al-Kuhin al- ̔Attar states this clearly: Although Ibn Abi ’l-
Bayan could have written the kind of book he himself intends, he did not
do so.
Indeed, in my time the shaykh al-Sadid Ibn ’l-Bayan composed a
fine book named al-Dustur al-bimaristani, and stated that he noted
in it everything that is needed, and there is no call for another col-
lection. But upon my life! He omitted many things that are nec-
essary to anyone with an interest in this craft, that is, the craft of
pharmacy, which is known nowadays as the craft of perfumery and
syrups (sina ̔at al- ̔itr wa-’l-ashriba).^16 It was not above his capabil-
ity, may God have mercy upon him, to compose something simpler
in words and more useful, but he intended to be brief, and he ad-
dressed skilled physicians, for he mentioned in it [= his book] the
rule for making syrups in general and robs in general and suchlike,
and this is only for whoever understands medicine. But as for the
apothecary or syrup-maker who wants to be guided by his words,
it is necessary to clarify things to him as a teacher with a pupil, so
that the reader remains safe from danger and free of responsibility.
When this became clear to me, I understood how little use it was,
despite its many virtues. If it had been more detailed and contained
everything that I collated, I would not have dispensed with it nor
composed this choice book.^17Indeed, Ibn Abi ’l-Bayan himself says that he is writing for an audience
of physicians: “And now to the point, this is a rule-book (dustur) compris-
ing a clarification of the compound drugs used for most of the illnesses for
which one is confined (muqtassar ̔alayha) in the hospital, and they are
those used by most physicians, and their benefit is known, and their fame
(dhikr) is widespread, of what Dawud b. Abi ’l-Bayan the mutatabbib col-
lected, and it is twelve chapters.”^18 Despite the fact that the pharmacist was
supposed merely to carry out the physician’s instructions, implying that
the physician’s knowledge of drugs was equal to that of the pharmacist,
there is clearly a difference in the level of knowledge required by different
readers.
A striking omission, both from the khutba itself and from Minhaj al-
dukkan as a whole, is any discussion of pharmacological theory. This is
true of the physician-authored al-Dustur al-bimaristani, too. However,