1/12

Dairatul Maarifil Osmania, a centre established in 1888 for compilation of ancient Arabic manuscripts will start a multicrore translation project this year. Two lakh pages of rare Arabic manuscripts on medicine, health, history and religion will be translated into English in a project supported by the Union government. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The multicrore, translation and digitisation project will be undertaken by Dairutul Maarifil Osmania, a centre that the VI Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqui, established in 1888. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The translation of the books will help to distinctly understand the contribution that Arab medicine had made to medical science. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Dairatul Maarifil Osmania, a centre established in 1888 for compilation of ancient Arabic manuscripts will start a multicrore translation project this year. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

As per the project, it is not just Al Razi’s work but all the two lakh pages of Arabic scholarship on medicine, history and religion will be translated into English, centre officials said. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Al Razi’s medical textbooks details out symptom based diagnosis. Each of the 24 volumes look into one aspect of human illness. For instance, the first volume is titled, diseases of the head and the second diseases of the eye. The third volume is on diseases of the throat, ear, nose and teeth. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The oldest compilation that the centre has dates back to 9th century AD. “Musnad Abu Yala’s Hadis or collection of Prophetic traditions was the first book that was compiled from manuscripts,” the director said. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The Union government which has in principle agreed to fund the project is expected to release Rs. 37.9 crore in the coming month. As per the calculation of Dairutul Maarifil Osmania, the translation work will alone cost Rs. 25 crore. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

The centre has edited and compiled 240 manuscripts that runs into 800 volumes with two lakh pages. The translation of the books will help to distinctly understand the contribution that Arab medicine had made to medical science. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

Dairatul Maarifil Osmania, a centre established in 1888 for compilation of ancient Arabic manuscripts will start a multicrore translation project this year. Two lakh pages of rare Arabic manuscripts on medicine, health, history and religion will be translated into English in a project supported by the Union government. The centre also has a collection of rare manuscripts that date back to 9th century AD. Among the works to be translated are 24 volumes, Al Hawi or encyclopaedia of medicine, in Hyderabad on Saturday. Photo: G. Ramakrishna

“Al Razi could have been the first medical theorist to state that fever is not a disease but a symptom of some other illness. He lists out a 1,000 varieties of fever that are symptoms to a 1,000 varieties of diseases,” said Md. Mubeen Iqbal, an Arabic scholar who has done translations of ancient texts. Photo: G. Ramakrishna