Yūsuf Ibn Biklārish al-Isrā’īlī

Late 11th to Early 12th Century

Yūsuf (or perhaps Yūnus) ibn Isḥāq al-Isrā’īlī Ibn Biklārish (or Baklārish) was a Jewish physician in Almería, Spain, active around 1100. His only surviving work is The Book of Musta‘īnī (Kitāb Musta‘īnī), which he wrote on behalf of the ruler of Saragossa, Abū Ja‘far Aḥmad II ibn Yūsuf, known as al-Musta‘īn II (r. 1085–1109). Ibn Biklārish served as court physician, but little else is known about him. No specifically Jewish material appears in the Kitāb Musta‘īnī, which was fairly popular in Spain and North Africa. Later authors also mention a book on dialectics written by Ibn Biklārish. The meaning of the patronym Biklārish is unclear.

Content by Yūsuf Ibn Biklārish al-Isrā’īlī

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The Book of Musta‘īnī

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Gall of hyena hot, dry in the fourth degree The hyena is an animal of the carnivores . . . . Some call it ḍab‘ [or ḍabu‘] and . . . and . . . ḍab‘ is the name of both male and female, ḍib‘ān for the…

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A Manuscript Page from The Book of Musta‘īnī

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The Book of Musta‘īnī consists of a mostly alphabetical list of 704 medicinal components, identified in Arabic and presented in tabular format. The author names the ingredients in a startling variety…