Two Pharmacological Texts on Whey by Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (d. 925)

Abstract

This article offers the first edition and translation of two heretofore unpublished pharmacological treatises by Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (d. 925), namely Fī ittikhādh māʾ al-jubn (On How to Administer Whey) and Fī manāfiʿ māʾ al-jubn (On the Benefits of Whey), which seem to have formed part of a lost volume on dairy products. As it demonstrates, al-Rāzī’s examination of whey is connected to his philosophical interest in the complex nature of simple substances such as milk. The article also highlights how these two treatises built on the Greek pharmacological tradition by incorporating ingredients from Persia and India.