Bio-Bibliographies
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Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī, Burhān al-Dīn (d. 1449/853 H)
برهان الدين نفيس ابن عواض الكرمانى
Nafīs ibn ‘Iwāḍ al-Kirmānī was court physician to Ulugh Beg, the grandson of Tamerlane and the governor of Samarqand from 1409 to 1449 (812-853 H). In 1424/827 H, al-Kirmānī dedicated to Ulugh Beg his commentary on the medical compendium of Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī, and in 1437/841 he again dedicated to Ulugh Beg his popular commentary on the Canon on Medicine of Avicenna. Al-Kirmānī's commentary on Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī's treatise was so popular that commentaries were written on the commentary, and it was translated into Persian and amplified by Muḥammad Arzānī in the 18th century.
For life and works, Dietrich, Medicinalia, pp. 122-124 no. 52; and GAL, vol. 2, p. 213 (276).
Nāgawrī, Shihāb al-Dīn ibn ‘Abd al-Karīm Qivām (fl. 1388/790)
شهاب الدين ابن عبد الكريم قوام ناگورى
Shihāb al-Dīn al-Nāgawrī composed several Persian medical treatises, including a general handbook composed in 1392/794 and a short dictionary of drugs. His metrical Persian compendium on therapeutics was written in 1388/790 and was often known as "Shihab's Medicine" as well as the more formal title Shifā’ al-maraḍ (The Healing of Disease). A considerable amount of autobiographical material is contained in this didactic poem, including the fact that al-Nagawri made his living in trade rather than as a physician.
For his life and writings, see Storey PL II,2, pp. 224-225 no. 383;
Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī, Abū ḥamid Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Umar (d. 1222/619)
ابو حامد محمد ابن على ابن عمر نجيب الدين السمرقندى
Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī died during the Mongol attack on Herat, in Persia, in 1222/619 H. He was a prolific medical writer and expositor of medical ideas, though few details are known of his life. His most famous book was The Book of Causes and Symptoms, a comprehensive manual of therapeutics and pathology. The treatises were widely read and often commentaries were written on them.
For his life and writings, see A. Z. Iskandar, "A Study of al-Samarqandī's Medical Writings", Le Muséon, vol. 85 (1972), pp. 451-479; DSB vol. 12, pp. 90-91; and Ullmann, Medizin, p. 170.
Najm al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī, Maḥmūd ibn Ḍiyā’ al-Dīn Ilyās (d. 1330/730 H)
نحم الدين محمود ابن ضياء الدين الياس الشيرازى
Najm al-Dīn Maḥmūd ibn Ilyās al-Shīrāzī, a resident of al-Shīrāz in Persia, died in the year 1330/730 H. His major composition was a large Arabic medical compendium, Kitāb al-Ḥāwī fī ‘ilm al-tadāwī (The Comprehensive Book on the Art of Curing) (MS A 18, MS A 18.1, MS A 87, item 12), whose title often caused confusion with the better-known Kitāb al-Ḥāwī (The Comprehensive Book) written four centuries earlier by al-Rāzī. In the course of his treatise, Najm al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī cites by name many earlier medical authorities, including Hippocrates and Galen as well as Arabic writers. Little is known of the life of Najm al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī.
For what little is known of his life and writings, see Ullmann, Medizin, p. 178; Richter-Bernberg, "UCLA", pp. 25-27; GAL-S, vol. 1 p. 901 and vol. 2, pp. 298-9.
Nakhshabī, Ziyā’, or Diyā’ al-Dīn Nakhshabī (? 18th century)
ضياء [ضياء الدين ] نخشبى
According to a statement in a manuscript now at NLM, MS P 24, item 1 Ziyā’ Nakhshabī himself transcribed and illustrated a Persian translation made of a Hindi version of a Sanskrit treatise on sexual hygiene. There are 5 full-page miniatures painted in a variety of opaque watercolors with gilt and 2 half or three-quarter miniatures, all of a provincial Mughal style typical of north-west India, especially Kashmir, in the 18th century. If the statement in the manuscript that Nakhshabī was both the copyist and the illustrator is correct, then this could be taken as evidence that Nakhshabī worked in India in the 18th century. No other particulars are known of Nakhshabī.
There are a number of other Persian manuscripts which associate the name Ziyā’ Nakhshabī or Diyā’ al-Dīn Nakhshabī with versions of this ultimately Sanskrit treatise on sexual hygiene. He is also known to had edited and added his own verses to a Persian translation called Tuti'namah of a Sanskrit collection of 52 tales narrated by a parrot (tuti) and a nightingale (sharak) to a woman in order to keep her away from a lover while her husband, a traveling merchant, was absent.
For treatises attributed to him, see Keshavarz, "Wellcome", pp. 377-378 no. 211 and pp. 633-634 no. 450.
Naysābūrī, Abū al-Qāsim
al-Ḥabīb (fl. before 1750/1163)
ابو القاسم الحبيب النيسابورى
Abū al-Qāsim al-Ḥabīb al-Naysābūrī is known to have written two Arabic treatises on Prophetic medicine. One is in a unique copy now at NLM (MS A 88/IV), copied in 1792, and other is preserved in a unique copy now in Los Angeles that was copied in 1750. Therefore, the author must have been active before 1750. Since he cites amongst his authorities Ibn Shahin, who composed his major work in 1453/857, we know that al-Naysābūrī must has been active after the mid-15th century. Nothing else is known about this author.
For the manuscript now in Los Angeles, see Iskandar "UCLA", p. 82.
Nūrbakhshī, Bahā’ al-Dīn [or Bahā’ al-Dawlah] ibn Sirāj al-Dīn Shāh Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī (d. ca. 1508/914 H)
بهاء الدين [ بهاء الدوله ] ابن سراج الدين شاه قاسم ابن محمد الحسينى نوربخشى
Bahā’ al-Dawlah ibn Sirāj al-Dīn Shāh Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Ḥusaynī Nūrbakhshī (also sometimes called al-Nūrī rather than Nūrbakhshī) obtained court favor in both Persia and Iraq. He is known by one treatise, a medical compendium called Khulāṣat al-tajārib (The Summary of Experience) which he composed in 1501/907 H in the village of Tursht, which was near the town of Rayy (near present-day Tehran).
For evidence regarding his life and probable date of death, see Richter-Bernberg, "UCLA", pp. 62-64; and Storey PL II,2, pp. 230-231.
