The Challenge of Medical Charlatanism in Adab alTabib: A Historical Review

Medical charlatanism is a significant topic in historical manuscripts from the golden age of Islamic medicine. The topic has been dealt with substantially in Adab alTabib, an epic work by AIRuhawi (12th century AD). In this paper, we review the challenges to medical charlatanism in Adab alTabib. AIRuhawi has offered a variety of strategies to fight against this phenomenon. We classified these strategies into prevention of and combating medical charlatanism. The formulation of a multifaceted assessment of candidates to medical training, respect for physicians and their rights, assessment of a medical practitioner’s competence and promotion of spiritual, ethical and religious values are considered preventive strategies. Strategies in the fight against charlatanism include monitoring a physician’s performance and exposure of charlatanism to the authorities. AIRuhawi has correctly understood the enormous risk posed by medical charlatanism and has provided practical and useful guidelines for its prevention and combating existing cases.