This is a comprehensive and original study of madness in the medieval Islamic world. Using a wide variety of sources from history, literature, and art, the late Michael Dols explores beliefs about madness in Islamic society and examines attitudes towards individuals afflicted by mental illness or disability. The book demonstrates the links between Christian and Muslim medical beliefs and practices, and traces the influence of certain Christian beliefs, such as miracle-working, on Islamic practices. It breaks new ground in analysing the notions of the romantic fool, the wise fool, and the holy fool in medieval Islam within the framework of perceptions of mental illness, and shows that the madman was not regarded as a pariah, an outcast, or a scapegoat. This is a comprehensive and original work, whose insights into magic, medicine, and religion combine to open up our understanding of medieval Islamic society.

This book describes medieval Islamic medicine and to explore a specific medical text, On the Prevention of Bodily Ills in Egypt by 'Ali ibn Ridwan (A.D. 998 - 1068). It seeks to answer the following questions: What did it mean to be a doctor in medieval Islamic society? What was the nature of the medicine that physicians practiced? And what was the relationship between physician and patient?