Abul Qasim ibn Mohammed al-Ghassani
| Moroccan literature |
|---|
| Moroccan writers |
| Forms |
| Criticism and awards |
| See also |
Abul Qasim al-Ghassani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1548 |
| Died | 1610 (aged 61–62) Marrakesh, Saadi Sultanate |
| Known for | Author of Hadiqat al-azhar (Garden of Flowers) |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician, Botanist, Pharmacologist, Diplomat |
| Field | Medicine, Botany |
Abul Qasim ibn Mohammed ibn Ibrahim al-Wazir al-Ghassani al-Andalusi (Arabic: أبو القاسم بن محمد بن إبراهيم الغساني) (1548–1610), also known as Al-Wazir al-Ghassani, was a prominent Moroccan physician, botanist, and diplomat at the Saadian court during the reigns of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur and Zidan Abu Maali.[1][2]
Biography
Al-Ghassani was born in Fez to a family of Morisco descent that had emigrated from Al-Andalus. He studied medicine and pharmacology under his father, who was also a skilled physician. He spent his life moving between the dual capitals of Marrakesh and Fez, serving the Saadian elite.
Beyond his medical practice, he was a distinguished scholar of the Maliki school of law and served as a judge and a "Wazir" (minister), a title that reflects his high standing in the Saadian administration. He died in Marrakesh in 1610.[3]
Works
Al-Ghassani is best known for his monumental work on pharmacology and botany, titled Hadiqat al-azhar fi mahiyyat al-ushb wa-l-aqqar (Arabic: حديقة الأزهار في ماهية العشب والعقار; Garden of Flowers in the Explanation of the Character of Herbs and Drugs).
In this treatise, he identified and classified over 380 species of plants, providing their names in Arabic, Berber (Tamazight), and sometimes Spanish (Latini).[4] The work is considered one of the most important North African contributions to post-classical Islamic medicine and was frequently cited by later scholars in the Maghreb.
Diplomacy
In 1610, Sultan Zidan Abu Maali appointed Al-Ghassani as an envoy to the Low Countries (The Dutch Republic). His mission was part of the Moroccan–Dutch alliance, where he was tasked with negotiating the release of Moroccan captives and establishing trade agreements. He was succeeded in his diplomatic efforts by other notable figures such as Ahmad ibn Qasim Al-Hajari and Yusuf Biscaino.[5]
He also authored an anti-Christian polemical work titled Apología contra los artículos de la ley Cristiana (Apology against the articles of the Christian law), written at the specific request of Sultan Mulay Zidan.[6]
Legacy
Al-Ghassani is remembered as a pioneer of clinical medicine in Morocco. In recognition of his contributions, the **Al-Ghassani Hospital** (Hôpital Al Ghassani) in Fez was named in his honor.
See also
Notes
- ^G.A. Wiegers, "The Andalusi Heritage in the Maghrib" in Ed de Moor (ed.) Poetry, Politics and Polemics: Cultural Transfer Between the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, 1996, p. 110
- ^Wilks, Ivor (1997). "Wangara, Akan, and Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". In Bakewell, Peter (ed.). Mines of Silver and Gold in the Americas. Aldershot: Variorum, Ashgate Publishing Limited. p. 14. ISBN 0860785130.
- ^Muhammad b. al-Tayyib al-Qaddiri, Nashr al-mathani li-ahl al-قarn al-hadi ashar wa l-thani, (M. Hajji and A. tawfiq ed.) 1977-86, vol. II p. 404
- ^Colin, G. S. (2012). "Abū l-Ḳāsim b. Muḥammad al-Ghassānī". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ^Romania Arabica by Gerard Wiegers p. 410
- ^Poetry Islamic literature in Spanish and Aljamiado by G.A. Wiegers p. 193ff
  | This article about a Moroccan writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
 | This Moroccan biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
