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Symptoms and signs (al-a'rad wal-dala'il)

الأعراض والدلائل

For Ibn Sina a symptom (ard) is what follows a disease and is unnatural: it may be contrary to the natural state, as pain in colic is, or not contrary to it 1. Symptoms and signs are treated in the third section of Fann 2, in eleven chapters and two groups, opening with a general discussion 2. Quoting Galen, he says a sign shows something present, which the patient alone benefits from; something past, which the physician alone benefits from in showing his skill; or something to come, from which both benefit 2.

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For Ibn Sina a symptom is that which follows the state of disease and is abnormal — it may oppose the normal, like the pain of colic, or not 1. Symptoms and signs are treated in the third lesson of the second book — eleven chapters and two discourses opening with general remarks 2. As he relays from Galen, a sign indicates something present — profiting the patient; or past — profiting the physician in establishing what came before; or future — profiting both 2.

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Medicine

People and things also explored

Anatomy· Disease (al-marad)· The four elements (al-arkan)· Health (al-sihha)· Humours (al-akhlat)· Medical treatment (al-mu'alaja)· Powers and actions (al-quwa wal-af'al)· Regimen of health (al-tadbir)

Sources

  1. The Canon of Medicine, vol. 1 (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, Beirut, 1999) , p.103
  2. The Canon of Medicine, vol. 1 (Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyya, Beirut, 1999) , p.154
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islam.museum contributors. “Symptoms and signs (al-a'rad wal-dala'il)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/symptoms-and-signs/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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In his commentary on the Canon's anatomy, Ibn al-Nafis says that religious restraint and compassion kept him from dissecting himself. He therefore relied on earlier practitioners, chiefly Galen, for the shapes of the inner organs, and on reasoned inquiry for their functions.