The Relationship between Pulse and Music in Avicenna’s Regshinasi

Abstract

There are other sciences on the basis of each science. Based on these nature and characteristics of sciences, Islamic philosophers classified sciences into two groups as theoretical (theoretical) and practical (practical). Both physicians and music scholars have mentioned in their works the relations between medicine and music sciences listed in the theoretical sciences section. While talking about the sciences that form the basis of music, the musical scholars who have a voice mentioned the science of medicine along with sciences such as riyâzî (mathematics), hendese (geometric), literature. As in music, great doctors also emphasized that medicine is related to music, and emphasized this issue, favoring the knowledge of the physician’s knowledge of music, if not at a high level. In medicine and music treatises, some relations between these two sciences are mentioned. In his musical works, by emphasizing the effect of sound on human breath, he talked about the fact that the musicians should know the science of medicine and, thanks to this knowledge, when or in the presence of whom the maqams should be performed according to their characteristics. In medicine, he also benefited from music in the treatment of patients, based on the effect of sound and music on the human spirit. One of the common points of music and medicine is the iqa (rhythm) and proportions (rate) of the music in relation to the measurement of time, and the pulse, which is the indicator of the heart rhythm in medicine. As a matter of fact, doctors can diagnose what the disease is by measuring the pulse rate. Apart from the works written by Ibn Sina on the science of music, he examined this subject by referring to the science of music in his Persian work Regşinâsî, which he wrote about veins and pulses. In this article, Ibn Sina’s Regşinâsî book is introduced after conveying the views of Islamic philosophers and scholars on medicine and music. In the sixth chapter of the book, the pulse and its types are mentioned. Then, information is given on the part of the work that has relations with pulse and iqa. Based on the relationship between pulse and iqa, Ibn Sina states that both musicians and physicians should mutually have basic knowledge of music and medicine.