Al-Tamimi (physician)

Muhammad ibn Sa'id al-Tamimi (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد التميمي), (died 990), known by his kunya, "Abu Abdullah," but more commonly as Al-Tamimi, was a tenth-century physician, who came to renown on account of his medical works. Born in Jerusalem, Al-Tamimi spent his early years in and around Jerusalem where he studied medicine under the tutelage of two local physicians, Al-Hasan ibn Abi Nu'aym, and a Christian monk, Anba Zecharia ben Thawabah. Al-Tamimi possessed an uncommon knowledge of plants and their properties, such that his service in this field was highly coveted and brought him to serve as the personal physician of the Ikhshidid Governor of Ramla, al-Hassan bin Abdullah bin Tughj al-Mastouli, before being asked to render his services in Old Cairo, Egypt. Around 970, Al-Tamimi had settled in Old Cairo, Egypt, and there prospered in his medical field, writing a medical work for the vizier, Ya'qub ibn Killis (930–991), a Baghdadi Jew who came to work in Egypt under the auspices of the Fatimids. He specialized in compounding simple drugs and medicines, but is especially known for his having concocted a theriac reputed as a proven antidote in snakebite and other poisons, which he named tiryaq al-fārūq (the antidote of salvation) because of its exceptional qualities.