Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb: Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq's historic medical text with a distinctive style of Islamic medical education.

The golden age of Islamic medicine (800 to 1300 CE) is a notable period in medical history. Medical education in this period of time was significant and systematic in Islamic territory. In the early Golden Age of Islamic Medicine, Abū Zayd Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq al-'Ibādī, an exceptional scholar and translator, emerged. He was known as Johannitius in medieval Europe. Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb lil-Mutāllimīn ( Questions on Medicine for Students) was written by Hunain ibn Isḥāq. This book remains a definitive text on Islamic medicine and has been printed and published widely in Europe. Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb is written in the style of questions and answers which is distinct from the conventional writing style of medical books on Islamic medicine. The current article reviews Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb and its distinguishing style, the question and answer format. Today, the question-and-answer method is a popular method of medical education, and clinical teachers tend to use it in medical education because of the advantages it offers. The use of this method in Al-Masā'il fī al-tibb for education and examination of medical students by Ḥunain ibn Isḥāq reflects a great improvisation in medical education and introduces him as the leading developer of the question-and-answer method in Islamic medical education.