The art of photography and its functional uses in Islamic manuscripts

Abstract

The study of Islamic Arabic manuscripts, with its decorative and artistic designs, pictures and drawings, is of great importance in Islamic civilization because it sheds light on an important aspect of creativity in science and the arts, and gives a clear idea of the genius of the Muslim artist and the degree of his excellence in supporting the manuscript text with means of inference and clarification. Through artistic representations with an aesthetic dimension, they embody for us the quality and shape of medical and mechanical equipment and machines, herbs and plants that the pharmacist relies on in the preparation of drugs and the pharmaceutical industry, and they accurately describe the anatomy of the body and the functions of human organs, and the various human and animal images. Which, in their entirety, constitute integrated works of art that address the conscience with a lively discourse, even after centuries of losing the luster of scientific discovery or the novelty of the information they carry.