Description

This pamphlet, in the French language, was written by an Ottoman military doctor, Ahmed Şeyhun, of the army supply department for mills and bakeries. The author discusses hygiene from a purely Muslim religious point of view, including chapters such as washing, praying, pilgrimage, quarantine, clean life, but also polygamy (which is in theory not permitted, but according to the author sometimes necessary out of hygienic grounds, such as stopping a man from going to prostitutes), divorce, gambling and drinking alcohol.

The pamphlet was probably written as a reaction to current discussions on the importance of the hygiene and its necessary reforms in the Ottoman Empire as advocated by foreign (non-Muslim) scientists. Here Ahmed Şeyhun endeavours to show that traditional Islam customs accord to modern standards of hygiene.

References: OCLC: 1010024057, 250265334, 780175282 (including electronic reproductions).