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An ancient medical
tradition, Unani originated in the Mediterranean
world and was developed in the Middle East.
Unani was brought to India together with the
spread of Islamic civilization around the 10th
century A.D. The unani system of medicine was
founded on the principles advocated by Galen, a
Greek practitioner.
Abu Sina, an Arab
philosopher and physicist was also known as
Avicenna in English (A.D. 980-1037), was
instrumental in the development of this system
of medicine. At the same time, many other Arab
and Persian philosophers also contributed to its
growth and development. Their role in the
development of Unani is evident from the fact
that this style of medicine is now not known as
Gaelic, as it was earlier called, but the Unani
(Arabic name for Greek) system of medication.
The Unani system of
medicine revolves around the fact that all the
food we consumed is transformed by the natural
warmth in the stomach into different substances.
We all know that substances that are useful to
the body will be transported by the blood to the
different organs while the waste is excreted.
The main products of this process according to
the Unani system are the four basic humours
which are blood, mucus, yellow bile and black
bile. These humours are combined with the four
primary qualities which are warmth (heat), cold,
moisture (dampness) and dryness. If the four
humours and the four primary qualities are all
in a state of mutual equilibrium, then according
to this system of medicine, man will be healthy.
It is the influence of outside factors such as
climate, age, profession and customs that causes
a dominance of one of the four humours observed
in every human body.
In the beginning of
the Muslim rule, it is known that rulers and
noblemen built hospitals (bipartisan) that
followed the Unani system. The Khiji, Lodhis
and Tughluq Sultans nurtured famous Unani
physicians, surgeons and ophthalmologists.
During the reign of Akbar, there was a mass
exodus of learned men from regions where Arabian
medicine was taught. Abul-Fazl, the renowned
historian from Akbar's court, mentioned twenty
nine distinguished physicians who paid homage to
Akbar. This trend continued during the reigns of
the successive great Mughal emperors ruled by
Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.
These ancient
sciences lay neglected and forgotten as the
English who took over India showed no interest
in either Unani Tibb or Ayurveda. However, very
much later on during the last quarter of the 19th
century, a national reawakening that took place
caused a few educated Indians to realized the
importance of their own systems of medicine and
from there, the interest of the people in this
traditional type of treatment was carried on
and with the pioneering work and research of
charitable organizations and various colleges
located throughout the country, this Unani
system of medicine is in no danger of
disappearing into oblivion.
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